{"id":2956,"date":"2026-06-21T21:34:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T21:34:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2956"},"modified":"2026-06-21T21:34:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T21:34:45","slug":"minister-paul-scott-durham-leader-and-black-culture-advocate-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2956","title":{"rendered":"Minister Paul Scott, Durham leader and Black culture advocate, dies"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

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Paul Scott is being remembered for his legacy as a minister, activist, community leader in Durham and staunch advocate of teaching Black history.<\/p>\n

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A memorial service was held Saturday for Scott, 59, who died recently after an illness. Social media has been filled with tributes to Scott\u2019s work and the impact he\u2019s had on the people of Durham.<\/p>\n

\u201cPaul Scott raised critical concerns related to issues involving Black people living in Durham,\u201d Carl Kenney, a local journalist and assistant professor at UNC-Chapel Hill\u2019s Hussman School of Journalism, said in a Facebook post on June 11<\/a>. \u201cHe embraced Black Liberation theologies while listening to and affirming the witness of residents hindered by policies created to advance institutionalized racism. Rest in peace prophet. Rest in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott \u201cinspired us directly from the trenches,\u201d said Mary Molina, administrator of the Durham: Local politics, gentrification, and land use Facebook group.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe mourn more than an activist,\u201d Molina posted June 11 on Facebook.<\/a> \u201cWe grieve a pillar of our community \u2014 a fearless voice against youth offenses, gun violence, and gang profiling. May his memory be a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott was an ordained Baptist minister before founding the Durham-based Black Messiah Movement, which combined Black liberation theology and community activism, Indy Week reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Scott was outspoken on issues in Durham for decades. His username on X was \u201ctruthminista<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1998, Scott led a successful effort to get Phat Boy, a malt liquor targeted at young Black men, removed from grocery store shelves.<\/p>\n

In 2023, Scott was part of an effort to get an energy drink called Cocaine removed from store shelves, The News & Observer previously reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 2025, Scott was among the people criticizing Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams for using the term \u201cYNs,\u201d short for \u201cyoung [racial epithet],\u201d The N&O previously reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Most recently, Scott had questioned city actions<\/a> such as the removal of a homeless encampmen<\/a>t in Oakwood Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo our City Council, while your most persistent opponent will no longer have his two minutes at the podium, do not mistake his absence for silence,\u201d Angie Santiago, the founder of the non-profit group El Centro Para Todos, wrote in a June 11 Facebook post<\/a>. \u201cBrother Paul\u2019s calls for transparency, justice and accountability will ring louder through all of us who learned from his example.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott\u2019s passion was promoting Black history, especially among young people.<\/p>\n

Over the years, Scott repeatedly lobbied for inclusion of more study of Black history<\/a> in North Carolina public schools.<\/p>\n

Scott founded Bull City Griot<\/a> to distribute free books about Black history and Black culture in Durham neighborhoods. Scott could often be seen walking the streets of Durham handing out those books to young people.<\/p>\n

In March, Scott posted on Facebook what he called his \u201cBull City Revolutionary Birthday Lis<\/a>t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRead at least one book about Black history or culture a month and teach what you learned to someone else,\u201d Scott listed on his birthday wish list.<\/p>\n

One of Scott\u2019s final requests was for people to donate children\u2019s books to pass out to the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrother Paul dedicated his life to raising Black consciousness, demanding accountability from those in power, and mentoring young people through one of the simplest but most revolutionary acts imaginable: putting books into their hands,\u201d Santiago wrote. \u201cHe understood that liberation begins with knowledge, and he spent years making sure Black history, Black thought, and Black revolutionary traditions remained accessible to the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Durham mourns Paul Scott, a minister and activist who founded Bull City Griot and handed out free Black history books to youth, inspiring community education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nMinister Paul Scott, Durham leader and Black culture advocate, dies - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2956\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Minister Paul Scott, Durham leader and Black culture advocate, dies - 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