Anna Bergman Spotlights Two Remarkable Women in October
“Pauli Murray” by teachingforchange is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Local historian Anna Bergman is yet again bringing attention to interesting footnote members of America’s history this month with an event at Alibi Bookshop and one at the Vallejo Naval Museum.
Pauli Murray Day will shine a light on the civil rights activist and gender identity pioneer on October 9th at 1 pm.
The Reverend Doctor Murray grew up in North Carolina at the beginning of the 20th Century. As a civil rights leader she organized, among other things, a Journey of Reconciliation, a cross-country bus trip to shine a light on segregated seating. Murray coined the phrase “Jane Crow” to highlight how Jim Crow laws negatively affected Black women.
Murray herself succeeded in a “man’s world,” breaking barriers as an Episcopal priest and also in higher education. Despite earning her law degree at Howard University, she struggled to find employment as a Black, female lawyer.
At one point in her life she informally changed her name from “Pauline” to “Pauli,” a more androgynous appellation. She said that she felt more comfortable in pants than dresses, and were she alive today, it wouldn’t be far fetched to see her identify as trans.
Barbara Lau of the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice will give a presentation on Saturday at the museum about her life and legacy, and Myla Jay will read some of her poetry.
AUTHOR SALLY DENTON
Alibi Bookshop will host a discussion of the book “The Pink Lady: The Many Lives of Helen Gahagan Douglas,” by Sally Denton on October 14 at 7 pm.
Helen Gahagan Douglas ran against Richard Nixon in 1950 for the US Senate. According to Bergman, she was “bashed, slandered and undermined” by her own party, even the Kennedys.
Gahagan Douglas was ahead of her time, speaking out for the victims of the Dust Bowl during the Depression and also decrying lynching at a time when the northern states were not taking a stand. She served in Congress starting in 1944 and served three terms.
Author Sally Denton has written numerous historical books, including “The Profiteers: Bechtel and the Men Who Built the World” and “The Money and the Power: The Making of Las Vegas.” She will co-host the Alibi event with Bergman.
A RAD PIC OF HELEN GAHAGAN DOUGLAS. She was an opera singer as well as a politician.
