Laverne Cox has always been a role model and inspiration. She has been making history ever since her role as Sophia Burset - a trans woman of color, playing a trans woman of color, in a recurring television role. She has served as an idol for so many trans people who grew up without visible trans role models - trans folks who couldn’t see a future for themselves because their only representation in television and film was tragedy porn, where we’re depicted as self-loathing and one-dimensional. She has also blessed us with some radical quotes and incredible wisdom, a few of which I’ve included below. Thank you, Mother Laverne. 🌸 “Each and every one of us has the capacity to be an oppressor. I want to encourage each and every one of us to interrogate how we might be an oppressor and how we might be able to become liberators for ourselves and each other.” 🌸 “It is revolutionary for any trans person to choose to be seen and visible in a world that tells us we should not exist.” 🌸 “The preoccupation with transition and with surgery objectifies trans people, and then we don’t get to deal with the real lived experiences - the reality of trans people’s lives is that so often we’re targets of violence. We experience discrimination disproportionately to the rest of the community… when we focus on transition we don’t actually get to talk about those things.” 🌸 “I do believe in the humanity of people and in people’s capacity to love and to change. God help me for that.”