November Newsletter Reflection: A Note from our Executive Director

Dear Friends: 

We are facing strong headwinds. 

Challenges to voting rights. Shameless gerrymandering. Federally-sanctioned bounty hunting of our friends and neighbors. The list goes on. 

Frankly, if you’ve been paying attention, you saw much of this coming. I recently reminded a colleague that large-scale oppressive agendas are piloted and refined in local communities. For example, last spring Human Rights Watch rang the alarm when the U.S. Supreme Court allowed discriminatory voting maps drawn in South Carolina in 2021 to be upheld; noting that other state legislatures would follow suit in the absence of further federal protections. 

“I told you so” isn’t helpful, however. I recognize that the oppression we are bearing witness to (and in some cases, experiencing) is more swift, inhumane, violent, and senseless that some could have anticipated. As is my practice, I’ve turned to Saint Pauli Murray for answers. 

Saint Pauli doesn’t offer us on-the-nose solutions for our hyperspecific issues. However, they guide us through how to think and move through them. I’ve been wrestling with this idea in these terms: Pauli isn’t here to build our house, but she has left us blueprints. 

In the last decade of her life, Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray shared with Dr. Genna Rae McNeil that “liberation” was her priority: Pauli was “...radical to the extent that [they wanted] to see the individual human being as free as is possible to fulfill [their] creative potential”. 

So, what does it mean to do liberation work in the face of violent oppression? Pauli pursued direct, immediate action. They mounted sit-ins, launched letter-writing campaigns, founded organizations, organized marches, participated in protests, crafted groundbreaking legal resources and more. When it was not possible for them to act, Pauli wrote poetry: “...when I could effectively act, I did not write. When I could not act, when I was blocked from acting, it came out in words.” Finally, Murray took the long view. For example: much of Pauli’s civil rights work took place years, even decades, before the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Their work from the 1930s to early 1950s served as a strong foundation for activists, organizers, attorneys, and policymakers to build upon in the 1950s and 60s. They had the courage to be “on the frontier” of shaping an equitable society for oppressed people. “When there was a principle which I felt I ought to act on, I did not stand in fear of consequences,” said Rev. Dr. Murray in her conversation with Dr. McNeil.

So, I believe Saint Pauli Murray’s message is this: don’t let the headwinds topple you. Stand firm. Take action, and respond to (local) issues that concern you. If/when you can’t do this, create; art is a form of activism. Finally, take the long view. We are in the midst of another great nadir. But liberation movements are born in the face of oppression. They also take years to bear fruit. Let’s hold on.

Onward, 
Angela Thorpe Mason
Executive Director 
Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice

October Newsletter Reflection: A Note from our Executive Director

Dear Friends:

In the last few weeks I've returned to the Center after taking leave to have my first child. Early motherhood has been transformative. I have felt raw, tender, and more human than I have ever felt in my life. I also have a deep reverence for the human experience, and humanity, overall. In these ways, I also feel more connected to Pauli Murray. Like you and me, Pauli was "just" a human. Rev. Dr. Murray also cared for others so deeply that they committed their life to building a foundation for a nation in which every person simply belonged. This, too, is our work.

In an era where you may feel overwhelmed, defeated, or enraged, I'll offer you the following reminder. Pauli, too, lived in a time when American democracy hung in the balance; when racial terror violence was a threat to Black lives; when it was dangerous to exist as a member of the LGBTQ community; when women’s rights were under attack; when the world was inflamed with global conflict; when technology and the environment were rapidly transforming; when the political system failed to meet the needs of most. And still she persisted. For humanity.

Onward,
Angela Thorpe Mason
Executive Director
Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice

September Newsletter Reflection: A Note from our Executive Director

Dear Friends:

It is my great joy to celebrate one year of a publicly open Pauli Murray Center with you! It requires grit to open a community space; a talented team to activate it; and passionate stakeholders to sustain it. I’m glad that we have access to all of these things.

In the last year, I have been struck by the sheer number of people that enter our space carrying something: overwhelm, despair, anger, hope, curiosity, excitement, and so much more. By the time folks leave us, they almost always feel grounded, and catalyzed to do something to shape an equitable, just community. That is the power and possibility of Pauli’s work and legacy, as it is activated in the sacred space that is their childhood home.

Thank you for being on this journey with us. We look forward to shaping meaningful change with you in the years to come.

Onward,
Angela Thorpe Mason
Executive Director
Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice

August Newsletter Reflection: A Note from our Executive Director

Dear Friends: 

In the last few months, I have been interrogating what it means to “be in community.” I hear this phrase often, but have a great deal of curiosity around how this takes shape in people’s lives. 

Per usual, Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray offers us guidance here. While we revere Pauli for all that they contributed to the world, please be reminded that they did not work or live in a vacuum. Pauli had rich relationships with her family; loving, depth-filled partnerships with women; lasting, vulnerable friendships (especially with Black women); and was integrated in community institutions — churches, civic groups, community organizing efforts, and more. 

So, I urge you to consider—what does being in community mean to you? And how might you put some of Pauli’s strategies into practice?

Onward, 

Angela Thorpe Mason
Executive Director 
Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice

July Newsletter Reflection: A Note from our Executive Director

Dear Friends: 

In late May, I had the privilege of offering the commencement address at one of our local partner institutions, Insight Colearning. Admittedly, I felt overwhelmed with the challenge of grounding and motivating high school seniors, embarking on a new life stage in an uncertain and volatile landscape. As is my practice, I turned to Pauli. Below, I've offered you a modified version of what I shared with these brilliant young folks. May my words -- as guided by Rev. Dr. Murray's spirit -- help you feel supported as you consider your role in shaping and building community. 

"Anna Pauline Murray – known to many of us as Pauli Murray – called the home that she grew up in “a place of ragged beauty.” This home is a National Historic Landmark that has stood proudly in Durham for over 125 years since 1898.

Pauli Murray – who, by the time they were a teenager, was an orphan being raised by a multigenerational family – learned many things in this home.

They learned from their Aunt Pauline that it is ok to be yourself.

She learned from her Aunt Sally that going against the grain and charting your own path is important…and that art is powerful.

She learned from her grandmother Cornelia the value of believing in something greater than yourself.

They learned from their grandfather Robert how to envision a community where everyone belonged, and had the resources to live good lives.

Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray gathered up these lessons and used them to guide her towards being one of the most profound and impactful civil, women’s, and human rights activists of the 20th century. 

Pauli Murray’s work built bridges for so many communities: Black people, women, faith leaders, LGBTQIA+ folks, artists, and more. 

You, too, are bridge builders like Pauli. 

As you move forward, hold onto these lessons that Pauli gathered in Durham:

• Be yourself.

• Chart your own path.

• Believe in something greater than yourself.

• Strive to shape a community where everyone belongs.

• Art is powerful.

These lessons will support you as you continue to shape and build equitable communities, especially in the midst of our current landscape."

Onward, 

Angela Thorpe Mason
Executive Director 
Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice

June Newsletter Reflection: A Note from our Executive Director

"We need not despair because we seem to fail or cannot see the fruition of our efforts on behalf of others. If we build with love and compassion, we can build with hope."

- The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray

Dear friends,

We are heartened by the clear support of community members like you, in response to the ongoing impacts of federal censorship to the Pauli Murray Center. This summer, we will continue to “build with hope” as we work towards a $50,000 goal to sustain our work. Gifts of all sizes contribute to continual impact. 

What does building with hope look like at the Pauli Murray Center?

• $25 can provide discounted and free field trips for local K-12 Schools

• $50 supports new collaborations with marginalized artists and creatives

• $100 makes a new animated series about Pauli Murray for school-age children more publicly accessible

• $500 protects our continued collaboration with the North Carolina Bar Association for Name and Gender Marker Change clinics

• $1,000 can help sustain our Social Justice Teaching Fellowship and Firebrand Internship programs

Thanks to the generosity of Susan & Michael Hersfield, we’re also excited to share that gifts made to the Pauli Murray Center by July 31st will be matched 1:1 up to $30,000. Every donation – large or small – creates a significant impact.

In the spirit of Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, we move forward with strength, compassion and most importantly…hope. 

Angela Thorpe Mason
Executive Director 
Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice

May Newsletter Reflection: A Note from Our Executive Director

Dear Friends: 

Thank you for standing in solidarity with us as we continue to navigate the impacts of our loss of significant federal funding. It has been gratifying to observe you respond to our calls to action. Our lawmakers -- at the local, state, and federal level -- have taken notice of your outreach. We are also grateful for the ways in which you've extended your support through in-person site visits, making donations, and amplifying the work of the Center overall. 

As a result of your support, we will be able to: 

• Retain our Public Historian through the remainder of the year, and fund their research travel

• Compensate artists, educators, faith leaders, West End neighbors, and others for their contributions toward shaping new programs

• Design a new exhibition centered on Pauli's humanity, spirituality, and community

This is what grassroots strength and collective care looks like. I am grateful that our community has the courage to be like Pauli: courageous, action-oriented, and hopeful. 

Angela Thorpe Mason
Executive Director 
Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice

April Newsletter Reflection: A Note from Our Executive Director

“We need not despair because we seem to fail or cannot see the fruition of our efforts on behalf of others. If we build with love and compassion, we can build with hope.” Excerpt from sermon titled "The Last Judgment" (1978)

Dear Friends,

Thank you for standing in solidarity with us in recent weeks as we spoke out against the federal government's censorship of Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray's life, work, and legacy. We appreciate each person who amplified our message, and who advocated alongside us. Alas, our work continues. I feel moved by Murray's well-known adage that "one person plus one typewriter constitutes a movement." I've offered some additional advocacy opportunities below: ways you can continue to support the Center, and ways you can align yourselves with the work of a few other groups I admire. For some of you, these advocacy opportunities might spark your activism. For others, they may support you in building upon work that you are already doing. Still, others of you may prefer to align with different work. More might be searching for your best point of entry. Whatever your position, I will continue to challenge you as I have since last fall. Times are hard; and they'll likely get harder. However, despair shall not swallow us whole. 

Angela Thorpe Mason
Executive Director 
Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice

March Newsletter Reflection: A Note from our Development Director

“At home, wherever I felt too confined or bottled up inside, a walk with Smokey eased the tension.” – Song in a Weary Throat

Navigating a steady drum beat of ‘unprecedented’ times is universally exhausting. But! Take heart, friends. A walk with a dog can work wonders. 

The Inaugural Pauli Murray Dog Walk isn’t just an opportunity to support a mission you agree with, a group of people you appreciate, or a historical figure that matters to you. It’s an opportunity to see yourself in the stream of history and its familiar waters. Just as Pauli was frustrated and catalyzed by injustice in the past, many of us feel similarly in the present. However, joy and relaxation are vital not only as coping mechanisms, but also as acts of defiance and tools for longevity. I hope you’ll take a page out of Pauli’s book (no pun intended) and ease tension with your family, friends and furry companions with us on 3/15. 

Thank you for continuing to champion Pauli Murray’s life and legacy. Wishing you and your family joy and ease,

Christen Ruiz
Development Director 
Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice

February Newsletter Reflection: A Note from our Executive Director

“However small and insignificant our contribution may seem in the face of vast human problems beyond our power to resolve…our tiny gift [can be multiplied] in ways we would not have dreamed possible.” –Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, Sermon Given on August 5, 1984

Friends: 

I have spent the last couple of weeks listening to Pauli–through her oral history, writings, sermons, and speeches–seeking a specific message: that everything will be ok. Pauli, I’ve found, cannot offer us that reassurance. In fact, what has struck me during this exploration is the prophetic mirror they held up to today. As an elder, Rev. Murray made known the issues that characterized her reality: chaos; a deadly atmosphere that pervaded America; racism; sexism; social injustice and corruption; backlash against affirmative action and gender equality; controversy surrounding capital punishment, LGBTQ rights, abortion, “...and so on.” Pauli also rejected the instinct to fall into despair and hopelessness. 

Time and again, Pauli reminds us that the effort to build an America that so many of us envision is a cyclical experiment, characterized by cruelty, pain, defeat, wonder, victory, and joy. This is both the reward and consequence of building a just future for a society that is inherently “morally bankrupt.” However, Pauli also gives us strategies to meet the moment. Do you remember the note I wrote to you in November, on the eve of the election? In it, I offered you the precise and clear ways that Murray chose to implement justice work in their own life. Pauli wants us to be clear about what we can do, because she believes our gifts are transformative. Pauli also gives us clear guidance for how we can do our work to be most impactful: in community, leveraging interdependence; compassionately; and hopefully and patiently (for we may not see the fruits of our efforts). 

While this guidance may not make us feel better, it does offer remarkable clarity for how we can move through this era. 

Onward, 

Angela Thorpe Mason
Executive Director
Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice

P.S. – I gathered much of this guidance from a compilation of Rev. Murray’s sermons and speeches called To Speak a Defiant Word: Sermons and Speeches on Justice and Transformation. Pick up a copy from your local bookstore. Listening to Dr. Genna Rae McNeil’s 1976 oral history with Pauli Murray (little by little–it’s about 5 hours) has been transformative and grounding, as well. It can be accessed here. There’s nothing like hearing Pauli’s voice.