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MCAAHC Mission
The Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture is committed to discovering, documenting, preserving, collecting, and promoting Maryland’s African American heritage.
The Commission also provides technical assistance to institutions and groups with similar objectives. Through the accomplishment of this mission, the MCAAHC seeks to educate Maryland citizens and visitors to our state about the significance of the African American experience in Maryland.
MCAAHC OCTOBER 2025 PUBLIC MEETING
MONDAY, OCTOBER 6
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE
Allen J. Singleton Multi-Purpose Room in Student Services Center
11868 Academic Oval, Princess Anne, MD 21853
A live performance of the Negro National Anthem by Jayla Elise
Speakers: Tranice Watts & Keyanna Bowen
Broadcast for the first time on Black radio stations on the Delmarva Peninsula: DORiS (NPR Mid-Shore), UMES on-campus station WESM 91.3, and Live 97.5 FM
The Pendulum Has Swung!
The Fall 2025 Edition is Now Out
Check out the Fall 2025 edition of The Pendulum, the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture’s quarterly newsletter. This issue’s featured stories include:
- The history of The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters by Commissioner Walter Gill
- A Maryland Emancipation Day Reflection for November 1st by Tahja Cropper
- Leslie Rose asks the stirring question, Can Art Save Us?
- Spotlight on AAHPP Grantee, Seafarer’s Yacht Club
- “We Are Not a DEI Program” – A statement from the MCAAHC
- A moving Letter from the Chair and voices from our community in Letters to the Pendulum
- Commissioner spotlights, community events, committee updates & more!
The Pendulum is edited by the Historical Search, Preservation, and Publications Committee of the MCAAHC.
We are not a DEI Program: We are Defenders of Freedom and Democracy | A Call to Action
Today, the hunt is on to root out “DEI” and so-called “divisive ideologies” from classrooms, libraries, museums, and public institutions across the country. The Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (MCAAHC) stands as a sentinel for preserving and advancing African American history and culture in Maryland. Read the call to action in the current edition of The Pendulum to learn more and join us in ensuring that the promise of American democracy is not abandoned, but fulfilled.
NEW MCAAHC LEADERSHIP FOR FY26 ANNOUNCED
The Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (MCAAHC) is pleased to announce the newly elected leadership of Chair Kali-Ahset Amen, PhD and Vice Chair Jaelon T. Moaney effective July 1, 2025.
The African American Heritage Preservation Program (AAHPP) Grant Cycle FY26
The FY2026 African American Heritage Preservation Program (AAHPP) Grant application cycle has closed as of June 30, 2025. Stay tuned for the announcement of grant awardees in December 2024/January 2025!
Administered as a partnership between Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) and the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (MCAAHC), AAHPP provides $5 million in grants to assist with the preservation of buildings, sites, or communities of historical and cultural importance to the African American experience in Maryland. 
SACRED SPACES EXHIBITION AT THE BANNEKER-DOUGLASS-TUBMAN MUSEUM
As seen in Ebony.com, NYTimes.com, The Washington Post, What’s Up? Annapolis Magazine and more!
Experience “Sacred Spaces,” an art and augmented reality exhibition featuring artwork by artist Jabari Jefferson, that explores the spiritual and cultural contributions of the African American community.
This new body of work by Jefferson is a powerful meditation on history, memory, and the continuing power of Black cultural spaces.
MCAAHC Statewide Book Drive 2024-2025
Now in its second year, MCAAHC invites Marylanders’ contributions to a statewide book drive. Donations of unused books in alignment with the MCAAHC mission are welcomed at sites across the state now through June 2025.
The MCAAHC serves to be a voice and venue against the marginalization, false narratives, book banning, and other systemic practices that suppress, subordinate, and misrepresent the history of Maryland African Americans.
Engaging with Descendant African American Communities
Learn about upcoming initiatives of the Ancestral Remains Cemetery Research & Preservation Committee at this first meeting. Commissioners of the MCAAHC, MHT, and staff from the MAC Lab are collaborating on a plan consistent with state regulations that will permit these remains of African Descent to be laid to rest.
MCAAHC’s Ancestral Remains, Cemetery Research, and Preservation Committee and Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) have launched a project aimed at identifying lineal descendants or communities that are culturally affiliated with the remains of at least 15 individuals of African or possible African descent that are currently housed at the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory (MAC Lab) in Calvert County, Maryland.
<<< Map of cemeteries at which remains were found | Courtesy of MHT
We are looking to actively engage with descendant communities in an ethical and inclusive manner and will result in a plan for the respectful reburial of the remains.
Maryland’s Year of Civil Rights 2024
The Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (MCAAHC) and Banneker-Douglass Museum are declaring 2024 as “Maryland’s Year of Civil Rights” with exciting and relevant programming, exhibitions, and partnerships.
With 2024 being the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act (1964), original programming and participation in platforms with community partners will commemorate the milestone year of this groundbreaking legislation. From 1964’s Bell vs. Maryland to 1963’s Treaty of Cambridge, Maryland has been the backdrop to civil rights legislation throughout the years. Additionally, Maryland has been the home to civil rights icons who will forever have a place in the history of this nation, such as Verda Freeman Welcome, Thurgood Marshall, and Gloria Richardson.
Check out the launch event of the initiative featuring guest speakers Gov. Wes Moore, First Lady Dawn Moore, MCAAHC Chair Dr. Edwin T. Johnson, and Dr. Vedet Coleman-Robinson above.
Upcoming Meetings
Details and agenda to be announced soon!
FY26 Public Meeting Schedule
- August 4, 2025
- October 6, 2025
- December 1, 2025
- February 2, 2026
- April 6, 2026
- June 1, 2026
Click here for Public Meeting agendas, minutes, and video recordings.