Today we’d like to introduce you to Pauli Murray Center For History And Social Justice.
Hi Pauli Murray, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray was a twentieth-century human rights activist, legal scholar, author, labor organizer, poet, Episcopal priest, multiracial Black, LGBTQ+ Durhamite who lived one of the most remarkable lives of the 20th century. S/he was the first Black person to earn a JSD (Doctor of the Science of Law) degree from Yale Law School, a founder of the National Organization for Women and the first Black person perceived as a woman to be ordained an Episcopal priest.
The Pauli Murray Center is a National Historic Landmark site in Durham, North Carolina. It is anchored by Pauli Murray’s childhood home, built in 1898 by Murray’s grandparents Robert and Cornelia Fitzgerald. Robert George Fitzgerald, was an educator, brick maker, and Civil War veteran, and his wife, Cornelia Smith Fitzgerald, was a seamstress and homemaker born in enslavement in Hillsborough, North Carolina.
Their house stands on its original site, a one-acre plot, in the historically Black, working-class West End neighborhood. Gentrification of this neighborhood has replaced many of these early homes with larger, contemporary housing and the loss of much of the neighborhood’s original identity.
The Pauli Murray Family Home was designated a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2015 and a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 2016. The Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice rehabilitated the house to reflect its early 20th-century appearance, using as much salvaged original material as possible. The renovation was completed in September 2024. As a historic property, the Fitzgerald House/Pauli Murray childhood home retains its integrity of design, materials, and quality.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The Pauli Murray Center is a nationally significant history site, anchored by Pauli Murray’s childhood home built by her grandparents in 1898 at 906 Carroll Street in Durham, North Carolina. By connecting history to contemporary human rights issues, the Pauli Murray Center activates visitors of all ages to stand up for peace, equity and justice.
We are open and welcoming to everyone: students, families, visitors to Durham, people of faith, aspiring young LGBTQ+ activists, civil rights lawyers, divinity school students, artists and poets, history-minded West End neighbors, scholars, and community leaders. Our programming encompasses public history, education, arts and activism. For many, the Center serves as a historic site, incubator, oasis, and sacred space.
Inspiring activism will lead the way to Pauli Murray’s dream for a just world. It is our hope that the Center will launch the next generation of Pauli Murray firebrand leaders – smart, motivated and determined activists who will demand a world that enables all ideas, amplifies many voices and honors everyone’s contributions.
Pauli Murray Center offers a robust calendar of workshops, on the ground and virtual education; community dialogues and invitations to action that address enduring inequities; and creative arts programming! We are open to the public on Saturdays and Wednesdays – see our events calendar for specific hours!
Pricing:
- Guided Tour – $20 (financial aid available)
- Self Guided Tour – $10 (financial aid available)
- Events and Programs – usually free!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://paulimurraycenter.org
- Instagram: paulimurraycenter
