Last semester, MORSL formed a cohort of students who took an online course on Queer Spirituality and who met regularly for discussion and support. I got to benefit from taking the course. It was created by Angela Yarber, an author, artist and the executive director of the Tehom Center (which seeks to empower marginalized women through art, writing, and special events). The course covered the stories of about a dozen women of color from history, scripture, and mythology and paired each figure with a spiritual practice.
One person introduced in the course was Pauli Murray, who dreamed of becoming a lawyer fighting for the rights of both women and black individuals. Sometimes schools rejected her because of her race, and other times because of her gender. Once she was promised a prestigious scholarship only to have it revoked when they learned she was not a man. She persisted in pursuing her goals and eventually completed a law degree at Yale. She also became the first woman to be ordained in the Episcopal Church. Pauli become an outspoken civil rights attorney who accelerated the Civil Rights Movement and helped many people in need of advocacy.
Pauli had a female partner for twenty years. It is likely if she were living today, she might identify as transgender non-binary because Pauli said she felt like a man trapped in a woman’s body. During her lifetime, support, understanding, and vocabulary for transgender experiences were not wide-spread. In the face of challenges, Pauli demonstrated resilience, found her purpose, and raised of voice of hope.
She said, “Hope is a song in a weary throat. Give me a song of hope and a world where I can sing it.” In the course, Angela paired these words with an invitation to “Meditate on what your spirit needs in order to sing a song of hope.” This encouragement to specifically identify and actively claim what we need to make hope possible in our lives touched my heart. What do we need in order to sing a song of hope within our spirits? How can we create spaces in our lives and communities where we can more freely feel and express hope despite whatever adversity and fatigue we have faced?
Since Pauli passed in 1985, great strides have been made in 2SLGBTQI+ rights in North America. We stand on much better ground for hope for a better, safer, more inclusive world. I want to sing a song of hope for yet greater and more consistent respect, kindness, equality, and equity for 2SLGBTQI+ people, including in their religious lives. I hope this Pride Month will be a time for all to help create a kinder, more loving, and more equitable world. A world that embraces and appreciates the unique gifts, perspectives, art, and spiritual insights that queer individuals and communities offer.
To see religious art depicting Pauli Murray and read more about her life, visit QSpirit's Page.
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