Durham Colored Library, Inc

The Durham Colored Library, Inc. is no longer technically a library, we remain, however, one of Durham, North Carolina's oldest non-profit organizations and we have kept our historic name to honor our origin story. We are a narrative and education-focused nonprofit dedicated to elevating Black stories and preserving Black heritage as part of the comprehensive American experience. Our initiatives encourage all generations to access the uplifting power of life-long learning. DCL, Inc. was founded over 100 years ago (1913) by Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore and officially chartered in 1918. The historic Durham Colored Library System remained under DCL, Inc.’s management until 1969 when the Durham County Public Library System opened its doors to all residents of Durham City & Durham County thereby desegregating Durham’s public library services. The historic Stanford L. Warren facility is still standing today as a branch of the Durham Public Library system. It is one of the last remaining historic reminders of Durham’s Black Wall Street era. The DCL, Inc. nonprofit has most recently fulfilled its mission through the development of the definitive biography of founder Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore by Blake Hill-Saya, with a foreword by U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, and an afterword by DCL, Inc. President C. Eileen Watts Welch, published by the University of North Carolina Press. We also continue to publish the Historic Merrick Washington Magazine for the visually impaired. Follow us as we share our rich history as well as roll out exciting new initiatives in the months ahead! We hope that you will add us to the organizations that you follow and patronize in this new moment for Black business and non-profits in the public consciousness. We welcome your energy for change and the renewed interest and attention to Black history and heritage. Together we can shine brighter, and lift our future up!