Journalist
Zaya’s bravery is contagious.
Her willingness to be who she is at such a young age not only sets an example, but her family’s public navigation of it—especially in regards to her exemplary father Dwyane Wade—shows families across the country that they can learn from their children just as much as teach them.
This bio is short, because Zaya has only been on this earth for 13 years, but I’m sure her excellence and advocacy will continue to inspire others for decades to come.
#QueerHeroes Day 8
Andrea Jenkins.
In 2017, Andrea Jenkins became the first Black trans woman elected to public office in the United States and now serves as the Vice President of the Minneapolis City Council.
You may have seen her sing Amazing Grace at a press conference in Minneapolis in the days following George Floyd’s murder by police.
After coming out as trans at 30, she earned her bachelors degree from Metropolitan State University before earning two Master’s degrees in creative writing and community economic development.
She was thriving as a playwright and a curator of the Transgender Oral History Project. She advised officials on policy positions regarding LGBTQ issues and community development issues.
Then Donald Trump was elected, and she decided to run for office. She recalled thinking, “I got to step into the fray. I can’t leave this to the crazies.”
Just yesterday, Jenkins played a crucial role in the Minneapolis City Council’s commitment to dismantle the city’s police department in favor of a new, community-based public safety system.
Jenkins is a founder of the Trans United Fund, which works to empower trans activists through elections and influence. You can donate to them here.
#QueerHeroes Day 6
Angelica Ross.
It was acting that made Angelica Ross famous, but it’s her determination and raw intelligence that make her a mogul.
Her career started in tech when she taught herself computer code. Using this knowledge, she founded TransTech Social Enterprises—a networking firm that boosts visibility of transgender people in the tech industry.
In 2015, she was a featured speaker at a White House LGBTQ Tech and Innovation Summit.
Then she started her acting career.
After working on the web series Her Story, Ross got her breakout role as Candy Ferocity in the FX series Pose. Candy would become one of the show’s most beloved characters and the conscience for the series as a whole.
She’s currently working on her second season of American Horror Story.
Last September, Ross hosted the presidential summit on LGBTQ issues making her the first ever openly transgender host of a presidential forum.
#QueerHeroes Day 4
Tracey Norman/Tracey Africa
This is one of my favorite stories of queer resilience and ultimate triumph.
Upon graduating high school in the late 60s/early 70s, Tracey came out to her family as a transgender woman. Despite her understandable fears, she was met with an embrace from her mother.
She began using birth control pills as part of her transition and soon found someone in the trans nightclub scene to supply her with underground hormone shots.
Keeping her assigned gender a secret, Tracey began a modeling career. She did a shoot for Vogue Italia in 1971, but she’d be most noticeable in 1975, on the box of Clairol’s “Born Beautiful” hair color. Number 512: Dark Auburn.
It was her first big contract and her face was in every drug store in the United States. Soon, Avon was calling and she landed a contract with them as well.
Then there was a fateful shoot with Essence Magazine five years later. The assistant to Tracey’s hairdresser found out her assigned gender and soon told the editor at Essence. The photos were never published. She moved to Paris and did a six month stint with Balenciaga, but work quickly dried up.
She accepted that her modeling career was over.
She began performing in peep show booths in New York City but found a home in the city’s Ball scene.
Thirty six years following the shoot with Essence, Clairol—the hair color company that was her first big contract—reached out to her after reading about Tracey’s story in The Cut.
They made her the face of their new campaign: ‘Nice ‘n Easy Color As Real As You Are’.
Since then, she’s become one of the first transgender women—along with Geena Rocero—on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar.
If her story sounds familiar to you, that’s likely because she partially inspired the character of Angel Evangelista, Indya Moore’s role in the FX series “Pose”.
If you want to honor Tracey and uplift young trans artists, you can donate to House Lives Matter, an organization founded and run entirely by queer people in the Ball scene. House Lives Matter is dedicated to strengthening alliances, healthcare opportunities, mentorships, and other crucial forms of advocacy within the Ball community. You can donate to them here.
#QueerHeroes Day 2 – Zazu Nova.
Zazu was one of the many trans patrons of the Stonewall Inn. She made her living as a sex worker and frequently referred to herself as the Queen of Sex, always carrying herself like actual royalty. She was a Unitarian and vocally proud of her religious upbringing.
Zazu was there the night of the Stonewall riots and seen fighting alongside Marsha P. Johnson. Some who were there insist that Zazu began fighting the cops in reaction to the violent arrest of Stormé Delarverie. According to these accounts, it was Zazu’s punch that started the Stonewall riots.
After the riots, she joined the Gay Liberation Front and the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries. She was also a founding member of New York Gay Youth.
Sadly, little is known about what became of her after her work with these organizations.
Evan Brechtel 