Black Preservation Stories

About Black Preservation Stories

Black Preservation Stories uncovers the passion, challenges, and triumphs of the preservationists who safeguard Black history and communities for future generations. We amplify their voices and highlight projects that counter historical erasure and expand the preservation of Black heritage. We demystify the process behind every effort by examining how communities mobilize resources, sustain initiatives, and leverage preservation to strengthen identity, social cohesion, advocacy, and empowerment. Showcasing these grassroots movements, Black Preservation Stories both celebrates the resilience of Black communities and calls for systemic change to ensure equitable representation in America’s collective history.

Publisher

Black Grassroots Heritage Preservation Network

Category

education · history · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 May 2025

Latest episode

6 May 2026

Latest episodes

15 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   6 May 2026

   (S2E6) Five Acres, Still Singing: The James Weldon Johnson Foundation

   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

2. 

   20 Apr 2026

   (S2E5) Stand Up for Ellen: The Robbins House and Black History at the Birthplace of the American Revolution

   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

3. 

   2 Apr 2026

   (S2E4) Where Two or Three Gather: The AME Zion Church of Kingston

   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

4. 

   27 Mar 2026

   (S2E3) Beyond Hospital Walls: Scott Ford Houses Inc. and Preserving Histories of Black Midwifery

   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

5. 

   10 Mar 2026

   (S2E2) Out of the Shadows: Althemese Barnes, the Riley House Museum, and FAAHPN

   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

6. 

   18 Feb 2026

   (S2E1) In Every Shade of Brown: The National Black Doll Museum of History & Culture

   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

7. 

   6 Nov 2025

   (S1E9) We’re Still Here: Defend Glendale & Public Housing Coalition

   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

8. 

   25 Aug 2025

   (S1E8) Trials by Fire: The Scottsboro Boys Musem

   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

9. 

   6 Aug 2025

   (S1E7) We Just Wanted to Be Free: The Safe House Black History Museum

   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

10. 

    1 Aug 2025

    (S1E6) Freedom Was the Curriculum: 163 Years of the Penn Center

    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/

11. 

    1 Aug 2025

    (S1E5) On Sacred Grounds: The Gullah/Geechee Cultural Community Trust

    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

12. 

    16 Jul 2025

    (S1E4) 12 Million Souls: The Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project

    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

13. 

    15 May 2025

    (S1E3) Preservation for the People: Friends of the Tanner House

    Christopher Rogers discusses the Friends of the Tanner House's work to preserve Henry Ossawa Tanner's childhood home and empower the community through restoration and cultural programming in this interview.

14. 

    15 May 2025

    (S1E2) A Promised Land: Mound Bayou Museum of African-American Culture and History

    Museum co-founders Darryl Johnson Jr. and Herman Johnson Jr. explore Mound Bayou's history as the oldest all-Black municipality, highlighting its legacy of self-determination and institutions like Taborian Hospital in this interview.

15. 

    14 May 2025

    (S1E1) Against the Tide: The Bellevue Passage Museum

    Dr. Dennis De Shields and Kat De Shields Moon discuss the race to preserve the historically Black maritime community of Bellevue, Maryland, through the Bellevue Passage Museum in an interview.

Who has been a guest on Black Preservation Stories

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Christopher Rogers
• Darryl Johnson Jr
• Herman Johnson Jr
• Dr Dennis De Shields
• Kat De Shields Moon

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

6 ratings