National Park Service grants $749,000-plus grant to Central High to preserve African American Civil Rights history

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A federal grant to the Little Rock School Board for Central High School preservation targets the school’s history as an American Civil Rights landmark.

The National Park Service said in a Tuesday release that the school board had been granted $749,975 for the preservation of Central.

The Park Service grant funding came from its Historic Preservation Fund to preserve African American Civil Rights history . Officials said the HPF uses revenue from federal oil and gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf to assist with a broad range of preservation projects without using tax dollars.

National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said the funding makes a difference in American history.

“Since 2016, the National Park Service has provided over $126 million through this program to document, preserve, and recognize the places and stories associated with the struggle for civil rights of African Americans,” Sams said.

This grant was the only one in Arkansas of the $23.4 million grant announcement from the Park Service for 39 projects in 16 states to preserve African American Civil Rights history.

The full range of grant packages awarded Tuesday is on the National Park Service website .

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