National Trust issues grants to Black churches including First AME in Athens

The National Trust for Historic Preservation announced recently that it is providing $8.5 million in grants to 30 historically Black churches across the nation.

The First African Methodist Episcopal Church on Hull Street in Athens is one of the churches earmarked to receive a grant, which is provided through the organization’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.

The fund is the nation’s largest resource dedicated to preserving historic African American sites, according to the news release from the nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C.

The First AME Church in Athens dates to 1866 and was created by members who had separated from a white Methodist church. The church members purchased land for the present-day building in 1916. It was designed by Louis H. Persley, the first African American architect registered in Georgia, according to the National Trust news release.

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The grant to First AME was issued to support church preservation and provide financial stability, according to the news release.

Two other churches in Georgia receiving grants are West Hunter Street Baptist Church in Atlanta and St. James AME Church in Columbus.

The amount of individual grants was not released by the National Trust, but it reported the grants ranged from $50,000 to $500,000.

The grants are geared at helping congregations with preservation challenges due to maintenance and structural issues and with stewardship plans.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: First AME Church in Athens receives historic preservation grant