DURHAM, N.C. - The Duke Human Rights Center recently received two grants to develop a project that will examine Durham's complex racial history. The goal of the project, named for and inspired by the legacy of Durham native and community activist Pauli Murray, is to promote reconciliation and improve cross-community dialogue.

The Pauli Murray Project will bring Durham residents together to discuss the city's history, create materials documenting that history and organize book clubs to read about Durham history, including the works of Pauli Murray. The project will culminate in a report documenting these activities to inform local policy-makers who are shaping a future Durham history museum. The report will contain recommendations on how a museum could include lesser-known histories and be a place where residents can meet to discuss and resolve contemporary problems.

"The Pauli Murray Project builds on techniques developed in places like South Africa and Northern Ireland, where history-telling has become a central part of how communities learn to live together in more productive ways," said Robin Kirk, director of the Duke Human Rights Center. "Pauli Murray saw the human rights struggle in what was going on here and we think this is a fitting way to honor her achievements."

Murray was the first woman to graduate 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 as an Episcopal priest. Her memoir, "Proud Shoes: The Story of an American Family," examines a century of race relations through the eyes of her white and black relatives.

"Pauli Murray was ahead of her time in fighting for civil rights," said Barbara Lau, the Pauli Murray Project Director. Lau, a folklorist and oral historian, previously directed "Face Up: Telling Stories of Community Life," a public art project in Durham, sponsored by Duke's Center for Documentary Studies, that includes five murals featuring Murray. Lau also serves as the co-chair of the History Committee of the Parrish Street Advocacy Group, dedicated to promoting the history of Durham's Black Wall Street, and is a member of the advisory group to the Museum of Durham History.

"One of our goals is to have Durham residents look at some of the new ways that history is told, to ensure that communities have a voice in the process and can also use places like history museums and sites to help address contemporary issues," Lau added. "Some stories have yet to be told, and we see this project as a way that can also empower communities to tell their stories and make sure that they are heard."

With support from the Andrus Family Fund and the North Carolina Humanities Council, a steering committee of community leaders, activists, academics and clergy interested in fostering dialogue about the past will lead the Pauli Murray Project. Current committee members include Durham City Councilman Farad Ali, local pastor the Rev. Joe Harvard, community activist Cynthia Brown, Pauli Murray family members the Rev. Dwyian and Stephanie Davis, Preservation Durham board member Victor Gordon and Charmaine McKissick Melton of North Carolina Central University, among others.

The Duke Human Rights Center is part of the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute, named after the late historian John Hope Franklin.

"John Hope gave us his blessing before he passed, and I think this project will honor his legacy of scholarship and engagement," Kirk said.