“Sincerely Yours, Pauli Murray” is a ten-movement dramatic cantata celebrating the life of Reverend Dr. Anna Pauline “Pauli” Murray, a Black woman of astounding achievements you’ve likely never heard of. The Ohio premieres of the cantata are Nov. 7-9, with two performances in Yellow Springs at Antioch’s Foundry Theater and one in Cincinnati at the House of Joy Christian Ministries in Clifton.
Murray was an activist for civil and women’s rights with a jaw-dropping list of achievements that includes being the first woman to graduate from Howard University’s law school at the top of her class. A paper she wrote in her final year was influential to the NAACP arguments in Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954. She was the first Black woman to earn a J.S.D. degree from Yale Law School. In 1940, Murray was arrested for attempting to sit in the white section of a bus headed to North Carolina — fifteen years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in Montgomery, Alabama. She was a co-founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW). In 1977, she became the first Black woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest. Following her death, she was the first woman to have a residential college named for her at Yale.
But her fiercest struggle was with gender dysphoria. She had mental breakdowns, was frequently hospitalized and begged doctors to acknowledge her masculinity. As a cover, Murray shortened her name from Pauline to the androgynous Pauli. Publicly, Murray had two intense romantic relationships, both with white women.
Jane Ramseyer Miller, choral conductor, activist and artistic consultant for GALA Choruses in Minneapolis, is a longtime advocate for celebrating BIPOC and genderqueer people erased from history books through choral music. She heard a podcast on Title IX and Murray’s name came up
“Her story just blew my mind,” Miller said. She began researching Murray and contacted composer Steve Milloy, who worked with her on a cantata about Black activist Bayard Rustin in 2017. “We have another project,” she told him.
Milloy was artistic director of Cincinnati Men’s Chorus from 2017-2022 prior to moving to southern California where he is currently interim artistic director for San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus.
Miller also enlisted the help of acclaimed Minneapolis actor, director, poet and visual artist Kim Hines, who knew of Murray’s activism for women’s rights. “Her combined experiences in the theater made her the ideal librettist,” Miller said.
The creative team faced two formidable challenges. The first was to choose which aspects of Murray’s life to highlight. The second was how to craft the libretto to reflect Murray’s words.
“The family would not allow us to use her words,” said Kim Hines. “We could use her concepts but nothing from her letters, her poetry or other writings.”
“I have a music background, and because I’m an actor and a director, it’s my job to interpret,” she continued. “I could put myself in her shoes because I’m a Black lesbian and I know what it’s like to maneuver around the landmines.”
In the “Sincerely Yours, Pauli Murray,” Murray’s life is told in ten episodes, beginning with her childhood in North Carolina through her fight for equal rights to her spiritual journey following the death of her longtime partner, leading to her ordination as an Episcopal priest.
The musical styles include ragtime, classical, Motown, blues, pop, gospel and jazz.
“For every segment, I set Kim’s words in a musical style that fit the time period — except for the opening and closing segments,” said Milloy. “The first movement is “You Think You Know,” inspired by the theme from the ‘70s sitcom Maude.
“Pauli’s aunt’s song, “BoyGirl,” is set to a slow ragtime tempo, and you hear Pauli’s role in the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education case set to close harmonies of the late big band and early doo-wop eras.”
Despite Murray’s pushing back against embedded and vicious racism and sexism, her internal struggle with gender dysphoria was never completely resolved. Her decision to enter the priesthood followed the death of her beloved partner Irene “Renee” Barlow, who shared her commitment to the Episcopal faith.
The performances in Cincinnati and Yellow Springs follow the world premiere in April, with ten more scheduled across the U.S. In addition to the 115-voice World House Choir based in Yellow Springs directed by Dr. Catherine Roma, Dayton performance artist Aleah Vassell and soprano Sharisse Santos are narrators and vocal soloists.
Roma led the regional performances of the Rustin cantata and sees Murray’s story as even more vital today, stressing the importance of getting Murray’s story to wider audiences. A panel discussion follows each concert with Milloy, Ramseyer Miller, Murray’s niece Rosita Steven-Holsey and Miriam McKenney, the Director for Dismantling Racism at the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio.
“Rosita brings the personal perspective of Pauli’s family, and Miriam offers historical and spiritual insight from her role within the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio,” explained Rachel Kramer, event producer. “On Nov. 8, we’re hosting ‘Pastries with Pauli’ at St. Andrew’s Church in Evanston, where Miriam’s father served as priest, and he invited Pauli to Cincinnati, so Miriam will likely share that story.”
On Nov. 1, a symposium, “Defying Jim and Jane Crow: The Power & Impact of Pauli Murray,” takes place at Antioch College, featuring Anjalique Knight, director of education and outreach at the Pauli Murray Center in Durham, North Carolina, and Serena Mayeri, faculty member at the Penn Carey Law School and author of Reasoning From Race: Feminism, Law, and the Civil Rights Revolution.
The performances and the panels push back against recent moves to silence Murray’s life and achievements. Early this year, the Pauli Murray Center, which houses her papers, lost a multi-year $300k grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
“The relevance of doing this piece at this moment in time cannot be overstated,” Dr. Roma said. “Pauli Murray’s fights for equal rights and her personal struggles with gender dysphoria need to be known and celebrated.”
For more information about “Sincerely Yours, Pauli Murray,” visit worldhousechoir.org.
This story is featured in CityBeat’s Oct. 29 print edition.
This article appears in Oct. 29-Nov. 11.