A confidant of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The inspiration to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. A colleague of another Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This is the legacy of Pauli Murray, the non-binary Black lawyer, and author that is the subject of the documentary My Name is Pauli Murray. It is as much a celebration of their life and their historic achievements, most uncredited, as it is a deep dive into their personal archives and emotions. In fact, My Name is Pauli Murray is the minimum that an icon behind the icons deserves.

Ostensibly a biographical documentary of Pauli Murray, the film takes a much deeper and more nuanced take to go beyond that. Beginning with their unofficial adoption by their progressively feminist aunts in North Carolina to the final days of their life as an Episcopalian priest, plus careers in law, activism, and academia, My Name is Pauli Murray is both a biography and an origin story for the Civil Rights Era.

One of the immediate distinctions of the documentary is the deep dive into Murray’s own writings and audio recordings. A prolific writer to others and themselves, Pauli Murray’s prose and poetry make for the most riveting parts of the documentary. It’s one thing to have the subject of a documentary be discussed by their contemporaries, but it’s another thing entirely to listen to Pauli Murray speak about their convictions in interviews or read their cherished letters to their lifelong partner.

This is complemented by the editing of Cinque Northern, who also “wrote” the documentary’s plotting. It utilizes an inventive method of editing to highlight key passages and words, literally lifting them from the pages through filmmaking magic. Another technical boon comes from the digital artist Diana Ajiata, who mixes modern fine art with animation to create the visual signposts as the film travels through Murray’s life.

One of the boons of the massive amount of archival material is the exploration of Pauli Murray’s queer identity. Among Murray’s writings is their struggle to come to terms with their gender. While Murray identified as female in their own writings and many of their contemporaries do so as well, the dive into their own letters reveals a more complicated reality.

The documentary spends a dedicated amount of time exploring this question, including mentions of presenting as male as a child and to be the “husband” in a normal marriage. The most heartbreaking and gripping pieces of this evidence emerge in letters to doctors, begging for help in finding an explanation and being crushed by the cruelty of the era.

It is this exploration of queerness, as well as their relationship with longtime partner Irene “Renee” Barlow, that elevates the film from an effective but traditional documentary into the celebration that it is. The emotional core of the film relies on their love and the tragedy of the unjust restrictions placed upon them, providing the connecting tissue between them and their life’s work in breaking down gender and racial barriers.

It is this aspect of breaking down barriers that provide a second aspect that boosts the film’s effectiveness. A good documentary, or any piece of historical filmmaking, is as much about the era as it is the subject. Pauli Murray’s place in history isn’t just for their writing, but a career dedicated to reforming the United State’s systemic abuse and advocating for the marginalized.

Murray’s imprint on history is distinct and visceral, with the film displaying the sheer scope that isn’t reflected by common knowledge. A key aspect of the film’s appeal is how it signifies time by putting the actions of Murray in context with the rest of history. An example is in the film’s opening minutes; the scene is set in 1940, with Murray and their companion defying busing segregation 15 years before Rosa Parks’ famous act of civil disobedience. Weaving Murray’s story into the story of the Civil Rights Era elevates the film’s scale, to its success.

History is funny like that. Pauli Murray’s work, from their early law school papers to pieces of legal theory discussed with peers, provides much of the backbone for the celebrated works of 20th-century icons like Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Thurgood Marshall. Yet their place in history is forgotten, much to the detriment of the collective good. Thankfully, there exist films like My Name is Pauli Murray, hoping to correct that single one of many, many wrongs. Pauli Murray’s legacy deserves a film like this, but also so much more.

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My Name Is Pauli Murray

7.9

Score

7.9/10

Pros

• Personal Mixed with Political
• Fascinating Historical Subject
• Large Amounts of Archival Material

Cons

• Bit "Standard" in Biographical Details
• Wide Scope Results in a Slight Lack of Control