Georgia L. McMurray

Georgia L. McMurray (March 18, 1934– December 18, 1992) was a New York City administrator and an activist for children, adolescents, and people with disabilities.

Biography McMurray was born on March 18, 1934, in Philadelphia to Daisy Gatewood McMurray (later Daisy Gatewood McMurray Fullen), a cafeteria worker and garment worker, and George McMurray, a barber. McMurray attended the Girls' High School and was awarded a college scholarship. McMurray had Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease, and from her childhood could not participate in strenuous activity with her peers.

In 1956, McMurray graduated from Temple University with a bachelor's degree in sociology. During graduate school, she refused an operation to treat her McMurray had Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease that would have required she be in traction for nine months. It also provided the teens with home and mental health services and homemaking courses. In 1969, McMurray was appointed by New York City mayor John Lindsay to direct an early childhood task force, which led to the New York City Agency for Child Development with McMurray as its founding commissioner. In this position, McMurray introduced programs for children of working parents and was a strong advocate for publicly funded daycare.

McMurray cofounded, with assistant director for public education David Seeley, the Alliance for Children. In 1978, McMurray became the deputy general director of programming for research and policy organization Community Service Society. She remained in this position until 1986. In the position, she challenged the Koch administration's lack of child welfare reform.

In 1977, McMurray was a New York Delegate to the Women's Conference. She was involved in drafting Plank 7: Disabled Women, which identified the challenges disabled women faced, including the that they often had their children taken away from them. It also described the "double discrimination" of disabled women.

McMurray's health continued to deteriorate. In the 1980s, she developed tetraplegia and was confined to a motorized scooter. She learned to use a computer manipulated by a mouthpiece to continue her advocacy. After recovering from a coma related to her disease, McMurray advocated for advance healthcare directives to be able to determine medical decisions including terminating life support.

In 1986, McMurray founded the GLM Group to provide support to government and non-profit organizations working with families and children. At this time she also taught as a Distinguished Professor of Social Policy at Fordham University's Graduate School of Social Service.

On April 10, 1992, Oprah Winfrey presented McMurray with the Essence Award in honor of her work.

McMurray died on December 18, 1992, in her New York home.

Awards

1985: Dr. Leo B. Marsh Memorial Award 1986: New York Urban League's Building Brick Award 1982: Children's Aid Society gave her its Distinguished Service Award 1992: Essence Award