Today, the SPLC announced that we have chosen five Black-led institutions that serve the Deep South to be awarded one-time grants of $50,000 in support of their work to continue telling the rich history of Black resilience and excellence. This project was initiated in response to persistent under-funding of Black history institutions, worsened by the negative impacts of COVID-19 on attendance, revenue and – importantly – community-building. The five grant winners were selected in consultation with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including Ala. Rep. Terri Sewell, Fla. Rep. Val Demings, Ga. Sen. Raphael Warnock, Miss. Rep. Bennie Thompson and S.C. Rep. James E. Clyburn.

“The five institutions we are awarding grants today are centers of truth in an age of misinformation. They are xxxxxxs against the anti-democratic forces in this country and sources of inspiration, education and reflection for everyone who visits them,” said Tafeni English, director of the Civil Rights Memorial Center.

“We know the institutions we are honoring today will put the grants to excellent use to hire and equip staff, improve programming and marketing and keep physical artifacts and monuments representing the powerful stories of the Civil Rights Movement preserved, contextualized and shared.”

The recipient institutions are:

Mothers of Gynecology monument, Montgomery, Ala.

Pieced together from a mixture of recycled copper, brass and bronze metals and standing nearly 15 feet tall, a new monument in Montgomery, Ala., honors the legacy of enslaved women Anarcha, Betsey and Lucy, whose suffering was used to advance modern medicine.

Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts, Eatonville, Fla.

For 26 years, the museum has provided gallery space for artists of African descent, right in the heart of the community. The museum is the only place within 400 miles that showcases the work of artists from the continent or the Diaspora. This dream was started by Eatonville Community, Inc. who gave a voice to these artists.

Thiokol Memorial Project, Inc., Woodbine, Ga.

Thiokol Memorial Project preserves the history of the Thiokol Era and the February 3, 1971, disaster that occurred in Woodbine, Ga. The industrial disaster at the Thiokol Chemical Plant resulted in 29 people losing their lives and another 50-100 injuries.

The Fannie Lou Hamer Civil Rights Museum, Belzoni, Miss.

A Civil Rights Museum honoring Mississippi's "She-Ro" of the civil rights movement, Fannie Lou Hamer. The Civil Rights Museum features the Old Storyteller, who tells stories that has been passed down from generation to generation, centered around slavery, the Civil War, sharecropping and the blues, gospel and civil rights movement. Children and adults alike enjoy the stories told by the Old Storyteller, who always has a sense of humor, education and entertainment.

Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum, Orangeburg, S.C.

Recommended by Rep. James E. Clyburn, who said, “The one thing that was constant with all our activities in the early 1960s was Cecil Williams and his cameras. He recorded almost everything that we were doing regarding the civil rights activities not just in Orangeburg but in Rock Hill, where the Freedom Riders stopped and John Lewis was first attacked physically, in Sumter, in Columbia. Wherever there was something taking place there was Cecil Williams taking pictures. Today is in appreciation for Cecil Williams and all of his efforts to record what was going on in pictures.”

Thank you for joining us in supporting these museums and their incredible missions.