“What is often called exceptional ability is nothing more than persistent endeavor.” ~Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray
Anna Pauline "Pauli" Murray was an accomplished scholar, civil rights activist, and Episcopal priest. She spent her extensive career pointing out the inequality of "separate but equal" spaces and fighting for women to have a place in the civil rights movement. She was persistent in her fight and broke down gender and race barriers.
Murray was born in Baltimore but spent most of her childhood in Durham, North Carolina, as her aunts and grandparents raised her after both her parents died. When she was 16, she moved to New York City to attend Hunter College, where she graduated with an English degree. After graduating, she took a job with the Workers Defense League. In 1940, she was arrested for breaking the segregation laws on a bus when she moved from the broken seats in a section designated for Blacks to sit in one of the unbroken seats in the whites-only section. This experience led her to pursue a career as a Civil Rights lawyer.
While attending law school, Murray was the only woman in her class, and even though she graduated top of her class, she was denied employment because of her gender. Despite the discrimination, she eventually returned to school and became the first African American to earn a doctorate from Yale Law School. While in school, Murray continued to fight for civil rights. She organized sit-ins, fought against discriminatory legislation and policies, and did her best to advocate for equal employment opportunities for people of any race or gender. She was one of the most outspoken activists at the forefront of the civil rights movement. She was also one of the more outspoken critics of the movement when she noticed a lack of leadership and visible roles for women, even though they were doing a lot of the work at the grassroots level.
In 1950, Murray published States' Laws on Race and Color. This is widely considered the "Bible" of the civil rights movement. It is a thorough and intense examination and critique of segregation laws. Murray used physiological, sociological, and legal views for the discussion, a criticized technique at the time. After this, she was appointed to the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women and cofounded the National Organization for Women. She also started providing significant legal support for the National Women's Party's successful effort to add sex as a protected category under the Civil Rights Act. In 1965, she co-wrote the article "Jane Crow and the Law: Sex Discrimination and Title VII." She spent her career providing legal support for discrimination cases and fighting against civil rights organizations that ignored women.
In 1968, Murray began teaching at Brandeis University. She taught law, African American studies, and women's studies. She was the first to teach the latter two subjects at the university. She referred to her time teaching as "the most exciting, tormenting, satisfying, embattled, frustrated, and at times triumphant period of [her] secular career."
In her 60s, Murray was inspired by the women of the Episcopal Church and decided to attend Seminary. Her thesis, “Black Theology and Feminist Theology: A Comparative Review,” earned her a Master of Divinity, and in 1977, she became the first African American woman ordained as an Episcopal priest. She worked in a parish in Washington, D.C., and was such a significant figure in the church that she was added as a permanent part of the Calendar of Saints in 2018.
A lesser-known but still influential aspect of Murray's life was her struggle with her gender identity. She was an openly queer woman who didn't hide her relationships with other women. However, she often wrote about her masculine perception of self and that she felt like a man living in a woman's body. Many scholars today believe that Murray would have identified as non-binary or transgender but lacked the language and community to do so at the time. The 2024 Pauli Murray Quarter design was discussed at the March 1, 2023, Citizens Coinage Advisory (CCAC) meeting. Murray's great-niece, Karen Ross, was there to share her thoughts on the design. Ross talked about how Murray wanted to be seen, accepted, valued, and equal. She spent her life knowing that her work was undervalued and wasn't receiving the recognition it deserved, but she kept at it because she knew it was important. Ross discussed her family's desire to see something unique, not just a copy of an existing photo. They felt Murray deserved that. She also mentioned that they liked the reference to Murray's memoir, A Song in a Weary Throat.
Public Law 116-330 states, “No head and shoulders portrait or bust of any person, living or dead, and no portrait of a living person may be included in the design on the reverse of any coin.” This is to avoid having a two-headed coin. The CCAC felt that this design was a genius way to avoid having a bust without including a full-body image of Murray. It's a powerful portrait that portrays her determination and shows off her signature glasses and clergy collar.
The committee liked the uniqueness of this design; they felt it would make people stop and look at the coin because it was so different from what they were used to seeing. The giant word "HOPE" symbolizes her belief that significant social reforms were possible when rooted in hope. "Hope is a song in a weary throat" is a line from Murray's famous poem Dark Testament, and A Song in a Weary Throat is the title of her memoir. These words are an important part of the quarter's design because they represent why Murray spent her whole life fighting. She was fighting for hope.