The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice (30 page)

The notion that women, and especially Eleanor Roosevelt, could not garner the wherewithal or following to perform well in public office was one Murray did not share. In fact, the master’s thesis she was writing argued for women’s right to equal opportunity in employment.

PART V

FASHIONING NEW LIVES,
1945–52

Mary McLeod Bethune (far left) recognizes Pauli Murray (front row, third from right), Maida Springer (immediately left of Murray), and Women of the Year honorees at the National Council of Negro Women headquarters, Washington, D.C., 1946. Murray was cited for her contribution to “the field of public service,” and Springer, an official in the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, for her work as “the first American Negro woman to represent labor abroad.”
(National Archives for Black Women’s History, National Park Service)

28

“Just Know How Cherished You Are to So Many”

I
n the fall of 1945, Pauli Murray finished requirements for the
master of laws and passed the
California bar exam.
The
publication of her thesis, “The
Right to Equal Opportunity in Employment,” in the
California Law Review
marked several milestones. It was her first publication in a law review journal; it was the first essay ever published in a law review by an African American woman; and it was the first law review essay on the subject of
sex discrimination and employment.

Now that Murray had the master’s degree and the bar exam behind her, she pondered her next step. Her preference was to pursue a doctorate, preferably at
Harvard—if not there, then at the University of California, Berkeley. In either case, her
financial circumstances made further schooling impractical. Her second choice was to join the
Howard University
School of Law faculty or the
NAACP Legal Department. But the refusal by Howard’s administration to appoint
Leon Ransom to the deanship following
Hastie’s departure provoked Ransom’s resignation and “
created an untenable situation” for Murray. She was devoted to Ransom and had lobbied the board of trustees on his behalf. In addition, the NAACP had no vacancy and no funds with which to increase its legal staff.

After discussing her situation with Eleanor Roosevelt, Murray contacted Associate Supreme Court Justice
Frank Murphy about the possibility of working on his staff. She had interviewed him for the
Los Angeles Sentinel
, and he had been impressed with her.
But there were no openings in Murphy’s office, and his assurance that there would be a post for a person with Murray’s talent would bear no fruit.

There was the possibility of going back to the
Workers Defense League. However, Murray knew from her experience with the Waller campaign that a job with the WDL would be unbearably stressful. The cases were always tragic, the obstacles maddening, and the workload overwhelming. She eventually took a temporary position with the local branch of the
American Civil Liberties Union, where she worked to restore the status of
Japanese Americans who had been forced or duped into renouncing their citizenship.

Murray wanted to remain out west, yet she felt obliged to live near
Aunt Pauline. By Thanksgiving, she had resolved to return east. Her belongings were packed and her train ticket booked when she met
Robert W. Kenny at her swearing-in ceremony to the
California bar, on December 8, 1945. Kenny was a liberal Democrat, an advocate for fair employment legislation, and California state attorney
general.
Having just read Murray’s groundbreaking law review article, he offered her a temporary post as deputy attorney general on the spot. Until she passed the
civil service examination, her appointment would be subject to the return of employees on military service leave. Murray accepted Kenny’s offer in spite of the shaky terms. In doing so, she became the first black deputy attorney general for the state of California.

· · ·

BY THE TIME MURRAY RECEIVED
a note of congratulations from ER, the former first lady was in
London for the first United Nations
General Assembly. President
Truman had nominated ER to the U.S. delegation, and the
Senate had confirmed her just before Christmas. Senator Theodore
Bilbo, who cast the only vote against her, declined to talk about the
reasons for his opposition—except to say they were so numerous “
that he was writing a book about them.”

Eleanor Roosevelt, age sixty-one, U.S. delegate to the United Nations (left), confers with unidentified associates at the first meeting of the U.N. General Assembly, London, January 1946. Honored to be appointed to the delegation, ER “felt a great responsibility to the youth who fought the war” and to women.
(Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library)

Notwithstanding the Senate’s strong endorsement, some senators and members of the delegation felt ER was too outspoken, too liberal, and poorly prepared in foreign policy.
She worried privately about the challenges of the job, but she accepted the assignment believing she could offer at least two things: “
a sincere desire to understand the problems of the rest of the world and our relationship to them” and “a real goodwill for all peoples.”

ER spent most of the five-day voyage to England aboard the
Queen Elizabeth
in her cabin, studying the details of the agenda, and conferring with fellow delegates and representatives of the
State Department. She was the only woman in the six-person delegation, and her personality and status as
Franklin Roosevelt’s widow made her the most popular delegate.
Reporters clamored for interviews and
press conferences with her.
A crowd lined the walkway outside the meeting hall to say hello when she arrived and to shake her hand when she left.

Determined not to fail, ER worked hard to make friends. At first, she invited women delegates to tea in the sitting room at her hotel. This
proved so helpful that she began hosting daily get-togethers “
with other nations’ representatives at luncheon or dinner for a few hours.” To her delight, she found that delegates tackled “
a common problem with better results than when they were meeting officially as a committee.” ER quickly emerged as the leading advocate for human rights.
She presented an open letter to the assembly on behalf of the women representatives that called for the inclusion of women in civic and international affairs, and she led the fight against repatriation and punitive treatment of
refugees.

The assembly debate over the fate of war refugees motivated ER to visit the camps for
displaced persons. In
Germany, she saw children so paralyzed by physical and psychological deprivation that they could not cry. She came home anxious for the U.N. to make amends for the wrongs done and for the United States, which had not suffered widespread devastation and displacement of its people, to take a leadership role in Europe’s recovery. “
The whole of Europe is hungry but worse than that, all Europe is without any social structure,” she said at a rally for the
United Jewish Appeal. “We cannot live in an island of prosperity in a sea of human misery.”

“
I had a most interesting time in London and learned a great deal which I hope to be able to get over to as many people as possible,” ER wrote to Murray. “After my visit to Germany, which was horrible, I realize that we must keep the peace at all costs.” Troubled by news of Murray’s
health problems, ER added a postscript: “Hear you haven’t been well. Don’t work too hard. I’ll be in S[an] F[rancisco] in late March and I hope you come see me.”

· · ·

MURRAY WAS INDEED UNWELL
. She had acute
appendicitis and a
hormone imbalance that doctors would eventually diagnose as a
thyroid disorder. While she had neither the funds nor health insurance to pay for treatment, she was relieved to have an explanation for the “
perpetual motion” and mood swings that had periodically disrupted her life.

Murray’s health concerns extended to
Aunt Pauline, who became so sick in April that Murray had to go to
Washington, D.C., to have her admitted to
Freedmen’s
Hospital. Aunt Pauline improved after several weeks, but while Murray was away from California, the
civil service exam was given and she was bumped from her post. She had been on the job for less than three months.

Murray regrouped by reminding herself that ER had comforted a grieving nation and represented the United States at the U.N. less than a
year after her husband’s death. Following ER’s example, Murray pushed her woes aside to focus on the needs of others.
She pitched the idea of a
Waste No Food Campaign similar to the wartime scrap drives for iron, rubber, and paper to
California governor
Earl Warren. She testified at the Senate confirmation hearing for William
Hastie, whom President Truman had nominated for the governorship of the
Virgin Islands. A deafening silence filled the room when Murray stepped forward, looked Mississippi senator
James Eastland, an avowed
segregationist, “
straight in the eye,” and proudly listed Hastie’s achievements. Her statement, along with testimonials from Lloyd
Garrison,
Norman Thomas, and U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Julius A. Krug, defeated a smear campaign led by Senate conservatives. Hastie’s supporters carried the day, and he would become the first African American governor of the Virgin Islands on May 7, 1946.

The disappointing turn of events in Murray’s career and the first anniversary of FDR’s death prompted a heartfelt letter on April 9, 1946.

Dear Mrs. Roosevelt:

I have been thinking of you this morning. Perhaps it was because I was playing the hymn “O God Our Help in Ages Past,” one of Mr. Roosevelt’s favorites. Perhaps because it is April and Spring and near the Eastertide. Since I’m not quite sure when we’ll be able to see each other, may I say a few little words of friendliness?

I want you to know how many of us, the world over have admired your courage and strength of spirit during the past year.…

Your stepping into harness and representing the American people at the London UNO [United Nations] conference gave many of us reassurance that at least one delegate would represent our point of view. Your acceptance of continued public responsibility in the face of many shocks to a spirit as sensitive as yours has been a kind of yardstick by which we have measured our own small contributions. We have known that you moved in high places where history is made and that you often knew many things which you could not speak of, so that we have known the continual strain under which you have labored.

We have also noted with amusement your insistent humility about your own role. Someday you will realize that when you were in the White House, we felt we had a team of Presidents. One official and one unofficial. None of us were under the slightest illusion as to the fact that your personality swung the vote in favor of FDR on three occasions.…

As you reflect this week, just know how cherished you are to so many people, first and foremost because of your own greatness of spirit and only secondarily because of the wise and understanding heart which you shared with Franklin D. Roosevelt.…

I say all these things despite the fact that I often differ with you on some issues. It is because of people like you that I still cling to the democratic ideal—symbolized by the American family. It is possible to have every political shade from Republican to “revolutionary pacifist” (that’s me) within the same blood ties and yet move forward toward a common ideal.…

I do appreciate your interest in my health.…

Fondly,

Pauli