[Posted Nov. 30, 2007]

       Frances Murphy II, a Black Press Heroine, Passes at 85

By James Wright
Special to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspapers

BALTIMORE (NNPA) - Funeral services were held Nov. 29 at St. James' Episcopal Church in Baltimore for Frances Murphy II, the first woman to chair the Afro-American Newspapers board of directors. She was 85.
Murphy was the publisher emeritus of the Washington Afro-American, and a popular columnist at the Baltimore Afro-American.
 

Frances Murphy II

       The granddaughter of founder John Murphy Sr. and the daughter of legendary publisher Dr. Carl Murphy and Vashti Turley Murphy, Mrs. Murphy died Tuesday ((Nov. 20) at Sinai Hospital after a recent illness. Her mother was a founder of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
        Mrs. Murphy was born on Oct. 8, 1922 in Baltimore. As a child, while she watched her father manage the AFRO, she also sold newspapers and submitted items for the occasional children's page.
        She got her bachelor's degree in journalism at the University of Wisconsin in 1944. She joined the AFRO staff as a full-time reporter after graduation and worked her way up to city editor of the Baltimore newspaper in 1956.

        She went back to school, Coppin State Teacher's College, and in 1958 got a bachelor's degree in education. She taught elementary school in the Baltimore public schools.
        While teaching, she pursued a master's degree in education at Johns Hopkins University. She earned a master's degree from the school in 1963. She was one of the first African-Americans to receive a master's degree from the prestigious university.
Mrs. Murphy joined the staff of Morgan State University as an English professor and director of the news bureau.
        In 1971, she was named the chair of the Afro-American Newspaper Company, the first woman to hold that position, and one of the few women to serve in that capacity in media at that time.
        She left the company to become a professor of journalism in 1975 at State University College of Buffalo in New York.
She moved to the Washington area in 1985 to become an associate professor of journalism at Howard University.
        In 1987, Mrs. Murphy became the publisher of the Washington AFRO.
        In 1999, Mrs. Murphy was named Washington AFRO Publisher Emeritus and moved to Baltimore.
        John Oliver, publisher and chairman of the board of the AFRO, said that Mrs. Murphy made a difference in everything she touched.
''Mrs. Murphy's contribution to this newspaper, the world of journalism and the African-American community will last well beyond her lifetime,'' Oliver said. ''Her action-based news coverage, leadership and community involvement has transformed the culture of news in a way that today's journalists and journalism students can appreciate.
       “As we continue to move this newspaper toward greater community involvement, we will certainly recognize the spirit of Frankie as being very much still with us.''
         Mrs. Murphy had three children: the Rev. Frances ''Toni'' Draper and Dr. James Wood, both of Baltimore, and Susan Barnes of Biloxi, Miss.; and a stepchild, David Campbell of Columbia, Md. She had 17 grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

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