Pauli Murray: Speaking Truth to Power Through Law and Faith
Pauli Murray (1910-1985) was a writer, activist, lawyer, and Episcopal priest whose groundbreaking work challenged injustice and inequality. Though underappreciated in her time, Murray left an indelible mark on civil rights, feminist thought, and progressive theology. Viewing Murray through a womanist lens - which embraces intersectionality across race, gender, class, and sexuality - allows us to fully appreciate her as a pioneer.
From an early age, Murray encountered discrimination as an intellectual African American woman interested in pursuing the ministry and law. Refusing to be defined by societal constraints, Murray fought back through her impassioned writing. Her essay "Why Negro Girls Stay Single" highlighted racist assumptions about Black women's sexuality as well as the complex reality of African American womanhood. Throughout her life, Murray eloquently voiced the inner turmoil she felt over gender identity and sexual orientation, paving the way for modern understandings of fluidity.
As both a civil rights lawyer and an Episcopal priest, Murray achieved many groundbreaking firsts. After being denied admission from Harvard University based on her sex, Murray enrolled at Howard Law School and graduated first in her class. She drew attention to the parallels between racism and sexism by working with esteemed feminist leaders. Her legal scholarship even served as the basis for Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s arguments in Reed v. Reed, which outlawed arbitrary discrimination based on gender.
In 1977, Murray became one of the first women ordained as an Episcopal priest, pushing open church doors previously only open to men. She participated in the 1963 March on Washington. Racial reconciliation was always at the heart of Murray’s faith; she strove to heal societal divides by integrating her church and calling out the moral evils of segregation. Even while battling illness, Murray continued to write profound works reflecting on the social justice implications of God’s all encompassing love.
Murray courageously lived out her belief that no human identity can be boiled down to a single label. She rejected binaries, embracing solidarity among the marginalized while advocating for those unlike herself. Murray spent her life questioning and expanding societal definitions of women and men, Black and white citizens, laypeople and clergy. Though the multiple effects of discrimination nearly paralyzed Murray at times, the wholeness of her intersectional identity was also a source of hope, power and clarity.
Womanist scholar Katie Geneva Cannon writes that womanist ethics relies upon the "real-lived texture of Black life requires moral agency that may run contrary to the ethical boundaries of main line Protestantism. Blacks may use action guides that have never been considered within the scope of traditional codes of faithful living" (Cannon 1988, p.2).
This perfectly encapsulates Murray’s approach. Murray moved existing cultural goal posts, embodying female strength and intellectual brilliance in male-dominated realms. Her decision to leverage her multiply-marginalized identity on behalf of inclusive justice brought theory firmly into praxis.
The 21st century has ushered in renewed interest in Murray’s remarkable legacy. Historians and progressive Christian theologians alike celebrate Murray’s boundary-crossing work.
Pauli Murray’s intimate writing and dogged activism modeled a standard far ahead of its time. Although the wholeness she sought within herself often seemed just out of reach, Murray planted seeds allowing future generations to stretch toward their highest human potential. The burgeoning field of womanist theology has much yet to glean from this sage’s impassioned resistance and moral imagination.
CL Nash, PhD for the Misogynoir to Mishpat (M2M) Research Network © 2024
Further Reading on Pauli Murray:
Azaransky, Sarah. The Dream Is Freedom: Pauli Murray and American Democratic Faith. Cornell University Press, 2011.
Cannon, Katie Geneva. Katie's Canon: Womanism and the Soul of the Black Community. Continuum, 1995.
Murray, Pauli. Song in a Weary Throat: An American Pilgrimage. Harper & Row, 1987.
Murray, Pauli. States' Laws on Race and Color. University of Georgia Press, 1997.
Rosenberg, Rosalind. Jane Crow: The Life of Pauli Murray. Oxford University Press, 2017.
Additional Resources