CELEBRATING
Gray History
This is a place for sharing stories about partnership, cooperation, and collaboration.
Did you know that there are thousands of true stories - spanning all periods of US history - about people of different races, backgrounds, and beliefs who have chosen to work together? These true stories of partnership and collaboration are what we call Gray History, and we think they should be told.
We do not deny or gloss over the undisputed inequalities that have existed among people of different races in the United States. But Gray History stories show that there have also always been Americans who were willing to work together, no matter their race.
Our goal is to collect and tell Gray History stories.
WE’VE DISCOVERED THAT THESE ARE STORIES PEOPLE WANT TO HEAR.
We began by looking for stories in the usual way: reading books, visiting museums and libraries, and searching online. But every time we speak to a group, people approach us afterwards to talk about something that happened in their family or community. Gray History stories are everywhere! We want grayhistorystories.org to be a place where we can collect stories from anyone who has one to share.
OUR GOAL
WE HOPE TO INSPIRE OTHERS TO DISCOVER THEIR OWN GRAY HISTORY STORIES.
Gray History stories show that black and white Americans have a long tradition of working together. We want to remind Americans that they have the ability to carry that tradition of cooperation and partnership forward today and into the future.
ABOUT US
Liz Huntley and Kathryn McDonald are friends who share an interest in history and storytelling.
We all have our own stories, and one of Liz’s is about being invited to speak about Black History Month at a majority-white high school. She struggled to craft a message that would be unifying rather than polarizing and wanted to showcase historic examples of black and white people working together. To her surprise, Liz found that ready-made stories on this topic were difficult to find. So she did her own research, gave the talk, and was heartened by the students’ enthusiastic response. Liz continued to make presentations that included these kinds of stories and hoped to one day share them with a broader audience.
Later, when Liz told Kathryn about this experience, they both wished their children had a way to learn stories like this: stories where people of different races work hand-in-hand. They decided the solution was to create a place where these kinds of stories about cooperation and partnership could be brought to life. That is where their Gray History journey began.
When not working on Gray History, Liz is an attorney, author, lecturer and non-profit leader, and Kathryn is a businesswoman and community volunteer.
