By james art 
On Monday, October 28, the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced that Birmingham’s historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church is one of ten recipients of the 2024 National Preservation Award.
Read on to learn more about this award and why Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was chosen.
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church selected for 2024 National Preservation Award
Great news for Birmingham! The National Trust for Historic Preservation—a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization focused on historic preservation—selected Sixteenth Street Baptist Church as one of this year’s National Preservation Awards.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s awards program dates back to 1960 and recognizes distinguished individuals, nonprofit organizations, public agencies and corporations who give new meaning to their communities through skillful and determined conservation work.
“In our ongoing effort to celebrate the power of place, we gather at this PastForward conference to honor some of the most effective leaders in conservation.
Whether preserving and honoring African American cemeteries or repurposing a former newspaper headquarters into a thriving downtown, the efforts of our 2024 honorees have activated significant sites to serve the public good.”
Carol Quillen, President and CEO, National Trust for Historic Preservation
According to a press release, recipients of the 2024 National Conservation Awards include:
- Louise du Pont Crowninshield Award: Thomas K. Butt (Richmond, CA)
- President’s Award: Camille and Duncan Strachan (New Orleans, Louisiana)
- Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Award: Journal Square Block (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
- Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Award: Hinchliffe Stadium (Patterson, New Jersey)
- Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Conservation Award: Barton Academy for Advanced World Studies (Mobile, AL)
- Emerging Leaders Award: Dolly Marshall (Lawnside, NJ)
- NTHP / ACHP Federal Partnerships in Historic Preservation Award: Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument (Chicago, IL and Sumner, Mississippi and Glendora, Mississippi)
- Trustees Award for Organizational Achievement: Historic Columbia (Columbia, South Carolina)
- Trustees’ Honorary Award for Historic Site Stewardship: Sixteenth Street Baptist Church (Birmingham, Alabama)
- John H. Chaffee Trustees Award for Excellence in Public Policy: Former U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (Montpelier, VT)
“We are honored to accept this recognition on behalf of the Birmingham community.
Our sanctuary is a sacred place in every sense and we are proud to carry on its legacy and history.”
Rev. Arthur Price Jr., Pastor, Sixteenth Street Baptist Church
Here’s what the National Trust for Historic Preservation said about Sixteenth Street Baptist Church.
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church has successfully restored its buildings and become a shining example of preservation, cultural revitalization and social activism. During the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the church served as an organizing headquarters, mass meeting place, and rallying point for African-Americans protesting widespread institutionalized racism in Birmingham, Alabama. The 1963 Ku Klux Klan bombing of the church was followed by President Lyndon Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. Today, the church remains committed to serving the community as well as the more than 100,000 tourists who visit annually to explore the redesigned educational spaces and multimedia museum experiences that focus not only on the bombing and its aftermath, but also on the aesthetic significance of the church design by African American architect WA Rayfield.
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