Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the launch of a $3.8 million grant program aimed at supporting and promoting the history and achievements of African Americans and people of African descent across New York State. The New York State African American Heritage Grant Program (NYS AAH) is designed to help nonprofit organizations and local governments document, interpret, and preserve sites and stories significant to the African American experience in the state.
“At a time when crucial elements of public history are under assault from Washington, New York State is stepping up to the stories of all of our residents. This new grant program will help expand the ways we teach, preserve, and celebrate Black history in New York,” Governor Hochul said. “We look forward to working with community partners to foster a greater understanding of Black New Yorkers’ contributions to our state.”
The program is funded through a state appropriation to the Commission on African American History. It aims to educate the public about people and places connected to Black history in New York, focusing on projects that cover the period from 1627—when enslaved Africans first arrived in New Amsterdam—through 1975, during the later years of both the Black Arts Movement and Black Power Movement.
There are two main categories for grants: education projects and capital projects. Up to $2.8 million will be available for educational initiatives such as programming, research, interpretation, or documentation that highlight or amplify African American contributions in New York State; these grants can be awarded up to $150,000 each. Capital grants totaling up to $1 million are available for planning, design, construction, or related work on existing buildings or sites linked to African American heritage; awards may reach up to $200,000 per project. More details about eligibility and application procedures can be found at parks.ny.gov/grants.
The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP), Division for Historic Preservation will administer the program in partnership with both the Commission on African American History and the Department of State.
“In New York, we are committed to telling our whole history and this grant program will provide a new resource for storytellers, history ambassadors and community stewards to share, research and preserve New York’s Black History. We’re proud to partner with the Commission on African American History and the Department of State to encourage and enhance this important work and thank Governor Hochul for her leadership in this and other history initiatives that support New Yorkers now and into the future,” said OPRHP Acting Commissioner Kathy Moser.
New York Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley added: “As New York State continues to celebrate Black History Month by helping highlight the sites and people connected to a broad spectrum of Black history across our nation, New Yorkers can simultaneously celebrate and preserve the contributions the African American diaspora has made in our state. Governor Hochul’s $3.8 million grant will support and promote the history and achievements of the African American community throughout the state and will help assist organizations and local governments to document and preserve places and stories Black New Yorkers have helped to mark and shape within the very fabric of our many current state traditions, economics[,] [and] cultural experience we all embrace to this very day.”
Eligible applicants include registered nonprofit organizations in New York as well as municipalities such as cities, villages, towns or counties committed to preserving or sharing aspects of African American heritage through targeted educational or capital projects. Examples include cultural institutions focused on Black communities, historic sites or museums dedicated either wholly or partly toward documenting these histories; preservation groups; historical societies; Friends Groups; faith-based organizations; burial ground associations; among others.
Prospective applicants are encouraged to attend upcoming informational webinars about how they can participate in this initiative. Interested parties must complete an online pre-application questionnaire before submitting full proposals once eligibility is confirmed. Details regarding webinar dates as well as availability for pre-applications will be shared during spring 2026.
This new grant opportunity builds upon efforts led by The Commission on African American History which was established by Governor Hochul in 2022 with a mission focused on recognizing contributions made by Africans—and their descendants—to both New York State specifically as well as nationally.