Family home of Harford County civil rights activist Janice Grant faces impending foreclosure

Jul. 18—Janice Grant, the oldest living civil rights activist in Harford County, may lose the family home that played a key role in the county's Civil Rights Movement.

The Aberdeen home, built in 1960, is facing the threat of foreclosure. Friends say she has struggled to maintain the home, which is in disrepair and has attracted squatters, since her husband, Woodrow, died four years ago.

The home sits on 4 acres that were purchased by Grant's family in 1917, in what was considered a large acquisition for Black people at that time. People in need could stop by the property, where the family raised livestock and produce, and receive food and shelter, according to her niece, Leslie Reliford.

Years later, the land would serve as a safe space for civil rights activists in the 1950s and 1960s.

Grant, 90, was a teacher in Harford County until 1996, a volunteer with the Peace Corps, and an advocate for equal opportunities for Black students and educators in Harford County. She and her late husband were key plaintiffs in four federal lawsuits filed against Harford County Public Schools in 1964 to completely desegregate the school system. The suits came more than a decade after the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

Grant's family home hosted civil rights activists fighting for equality. In 1959, she and four other residents formed the Human Relations Commission, which is now part of the county government. In 1961, she hosted in her home the Freedom Riders, a group of white and Black protesters who rode buses together through the South to challenge segregation laws.

Mickey Schwerner, a Congress of Racial Equality activist, was a visitor at her home. He was one of three civil rights workers killed in Mississippi during the 1964 Freedom Summer while trying to register Black voters. Grant narrowly escaped an attack by hiding in the trunk of her car.

"When I was growing up, I thought of her house as a melting pot," said Reliford, Grant's niece, "because we would go over to her house, and she would always have someone over. We met some many different kinds of people."

As a lifetime member of the NAACP, Grant also participated in efforts to desegregate businesses and institutions in Harford County and around the state, including sit-ins in Baltimore. After teaching at Havre de Grace Consolidated School for 10 years, and Halls Cross Roads Elementary School for one year, Grant left Harford County when she and her husband moved to Nashville, Tennessee.

The couple returned to Harford County in 1976 and moved into the Aberdeen home, which had been her mother's primary residence. Grant began a second stint as a teacher in Harford County following four years in the Peace Corps.

"My aunt Janice never stopped fighting for whatever cause for anybody," said Reliford. "Even though she's big on civil rights and the NAACP, she fought against any injustice."

In 1974, she founded the Helping Hands Ministry on Level Road in Havre de Grace, an organization that helps those in need. In the 1990s, she served as the president of Harford's NAACP chapter, leading civil rights efforts for Black soldiers stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

"She deserves for someone to give back to her because still to this day she tries to give back to the community," Reliford said.

While Grant now lives in another home nearby, she does not want to lose the family homestead, said family friend Patricia Cole. Grant refinanced the property in an attempt to pay upkeep expenses, and hesitated to tell anyone what happened, Cole said.

"She's very proud, and all of this that is happening to her was something that held until she couldn't hold it no more," said Cole, a member of the Hosanna School Museum board of directors.

According to a February report from the National Consumer Law Center, more seniors aged 62 and over are in danger of foreclosure from exploring refinancing options, including reverse mortgages. "Historically, people of color have been more likely to take out reverse mortgages, due to the legacy of discrimination and policies that limited their wealth-building opportunities, and they are also more likely to end up in reverse mortgage foreclosure," the report said.

Harford County has a resource available to help seniors and others who may be in a situation similar to Grant's, according to county spokesperson Matt Button.

"When we do get a call, then we are going to work with the individual to find out how to reduce their expenses," Button said. "We have a variety of ways that we can work with people in the community to help with their expenses to save money on utilities, food stamps, accessing tax credits, etc."

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The county Housing and Community Development department has a housing counselor, Stephen Gasparovic, who is dedicated to helping these individuals stay in their homes, Button said. Gasparovic may be reached at 410-638-3045, extension 1826; or smgasparovic@harfordcountymd.gov.

"We would encourage these people to reach out sooner than later because if they come to us sooner, there's a better chance that we can help them," Button said.

Grant's home has foundation issues and is in need of cosmetic work including a new roof. A GoFundMe fundraiser was set up by Cole to raise $50,000 to save the home from foreclosure. Given its role in the history of Harford County, Cole believes it should become a historical landmark.

The fundraiser has raised $2,635 so far. The deadline is July 31.

"The preservation of historic landmarks serves to anchor us to the past, providing a tangible reminder of the struggles and triumphs that built the foundations of our present society," said Cole in the fundraiser. "Mrs. Grant's home is not merely a physical structure; it is a repository of memories and stories that deserve to be cherished and shared."