Human rights leader's home transformation

Fifteen years before Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus, Ms. Anna Pauline Murray refused to sit in the back and 20 years before the Greensboro sit-ins, she organized her own restaurant sit-ins in Washington, D.C. while still a student. The great-granddaughter of slaves and slave owners, "Pauli" Murray became an advisor to Presidents Roosevelt and Kennedy and was an accomplished human rights activist, historian, attorney, poet and teacher. And yet, she is largely unknown.

The designation of Murray's childhood home in Durham, North Carolina as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation is the first step in recognizing Murray's national significance. Iron Mountain is pleased to support the funding for the preservation and renovation of Murray's home.

A grant award was made to the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice (PMC) through Iron Mountain's Living Legacy Initiative, which is the company's commitment to preserve and make accessible cultural and historical information, world artifacts and treasures. Living Legacy seeks partnerships with museums and other nonprofit organizations to help them protect items of cultural significance and to create broader access to them.

The grant to PMC will sustain the foundation of the home and also allow for exterior renovations needed from lack of maintenance, demolition, neglect and water damage. This preservation will let future generations learn about Pauli Murray and give them access to her important historical contributions.