Durham activist fights to keep home she turned into a haven for women

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- It's become a story we've seen happening too often, longtime residents feeling priced out of the housing market, and longtime institutions fading away.

Now, a community in Durham is fighting to make sure that doesn't happen for a social activist who turned her home into a haven for women.

Eddie Clement-Swan's home off of Roxboro Street in Durham's Braggtown area is like stepping into a museum - full of Black history memorabilia, art, and music.

After decades as a social justice activist, Clement-Swan turned her home into The L Room, a refuge for women needing a break.

"They've come in and they're like 'Eddie oh my God, can we come in and have a tea and just sit and read books and listen to the vinyl?' I said sure," she said.

Through the years, she had to move from a place off Geer Street to the current location because rent was too high. At the location she rents, Eddie lives upstairs and the L Room is downstairs.

"This has been a place of community for women but also a place to de-stress and relax and have conversations," she said.

But after six years of renting, the owner wants to sell, and Clement-Swan, like many others in Durham, is worried she'll be priced out.

"We all know what gentrification is doing, I mean homes when I first moved here 20 years ago that were $40,000 are now $250,000 and more," she said.

It's a tough market, but the owner is giving her first the option to buy -- and that's where the community is stepping up. They hope to raise $75,000 toward a down payment on a home estimated to be worth $300,000.

It's a tall order, but Clement-Swan hopes the same Durham community that embraced her all these years will come through for her again to keep the L Room alive.

"My mama always told us there's nothing you cannot do," she said.

Clement-Swan said she hopes to have the money raised by the end of January to officially buy the home. When that happens, she said, she'll have a big party.