Pauli Murray
Anne Pauline “Pauli” Murray
1910 - 1985
Pauli Murray was an advocate in every sense of the word. Murray’s professional life was dedicated to the enrichment of others, whether as a key voice helping plan the famous 1963 March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom (where Dr. King delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream Speech”) or fighting for women’s rights, Murray worked diligently for others.
Despite being personally affected by the terror of racism, while studying at Yale’s law school, Murray wrote the provost of the university encouraging him to reverse his decision of disinviting segregationist Alabama Governor George Wallace. In Murray’s view, the civil liberty of speech was worthy of protecting, even for an individual spreading vile hate and white supremacy. As Murray wrote, “This controversy affects me in a dual sense, for I am both a lawyer committed to civil rights including civil liberties and a Negro who has suffered from the evils of racial segregation.”
In 1965, Murray became the first Black student to earn a Juridical Studies Degree from Yale University. Murray was honored by Yale decades later when it named the new college aimed at accommodating the growing student population, Pauli Murray college. According to Yale, “Pauli pioneered a vision for a society that values diversity and rallies around our common human virtues. Pauli Murray College hopes to carry forward Pauli’s vision for a better society through its community members and its commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion.”
A career of firsts was capstone by Murray becoming the ‘first Black woman ordained as an Episcopal priest, and received an honorary degree from the Yale Divinity School in 1979.’
