DC Legacy Project Receives Mellon Foundation Grant

Empower DC has been awarded a grant from the Mellon Foundation to support the DC Legacy Project!

This grant will support a full-time director to lead the DC Legacy Project. It will also support programming that advances our mission to transform the Barry Farm Historic Landmark into a commemorative cultural and educational space honoring the history and social justice legacy of the people who formerly lived in the Barry Farm/Hillsdale community.

An initiative created by Empower DC in 2021, the DC Legacy Project is dedicated to preserving and uplifting the history of Black-led struggle for land, housing and justice in DC. This grant will support activities that contribute to the restoration of the Barry Farm historic landmark as a site of public commemoration, education and activation. The new Project Director will work alongside the DCLP Steering Committee and Advisory Committee to engage experts, decision makers and community members in planning and implementation of activities to secure the future of the Barry Farm landmark. This includes promoting the renovation of the site, carrying out public programs to uplift the project’s goals, and securing funding to support the ongoing work of the DC Legacy Project.

This grant is made possible through the Mellon Foundation’s Humanities in Place program, which supports “a fuller, more complex telling of American histories and lived experiences by deepening the range of how and where our stories are told and by bringing a wider variety of voices into the public dialogue.”