"Lilly", The Movie About Alabama's Lilly Ledbetter Is Being Released On May 09th

"Lilly", the movie based on Alabama's own, Lilly Ledbetter, and her struggle for Fair Pay that led to the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, is set for theatrical release on May 09th, 2025. At present, "Lilly" is set to be shown on May 09th, 10th, 11th, and 15th, 2025 at the Sidewalk Film Center and Cinema in Birmingham, Alabama. Which is located inside the Pizitz Building located at 1821 2nd Avenue North.

The film stars the Southern actress and Academy Award Nominee, Patricia Clarkson, in the role of Lilly Lynn McDaniel Ledbetter. Born in Possum Trot, Alabama on April 14th, 1938, Lilly Ledbetter quietly worked at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Gadsden, Alabama as a supervisor for nearly twenty years, focusing on her family and participating in ballroom dancing competitions with her husband, Charles Ledbetter. She excelled in her career at Goodyear and received the top performance award. However, an anonymous note left to her close to her retirement made her aware that she was earning thousands of dollars less per year - and had been for several years - than her male counterparts. In the movie, it is stated that Lilly Ledbetter's "income, including overtime, is half what the men are making." Realizing that there was no excuse for such a discrepancy in her income and that of her male peers, Lilly Ledbetter filed a pay discrimination lawsuit again Goodyear, never dreaming that it would lead to a national career as an activist for equal pay.

Given that the reasoning for equal pay for equal work is self-evident, in the initial jury trial against Goodyear that was held in her local District Court, the jury of her peers found in Lilly Ledbetter's favor. With the jury awarding Lilly Ledbetter back pay and damages totaling over $3 million dollars. It seemed like justice had at last been served for Lilly, but Goodyear sensing that Lilly Ledbetter was nothing but "a country girl who grew up swimming in Doc. Brewster's pond" preferred to appeal the jury's decision rather than pay out what was due to her.

As the saying goes in law school, "the devil is in the details", and Goodyear appealed the jury's decision based on a technicality. Arguing that Lilly Ledbetter had not filed her lawsuit within the prescribed 180-day filing period since it had been over 180 days from the date of the discriminatory policy that led to Lilly Ledbetter's reduced paycheck. Notably, Goodyear did not deny that the discriminatory policy had ever been put into place, merely, that Lilly Ledbetter's suit came after it was first put into practice. Their tactic worked. The jury's judgement was reversed on appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and Lilly Ledbetter had to take her case farther on up the litigation pipeline to the United States Supreme Court.

The U.S. Supreme Court decided against Lilly Ledbetter and agreed that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not allow employers to be sued for pay discrimination more than 180 days after an employee's first paycheck. Given that Lilly Ledbetter had been employed at Goodyear for nearly 20 years, the Supreme Court's decision put an end to her struggle for restitution from Goodyear. However, as "a country girl", Lilly Ledbetter knew "how to burn off a leech", and continued her activism for equal pay for equal work. Which led to the passage of The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009. An act that was President Barack Obama's first official piece of legislation that he signed into law as President of The United States.

Lilly Ledbetter's memoir based on her struggle for equal pay entitled "Grace and Grit: My Fight for Equal Pay and Fairness at Goodyear and Beyond" was published in February of 2013. Lilly Ledbetter never received any compensation from Goodyear after all those years of discriminatory pay. However, always maintaining her Southern lady good grace and manners, Lilly stated that "I'll be happy if the last thing they say about me after I die is that I made a difference."

Lilly Ledbetter passed away at the age of 86 on October 12th, 2024, two days after the biopic, "Lilly" premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival. Rated PG-13, the running time for "Lilly" is an hour and thirty-three minutes.

Luisa Reyes is an attorney in Tuscaloosa with a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Judson, a master's degree in library science, and a law degree from Samford's Cumberland School of Law. She is also a piano instructor and vocalist