“True community is based on equality, mutuality, and reciprocity. It affirms the richness of individual diversity as well as the common human ties that bind us together.”
Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray
The Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray was a visionary leader who profoundly impacted civil rights, gender equality, and religious inclusivity.
Born in 1910 in Baltimore, Dr. Murray faced systemic discrimination as an African American and as a woman. Despite these barriers, Dr. Murray was the only woman in her class at Howard University’s law school and the first African American to earn a J.D. from Yale Law School. She also was mentored by Eleanor Roosevelt.
Dr. Murray’s legal career was marked by her pioneering activism against racial segregation. More than a decade before Rosa Parks, Dr. Murray was arrested in Virginia in 1940 for sitting in the section of a bus designated for whites only. She laid crucial groundwork for Brown v. Board of Education, challenging the “separate but equal” doctrine. Ruth Bader Ginsburg cited Dr. Murray in her brief for the landmark case Reed v. Reed (1971), which challenged the constitutionality of an Idaho law that favored men over women in estate administration.
Outside of the courtroom, Dr. Murray was a cofounder of the National Organization for Women (NOW); she advocated for gender equality, highlighting the unique challenges faced by women of color. Dr. Murray’s feminist theology emphasized the inherent dignity and worth of all individuals, irrespective of gender or race.
After a career in academia, Dr. Murray was called to the Episcopal Church during a time in which it was undergoing a landmark transformation by allowing women to serve in the priesthood. In 1977, she became the first African American woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest.
Which brings us to The Church of the Holy Nativity … we were the only parish where Dr. Murray served as priest-in-charge, a fact of which we are extremely proud.
In 2024, the U.S. Mint honored Dr. Murray through its American Women Quarters Program. Mother Karen and members of Holy Nativity were invited to a special ceremony at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore, where the church was presented with a shadow box featuring Dr. Murray’s beautiful tribute. It is available for everyone to see in the Holy Nativity narthex.