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The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD NOMINEE • The riveting history of how Pauli Murray—a brilliant writer-turned-activist—and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt forged an enduring friendship that helped to alter the course of race and racism in America.“A definitive biography of Murray, a trailblazing legal scholar and a tremendous influence on Mrs. Roosevelt.” —EssenceIn 1938, the twenty-eight-year-old Pauli Murray wrote a letter to the President and First Lady, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, protesting racial segregation in the South. Eleanor wrote back. So began a friendship that would last for a quarter of a century, as Pauli became a lawyer, principal strategist in the fight to protect Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and a co-founder of the National Organization of Women, and Eleanor became a diplomat and first chair of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
472 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 2, 2016
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August 23, 2017
Patricia Bell-Scott's "The Firebrand and the First Lady" was a well-researched book about the friendship between Pauli Murray and Eleanor Roosevelt. This book is a great companion to the 2017 biography Jane Crow: The Life of Pauli Murray by Rosalind Rosenberg which I also highly recommend. I would suggest that you read Jane Crow first before this book, so that you can get a full grasp of who Murray is before you read about her friendship with Roosevelt. Murray and Roosevelt's friendship is a small part of the book Jane Crow, Bell-Scott's book goes into more depth. Bell-Scott includes excerpts of letters between the two women which I found fascinating and illuminating. I could really tell that both women admired and respected each other. Overall, the book is a very readable documentation of this important friendship in American history.
October 25, 2017
Read because: 2017 Finalist, Carnegie Medal - Non-Fiction
I was about a third of the way into this book when I was struck with how downplayed Murray's accomplishments were. In her quest to paint the firebrand portrait - strident letters, protests, activism, civil engagement - the author doesn't seem to overly-emphasize the fact that Murray found a way to do all of that while putting herself through law school as she simultaneously struggled with medical issues, being a "sexual deviant," and always being on the verge of poverty while caring for elderly relatives. She graduated at the head of her class with a long list of accomplishments to her name but, here, that's all just backdrop. These events are obviously listed and explained to some point but I felt like the main emphasis was not on Murray's amazing personal and community successes and how those won the admiration of the Eleanor Roosevelt but more about the chance meeting between the two women and how Murray wrote letters to the President and cced his wife to ensure those letters got to their intended recipient which then created a dialog between the two women. I suppose that's the "Friendship" part of the title. It seems so passive, not firebrandy at all.
That friendship was interesting but, overall, not compelling because I didn't get a sense of solidity, of actual friendship between Murray and Roosevelt. It seems there was mutual admiration and a degree of affection but they seemed more like colleagues or, perhaps, even student and professor, than friends. Murray was more intimate with Roosevelt while Roosevelt seemed to be more reserved perhaps because she was in the role of a mentor or maybe because of her role in politics? I'm not sure because I could never really nail down the nature of their relationship.
The author touches on how she'd originally just intended to publish the letters between the two women but as she continued to research, she wanted to share the powerful story that wasn't captured in the epistolary narrative. While she didn't fail, I'm not confident she succeeded, either. This read like a final draft where all the information is there but it still needs to be cohesively tied together to create the full picture.
Regardless, I enjoyed learning about Pauli Murray immensely and would recommend this book readers interested in civil rights, womens rights, LGBTQ rights, the Roosevelt administration, American history, and/or biographies of outspoken women.
I was about a third of the way into this book when I was struck with how downplayed Murray's accomplishments were. In her quest to paint the firebrand portrait - strident letters, protests, activism, civil engagement - the author doesn't seem to overly-emphasize the fact that Murray found a way to do all of that while putting herself through law school as she simultaneously struggled with medical issues, being a "sexual deviant," and always being on the verge of poverty while caring for elderly relatives. She graduated at the head of her class with a long list of accomplishments to her name but, here, that's all just backdrop. These events are obviously listed and explained to some point but I felt like the main emphasis was not on Murray's amazing personal and community successes and how those won the admiration of the Eleanor Roosevelt but more about the chance meeting between the two women and how Murray wrote letters to the President and cced his wife to ensure those letters got to their intended recipient which then created a dialog between the two women. I suppose that's the "Friendship" part of the title. It seems so passive, not firebrandy at all.
That friendship was interesting but, overall, not compelling because I didn't get a sense of solidity, of actual friendship between Murray and Roosevelt. It seems there was mutual admiration and a degree of affection but they seemed more like colleagues or, perhaps, even student and professor, than friends. Murray was more intimate with Roosevelt while Roosevelt seemed to be more reserved perhaps because she was in the role of a mentor or maybe because of her role in politics? I'm not sure because I could never really nail down the nature of their relationship.
The author touches on how she'd originally just intended to publish the letters between the two women but as she continued to research, she wanted to share the powerful story that wasn't captured in the epistolary narrative. While she didn't fail, I'm not confident she succeeded, either. This read like a final draft where all the information is there but it still needs to be cohesively tied together to create the full picture.
Regardless, I enjoyed learning about Pauli Murray immensely and would recommend this book readers interested in civil rights, womens rights, LGBTQ rights, the Roosevelt administration, American history, and/or biographies of outspoken women.
May 29, 2023
I enjoyed reading this well-researched, insightful biograpy. It covers the life and times of Eleanor Roosevelt, too. Their long friendship evolving over time engaged me. I learned a lot about the civil right struggle in the post-World War II years.
December 5, 2019
This is a very passionate book on two very impassionate people – Eleanor Roosevelt and Pauli Murray. Both these women evolved tremendously during their lifetimes. They both sought social change.
Pauli Murray was a woman of mixed racial heritage and in her youth spent time with relatives in North Carolina where she experienced prejudice as both a person of colour and as a woman. When she left the South to live in the North she rarely returned. Pauli Murray was a very sensitive person and could not endure the Jim Crow segregation with violence lurking on any perceived transgression.
She started to correspond with Eleanor Roosevelt, seeing her as sympathetic to both racial and female advancement. Eleanor Roosevelt responded and thus began an enduring, if somewhat tempestuous, friendship. It is to Eleanor Roosevelt’s credit that she that saw in the much younger Pauli Murray a strong individual striving to overcome the obstacles in her life. They did have some things in common – they both lost their parents at a young age and were shunted off to relatives. They felt alienated in the milieu they grew up in. Eleanor Roosevelt saw her position as First Lady as a way to aid and help disadvantaged people – she also became attached and found a kinship to the younger generation of growing Americans – one of which was Pauli Murray.
Pauli Murray was not afraid to let loose on the daily persecutions that her people faced in the U.S. She pointed out to Eleanor Roosevelt the hypocrisy of the U.S. government’s opposition to Nazi Germany during the 1930’s when millions of its own citizens faced similar oppression. Eleanor Roosevelt fought unsuccessfully to criminalize lynching in the Southern U.S.
They met several times over the years, with Pauli Murray making visits to the White House and both Eleanor’s homes in New York City and her Hyde Park home on the Hudson River.
Pauli Murray studied law throughout her life – and used it to break down barriers – both racial and gender. She applied to the Law school of North Carolina – and was refused because of her race. She applied to study law at Harvard and was refused, this time due to her gender. In both cases she appealed to Eleanor Roosevelt for help - and despite her efforts this was all to no avail. The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) also refused her for gender reasons. She was accepted at Berkeley in California and at Yale in Connecticut. She also studied at other institutions and always had glowing marks.
Page 193- 94 (my book)
Pauli Murray published a 746-page legal document in 1951 called “States’ on Race and Color....”
“there were laws forbidding the integration of public transportation, hotels, places of employment, housing, hospitals, military units and installations, prisons, recreational facilities, and schools all over the country. Thirty states restricted intermarriage. Mississippi made it illegal “to publish or distribute” literature that promoted racial equality.”
Pauli Murray did have a job for a time with a prestigious law firm in New York City, but left because she felt her calling was to advocate for social change.
This book deals much more with the life of Pauli Murray, who died in 1985, then of Eleanor Roosevelt; which is proper as there exists a large number of books on the Roosevelt’s’.
Page 225
J. Edgar Hoover (FBI chief) intensely disliked Eleanor Roosevelt, and the thirty-five thousand-page file the bureau created on her at his direction would become the largest assembled for an individual prior to the 1960s.
Pauli Murray was today what we would call a transgender person, another reason she could not function in the Southern US. She taught constitutional law for a time in Ghana, but had to leave there as well; the government was closely monitoring her classroom activities. Interestingly, at the latter stage of her life at age 66, she became an Episcopal Priest – another hurdle she overcame. Pauli Murray found some solace in this vocation – and used it to spread her message of racial and gender justice and tolerance.
This is an emotional book on the extraordinary journey these two women took. Neither was afraid to oppose the barriers against race and women.
Pauli Murray was a woman of mixed racial heritage and in her youth spent time with relatives in North Carolina where she experienced prejudice as both a person of colour and as a woman. When she left the South to live in the North she rarely returned. Pauli Murray was a very sensitive person and could not endure the Jim Crow segregation with violence lurking on any perceived transgression.
She started to correspond with Eleanor Roosevelt, seeing her as sympathetic to both racial and female advancement. Eleanor Roosevelt responded and thus began an enduring, if somewhat tempestuous, friendship. It is to Eleanor Roosevelt’s credit that she that saw in the much younger Pauli Murray a strong individual striving to overcome the obstacles in her life. They did have some things in common – they both lost their parents at a young age and were shunted off to relatives. They felt alienated in the milieu they grew up in. Eleanor Roosevelt saw her position as First Lady as a way to aid and help disadvantaged people – she also became attached and found a kinship to the younger generation of growing Americans – one of which was Pauli Murray.
Pauli Murray was not afraid to let loose on the daily persecutions that her people faced in the U.S. She pointed out to Eleanor Roosevelt the hypocrisy of the U.S. government’s opposition to Nazi Germany during the 1930’s when millions of its own citizens faced similar oppression. Eleanor Roosevelt fought unsuccessfully to criminalize lynching in the Southern U.S.
They met several times over the years, with Pauli Murray making visits to the White House and both Eleanor’s homes in New York City and her Hyde Park home on the Hudson River.
Pauli Murray studied law throughout her life – and used it to break down barriers – both racial and gender. She applied to the Law school of North Carolina – and was refused because of her race. She applied to study law at Harvard and was refused, this time due to her gender. In both cases she appealed to Eleanor Roosevelt for help - and despite her efforts this was all to no avail. The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) also refused her for gender reasons. She was accepted at Berkeley in California and at Yale in Connecticut. She also studied at other institutions and always had glowing marks.
Page 193- 94 (my book)
Pauli Murray published a 746-page legal document in 1951 called “States’ on Race and Color....”
“there were laws forbidding the integration of public transportation, hotels, places of employment, housing, hospitals, military units and installations, prisons, recreational facilities, and schools all over the country. Thirty states restricted intermarriage. Mississippi made it illegal “to publish or distribute” literature that promoted racial equality.”
Pauli Murray did have a job for a time with a prestigious law firm in New York City, but left because she felt her calling was to advocate for social change.
This book deals much more with the life of Pauli Murray, who died in 1985, then of Eleanor Roosevelt; which is proper as there exists a large number of books on the Roosevelt’s’.
Page 225
J. Edgar Hoover (FBI chief) intensely disliked Eleanor Roosevelt, and the thirty-five thousand-page file the bureau created on her at his direction would become the largest assembled for an individual prior to the 1960s.
Pauli Murray was today what we would call a transgender person, another reason she could not function in the Southern US. She taught constitutional law for a time in Ghana, but had to leave there as well; the government was closely monitoring her classroom activities. Interestingly, at the latter stage of her life at age 66, she became an Episcopal Priest – another hurdle she overcame. Pauli Murray found some solace in this vocation – and used it to spread her message of racial and gender justice and tolerance.
This is an emotional book on the extraordinary journey these two women took. Neither was afraid to oppose the barriers against race and women.
January 19, 2019
I love super specific history books, and this is a really great look at two great women. Too many civil rights movement books sleep on Pauli Murray, who did a ton of activist and legal work, and who also should be more talked about in the queer community. If you're not familiar with her, this is a great introduction to her life's works and challenges. It was really interesting to see her just write herself into a friendship with Roosevelt through skill and determination. Highly recommend. I'm definitely adding more reading about and by both of these women to my list.
February 20, 2016
I try to read everything I can find about Eleanor Roosevelt. This book surprised me with new information about Eleanor Roosevelt. I am always amazed at the energy and wide interest of ER. I had not heard of Pauli Murray before reading this book. This turns out to be my second book on black history for the February Black History Month.
ER first met Pauli Murray in 1943 when Murray was living at Camp Tera, a New Deal Facility in New York for unemployed women. Eleanor had pressured them to accept black women into the Camps. Pauli and ER carried on a lifetime correspondence from this date onward.
Murray a young African America woman first worked with the NAACP then went on to become an attorney; she became the first African America women Episcopal Priest and was a prominent writer and poet. Murray challenged racial segregation at the University of North Carolina in 1938, and in public transportation in Virginia in 1940. She was a co-founder of the national organization of Women in 1966. She co-authored a brief with Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Reed v Reed.
Bell-Scott tells of the friendship between these two women. The author includes many letters between the two women. The book is meticulously researched and the author had interviews with Murray. The book is easy to read and at times reads like a novel. I gathered from the book that ER’s role was supportive encouragement but at times she did take some action on behalf of Murray. I was amazed at the courage and intelligence of Pauli Murray and would like to learn more about her. I picked up a good trivia question about ER from this book. The question is: Who was Eleanor Roosevelt’s favorite poet? Karen Chilton does a good job narrating the book.
ER first met Pauli Murray in 1943 when Murray was living at Camp Tera, a New Deal Facility in New York for unemployed women. Eleanor had pressured them to accept black women into the Camps. Pauli and ER carried on a lifetime correspondence from this date onward.
Murray a young African America woman first worked with the NAACP then went on to become an attorney; she became the first African America women Episcopal Priest and was a prominent writer and poet. Murray challenged racial segregation at the University of North Carolina in 1938, and in public transportation in Virginia in 1940. She was a co-founder of the national organization of Women in 1966. She co-authored a brief with Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Reed v Reed.
Bell-Scott tells of the friendship between these two women. The author includes many letters between the two women. The book is meticulously researched and the author had interviews with Murray. The book is easy to read and at times reads like a novel. I gathered from the book that ER’s role was supportive encouragement but at times she did take some action on behalf of Murray. I was amazed at the courage and intelligence of Pauli Murray and would like to learn more about her. I picked up a good trivia question about ER from this book. The question is: Who was Eleanor Roosevelt’s favorite poet? Karen Chilton does a good job narrating the book.
April 28, 2016
Unlike many readers, I knew more about the life of Pauli Murray than I did about that of Eleanor Roosevelt when I picked up The Firebrand the First Lady. I can’t do justice to the scope of this book, except to say that we owe Patricia Bell-Scott an enormous debt of gratitude for the painstaking research and comprehensive timeline she provides of the intersection of the lives of two great women in American history. For anyone seeking the inspiration of a tireless activist on behalf of African Americans, women and the LGBT community as early as the 1930s and as late the 1980s, look no further than the life of Pauli Murray. The extraordinary life she led and the work she did (so often uncredited) boggles the mind. Murray was a warrior-lawyer-activist-author-professor-poet-priest who accumulated so many “firsts” (again, many uncredited) it’s hard to keep track, but fortunately Bell-Scott does that for you. Prior to the modern Black civil rights and women’s movements of the mid-late 20th century, Murray was laying the legal groundwork for both movements (literally… her 1951 publication of States’ Laws on Race and Color became “the bible for civil rights attorneys,” according to Thurgood Marshall; the NAACP defense team used one of her published essays to develop the strategy for Brown v. Board; the extensive list of her legal contributions to significant legislation and judicial cases in the women’s and civil rights movements is a huge favor that Bell-Scott has done the reader), all while surviving McCarthyism, her own ongoing health struggles, and battling through the rejection of opportunities she suffered at every turn because of her race, gender and sexuality. (These are only three among many examples: she was denied admission to graduate school at UNC-CH because she was Black, she was denied admission to Harvard Law School because she was a woman. I suspect she was denied her rightful place in the history books because she was a lesbian. ) If you think intersectionality is a recent phenomenon in social justice consciousness, or even that it was labeled in the 1960s/70s, think again. Pauli Murray was one of the most tenacious and brilliant activists of the 20th century -- her life and work defined intersectionality.
The friendship and role that Eleanor Roosevelt (a warrior in her own right) played in Murray’s life is equally illuminating in this book. Their lifelong friendship is an example of two people from different backgrounds (although Murray continually pointed out the similarities in their life circumstances), and with vastly different temperaments and social positions, who shared a passion and drive to action from which both derived strength and inspiration. Most importantly for us today and the social justice aims they furthered, the two women educated one another. One of the strengths of this book is its insistence that its subjects be placed squarely in historical context, and is a solid exploration of their lives with the backdrop of the Great Depression, World War II, McCarthyism and the Cold War period. Readers will learn a great deal about the time period as well as the friendship between Murray and Roosevelt. That Murray grew up in Durham, NC and died in Pittsburgh, PA, two of the most important places in my own life was sweet icing on this treat of a book.
The friendship and role that Eleanor Roosevelt (a warrior in her own right) played in Murray’s life is equally illuminating in this book. Their lifelong friendship is an example of two people from different backgrounds (although Murray continually pointed out the similarities in their life circumstances), and with vastly different temperaments and social positions, who shared a passion and drive to action from which both derived strength and inspiration. Most importantly for us today and the social justice aims they furthered, the two women educated one another. One of the strengths of this book is its insistence that its subjects be placed squarely in historical context, and is a solid exploration of their lives with the backdrop of the Great Depression, World War II, McCarthyism and the Cold War period. Readers will learn a great deal about the time period as well as the friendship between Murray and Roosevelt. That Murray grew up in Durham, NC and died in Pittsburgh, PA, two of the most important places in my own life was sweet icing on this treat of a book.
October 7, 2016
I love Pauli Murray and truly admire her lifelong struggle for civil rights on behalf of African Americans, women, and LGBT people. Although she and Eleanor Roosevelt only met in person a few times they shared a decades-long friendship and a fascinating and feisty correspondence. It was illuminating to learn how much Pauli Murray influenced and pushed the First Lady in her civil rights outlook. ER was a woman receptive to the cause, but she and Murray did clash a few times when Roosevelt told Murray to be more patient.
Even though this biography covers two women and many significant events of twentieth-century American history it is really not a cultural biography (which is what I most enjoy); it's more of what I think of as a researchers' biography, with litanies of names, places, dates, correspondence, and voluminous citational endnotes. So it wasn't, for me, an especially galvanizing read, but I think it will make a valuable resource for future scholars.
Even though this biography covers two women and many significant events of twentieth-century American history it is really not a cultural biography (which is what I most enjoy); it's more of what I think of as a researchers' biography, with litanies of names, places, dates, correspondence, and voluminous citational endnotes. So it wasn't, for me, an especially galvanizing read, but I think it will make a valuable resource for future scholars.
August 13, 2016
Entertaining and educational - very enjoyable read. Pauli Murray's life makes the reader almost ashamed of how little she ( meaning me) has accomplished. This woman was a whirling derbish of activity. Often we think of progress in our lives as progressing in a straight line. Pauli proves that wrong - her hopscotching career with varied degrees in varied interests, from private to government to educational work is astounding Her religious focus at the end of the life did seem logical but I kept waiting for more of her writing to discuss her anger at a god who would let the injustices of her life continue. One of the best aspects of this writing are the primary source documents - mostly the letters exchanged between Pauli and ER. I had always adored Mrs. R. but the gentle and intimate portrait of her in this piece is charming and lovely. She was such a champion for others. I adore that she and Pauli could disagree about approaches to equality yet their passionate agreement on the needs for improvements kept them as friends. To be poor, black, female, and homosexual in any part of the world, even the US, in the early to mid 1900s had to seem like more of an unfair burden than anyone should have to bear.
As a teacher, I pegged two letters I am going to use to discuss the rhetorical devices used for persuasion and a passage about a man kidnapped from jail and killed for the accusation of raping a white woman for my teacher friends who teach To Kill a Mockingbird.
As a teacher, I pegged two letters I am going to use to discuss the rhetorical devices used for persuasion and a passage about a man kidnapped from jail and killed for the accusation of raping a white woman for my teacher friends who teach To Kill a Mockingbird.
April 12, 2018
The introduction explains that Scott's original vision was a book of letters, edited to show the evolution of their friendship. And the work still has clear elements of that vision, letting the words of these historic figures speak for themselves. But the narrative puts them together in the best way, with both personal details and historical scope--the Great Depression and New Deal, the war years, the Civil Rights Movement, the Red (and Lilac/Lavender) Scare, the Women's Rights Movement all follow in turn.
My only complaint would be that many of the chapters are quite brief, and her periodization is very finely divided. There's not always room for the scope that is so clearly part of these women's stories.
I want to teach this book. I think it would be a great way to point out that women make history, that their ideas and actions matter, and to talk about intersectionality as well. I just wish it wasn't 480 pages. I worry that students will bail out, even though the story is so beautiful and well-rendered.
My only complaint would be that many of the chapters are quite brief, and her periodization is very finely divided. There's not always room for the scope that is so clearly part of these women's stories.
I want to teach this book. I think it would be a great way to point out that women make history, that their ideas and actions matter, and to talk about intersectionality as well. I just wish it wasn't 480 pages. I worry that students will bail out, even though the story is so beautiful and well-rendered.
May 2, 2017
This is a pretty good biography, but an extraordinary life. Two lives, actually, but one was already familiar. In any case, it's much more about Pauli Murray, and she is a revelation. She is one of those timeless characters that defy in their thinking all constraints of their times and life circumstances. One stares in awe at her ability to be exactly who she was, and to develop her passion for universal justice. The interaction with Eleanor Roosevelt, and the generous samplings of her letters and other writings make her all the more vivid.
December 30, 2016
I really admire women like Pauli Murray (and Eleanor Roosevelt) who pushed the limits of womanhood and activism in their own way. It was interesting to learn about this friendship and get context about each of their lives. I was a little exhausted by the length of the book and found that I needed to take long-ish breaks from it to keep my interest going. Tremendous work by Patricia Bell Scott - I could really feel her admiration and respect for the life of Pauli Murray.
August 13, 2018
I loved this book. I knew Pauli Murray was an activist for black civil rights, but didn't realize how much she also did for women's rights. I also learned more about Eleanor Roosevelt, a person who doesn't get enough credit for all she accomplished. The book is dense with facts and citations, but well written and easy to read. Highly recommend.
April 13, 2025
This was a fascinating and challenging read. I'm sorry to say I'd never heard of Pauli Murray before my book club selected this book, but now I'm glad that I know quite a bit about her and Eleanor Roosevelt! The discrimination and hardships that Pauli faced as an African American lesbian woman were massive. Yet she continually fought for equality in every part of her life, primarily with her intellect and passion for the causes she believed in. The fact that her long friendship with "ER" began with a letter Pauli wrote to the first lady (who actually read it and replied) is astounding in this day and age. In fact, the letters between the two women were my favorite part of this book, mainly since no one writes letters anymore! Unfortunately, not all the battles these two incredible women fought have been won yet. And it's a shame we no longer have someone like Eleanor Roosevelt on the world stage fighting for civil rights, women's rights, and peace. I suspect she would be shocked at the state of our world today.
This is a very dense read—it often felt like more of a history textbook than a biography, which made it hard to get through at times. In many cases, too much detail didn't add to the story being told—lists of names or details of menus that weren't relevant to the broader narrative. There were also people who were mentioned who were important to either Pauli or Eleanor (or both) that I would have liked to learn a bit more about beyond the cursory explanation provided. So I'll likely look for other books to fill in the blanks.
This is a very dense read—it often felt like more of a history textbook than a biography, which made it hard to get through at times. In many cases, too much detail didn't add to the story being told—lists of names or details of menus that weren't relevant to the broader narrative. There were also people who were mentioned who were important to either Pauli or Eleanor (or both) that I would have liked to learn a bit more about beyond the cursory explanation provided. So I'll likely look for other books to fill in the blanks.
October 14, 2023
This was the best kind of “letters of” book — one that effectively narrativizes & contextualizes the correspondence you are reading, and that sensitively sheds new light on the people whose letters you read. In this case, I learned (and came to admire) so much about Pauli Murray and Eleanor Roosevelt.
I love this sort of accident of history: that two moral titans of the 20th century should have turned out, by obscure twist of fate, to become close friends. I had no idea that Murray and Roosevelt knew each other before reading this book, and Patricia Bell-Scott is not stretching here, either — the volume and richness of the correspondence between the two friends is astonishing. Their influence on one another is clear, and it is skillfully presented by Bell-Scott.
It’s a great read for anyone interested in New Deal history, the Red Scare, the generation of Black intellectuals and activists that presaged the Civil Rights Movement, and more besides. Both Murray and Roosevelt’s lives were so expansive, and their letters to one another add rare personal dimension to this crucial era. Murray is the center of this account, which I was glad for, but Roosevelt is expansively written about as well. Would recommend!
I love this sort of accident of history: that two moral titans of the 20th century should have turned out, by obscure twist of fate, to become close friends. I had no idea that Murray and Roosevelt knew each other before reading this book, and Patricia Bell-Scott is not stretching here, either — the volume and richness of the correspondence between the two friends is astonishing. Their influence on one another is clear, and it is skillfully presented by Bell-Scott.
It’s a great read for anyone interested in New Deal history, the Red Scare, the generation of Black intellectuals and activists that presaged the Civil Rights Movement, and more besides. Both Murray and Roosevelt’s lives were so expansive, and their letters to one another add rare personal dimension to this crucial era. Murray is the center of this account, which I was glad for, but Roosevelt is expansively written about as well. Would recommend!
August 11, 2021
This is the second bio of Pauli Murray I've read this year. Jane Crow, which focuses solely on Murray, is the better book -- more complete, which is to be expected, but also more compellingly written. That being said, I very much appreciated Bell-Scott's shining a light on the relationship between Murray and Eleanor Roosevelt. I agree with her that their letters often need context, however, I found myself wishing she'd used more of their own writings. Bell-Scott is an admirable historian, but I found both Murray and Roosevelt to be the more eloquent writers.
February 23, 2023
I am sad to say I had never read of nor heard of Pauli Murray before reading this book. She was a remarkable woman whose contributions in the fields of civil rights and social justice continue to be invaluable despite the fact that she was marginalized in every conceivable way. I highly recommend this inspirational narrative of two women who worked separately and together to stand up for what they believed was right.
March 19, 2023
I listened to this audiobook in preparation for a documentary l saw about the life of Pauli Murray, and I’m so glad I did! It was a substantial book which gave me new insight into the Civil Rights movement of the mid-20th century, and the true intersectional experience of Murray’s personal and professional work. It gave me greater appreciation too for the impact that Eleanor Roosevelt had on American history. Highly recommend this book, and the documentary film “I Am Pauli Murray.”
April 4, 2017
So interesting to learn about both women, and the relationship that developed between them over decades. Makes me want to learn more about both. I found it super interesting, and OK I do love history, but think many people would be intrigued by the stories of Murray's outrage and ER's efforts to support African Americans from her position as The World's First Lady.
April 8, 2022
This is such an important book for women interested in history. It is so well written and researched. I agree with other reviewers that you tire as you read it, but I definitely wanted to finish so bought the audiobook for the last third. This was titled as a story of a friendship, and it definitely hit the mark - which is why I gave it five stars. The enduring nature of their friendship should be studied in race relations, and activism alike. Over the decades these two women inspired each other to activism in similar and vastly different contexts. Activism and change was their common bond and the interesting thing for me was how they advanced their activism to promote positive change over the decades.
October 24, 2018
EDIT: I recently wrote a blog post about Pauli Murray, which references Scott's very well-researched book. Please check it out if you are interested in learning more: https://wp.me/pafNQ7-j
It took me a while to finish this book (combination of being easily distracted + compulsion to look up names, facts & figures from various historical periods that I'm interested in), but I'm very glad I stuck with it! Before reading this book, I knew relatively little about Eleanor Roosevelt (other than basic common knowledge information), and absolutely nothing about Pauli Murray. I felt inspired to finally pick up this book after reading this informative New Yorker article about Murray earlier this year: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...
This book is a story about the friendship between these two women, as well as their own individual lives of great accomplishment. Although the writing could have been better at times, this story was captivating enough that it didn't really matter. This friendship, though sometimes combative, as both had strong beliefs, was a fascinating look at their specific relationship as well as the times they lived in--ranging from Murray's first letters to Eleanor/FDR in 1938 in the midst of the Depression; to World War II and the death of FDR; to the civil rights struggles of the 50s; to Eleanor's final days in 1962. I know I've learned a great deal of new names and facts solely from reading this book.
I have to say that I did not realize how emotionally connected I felt to both of these women and their unique relationship until I read the well-written section about the last time Murray and Roosevelt saw each other, a few months before Roosevelt's death in 1962:
"As Murray and her family were leaving, she paused to watch ER walk into her cottage. Her shoulders were 'slightly stooped,' her footsteps measured. It was the last time Murray would see her friend."
I was literally tearing up as I read this on the subway.
I know this was a meaningful book for me not just because it was about two important American women and activists (though different in many ways), but also because it has inspired me to learn more about both of them. I now feel more of a personal connection to Eleanor Roosevelt, someone who I mostly learned about in history classes and as she was connected to Franklin, not as her own person. I understand better her role as a forerunner to the women's movement of the 60s, 70s and beyond.
As for Murray, I am almost mad that I never knew about her before! It is a shame that she is not more well-known, as she was a trailblazer in so many fields, and active for so many years. She was very much ahead of her time, and I found myself wondering as I read if she was almost born in the wrong generation--if she were alive today, she could keep up with the most progressive of race, gender, and sexuality discussions!
I see now how much I've written about this book, so I guess it meant more to me than I even realized. I would say if you are interested in general women's history in America, as well as discussions of race, gender, and more, and if you enjoy reading about the mid-20th century, this book could definitely be for you. It's also just a great story.
It took me a while to finish this book (combination of being easily distracted + compulsion to look up names, facts & figures from various historical periods that I'm interested in), but I'm very glad I stuck with it! Before reading this book, I knew relatively little about Eleanor Roosevelt (other than basic common knowledge information), and absolutely nothing about Pauli Murray. I felt inspired to finally pick up this book after reading this informative New Yorker article about Murray earlier this year: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...
This book is a story about the friendship between these two women, as well as their own individual lives of great accomplishment. Although the writing could have been better at times, this story was captivating enough that it didn't really matter. This friendship, though sometimes combative, as both had strong beliefs, was a fascinating look at their specific relationship as well as the times they lived in--ranging from Murray's first letters to Eleanor/FDR in 1938 in the midst of the Depression; to World War II and the death of FDR; to the civil rights struggles of the 50s; to Eleanor's final days in 1962. I know I've learned a great deal of new names and facts solely from reading this book.
I have to say that I did not realize how emotionally connected I felt to both of these women and their unique relationship until I read the well-written section about the last time Murray and Roosevelt saw each other, a few months before Roosevelt's death in 1962:
"As Murray and her family were leaving, she paused to watch ER walk into her cottage. Her shoulders were 'slightly stooped,' her footsteps measured. It was the last time Murray would see her friend."
I was literally tearing up as I read this on the subway.
I know this was a meaningful book for me not just because it was about two important American women and activists (though different in many ways), but also because it has inspired me to learn more about both of them. I now feel more of a personal connection to Eleanor Roosevelt, someone who I mostly learned about in history classes and as she was connected to Franklin, not as her own person. I understand better her role as a forerunner to the women's movement of the 60s, 70s and beyond.
As for Murray, I am almost mad that I never knew about her before! It is a shame that she is not more well-known, as she was a trailblazer in so many fields, and active for so many years. She was very much ahead of her time, and I found myself wondering as I read if she was almost born in the wrong generation--if she were alive today, she could keep up with the most progressive of race, gender, and sexuality discussions!
I see now how much I've written about this book, so I guess it meant more to me than I even realized. I would say if you are interested in general women's history in America, as well as discussions of race, gender, and more, and if you enjoy reading about the mid-20th century, this book could definitely be for you. It's also just a great story.
November 26, 2018
I bought this audiobook because I was listening to a biography of Eleanor Roosevelt. But I got bogged down in that and haven’t finished, and in this book I found Pauli Murray to be far more interesting—she’s also more of the focus.
Sometimes this gets bogged down in details: what day did they have tea, what was served. But what emerges is a portrait of two accomplished women, who admired, championed, and challenged each other. Good thing they lived in a letter-writing age that preserved so much about their friendship. Both women fought for social justice, but Murray, from a working-class black family, a lesbian, who had to fight for every educational and professional opportunity, doubly discriminated against by what she called “Jane Crow,” obviously understood inequality in a way that ER could not. She shared those experiences and pushed the First Lady, impatient sometimes at ER’s caution and advocacy of more gradual reforms. What amazed me was her persistence in writing to the First Lady, in insisting on being heard.
Probably my favourite part, for personal reasons, was reading about Murray’s ordination as the first black woman (and one of the very first women) Episcopal priest. I want to read her autobiography now.
The narration was excellent, though I do wonder about the decision to do voices. ER’s words are read in a grating falsetto that to be fair is a reasonable impression of her actual voice, but I could have done without it.
Sometimes this gets bogged down in details: what day did they have tea, what was served. But what emerges is a portrait of two accomplished women, who admired, championed, and challenged each other. Good thing they lived in a letter-writing age that preserved so much about their friendship. Both women fought for social justice, but Murray, from a working-class black family, a lesbian, who had to fight for every educational and professional opportunity, doubly discriminated against by what she called “Jane Crow,” obviously understood inequality in a way that ER could not. She shared those experiences and pushed the First Lady, impatient sometimes at ER’s caution and advocacy of more gradual reforms. What amazed me was her persistence in writing to the First Lady, in insisting on being heard.
Probably my favourite part, for personal reasons, was reading about Murray’s ordination as the first black woman (and one of the very first women) Episcopal priest. I want to read her autobiography now.
The narration was excellent, though I do wonder about the decision to do voices. ER’s words are read in a grating falsetto that to be fair is a reasonable impression of her actual voice, but I could have done without it.
May 15, 2018
I absolutely loved this book. I read it to learn more about Pauli Murray, and initially I feared it was "borrowing interest" in Eleanor Roosevelt to sell books, but I came to see that so much was revealed about these extraordinary women in their letters and other encounters. There is no doubt that their friendship was important and influential to both of them. I am astounded that Pauli Murray is not better known and I suspect this is because she faced discrimination as an African-American, as a woman, as a lesbian, and as someone who was gender-queer. She also struggled with bouts of mental illness. She really understood intersectionality before we were talking about it. And her tireless work as an activist/organizer, attorney, and priest has made a tremendous difference in the world, for which she did not receive enough recognition. Myself a Episcopal priest, I was also delighted to hear about about her becoming a priest helped bring all things together. I hope everyone who is interested in HUMAN rights will read this book. She was a brave, determined, courageous, expressive woman, who suffered mightily and always held onto herself. I am so glad my church has made her a saint.
August 20, 2016
I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in American social history in the 1930s and 40s. Pauli Murray was deeply involved in early struggles for social justice, forerunners of the Civil Rights and Women's movements of the post-war period. Through her story, the reader gains a great appreciation of all the women and men, Black and White, who worked against all odds and laid the groundwork for nondiscrimination in housing, fair trials, an end to the poll tax, etc. As an African American and a woman, Murray faced endless barriers, eventually achieving success as a poet, lawyer, academician, political activist, and Episcopalian priest. (Sadly, her sexual orientation was not even open to discussion. Homosexuality was still considered a mental illness, grounds for the denial of employment or appointment to public positions.)
In this summer of our discontent, Bell-Scott's book is a reassuring reminder that the U.S. has made progress, however agonizingly slow.
In this summer of our discontent, Bell-Scott's book is a reassuring reminder that the U.S. has made progress, however agonizingly slow.
September 7, 2017
I struggle with how to rate this book, just as I struggled with reading it. I was enthralled at the beginning, but I wanted to learn more about the personal connection between these two amazing women. Somewhere around page 180 (out of 360 in my edition), I began checking after every couple of chapters to see how many pages were left to slog through. On the other hand, it's extremely well researched, so if you enjoy biographical writing that's full of dates & names & titles & places, you'll probably like this book much more than I did. I learned a lot, always a good thing, but I finished the book not feeling as if I *knew* either Pauli Murray, who is the main focus of the book, or Eleanor Roosevelt.
February 9, 2018
Excellent review of history seen through the eyes, actions and pens of two remarkable women. One was recognized in her own time, and Pauli Murray only now, posthumously, is getting the limelight she deserved. I recommend this book for both history and social themes.
September 15, 2016
A synonym for firebrand is revolutionary; both words are fitting for the two social justice heroines in this dual-biography. Author Bell-Scott responded to the challenge made by Pauli Murray to “know some of the veterans of the battle whose shoulders you now stand on.” We all need to know about the audacious human rights activists who opened many more possibilities for us all.
February 14, 2017
This was not a perfectly breezy read, but in these times, I found it inspiring. It introduced me to a woman I had never previously heard of, Pauli Murray, & expanded my understanding of Eleanor Roosevelt. But most of all, it left me with hope in what for me is a dark time.
February 14, 2017
Pauli Murray’s friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt and the struggle for social justice is well documented. However, her love with Renee Barlow is only casually mentioned. Well written and well documented.
March 15, 2016
thoughts coming shortly
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