Many thanks winterkjm for all the info and suggestions.

The nomination of the F.W. Woolworth Company Building, Greensboro, NC for National Historic Landmark status is one of the last hurdles for the U.S. Civil Rights nomination.

The National Historic Landmarks Committee will meet May 14-15, 2024 to decide which sites will be approved for designation.

From the National Historic Landmark Executive Summary:

Origins of Nomination:

The citizens who organized the Sit-In Movement, Inc., to save the F. W. Woolworth Company Building from
demolition began inquiring about National Historic Landmark designation after Woolworth closed the lunch
counter in 1993, but the effort stalled. In 2017, scholars and preservationists assisting the Georgia State
University (GSU) World Heritage Initiative identified the Greensboro Woolworth as a potential component of
UNESCO World Heritage serial nomination for U.S. Civil Rights Movement Sites. Since World Heritage
program requirements specify that a site must have achieved the highest federal designation possible, the Sit-In
Movement, Inc., in consultation with the GSU World Heritage Initiative, resumed the effort to seek NHL
designation. In October 2021, the National Historic Landmarks Committee completed a preliminary review of
the proposed designation to address concerns about integrity and recommended preparation of the nomination
that is under consideration here.

Potential for Positive Public Response or Reflection on NHL Program:

Acknowledged as the point of origin for a watershed moment in American history, the Woolworth is the source
of great pride not just for the people of Greensboro and North Carolina but the region and nation as a whole.
The property owner and the local community are supportive of designation of the property as a National
Historic Landmark. NHL designation would also support the U.S. Civil Rights Movement Sites serial
nomination to the World Heritage List.

That's great! They were very hopeful when I visited last fall. I think it would be a great component for the nomination because of the lunch counter sit ins. They have a good Civil Rights museum at the site, too.

Environmentalists warn of threat to famed Okefenokee Swamp (NBC News)

It remains to be seen how this effects the Okefenokee nomination slotted for 2026.

U.S. Nomination to the World Heritage List: Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (Federal Register - Preparation of World Heritage Nomination)

Is a new US Tentative List around the corner?

If the precedent is maintained regarding Tentative List development in the United States, we might expect new candidate sites to be considered/discussed in 2025 and published sometime in 2026. The last Federal Register 'public comment period' was held in the Summer of 2023. At this point, I know there is quiet the inventory of potential candidates that have been proposed. In 2023, the public was encouraged to comment on current queued nominations or new potential additions to the Tentative List. However, I cannot help but think of a growing list of potential Extensions! Some are more likely than others and are based on ICOMOS recommendations (FLW Extension, El Pinacate Extension, Camino Real Extension). Others just make sense, Aztalan is strongly associated with Cahokia and is designated a National Historic Landmark (this site would compliment Cahokia as the Aztec Ruins NM does for Chaco). I would even prefer the name Cahokia Culture compared to the current 'Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site'. In their comparative analysis, Canada cited Montana's 'buffalo jump site' as of similar value, they are located within 300 km from each other. The size of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park today versus the inscribed property (1987) after the park expanded in 2003 and 2022 is now very different, far too large for a 'minor boundary modification'. The National Park Service has been focused during the past few years highlighting the cultural values of the Grand Canyon, but its yet to be seen if this eventually culminates in seeking a 'mixed' status after a renomination with additional criteria. Of all the US National Parks that have been inscribed under natural criteria, the Grand Canyon has the strongest case (I believe) for cultural criteria.

I hope a handful of these candidates make it onto the next Tentative List (if indeed one emerges in 2025-2026).

Domestic Extensions: 3

Extension of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
- Kahuku District 46,858 ha
- Pohue Bay 6,657 ha

Extension of Cahokia
- Aztalan Tumulus (Wisconsin)

Extension of FLW Architecture
- Alice Millard House / La Miniatura (California)
- Paul Hanna House/Honeycomb House (California)
- S.C. Johnson Administration and Building and Research Tower (Wisconsin)

Transboundary Extensions: 3

Extension of El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere (Mexico)
- Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument & Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge (Arizona)

Extension of Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (Mexico)
- El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail (New Mexico)

Extension of Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (Canada)
- First Peoples Buffalo Jump (Montana)

Renominations: 1

Grand Canyon National Park
- added criteria for cultural values

This document April 2024 highlights what makes Okefenokee special.

On the Road to Becoming a World Heritage Site

It seems a Unesco team is going to visit the Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro to see what the progress is and evaluate what can still be done.

Civil Rights Museum Getting Ready For Its UNESCO World Heritage Site Close Up

(Even though it is dated May 14, I don't really understand the link immediately above stating "Civil Rights Museum Getting Ready For Its UNESCO World Heritage Site Close Up" as it seems to relate to activities which are months or years away yet!!!! The writer seems to have no understanding of the Nomination stages and process!).

Right on time this press release was issued on 15 May 2024 confirming that "The Landmarks
Committee of the National Park Service has unanimously granted approval for the advancement of our beloved building to the next decision stages of approval as a National Historic Landmark". Presumably some other person or body now has to give the formal and final "OK" - from the tone of the release, leaving aside "out of left field" problems like Donald Trump (??), that would seem to be a formality??

This 45 minute video of a meeting on Jun 22 2023 at Greensboro might be of interest regarding this T List site and its progress towards nomination. The meeting's purpose was to set the scene for various officials in Greensboro regarding progress on and issues relating to the Civil Rights nomination including the push to gain NHL status. Fast forward to around 5 minutes in to miss out extremely lengthy welcomes, thanks and other niceties and you will then reach what I found to be interesting talks by a couple of academics from Georgia State University regarding the history of the project. Note the particular emphasis on WHS status as a "tourism driver" - apparently there are people who go around the World with a bucket list of such sites and try to tick them off!!!

Note that the 2nd speaker Anne Farrisee has held the title of "Project Manager for the Georgia State University World Heritage Initiative for U. S. Civil Rights sites." for 8 years!!!!

Georgia state University seems to be a major player in the day to day development of the nomination . See its Web site on the matter.

I noted somewhere else that, of the 13 sites currently intended for inclusion, the Lorraine Hotel, Memphis (site of the MLK assassination and currently a part of the "National Civil Rights museum" - different I believe from the Greensboro "International Civil Rights Centre and Museum"? ) also needed to achieve NHL status (A necessary prerequisite for addition to the US T List). I have, for the moment, "lost" the reference and its date but can find no reference on the Web of it having done so. We also know of course that the ICOMOS "Upstream process" has been recently carried out (and not yet reported on?)......but there still do seem to be a fair number of stages to be gone through before a nomination - including updating the T List. But maybe a nomination for consideration in 2027 IS still possible .... the "on time" action on The Woolworth building is a good sign. Maybe winterkjm can discover more via his contacts?

The Department of the Interior gives final approval, Secretary Deb Haaland will make an announcement highlighting the newly designated National Historic Landmarks soon. After a committee meeting, the recommendations are passed on to the Secretary of the Interior to sign/approve. This always comes a few months after the meeting. The National Historic Landmark Committee will meet again September 18, 2024, but the list of sites are not published yet. This would be the last meeting before the General Election and the Department of Interior would approve the committee's decisions by the end of the year. It is worth noting, that between January 2017 and January 2021 (Trump Administration), there was only 1 National Historic Landmark Meeting held over 4 years. Typically, there are 2 meetings held per year in the Spring and Fall.

For the Civil Rights Movement Site stakeholders seeking World Heritage status, its all about the designation itself (honor/prestige/recognition) and as a "tourism driver". Actually, for their long term preservation and funding this is essential. Of the proposed sites, only the Lorraine Motel (National Civil Rights Museum) and the Lincoln Memorial actually receive many visitors. The United States Civil Rights Trail was really only launched in January 2017 under President Obama. Many of the sites only became National Historic Landmarks or were incorporated into the National Park Service during the past 20 years.

I think we will know in Spring 2025 if this nomination will be ready for 2027. In the next symposium, we should also know if there has been any additional sites added based on the upstream process. I admit in regards to the Lorraine Motel, I overlooked this and when I visited again recently, I asked staff and they shared their engagement with the GSU nomination. Yet, I have not heard anything about a National Historic Landmark nomination, nor a potential National Monument designation by the President (either would be sufficient).

2025 U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT SITES SYMPOSIUM
Thursday and Friday, April 10-11, 2025
Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA

Interior Department Prepares to Nominate U.S. Civil Rights Movement Sites for World Heritage List

The following are the 11 U.S. Civil Rights Movement Sites included in the proposed nomination. Nine are managed by the National Park Service:

Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama
Bethel Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama (part of Birmingham Civil Rights National Historic Site)
16th Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama (part of Birmingham Civil Rights National Historic Site)
Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, Alabama, (part of Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail)
Greyhound Bus Terminal, Anniston, Alabama (part of Freedom Riders National Monument)
Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock, Arkansas (Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site)
Ebenezer Baptist Church (Heritage Sanctuary), Atlanta, Georgia (part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park)
Monroe Elementary School, Topeka, Kansas (part of Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park)
Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home, Jackson, Mississippi (Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument)
Robert Russa Moton High School/Museum, Farmville, Virginia
Lincoln Memorial and Grounds, Washington, District of Columbia (part of National Mall and Memorial Parks)

https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-prepares-nominate-us-civil-rights-movement-sites-world-heritage

Great find David!

This means 2 sites have been dropped:

- F. W. Woolworth Store Greensboro (North Carolina) *which in May was evaluated for National Historic Landmark status
- Lorraine Motel (Tennessee) *which is not a National Historic Landmark, therefore currently ineligible

I wonder if the F. W. Woolworth Store Greensboro might still be added when the official designation comes (likely in August) or perhaps it was evaluated negatively during the upstream process. The 'authenticity' of both locations are not as strong as the other sites. The pursuit of National Historic Landmark status would likely have been initiated before the conclusion of the upstream process, so I lean toward it not being included based on ICOMOS recommendations.

From emails I sent to a rep at the National Park Service, ICOMOS also proposed potential additions, perhaps any such additions could be pursued in an extension (via Phase II) down the road if 1) Designated as a National Historic Landmark 2) Demonstrate interest in world heritage status

I noticed this while reading the Federal Register notice for U.S. Nomination to the World Heritage List: U.S. Civil Rights Movement Sites

"When the Federal Interagency Panel met to consider the proposal it recommended authorization of a draft nomination with the stipulation that the ICOMOS recommendations on the selection of properties and other matters be sufficiently addressed as the nomination is developed. Only eight of the ten additional properties are currently eligible for nomination. Two additional properties in the Georgia State proposal are not included in the authorization at this time. The Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee and the Woolworth's store in Greensboro, North Carolina are not currently National Historic Landmarks, but could be added to the nomination if they obtain the necessary designation of national significance. In the course of developing the nomination, a small number of additional properties could be added to respond to the ICOMOS recommendations." - Federal Register notice

This pretty much confirms that the Woolworth's store in Greensboro, North Carolina will be included since it was recently evaluated and will be designated as a National Historic Landmark very soon. I am less certain about The Lorraine Motel, since there is no indication of a National Historic Landmark nomination. I remain curious what additional properties ICOMOS may have recommended, I hope I can find out!

It seems there is finally an end to the golf course story at Hopewell:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ohio-historical-society-settles-golf-club-back-world-112482082

I got information via email though people involved in the Civil Rights Movement nomination.

1) Woolworth NHL nomination should be designated officially in December 2024, at which time it will join the other 11 components

2) The Lorraine Motel, recently received recommendation by the NPS that they should prepare a nomination soon, preparation is ongoing (perhaps a nomination would be completed in 2025, TBA)

3) The Upstream Review did recommend additional components and those deemed eligible will receive careful consideration over the coming months (no announcements yet what those components could be)

4) The scheduled submission has been further affirmed as February 1st, 2026 (therefore WHC 2027)