Ford Foundation President to Lead $25 Million African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund

Ford Foundation President Darren Walkerwill lead an advisory panel for a new $25 million fund being set up through the National Trust for Historic Preservation to help ensure that historical sites important to African American history are no longer endangered. The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, announced Wednesday, will be financed through partnerships with groups such as the Ford Foundation and the JPB Foundation, and already has nearly $3 million on hand. The fund was created during the discussion on whether Confederate monuments and memorials should be taken down. “While we think there is a role to play in determining what monuments should remain, we believe that it is equally as important to create monuments and markers for people whose stories have not been told,” Walker said. The money will be used to address critical funding gaps for the preservation of African American historical sites. The advisory panel includes Lonnie Bunch, Director of NMAAHC; Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL); actress Phylicia Rashad; and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Chairwoman of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. More here.