Roadmap Stop 10: The Story of Pauli Murray
This session on April 28, 2022 was developed in recognition of the many achievements of the groundbreaking civil right leader Pauli Murray, for whom a Yale college was recently renamed. Despite her many accomplishments, she is not a household name.
About Pauli Murray
Pauli Murray was a black woman who fought for racial and gender equality the entirety of her adult life. She was a lawyer, professor, activist and the first black, female Episcopalian priest. As the trailer to the documentary describes, “Her historical accomplishments are so many you might find the story hard to believe were it not for the tremendous amounts of video, photography and written supporting evidence”.
Participants were encouraged to watch a documentary and to read an article entitled The Many Lives of Pauli Murray.
An interactive discussion included about the many challenges she faced due to her race, gender and sexuality. Recommended follow up reading includes her biography The Firebrand and the First Lady, the story of her friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt.
Readings & Resources
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My Name Is Pauli Murray - Official Trailer
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Schulz, K. The Many Lives of Pauli Murray. New Yorker. 2017.
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Bell-Scott, P. The firebrand and the First Lady: portrait of a friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the struggle for social justice. 2016.
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Murray, P. Pauli Murray: the autobiography of a Black activists, feminist, lawyer, priest, and poet. 1987.
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Rosenburg R. Jane Crow the life of Pauli Murray. 2017
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Saxby, T. Pauli Murray A Personal and Political Life. 2015.
Pauli Murray
