By Serena Edwards
Brooklyn College holds Hess Week annually every spring semester to honor a scholar that pushes and advocates for people and justice.
This year, Melissa Murray was honored as the Hess Scholar-in-Residence for 2024-25, acknowledged for her work in both dissecting constitutional law and using media to educate the public on their rights. Hess Week consisted of many events ranging from topics of abortion and the history of the justice system to constitutional rights and media.
The week commenced with a welcome ceremony. There were a plethora of speakers who discussed Murray’s impact on the legal system and in their personal lives. The speakers included President Michelle Anderson, Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences Phil Napoli, UPenn Law Professor Karen Tami, MSNBC’s “The Weekend” Symone Sanders Townsend, and Professor Douglas DeJaime from Yale Law.
Anderson opened the ceremony by welcoming Murray back and reflecting on Murray’s impact on the BC campus back in 2023. Professor Murray is no stranger to BC. In the fall of 2023, she delivered the Konefsky Memorial Lecture here on campus, as previously reported by The Vanguard.
In 2023, Murray joined the former Hess Scholar for 2022-23 Barbara Smith to discuss the 2024 elections. Anderson acknowledged Murray as a part of the BC community.
“It turns out that Professor Murray is so brilliant, so engaging, and so beloved by our community here that she has become part of the Brooklyn College family,” stated Anderson.
Napoli dived deeper into Murray’s background and how she pushes people to speak boldly about things going on in the nation. He discussed Murray’s Yale Law Journal article titled “Making History,” and listed the three directions her main question in the article points her readers to: autobiographical, historical, and interdisciplinarity.
In terms of the autobiographical aspect, Napoli mentioned Murray majoring in history and American Studies at the University of Virginia. He combines the three directions into one and connects it to the modern day.
“There are reasons to transcend those to come together and talk across those at a time in which we are told that legal institutions and those engaged in the study and the practice of law are the last line of defense for democracy, these matters are urgently important,” stated Napoli.
He ended his speech by sharing his excitement for this week.
“And so we look forward to engaging in fruitful and important conversations with Professor Murray and the legal experts who are with us this week,” he stated. “Welcome to Brooklyn College, we’re glad to have you.”
The next speaker, Tami, touched upon her experience with Murray and how she influenced her life. Tami served as a junior colleague to Murray at UC Berkeley, and though feeling unqualified to many people, she appreciated Murray seeing the potential she had.
“I had never published a standard law review article. I was green in many ways. But Professor Murray, who was on the hiring committee, luckily for me, she saw something in me, and she helped others see it too,” explained Tami.
She further explained the knowledge she gathered while working alongside Murray.
“I learned how to ask the kinds of questions that help colleagues recognize their biases and want to do better. I learned how to help colleagues see potential and value in candidates that they were ready to dismiss out of hand. I also learned a lot about mentorship,” said Tami.
Sanders discussed her perspective on being able to work with Murray closely.
“Melissa just doesn’t interpret the law. She speaks truthfully about what the law means,” stated Sanders.
Sanders and Murray co-hosted a special on MSNBC discussing the role of Black women in society and the election and appreciated Murray’s capability to capture the room.
“I had the honor of working alongside Melissa on a special about the power and role of Black women leading up to the 2024 election. And I’ll tell you this, when Melissa speaks, people listen. pay attention,” said Sanders. The special made them closer and Murray added something unique to the special. “To that special, Melissa brought a sense of She brought a sense of humanity and a sense of moral purpose. I think she does that with every single word that she speaks,” Sanders added.
The Wolfe Institute then surprised Murray with a video from one of her inspirations, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The video praised Murray for her work and gave encouragement and wisdom.
After the message, Murray remarked on the impact of campuses like BC.
“Brooklyn College is a place where dreams are born and given flight.” She acknowledged BC alumna Shirley Chisholm’s influence not only on society but Murray’s life. “I’ve always loved Shirley Chisholm, in part because I felt a kind of connection to her […] Shirley Chisholm is a graduate of Brooklyn College. It was here in this community and in this college where she learned to be unbought and unbossed. That’s the power of colleges like Brooklyn College,” Murray stated.
Murray left attendees with words of advice regarding current events. for the events that are occurring in society.
“So if you believe in that ethos as well, this is the time to stand on business, to stand with the universities, all of them, to stand with our students, with our faculty, stand for academic freedom, stand for writing things that people may not want to hear, but that they should.”