Underground Railroad sites and projects awarded $500,000 in grants

(Special to The Dallas Examiner) – WASHINGTON – The National Park Service has awarded $500,000 in grants to a variety of research, preservation and outreach activities related to the Underground Railroad and freedom seekers. In collaboration with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the grants were distributed through a competitive process to 20 current or prospective NPS Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program members in 14 states.“These grants are vital to uncovering and sharing previously untold stories related to our country’s history,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. “They help expand public awareness, connect us with our shared heritage, and provide a more complete and inclusive account of our evolution as a country.”The funds will support projects that enhance the preservation or interpretation of sites with verifiable connections to stories of enslaved persons seeking freedom, including the Underground Railroad, one of the nation’s earliest Civil Rights Movements. The projects include preservation of Underground Railroad sites, development of Underground Railroad curriculum, collection of information about freedom seekers who joined the Union Army, and research on self-emancipation in Sacramento during the California Gold Rush.In Texas, $2,320 was provided for a new wayside exhibit and outreach materials...