Margaret Mary Jane Healy Murphy, SHSp (May 4, 1833 - August 25, 1907) was an Irish-American Catholic religious sister and early civil rights activist.

She and her family crossed the Atlantic Ocean and eventually moved westward from West Virginia to Mexico and Texas before the Civil War.

[2] Murphy was a relative of Daniel O'Connell, who worked politically to end slavery through the British Parliament system.

[5] Most of the family came to work on a farm in West Virginia, however, her sister, Jeannie Healy went to a boarding school in Namur.

[7] She was also involved with the family's Sunday School for both adults and children and helped teach reading and writing to African American plantation workers.

[12] Corpus Christi after the Civil War had suffered greatly, especially because of the blockade of the Texas coast, which resulted in food and supply shortages.

Troops from the North also hit the city very hard and when the Murphys came back to their home, many of their belongings had been destroyed.

[2] To help others out, Murphy ran a soup kitchen from her ranch and then set up a small clinic.

[13] One of the patients Murphy tended was named Mrs. Delaney, who was dying, and asked that someone take care of her daughter, Minnie.

Murphy traced the origin to her vocation to build a school for African Americans to a sermon given by Father John Maloney on May 29, 1887 at Saint Mary's Church in San Antonio.

[15] The sermon encouraged people to help develop schools to teach black children in the city.

"[15] African Americans in San Antonio were often neglected by educational and missionary efforts normally provided by the Catholic Church.

[16] Murphy requested permission to start a school for African Americans from Bishop John C. Neraz, which he gave with "enthusiastic approval.

[14] In addition, difficult laws demanding strict segregation of white and black people obstructed progress in sourcing supplies to build the school.

[17] However, Murphy was determined to force San Antonians to pay attention to racial issues, which is why she chose the white neighborhood for the school.

[15] In order to staff the church with priests, she sought help from the Society of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (Josephites), which had a mission of ministry to African Americans.

[7] Murphy made the first of four trips to Ireland in July 1896, where she recruited young women to join her order.

[2] In January 1898, Murphy was invited to build a school for African American children in Victoria, Texas.

[2] Murphy purchased land in Victoria for $4,500 and began to renovate a house for the sisters and the school, which opened in February 1898.

[4] Murphy's work led to the establishment of thirty nine missions throughout Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The Healy Murphy Center is currently operational and is located on Nolan Street in San Antonio, helping students who have dropped out of school.