Freeman H. M. Murray (September 22, 1859 - February 20, 1950) was an intellectual, civil rights activist, and journalist in Washington D.C. and

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

. He was active in promoting black home-ownership, opposing

Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

and lynching, and supporting positive representation of African Americans in public art. He was a founding member of the

Niagara Movement The Niagara Movement (NM) was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group of activists—many of whom were among the vanguard of African-American lawyers in the United States—led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. ...

and was an editor of its journal, the ''Horizon'', along with W. E. B. Du Bois and Lafayette M. Hershaw. Alongside his other work, Murray was an important intellectual leader and wrote an influential book of art criticism. In this, Murray was one of the first historians of African American art. His work expressed a desire that art take seriously the representation of African Americans and that slavery not be overlooked in favor of representation of heroes and glory in public art.Jones, Angela. African American Civil Rights: Early Activism and the Niagara Movement: Early Activism and the Niagara Movement. ABC-CLIO, Aug 15, 2011 p226-228

Personal life

Freeman Henry Morris Murray was born September 22, 1859 in Cleveland, Ohio. His father was John M. Murray and was of Scottish descent and was disowned by his family for marrying a black woman. John was a member of the

12th Ohio Infantry 12th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. History The 12th Ohio Infantry Regiment was organized at Camp Dennison, Cincinnati, Ohio, on May 3, 1861, for three-months service, and reorga ...

in the

US Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

and died at Bull Run Bridge on August 27, 1862 in the preamble to the Second Battle of Bull Run. His mother was Martha Bently, whose father was Irish and mother was Native American and African American. The couple owned a tailoring business in Cleveland. After his father died, his mother moved the family to

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

. After primary school, Murray attended Mount Pleasant Academy to train to be a teacher, one of three black students. He graduated from the academy in 1875. Murray was a bibliophile and learned French and Latin while continuing to work with his mother's father, Daniel Bentley in his whitewashing and painting business. Daniel Bentley was a major inspiration for Murray, having run a station on the

underground railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

during the time of slavery and continuing to work for African American progress after the civil war.Hackley-Lambert, Anita. F.H.M. Murray: First Biography of a Forgotten Pioneer for Civil Justice. HLE Pub., 2006 Soon, Murray moved to

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, lies to its immediate north across the Ohio and Newport, to its east across the Licking ...

to take a job teaching. He also took an apprenticeship for the ''

Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, alt ...

'' where he gained editing and publishing experience. Later in life he studied at Howard University in Washington, DC and eventually learned five languages.Rites Set Tomorrow for Freeman Murray, Author and Newsman, Evening Star (Washington (DC), District of Columbia) Thursday, February 23, 1950. Page: 22 In 1883, Murray married Laura Hamilton. They had five children. One daughter, Kathleen Paige Murray, worked for the Niagara Movement. In 1898 his daughter, Mary Vivian, and his wife died of tuberculosis. On September 1, 1898, Murray married his live-in nanny and mistress, Delilah - who was a cousin of Laura. They had one daughter, Florence Rogers. Murray had at least two other daughters, Kathleen (Luckett) and Florence, and two sons, F. Morris and William M. Freeman H. M. Murray was struck by a car driven by prominent Alexandria doctor William Allen Fuller, and died two days later on February 20, 1950 in Washington, DC.

Move to Washington, D.C.

In 1884, Murray passed the civil service exam in Ohio and moved to the Washington, DC area where he was appointed to a position in the Pension Division of the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * D ...

, making him the first black person from Ohio to be appointed to a federal position. Murray moved to

, where he started a real estate business. He purchased a large manor house which he considered a "post Civil War Underground Railroad System", as a safe house for African Americans at risk of persecution and lynching. With his brother, John, he created the Murray Brothers Printers and Publishing Company. Murray was very active in African-American politics and activism. He worked with

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

Ida B. Wells Ida B. Wells (full name: Ida Bell Wells-Barnett) (July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931) was an American investigative journalist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement. She was one of the founders of the National Association for ...

, Lafayette M Hershaw, James M Waldron,

William Monroe Trotter William Monroe Trotter, sometimes just Monroe Trotter (April 7, 1872 – April 7, 1934), was a newspaper editor and real estate businessman based in Boston, Massachusetts. An activist for African-American civil rights, he was an early opponent o ...

, and W. E. B. Du Bois. Murray was particularly active working with Wells to fight lynching. After Douglass died, Murray became caretaker of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Cemetery. Murray frequently wrote and spoke in opposition to

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...

, questioning Washington's strategies for failing to recognize the radical nature of the change needed. In April 1890, W. B. Dulaney, Rev. R. H. Porter, William Gray, and Murray formed the New Era Building Association to aid blacks to purchase homes and invest savings. In December 1891, Murray, Rev. H. H. Warring and Rev. Porter were elected by a group of Alexandria blacks to oppose segregated coach laws before the

Virginia Legislature The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 1619 ...

in Richmond. Murray ran a newspaper called the ''Home News'' and was Washington correspondent for Trotter's ''

Boston Guardian The ''Boston Guardian'' was an African-American newspaper, co-founded by William Monroe Trotter and George W. Forbes in 1901 in Boston, Massachusetts, and published until the 1950s. In April 2016, an unrelated publisher launched its own ''Boston ...

'', as well as writing for many other newspapers and journals. Murray started the Journal, the Home News, which was co-edited by Edward Hill, in 1901. Murray's position at the Guardian begane in January 1909. In the 1910s, Murray was an officer for the American Negro Academy. He also founded another paper, the Washington Tribune.

The Niagara Movement

Murray was a founding member of the Niagara Movement, founded by W. E. B. Du Bois in 1906. He was a prominent member of the movement, giving the opening address at the second national meeting of the group in August 1906 at Harpers Ferry. The Niagara Movement was a forerunner of the N.A.A.C.P. In 1907 Murray and others were rallying opposition to

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

and

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

in the black press. Washington sent his assistant, New York Customs Agent Charles W. Anderson to suggest action against the radicals to Roosevelt. Anderson opposed the idea of Niagara movement members holding federal jobs and succeeded at convincing President Roosevelt that Murray should be demoted.Jacqueline M. Moore, Leading the Race: The Transformation of the Black Elite in the Nation's Capital, 1880-1920 University of Virginia Press, 1999, p. 154

The Horizon

In order to publicize the views of the Niagara Movement, Du Bois, Hershaw, and F. H. M. Murray began publication of the magazine, "The Horizon". The journal was published from 1907 to 1910; Murray was printer and Du Bois and Hershaw were co-editors W. M. Sinclair and William Monroe Trotter were noted as other key players in the movement and involved in the magazine. Hershaw's most frequent contribution to Horizon was a column called "The Out-Look", a view of the black experience from the perspective of the white world, while Murray contributed "The In-Look" about the black experience from the view of black and the black press and Du Bois wrote "The Over-Look" about any issue in the black experience he felt necessary. Murray's "the In-Look" often criticized less radical positions of Booker T. Washington and his followers. The paper was not always in perfect harmony, and Hershaw and Murray frequently fought over material to be included in the "Horizon". In 1908, Du Bois, Hershaw, Clement G. Morgan, W. H. Ferris, and Kelly Miller broke with Trotter; and Trotter left the journal and the movement. Seeking greater radicalism, Trotter created the Negro American Political League.

Art history

He wrote an influential book, ''Emancipation and the Freed American in Sculpture'' in 1916 where he discussed the role of African Americans in sculpture. Murray advocated advances in African American culture and art. Murray's book was concerned with the tendency of sculptures celebrating emancipation focusing on its heroes and great battles, and that they would tend to overlook slavery, thereby lessening its role in the national consciousness. This concern with the politics of representation and memory of slavery and black history has influenced many 20th and 21st century scholars.Ater, Renée, Slavery and Its Memory in Public Monuments. American Art Vol. 24, No. 1 (Spring 2010), pp. 20-23

Later in life

Later in his life he organized and directed the Alexandria Dramatic Club. He also was a religious leader and educator in Alexandria. He was the head of the primary Sunday School of Roberts Chapel Methodist Church, where he also taught.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Freeman H. M. 1859 births Writers from Cleveland Writers from Alexandria, Virginia People from Washington, D.C. Howard University alumni American newspaper publishers (people) African-American educators NAACP activists 1950 deaths Journalists from Virginia Journalists from Ohio Activists from Ohio Educators from Ohio Niagara Movement