LAST PAGE: Harry Murray, 74
Activist still on the protest lines
By Mike Costanza
Rochester resident Harry Murray has along a long history of protesting against war and standing up for those who he feels are in need of protection.
Down through the years, he’s poured blood on one of the Pentagon’s pillars, protested the Reagan administration’s support of violent pro-U.S. groups in Central America and taken a stand against ICE’s activities in the U.S.
During his 34 years on the faculty of Nazareth University’s Sociology and Anthropology Department, he founded and became the director of its now-defunct Peace and Justice Program. He came to chair that department before retiring in 2020.
In addition to taking action for important causes, Murray volunteers part-time for a La Madonna Della Strada, a Rochester shelter for homeless men. The 74-year-old recently spoke to 55-PLUS about his participation in protest movements and the beliefs that have led him to do so. His statements have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Q. Your activism seems to arise in part from your religious beliefs. Can you tell the readers about them?
A. I am a practicing Catholic. I joined the Catholic Worker movement in 1977. I believe that Jesus taught and practiced nonviolence. He was serious when he said to love your enemies, turn the other cheek and not return evil for evil. The Catholic Worker tradition emphasizes nonviolence. Nonviolent civil disobedience to resist war and defend the poor is a Christian calling. These are all nonviolent protests.
Q. Your long history of activism includes engaging in civil disobedience, for which you have been arrested a number of times. Can you tell us about the first time that happened?
A. My first arrest was while I was still in graduate school at Syracuse University in 1981. I poured blood on the Pentagon at a protest against the nuclear arms race and Ronald Raygun’s (then-President Ronald Reagan’s) wars in Central America. I was charged with depredation of government property. To establish depredation of government property, you have to establish several things. One is that [the Pentagon] was government property. [The prosecutor] didn’t do that. The judge dismissed the case.
Q. You’ve also been arrested a number of times at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Rome, which is home to a military drone control center. Why have you participated in those protests?
A. There was evidence that they were piloting drones which were killing people out of Hancock. Without a declaration of war, they are killing people in other countries. We are planning a demonstration on Earth Day [April 22] at Hancock against the drones and against the U.S. military’s destruction of the environment.
Q.: Have you ever been jailed for your activities?
A. I’ve been jailed a couple times, sometimes just overnight. I did a 15-day sentence in the Albany County Jail for protesting Ronald Reagan’s aid to the Contras [in Nicaragua]. I think that was 1985. We blocked the street in front of the armory in Albany.
Q. What kinds of protest activities are you currently doing?
A. My wife and I were at the most recent No Kings Day protest and I once protested in front of the Federal Building [in Rochester]. This protest started months ago and it was more over Trump’s violation of the Constitution, but it has expanded to include a number of other issues, especially ICE and the Iran War. There was no declaration of war. That just violates the Constitution. ICE has murdered, I would say, several U.S. citizens, particularly in Minneapolis. It violates all Christian values.
Q. Do you plan to engage in civil disobedience again? The war against Iran could heat up and ICE is still acting upon President Donald Trump’s policies.
A. I have been talking with a couple, with some friends about doing more civil disobedience. I feel like it’s long past time.