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Durham Civil Rights History Mural Project

The Civil Rights Mural Project strives to bring into the present and into the public eye, the legacy of the civil rights history of Durham, North Carolina.

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Durham Civil Rights History Mural Project

Durham Civil Rights History Mural Project

Durham Civil Rights History Mural Project

Durham Civil Rights History Mural Project

Durham Civil Rights History Mural Project

The Civil Rights Mural Project strives to bring into the present and into the public eye, the legacy of the civil rights history of Durham, North Carolina.

The Civil Rights Mural Project strives to bring into the present and into the public eye, the legacy of the civil rights history of Durham, North Carolina.

The Civil Rights Mural Project strives to bring into the present and into the public eye, the legacy of the civil rights history of Durham, North Carolina.

The Civil Rights Mural Project strives to bring into the present and into the public eye, the legacy of the civil rights history of Durham, North Carolina.

Rodrigo Dorfman
Rodrigo Dorfman
Rodrigo Dorfman
Rodrigo Dorfman
4 Campaigns |
Durham, United States
$10,382 USD 167 backers
103% of $10,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Highlights
Mountain Filled 4 Projects Mountain Filled 4 Projects


 “We must remember and continue to tell” 

                                 Dr. Charmaine McKissick-Melton

OUR STORY

Beginning in 2013, 30 diverse community members, ages 15-65, came together during a 16-week period to engage in Durham’s Civil Rights History through a series of lectures, music performances, research and design workshops. The group then gathered what they discovered into a collaborative mural design. In late May-July 2014 these same folks, with the help of the greater community, will paint this 2400 square foot mural in downtown Durham, under the direction of muralist Brenda Miller Holmes. 


Arising from this process is a multimedia, multi platform educational outreach project directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Rodrigo Dorfman. The stories documented will be personal and thematic, reflecting a painful past and addressing present issues of race and class in a city that is a state of transition and gentrification. These stories will emerge from the design of the mural and the final "story" will go beyond the mural itself into the lives of the characters who participate in this creative process. The documentary material will also be the cornerstone of our educational outreach materials we intend to create to help bring this story and process to other communities in the South.

Please join us and contribute to keep this inspiring history alive and honor the sacrifices of the many Durham citizens who fought for equity and justice. 


 WHAT WE NEED AND WHY

In 2012, our project was selected by the City of Durham, for its first public art pilot program, and we received a generous grant that covered 80% of the initial cost of the mural. Since then, the size of the wall has grown 300%. Our 800 square foot wall is now a 2400 square foot wall! Can you picture that? 

The mural will be located on the rear wall of the Durham Visitors and Convention Center facing Morris Street, next to Durham Arts Council.

While we are really excited about the new downtown location and expanded space, we need more of everything. More paint,  more brushes, more scaffolding…you name it. We also realize the importance of building on this project and reaching as many people as possible about Durham’s profound Civil Rights History, so we are working on a multimedia project to engage community with the history in multiple ways. We need your help! 

First and foremost, we need $7000 to finish the mural. 2400 square feet is a lot of additional space so we require a lot of additional materials, not to mention insurance and expanded scaffolding. We also need $3000 to complete the first documentary phase of our multimedia educational project, which involves filming the creation of the mural and interviewing five participants. The second phase will consist of putting together a short documentary, a booklet and an interactive website. 

 And finally, we need you! Community is central to making this project a reality. Please check out our perks, become an honored sponsor, and donate what you can. 


WHY WE NEED THIS WALL

Our hope for the project is to honor the unsung heroes, while taking a longer view. History is often presented in one top-down dimension that honors leaders and ignores the tremendous efforts of everyday people. Our desire is to depict a fuller history, celebrating the hundreds of Durham Citizens whose feet were on the ground working and to commemorate the incredible sacrifices that they made to create change. I also believe that sharing this history is just as important for looking forward as it is for looking back. Understanding the power of each person’s contribution to collective effort has the potential to inspire new movement as we continue to strive for justice.  

  

GET INVOLVED

“The success of the movement was due to the wisdom of the elders and the impatience of the youth” Mickey Michaux - North Carolina General Assembly

Jhordan Perry, Senator Floyd B. McKissick, Jr.  Dr. Charmaine McKissick-Melton

We also need your time and good humor!  We are inviting the greater community to come and paint with us. Don’t consider yourself an artist? Don’t worry about that, bring your good energy and contribute to this historic public artwork. If this sounds like fun (it is!), please reach out to brenda(at)brendamillerholmes.com and dates will be announced. 

Also, share this campaign via email and social networks. Spread the word and pick up a paint brush. You will not regret it. 


MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT

Funded by the City of Durham, through an initiative of the Durham Cultural Advisory Board, under Durham’s Cultural Master Plan, with additional sponsorship by the Hayti Heritage Center, a diverse group of 30 community members, fifteen youth and fifteen adults, have come together to learn about Durham’s profound Civil Rights History. The project began with a series of educational lectures led by Dr. Benjamin Speller as the education team leader. Dr. Speller served as the Dean of the School of Library and Information Sciences at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) from 1983-2004, is a scholar of Durham Civil Rights History and served as the president of Preservation Durham from 2000-2004. He gathered an incredible teaching team, including North Carolina General Assembly Representative, Mickey Michaux, Executive Director of the Pauli Murray Project, Barbara Lau, Coordinator of University Archives/Instructor of Public History, NCCU, Andre Vann, veteran Civil Rights activist Vivian McCoy, North Carolina Senator Floyd B. McKissick and Department Chair, Mass Communications at NCCU Dr. Charmiane McKissick-Melton. Held in February and March of 2013 at the Hayti Heritage Center, this series was free and open to the public. Following these lectures the participants engaged in additional research and collaborated to create a cohesive mural design under the direction of muralist Brenda Miller Holmes.     

Brenda Miller Holmes is a muralist and art educator that has facilitated collaborative community mural projects throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and internationally and she studied and worked with Master Muralist Susan Cervantes of Precita Eyes Muralists from 2005-2011. Trained in an artistic approach mirroring that of popular education, Brenda’s interest lies at the intersection of art, activism, community empowerment and social justice. She now lives and works in Durham, NC and is passionate about sharing this unifying collaborative creative experience. Beyond mural making, her art teaching experience spans a variety of media and she has led workshops with people of all ages, from toddlers through adults. Check her out at http://www.brendamillerholmes.com 

Rodrigo Dorfman is an award winning filmmaker and multimedia producer who has worked with POV, HBO, Salma Hayek's Ventanazul and the BBC among others.  His films have been screened at some of the top international film festivals in the world (Toronto, Full Frame, Edinburgh, Telluride, Human Rights Watch).  With his father he has won best screenplay award from the Writer's Guild of Great Britain for "Prisoners in Time" (1997).  Rodrigo Dorfman won the Jury Award for Best Short at the Full Frame Film Festival with his jazz doc "One Night in Kernersville"(2011). He is currently developing a documentary-based national museum exhibit with the Levine Museum of the New South on the living history of the Latinos in the South. Check him out at  http://www.melloweb.com    

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Choose your Perk

I Am a Man / Woman

$10 USD
No amount is too small and we appreciate every contribution! Donate $10 and receive a commemorative mural sticker and a shout out on our Facebook page.
Estimated Shipping
August 2014
20 claimed

All Power to the People

$20 USD
Donate $20 and receive a limited edition commemorative mural postcard, sticker and a shout out on our Facebook page.
Estimated Shipping
August 2014
47 claimed

Justice Now

$50 USD
Donate $50 and receive a pack of five limited edition commemorative mural postcards, a sticker and a shout out on our Facebook page.
Estimated Shipping
August 2014
26 claimed

Take a Stand

$100 USD
Donate $100 and receive a limited edition commemorative mural postcard, a sticker, a shout out on our Facebook page and an 11" x 17" color print of one of the original drawings from the design process.
Estimated Shipping
August 2014
18 claimed

Raise Your Voice

$250 USD
Donate $250 and receive a pack of 5 limited edition commemorative mural postcards, a sticker, a shout out on our Facebook page and and three 11"x17" color prints of three different original drawings from the design process.
Estimated Shipping
August 2014
3 claimed

Direct Action Gets Results

$500 USD
Donate $500 and become an Official Sponsor! Perks include being listed as an Official Sponsor in all outreach materials, and an original signed drawing from our design process!
Estimated Shipping
August 2014
5 claimed

Eyes on the Prize

$1,000 USD
Donate $1000 and become an Official Honored Sponsor! Perks include being listed as an Official Honored Sponsor on the mural wall itself and in all outreach materials, and a color print of the whole original mural design composite drawing!
Estimated Shipping
August 2014
0 claimed

Spend Where You Can Earn

$2,500 USD
Donate $2500, be an Official Honored Sponsor! Perks include being listed as an Official Honored Sponsor on the mural wall itself and in all outreach materials, and a color print of the whole original mural design composite drawing AND a original signed drawing from our design process!
Estimated Shipping
August 2014
0 claimed

Say it Loud!

$5,000 USD
Donate $5000, receive all of the above perks, be an Official Honored Sponsor AND be listed as an Associate Producer on our multi-media documentary project!
Estimated Shipping
August 2014
0 claimed
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