Civil rights activist, lawyer, poet and priest, Anna Pauline “Paulie” Murray lived many lives within one, breaking down barriers with her every move. There were many earlier that he achieved. In 1940, 15 years before Rosa Parks aroused the civil rights movement in Alabama by refusing to give up her seat for a white man, Paulie Murray and her friend were arrested in Virginia for breaking segregation rules. He had refused to go through the ‘whites only’ section of the bus. Throughout their lives, they pushed the limits of what a black woman or non-conforming person could accomplish by achieving extraordinary feats. Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt called Murray a fire-brand and formed a close friendship after Murray wrote a critically critical letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Later in her life, she also made history as the first female and African-American priest in the Episcopal Church. His work has extended beyond his death, as recently as 2020 when his work constituted the Supreme Court’s decision to end discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.
However extraordinary as Murray was, he has been kept out of the American history books over the years, virtually unknown to the public, as has been the case with many other black history players. Now, Emmy-winning documentary filmmakers Julie Cohen and Betsy West, best known for controlling RBG on the late US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, have made a film called “My Name in Polly Murray.” The aim of this documentary is to give the activist their long deserved due. The film uses archival material to help tell his story through his own words.
In a chat with News18, the filmmaker duo opened up about their process of discovering Murray and documenting his extraordinary life. Cohen said that while addressing why activists, whose work has shaped contemporary American society, have yet to get their due. “There are many reasons why Paulie Murray was ousted from the American history books. Certainly racism, sexism, and the fear of people who are not gender compliant are prominent among them. Another reason, as the film points out, It is that Pauli was ahead of time, that people were not yet ready to engage with the ideas they were raising in the world. And sometimes thinking too far ahead can be detrimental to that thinker. Thankfully Pauli’s contribution was to the society but the society was not ready. So the attention was not given to what was due.”
West talked about why he chose to tell Murray’s story through his own work. “When we found out about Paulie’s story, we were very surprised that we didn’t know about it, and that was really the inspiration for the film. It was irresistible. Here’s the story of someone whose world we live in.” And no one knows. Fortunately, Paulie had saved a lot of material, one hundred and fourteen boxes of collections that included diaries and letters and photographs. There were also audiotapes and some videotapes that really gave us Paulie’s story. allowed to bring to life in his own words.” He went on to say that if these materials had not been saved by Murray, he would not have been able to make the film.
Murray’s gender and sexuality were also discussed in the film. The film brings together trans and non-binary activists to discuss Murray’s experience, as well as what his pronouns would be if there was an inclusive language about gender and sexuality. Talking about this constructive decision, “Paulie had a personal struggle with being a gender non-volatile person, at a time when it was not acceptable and there was no language to discuss it. Paulie wrote a letter to the doctors saying, ‘I believe I am a man, can you help me? Maybe I can get testosterone.’ But beyond that, we didn’t have much evidence to suggest people who knew what was really going on with Paulie. That’s why we thought it was important to connect with some non-binary and trans people to talk about Paulie’s experience. We wanted them to give us a perspective on what it must have been like for Paulie. And about the Supreme Court’s amazing decision to get rid of discrimination in employment for the LGBTQ+ community, we had lawyer and activist Chase Strongio explain how this ruling was actually based on Paulie’s work. It was very moving. Paulie didn’t live to see this, and yet has become a beacon for the LGBTQ+ community.”
Murray also wrote heartwarming poems about racial discrimination, lynching, segregation and other issues related to his community. Talking about that part of Murray’s life, Cohen said, “The most inspiring work that Paulie left behind was poetry. We include excerpts from Paulie’s poems throughout the film, which are so beautiful, so moving, and so on.” Tells you a lot about American society. We covered more of them than we expected to go into the project.”
While the documentary extensively explores his life, are there any parts that were intentionally left out? “We left out a lot. Pauli achieved many things in many fields and there was no way to combine them all in one film. So we encourage everyone who watches the film, then immediately goes to the library , or goes online and starts ordering not only Paulie’s fantastic books, but also works that have been written about Paulie Murray,” Cohen said.
My Name is Polly Murray will premiere on Amazon Prime on September 17, 2021.
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