Preserving Black history has never been more important

Clearly. Assertive. Don’t be afraid to question people or circumstances. This is how 82-year-old Rosita Stevens-Holsey describes her “Aunt Pauli”.

“Even when she was talking to a superior, a general, or the president of the United States, she always made it clear what she was thinking — what she thought was wrong and needed to change,” Stevens-Holsey said Capital B.

That “Aunt Pauli” was Pauli Murray, a legendary civil rights activist and legal theorist whose contributions to the struggle for black liberation were long overlooked, according to scholars.

While studying law at Howard University, Murray helped establish the Congress of Racial Equality, participated in sit-ins, and coined the term “Jane Crow” to describe discrimination against black women. During a seminar, Murray formulated the novel “separate but equal” argument that would inspire Thurgood Marshall’s team in Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark case that ended racial segregation in public schools.

Today, the little-noticed life and work of Murray, who died in 1985 at the age of 74, is receiving well-deserved recognition through the recently opened Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice in Durham, North Carolina. The center has transformed Murray’s 1898 childhood home into a museum of sorts that promotes civil rights by hosting events and exhibitions in history, education, art and more.

It’s the kind of institution that feels especially important now, as the country prepares for a government that opposes diversity, equity and inclusion and is committed to punishing anyone who questions it. At least five of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for positions in his Cabinet and administration are contributors to Project 2025, the conservative manifesto that would radically roll back some of the country’s most significant civil rights achievements over the last half century.

“We need people to stand side by side and protect our democracy – to preserve the values ​​we hold dear,” said Stevens-Holsey, a veteran community organizer.

The center is just one of the many institutions working to celebrate Black history during a deeply uncertain political moment.

Located at 906 Carroll St. in Durham’s historically black working-class West End neighborhood, the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice has been a long time coming.

In the early 2010s, locals banded together to advocate for investments in essential services such as affordable housing, infrastructure and education. They also pushed for a different kind of investment.

“The neighbors knew that a remarkable figure had once lived in a house built more than a century ago that was slated for demolition. You heard me right: Murray’s house was scheduled to be demolished in 2010,” said Angela Thorpe Mason, the center’s executive director Capital B. “And so these neighbors formed a coalition and pushed for Murray’s home to be preserved as part of this investment effort.”

The center was officially established as a nonprofit organization in 2012 and was designated a national landmark by the National Park Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2016 (notably only 2% of the approximately 95,000 listings on the National Register of Historic). Places highlight the lives and legacies of Black Americans. However, the renovation process was only completed this year; The grand opening took place on September 7th.

“It was the blessing of our lives to fulfill our decades-long promise to preserve Murray’s childhood home so we could use it as a space to use history as a tool to advance contemporary social justice work,” Mason said.

The center works with the North Carolina Bar Foundation to help transgender Americans navigate the legal issues surrounding name changes and gender identification on official documents. These efforts are a particularly poignant way to honor Murray, who was queer and might be considered non-binary today.

In a further marriage of history and activism, the Center also provides resources and training for students and educators interested in bringing social justice frameworks into their classrooms.

These days, the center’s very existence is a political act. Republican lawmakers are supporting legislation to strip nonprofits that oppose it of their tax-exempt status. Analysts fear the bill could be used to attack institutions that draw attention to Black experiences.

Additionally, Trump is trying to staff his administration with people who promote the myth of “reverse racism” and seek to ban black history from our schools.

“When we tell people about the efforts to remove Toni Morrison from the curriculum or banish Jimmy Baldwin, we are telling people something important,” Kimberlé Crenshaw, co-founder and executive director of the African American Policy Forum, told Capital B. “That are personalities who have changed our lives and dealt with our situation. If (conservative actors) try to take away that history, that means we have to fight for it even harder.”

Mason shared these sentiments. She explained that the current moment reflects some of the social and political struggles Murray has faced.

“We honor Murray’s life and activism as a reminder that you too can do what Murray did,” she said. “We can offer people doing movement-building work a physical space in which they can safely organize and develop strategies.”

Other Bastions of Black History

Legacy sites: Across three spaces—the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the Legacy Museum, and the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park—the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Sites draw on the power of place and challenge visitors to confront history where it actually took place.

The locations are located in and around Montgomery, Alabama, a region known for its duality. A large population of enslaved black Americans once lived here; It later became the cradle of the black liberation struggle, an area where the movement’s leaders developed strategies to overthrow Jim Crow. Together, the three locations feature first-person historical narratives, art, interactive exhibits and more to document the long and ongoing history of anti-Black violence.

National Civil Rights Museum: Like the Legacy Sites, the National Civil Rights Museum takes advantage of its grounds. Located in Memphis, Tennessee, housed in the former Lorraine Motel – where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968 – the museum tells a rich story of Black struggle and achievement.

The history the museum explores is extensive and encompasses the global impact of Black Americans’ struggle for equality. The permanent exhibits, however, largely focus on the Civil Rights Movement—the Montgomery Bus Boycott, student strikes, Freedom Rides, Black Power—and bring that history to life through a range of oral histories, artifacts, and films.

Frederick Douglass National Historic Site: Call it a hidden gem in our nation’s capital. The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, operated by the National Park Service and perched on a 50-foot hill in the majority-black neighborhood of Anacostia, preserves the home of the great abolitionist and orator who was born into slavery in 1818 and honors his legacy.

Visitors can tour the grounds of Douglass’ historic home, which he named Cedar Hill, watch a film about the social reformer’s life, and explore exhibits of his speeches and writings. There’s something special for students ages 6 to 18: an annual public speaking competition hosted on-site where teens can enjoy the power of language by reciting a passage from one of Douglass’ famous speeches.

“Institutions like the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice help hold communities together by promoting and protecting their values, traditions and history,” Stevens-Holsey said. “It’s just so important for communities to learn from each other – to remember and celebrate their identities and goals.”

Black Voters and the Fight for Democracy is a multi-part series examining the challenges the 2024 election poses to our communities. This project was created as part of the Promoting the democratic community.