Eisner/Lauder New Views Documentaries and Dialogue Series: My Name is Pauli Murray
MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY
Directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West and Producer Talleah Bridges McMahon in conversation with Aspen Institute Arts Program Executive Director Erika Mallin about their new documentary MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY. Presented in partnership with Aspen Film as part of the 2021 Eisner/Lauder New Views Documentaries and Dialogue Series.
Fifteen years before Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat, a full decade before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned separate-but-equal legislation, Pauli Murray was already knee-deep fighting for social justice. A pioneering attorney, activist, priest and dedicated memoirist, Murray shaped landmark litigation—and consciousness—around race and gender equity. As an African American youth raised in the segregated South—who was also wrestling with broader notions of gender identity—Pauli understood, intrinsically, what it was to exist beyond previously accepted categories and cultural norms. Both Pauli’s personal path and tireless advocacy foreshadowed some of the most politically consequential issues of our time. Directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen the Oscar-nominated team behind RBG, and told largely in Pauli’s own words, MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY is a candid recounting of that unique and extraordinary journey.
The Aspen Institute Arts Program and Aspen Film presented a line-up of acclaimed documentaries for the 2021 Eisner/Lauder New Views Documentaries & Dialogue Series: MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY, RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT, and LFG.
This year’s series of films tell the stories of trailblazers fighting for representation and gender equity. The stories and life’s work of Pauli Murray, Rita Moreno and the members of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team come together in this series to illustrate the past, present and future of the fight for gender equity in every aspect of American society—from education to law, the arts to business, and sports to the pervasive gender wage gap. These films raise up the voices and stories of landmark litigation, breaking down barriers, triumphant success and the persistence and courage that move us towards a more just and equitable society. The series will be held virtually and will include post-screening conversations with the filmmakers. For more about the full Series visit our webpage.
New Views is generously sponsored by Jane and Michael Eisner and Leonard Lauder.