Black History Month - Black Trans Women - February 23rd

Today's amazing woman is CeCé Telfer, a Black transgender woman whose achievements came through athletics rather than media or entertainment. CeCé Telfer is a Jamaican American track and field athlete who competed for Franklin Pierce University. In 2019 she won the NCAA Division II national championship in the 400 meter hurdles, becoming the first openly transgender woman to win an NCAA track and field title. Her victory placed a Black trans woman into national sports history in a space where trans athletes had rarely been visible. After her collegiate career she pursued professional competition while also speaking about her experiences navigating eligibility rules and scrutiny directed at transgender athletes. Telfer’s significance comes from participation itself. Sports had long been one of the most restrictive environments for transgender people, and her championship demonstrated that trans women were not hypothetical participants in athletics but real competitors with documented accomplishments.