Second Graders Rally to Save Historic Structure in Boston After Major Grant Cut

A historic building in Boston's Beacon Hill is facing some funding challenges, but a group of second-graders is rallying for support.

Constructed in 1806, the African Meeting House is the oldest Black church built in America. According to the meeting house's Chief Curator Angela Tate, it was a gathering spot for the 54th Regiment during the Civil War. The building has welcomed several great leaders like Frederick Douglass into its space.

WBZ-TV CBS News Boston reported in April that the African Meeting House received a notice stating its $500,000 federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant was in danger. The museum depends on this grant to operate, and when funding disappeared, the museum had to take a hard look at staffing and programs.

Second-graders from the Advent School, who had been studying changemakers and social movements, decided to do something to help following their class field trip to the African Meeting House.

The students worked together to write letters to their community leaders and advocated at the State House to help raise funds for the museum.

"We've been thinking about how we can use our voices for change. We need to keep this museum as supported as possible so other kids can learn too this incredibly important history," second grade teacher Bridget Parker told CBS News Boston. 

Thanks to the students' efforts, Tate said the African Meeting House has raised $100,000 from community donations. 

"The fact that these second graders are living this legacy of this space is amazing and inspirational," she said.