George W. Murray

Who was George W. Murray?

George Washington Murray, born into slavery in South Carolina, became educated and worked as a teacher, farmer and politician. After serving as chairman of the Sumter County Republican Party, he was elected in the 1890s as a United States Congressman from South Carolina. He was the only black member in the 53rd and 54th Congresses, and the last to be elected from South Carolina for nearly 100 years.

Convicted of forgery in 1905 and sentenced to three years' hard labor in what he said was a discriminatory trial, Murray moved to Chicago. He was pardoned in 1915 by the South Carolina governor, Coleman Blease. In Chicago, Murray became active in the Republican Party. He lectured on race relations and his political career and published two collections of his speeches. He died of a heart stroke April 21, 1926.