A home in Aberdeen, Maryland, with ties to the Civil Rights Movement, is in danger of foreclosure.
The home belongs to 89-year-old Janice Grant, a life-lifelong activist who helped desegregate schools and public spaces in the South and Maryland. She now has nearly two months to raise money to help her family keep the home.
“I was always interested in civil rights, and it was exciting,” Grant said.
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Host to history
Grant’s parents built the home on 430 Law Street in 1960. It is a one-story home painted white with a light gray roof and a tree-filled yard. Outwardly it looks ordinary, but its walls witnessed the fight for civil rights.
One night in the 1960's, a busload of Freedom Riders making their way to Mississippi needed a place to stop, but the local church was afraid of retaliation.
“I was called about 11:30 p.m. that night saying, 'Stop the Freedom Riders, they cannot come to our church,'" she said. "And so, I have twin brothers, and so we went out and sat on the lawn with a sign saying go to 430 Law Street."
Grant’s family welcomed the Freedom Riders into their home. Among the riders was Michael “Mickey” Schwerner, one of three activists brutally killed by the Ku Klux Klan in the 1964 Mississippi murders.
“Mom had sandwiches and they were resting here and eating,” she said while pointing at chairs in the dining room.
In the years since, the house was used as a gathering place for activists fighting to desegregate restaurants and schools in Maryland.
“We were all about the business of equal treatment as American citizens and we discussed things, and we made plans,” she said.
Foreclosure looms
The home on Law Street now faces foreclosure. Grant, who now lives next door, has been unable to keep up with the home's mortgage payments.
Now, there's a community effort to raise money. An online fundraiser has raised over $16,000, but she needs $45,000 to help keep the family home.
If the money isn’t raised, the home could be sold at auction in early to mid-September. Grant still remains hopeful and would like to see the home used as a teaching tool for the younger generations.
“The freedoms that they have today. They need to learn that people died for that. They sacrificed their lives, they were beaten,” she said.
