• November 20, 1910 Anna Pauline “Pauli” Murray, lawyer, teacher, writer, priest and civil and women’s rights activist, was born in Baltimore, Maryland but raised in Durham, North Carolina. Murray earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Hunter College in 1933. In 1942, she was one of the founders of the Congress of Racial Equiality. After being denied admission to the University of North Carolina Law School because of her race, she graduated as valedictorian from the Howard University Law School in 1944. After being denied admission to Harvard University Law School because of her gender, Murray earned her Master of Law degree from the University of California in 1947. Murray published her first poem, “The Song of the Highway,” in 1934. In 1950, she published “States’ Laws on Race and Color” which catalogued state statues discriminating against African Americans, Native Americans, and other groups. Other works by Murray include “Proud Shoes: The Story of an American Family” (1956) and “Dark Testament and other poems” (1970). In 1961, Murray was appointed to the President’s Commission on the Status of Women. Murray became the first African American to earn a Doctor of Judicial Science degree from Yale Law School in 1965. She was a professor of American studies at Brandeis University from 1968 to 1973 and also taught law in Ghana. Murray earned her Master of Divinity degree in 1976 and became the first African American woman to become an Episcopal priest in 1977. She served in that capacity until her retirement in 1984. Murray died July 1, 1985. Her autobiography, “Song in a Weary Throat: An American Pilgrimage,” was published in 1987. In 1990, the Pauli Murray Human Relations Award was established by Orange County, North Carolina.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 21:47:16 +0000
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