Black History Month - Black Trans Women - February 5th

Today I want to highlight a Black trans woman whose influence shaped an entire cultural movement long before it was recognized by the mainstream: Crystal LaBeija. Crystal LaBeija was a Black transgender woman, performer, and visionary who emerged from New York City’s drag and ballroom scenes in the 1960s. She came to wider attention through the 1968 documentary The Queen, where her refusal to accept racism and bias in drag pageants became a defining moment. At a time when Black performers were routinely excluded or sidelined, Crystal spoke openly about the discrimination she faced, naming what others were expected to endure in silence. Crystal LaBeija went on to found the House of LaBeija, widely recognized as the first house in ballroom culture. What began as a response to exclusion became a radical new family structure, offering mentorship, protection, and belonging to Black and Latinx queer and trans youth who had nowhere else to turn. Her legacy lives on every time ballroom culture is celebrated, performed, or referenced, even when her name is left out. Crystal LaBeija reminds us that Black trans women have always been architects of culture, not just participants, building worlds where survival, beauty, and community could exist together.