Black History Month
February is Black History Month! To celebrate we’re highlighting some black historical figures who are important to the transgender community! First is Lucy Hicks Anderson, born in 1886, who was a Black Trans chef, socialite, and prohibition-era entrepreneur. From a young age, she advocated for her needs and identity as a woman. After marrying her first husband and moving to Oxnard, California, she became a prominent member of her community. Utilizing her skills as an event planner and amazing chef she made extravagant events for outward bound soldiers and churches, then used the earnings to become a philanthropist. During her second marriage, due to a venereal disease outbreak in her Brothel, doctors and officials came to examine sex-workers and demanded the same of Anderson. She became the first Trans Woman and first Black American Trans Woman, to defend her identity in court, saying “I defy any doctor in the world to prove that I am not a woman. I have lived, dressed, and acted just