Norton Recognizes the Contributions of Newspaper Pioneer Frances Murphy (11/27/07)

Washington, DC-Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton today released the following statement on the passing of Washington Afro-American Publisher Emeritus Frances Murphy II, to be entered into the Congressional Record of the House floor when Congress returns next week:

Madame Speaker, I rise to ask the House of Representatives to join the residents of the District of Columbia and thousands of Americans throughout the country in thanksgiving for the life of Frances Murphy II. The influential Publisher Emeritus of the Washington Afro-American newspaper was especially revered in this city and in her hometown of Baltimore, where the Baltimore Afro-American is published, for coverage that African Americans got nowhere else in the press. Frances Murphy's leadership in journalism and publishing and her decades of work as a reporter, columnist, and editor were instrumental in educating and raising the consciousness of African Americans through unfailing investigations and coverage on matters of race that furthered the determination of people of all races to struggle against racial discrimination. As fearless as she was able, Frances Murphy was the scion of the nation's most distinguished African American newspaper family, but she insisted on making it to the top the hard way. Ms. Murphy rose to the pinnacle of running the family business, but only after selling the Afro as a child and submitting pieces for its children's section, educating herself at one of the nation's finest schools of journalism, becoming an entry-level reporter and then learning the business first hand by performing every function until she ran the papers. It would be unusual for a woman to become head of a newspaper empire today, but Frances Murphy's rise as a pre-feminist pioneer was all the more remarkable. Throughout her long and storied career, Ms. Murphy became a life long learner, pursuing additional degrees and always educating herself. In the process, she applied the same standard to the public by insisting on educating all of us. I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the remarkable life of Frances Murphy II.