Groups offer grant for Civil War trips

“Let Freedom Ring” travel grants are being offered to help school groups visit either of two museums dedicated to telling how the Civil War affected blacks in Arkansas, the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission announced.

The grants can be up to $500 and are available through a cooperative effort of the Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.

The Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission is focusing this year on commemorating Arkansas’ ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which formally abolished slavery.

The grant will be to help with expenses for school groups to visit either the “Freedom! Oh, Freedom!” exhibit at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock or Freedom Park and the Delta Cul- tural Center in Helena-West Helena.

Both sites provide “interpretation of the African-American experience in Civil War Arkansas,” Commission Chairman Tom Dupree said in a news release.

Grant applications and information are available through the Arkansas Humanities Council, 407 President Clinton Ave., Suite 201, Little Rock, 72201, or (501) 320-5761. Applicants can also contact Jama Best, senior program officer, at jamabest@sbcglobal.net or visit the council’s website arkhums.org.

Deadlines are the first of each month through November. Applicants must contact the museum they choose to visit to schedule their field trip prior to applying for the grant. Admission to both museums is free.

For information on sesquicentennial activities, visit the commission’s website arkansascivilwar150.com.