Empowering
African American
Historic Preservation
The Mission
Through the development of a Preservation Toolkit, the WeGOJA Foundation will help a growing number of organizations meet their preservation goals for African American history. The preservation toolkit will be a one-stop shop of interactive resources and information for property owners, practitioners, and preservationists, especially newly enthusiastic local activists.
Preservation Topics
I Want To Learn About
Go deeper and gain valuable knowledge, tools and insights around preservation topics that interest you.
Your first and best stop to learn about African American preservation and how to move your effort forward.
Churches
One of the bedrocks of African American cultural life and heritage. Discover stories, profiles and practical tips to preserve and protect African American churches.
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Genealogy
Learn how to explore and uncover your family’s history and story with tools, tips and approaches that will help you start your genealogical journey.
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Museums / Artifacts
Explore the rich cultural heritage provided through museums and historic artifacts. Gain valuable knowledge and direction in your journey to preserve your family or community’s artifacts.
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Neighborhoods
African American neighborhoods and communities are the cultural heartbeat of our way of life. Learn about settlement sites, development, gentrification and how you can preserve and protect your historic neighborhood or community.
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Oral Histories
Explore the most common form of preservation. Hear stories and learn how to protect and preserve your family’s oral history.
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Public Buildings
Preserving historically significant african american buildings is complex and nuanced. Gain insights, direction and inspiration through this topic.
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Schools
Start your journey to explore and celebrate african american through preservation of Rosenwald schools, Equalization schools and HBCUs
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How To Use
We wanted to make the Toolkit useful and easy to navigate for both beginners and seasoned preservationists. That’s why we developed two easy ways to explore the resources and tools.
Search by preservation topic
Do you know what you want to preserve, but not sure where to start? Are you a beginner preservationist? Click on a specific preservation topic to learn more. Each of these pages curates all of the resources we have on that topic in one easy place to access.
Search by specific Tool
Are you already familiar with preservation and know what you need help with? Click on specific Tool icons to go straight to the Tool you need quickly.
Community & Connections
“Netiwoki” is Yoruba for network. Join SC’s fastest growing community of preservationists, activists and advocates to make connections and strengthen the movement.
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Grants & Funding
May your harvest be bountiful. Every project needs resources to grow. Explore our database of over X organizations that provide financial assistance for preservation efforts.
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Help With Advocacy
Help us protect, preserve and celebrate African American history by advocating today. Connect with your federal, state and local officials.
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How To Guides
Helpful guides to help educate aspiring preservationists walk through the process of preserving or exploring a particular facet of african american cultural/heritage preservation.
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Preservation Projects
Explore the hard work of preservationists across the state to protect, celebrate and preserve African American culture and history with our interactive map.
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Rules, Regulations & Requirements
Knowledge is power! Explore the federal , state and local regulations that govern historic preservation so you can navigate your way to success.
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Preservation Experts
Build your team and tap into our network of preservation experts from across the state covering a range of disciplines and projects.
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News & Notes
Restoring the Union Community Hospital for the Present and Future
Restoring a 16,000 sq ft historic structure takes partners, paitence, and funding. The Union Community Hospital in Union, SC is one of the only remaining Black hospitals in SC that is still standing.
Cynthia Gibbs: A Passionate Advocate for Taveau Church Restoration
Discover more about how the Taveau Legacy Committee, led by advocate Cynthia Gibbs, is working with partners to restore Taveau Church in Cordesville, SC.
Demystifying Revolving Funds
What is a revolving fund project? How can this funding and restoration model help my preservation project? Find out more in this article!
What is historic preservation?
Historic preservation is a movement and field of study, as well as a specific set of processes, which identifies, protects, and preserves historic resources. Historic resources most commonly include historically significant buildings and sites, but can also include landscapes, no longer existing spaces, artifacts, cemeteries, entire neighborhoods or towns, and more.