Contemporary Changemakers
Janet Mock (she/her) (Instagram: @janetmock)
Mock is the author of Redefining Realness and a New York Times bestseller. Redefining Realness is a compilation of Mock's autobiographical prose that touches on her life's experiences as a transgender woman and sex worker. Mock made history by becoming the first transgender woman of color to write and direct an episode of television. She produced the HBO documentary called The Trans List, which follows the stories of eleven transgender Americans. She is also the writer, director, and producer of the television series Pose, which premiered in June 2018. Since then, the show has been nominated countless times and won major awards like the Black Reel's Outstanding Drama Series. Pose illuminates the stories of Black and Latinx LGTBQ youth participating in ballroom culture. Mock’s other remarkable accomplishments include TIME magazine's "100 Most Influential People list," speaking at the 2017 Women's March, and joining the Arcus Foundation board. It is clear that Mock has affected tremendous change for the transgender community. Her art and advocacy work has increased the visibility of the transgender community and trans issues around the world.
Indya Moore (they/them) (@indyamoore)
Moore is a transgender non-binary model, actress, and social activist. They are most well-known for their role in the hit television series created by Janet Mock, Pose, where they play a sex worker living in New York City in the late-1980s. Moore has been vocal about their experiences as a Black transgender non-binary American in popular publications like Elle, Vogue, and Time. In an interview with Vogue, Moore explains how being Black and trans means that they are subject to targeted violence and prejudice. Moore uses their social media platforms to amplify the Black community and transgender community's issues.
Ericka Hart (she/they) (Instagram: @ihartericka)
Hart is a black queer femme activist, writer, highly-acclaimed speaker and award-winning sexuality educator. They were diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer in 2014 at the age of 28. Hart is most notable for her viral demonstration of going topless in public so people could see their double mastectomy scars at the AFROPUNK music festival. They said in an interview, "This is a music festival that's predominately black, young, and queer. I wanted to show other black, young, queer people that breast cancer also happens to us. Because most of the advocacy campaigns and infomercials around breast cancer don't center the black queer experience." Since then, Hart has been a powerful voice in sexuality education. Hart has also been vocal about racism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism in education. They advocate for a just, equitable education system that is inclusive of all marginalized identities. Hart hopes to dismantle cis-heteronormativity in sexuality education. "I want it to be universal, accessible, anti-racist, anti-systems of oppression. Period," they said.
Andrea Jenkins (she/her) (Instagram: @shesgotgame1)
Jenkins’s election to the Minneapolis City Council in 2017 was monumental as she became the first openly trans woman to be elected into public office in the United States. She is also a passionate writer, performance artist, poet, and transgender activist. After George Floyd was murdered in her city, Jenkins sang gospel at a national press conference in his honor. Jenkins is a committed advocate for racial justice and LGBTQ+ equality through systemic change in the United States. She believes that racism and police violence should be treated as a public health emergency. In an interview, Jenkins demanded, "We need to shift the paradigm on how we police our communities, putting more resources and responsibilities into the hands of our residents."
Ashton Mota (he/him) (Instagram: @ashtonmota)
At the age of 16, Mota is a youth ambassador for the Human Rights Campaign, where he champions change for LGBTQ+ people of color. Mota was also a face of the "Yes On 3” Campaign located in Massachusetts. The campaign is a grassroots bipartisan effort to update the Massachusetts civil rights law to include nondiscrimination protections for transgender people in public places such as restaurants, hotels, and hospitals. Mota uses his own experiences to highlight the challenges faced by trans youth and students. "To those youth of color who do not have the ability right now to take that step to be visible whether because of safety or cultural reasons, I SEE YOU! You are not alone, and I will fight for your right to be seen and heard," he said.