The Museum of African American History in Boston and on Nantucket received a $2.5 million grant from the philanthropic foundation the Lilly Endowment.
CAI's Gilda Geist spoke with the museum's president and CEO Dr. Noelle Trent to learn more about how the money will be used to study and educate the public on the history of Black Christianity on Nantucket and beyond.
Gilda Geist Tell me a little bit about this grant, where it comes from, and what it's going to be funding.
Noelle Trent This grant comes from the Lilly Endowment. This is part of a special grant program that they have specifically for museums to explore religious freedom in a variety of different ways, and one of those ways is examining how different communities worshiped and how can we help the American public not only understand that, but how those communities also define freedom of religion for themselves. What we're really looking at are the trends of what was happening in America at the time [18th and 19th centuries], particularly with African Americans and Black Christian thought, specifically as it is something different than what we see within white Christianity. There's a lot happening in the times that we're examining, particularly the First and Second Great Awakenings that were tremendously impactful in the Cape and Islands region especially. And so, part of what we're doing is examining all of that. There are so many different hypotheses that we have around these ideas, but really the research is going to bear this out. What we've positioned is that when we look at authors and scholars like James Cone and others who've defined what is known as Black liberation theology, we believe that what is happening in these African meeting houses are the antecedent to a modern 20th century notion of Black Christian theology. It's what you would see with Martin Luther King and Ralph Abernathy, like how they defined themselves in their work and how they identified and chose to operate as ministers and pastors of churches. We believe that will be borne out through this research. What we are looking at is the evolution of thought and of ideas about religion, about their freedom to practice, that was very unique to the Black experience and is reflected in their activities and their formation of churches, communities, and even how it impacts their activism in the quest to abolish slavery in this country.
GG How might visitors to the Nantucket location of the museum see this grant in action over the next few years?
NT When we submitted this grant, we submitted deliberately with the intention of exploring the history of the African Meeting House of Boston, as well as the African Meeting House of Nantucket. We have the buildings, and there is some information that we know, but we're not really clear on who the congregations were at any given time, the way in which they worshiped, their liturgy, and how that evolved. And knowing that these places were more than just churches—that they were community centers, they were gathering spaces, they were a third space for the Black community in both locations—we're really interested in exploring that. And I think that what's exciting for our Nantucket audiences is that we're going to get some clear answers. And I think some of it will confirm some of the things that we've been talking about for generations, and then hopefully we'll also introduce some new information that will help us better understand what was happening in the New Guinea neighborhood. This is an opportunity for us to create a much richer history around the Black experience in Nantucket, the Black history of Nantucket. That's incredibly important. And we know that these communities also influence education. And so, we're really just opening up a new box, if you will, that is made possible by the Lilly Endowment. But here's the other part of this work, is that we're also working to sustain this institution so that we can continue to find new ideas, new opportunities to build a richer tapestry of the Black experience in England, and more specifically, the Black experience in Nantucket. I fundamentally believe that this is a powerful and significant history, and that until we fully know this history, we can't truly appreciate the Black experience in the Americas. And so, we hope people are excited about this grant. We're very excited, but we also hope that they will join us as we continue to do the work and explore and preserve these stories, because it shows just how special this region is.
GG WBUR reported last month that the museum had to cut three major positions. Was that due to funding issues? And will the Lilly Endowment grant lead to more hires?
NT Like many other institutions, we had to look at what was before us, how dollars have been committed, and what we needed to do in the future. And so, we had to make a very difficult decision around the museum operations. With this grant, it does provide us the opportunity to develop distinct programming and opportunities and support staffing around that. However, that is a very specific gift. It does not necessarily impact the overall operations. And so, as the museum is moving forward, this grant is a tremendous statement of faith in the organization, and it's a statement of our commitment to continue to do the work. However, like many other institutions and nonprofits across the region and even across the country, we are still working to make sure that we sustain our general operating dollars as well.
GG The museum had won $500,000 in grant funding from a federal agency a couple of years ago. The grant was canceled and then uncanceled, so to speak, after a court battle. So, we know the Trump administration is hostile toward attempts to share facts and information about the history of Black Americans. How do you see a grant like this helping or being sort of part of the overall struggles that your museum and others like it have been facing under the Trump administration?
NT The reality is that the Museum of African American History for Boston and Nantucket is facing headwinds like many Black institutions across the country. There is opposition to the stories that we share. There's opposition to the history that we interpret. There's opposition to the continued preservation and collection of those items that reflect communities that have been part of this country even before its inception and its concept as a country. When there are organizations and funds like the Lilly Endowment that endorse our work, what it does is help affirm the value that we know inherently that we have within ourselves. It is never a foregone conclusion that this history will exist for a next generation, and it needs to be actively preserved. In this case, not only do we have that investment, but this is an investment to interpreting a history that has not been fully explored in New England. When we look at Black religious history in this country, particularly Black Christianity in this country, it is a predominantly southern phenomenon. We have not given much analysis to much beyond Philadelphia when we look north of the Mason-Dixon Line. So, this is an incredible opportunity to say that, yes, there is a compelling Black Christian dialogue that is happening here in New England, and it is part of this larger national dialogue about religious freedom, and it's also part of this national dialogue on how Black people see themselves. How did they operate spiritually in very, very difficult times? And that is relevant to this moment. We hope that we can share that. This is not an opportunity to proselytize, but it is an opportunity to teach, and that is what we're going to do with this work.
