Feminism Is for All of Us
A few weeks ago, I attended a very nice Sunday evening social at the home a dear friend and his husband. I always enjoy gatherings at their home. Their guest lists are forever dynamic, the food is great, the wines are delicious, and without fail, I discover a piece of artwork on their walls that I hadn’t paid attention to before that makes me smile or think. At this most recent get together, I also spotted something else that made me both smile and think—a name.
In addition to a selection of red and white wines, they had two pre-made signature cocktails. As a nod to it being Black History Month, one was named after Alain LeRoy Locke, the scholar and patron of the arts who some considered the “Dean of the Harlem Renaissance.” The other was a nod to Pauli Murray.
Reading their names made me smile, but seeing the name Pauli Murray is what made me think. I thought about just how much I didn’t know about Murray and why. In the host’s thank you message to everyone who attended that night, he encouraged anyone who hadn’t to watch the documentary about Murray’s life on a streaming platform or pick up a book to learn about this great American. The next day, I found the film My Name Is Pauli Murray on Amazon Prime and pressed play.
I had heard the name Pauli Murray before, but until watching the documentary, I didn’t know just how influential Murray had been in laying the intellectual groundwork for the litigation arm of the Civil Rights Movement, nor Murray’s contribution to women’s rights. In 1944 Murray graduated at the top of the Howard University Law School class. However, she was denied the opportunity to pursue a fellowship at Harvard Law School that had traditionally been offered to other top Howard grads, because of sexism. It was then that Murray coined the term “Jane Crow.”
Of course, this setback didn’t stop Murray from pressing forward despite the discrimination they faced because of their gender at birth. Murray went on to get a Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of California Boalt School of Law and pressed forward. Murray continued to persevere and built a remarkable career as an attorney and author, inspiring the thinking and approaches to historic legal cases argued by Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Beyond law, Murray was a professor and later an Episcopal priest.
Why isn’t the story of Murray told as much as the story of so many men? During their lifetime, Murray was perceived as a woman, though in today’s world, may have chosen to use other terms. Nevertheless, Murray’s name should be just as known as other icons of the human rights movement. The contributions to society by and stories about girls, women, and gender expansive people must be acknowledged and shared. Not only do we need to increase the number of stories told about the accomplishments of girls, women, and gender expansive people, we need to increase the opportunities for them and change the policies, programs, and practices that continue to try to limit them.
I participated in a professional development training that focused on leadership a while back. At one point in the session the facilitator asked everyone to write down the names of the three supervisors that have made the most impact on their careers. Once everyone presented their list and explained why they had chosen those people, small conversations peppered the room.
A woman at my table was verbally processing the fact that all three of her names were men—and that in her career to date, she’d never had a woman as supervisor. I pointed out that maybe it’s because she’s always worked in information technology, which most people think of as a male-dominated field, and perhaps conscious or unconscious gender bias has played a role in why women didn’t have as many opportunities for advancement and to hold leadership roles.
When women are given the opportunity to compete and lead, we know that they rise to the occasion. We must create a world where that’s the case.
As we recognize Women’s History Month, may the words of bell hooks ring true in our daily lives, at work, school, and social settings, “feminism is for everybody.” Do your part. ▼
Clarence J. Fluker is a public affairs and social impact strategist. Since 2008, he’s also been a contributing writer for Swerv, a lifestyle periodical celebrating African American LGBTQ+ culture and community. Follow him on Instagram: @Mr_CJFluker
Photo credit: Pauli Murray, Carolina Digital Library and Archives, CC BY-SA 3.0