Endangered African American Historic Sites

Published January 12, 2024 By Joanna Wilson Green, Cemetery Preservation Archaeologist

We are nearly halfway through the 2023-24 African American Cemeteries & Graves Fund grant cycle, and it has been a busy few months! As of publication we have issued 13 maintenance grants and three new extraordinary maintenance grants, all of which add up to a total of $168,931 in grant funding disbursements. Our newest extraordinary maintenance block grant recipients include Union Street Cemeteries in the City of Hampton (brush removal and landscape restoration), Union Baptist Church-Shores in Fluvanna County (ground penetrating radar survey), and Oakland Baptist Church Cemetery in the City of Alexandria (headstone repair and landscape restoration). A list of successful applicants may be found at the end of this article. We enjoy working with our existing grant recipients and look forward to meeting new ones as the year goes by.

The latest updates on this grant program and how to find out if a grave or cemetery is eligible for funding.

By Joanna Wilson Green, Cemetery Preservation Archaeologist

We are nearly halfway through the 2023-24 African American Cemeteries & Graves Fund grant cycle, and it has been a busy few months! As of publication we have issued 13 maintenance grants and three new extraordinary maintenance grants, all of which add up to a total of $168,931 in grant funding disbursements. Our newest extraordinary maintenance block grant recipients include Union Street Cemeteries in the City of Hampton (brush removal and landscape restoration), Union Baptist Church-Shores in Fluvanna County (ground penetrating radar survey), and Oakland Baptist Church Cemetery in the City of Alexandria (headstone repair and landscape restoration). A list of successful applicants may be found at the end of this article. We enjoy working with our existing grant recipients and look forward to meeting new ones as the year goes by.

We encourage anyone who owns or cares for an African American cemetery to contact us. Applications for 2023-24 funding (both standard and extraordinary maintenance) will be accepted through close of business on May 31, 2024. An updated grants manual and application forms can be found on our website.

As a reminder to our current grant recipients, DHR requires that you submit a reconciliation of expenses to us after July 1, but no later than September 30. This reconciliation should document how grant funds were used in the maintenance of your cemetery and should include invoices or receipts if available. All materials should be forwarded to Joanna Wilson Green by mail at 2801 Kensington Avenue, Richmond, Va., 23221, or submitted electronically to joanna.wilson@dhr.virginia.gov. DHR will be unable to disburse any additional grant funds to your organization if this information is not submitted and approved. 

DHR’s African American Cemetery & Graves Fund provides grants to support the care and maintenance of cemeteries established on or before December 31, 1947, specifically for the interment of African Americans. The graves of any individuals born prior to 1900 (regardless of date of death) AND the graves of any individuals born after January 1, 1900 and interred prior to 1948 are considered eligible. Birth and/or interment dates may be confirmed through headstone inscriptions, vital records, church records, newspaper obituaries, and other information sources. We will also accept the results of ground penetrating radar (GPR) if performed and fully documented by a qualified practitioner. Initial grants will be made at a rate of $5 per eligible grave, and recipients are thereafter invited to apply for block grants to fund “extraordinary maintenance” projects like those mentioned above.