The crumbling Centennial Baptist Church in Helena, Ark., has deep roots in the African-American community. But poverty and other concerns in this Delta town have made raising restoration funds difficult — and the effort to keep the church in black hands has sparked tensions with local preservationists.

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Southword is a multimedia partnership between the Oxford American and NPR to present thoughtful and textured reporting about the people, places, and trends that are shaping the modern American South. The OA's award-winning filmmaker, Dave Anderson, teams up with NPR's celebrated journalists to go wherever an important or interesting story is unfolding. Together they produce video and radio pieces that provide timely and artful perspectives on a region that continues to evolve in unexpected ways.