How the National Trust Is Investing in HBCUs to Train the Next Generation of Preservation Leaders
“Preservation is a revolutionary act.”
These are the words from Dr. Kwesi Daniels, head of the architecture department at Tuskegee University, that open the new documentary about the work of the HOPE Crew (hands-on preservation experience), a fellowship program from the National Trust for Historic Preservation in partnership with the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.
The documentary covers the 2022 experience of five students studying at three historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs): Florida A&M University, Prairie View A&M University, and Tuskegee University, as they embarked on paid, six-month digital documentation fellowships to support a variety of African American historical landmarks including burial grounds, a former schoolhouse and the 19th-century home that is the last visible evidence of a once thriving African American community in Tallahassee, Florida.
Although the HOPE Crew will celebrate its 10-year anniversary next year, as with most industries, the program changed its focus from fellowships in traditional trades labor like masonry, repointing and carpentry to digital fellowships during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The digital documentation fellowship started in 2021 because we needed to find a way for students to continue to work together using their architectural skills while we were all remote,” said Milan Jordan, director of the HOPE Crew. “Our first cohort (a beta cohort in 2021) of three architecture students used point cloud data to create drawings and a board submission for the Leicester B. Holland Prize on behalf of the Langston Hughes House in Harlem. Of the cohort in the documentary, one of our design media students created a brand book for Olivewood Cemetery.”
One particularly poignant chapter in the documentary is that of Jordan Lamar, a fourth-year architecture student at Tuskegee University (pictured in the archival and present-day imagery below). Always a fan of building design and working with his hands, it wasn’t until later in his studies, particularly when creating the historical narrative of the Armstrong School, that he developed an interest in historic preservation and the storytelling behind each space. He now plans to earn a Masters in Historic Preservation either at The University of Texas in Austin or the University of Pennsylvania.
In the documentary he strolls the grounds of the Armstrong historic site with Dorothy Mabson Woody, the site representative, detailing how his project will support her work to save the endangered schoolhouse. “The Hope Fellowship impacted me by opening my mind and helping me find my niche within my passion,” said Lamar. “I’m passionate about designs and problem solving, but I’m also very passionate about helping others reach their goals no matter how big or small. The work that we’ve done so far with the Armstrong School might seem small to me, but I can see and feel how big of an impact it has on Ms. Woody and the community.”
According to Dr. Daniels, Jordan Lamar’s university mentor for the project, the Armstrong School is one of the oldest remaining rural school buildings that were erected during the era of educator and first president of Tuskegee University, Booker T. Washington.
“[This schoolhouse] is a testament to the seriousness that we’ve always had as a people as it relates to education,” said Daniels. “To have a student more than 120 years later assisting in the restoration of the schoolhouse, conducting historical research on it, looking at how we can use advanced technology like laser scanning and photogrammetry, and to support the work that we’re doing is really amazing.”
In addition to supporting the work of the HOPE Crew, the African American Cultural Heritage Fund has awarded six HBCUs: Morris College, Talladega College, Dillard University, Tuskegee University, Hampton University and Jarvis Christian University with nearly $700,000 to preserve and protect their cultural assets through their HBCU Cultural Heritage Stewardship Initiative. In an age where the study of African American history seems constantly under threat and political attack, supporting HBCUs, the HOPE Crew, and training a new generation of preservationists is a way to ensure that the full story of American history continues to be told.
Click here to watch the HOPE Crew documentary, or watch it below.
Are you an architecture or design professional? The HOPE Crew is always looking for industry professionals to share their expertise with their cohorts of smart, curious and ambitious future design leaders. To apply to be a mentor with the program, fill out this form.
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