Pauli Murray (1910–1985)

Amazing -- The structure of the book, where you first meet the author's grandparents through her memories as a young girl, and then she pulls the layers back; the strength of the writing and descriptions; but most of all, the stories of her grandparents and great-grandparents and the context of the world within which they were thwarted and yet thrived -- great grandfather Thomas, born a slave, a successful farmer in a state where, if he left for over two months, as a black man he wouldn't be show more allowed to return -- grandfather Robert, who served the Union in the civil war in three services (Quartermaster, Navy, Army), was blinded by his service, devoted his life to educating the freedman -- great grandmother Harriett, enslaved by great aunt Mary, raped by great grandfather Sydney -- mother Cornelia, enslaved, yet raised as a pseudo-daughter in her father's house -- the stories of fugitive slaves on the underground railroad hiding on great-grandfather Thomas's farm on their way North -- the kidnappings of free slaves in free states, and how they were sent south into slavery -- the experiences of black men serving with the Union in the Civil War, and the context of the battles in which they fought -- the KKK terrorizing teachers of freedmen --

When Thomas was freed, How hazardous was the journey from the state of a freedman to that of a free man! Great-Grandfather Thomas could now come and go at will; he could marry and have legitimate children; he could receive the wages of his own labor and buy and sell property. But Delaware law left him like a man on the edge of quicksand; a misstep and he would be sucked back into servitude. The law declared that free Negroes and mulattoes "are idle and slothful, and often prove burdensome to the neighborhood wherein they live, and are of evil example to slaves." It excluded him and his children from state-supported education and denied him the right to vote. In fact, if he were caught within a half mile of a polling place on election day without an acceptable excuse that some unforeseen emergency had brought him there, he would be thrown in jail for twenty-four hours. The one thing he must not do was run afoul of the law in any way. He could not testify in court on any matter unless no competent white witness could be found. A staggering fine would be imposed upon him for a minor offense and if he could not pay his fine he would be sold at public auction back into slavery for periods up to seven years. If he left his native state for more than two months the law declared him a nonresident and he could not re-enter it to live, since Delaware barred free Negroes from coming into the state. show less

First off, I’m happy to say that Pauli Murray’s autobiography was a more enjoyable read than Jane Crow. Conversational in style, it provided insight into Murray’s attitudes and viewpoint that Rosenberg’s biography did not. Murray also mentions her (and her family’s) membership and activity in the Episcopal church at various points in the book so that her choice to attend seminary and become a priest makes sense, instead of coming out of the blue as it does in Jane Crow.

On the other show more hand, Murray never mentions her lifelong sense that she is a man in a woman’s body, her attempts to get hormone treatment to make her appear more male, or the mental health issues this ongoing difference from the norm exacerbated. Neither does it mention, except in passing, the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid issues that Rosenberg argues addressed some of the mental health issues.

And while she does mention her long-term relationship with Irene Barlow (Rene), it is couched in such a way that without knowing about her sexual identity, one could easily read the autobiography without considering that it was more than the deep friendship she shared with, for example, Maida Springer Kemp.

This is partly, I think, a generational reserve about speaking of personal thoughts and feelings in public. It is also, in my opinion, a survival concern. Murray’s race and gender limited the roles Murray was allowed to assume in society; a public transgender identity would have cost her jobs, and I doubt she could have been ordained in the 1980s as a publicly transgendered person.

One of the questions that kept recurring while I was reading [Jane Crow] was, “how does she keep going in the face of so much rejection? What motivates her?” I think the factors are multiple, and include the following.

Family: Murray was raised with her mother’s extended family close by, and with a strong sense of the respected place this family had in Durham, NC. These relationships, especially with her Aunt Pauline and Aunt Sally and her sister Mildred, sustained her over time.

Education: Murray and her family valued education (Har paternal grandfather, father, and two maternal aunts were teachers) and used their knowledge to make their lives, and lives in their communities, better.

Contributing to the Negro (Murray’s favored term) community was a strong motivation for Murray and her family. She helped organize demonstrations to integrate restaurants in Washington D.C. while attending law school during World War II. In the 1970s Murray served on the President’s commission on the status of women and helped found NOW (the National Organization for Women) while getting her PhD.

Faith: Raised in the Episcopal church, Murray was active throughout her life, and a shared faith was what drew Murray and Irene Barlow together initially. Thus her activism to increase women’s formal power in the denomination, both for lay women and as a priest, makes sense.

Relationships: These include family relationships, but also friends Murray made both in educational arenas and in activism.

So, I’m glad I read both of these books. [Jane Crow] supplied facts about Murray that she didn’t address in her autobiography, but the autobiography helped me understand her motivations and attitude. show less

A groundbreaking work not only of African American history, but of American history, by a pioneer of the civil rights movement.

Murray's prose is compulsively readable; she writes with sensitivity and insight about her maternal grandparents' (incredibly dramatic!) early lives, their mixed-race family origins in antebellum Pennsylvania and North Carolina, and her own vivid memories of growing up in Durham, NC during the Jim Crow era.

I'm looking forward to reading more by Murray and to visiting show more the museum that's slated to be opened in her Durham family home in the next few years. show less

I first read about Pauli Murray while researching women abolitonists and Civil Rights leaders for my quilt I Will Lift My Voice Like A Trumpet. I was pleased to be granted access to the e-galley of Pauli's memoir, first published in 1987, now available in a new edition. The forward is by Patricia Bell-Scott, author of The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Justice.

Pauli was born in 1910 and was raised by her school show more teacher aunt. Pauli was a gifted student who attended Hunter College in New York City. During the Depression she found employment with the WPA as a teacher and began to publish her poetry and a novel. She found a mentor in Stephen Vincent Benet.

During the war years and early 1950s Pauli became involved with Civil Rights, challenging segregation, and formed a relationship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1941 she began her law studies at Howard University and helped to form CORE and the development of passive resistance.

Harvard law school would not accept Pauli based on her sex. She attended the University of California Boalt School of Law. Her thesis was on equal opportunity in employment. With her color and sex against her, Pauli had trouble making a living practicing law.

In 1956 she published a book on her family history, Proud Shoes: The Story of an American Family. She taught law in Ghana for several years. Back in the US she resumed work in Civil Rights and became active as a feminist and was an organizer for NOW.

In her later life, Pauli worked for equal opportunity for women as church leaders. She became the first African American woman ordained to the Episcopal priesthood.

Pauli saw huge changes in her lifetime. At her birth she was labeled colored, but chose to the designation Negro. During the rise of black power movements she resisted the term black, resenting its lower case nomenclature. She was a pacifist and anti-segregationist who had trouble with the rise of Black Power movements and the younger generation's demanded for separate campus organizations. Early she was attracted to Socialism and spent her last years as in the priesthood.

The memoir is filled with details about the work for Civil Rights prior to the more known stories of Rosa Park and Martin Luther King, Jr. There are vivid descriptions of traveling in the Jim Crow south, the closed doors to her race and her sex, the poverty she and her educated family endured.

Pauli's voice is direct and open. She admits to her ignorance and mistakes, her learning curves and limitations. Her accomplishments speak for her determination and courage.

It was wonderful to hear, in her own voice, Pauli's amazing life.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. show less