Special to the American Press

The Sabine High School Revitalization Project Management Group has been awarded a $748,650 History of Equal Rights grant from the Department of Interior, National Park Service funded through the Historic Preservation Fund for the Sabine High School Exterior Rehabilitation Phase 1.

SHSRP will use the funding to complete substantial rehabilitation of the historic Sabine High School gymnasium and install temporary roof and window coverings on all other campus buildings awaiting rehabilitation.

Sabine High School was a K-12 school for African Americans in Sabine Parish until desegregation in 1970, when parish officials redesignated it as Many Junior High School. The facility was closed in 2001 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. When rehabilitation is
completed, the campus of Sabine High School will serve as a multi-purpose community center complex for northwest Louisiana and once again be a beacon for the community and region. This project addresses the critical national issues of inclusion, education, and health and wellness for underserved communities while preserving and sharing the rich cultural heritage of the school.

“We are delighted and grateful that the National Park Service, through the Historic Preservation Fund’s History of Equal Rights grant program deemed the campus of Sabine High School worthy of historic preservation,” said Sandra Garner-Coleman, president of SHSRP Management Group. “The grant funds will allow the SHSRP Management Group, Inc. to fulfill its vision of developing the campus as a tool for not only memorializing, but for looking forward to providing a new place of inclusion and community for the Northwestern Louisiana region.”

The National Park Service awarded $4.48 million to eight projects in seven states as part of the Historic Preservation Fund’s (HPF) History of Equal Rights grant program, which focuses on the preservation of sites directly associated with the struggle for all Americans to gain equal rights.

“Equal rights are an enduring struggle in America. Through the History of Equal Rights grant program, the National Park Service helps States, Tribes, local governments, and nonprofit organizations invest in locally-led preservation of historic structures honoring some of our nation’s most defining and important history,” said NPS Director Chuck Sams.