Inspirational Women- Black History Month

#BlackHistoryMonth

For the third week of Black History Month we have chose to write about two inspirational women. One an inspiration from the past the other very much a current figure and activist.

As a lawyer, Murray argued for civil rights and women’s rights. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Chief Counsel Thurgood Marshall called Murray’s 1950 book, States’ Laws on Race and Color, the “bible” of the civil rights movement.

When the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray lived, language and terminology around LGBTQ+ communities, gender expression, and gender identities was different than it is today. We don’t know how Pauli Murray would identify if s/he were living today or which pronouns Pauli would use for self-expression. Pauli chose a gender neutral name over their birth name. Murray actively used the phrase “he/she personality” in correspondence with family members during the early years of their life. Read more at The Pauli Murray Centre

Her landmark achievements is as the co-founder and director of Black Pride, the first event of its kind in Europe celebrating “LGBTQ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Middle Eastern and Latin American descent… to promote and advocate for the spiritual, emotional, and intellectual health and well-being” of these communities. Read more