In May, the National Trust for Historic Preservation unveils its much-anticipated annual list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. The eleven sites on the 2022 list represent a powerful illustration of expansive American history. The wide range of cultures, histories, and geographies highlighted through the 2022 list help illustrate how telling the full story can help people see themselves reflected in our country’s multi-layered past.
“This year’s list illuminates elemental themes that have framed the story of our nation—the quest for individual freedom, the demand for fairness and equal justice, the insistence to have a voice in society, and the ongoing struggles to make these dreams a reality,” said Paul Edmondson, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “These places give us a better understanding of our nation’s complex history and allow us to explore the ideas that continue to challenge us today. And, with each year’s list, we are making greater strides in our effort to expand the work of preservation to tell the full American story.”
Annually, this list spotlights important examples of our nation’s architectural and cultural heritage that, without applied action and immediate advocacy, will be lost or face irreparable damage. Due to the efforts of the National Trust and the passionate work of our members, donors, concerned citizens, nonprofit and for-profit partners, government agencies, and others, placement on the 11 Most list is often the saving grace for important cultural landmarks. In the 35-year history of the America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places list, less than five percent of the more than 300 places spotlighted have been lost.
“These eleven endangered places are facing critical turning points, and if they are lost, we will have lost an important part of our collective story,” said Katherine Malone-France, the National Trust’s Chief Preservation Officer. “By including them on this list, we have an opportunity to recognize their significance and fight to protect them, rather than watching them disappear from our national landscape and fade into memory. Through this year’s list, we help broaden American identity through places that tell the profoundly important stories, but many of them have been historically overlooked or deliberately obscured. Once remembered and recognized, they enrich and deepen our understanding of ourselves as individuals and as an American people.”
photo by Ron Cogswell/Wikimedia Commons
Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma, Alabama, played a pivotal role in the Selma to Montgomery marches that were instrumental to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Built in 1908 by formerly enslaved Black builder A.J. Farley, Brown Chapel provided sanctuary to civil rights activists and church members as they convened to plan protests against African American voter disenfranchisement. It also served as the starting point on March 7, 1965, when marchers—including the late Congressman John Lewis—attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, only to be beaten back by Alabama State Troopers in an event historically known as “Bloody Sunday.”
The recent discovery of severe termite damage has forced Brown Chapel to close its doors to its active congregation and visiting the public for the foreseeable future. This closure impacts the church’s ability to serve its community. It leaves this National Historic Landmark and internationally known civil rights pilgrimage site unable to serve as a community resource, welcome guests, or host national events.
Although Brown Chapel has received funding and support from the National Park Service, the church needs additional funding to repair and re-open the building, which typically hosts thousands of visitors per year and offers weekly worship services and outreach programs such as community food distribution and COVID-19 support. Therefore, the historic Brown Chapel AME Church Preservation Society, Incorporated, is seeking partnerships, resources, and support to ensure this sacred site can continue to serve its community and the nation as a beacon of hope for change and equality.
