The Unprecedented Success of

Savvy Grassroots Politics in

Preserving African American
Heritage
By Brent Leggs posted 09-30-2016 11:23

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Also by Sam Keiser

One year ago, the Maryland Commission on African American

History and Culture and its political allies secured annual grant
funding for the African American Heritage Preservation Program
(AAHPP) in the impressive amount of $1 million in perpetuity,
setting a new standard for statewide preservation organizations.
By aligning historic preservation values with political activism,
Maryland preservationists transformed an ad hoc committee into a
sustained institution over the course of 46 years and proved that a
coordinated and sophisticated political campaign can do wonders
for preservation at the state level.

From Texas to Virginia, African American preservation

commissions are typically all-volunteer organizations aligned with
state historic preservation offices and representing a broad
constituency of preservationists and citizens alike. In Maryland, the
21 members of the Commission determine its mission and
strategic plan and identify the projects that receive grant funding.
These commissioners are now appointed by the governor and
supported by the Maryland Historical Trusts staff, which
administers the sizeable grant program.

In 2015 Professor Dale Green (vice chairman) and Lyndra Marshall

(chairwoman) were elected leaders of the Commission. |
Credit: Maryland Commission on African American History and
Culture via StarDem.com
Creating the African American Heritage
Preservation Program
In 2008 the Maryland General Assembly passed a bill (H.B. 782)
that consolidated the states diversity programming under the
purview of the Governors Office of Community Initiatives. This was
a strategic move for Democratic Governor Martin OMalley,
increasing his outreach to a broad range of communities across
the state. Although the Commission, which had enjoyed being
under the purview of the Maryland Historical Trust, was not the
driving force behind this legislation, it benefited from its increased
visibility within the governors office, which led to new
opportunities.

The Commissions first step in an advocacy campaign to establish

a sizeable new grant fund to preserve and protect African
American heritage was engaging a respected legislative sponsor.
They approached Maryland Delegate Adrienne A. Jonesa
member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Marylandwho
introduced legislation (H.B. 915) to create the AAHPP the following
year. The Commission continued their advocacy by securing broad
legislative support for the bill.
Maryland native Pauli Murray was a trailblazing feminist. | Credit:
Photo courtesy Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard
University
Fortunately, Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Miller Jr. is a
history buff. Recognizing the need for such legislation, he
developed and championed S.B. 319, a companion to Jones
House bill. During the 2010 session, Maryland legislators passed
H.B. 915 and S.B. 319. With bipartisan support, Governor OMalley
signed the bill, which created the AAHPP and stipulated that, for
five years, $1 million per year from the states capital budget be
allocated to its grant fund. The Commission shares grant
administration duties with the Maryland Historical Trust.

Funding a total of 68 preservation projects since its inception, the

grant program has supported the 2012 renovation of the Rock
Methodist Episcopal Church in Cambridge and the 2014
restoration of Tolsonsin Sharpsburg, among many others. The
AAHPP preserves historic sites significant to African American
heritage that might otherwise be lost to time and deferred
maintenance. Although the grant funding was passed with a five-
year sunset clause, the AAHPPs success and the resulting
political goodwill inspired big dreams for its future.

Funding in Perpetuity
In 2015 a new set of players came together to ensure that the
AAHPP lived on permanently. The Commission continued to
engage Maryland legislators, underscoring the AAHPPs impact to
make the case for increased and continuing support.

This time, geographer and historian Senator Nathaniel J.

McFadden, a Morgan State University graduate, introduced S.B.
601 to remove the AAHPPs sunset clause and renew funding. The
Commission and grassroots leadersincluding many new voices
of people who had already benefited from the grant program
strategically lobbied the state congress, advocating for funding.
They educated legislators on the benefits and impact of the grant
fund; provided testimony, specifically highlighting the role of
preservation in the states economy; and developed a public
relations campaign to build support among the states electorate.

Newly appointed Maryland Secretary of Planning David R. Craig, a

Republican, gave testimony in support of renewing the AAHPP and
removing the sunset clause. Soon after it passed in the legislature,
Republican Governor Lawrence J. Hogan, Jr. signed the legislation
into law. Using broad-based political advocacy, the Commission
had ensured the long-term sustainability of Marylands African
American preservation movement.

Politicians were influenced by the success of the AAHPP and its

popularity among their constituents, so both the creation of the
grant program and its renewal and expansion five years later
enjoyed support from the state legislature and the governors
office. The Commission is an active community partner, and its
credibility is bolstered by its membershipa diverse and respected
group of design professionals, preservationists, historians, and
academicsas well as by its partnerships with the Maryland
Historical Trust and the Governors Office of Community Initiatives.
Its support of the AAHPP was a vital component of the programs
political popularity. Former Commission chairman Theodore Mack
and current chairwoman Lyndra Marshall describe the opposition
to both AAHPP bills as virtually non-existent.

Funding historic preservation in the United States is an ongoing

battlefrom struggles to maintain appropriation levels for the
national Historic Preservation Fund, to threats of elimination of the
federal tax credit program, to the backlog of deferred maintenance
in our National Parks. Preservationists and politicians must fight
together to fund the protection of our shared history and values.
But we must also take time to celebrate our successes, like the
Commissions perpetual grant fund.

National Trust National Treasure HBCU Morgan State University in

Baltimore | Credit: Paul Burke

Governor OMalley once said, The most fearless hearts, the

audacious dreamers, have always maintained a sense of
optimism. As the U.S. African American preservation movement
contemplates the next 50 years, we must be confident that we will
witness other African American heritage commissions becoming
economically sustainable institutions and savvy grassroots political
advocates. Which one will secure the next $1 million in perpetuity?

Brent Leggs is a senior field officer at the National Trust and

professor at the University of Marylands Graduate Program in
Historic Preservation. Sam Keiser was the summer 2016 African
American historic places intern at the National Trust and is a
student at the University of Northern Alabamas Graduate Program
in Public History.

Link to website- http://forum.savingplaces.org/blogs/brent-leggs/2016/09/30/the-

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