Anniston AL Anniston, Alabama The National Parks Service (NPS) granted $11 million in grants to sixteen states using funds Congress allocated to The African American Civil Rights Grant Program through the Historic Preservation Fund. For Alabama $3.1 million of grants were given in support of six projects to preserve civil rights across Alabama. NPS Director Chuck Sams stated “The National Park Service is pleased to grant this funds to our state and local governments and non-profit partners in order to help them appreciate locations and stories relating with African American history.” African American experience, since 2016 this African American Civil Rights program has given over 100 million dollars to document, preserve and celebrate the locations, people and stories from one of the most significant struggles in American history.”
It was in Anniston the project funded by NPS is that of the Anniston Civil Rights Trail. NPS provided Anniston the City of Anniston $74,800 to help with the story mapping process, as well as establishment of a formalized operation and upkeep of the Anniston Civil Rights Trail. Anniston Civil Rights and Heritage Trail Committee Anniston Civil Rights and Heritage Trail Committee started the project in the year 2010 to help people understand more about the civil rights history of Anniston. The website for the project states that Anniston website, it is stated that “Many students aren’t educated about the historical events, or those who sacrificed their lives in order to change the world because local history isn’t currently included in the school’s course of study.” This trail currently has ten historical sites.
City of Anniston Planning and Economic Development Director Toby Bennington made the following statement “The Anniston City Council Anniston is pleased to have received $74,800 from National Park Service‘s African American Civil Rights Grant Program! This African American Civil Rights Grant Program assists in documenting, interpreting and preserve historic locations and stories related in African American history and African American struggle to gain the same rights as other citizens. The grants are financed through the Historic Preservation Fund (#HPF) and are administered through the National Park Service. The grants provide a variety of development, planning or research-related projects for historical sites, which include documentation as well as interpretation as well as educational services, architectural services as well as repairs. “This grant will provide Anniston with the chance to further promote awareness and education about the civil rights trails we have. In collaboration in conjunction with the National Park Service, the City of Anniston and its Main Street Program will be working to develop our trail with the help of stories mapping, which is a record of historical events and places by using pictures and descriptions of oral histories.”
