$25K state grant to bolster Patriots of Color program

Acton has scored a $25,000 state grant to help fund local festivities for next year’s celebration of the Revolution’s 250th anniversary.

Gov. Maura Healey’s administration and the Office of Travel and Tourism announced the grant outside the State House at a Massachusetts250 grant program kickoff event.

Concord250 will use the money to fund its “A Fight for Freedom: Honoring Patriots of Color” program, officials said. The project will highlight the stories of those who championed freedom in Acton from the Revolutionary War to today. 

“We want to make sure that we have the most accurate, up-to-date history to best represent the narratives of those folks who were there,” said Concord250 Executive Committee co-chair Robert Munro.

“We are finding that there are stories of enslaved and free people of color, that there are indigenous considerations, and that women played a prominent role as well.”

Healey, Driscoll, and Concord250 want to “include reference to new historical research and the contributions of Indigenous and Black Concordians in the founding and development of our country,” per a news release. 

“As a town that prides itself in its history, we are telling the full history of our collective experience,” Munro said.

The project will open with a live, interactive discussion in Acton that will also be available virtually. It will also feature weekly low- or no-cost walking tours of landmark sites related to the Fight For Freedom Program. Also anticipated: the production and distribution of a “Virtual Video Fight For Freedom Tour” online and at selected venues.

Massachusetts250 has awarded 37 grants totaling $1.5 million to support celebrations across the state commemorating the 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolution.