Women’s History Month Spotlight on Pauli Murray: The Visionary Who Built the Blueprint for Justice

“Hope is a song in a weary throat.” – Pauli Murray

Do you know who Pauli Murray is? Many of us have never heard of her. Pauli Murray’s legacy is beyond extraordinary—and it’s truly astonishing that she isn’t a household name. But that changes today.

Pauli Murray was a trailblazer before the world was ready. She was a lawyer, poet, priest, and an architect of modern civil rights and gender equality law. Her brilliance shaped landmark legal battles, yet her name often lingers in the shadows of history.

She was decades ahead of her time, challenging both racial and gender discrimination with a mind so sharp that her work laid the foundation for Thurgood Marshall’s arguments in Brown v. Board of Education and Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s strategy for gender equality under the law.

But Murray wasn’t just a legal powerhouse. She was also a co-founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW), tirelessly working to advance women’s rights. And in 1977, she shattered yet another barrier by becoming the first Black woman ordained as an Episcopal priest—proving that faith and justice can walk hand in hand.

Why She Still Inspires Us Today

Pauli Murray teaches us that revolutions don’t always start with megaphones—they start with ideas. They start with someone refusing to accept injustice. They start with a weary throat that keeps singing until the world listens.

Her life is a call to action:
✔ Speak up, even when the world isn’t listening.
✔ Challenge every system that denies justice.
✔ Hold the door open for those who come next.

Today, as we celebrate Women’s History Month, let’s lift Pauli Murray’s name higher—because every woman standing up for justice today is walking in her footsteps.

💡 How will you use your voice to carry her legacy forward?

Today, I encourage you to choose an inspring woman to gain strength from. We all stand taller on the shoulders of those powerful trailblazers who have gone before us.

x, Jan

PS ~ Have you been enjoying the spotlight on Women’s History Month? I have certainly been enjoying researching the various women and their stories of courage.

If you’ve missed any, they can be found at https://jandeelstra.com/blog