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Song In A Weary Pilgrimage By Pauli Murray

1889 Words8 Pages

The Liberal Pauli Murray Pauli Murray led an impressive life and left behind a legacy of peaceful civil rights protests, many legal writings, and an admirable dedication to her religion and parishes. I became acquainted with Pauli Murray through her memoir Song in a Weary Throat: An American Pilgrimage, which was a very intriguing read. The memoir addressed the issues she felt were important, primarily the two most important aspects of her identity: her race and gender. Murray's lifelong struggle at the hands of brash racism and sexism did not deter from leading a successful life; at times she could not break down barriers so she took different paths. In the chapters where she discusses her youth, it appears that Murray felt discriminated …show more content…

I would argue that Pauli Murray should be classified as a liberal feminist. Her brand of feminism worked within the system, to remedy it, in order to make a better society; Pauli Murray was an inherently liberal soul with intersecting identifiers: African American, female, and a non-binary sexual orientation. Murray's extensive legal education allowed her to champion women's as well as civil rights through legislation or "constitutional alternatives"; she was also a founding member of the National Organization for Women, a well respected liberal feminist organization (Murray 1987, PAGE # UK). Her method of fighting against racial inequality never resembled that of the Black Panthers or radical …show more content…

After violating Virginia's Jim Crow laws, a short arrest, and fundraising for an unfair trial, she decided to apply to Howard University's School of Law-her subject of interest was civil rights law (Murray 1987, PAGE # UK). Mack described her allegiance to civil rights law as an extension of her quest for" personal autonomy" (2012, 208). Despite her academic successes, she was denied admission to Harvard, the graduate school of her choice, because of her gender. Career stability did not come to easy to Murray, she lived as "a minority within a minority" and suffered the consequences of being a marginalized member of society in all parts of her life. She instead continued her studies at Berkley, there she was exposed to more minorities and sympathized with them (Murray 1987, PAGE # UK). Career stability did not come to easy to Murray, she lived as "a minority within a minority" and suffered the consequences of being a marginalized member of society in all parts of her life. When she was unable to find steady employment, she used her research skills to compile the book Thurgood Marshall would call "The Bible" of the Civil Rights Movement, States' Laws on Race and Color. This multi-volume work compiled all local, state, and federal laws that pertained to race in one collection, it proved itself invaluable to the NAACP legal team as they fought down unfair legislation (Murray 1987, PAGE # UK). Murray's greatest

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