Almost 50 years before “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “Pose,” Sir Lady Java was a pioneering transgender activist fighting against a Los Angeles law that restricted drag performance.
Photo: Sir Lady Java Monday marked the beginning of Transgender Awareness Week, observed each year to highlight the challenges faced by transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people as well as to honor their achievements.
Transgender Awareness Week origins Transgender Awareness Week, coming in November, which is Transgender Awareness Month, grew out of Transgender Day of Remembrance.
The Day of Remembrance, taking place November 20, was founded in 1999 by activist Gwendolyn Ann Smith to honor Rita Hester, a trans woman who was killed in 1998, and all those lost to anti-trans violence.