A closer look at the award-winning center where Pauli Murray’s spirit still guides the fight for meaningful change
Photography by John Michael Simpson
Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice Executive Director Angela Thorpe Mason is the steward of a site both deeply historic and powerfully relevant as a hub for activism, dialogue and community connection. In this interview, she reflects on the organization’s recent recognition, speaks to the importance of grounding visitors in Pauli Murray’s humanity and addresses the challenges of navigating federal disinvestment.
*responses have been edited for length and clarity
How would you describe the Pauli Murray Center and its mission for readers who may be unfamiliar?*
[Its] mission is to uplift the life and legacy of the Rev. Pauli Murray to address enduring inequities today. We are anchored in the childhood home of the civil rights activist, feminist, human rights activist, author, poet and theologian. I would describe our space as a sacred historical space but also an active center for history and social justice. We’re not a traditional house museum. We use this space to ground people in Pauli Murray’s activist legacy and framework in order to give them tools to move social justice work forward in their communities today.
Pauli Murray’s legacy touches on so many aspects of justice and identity. How does the center work to reflect the complexity and intersectionality of their life and work?
When people move through this space, we guide them through four themes: identity, activism, love and joy. It’s really important for people to understand that, though we revere Pauli Murray, they were not a deity. They’re an everyday person, and they were raised in this home in Durham. You don’t get Pauli Murray without their family, you don’t get Pauli Murray the activist without them being raised in Jim Crow Durham, you also don’t get Pauli Murray without those rich themes that I mentioned. Our work to connect people thoughtfully to the complexities of Pauli Murray’s identity is one of those bridge-building tools. Pauli Murray lived in between; there were a lot of spaces they did not fit into, which really guided their work to develop a world where everybody belonged and everybody could express wholeness in their fullness of humanity.
Pauli Murray’s activism took a lot of different shapes over the course of a lifetime. It reminds us that we can approach activism today in a lot of different ways. Pauli Murray’s day job was an attorney, and they used legal theory as activism. They used writing and creativity as activism. They used faith and spiritual practice as activism. Pauli Murray gives us a menu of ways to contribute to society.
Pauli Murray did not exist or work in a vacuum. Pauli was deeply grounded in community. They had a beautiful relationship with their family, partners, best friends. We think it’s really important to ground people in that reality and help people understand that love and joy are some of what carries us through as humans and everyday people. Pauli was a dog parent, loved beer, smoking a pipe, going to the movies. Pauli is human, and we should feel invited to be, too. I think sometimes that feels difficult when it seems like the world is collapsing in around us, but Pauli Murray, too, lived [during] a period of time [when] it seemed like the world was collapsing in on them, and they still connected to their humanity. We should, too. Those are the stories that we ground people in to enliven that mission and give people access to tools that Pauli Murray also used.
What do you think makes this museum unique – not just in Durham, but nationally?
Pauli Murray lived at more than 50 addresses during the course of their lifetime, and this is one of the only ones that still stands. Furthermore, this is the space and place that raised Pauli and where their earliest concepts around democracy, justice, equity, wholeness and humanity were seeded. Those ideas were shaped by Pauli Murray’s family members, specifically their grandfather. This is quite literally the only place in the world where you can connect to Pauli Murray’s origin story.
How did it feel to be named one of the best museums in this year’s Best of Durham poll?
It’s really exciting, especially when you consider we opened our doors to the community last September, and it took more than a decade to get there. We’re eagerly leaning into our new identity as an open space for community. It’s beautiful that, in that newness, people not only trust us but are also celebrating what we’re offering.
It’s a signal that we’re doing something right, and that this place matters. This place moves people; it grounds people; it inspires people – which is special for Durham in the context of being a newly open space, but if we think even bigger – people make pilgrimages to this space from quite literally around the world. A few days ago, I guided a visitor through here who came from Germany just to be in this space and connect with Pauli Murray’s spirit and legacy. The fact that we are able to do that for people is supported by this level of community recognition. The space matters, our work matters – particularly at a time where American history is being whitewashed – transformed into propaganda. Even the center has had to navigate some of those attacks and some of those realities. Being able to stand firm in a place that tells the truth is phenomenal. I’m glad people are responsive to that.
Do you see this award as a reflection of growing awareness around Pauli Murray’s legacy?
Absolutely. There are still so many people who have never heard the name Pauli Murray. To me, that signals that we have work to do, but also, the community that has gotten us to this point, that has fostered this recognition, [is] made up of people who have known Pauli for a long time, or perhaps have been introduced to Pauli Murray in just recent months since our opening.
The center has become a space not just for history but also for dialogue and action. Can you speak to how you see it functioning as both a museum and a catalyst for social change?
We have a couple of initiatives that really illuminate how we contribute to contemporary social justice work. Quarterly, we partner with the North Carolina Bar Foundation to host name- and gender-marker-change clinics in this space. Pauli Murray’s legacy – which means [not only] the ways that they navigated gender identity but also their work as an attorney – is a marriage of history and social justice. [It’s] being able to pull that thread forward and connect members of our LGBTQIA+ community to a service that’s life-affirming, life-changing and life-preserving.
We also work closely with educators through our Pauli Murray Social Justice Teaching Fellowship to support them in applying equity- and justice-centered teaching pedagogies in a way that allows them to retain their jobs in the state of North Carolina, because some educators are at risk for teaching stories like Pauli Murray’s.
Pauli Murray came from a long lineage of educators. Pauli’s grandfather taught in Freedmen’s schools throughout the South to educate newly freed Black people. Pauli’s aunts taught at a school in a neighborhood that’s adjacent to us. Pauli themselves went on to be a professor for many, many years. That deep, rich connection [to] and tradition [of] education, [we’re], again, pulling that thread through to serve educators in our present.
How do you approach issues like historical erasure and representation in your exhibits and programming?
By simply telling the truth. We pride ourselves on being memory keepers, memory workers and truth tellers. Because we’re an independent nonprofit, I think we’re able to do that work well and expansively without significant limitations. The story that we tell of Pauli – the story that you see in the exhibition – is simply the truth, and we’ve never been compelled to do anything otherwise.
In our efforts to be truth tellers, we’re certainly not naive. We’re thoughtful about the ways in which we engage with at-risk populations in our community, whether that be members of the LGBTQIA+ community or educators. We give people strategy so that they, too, can be truth-tellers in a way that’s thoughtful and responsive to the current reality.
What are some current or upcoming programs, exhibits or events that you’re particularly excited about?
Pauli Murray was a doting dog parent, so we recently had a benefit dog walk where we invited people to connect with that piece of Pauli [by walking] around [to] learn more about this historically Black, historically working-class neighborhood. We’ll do that again next year. I am excited for ongoing tours at the PMC. We’re still welcoming a lot of people in for the first time, and I strongly encourage folks to sign up for a guided or self-guided tour. Every year we have the annual Pauli Murray pilgrimage, where we invite people to traverse to sites that were significant to Pauli Murray’s childhood and formative years here in Durham. At each stop on that pilgrimage, they learn a little bit more about Pauli, local Black history in Durham, and how these spaces contributed to Pauli’s faith practice. We [also] have an animated miniseries coming out on Pauli Murray’s contributions to the Civil Rights Movement that is designed primarily for fifth through eighth graders, but I think is going to be super compelling for everybody.
Are there other ways that community members can get involved or support the center’s work?
We have a growing online presence, so following us on social media is really key, and also [following us] via our newsletter. We have a lot of resources available online – everything from educational curriculum to biographical information about Pauli [to] a virtual tour. If Pauli Murray is somebody who is compelling to you, if the work the PMC is doing feels attractive, we have a lot of [volunteer] opportunities. That can be something as simple as setting up for something like a dog walk event or guiding people through this space.
What do you think Pauli Murray would make of this space today?
It’s really interesting – when Pauli Murray [was] an elder, they [did] an interview with then budding, now prolific historian, Genna Rae McNeil. [Pauli] said they [didn’t] think they’d been successful onall of their – they called [them] little – campaigns for social justice. I think, on its face, that is quite literally true. But, here we are, sitting in Pauli Murray’s childhood home, the space that shaped the activist who died thinking they failed. That is powerful. That is profound.
I think Pauli Murray would be tickled and surprised that a space like this existed in their honor. I think that Pauli would be humbled as well that their modest childhood home now stands as a testament to the power and possibility of how history can help us think transformatively about social justice work today. I think Pauli would also caution us to not get distracted in our work to commemorate them and their legacy. They would want us to remember that the work does not stop here, and part of commemorating them requires that we continue to act.
It’s profound to consider that Pauli got to a place [where] they thought they failed. But, they understood that they weren’t going to see what they were building. How do we get comfortable with just doing something for now, understanding that we may not see the fruit of it? That’s hard for us as microwave-instant-gratification people, but that is part of Pauli’s lesson.
What was your first reaction when you received the notice that the Institute of Museum and Library Services grant had been terminated?
I frankly was not surprised. My reaction was overall agitation. I had a sense that something was coming. It was specifically the language in the notice that was agitating.
How do you interpret that language – that the grant ‘no longer serves the interests of the United States’?
Honestly, it’s not my place to interpret that language. When I read it, my gut instinct is simply to tell the truth in the face of a lie. It is an absurd lie. If we understand who Pauli Murray was – [that] their mission [was] to dismantle race-based and sex-based discrimination in the United States, to make that real so that everybody could live in this country unoppressed – if that is not American, I don’t know what is. What Pauli Murray did is quite literally the inverse of the statement that was made in that letter.
How will the loss of this funding impact daily operations at the Center – both short- and long-term?
In the short-term, it means that we no longer have funding for a critical staff position here: a public historian who’s working hard and thoughtfully to tell more expansive stories of Pauli Murray. We no longer have access to about 16% of our budget for this year – which, for an organization of our size, is a major challenge – and 20% of our budget for next year, which begets even more challenges. For the mid- and long-term, this grant funded an abundance of opportunities for the center to serve the community: a new exhibition centered on Pauli’s community, humanity and spirituality; curriculum for eighth graders across the state centered on Pauli’s activist legacy; and new programs for our community. Those opportunities are no longer feasible without this funding as well. On a macro level, the dismantling of that funding is also disinvestment from this historically Black, historically working class neighborhood. The Pauli Murray Center was the only institution in Durham to receive IMLS funding in 2024, and that picture that I painted for you of all that we were going to do with that funding was going to drop people here – not just to this space, but to this neighborhood and the businesses in this neighborhood. That strips guaranteed future investment in the West End as well. So, it’s not just an impact to us as a standalone institution; it also has larger impacts for our neighborhood and for Durham as a whole.
What steps is the Pauli Murray Center taking to replace the lost funds or secure alternative support for the affected staff and programs?
We’re leaning into our community. We have offered a call to action to stakeholders and supporters of the center to give, so we’re relying on grassroots fundraising. Moving forward, I’m grateful that we have been building relationships with private foundations over the course of the past several months as well; I’m hopeful that those relationships will yield opportunities for those types of organizations to fill in the gaps as well. Also, support for the center doesn’t just look like fiscal support. There are other ways for the community to support us in this moment. Visiting makes a big difference, because coming here means investing in the neighborhood. People’s presence in this space matters. That can happen through participating in a guided or self-guided tour or an event here. Finally, being vocal about what you see happen in your community makes a difference. We’ve asked people to reach out to lawmakers, to build awareness, and to build pressure and to amplify what they’re seeing in the press. Folks need to understand what is happening in Durham at this one-of-a-kind space.
How does your dedication to highlighting Pauli Murray’s work shape your response to this event? What can we learn from their legacy when we’re faced with discrimination and censorship? In other words, how would Pauli Murray respond?
Pauli Murray teaches us so much. I am a public historian by training, which means I ground very deeply in studying Pauli. I research Pauli, I read [their] writings, and [I] have the great fortune of stewarding this physical space. I find myself in deep relationship with ancestor Pauli. This relationship has helped me to understand that Pauli Murray, though they got angry, frustrated, exhausted, exasperated [and] agitated, they simply were not somebody who gave into despair. We can feel our feelings, but despair shall not swallow us whole. That is not how Pauli moved through the world. Pauli felt their feelings and kept going. [They] were courageous enough to be vocal, to fight whatever those fights required. Our work won’t stop, and it is my job to find ways to continue our work, to ensure that we are not deterred from telling the truth, to have enough courage to be vocal and say that this disinvestment is not right, and yet, we’re going to continue to move forward. I, too, have been angry, exasperated, tired – but I’m using that as fuel to move forward, because that is what Pauli Murray would do.
I think it’s really important to recognize that what the [Pauli Murray] Center is experiencing is part of a broader pattern of federal disinvestment happening nationally. That is by design. There is an active effort to transform how we understand American history – to erase the contributions of Black people, queer people, women and other marginalized groups. As a historian, this is one of the first things that we always see when leaders are building oppressive societies. It is very intentional, because our history gets at the very heart of our identities and gets to the heart of our education system and how we see ourselves as citizens in this nation. That’s why we seek to tell the truth, and why I’m committed to telling the truth here, because this experiment shall not succeed. – as told to Sharon Kinsella
Read more uplifting local stories in our current edition of Durham Magazine.
