HumanitiesAR opens grant application process

LITTLE ROCK –  HumanitiesAR, an Arkansas nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for Humanities, announces the first Letter of Intent submission period for the Black History and Culture Grant from Feb. 15 – March 3, 2024. The grant funds nonprofit organizations that wish to research, document, preserve and interpret Arkansas’ African American history and culture. The grant is part of HumanitiesAR’s broader mission to enrich and advance the education of the humanities in Arkansas.

“There are many elements of Black history that have not yet been recorded, especially locally,” HumanitiesAR Executive Director Jama Best said. “That’s why this grant is so vital, as it allows nonprofits to preserve the rich cultural heritage and history of the Black community. This grant has allowed Arkansans to develop and share a deeper understanding of Black history, and we encourage those eligible to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Applicants must submit a letter of intent from Feb. 15 – March 31, with the full application due on May 15, 2024. The grant awards a maximum of $5,000 and cost share is not required. Eligible projects for the grant include oral histories, cataloging, documenting, archiving and digitizing Arkansas’ African American historical collections. Other projects eligible allow for research and programming on topics such as Civil Rights, The Great Migration, African American history and community history.

Previous recipients of the grant include the Preservation of African American Cemeteries, which conducted Project 365, a research project to document the history of historic African American communities in Arkansas including Hensley, Woodson, Wrightsville, Higgens, College Station and Sweet Home.

A second application period will open in 2024 for the Black History and Culture Grant, with letters of intent accepted from Aug. 15 – Sept. 30  and the whole application due Nov. 15, 2024. To learn more about HumanitiesAR or the Black History and Culture Grant, visit arkansashumanitiescouncil.org.