Mellon welcomes inquiries from organizations whose work aligns with our current strategies.

Music inspires us to take action...it fights against the establishment.

Lorenzo “Rennie” Harris is the founder of Rennie Harris Puremovement, a dance company bringing street dance to the concert stage.

A Black choreographer and dancer sits backstage at a theater. A pulley system takes up the entire wall behind him.

Rennie Harris is Just Teaching the Facts

I think about how difficult it can be to get into some archives, and that is the exact opposite of what we want for our collection,

Constructed in 1838 and now being restored as the future home of the AFRO Archives, the Upton Mansion is the last example of a Greek revival country house in the city of Baltimore. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Photo courtesy of AFRO Archives

In black and white, a historical home in Baltimore 

A Homecoming for the AFRO Archives of Black News and Culture

In Their Own Words: Jailhouse Lawyers on the Challenges and Opportunities They Face

Illustration: Ambrose Reed, courtesy of the Jailhouse Lawyer Initiative

Colorful hand-drawn-style illustration of a prison. A bird is delivering a letter over the prison wall.

Read the Letters Written by Jailhouse Lawyers

The Climate Museum is the first museum in the United States dedicated to climate-change art and cultural programming.

A view of a storefront space. The sign on the glass reads, "Climate Museum Pop-up"

Connecting the Dots Between Climate Dismay and Environmental Action

We’ve deprived ourselves of thinking about how race plays into world-making—to our
detriment.

Dr. Ayanna Thompson, founder of RaceB4Race, is a Regents Professor of English at Arizona State University and the director of its Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. 

A Black woman stands in a doorway that leads to an office. A sign on the door reads, "Research In Progress." 

RaceB4Race: How it Started and How it’s Growing

Lift up those things that we tend to bury, that we tend not to want to address. How do we examine our past...and how do we become better?

Agnes Scott College is undertaking historical preservation, curricular development, and community building within the college and in partnership with the City of Decatur.

A large group of people stand in front of a mural where the words "justice" and "one vote" are visible. 

Preserving, Teaching, and Sharing a Fuller History of a College and Its Community

Libraries are deeply integrated into our community spaces; and, while we always need more libraries, they pepper the entire landscape of the United States.

Radical librarians aim to center community voices and scrutinize how institutional resources are allocated. 

Three people stand in a library with shelves on either side of the group. Together, they hold a book in front of their faces so they are not visible to the camera.

Libraries Are Vital Community Spaces (and, They Need to Evolve)

M graphic FellowsAnnouncement_Website

The Mellon Foundation announced the appointment of its newest Mellon Foundation Fellow in Residence, Kelly Lytle Hernández, a renowned scholar, author, and historian.

Mellon Foundation Appoints Historian and Scholar Kelly Lytle Hernández as its 2023 Fellow in Residence

A news announcement from the Mellon Foundation on the elections of Dr. Melissa Gilliam and Gaurav Kapadia as Trustees, expanding the board leadership of the institution.

Melissa Gilliam and Gaurav Kapadia Join Mellon Foundation’s Board

The monument, which was established on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, will consist of three protected sites in Illinois and Mississippi.

The New York Times logo

Biden to Name National Monument for Emmett Till and His Mother

Mellon M logo in gray concrete

A statement on SCOTUS decisions in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College

Statement on US Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action

Funding comes from the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project, a $250 million commitment to reimagine and rebuild commemorative spaces launched in 2020.

Citizen Times logo

City of Asheville awarded $3M to reshape Pack Square Plaza

Mellon makes grants to support communities through the power of the arts and humanities.

Get news about what we are supporting and more by subscribing to our newsletter.

Illustration: Jungho Lee for Mellon Foundation

In an illustration, a group of people walking on top of a floating book while another book flaps open to the right

Reading, Power, and Freedom

Artists as Catalysts

Artists as Catalysts Navigation Image

Beyond Incarceration

A side profile of a Black poet who is wearing glasses and a hat with a feather hat pin.

Civic Engagement

Civic engagement navigation image - A large crowd of people who are far away and anonymous

Evolving Higher Education

A vertical image of an Indigenous person who is sitting on a chair in front of a backdrop.

Expanding Public Knowledge

Expanding Public Knowledge Navigation Image

Monuments and Memory

A large statue of a confederate general is covered in markings and graffiti. 

Multivocality

Five people stand together in a group photo. They are laughing and smiling.

Power of the Word

Five colorful neon signs hang on the wall with messages that include, "Freedom cannot wait," "Brown owned," and "America is for Dreamers."

Public Places‚ Public Stories

A group of Indigenous Maskoke people stand and sit in the wooden frame of a structure in a woods

Puerto Rico and Its Diaspora

In a vertical image, a black leather vest is adorned with colorful pins across the front of it. Embroidery on the vest reads: "Felícitas "La Prieta" Méndez" 