People working to preserve and honor African-American historical sites and figures have had several wins over the past few years, from the openings of the National African American Museum of History and Culture and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice to grassroots efforts to create monuments honoring African-Americans of note. Now, thanks to a new grant from the National Trust, 16 more sites of historical significance have a chance at being preserved for future generations. The Trust’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund has awarded a total of $1 million dollars to preservation organizations across the country, including one working to preserve the former home of jazz musicians and composers John and Alice Coltrane. According to the Friends of the Coltrane Home website, it is the location where John composed one of his most famous works, the album A Love Supreme.

Other awarded sites include the childhood home of playwright August Wilson in Pittsburgh, PA, the South Side Community Arts Center in Chicago, and six African-American homesteader communities in the American West and Midwest. This is the first of what promises to be an annual grant award, so here’s hoping our future is filled with testaments to African-American history and excellence instead of more shoddily-made remembrances of Confederate soldiers and generals.