GoFundMe Aims To Save Aberdeen Home That Played Role In Civil Rights Movement

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — An historic home in Harford County faces an uncertain future and a GoFundMe has been established to help save it.

Janice Grant, owner of the white home at 430 S. Law St. in Aberdeen, shared that the home hosted Freedom Riders, a group of activists who traveled to the South to advocate for racial equality, at a time when local churches were afraid of arson attacks during the Civil Rights Movement.

"So many things occurred in this house," Grant told WBAL. "We would have the NAACP meetings. We would have the freedom riders and other members of the group that would come. This house is a house where the Freedom Riders actually met."

Grant and other Freedom Riders met up and headed south to lead other desegregation activities such as registering Black citizens to vote. Grant barely made it out of Mississippi alive during this time period, while other Freedom Riders did not.

Grant, now 90, faces foreclosure on the home. Since her husband's passing four years ago, she has struggled to preserve the home and battled squatters. While she lives next door, the home where brainstorming that changed the future of America still holds an important place in her heart.

"It's such a wonderful piece of Harford County history, a wonderful piece of American history and I think it needs to be preserved," said Patricia Cole, president of the Havre de Grace Colored School Museum and Cultural Center.

"Without intervention, the house's rich historical significance risks being forgotten and future generations will be deprived of an authentic connection to this transformative period in American history," Cole said, which prompted her to put together the GoFundMe. "The preservation of historic landmarks serves to anchor us to the past, providing a tangible reminder of the struggles and triumphs that built the foundations of our present society. Mrs. Grant's home is not merely a physical structure; it is a repository of memories and stories that deserve to be cherished and shared."

Cole and others are hoping to raise enough money to save the home from foreclosure. They've set a goal of $50,000.

"Remember, it is through the preservation of our past that we honor the sacrifices and achievements of those who came before us. Let us stand in solidarity with Mrs. Grant, a true hero of the Civil Rights Movement, and make every effort to save this significant piece of history," Cole noted.