SCHUMER ANNOUNCES $100K IN FED FUNDING FOR BUFFALO’S MICHIGAN STREET AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE CORRIDOR TO INCREASE STAFF & EXPAND ACCESS TO HISTORIC COLLECTIONS AT FIVE LOCATIONS – PRESERVING WESTERN NY’S CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY & SPURRING ECONOMIC GROWTH IN ARTS & CULTURE SECTOR
The Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Has Been At The Heart Of The African American Community For Nearly 200 Years
Schumer: Buffalo’s Michigan St. Corridor Is A National Treasure, And This Funding Will Help Preserve Its Legacy For Generations To Come
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Commission has received $100,000 in federal funding as part of a Museum Grant for African American History and Culture (AAHC) from the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ (IMLS) to increase staff capacity and access to collections for five historic locations across the Corridor. Schumer said the funding will allow the Commission to hire additional staff, ensure the museum’s offerings are accessible across the community, and create new exhibition content and programming, creating new jobs and boosting investment in Western NY’s arts and culture sectors.
Schumer said, specifically, the funding will support the Michigan Street Baptist Church, Nash House Museum, Historic Colored Musicians Club and Jazz Museum, WUFO 1080 AM Black Radio History Collective, and Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor.
“This $100,000 in federal funding for the Michigan Street Heritage Corridor – from the Baptist Church to the Jazz Museum – will preserve Western NY’s vibrant history, while ensuring a thriving arts and culture sector for years to come,” said Senator Schumer. “By investing in five locations along the Michigan Street Heritage Corridor and increasing access to vital collections, we are ensuring locals and tourists can enjoy these historical landmarks while creating jobs for Western New Yorkers. I am proud to deliver these federal dollars to breathe new life into the Corridor and spur economic growth for Buffalo’s East Side and across the region.”
"On behalf of the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Board of Directors, those residents living in those historic neighborhoods that connect to the Corridor, and our four Founding Cultural Anchors, I would like to offer our sincere thanks to the IMLS and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer for granting us with a Museum Grant for African American History and Culture,” said Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Executive Director, Terry Alford.
Schumer has a long history of boosting investment in the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Commission. In 2022, Schumer secured $800,000 for Michigan Street in Buffalo as a part of the omnibus spending package for Fiscal Year 2022 to renovate and revitalize the Michigan Street Baptist Church and to develop a strategic plan to bolster investment, entrepreneurship, redevelopment, and job creation along the Corridor and across Buffalo’s African American community. In 2023, Michigan Street was awarded $100,000 by IMLS to create a Visitor Experience Plan that would expand public programs for the community.
###
