The WeGOJA Foundation in Columbia is expected to release a comprehensive online guide on Feb. 7 to help communities preserve historic African American schools, churches, cemeteries, oral histories and culture across the state.
The South Carolina Preservation Toolkit will provide resources for property owners, project leaders and community members, said Michael Allen, the foundation’s Lowcountry ambassador.
“The opportunity for African American communities across South Carolina to preserve their cultural heritage has been hampered by the lack of funding and access to preservation resources,” he said.
“The release of this preservation tool kit will provide communities and organizations with a wealth of information, contacts and resources that can assist them in honoring and protecting their valuable and rich African American heritage,” Allen added.
The toolkit contains blog posts and articles on topics ranging from preservation leadership to project management to genealogy.
The foundation developed the one-stop-shop resource over the past two years with funding from the Mellon Foundation.
The toolkit will be formally unveiled at 6 p.m. on Feb. 7 at the Brookland Banquet and Conference Center in West Columbia. Malika Pryor, chief learning and engagement officer at the International African American Museum in Charleston, will be the keynote speaker for the program and dinner.
Other WeGOJA projects include the Green Book of South Carolina, a guide to African American historic sites, attractions and Black-owned businesses. It was inspired by the 1936 Green Book, which listed places where Black travelers were welcomed during racial segregation.
Allen and his wife Latanya serve as the foundation’s ambassadors in the Lowcountry. The foundation has ambassadors in its 10 regions around the state.
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