Built in 1944, Old Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Gainesville, FL, was the local heartbeat of the Civil Rights Movement and the center of the Pleasant Street Gainesville community.

About 12 years ago, Pastor Gerard Duncan, a Miami, Florida native, started the journey of restoring the building and attempting to bring back its history of being the center of the community.

Recently the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced that Old Mount Carmel, out of 1,200 submissions, was one of 35 historic Black churches across the U.S., to receive part of $4 million in grants from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, to help save and preserve Black Landmarks.