National Trust Awards $8.5 Million to 33 Historically Black Churches for Preservation in 2026

The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a division of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has made a landmark $8.5 million investment in 2026 to preserve 33 historically Black churches across the United States, bringing the year''s total preservation funding to $13.5 million.

These churches are recognized as crucial anchors of Black faith, culture, democracy, and community, institutions that have served as centers for civil rights activism, community support, and spiritual expression for generations.

Notable grant recipients include:

- **Sixteenth Street Baptist Church (Birmingham, Alabama)**, site of the 1963 bombing that killed four young girls during the civil rights movement

- **Ebenezer Baptist Church (Atlanta, Georgia)**, the home church of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

- **University AME Zion Church (Palo Alto, California)**, funding for urgent structural and architectural preservation

- **Shorter AME Church (Denver, Colorado)**, restoration of the historic sanctuary

- **First African Baptist Church (Savannah, Georgia)**, restoration of stained-glass windows dating to the early 20th century

- **Bethel Baptist Institutional Church (Jacksonville, Florida)**, restoration of original stained-glass windows damaged by storms

Grants support capital projects, endowment and financial sustainability, organizational capacity building, programming and interpretation, and project planning.

The investment follows an earlier $5 million in grants to five churches on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, demonstrating a sustained commitment to preserving these irreplaceable cultural and spiritual landmarks. The Action Fund emphasizes that these churches represent not just religious heritage but the living history of African American resilience and community leadership.