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The U.S. Mint Honors Pauli Murray an Enduring Voice for Freedom

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America is honoring the release of the new Pauli Murray quarter by the U.S. Mint on February 22, highlighting one of Murray’s timely poems, 54 years later. 

“Hope is a song in a weary throat” Murray wrote in Dark Testament: Verse 8. This quote feels particularly meaningful right now, as we enter Black History Month, and as we take measure of the struggles and challenges at home and around the world. 

The Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray and the New Coin

The United States Mint has announced that it will be issuing a new coin in honor of the Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray. Murray was a civil rights activist, lawyer, and Episcopal priest who is best known for her work on the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. She was also the first African American woman to be ordained an Episcopal priest. The coin will be a $1 gold coin and will feature Murray’s portrait on the front. The reverse of the coin will depict a representation of Pauli’s home and a quote from her: “We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.” The coin is scheduled to be released on February 22, 2024 and will be available for purchase through the United States Mint.

About the Reverend Dr. Pauli Murray
Pauli Murray was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1910. She graduated from Hunter College in 1933 and from Howard University Law School in 1944. After law school, Murray worked as a lawyer for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Murray was a tireless advocate for civil rights. She was one of the founders of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and the National Women’s Political Caucus. She was also a member of the board of directors of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Murray died in 1985 at the age of 75. She is remembered as a trailblazing civil rights activist and a brilliant legal mind.

Listen to audio of Pauli Murray reading “Dark Testament”
Pauli Murray became an enduring voice for freedom and equal opportunity during her lifetime (1910–1985). She was a founding member of the Congress of Racial Equality and the National Organization for Women, as well as a pioneer of African American genealogy.