Khemetic Nation News Network | History & Restoration Desk | Reporting date: November 1, 2026
Historic churches, community buildings and archival collections are among the places and records receiving federal support through a new round of African American Civil Rights Preservation and History Grants. The National Park Service lists $21.8 million for 54 projects in 18 states in its October 2026 award summary.
The grants combine two kinds of work: physical preservation of important places and historical research or documentation that helps ensure their stories remain accessible. Funding comes through the Historic Preservation Fund from fiscal year 2025 appropriations, according to the agency.
What the awards may preserve
In Alabama, the awards list includes $750,000 for work on the sanctuary stained glass at Selma’s Brown Chapel AME Church, a site deeply connected to the voting-rights movement. The agency also lists a $99,290 Birmingham Civil Rights Institute archive digitization project and a $750,000 first phase of rehabilitation for the historic Ben Moore Hotel in Montgomery.
In Washington, D.C., a $100,000 award supports a collections plan for the Carter G. Woodson and Association for the Study of African American Life and History archives. These examples demonstrate why preservation involves more than repairing brick and mortar: documents, images and records also provide a historical record that future generations can study.
Preserving evidence, not just buildings
Physical work may safeguard windows, masonry, roofs and interiors that would otherwise deteriorate. Research and documentation projects can support oral histories, neighborhood surveys, archival inventories and historic-designation work. Each grant has its own scope; an award should not be described as a completed restoration.
For researchers, educators and local residents, preserved sites and documents offer the chance to investigate history through tangible evidence instead of relying solely on summaries written long afterward.
Watch: the National Park Service on civil-rights history
The following National Park Service film, Realizing the Dream, provides general background on civil-rights heritage at national parks. It does not depict the 2026 awards or completed repairs.
Sources
National Park Service award list, updated October 8, 2026. Figures and grantee examples above follow the agency’s published awards table.
