Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation, Inc. and Maryland Historical Trust to Honor Faye Allen Belt with 2026 Maryland Preservation Award for Excellence in Community Impact
Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation, Inc. and the Maryland Historical Trust will honor Faye Allen Belt with the 2026 Maryland Preservation Award for Excellence in Community Impact for her decades of work preserving the history of the Crownsville State Hospital and documenting African American heritage in Maryland. Belt’s advocacy, research and community leadership also contributed to Columbia Beach becoming Maryland’s first historic African American community listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2026. The post Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation, Inc. and Maryland Historical Trust to Honor Faye Allen Belt with 2026 Maryland Preservation Award for Excellence in Community Impact appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.
Black News 
Annapolis, MD — May 15, 2026 — Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation, Inc. will honor Faye Allen Belt as the recipient of the prestigious Maryland Historical Trust 2026 Maryland Preservation Award for Excellence in Community Impact, during a special program in Annapolis.
Ms. Belt is being recognized for her dedicated volunteer leadership in preserving the history of the Crownsville State Hospital for the Negro Insane, including community-driven planning efforts to thoughtfully re-purpose these historic grounds. Her work included personal interviews with aging county residents,research, and collaboration with Ms. Antonia Hylton, former NCB journalist and author of “Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum,” about Crownsville State Hospital. Faye continues to be instrumental in elevating the legacy of this significant site in Maryland’s African American history.
Faye’s lifelong advocacy began as a child growing up on the grounds of Crownsville State Hospital, where her trailblazing mother, Gertrude Ellen Belt, was one of the first three African American nurses at the hospital, starting in 1957. Her mother’s professional influence informed Faye’s career path, with Faye Allen later becoming a psychiatric nurse at Crownsville, and a community organizer, much like her mother, who kept an open door, welcoming any hospital employee who needed a meal or a place to nap between shifts.
While working to capture the history of Crownsville State Hospital, Ms. Belt was simultaneously making consequential contributions to the research that led to Columbia Beach, Maryland, becoming the state’s first historical African American community listed in the National Register of Historic Properties in January 2026—an achievement of both historical and cultural significance.
“Faye Allen Belt’s commitment to preservation ensures that stories once overlooked are now honored, protected, and shared with future generations,” said Rev. Samuel T. Williams, BoCF board chairman. “Her work exemplifies the power of community-centered history and its role in shaping a more inclusive narrative.”
The state recognition will take place on:
Friday, May 15, 2026 | 1 p.m. – 2 p.m._Award Presentation and Program
Pip Moyer Community Center, 273 Hilltop Lane, Annapolis, MD 21401
This program will bring together state/elected officials, community/civic leaders, preservation advocates, genealogists, historians and personal supporters to celebrate Ms. Belt’s extraordinary contributions with the broader importance of safeguarding African American heritage across the Chesapeake region.
Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation, Inc., remains committed to community engagement to preserve and share the rich cultural and environmental history of African Americans connected to the Chesapeake Bay and its waterways.
The post Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation, Inc. and Maryland Historical Trust to Honor Faye Allen Belt with 2026 Maryland Preservation Award for Excellence in Community Impact appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers.
