Nov 18

Nov 18 State Funding For Maryland Nonprofits Aids Mt. Nebo

Upper Marlboro Church Receives Funding to Rehabilitate Its Building

Through the Friends of Historic Mt. Nebo Preservation Corporation, Mt. Nebo AME Church in Upper Marlboro is one of 13 organizations across the state who received funding to rehabilitate the church’s building. The total grant fund of $1 million in African American Heritage Preservation Grants aimed to help restore cultural and historical sites in the state of Maryland for FY22.

As recipients, Mt. Nebo was granted $67,000. The church is the only Prince George’s County recipient of a African American Heritage Preservation Grant under Governor Larry Hogan’s Administration.

Historically, preservation grants promote the acquisition, restoration, and rehabilitation of historic properties in Maryland. The African American Heritage Preservation Grants was created by The Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (MCAAHC) and the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) to assist thirteen Maryland nonprofit groups with gifts ranging from $48,000 to $100,000.

“Our administration is pleased to provide this funding and support the preservation of buildings, sites, and communities of historical importance to the African American experience in Maryland,” said Hogan. “The partnership between MHT and MCAAHC is critical to promoting African American heritage all across Maryland.”

Mt. Nebo African Methodist Episcopal Church located at 17214 Queen Anne Road, is a rare survival of a rural AME church in the county. The original church was built in 1877 for use as an African Methodist Church and burial ground for African Americans. A school house was built in 1875. Both the church and the school house became a focal point for the black community between Mitchellville and Upper Marlboro. In 1925, a new church replaced the original one. The cemetery is located just north of the church. The current project will augment and continue the work that has already begun in order to rehabilitate the building for use as a community center.

Online applications for FY23 AAHPP funding will be available in spring 2022 on MHT’s website: (http://mht.maryland.gov/grants_africanamerican.shtml).

For more information about the grant program, contact Barbara Fisher (MHT) at barbara.fisher@maryland.gov or (410) 697-9574, or MCAAHC Director Chanel Compton at chanel.compton@maryland.gov or (410) 216-6180. For information about organizations receiving grants, please contact the institutions directly.