Spotlight On

Mission:
The African American Heritage Preservation Foundation, Inc. (AAHPF) is dedicated to the preservation of African American history and historical sites.

Background:
AAHPF was created as the result of Ms. Ingram's efforts to preserve her family's cemetery, an endangered rural cemetery, which ultimately was placed on the Commonwealth of Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. The Stanton Family Cemetery was the first free African American privately held cemetery to be placed on these Registers in the country.

AAHPF has been primarily engaged in activities that include the preservation, maintenance, and awareness of endangered or little known African American historical sites in the Southern and Mid-Atlantic Region. In addition, AAHPF acts as a resource center for community groups, preservationists, genealogical and historical societies, not-for-profit organizations and government entities, nationwide, needing assistance in the preservation of African American historical sites and history. The organization's Web site provides information on its activities and serves as a research tool that is used by teachers and students ranging from middle school through postgraduate studies.

Current Programs:

Architecture and Design with DC Public Schools
AAHPF will hold its annual educational program, "A City of Neighborhoods: Bridging School and Community," during National Preservation Week, May 13-16, 2003, in conjunction with the District of Columbia Public School's Professional Development and Leadership Institutes.

This innovative program, based on the model developed by the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, provides the District of Columbia's public school educators along with local architects, designers, preservationists, urban planners, and community participants, an opportunity to learn how to use design to explore the historic fabric of the city as a resource for enriching the K-12 curricula and to engage young citizens in positive community change.

Activities during the week include historic walking tours and discussions with the organization's collaborative partners --Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum; and Howard University's School of Architecture and Design. Learning strategies for using neighborhood resources, which includes landmarks, historic maps, photographs and other documents will be discussed. Last year the historic neighborhood explored was LeDroit Park.

Save America's Treasures
Save America's Treasures is a public private partnership between White House Millennium Council and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is dedicated to the preservation of our nation's irreplaceable historic and cultural treasures for future generations.

AAHPF has nominated the Thomas Slave Chapel in Bedford County, Virginia, to Save America's Treasures listing for this year and is seeking financial support for the restoration and cultural landscaping of the Chapel's surrounding area. Thomas Slave Chapel is one of the few known surviving chapels from the antebellum period that remains intact and retains much of its integrity. This Chapel is also an endangered site as a result of recent rezoning (R-1).

On June 21, 2000, the National Trust for Historic Preservation designated the Thomas Slave Chapel as one of its Official Projects under the Save America's Treasures program.

In 2002, AAHPF engaged the consulting services of an architectural historian to assist in the completion of the nomination process for the Thomas Slave Chapel to be placed on the Commonwealth of Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. The nonprofit will complete and forward the nomination to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources for review in spring 2003.

Research Initiatives

• AAHPF contributed to the soon to be released publication, Biographical Dictionary of African American Architects, 1865-1945 by Routledge Press.

• AAHPF is currently conducting research on the noted African American physician and politician, Dr. Frank S. Hargrave in order to nominate a North Carolina State historical highway marker in recognition for contributions to African Americans with tuberculosis in North Carolina and the South.

Funding Needs:
AAHPF is a non-membership organization with a five member volunteer board. Funding programs and operations are critical to the sustainability of the organization in the amount of $75,000 annually.

"Spotlight On" highlights the activities of a different 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving the Metropolitan Washington, DC community. The selection of organizations for the "Spotlight On" is based on criteria such as programmatic interests, geographic focus, and size, to ensure the broadest possible representation of the region's nonprofit sector.

If you'd like to see your NPO in the "Spotlight," e-mail a description of your organization, following the above format, to dclibrary@foundationcenter.org, with "Spotlight Submission" in the subject line.