The Crusaders

The Pauli Murray Center

Presented by the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice, "The Crusaders" is a podcast and community archive honoring Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray's legacy as a civil rights crusader.

Episodes

  1. 18h ago

    From Undercover to Activist with Orin Starn

    This week's guest is writer, anthropologist, and Duke University professor Orin Starn. In this episode, Starn discusses working "undercover" in an Amazon warehouse, being a part of Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment (CAUSE), and how Pauli Murray shaped his understanding of activism.  References https://www.orinstarn.com/ https://www.sapiens.org/culture/anthropology-amazon-warehouse-workers/  https://amazoncause.com/  https://www.durhamdispatch.com/post/interview-with-cause-leader-rev-ryan-brown-on-amazon-workers-unionizing-in-garner-nc  https://www.ncjustice.org/amazon-rdu1-unionization-effort-nc/  Ballad for Americans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHCQGQdeL68  Interview with Pauli Murray by Genna Rae McNeil, February 14, 1976, in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Murray, Pauli. Song in a Weary Throat: Memoir of an American Pilgrimage. Liveright Publishing Corporation, a Division of W.W. Norton & Company, 2018. https://www.paulimurraycenter.com/about-the-center  Hosted and produced by Danielle Buckingham, Public Historian at the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice. Special thanks to the PMC's 2026 Public History and Storytelling intern Geethika Korrapati for research support and the UNC-Chapel Hill's Southern Oral History Program for permission to use Pauli Murray's oral history interview.

    From Undercover to Activist with Orin Starn
  2. Oct 23

    In the footsteps of Pauli with Mama Cookie

    The season premiere of The Crusaders features Bertha Bradley, affectionately known as "Mama Cookie"—a Durham community leader, mentor, labor organizer, and co-founder of the Union of Southern Service Workers (USSW). Growing up in the same West End neighborhood as Pauli Murray, Mama Cookie reflects on her roots in labor organizing, the power of cross-racial worker solidarity, local Black history, and her dedication to passing the torch to younger generations. Hosted and produced by Danielle Buckingham, Public Historian at the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice. Special thanks to the PMC's 2026 Public History and Storytelling intern Geethika Korrapati for research and the UNC-Chapel Hill's Southern Oral History Program for permission to use Pauli Murray's oral history interview.  Resources Character Studies: Mama Cookie, Champion for Labor Rights The South has a new union—and workers have Black women to thank Union of Southern Service Workers is building worker power. Interview with Pauli Murray by Genna Rae McNeil, February 14, 1976, in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Murray, Pauli. Song in a Weary Throat: Memoir of an American Pilgrimage. Liveright Publishing Corporation, a Division of W.W. Norton & Company, 2018. https://www.paulimurraycenter.com/about-the-center Follow us on instagram and like, rate, and review The Crusaders on Spotify & Apple Podcasts!

About

Presented by the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice, "The Crusaders" is a podcast and community archive honoring Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray's legacy as a civil rights crusader.