Uploaded October 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Pioneering attorney, activist, poet, and Episcopal priest Pauli Murray was an incredibly influential figure of the 20th century who has largely been forgotten by history. 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. 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. Told largely in Pauli’s own words, My Name is Pauli Murray is a candid recounting of that unique and extraordinary journey.
Join Academy Award-nominated directors (RBG) Julie Cohen and Betsy West in a conversation with National American History Museum curator Fath Davis Ruffins as they explore the making of the film and why "you can't teach American History without Pauli Murray."
Presented by the Smithsonian Associates and Smithsonian's National Museum of American History through generous support of Dan Manatt.
We also wish to thank Participant and Amazon Studios for their collaboration on this program.
Check out other conversations in this series: youtube.com/watch?v=d2tVIwsCATg&list=PLZxSSLX6InCRmlPrctSgjGfZgsab4GzbS
For more information on History Film Forum visit: https://historyfilmforum.si.edu/
Pioneering attorney, activist, poet, and Episcopal priest Pauli Murray was an incredibly influential figure of the 20th century who has largely been forgotten by history. 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. 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. Told largely in Pauli’s own words, My Name is Pauli Murray is a candid recounting of that unique and extraordinary journey.
Join Academy Award-nominated directors (RBG) Julie Cohen and Betsy West in a conversation with National American History Museum curator Fath Davis Ruffins as they explore the making of the film and why "you can't teach American History without Pauli Murray."
Presented by the Smithsonian Associates and Smithsonian's National Museum of American History through generous support of Dan Manatt.
We also wish to thank Participant and Amazon Studios for their collaboration on this program.
Check out other conversations in this series: youtube.com/watch?v=d2tVIwsCATg&list=PLZxSSLX6InCRmlPrctSgjGfZgsab4GzbS
For more information on History Film Forum visit: https://historyfilmforum.si.edu/
