The federal government has approved $1.7 million for the restoration of one of the oldest Black churches in the U.S. that served as a northern sanctuary for the underground railroad and the abolitionist movement.
The Abyssinian Meeting House in Portland, Maine, is a part of $200 million allocated for Maine projects in the $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill signed by President Joe Biden in 2021, The Portland Press Herald reported.
The church was founded in 1828 by six Black men and eventually became a cultural hub for the Black community in Portland, making it the country’s third-oldest church built by a Black congregation.
