Architectural sites with significance to African American culture have received funds as part of Conserving Black Modernism, a national grant program that highlights “undervalued” contributions of Black architects in the United States.
Among the featured projects are a dormitory complex in Mississippi and a mosque in Washington DC.
The Conserving Black Modernism program is a grant program in its second year, managed under the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund (AACHAF).
Supported by New York’s Mellon Foundation, the action fund selected 30 projects to receive a grant in 2024, eight of which fall under the Conserving Black Modernism program, dedicated explicitly to architectural achievements of African Americans.
Preservationism as equity and justice
“Our goal is to harness the power of place and historic preservation to uplift centuries of Black American activism, achievement and resilience; and to centre these overlooked histories at the core of American democracy,” AACHAF director Brent Leggs told Dezeen.
“Part of the inspiration is to use public spaces to educate the public about the profound history that we steward as a nation, as a collective,” he added.
“These places are both repositories of public memory and beautiful expressions of American history. We believe that by preserving these overlooked histories and telling their stories, preservationists inspire commitment to equity and justice.”
The grant program allows for the dispensation of funds to these projects under a variety of funding categories, including project planning and programming.
AACHAF offers technical support and reviews the plans to spend the funds while dispensing resources for research and “interpretation.”
However, the program doesn’t grant any official heritage status – although the team said that the funding could be put towards achieving this end.
“The design contributions of Black American architects in modernism in the 20th century has been undervalued and under-researched,” said Leggs.
“[The fund] created an opportunity for us to make visible the design contributions of Black American architecture and to support communities and preserve their architectural legacy.”
Leggs said that the fund is seen as a “revolution” in the world of historic preservation and that it has demonstrated preservation’s “capacity to advance equity and social justice”.
“The Fund was created in 2017 in the aftermath of Charlottesville to rectify historical inequities and historic preservation and ignite a cultural renaissance in which Black cultural heritage is central to American history and identity,” Leggs said.
“Black history is American history,” he added.
Read on for the eight projects selected under the 2024 grant.
Azurest South, Virginia, by Amaza Lee Meredith
This home in St Petersburg, Virginia, was designed in the 1930s by Amaza Lee Meredith in the International Style.
It was the home and studio of the “pioneering” Black architect, who helped establish the Fine Arts program at Virginia State University.
Ira Aldridge Theater, District of Columbia, by Hilyard Robinson and Paul R Williams
Located on The Chadwick A Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University, the theatre was completed by well-known Black architects Hilyard Robinson and Paul R Williams.
It features wide expanses of brick as well as bright pops of colours, recalling Williams’ work in mid-century Los Angeles.
Robert T Coles Home and Studio, New York, by Robert T Coles
Robert T Coles was the first Black Chancellor of the American Institute of Architects and completed his own home in Buffalo in 1961.
The home features pre-fabricated elements and is set back into the property, allowing for an open yard.
John F Kennedy Community Center, New York, by Robert T Coles
Designed in the 1960s by Coles for his MIT thesis project, the structure hosts a range of community and non-profit activities.
It features an impressive vaulted gymnasium and a textural facade.
Masjid Mohammad, Nations Mosque, District of Columbia, by David R Byrd
Designed by architect and civil rights activist David R Byrd, the structure represents one of the oldest Black Muslim congregations in the country, according to the fund.
The pale brick-clad building will undergo reengineering as well as an expansion, which it plans on being LEED certified.
Morehouse College halls, Georgia, by Leon Allain
Atlanta architect Leon Allain designed three halls for Morehouse College in the 1970s: Claude B Dansby, Benjamin G Brawley and John H Wheeler halls.
The structures all have expansive brick and concrete details. The grant will support building assessments for the three sites.
Neigh Dormitory Complex, Mississippi, by J Max Bond Jr
The dormitories were completed in the early 1970s for Mary Holmes Community College in West Point, which closed in 2005.
Now in an advanced state of deterioration, the buildings are undergoing a feasibility study to see if they might be converted into transitional housing.
Universal Life Insurance Company Building, Tennessee, by McKissack and McKissack
Completed in 1949, the stone building in Memphis was constructed in a neoclassical style by one of the oldest Black-owned firms in the country, according to AACHAF.
The funding will lead to a cultural interpretation plan and select repairs.
The photography is courtesy of AACHAF.
