‘RBG’ directors shed light on another legal trailblazer, Pauli Murray

Directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West first came across the name Pauli Murray while working on their Oscar-nominated documentary “RBG.” Ruth Bader Ginsburg had written “Pauli Murray” on the front cover of her first women’s rights brief before the Supreme Court to give credit for the idea she’d be arguing. Murray had, in 1965, written a law journal article positing that the 14th Amendment could be used to protect gender equality. It would be a foundational idea for Ginsburg. And it was just the tip of the iceberg of Murray’s contributions.

Murray, who was Black and gender fluid, was in fact a pivotal figure in shaping litigation and thinking around gender and racial equality, years before the civil rights or women’s movements. Cohen

and West track the extraordinary life of this little-known trailblazer in the documentary “My Name is Pauli Murray,” which premieres at the Sundance Film Festival Sunday night.

Cohen and West were inspired to dig into Murray’s life while out on the road with “RBG,” speaking to audiences who were hungry to hear stories about unsung heroes who had fought for equality and social justice. They suspected Murray wouldn’t necessarily be an easy subject for a documentary, though, since Murray died in 1985 at age 74. But then they found a five-and-a-half-hour audio interview with Murray and suddenly it seemed possible.

“Luckily, Pauli, who had many setbacks and difficulties in her life, had a sense of her own historical importance and saved everything letters, diaries, interviews done later on in life,” West said.

Thomas Johansson / Associated Press Lisa Enroth, above, was chosen from 12,000 volunteers to spend a week on the island of Hamneskar, western Sweden, with her only companionship movies from the mostly virtual 44th Goteborg film festival.