View source for Laura W. Murphy

{{short description|American lobbyist and civil rights activist}}
{{infobox person
| name               = Laura W. Murphy
| image              =
| caption            =
| birth_name         =
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1955|10|03}}
| birth_place        = [[Baltimore, Maryland]], U.S.
| death_date         =
| death_place        =
| resting_place      =
| alma_mater         = [[Wellesley College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| spouse             = Bill Psillas
| children           =
| parents            = William H. Murphy Sr.<br>[[Madeline Wheeler Murphy]]
| relatives          = [[Billy Murphy Jr.]] (brother)<br>[[John H. Murphy Sr.]] (great-grandfather)
| occupation         = activist, lobbyist
| website            = [https://lwmurphy.com/about.html lwmurphy.com]
}}
'''Laura W. Murphy''' (born October 3, 1955) is an American lobbyist and civil rights activist. She served as the director of the Washington Legislative Office for the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] from 1993 to 2005.
== Early life, family, and education ==
Murphy was born on October 3, 1955 in [[Baltimore]] to [[Madeline Wheeler Murphy]], a community activist, and Judge William H. Murphy Sr., one of the first African-American judges to serve on Baltimore's district court.<ref name=Kelly2003>{{cite news|last1=Kelly|first1=Jacques|title=William H. Murphy Sr., longtime judge, dies at 86; He was the patriarch of a city political family|url=http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/012400/012431/html/sun24may2003.html|accessdate=20 June 2015|work=The Baltimore Sun|date=24 May 2003}}</ref><ref name=Reddy2007>{{cite news|last1=Reddy|first1=Sumathy|title=Activist Dedicated to Racial Justice, the Poor; Columnist, TV Personality Inspired Family, City to Action; Madeline W. Murphy 1922-2007|work=The [Baltimore] Sun|date=10 July 2007|id={{ProQuest|406169269}}}}</ref> She is the sister of Judge [[Billy Murphy Jr.]]<ref name= Kelly2003/> Murphy's uncle, George Murphy, was a prominent African-American journalist.<ref name= dar/> She is a great-granddaughter of [[John H. Murphy Sr.]], a publisher who founded the ''[[Baltimore Afro-American]]'' newspaper.<ref name="abhmuseum">{{Cite web |last=dr_fran |date=2012-07-06 |title=Black DAR Members Celebrate Their Ties to the Nation's Independence |url=https://www.abhmuseum.org/black-dar-members-celebrate-their-ties-to-the-nations-independence/ |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=America's Black Holocaust Museum |language=en-US}}</ref> She is a direct descendent of [[Philip Livingston]], a signatory of the [[United States Declaration of Independence]].<ref name= dar/>
Murphy grew up in the [[Cherry Hill, Baltimore|Cherry Hill]] neighborhood in Baltimore.<ref name="history">{{Cite web |title=Laura Murphy |url=https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/laura-murphy-39 |website=www.thehistorymakers.org}}</ref> She graduated from [[Wellesley College]] with a bachelor of arts degree in 1976.<ref name= history/>
== Career ==
After graduating from Wellesley, Murphy became one of the youngest legislative assistants on [[Capitol Hill]], working for Rep. [[Parren Mitchell]], the first African-American congressman from Maryland.<ref name= dar/> She also worked for Rep. [[Shirley Chisholm]], Mayor [[Willie Brown (politician)|Willie Brown]], Mayor [[Sharon Pratt Kelly]], and Rev. [[Jesse Jackson]].<ref name="dar">{{Cite web |title=Defending Freedom |url=https://www.dar.org/national-society/american-spirit-magazine/defending-freedom |website=www.dar.org}}</ref><ref name= unerased/>
After working for Congresswoman Chisholm, Murphy was recruited by the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] to be a lobbyist on civil and women's rights.<ref name= dar/> Murphy served as the director of the Washington Legislative Office for the American Civil Liberties Union from 1993 to 2005.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Laura W. Murphy |url=https://www.aclu.org/bio/laura-w-murphy |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=American Civil Liberties Union |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="federalist">{{Cite web |title=Laura W. Murphy |url=https://fedsoc.org/contributors/laura-murphy-1 |website=fedsoc.org}}</ref> With ACLU, Murphy helped pass the [[Fair Sentencing Act]] and the [[USA Freedom Act]] and testified over a dozen times before the [[United States Congress]].<ref name= unerased/>
Murphy is the president of the law firm Laura Murphy & Associates.<ref name="unerased">{{Cite web |title=Laura W. Murphy |url=https://unerasedbws.com/primetimer/laura-w-murphy/ |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=Unerased: Black Women Speak |language=en-US}}</ref> She led civil rights audits of [[Airbnb]] in 2016 and [[Facebook]] in 2020.<ref name= unerased/>
In 2016, she was named a [[Harvard University]] Advanced Leadership Fellow.<ref name= unerased/>
== Personal life ==
Murphy is married to Bill Psillas.<ref name= dar/>
She is a member of the Ruth Brewster Chapter of the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]] in Washington, D.C.<ref name= dar/> In 2012, she attended the DAR's annual Continental Congress in Washington, D.C. and read from the Declaration of Independence at an Independence Day celebration.<ref name= abhmuseum/>
== References ==
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[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American women]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American women]]
[[Category:Activists from Baltimore]]
[[Category:American Civil Liberties Union people]]
[[Category:American lobbyists]]
[[Category:American women civil rights activists]]
[[Category:Daughters of the American Revolution people]]
[[Category:Murphy family|Laura]]
[[Category:Wellesley College alumni]]