I read through the comments and saw that no one named everyone, so let me take care of that (pardon the brevity, this is off the top of my head).
1. Marsha P. Johnson. Trans legend, present at Stonewall, co-founder of STAR along with Sylvia Rivera, a kind of beaming godmother to the movement.
2. Chelsea Manning. Leaked information to show illegal/immoral activities the U.S. government was engaged in. Came out as trans while in prison and came out of prison seemingly full of joy and hope.
3. Reina Gossett. An amazing NYC based artist and activist who worked at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and, among other things, found and posted the now iconic video of Sylvia Rivera at the 1973 Gay Liberation rally. She’s now working on a narrative film about Marsha P. Johnson.
4. Janet Mock. Brilliant writer and journalist whom many of us credit for the recent phase of the trans moment because of her dedication to openly celebrating and sharing space with other trans people. Her first two books, Redefining Realness and Surpassing Certainty are must reads.
5. Caitlyn Jenner. Ridiculously famous trans woman.
6. Sylvia Rivera. Where to even start? If you’re going to read about one person on this list, it should be Sylvia. No one better represents the struggle and resilience and indomitable spirit of the best parts of the trans movement than her. At the very least check out her Wiki here.
7. Leslie Feinberg. Activist and writer of Stone Butch Blues and Transgender Warriors. Hard to easily describe their identity since he noted how gender was contextual, but around other trans people, he liked masculine pronouns.
8. Miss Major. A powerful force, Miss Major has been loudly advocating for, and personally taking care of, trans people since the days of Stonewall. There’s a new and wonderful documentary about her, Major!, which you can learn more about here, as well as request that it come to your school.
9. Jennicet Gutiérrez. A bold activist particularly focused on trans immigrants and incarceration, Jennicet came to public attention when she interrupted a speech by President Obama to draw attention to the abuse of trans women in detention centers.
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