I’M EXCITED THAT more people will come to know Pauli by holding this piece of currency in their hands. Many folks feel connected to Pauli through her faith leadership, her Blackness, their queer identity, or their southern identity. That quarter represents so many things but when you flip it over, there’s that guy on the other side: George Washington. It feels a little strange. It’s also connected to our capitalist system, which is a bit odd. I don’t want our ancestors to become deities because it flattens them. That is a piece of my struggle with this quarter. “St. Pauli” certainly is a saint, but I want Pauli to remain whole and human. I don’t want them to be deified or objectified.

Hope is an important message for now. At a time in which we are bearing witness to deep injustice, deep inequity around the globe, and where we are feeling on edge about the future of our nation, we might be weary, but we must still be hopeful. Pauli spent 75 years of their life moving justice forward. A lot of the work Pauli did, she would never quite see the fruits of. It’s complicated fruit, because so much of this is now actively under attack.

We’re living in the future that Pauli built. We’re building a future that we may not be able to see. I think of Pauli Murray as an Afrofuturist. If we approach our work that way, perhaps we will feel more grounded and clear. Pauli was intentional. Pauli was consistent. Pauli was strategic. Pauli paid attention. We can apply that to modern-day social justice work.

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