On Tuesday, Dec. 5 the Orange County Office of Equity & Inclusion unveiled the new Pauli Murray mural by Scott Nurkin. The mural is located at the Orange County Sportsplex at 101 Meadowlands Dr., Hillsborough. The program included a tribute to Rev. Murray by Dasan Ahanu.
Hosted by the Orange County Office of Equity & Inclusion the event celebrated the incredible life and work of Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray with a stunning mural dedicated to this trailblazing civil rights activist, lawyer, and feminist icon.
A new documentary, “My Name is Pauli Murray,” was shown immediately following remarks by local officials.
Born in 1910 and raised in Durham, NC, Murray was a black descendent of one of the University of North Carolina’s original trustees, James Strudwick Smith. In 1938, Murray applied to the Ph.D. program in sociology but was denied admission because, as university officials wrote at the time, ‘members of your race are not admitted to the university.’
Undeterred, Murray would go on to achieve prominence as an outspoken scholar whose academic scholarship continues to make major contributions to numerous disciplines. Murray was a gifted orator, author, attorney, historian, priest, and activist who advocated for the rights of all members of society.
