Black Preservation Stories

What does it mean not only to preserve a historic home, but to sustain a tradition of Black creativity, reflection, and renewal? In Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Five Acres—the home and writing cabin of poet, diplomat, NAACP leader, and “National Hymn” author James Weldon Johnson—served as a retreat from the demands of public life. Johnson’s “National Hymn,” later widely known as “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and recognized today as the Black National Anthem, became one of the most enduring works in African American cultural and political history. Purchased in 1926, became a place where Johnson could write, rest, and imagine beyond the pressures of racism, politics, and national visibility. Nearly a century later, after the property fell into disrepair and faced possible demolition, literary executor Jill Rosenberg-Jones and her husband Rufus Elmer Jones Jr. acquired and restored the site, transforming an endangered private site into the foundation of a broader effort to safeguard Johnson’s life and legacy. In this episode, Foundation Chair Jill Rosenberg-Jones and President Rufus Elmer Jones Jr. reflect on the restoration of Five Acres—from Jill’s discovery of the deteriorating property in 2011 to the launch of an artist residency in 2017 inspired by Johnson’s belief that “no people can be deemed inferior who produce great art and literature.” Together, we explore preservation as stewardship, rest as resistance, the contested public memory surrounding the “National Hymn,” and their vision for a future Center for Culture and Convening that would expand Five Acres into a national space for Black artistic and scholarly renewal. jamesweldonjohnson.org / @jamesweldonjohnsonfoundation

How can historic sites draw on the Revolutionary War and the often-overlooked role of Black participants to create meaningful conversations about race and historical memory in the present? April 20, Massachusetts commemorates Patriot’s Day—marking the 1775 battles of Lexington and Concord that ignited the American Revolution. It also marks the seasonal reopening of the Robbins House Museum (@robbinshouse) in Concord, a site that challenges us to expand the story of American freedom. Built around 1800 for the children of Caesar Robbins—a formerly enslaved man who secured his freedom by fighting in the Revolution—the House is one of the few surviving structures in New England linked to a Black Revolutionary War veteran. For generations, it was home to free Black families whose lives reflected landownership, education, and antislavery activism in a nation still struggling to uphold its founding ideals. When the house faced demolition in the early 2000s, residents rallied to preserve it—not just as a structure, but as a vessel for lives and legacies that disrupt dominant founding narratives. Their efforts transformed the Robbins House into a museum that now anchors Concord’s evolving reckoning with race, memory, and historical truth. In this episode, Executive Director Jen Turner and Board Co-Chairs Nikki Turpin and Joe Palumbo reflect on the grassroots effort to save the house, the campaign to rename Concord’s middle school for civil rights activist and educator Ellen Garrison, and the broader work of honoring and preserving Black life in early New England. Together, we explore how myth and memory shape American identity—and the urgency of including Black history within the nation’s founding narrative as the U.S. nears its 250th anniversary. robbinshouse.org / bghpn.org

What does it take to preserve a Black not only a historic site—but as a living architecture of belonging, refuge, and enduring Black presence? This episode centers on the A.M.E. Zion Church of Kingston, founded in 1848 and the oldest continuously active African American congregation in Ulster County, New York. Established in resistance to racial exclusion within white Methodist congregations, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church—often called the Freedom Church—emerged from a demand for dignity: the right to worship freely, to lead, and to build sacred space on Black terms. As one of the first denominations in the United States to ordain women as elders and to the pastorate, A.M.E. Zion carries a long tradition of Black women’s leadership, reflected in figures such as Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. In Kingston, that legacy lives on in the early women ministers who traveled the Hudson Valley to preach and in the women who sustain the congregation today. Congregants Rashida and Maisha Tyler, alongside their mother, Terry Smith-Tyler, reflect on the responsibilities of stewardship, the enduring role of Black churches in civic and cultural life, and the ways faith undergirds long-term preservation work—from grant writing and fundraising to repairing roofs, restoring stained glass, and planning for accessibility. The episode also follows the congregation’s efforts to document its history, challenge erasure in a city that foregrounds Dutch colonial narratives, and navigate the National Register process, culminating in its listing in March 2021. This recognition was followed by support from the National Trust’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund through its Black Churches grant program in 2025. bghpn.org / amezionkingston.org

What has been lost with the erosion of Black community-based maternal care traditions? How might recovering the history of Black midwifery and cultural knowledge inform how we understand reproductive justice today? Scott Ford Houses, Inc. in Jackson, Mississippi—founded in 1995—preserves two 1890s homes in the Farish Street Historic District, built by formerly enslaved Mary Greene Scott and later inhabited by midwife Virginia Ford—one of the few remaining sites tied to Black midwifery in the state. Through the 1960s, Farish Street stood as the largest economically independent Black community in Mississippi, thriving as a vital center of commerce, culture, and community life. Through interpretation and community-rooted programming, Scott Ford Houses carries forward the history and enduring legacy of Mississippi’s Black midwives, framing midwifery as a system of care that sustained Black families for generations. Initiatives like Wombs of Wisdom gather elders, families, birth workers, and community members to share stories, while the Granny Midwives Oral History Project, in collaboration with the Smith Roberston Museum and Jackson State University’s Margaret Walker Center, documents memories across Mississippi’s regional landscapes—including the Jackson Prairie, the Delta, the Black Belt, and the Loess Hills. In this episode, James Curtis Smith, Ada Miller Robinson, Detrice Roberts, and Heather Denae reflect on Black midwifery as a deeply skilled, community-rooted practice—one that sustained Black life despite exclusion from formal medical systems—and consider its lasting relevance amid ongoing maternal health disparities. This episode is dedicated to the life and work of former Scott Ford Houses, Inc. President Dr. James Curtis Smith (1952–2025), who passed on May 3, 2025, shortly after the recording on March 18, 2025. Features interview excerpts from the Granny Midwives Oral History Project.   Bghpn.org / scottfordhouseinc.com / grannymidwives.org

BGHPN continues Season 2 with a special feature on preservationist Althemese Pemberton Barnes, whose work reshaped how Tallahassee, Florida, remembers its past. In 1987, through grassroots organizing and public advocacy, Barnes helped lead the restoration of Greenwood Cemetery, the city’s historic African American burial ground. That effort soon extended to another endangered landmark: the Riley House, built in 1890 as the home of educator and civic leader John Gilmore Riley. When the house faced demolition in the 1990s, Barnes helped mobilize community support to save it. In 1996, the home reopened as the John G. Riley Center & Museum (@johnrileycenter), preserving and sharing the region’s African American history. In 1997, Barnes helped establish the Florida African American Heritage Preservation Network (FAAHPN), connecting Black museums and heritage sites across the state. In 2012, President Barack Obama appointed her to the National Board of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, where she advocated for federal support for preserving African American history nationwide. In this episode, Althemese Pemberton Barnes, Executive Director Emeritus of the Riley House Museum and the FAAHPN, reflects on her journey and shares insight into what it takes to sustain grassroots preservation as a collective and lasting movement. bghpn.org / rileymuseum.org / faahpn.com  

What is lost when people treat dolls as toys rather than artifacts-and what becomes possible when they are interpreted as material culture? The National Black Doll Museum of History & Culture (Attleboro, MA), founded in 2012 by sisters Debra Britt, Felicia Walker, and Tamara Mattinson, began as a family collecting practice and grew into a museum housing more than 10,000 Black dolls. The collection centers on representation, youth self-esteem, and culturally grounded education rooted in Black history. From the legacy of the 1940s Clark doll tests to the 2008 National Black Doll Convention, the traveling Doll-E-Daze Project, African Wrap Doll–making workshops, and a Guinness World Records bid for the largest collection of Black Santas, Executive Director Debra Britt joins us to discuss dolls as historical artifacts, tools of healing and self-definition, and forms of grassroots pedagogy in classrooms and communities. bghpn.org / nbdmhc.org

In 1952, Glendale Townhomes became one of Minneapolis’s first public housing communities—home to Black Americans, East African and Hmong immigrants, refugees, students, and working-class families. Decades later, as city officials sought to privatize or demolish its 184 units, residents organized the Defend Glendale & Public Housing Coalition, transforming a threat of displacement into a movement for dignity, equity, and the right to stay, and redefining preservation itself—not only as saving buildings, but as protecting people, memories, and community life. bghpn.org / dgphc.org

In 1931, nine Black teenagers—later known as the Scottsboro Boys—were falsely accused of raping two white women, igniting one of the most infamous legal injustices in U.S. history and a global fight for civil rights. Founded in 2010 by the late Sheila Washington, the Scottsboro Boys Museum preserves their story and her legacy, including her pivotal role in securing their posthumous exoneration through the 2013 Scottsboro Boys Act. In this episode, Executive Director Dr. Tom Reidy joins us to reflect on Washington’s impact, the museum’s role in healing and reconciliation, and the ongoing work of carrying forward justice unfinished. This episode is dedicated to the work and memory of Scottsboro Boys Museum founder Shelia Washington (1960-2021). bghpn.org l thescottsboromuseum.com

How do faith, dignity, self-respect, and inter generational land stewardship inform both survival and freedom? In celebration of Black August and the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, this episode focuses on the Safe House Black History Museum in Greensboro, AL. In Greensboro, AL, stands a house that once shielded Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from the deadly threats of the Ku Klux Klan on March 21st, 1968, two weeks before his assassination in Memphis, Tennessee. Today, the Safe House Black History Museums honors the everyday foot soldiers of the movement and their sacrifices in the struggle for freedom.  Executive Director Rev. Kervin Jones joins us to discuss preserving the unique culture and history of Alabama's Black belt, honoring the unsung foot soldiers of the movement, confronting the lingering traumas of Jim Crow, and the continuing fight for land retention and freedom. This episode is dedicated to the work and memory of museum founder Theresa Turner Burroughs (1928-2019). bghpn.org l safehousemuseum.org

How has the Penn Center functioned as a hub for Black freedom and cultural preservation for over 160 years? Founded in 1862 as one of the first schools for formerly enslaved people, the Penn Center has long been a cornerstone of Black self-determination on St. Helena Island. Today, it remains a vital force for cultural preservation and land retention in the Gullah Geechee corridor. In this episode, Executive Director Dr. Robert Adams discusses the modern threats and challenges to the center and St. Helena Island, and how the Center is using traditional education and mutual aid to help families protect their ancestral land. bghpn.org l https://www.penncenter.com/

What does it mean to sustain a living culture and a community still fighting for recognition, where even the burial grounds are contested, and challenging development means standing for both the dead and the living? Founder and Executive Director Glenda Simmons-Jenkins and Operations Officer Kathy Carswell join Black Preservation Stories to discuss Gullah/Geechee heritage, land loss, displacement, and the ongoing fight for self-determination. From zoning battles to protecting ancestral burial grounds, they explore what it truly means to preserve not just Black history, but a living future. bghpn.org / gullahcommunitytrust.org

This episode centers on the Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project, based in Jacksonville, Florida. Founded in 2011, the project honors the memory of two million Africans who perished during the transatlantic crossing and the ten million who survived to shape the Americas—through the placement of historical markers and public ceremonies of remembrance across the United States. Founder and Program Director Ann Chinn joins me for a conversation about how her spiritual experiences in Brazil and encounters with African diasporic traditions helped shape her path. We discuss Indigenous-Afrodescendant relationships, the emotional and spiritual labor of stewarding memory across time and place, and her reflections on aging, legacy, and passing the torch in grassroots preservation work. Join us as we explore the question: What does it mean to honor and carry the memory of 12 million souls? bghpn.org / middlepassageproject.com

On this episode of Black Preservation Stories, we focus on Friends of the Tanner House in Philadelphia, who, since December 2021, have rallied to save the childhood home of artist Henry Ossawa Tanner, known for The Banjo Lesson and The Thankful Poor. In 2023, they launched a community-driven visioning process for restoration, programming, and stewardship to transform the house into a vibrant cultural center. Co-coordinator Christopher Rogers joins me to trace their journey—from grassroots coalition to nonprofit, from initial stabilization to plans for exhibitions, workshops, and public events—and explore how centering people over policy can spark intergenerational connections. Join us as we ask: How can preserving a historic home empower an entire community? bghpn.org

On this episode of Black Preservation Stories, we visit the Mound Bayou Museum of African American Culture and History in Mound Bayou, Mississippi—known as the “Jewel of the Delta” and the oldest all-Black municipality in the U.S., founded in 1887 by formerly enslaved visionaries Isaiah T. Montgomery and Benjamin T. Green. The museum's mission is to honor traditions of self-governance, mutual aid, and resilience. Co-founders Darryl and Herman Johnson Jr. discuss Dr. T.R.M. Howard’s civil-rights organizing, Emmett Till’s ties to the town, the 1982 caravan that saved the community, landmark institutions like Taborian Hospital and the Delta Health Center, and acquiring authentic props featured in the films Till and Women of the Movement (2022). Join us as we explore the question: How does Mound Bayou's legacy continue to shape a model of Black self-determination? bghpn.org

This episode of Black Preservation Stories focuses on the developing Bellevue Passage Museum, in Bellevue, Maryland, one of the last historically black maritime communities on the Eastern shore, as developers proposed 14 multi-million dollar waterfront homes that threatened to erase Bellevue. The museum's founders race to protect its working-class and communal legacy. Dr. Dennis De Shields and his daughter Kat De Shields Moon, co-founder and program director, join us to discuss returning to Bellevue in adulthood, confronting zoning battles, leveraging technology, and crafting programs that merge historic preservation with community revitalization. Join us as we explore the question: What does it take to preserve a community on the verge of disappearing?  bghpn.org