Marriott Foundation gifts $1M to historic black church

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Tuesday, June 04, 2024

The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, created in 1966 by the founders of the world’s largest travel company, Marriott International Inc., has pledged a $1 million donation to help restore the historic Scotland AME Zion Church in Potomac, Maryland, built by black congregants in 1924.

David Marriott, a grandson of the Marriott founders, made the announcement last Wednesday to a gathering of church community members, including descendants of some of the first black people to own land in Potomac.

“I’m here today with the great news that The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation will be giving a $1 million gift to the Scotland community,” Marriott said to cheers, according to a statement from the church. “The other trustees and I are thrilled to support this effort and to be a small part of your rebuilding effort.”

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The church, which was expanded in 1963, has struggled with chronic water drainage problems since the rerouting of Seven Locks Road to the downhill side of the church building in 1960. The rerouting filled in wetland abutting the church, which eventually caused the collapse of the church’s basement wall in 2019 after a regionwide flood.

For almost five years, the Scotland AME Zion community has been unable to worship in their historic sanctuary.

Since the summer of 2022, however, local leaders and philanthropists have been working together to help make the church once again a safe place to worship and grow through an $11 million effort called the 2nd Century Project.

“The 2nd Century Project will preserve this Maryland State Historic Site, the vital hub of a community that has been at the heart of Montgomery County for more than 140 years,” the church explains.

“Restoring the historic church for use as a community center will create a place where Scotland residents and the broader community can come together for charitable work, such as food drives, and neighborhood meetings. It will provide a venue for Girl Scout and Boy Scout groups to gather, a site for lectures and workshops, counseling services, and an anchor point for this longstanding community.”

As of May 2024, the church has raised $8.2 million of the $11 million goal.

LaTisha Gasaway-Paul, whose ancestors were the founders of the historic black Scotland community in Montgomery County that dates back to 1880, told WTOP that she was working on ensuring Scotland has the biggest and best Juneteenth celebration in the Washington, D.C., region this year when she got the news of the Marriott gift.

“Oh, the Marriotts came through in a major way!” she said. “We were, by far, not expecting that surprise!”

David Marriott and his wife, Carrie, discovered that James Dove, a Scotland resident, was the landscaper for his grandparents. They later learned about the 2nd Century Project while attending a Scotland service in a borrowed sanctuary.

“It just seems like it’s been a wonderful, deserving community to help rebuild and have space for all of those important community elements to come together,” Mieka Wick, the CEO of the Marriott Foundation, told WTOP. “It’s really our privilege to get to know communities and learn from them.”

If the church meets its fundraising goal by the end of the year, it could hold its first service in the upgraded building by December.

“This is a major investment in community,” the church’s pastor, Rev. Dr. Evalina Huggins, said. “Not just for Scotland AME Zion Church, but for Montgomery County and this country.”