$1.1M awarded to preserve African-American historic sites

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Grants totaling $1.1 million will help support important African-American heritage sites including the homes of jazz musician John Coltrane and playwright August Wilson, a Virginia location central to the slave trade and civil rights locations in Birmingham, a preservation group announced Friday.

The money from the African-American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is part of an effort by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to preserve and promote African-American historic places.

Brent Leggs, who directs the fund, says African-American historic places have traditionally been undervalued and underfunded.

“Through the action fund we have the opportunity to raise the visibility and the full contributions of African-Americans to our nation. We have the opportunity to highlight stories and places of activism achievement and community, to rewrite history and tell a new story about a black America,” he said.