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The National Park Service has announced $8.6 million in grant funding to support projects that preserve significant historic structures on the campuses of 18 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
"HBCUs have played an important role in our country’s pursuit of equality, civil rights, and higher education for all Americans," said National Park Service Deputy Director P. Daniel Smith. "These grants will help restore and enhance landmark buildings that are a source of pride on campuses in nine states."
Historically Black Colleges and Universities Grants support the preservation of sites on HBCU campuses that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Eligible projects include pre-preservation studies, architectural plans and specifications, historic structure reports, and the repair and rehabilitation of historic properties according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
Examples of projects funded by the grants include accessibility improvements in the Founders Library at Howard University (photo above).
Constructed in 1939 and a key feature of the Howard National Historic Landmark District, the building serves as the main library for students on campus.
It also houses one of the world’s largest catalogs of the African American experience. The project will improve accessibility to the building, including construction of a new entryway, in a manner that is sensitive to its architecture and historic fabric.
Congress appropriates funding for the HBCU grant program through the Historic Preservation Fund. The Fund uses revenue from federal oil leases on the Outer Continental Shelf to provide assistance for a broad range of preservation projects, not tax dollars.
Click here for the full list of projects funded.