Laverne Cox is first in a lot of areas: the first openly trans actor to be nominated for an Emmy (for Orange Is the New Black) or appear on Time's cover, and the first trans woman of color to produce and star in her own show (TRANSform Me). This year she'll co-star in a new CBS legal drama, Doubt; continue her advocacy work; and surely collect a ton of accolades for her efforts to confront violence against trans women.
Power 50: Laverne Cox
Actress/Transgender Advocate, 30

















Years before Stonewall, a cafeteria riot became a breakthrough for trans rights
All about the Compton's Cafeteria riot, when drag queens and trans women rose up against police at a diner in San Francisco.