Such a State of Uncertainty, Caution, and Fear, 1946–1961

This chapter examines Pauli Murray’s life during the Cold War era. Preferential treatment for returned servicemen and McCarthyism further disadvantaged Murray’s employment opportunities in the post-World War II period. Most notably, Cornell University denied her employment because of her “past associations.” Murray responded by writing Proud Shoes, a history of her maternal grandparents. Physical and mental health concerns continued to plague Murray, and as one of only a few independent black women lawyers in New York City, Murray struggled to make a living. In the late 1950s she became a corporate lawyer, wrote poetry, and then went to Ghana to teach law and explore her own racial identity.

Epilogue

This chapter provides a brief description of Pauli Murray’s burial and offers a final assessment of her historical significance. Murray’s funeral occurred at Washington’s National Cathedral and her ashes were laid to rest in Brooklyn’s Cypress Hills Cemetery, alongside her two aunts and her partner. Murray’s life is historically significant for her many remarkable deeds in public life, but Murray’s extensive personal papers also provide valuable insights into the struggle to survive multiple forms of oppression.

I Am a Child of God, 1973–1985

This chapter explores the final years of Pauli Murray’s life. Following her partner’s death, Murray resigned from Brandeis to pursue ordination into the Episcopal priesthood. Murray obtained a master’s in theology from General Theological Seminary while campaigning for women’s ordination. Under pressure from Murray and others, in 1976 the Episcopal Church overturned its prohibition on women priests. The following year Murray became the first black woman Episcopal priest. Murray continued to keep her sexual orientation private, but publicly advocated for minority rights, including gay rights, under the aegis of universal human rights. Murray worked as a supply priest in various locations before retiring to Pittsburgh where she died.

A Child of Destiny or a Nobody without Identity, 1910–1926

This chapter describes Pauli Murray’s childhood. At age three Murray moved from Baltimore to Durham, North Carolina, to live with her maternal relations following her mother’s sudden death. Murray endured another childhood trauma when a white attendant brutally murdered her father while he was confined to Crownsville Asylum for the Negro Insane. Jim Crow segregation created many more hardships and complications for Murray and her maternal family. Murray’s grandmother was descended from slaves and slave owners. Her grandfather fought for the Union in the Civil War. Both grandparents and many of their descendants could pass as white, but still embraced a black racial identity. The family subscribed to black uplift ideology: they prized education and adhered to middle-class values but also demonstrated ‘colorism.’

An Unknown Negro Girl without Title or Prestige, 1940–1946

This chapter explores Pauli Murray’s continuing civil rights activism, emerging feminism, and legal training during World War II. Murray joined the Workers Defense League and campaigned to save sharecropper Odell Waller from execution. The experience partially inspired Murray to become a lawyer. While studying at Howard University, Murray became conscious of sexism, which she labelled “Jane Crow.” Murray’s mental health, sexual identity, and gender identity all continued to trouble her. She initiated restaurant sit-ins to protest segregation in Washington and reported on the 1943 Harlem race riots for a socialist newspaper. Murray also completed a master’s degree at Berkeley before becoming the first African American Deputy Attorney General of California.

For All My Bravado, Deeply Engrained Notions of Respectability Filled Me with Distress, 1926–1940

This chapter examines Pauli Murray’s early adult years. Murray relocated to New York City to complete high school and undergraduate study at Hunter College. The Great Depression severely disrupted her education, but also facilitated her tramping across the country, often passing as a teenage boy. Gender identity concerns and the social stigma around homosexuality led Murray to seek gender reassignment and contributed to mental health problems, which were also exacerbated by a fear of hereditary insanity. Work on New Deal projects led to immersion in the labor movement and an interest in communism. These influences, and Gandhian civil disobedience, inspired Murray’s groundbreaking contributions to nonviolent direct-action civil rights protests, which included challenging segregated education by applying to the University of North Carolina and being arrested for violating segregated bus seating.

The Problems of Race Discrimination and Sex Discrimination Meet in Me, 1961–1973

This chapter focuses on Pauli Murray’s contributions to Second Wave Feminism. Murray served on the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, campaigned to retain the sex amendment to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and cofounded the National Organization for Women. She also became the first African American to complete a law doctorate at Yale. Murray gained employment at Benedict College in South Carolina before moving to Brandeis University where she clashed with Black Power student activists over the establishment of Black Studies programs. Murray also won a teaching award and innovated Women’s Studies courses.