PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
March 16, 2018
Alabama Historical Commission, Marketing & Public Relations Manager:
Jacqulyn Kirkland, 334-230-2690 or jacqulyn.kirkland@ahc.alabama.gov
ALABAMA HISTORICAL COMMISSION TO RECEIVE AFRICAN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS GRANTS
The Alabama Historical Commission (AHC) is set to receive two African American Civil Rights Grants from the National Park Service.
The first grant totaling $365,720 will be used to develop a master plan and to complete phase I rehabilitation for the historic Moore Building located on South Court Street in Montgomery, Alabama.
Once rehabbed, the Moore Building will provide educational and interpretive programming space for the Freedom Rides Museum, a historic site operated by the AHC. The Friends of the Freedom Rides Museum, a non-profit developed to support the museum, will provide funds as part of the match for the grant.
The AHC will also receive a $50,000 grant to develop a new, interactive exhibit at the Freedom Rides Museum. The completed exhibit will open in 2021 during the 60th anniversary of the Freedom Rides.
“This tight cluster of historic buildings -- the Moore Building, the Greyhound Bus Station (which the Freedom Rides Museum now occupies), and the Frank M. Johnson Jr. Federal Building -- have significant associations with the civil rights movement,” said Dorothy Walker, Site Director of the Freedom Rides Museum. “All look onto a South Court Street block where in 1961 a violent riot exploded from the Greyhound Bus Station onto the street and sidewalks. Young Freedom Riders fled through the federal building's postal loading platform while bystanders huddled in the entrance to the Moore Building. The mob attack on non-violent Freedom Riders and bystanders was a significant turning point bringing about the nationwide end of segregated interstate transportation.”
About the African American Civil Rights Grants: On March 12, 2018, the U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Park Service announced $12.6 million in grants for 51 projects in 24 states that preserve sites and highlight stories related to the African American struggle for equality in the 20th century. The 2017 African American Civil Rights grant is funded through the Historic Preservation Fund and administered by the National Park Service (NPS).
Read the National Park Service press release here.
About the Alabama Historical Commission
Located in historic downtown Montgomery at 468 S. Perry Street, the Alabama Historical Commission is the state historic preservation agency for Alabama. The agency was created by an act of the state legislature in 1966 with a mission to protect, preserve and interpret Alabama’s historic places. AHC works to accomplish its mission through two fields of endeavor: Preservation and promotion of state-owned historic sites as public attractions; and, statewide programs to assist people, groups, towns, and cities with local preservation activities. For a complete list of programs and properties owned and operated by the AHC, hours of operation, and admission fees please visit ahc.alabama.gov
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