Laverne Cox to visit campus Nov. 4
Transgender advocate and actor Laverne Cox, currently seen in the critically acclaimed Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black, will be at Emerson College on Monday, November 4, to hold a lecture titled “Ain’t I a Woman: My Journey to Womanhood.”
Cox will answer questions after her lecture, which begins at 7:00 pm in the Bright Family Screening Room of the Paramount Center. (Doors will open at 6:45 pm.) The event, held as part of Emerson’s first annual The Authentic Me: Transgender Awareness Week, will be open to Emerson community members only. The Office of Multicultural Student Affairs and GLBTQ Resources and several other campus organizations (listed below) are sponsoring the event.
Cox is also a writer and producer. As a transgender advocate, Cox continues to lend her voice to the cause of transgender visibility and equality. She is committed to telling diverse and three-dimensional trans stories in the media. She travels the country speaking about issues that affect the trans community and is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post.
Before taking on her role as Sophia, a trans prison inmate in Orange Is the New Black, Cox gained acclaim for her role in the independent feature film Musical Chairs.
Cox is the first African American trans woman to produce and star in her own television show, TRANSForm Me on VH1, which was nominated for a GLAAD media award for Outstanding Reality Program in 2011, and was the first TV show to star three transsexual women.
Cox made TV history when she became the first African American trans woman to appear in a reality TV program, I Wanna Work for Diddy, on VH1 in 2008. She accepted the GLAAD media award for Outstanding Reality Program for her role on that show.
Cox has had guest starring roles on NBC’s Law and Order and Law and Order: SVU, as well as HBO’s Bored to Death.
She was named one of the most influential trans people in America in the inaugural Trans 100 in 2013. She was named one of the top 50 trans icons by the Huffington Post in 2012.
Other events taking place as part of Transgender Awareness Week include a stand-up comic performance by transgender comedian Jeffrey Jay on Tuesday, November 5, at 7:00 pm in the Multipurpose Room of the Max Mutchnick Campus Center; a faculty and staff event on transgender inclusion on Wednesday, November 6, at 12:00 pm in the Multipurpose Room; a workshop and discussion on ending workplace discrimination on Wednesday, November 6, at 6:00 pm in the Multipurpose Room; and a screening of the video project I AM: Trans People Speak with the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition on Thursday, November 7, at 7:00 pm, in the Bright Family Screening Room.
The Laverne Cox visit is co-sponsored by the campus organizations Emerson’s Alliance for Gays, Lesbians, and Everyone (EAGLE); Emerson’s Black Organization with Natural Interests (EBONI); Communication, Politics, and Law Association (CPLA); Office of Career Services; Department of Performing Arts; Office of Student Life; Dean of Students; and the Office of the President.
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