Two Organizations in the Heritage Area Receive African American Heritage Preservation Grants
The Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (MCAAHC) and the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) have awarded thirteen African American Heritage Preservation Program (AAHPP) grants totaling $1,000,000 to Maryland nonprofit groups for FY22. Two of the grants go to projects in the Four Rivers Heritage Area.
“Our administration is pleased to provide this funding and support the preservation of buildings, sites, and communities of historical importance to the African American experience in Maryland,” said Governor Larry Hogan. “The partnership between MHT and MCAAHC is critical to promoting African American heritage all across Maryland.”
Grant recipients include the Banneker-Douglass Museum in Annapolis, and the Franklin United Methodist Church for the project led by Eleanor Thompson to conserve the Tanyard Cemetery in Deale, also known as the Franklin Cemetery. Read more about the grant recipients below.
Banneker-Douglass Museum (former Mount Moriah AME Church) – Annapolis, Anne Arundel County
($100,000 awarded to Banneker-Douglass Museum Foundation, Inc.)
Mt. Moriah African Episcopal Church was built in 1874 by a congregation of free Blacks whose roots go back to 1799, and is one of Maryland’s earliest African American churches. Over its history, Mt. Moriah served as a house of worship, an educational facility, and a meeting place for social and cultural events. It is currently not used for worship but is the home of the Banneker-Douglass Museum, a state-owned museum of African American history and culture. The grant project will include interior flooring repairs.
Franklin Cemetery (Tanyard Cemetery) – Deale, Anne Arundel County
($100,000 awarded to Franklin United Methodist Church)
Located in the small community of Deale, the Tanyard-Franklin Cemetery is associated with one of the African American Methodist gathering places in southern Anne Arundel County. Local residents as well as congregants of Franklin United Methodist Church are interred in the cemetery. The oldest grave marker dates to 1842. The grant will assist in the conservation and protection of the cemetery.
Online applications for FY23 AAHPP funding will be available in spring 2022 on MHT’s website (http://mht.maryland.gov/grants_africanamerican.shtml).
For more information about the grant program, contact Barbara Fisher (MHT) at [email protected] or (410) 697-9574, or MCAAHC Director Chanel Compton at [email protected] or (410) 216-6180. For information about organizations receiving grants, please contact the institutions directly.