--- title: Transgender Rights History Told by Laverne Cox: Watch VIDEO description: In a video with the ACLU, the actor recounts the movement's history, which continues despite bathroom bills and Trump's military ban tweets canonical: https://time.com/4894647/trans-transgender-rights-video/ author: Laverne Cox article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-10T17:00:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-30T11:03:02.334Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Watch Laverne Cox Tell the Story of the Fight for Transgender Rights og:description: 'Time marches on, and so do we' og:url: https://time.com/4894647/trans-transgender-rights-video/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dbb7e79a535b923/6988d93bfb4eac057289340f/laverne-cox-aclu-trans-transgender-rights-military-ban-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Laverne Cox, ACLU on the fight for transgender rights og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Laverne Cox Tell the Story of the Fight for Transgender Rights twitter:description: 'Time marches on, and so do we' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dbb7e79a535b923/6988d93bfb4eac057289340f/laverne-cox-aclu-trans-transgender-rights-military-ban-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Laverne Cox Will Show You the Long, Intense Fight for Transgender Rights by [Laverne Cox](https://time.com/author/laverne-cox/), [Molly Crabapple](https://time.com/author/molly-crabapple/), [Zackary Drucker](https://time.com/author/zackary-drucker/), [Chase Strangio](https://time.com/author/chase-strangio/), [Kim Boekbinder](https://time.com/author/kim-boekbinder/) and [Jim Batt](https://time.com/author/jim-batt/) Aug 10, 2017 5:00 PM UTC  Courtesy of the ACLU by [Laverne Cox](https://time.com/author/laverne-cox/), [Molly Crabapple](https://time.com/author/molly-crabapple/), [Zackary Drucker](https://time.com/author/zackary-drucker/), [Chase Strangio](https://time.com/author/chase-strangio/), [Kim Boekbinder](https://time.com/author/kim-boekbinder/) and [Jim Batt](https://time.com/author/jim-batt/) Aug 10, 2017 5:00 PM UTC Every day, people question why we advocate for trans rights. “How many trans people are there, really?” we are asked. Or, “Isn’t this just a new niche issue that serves as a distraction from the issues that _really_ matter?” But trans people have always existed, and our lives have always mattered. And though we have and continue to face rampant discrimination, so too have we built beautiful communities and movements of resistance and love. Through a collaborative video from the ACLU, _Transparent_ producer and artist [Zackary Drucker](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/magazine/how-two-producers-of-transparent-are-making-trans-lives-more-visible-starting-with-their-own.html), Emmy-nominated actress [Laverne Cox](http://www.lavernecox.com/) and the creative team of [Molly Crabapple](https://mollycrabapple.com/) and [Kim Boekbinder](http://www.kimboekbinder.com/), we are telling the story of trans history and resistance. This video comes on the heels of the President’s [tweets](https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/three-tweets-president-trump-cruelly-threatens-trans-service-members-rank) seeking to ban transgender individuals from military service and in the midst of [continued legislative efforts](https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/lawmakers-texas-are-returning-capitol-more-anti-trans-discrimination) in states like Texas to ban transgender individuals from public restrooms. The consequences of this discrimination from our government are deadly. In [one comprehensive survey](http://www.transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/Executive%20Summary%20-%20FINAL%201.6.17.pdf) of over 27,000 transgender individuals in 2015, almost one in three respondents reported living in poverty, over half reported being denied health care related to their gender transition, one of every four indicated that they did not seek medical attention at all due to fear of discrimination and more than three of every four reported experiencing harassment in school because they were trans, ultimately leading to 17% of respondents dropping out of secondary school altogether. All of this contributes to a cycle of discrimination and violence that leads to [homelessness](https://srlp.org/resources/flow-chart-disproportionate-poverty/), [incarceration](https://srlp.org/resources/flow-chart-disproportionate-incarceration/) and ultimately, for many — [particularly trans women of color](https://thinkprogress.org/trans-women-of-color-are-grieving-and-ignored-6b5b518dcfa/) — premature death. Indeed, at least [15 trans people](https://www.advocate.com/crime/2017/8/02/georgia-woman-becomes-15th-known-trans-murder-victim-2017), almost all women of color, have been murdered so far this year in the United States. And two of every five American trans people attempt suicide at least once in their life. Without accurate information about trans people, our lives and our rich histories, the impulse to push us out of public life will continue. But we continue to tell our vivid, vibrant and critical story of trans resistance. Time marches forward, and so do we. _—Chase Strangio_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4894647/trans-transgender-rights-video/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4894647/trans-transgender-rights-video/"},"headline":"Laverne Cox Will Show You the Long, Intense Fight for Transgender Rights","datePublished":"2017-08-10T17:00:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-30T11:03:02.334Z","description":"'Time marches on, and so do we'","url":"https://time.com/4894647/trans-transgender-rights-video/","keywords":["Civil Rights","gender","Transgender"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dbb7e79a535b923/6988d93bfb4eac057289340f/laverne-cox-aclu-trans-transgender-rights-military-ban-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laverne Cox","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laverne-cox/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Molly Crabapple","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/molly-crabapple/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Zackary Drucker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/zackary-drucker/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Chase Strangio","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/chase-strangio/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Kim Boekbinder","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/kim-boekbinder/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Jim Batt","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/jim-batt/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4dbb7e79a535b923/6988d93bfb4eac057289340f/laverne-cox-aclu-trans-transgender-rights-military-ban-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Laverne Cox, ACLU on the fight for transgender rights","caption":"Laverne Cox, ACLU on the fight for transgender rights","creditText":"Courtesy of the ACLU","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/civil-rights/","name":"Civil Rights"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4894647/trans-transgender-rights-video/","name":"Laverne Cox Will Show You the Long, Intense Fight for Transgender Rights"}}]}] ```