[Durham INC] Pauli Murray childhood home to be saved (Herald-Sun)

[John Schelp]

Pauli Murray childhood home to be saved, used
Herald-Sun, 11 May 2011

The historic West End neighborhood home where Pauli Murray was raised will be saved by a coalition of city groups committed to honoring the life of the human rights leader.

Raised in a home built by her grandfather, Murray went on to become a nationally recognized civil rights advocate and the first African-American woman ordained by the Episcopal Church.

"Durham can embrace Pauli Murray as a symbol of our community's values and struggle for equality, dignity and justice," said Barbara Lau, director of the Pauli Murray Project. "Saving her childhood home will help us bring new life to her message of addressing the hard questions and bringing people together to work for justice."

On Tuesday, the Pauli Murray Project, SW Central Durham Quality of Life Project and Self-Help will announce plans to convert the building at 906 Carroll St., known as the Pauli Murray-Robert Fitzgerald house, into a site for community dialogues, educational programs and mobilization efforts for social justice advocacy.

The late Rev. Murray (1910-1985) was a nationally and internationally known advocate for human rights and social justice.

She grew up with her grandparents, Robert and Cornelia Fitzgerald, on Carroll Street. As a mixed-race woman growing up in the segregated South, she encountered injustice and learned from her family how to combat it.

Murray was the first woman to graduate at the top of her class from Howard Law School. She advised First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt on civil rights and she co-founded the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the National Organization for Women. Before her death in 1985, Murray was the first African-American woman to be ordained an Episcopal priest. 

Pauli Murray Project: http://paulimurrayproject.org/

Source: http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story_news_durham/13201688/article-Pauli-Murray-childhood-home-to-be-saved--used