NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION RESTORE AMERICA HERO AWARD

Valerie Cunningham, Portsmouth, NH

Six champions of historic preservation whose leadership has helped restore and revitalize their respective communities were honored at the Sixth Annual National Trust/HTV Resore America Gala at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC on June 3, 2008. Preservationists, Members of Congress and other public officials, as well as corporate and philanthropic leaders gathered for an evening in support of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and to honor those who revitalize communities and help same America’s diverse historic places.

Valerie Cunningham, founder and president of Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail, Inc. is a native of Portsmouth, NH and has been a grassroots preservationist and social activist since the 1960s. A true hero for her continuous work in preserving Portsmouth. The Black Heritage Trail Inc., based on 30 years of research of 40 historic sites affiliated with more than 360 years of African-American history in New Hampshire. The self-guided walking tour, which attracts thousands of visitors to Portsmouth each year, identifies key periods such as: resistance and civil rights, Black women of Portsmouth, religion, enslavement and emancipation, and patriot service. The founding member of several other notable civic organizations, Ms. Cunningham is the coordinator of Community Black Heritage Partnerships at the University of New Hampshire and was appointed in 2005 to serve on the New Hampshire Commission on the Status of Women. An active public speaker and consultant on New Hampshire’s Black history, Ms. Cunningham has published several works on African-American history and culture in New England and has been deemed a “model of preservation of black history for American communities.”

For more information on the award:
http://www.preservationnation.org