Today I want to discuss Earline Budd, a Black transgender woman known for decades of grassroots community work in San Francisco. Earline Budd is a longtime organizer in the Tenderloin neighborhood and has worked with organizations serving LGBTQ seniors and low income residents. Much of her advocacy has focused on practical support: helping transgender people find housing, access social services, and navigate city systems that can be confusing or hostile. She has also worked with programs supporting older LGBTQ adults, emphasizing that trans people need stability and care not only when young, but as they age. Her significance comes from sustained local leadership. Rather than national fame, Budd is known within her community as someone who consistently shows up, connects people to resources, and helps residents advocate for themselves with city agencies. Her work highlights a part of Black trans history that often goes unrecognized: long term neighborhood organizing and daily support that quietly improves people’s lives.

For today, I want to highlight Hope Giselle, a Black transgender woman whose work centers on education and community support. Hope Giselle is a writer, speaker, and community organizer from Miami, Florida. She began advocacy work through local outreach supporting LGBTQ youth and later worked with national organizations focused on equality and media representation. Much of her work involves training schools, companies, and community groups on how to treat transgender people respectfully in everyday settings rather than only during public crises. She is also the author of Becoming Hope, a memoir about growing up Black and transgender in the South, discussing family relationships, religion, identity, and survival. Her public speaking and workshops often focus on practical understanding — how teachers, employers, and families can create safer environments for trans people. Giselle’s contribution comes from education: translating lived experience into guidance that helps institutions change behavior, not just language.

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.

Today, I want to highlight Janetta Johnson, a Black transgender woman whose work has focused on housing, safety, and prison justice. Janetta Johnson is a San Francisco–based community leader and the Chief Executive Officer of the Transgender Gender-Variant & Intersex Justice Project (TGIJP). She has worked for years advocating for incarcerated transgender people and for trans individuals navigating reentry after prison, areas where discrimination and violence are especially severe. Much of her work centers on very practical needs such as housing, legal assistance, and protection from abuse within detention systems. Her advocacy is grounded in lived experience. Johnson has spoken openly about surviving homelessness, criminalization, and incarceration earlier in her life, which shaped her commitment to helping others avoid the same outcomes. Through organizing, public education, and community programs, she has helped push conversations about transgender rights beyond visibility and into issues of safety, housing stability, and dignity, particularly for Black trans women who are disproportionately affected by incarceration and housing insecurity.

Today, I want to highlight Zaya Wade, a Black transgender girl whose visibility has helped many young people feel less alone. Zaya Wade is the daughter of former NBA player Dwyane Wade and actor Gabrielle Union-Wade. In 2020, her parents publicly affirmed her gender identity, and in 2023 she received a legal name and gender marker change. Since then, she has appeared at events and in interviews discussing bullying, youth mental health, and acceptance, often focusing on what support from family can look like for transgender children. While she is still young, her importance comes from representation at an earlier stage of life than most public trans figures. Many conversations about transgender people historically centered adults, but Zaya’s public presence brought attention to trans youth, family support, and school environments. Her story has helped open broader discussions about how communities and parents can support transgender kids as they grow up.

Today, I want to highlight someone that most people should know, Peppermint. Peppermint (born Agnes Moore) is an African American transgender woman, singer, actress, and drag performer based in New York City. She was active in the New York drag and nightlife scene for many years before becoming widely known as the runner up on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 9 in 2017, where she was the first openly transgender woman to compete on the show from the start of the season. In 2018, she made history on Broadway in the musical Head Over Heels, becoming the first openly transgender woman to originate a principal role on Broadway. She has continued working in theatre, music, and television, including stage performances and appearances connected to LGBTQ community events and Pride celebrations. Peppermint’s significance comes from visibility in spaces that historically excluded trans women. Rather than being known primarily for policy advocacy, she is recognized for her performing career and for being one of the first Black trans women many mainstream audiences encountered positively through entertainment and theatre.