Before ‘My Name is Pauli Murray’ hits national theaters, NC audiences can see it first

Pauli Murray, an attorney, activist, priest and poet who grew up in Durham, will soon be in the national spotlight, thanks to a new documentary about her life and influence.

But before it arrives in national theaters and on Amazon Prime, the film will be screened first for Triangle audiences.

“My Name is Pauli Murray,” from the directors of the award-winning “RGB” documentary, will be available for streaming Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. via mynameispaulimurray.eventive.org/welcome. The streaming link is free.

The film tells the story of Murray, who grew up in Durham’s West End and contributed to the growth of the civil rights movement and women’s rights movement. She helped shaped the landmark litigation around race and gender equity.

According to a description of the documentary, the movie charts Murray’s, “personal path and tireless advocacy [that] foreshadowed some of the most politically consequential issues of our time. Told largely in Pauli’s own words, it is a candid recounting of that unique and extraordinary journey.”

“The story of Pauli Murray was one of many stories of the West End, but what made Pauli’s story so unique was the gravity of her impact on the nation,” said Barbara Lau, the executive director of the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice that’s based out of Murray’s childhood home in Durham.

Murray, as a Black woman raised during the Jim Crow era, was learning to understand larger concepts of gender identity, Lau said. Murray knew what it meant to live life outside of “cultural norms,” Lau said.

The advance screening will be available for 28 hours after the link becomes active. People will have 24 hours to finish viewing it once it’s started.

The film will be in theaters on Sept. 17 and on Amazon Prime Video Oct. 1.

The advance screening was coordinated by Durham’s Hayti Heritage Film Festival and the Pauli Murray Center. A panel scheduled Saturday to discuss the panel has been canceled.