Azurest South was designed by Amaza Lee Meredith and built in 1934 in St. Petersburg, Va. (photo courtesy of Hannah Price/Getty)

The Getty Foundation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund announced on July 18 eight buildings will receive crucial funding from the Conserving Black Modernism initiative, a $3.1 million grant program to preserve historic modern architecture by Black architects and designers.

From a dormitory in Mississippi designed by one of the 20th century’s most influential Black architects, to a theater in Washington D.C. named after the first Black actor to play leading roles in Shakespeare plays, the grants affirm the importance of African American architects to the history of modernism by preserving their work. Getty funding will support conservation planning and emergency repairs, expand the skills of the people who care for these buildings and promote broader public understanding of trailblazing Black professionals who contributed to the modern movement.

“With Conserving Black Modernism, we’ve taken actionable steps to save endangered sites that represent African American activism, creativity and resilience,” Getty Foundation Director Joan Weinstein said. “Our partnership with the National Trust has been critical to supporting cultural heritage that embodies Black excellence in modern architecture.”

Established in 2022, Conserving Black Modernism is the Getty-funded portion of a partnership program with African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, the largest preservation campaign to support the longevity of African American sites. The Action Fund also announced funding for a total of 30 sites representing Black history across the U.S., which includes the eight sites supported by Getty funding.

“Through this year’s grant announcement, we are thrilled to support eight historic sites celebrating Black Modernism – an architectural style that deserves to be recognized and celebrated,” said Brent Leggs, executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. “As a nation, we must recognize and honor the profound contributions of these Black architects and designers, whose works serve as community landmarks, sources of cultural pride and often, symbols of justice and equity. We are excited to partner with Getty for the second year of the Conserving Black Modernism program, and we look forward to ensuring that these sites and their stories continue to inspire future generations.”

African American architects and designers played influential roles in the development of modernism in the United States, yet their contributions have been largely overlooked. While a handful of Black architects and designers gained notoriety, most worked in the shadow of larger offices under white architects of record, and thus remain relatively unknown. Getty created the Conserving Black Modernism initiative to address this oversight and help write a more complete story of the modern movement.

The first round of eight grantees for Conserving Black Modernism in 2022 included an award-winning swimming pool and pool house in Wichita, Kansas, a vibrant cultural center in Watts, California, and some of the oldest Black Baptist churches in the country. This second round of grants adds the first building designed by a woman, Amaza Lee Meredith, who was never granted licensure as a registered architect but nevertheless completed important designs throughout Virginia and New York.

Conserving Black Modernism is an extension of the Getty Foundation’s Keeping It Modern initiative, which awarded 77 grants totaling $11.8 million between 2014 and 2020 that supported conservation planning and research for modern buildings and sites from around the world.

The Getty Foundation’s grant program is one of several efforts by Getty to broaden awareness of and preserve Black architectural heritage, including the Getty Conservation Institute’s African American Historic Places Los Angeles initiative and the Getty Research Institute’s joint acquisition of the archive of Paul R. Williams, one of the best-known 20th-century Black architects in the United States.

For information, visit getty.edu/projects/conservingblack-modernism.