Alabama civil rights preservation projects receive over $3.1M from National Park Service

The National Park Service has awarded over $3.1 million in grants to six civil rights preservation projects in Alabama, the agency announced Thursday.

The grants will go toward preservation in Montgomery, Birmingham and Anniston.

The funding is part of a larger $21 million distributed across 16 states, all of which comes from money Congress appropriated for the African American Civil Rights Grant Program through the Historic Preservation Fund.

“The National Park Service is proud to award this grant funding to our state and local government and nonprofit partners to help them recognize places and stories related to the African American experience,” NPS Director Chuck Sams said in a statement. “Since 2016, the African American Civil Rights program has provided over $100 million to document, protect and celebrate the places, people and stories of one of the greatest struggles in American history.”

Here are the six Alabama projects awarded funding:

Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church

The church where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., directed much of the early civil rights movement in Montgomery will receive $750,000 for repairs, rehabilitation and preservation.

King led the congregation there from 1954 to 1960. During that time, he also led the Montgomery Improvement Association, helping guide the Montgomery Bus Boycott and writing many of his sermons from his office on the lower level of the church.

The church's name was Dexter Avenue Baptist Church at the time, but in 1978, leadership changed it to Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, in memory of its 20th pastor.

The Moore Building

Located across from the Freedom Rides Museum on Court Street, the Moore Building stewards will receive $750,000 to rehabilitate its second floor.

About five years ago, the Alabama Historical Commission set out to restore the building that looked out on the Greyhound bus station. Many Freedom Riders traveled through that station, and in 1961, were attacked by rioters. The Freedom Riders met that anger with non-violence and courage, and their actions contributed to the end of segregation on interstate transportation.

Once the Moore Building is rehabilitated, it will become an educational and interpretive programming space for the Freedom Rides Museum.

Freedom Rides Museum

NPS granted the Alabama Historical Commission another $75,000  for the Freedom Rides Museum. The money will go toward making a virtual reality experience in the museum.

No further details have been released about the project, but the Alabama Historical Commission posted on Facebook that its members are excited for what's to come in the way of VR.

Until that is completed, the museum will continue to host its usual series of programs and rotating exhibits.

St. Paul United Methodist Church

One of the oldest Black churches in Birmingham, St. Paul was awarded $750,000  to go toward preservation, rehabilitation and repair work.

The church was founded in 1869, but its current building was constructed in 1904. During the civil rights movement, it became a regular meeting place for activists who wanted to integrate Birmingham's buses. Many activists were trained in nonviolent protesting there.

St. Paul is also currently in the midst of constructing a museum-quality tourist center. That project is set to be completed in 2025, according to the church website.

Historic Bethel Baptist Church

Located in north Birmingham, the historic Bethel Baptist Church was the target of three attempted bombings during the civil rights movement. Its leader at the time, the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, was a founding member of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, which took up the torch of activism when Alabama prohibited the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from operating in the state.

The church was granted $750,000 on Thursday for a project titled, "Preserving the Past to Secure the Future." The funding will be managed by the Historic Bethel Baptist Church Community Restoration Fund.

Anniston Civil Rights Trail

NPS granted the City of Anniston $74,800 to go toward story mapping, formalization of operations and maintenance of the Anniston Civil Rights Trail.

The Anniston Civil Rights and Heritage Trail Committee began the project to establish the trail in 2010 when its members realized how few people knew about Anniston's civil rights history.

"Many students were not educated on the events or the people who risked their lives to bring about change, as local history is currently not part of the standard school curriculum," the city's website states.

Now, the trail includes 10 historic sites, from the place where local man Willie Brewster was murdered to the Greyhound bus station where Freedom Riders traveled through.

Hadley Hitson covers the rural South for the Montgomery Advertiser and Report for America. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser or donate to Report for America.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: National Park Service grants six Alabama civil rights projects funding