Portal GA,— 09/29/2025 — The Willow Hill Heritage and Renaissance Center (WHHRC)  is delighted to announce that it has received a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to support its African American Funeral Programs Project. This funding will enable the institution to preserve, digitize, and interpret a priceless collection of funeral programs documenting African American family histories, cultural practices, and community connections across generations.

These funeral programs, often overlooked as ephemeral memorials, offer a rich trove of genealogical data, social networks, and local history. Through this project, WHHRC will digitize the materials and make them accessible online to researchers, educators, genealogists, and the broader public.

“This IMLS support is transformative for our mission,” said Dr. Alvin D. Jackson, MD, Board President  of Willow Hill Heritage and Renaissance Center (WHHRC) and Board President of the Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network (GAAHPN).  “Our goal is to protect these fragile yet invaluable records, and to shine a light on local African American legacies that might otherwise remain hidden or inaccessible.”

The project is being conducted in partnership with Georgia Southern University, providing invaluable support for archival processing, digital access, and research. The collaboration also includes internship opportunities for public history and museum studies students, giving them hands-on experience with archival digitization, metadata creation, and community-based heritage projects. These internships help train the next generation of historians, archivists, and librarians while directly contributing to the preservation of African American history in Bulloch County and surrounding counties.

As part of this initiative, WHHRC and Georgia Southern Libraries will showcase its work at the Georgia Libraries Conference 2025, taking place October 8–10 in Columbus, Georgia. The project will be featured in the session:

“A.I. in the Institutional Repository: Leveraging ChatGPT and Python to Support a Community Partner Collection”
Thursday, October 9, 4:30 PM EDT — Room 209, Columbus Convention & Trade Center (glc2025.sched.com)

The presentation will be delivered by:

• Jeffrey Mortimore, MLIS, MTS — Digital Scholarship Librarian and Associate Professor of University Libraries, Georgia Southern University


• Nathan Banks, MLIS — Institutional Repository Manager, Georgia Southern University


• Dr. Alvin D. Jackson, MD — Board President of The Willow Hill Heritage and Renaissance Center, community leader and historian focused on preserving African American history and culture in Bulloch County


• Nkenge Jackson-Flowers, MD — Board Secretary  The, Willow Hill Heritage and Renaissance Center and Project coordinator for the African American Funeral Programs project

Together, the presenters will discuss how artificial intelligence (via ChatGPT) and Python-based tools are being used to enrich metadata, facilitate search and discovery, and support community engagement around the African American Funeral Programs collection. The session will highlight how technology and community partnerships intersect to preserve and share African American cultural heritage.

Under the IMLS grant, the African American Funeral Programs Project will:

• Digitize funeral program materials at high resolution


• Enhance archival storage and conservation of originals


• Improve metadata and cataloging, leveraging AI-assisted tools


• Deposit the digital collection into the institutional repository


• Offer hands-on internship opportunities for Georgia Southern University public history students


• Partner with local schools, genealogical societies, and universities for educational access


• Promote public access and interpretation through exhibits, talks, and community programming

Through these efforts, WHHRC intends to deepen public understanding of African American family histories in Bulloch County and nearby areas, assist genealogists and scholars, and strengthen community identity through shared heritage.

The Willow Hill School was started in 1874 by formerly enslaved people. The school was in existence for 125 years; the longest for any school in Bulloch County, Georgia.  WHHRC was Founded in 2005 and is housed in the historic Willow Hill School building built in 1954.WHHRC  is committed to preserving, interpreting, and celebrating African American history in Southeast Georgia. The center serves as a museum,community space, and educational resource.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. IMLS fosters innovation, promotes equitable access to knowledge, and strengthens cultural institutions through competitive grants and strategic investment.

For more information about the African American Funeral Programs Project, the partnership with Georgia Southern University, internship opportunities, or the presentation at GLC 2025, visit www.willowhillheritage.org or contact Dr. Alvin D. Jackson at museum@willowhillheritage.org