Two buildings in D.C. receive grants to preserve Black culture

Two D.C. sites are receiving grants to preserve African American culture in the U.S.

Why it matters: The Ira Aldridge Theater at Howard University and the Masjid Muhammad mosque near Shaw each won grants of $150,000 from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund .

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The big picture: Sites across America representing Black history "have been overlooked and undervalued," says Brent Leggs, the group's director.

• The fund announced $3 million in grants on Thursday to help preserve 30 sites nationwide.

The Ira Aldridge Theater. Photo courtesy Visual14 via African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund

Zoom in: Ira Aldridge was a 19th-century Black actor famed for portraying Shakespearean characters. The theater named after him at Howard University was built in 1961 and designed by famed African American architects Hilyard Robinson and Paul R. Williams.

• The grant will fund a "historic structures report and an interpretation plan," according to the fund.

Inside the theater. Photo courtesy Visual14 via African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund

The Masjid Muhammad , also called "The Nation's Mosque," was built in 1960 and designed by David R. Byrd. The modernist site is home to one of America's oldest Black Muslim congregations.

• The mosque will use grant funding for a LEED-certified expansion and other improvements.

The Masjid Muhammad. Photo courtesy EA Crunden via African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund

The fine print: The fund, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation , has awarded 304 grants worth $27 million since 2017.

• "These sites represent American civic identity," Leggs told Axios.