Exhibit Opening – To Love and Live Free: The 1986 Mayoral Recall Fight and the Origins of Durham Pride
The Museum of Durham History will open its newest exhibit, To Love and Live Free: The 1986 Mayoral Recall Fight and the Origins of Durham Pride, with a public celebration on Friday, May 15, 2026, at 6PM at the Museum (500 W. Main St.). The event is free and open to the public and will include complimentary food and beverage courtesy of Queeny’s and Ponysaurus, as well as a special performance by members of The Common Woman Chorus! Featured speakers include former Durham Mayor Wib Gulley, activist and scholar Mab Segrest, activist and Pride organizer Meredith Emmett, exhibit curator Andrew Nurkin, and others.
Timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the 1986 recall campaign against Mayor Gulley, the exhibition explores the controversy that erupted after the mayor issued a proclamation supporting “Anti-discrimination Week” alongside Durham’s lesbian and gay Pride events.
The resulting backlash, and the broad coalition that fought against discrimination, became a defining moment in Durham’s history. Through archival materials, photographs, artifacts, and newly recorded oral histories, the exhibit traces how activists, clergy, librarians, elected officials, and everyday residents came together across lines of race, faith, and identity to defend equality and free expression.
