The League of Iowa Human & Civil Rights Agencies

Four Simpson College students will research the lives of more than 600 military men who attended the first U.S. Army officer candidate school for black men at Fort Des Moines on the city's south side.

Their work is being paid for by a $15,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It's one of four newly created grants for joint projects between historic sites and universities to raise awareness of historic African-American sites. "It's really exciting because it's a brand new program, and we are one of the four sites chosen for it," said Joe Nolte, executive director of the Fort Des Moines Museum and Education Center. "We'll have four paid history interns working on it. You never see that." Nolte said the work will produce scholarly essays, new museum programs and exhibits, and more historical information for the museum's Web site.

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