Fort Monroe Foundation Awarded $150,000 National Grant to Strengthen Stewardship of African American History
African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund investment supports the Foundation's full-time executive leadership
Fort Monroe, VA — The Fort Monroe Foundation has received a $150,000 grant from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, strengthening its ability to preserve, interpret and share Fort Monroe's nationally significant African American history.
"Historic places help us understand who we are as a nation," said Brent Leggs, President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and founder of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. "These grants are investments in communities that are preserving the full American story—from the struggles for freedom and civil rights to the achievements of Black educators, architects, entrepreneurs, faith leaders, and culture bearers. By supporting local stewards and communities, we are helping ensure these stories endure for generations to come."
Fort Monroe is one of 22 organizations and historic sites receiving support through the Action Fund's 2026 National Grant Program. Together with five projects supported through the Conserving Black Modernism initiative, the Action Fund awarded $3 million to 27 historic sites representing Black American resilience, innovation, joy and activism.
The grant will support the Foundation's full-time Executive Director position, expanding the organization's capacity to attract philanthropic investment, build strategic partnerships and advance preservation, interpretation and public engagement initiatives at Fort Monroe.
"This grant is an investment not only in the Fort Monroe Foundation, but also in our responsibility to steward a place where the American story of freedom, enslavement, resistance and resilience can be encountered in the landscape," said Aazia "Aaz" Mrozinski, Executive Director of the Fort Monroe Foundation. "It gives the Foundation greater capacity to build the partnerships and resources needed to protect this history and connect it meaningfully to future generations."
Historians recognize Point Comfort, present-day Fort Monroe, as the site of the 1619 landing of the first documented captive Africans brought to English North America. More than two centuries later, Fort Monroe became the site of the 1861 Contraband Decision, when three enslaved men—Frank Baker, James Townsend and Sheppard Mallory—sought freedom at the Union-held fort and were not returned to their enslaver. Their actions helped transform Fort Monroe into a place of refuge for thousands of freedom seekers during the Civil War.
"Fort Monroe holds stories that are deeply personal to descendants and essential to the nation," said Vincent Tucker, Chair of the Fort Monroe Foundation Board of Directors. "This support helps ensure those stories are preserved with care, told with integrity and carried forward."
"When the National Trust for Historic Places believes enough in a landscape and a story to invest in the capacity of the people and organizations charged with caring for these places, that says a great deal," said Scott Martin, Chief Executive Officer of the Fort Monroe Authority. "As we elevate Fort Monroe's service to the nation as an iconic landscape, one that informs and shapes our understanding of what it means to be an American, partnerships like this will be increasingly essential. We thank the Trust for their direct and forceful endorsement of this place and its purpose."
With more than $200 million raised, the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is the nation's largest resource dedicated to preserving African American historic places. Its National Grant Program supports capital projects, organizational capacity building, project planning, programming and interpretation.
To learn more about the 2026 grant recipients, visit https://savingsplaces.org/stories/actionfund2026