By Jos Truitt • @jostruitt • 10 years ago

Video: Laverne Cox on the revolutionary act of loving trans women

Laverne Cox speaking at Creating Change

The 2014 National Conference for LGBT Equality: Creating Change took place in Houston this past weekend. Thursday night, Orange is the New Black star Laverne Cox rocked the house with an opening keynote.

It’s beautiful to hear the crowd shouting and cheering as Cox talks about loving trans women as a revolutionary act, about the struggles of living in a world where trans women often don’t experience love and are instead marginalized and dehumanized, and about the incredible power of love in a case like CeCe McDonald’s, where a strong support network and CeCe’s leadership helped her survive through prison. Cox shouts out other amazing trans women like Janet Mock, Toni D’Orsay, and Monica Roberts, and even makes some calls for funding for trans organizations that need support, modeling the power of sisterhood.

Check out video of Laverne Cox’s full speech from Creating Change after the jump:

(Update: Here’s a transcript of the video thanks to commenter Tara.)

Related:

Watch Laverne Cox and Carmen Carrera school Katie Couric on the preoccupation with trans bodies
Photo of the day: CeCe McDonald released from prison
Thank you Thursdays: Laverne Cox talks gender justice in new interview

Jos Truitt Jos Truitt is an Executive Director of Feministing.

Boston, MA

Jos Truitt is Executive Director of Development at Feministing. She joined the team in July 2009, became an Editor in August 2011, and Executive Director in September 2013. She writes about a range of topics including transgender issues, abortion access, and media representation. Jos first got involved with organizing when she led a walk out against the Iraq war at her high school, the Boston Arts Academy. She was introduced to the reproductive justice movement while at Hampshire College, where she organized the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program’s annual reproductive justice conference. She has worked on the National Abortion Federation’s hotline, was a Field Organizer at Choice USA, and has volunteered as a Pro-Choice Clinic Escort. Jos has written for publications including The Guardian, Bilerico, RH Reality Check, Metro Weekly, and the Columbia Journalism Review. She has spoken and trained at numerous national conferences and college campuses about trans issues, reproductive justice, blogging, feminism, and grassroots organizing. Jos completed her MFA in Printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute in Spring 2013. In her "spare time" she likes to bake and work on projects about mermaids.

Jos Truitt is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Development.

Read more about Jos

Join the Conversation