Laverne Cox is many things: an actress, trans trailblazer, film producer and more. But one title that she holds near and dear to her heart is that of an activist.
The 48-year-old Alabama native spoke with Blavity News to discuss how allies can act in solidarity with the trans community, how her advocacy intersects with her career in Hollywood and her latest endeavor to ensure Black women are placed in a position to secure the bag.
No stranger to advocacy, the award-winning actress has been known to lend her voice to amplifying social justice causes. Just last year, Cox executive produced Disclosure, a documentary that illuminates the need for transgender representation in Hollywood by looking at trans portrayals in Hollywood over the years. When she isn’t using her voice behind the scenes, she can likely be seen on the ground, being just as loud.
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In 2019, the starlet made headlines when she appeared on the 2019 Emmys red carpet donning a rainbow-colored clutch that read Oct. 8 Title VII Supreme Court, bringing attention to three employment cases involving LGBTQ+ Americans. The case would ultimately decide whether discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity would be prohibited under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Just a month later, she spoke on the steps of the Supreme Court, in defense of a defendant in one of the cases, a woman who was allegedly dismissed from her employment following the disclosure of her gender identity.
Now, as racial bigotry and transphobia continue to pervade the nation, Cox is doubling down on the fight to secure equal rights for trans folks, Black folks and other marginalized groups.
“I think injustice is something that we have to be aware of and the suffering that injustice causes, but what are the solutions?” Cox told Blavity. “For me and my activism, now I’m really looking to the things that are positive and the things that can really make a difference in the material conditions of people’s lives.”
Source: Exclusive: Laverne Cox Is Using Her Star Power To Give Center Stage To The Fight For Trans Lives
