A look inside Detroit’s black transgender community

Across the country, the transgender community has been experiencing an unprecedented level of visibility. Openly transgender celebrities like actress Laverne Cox and model Isis King are proudly gracing television screens and newsstands. Gender dysphoria – the medical term describing those whose identities differ from their birth gender – is now widely recognized in the medical community, and many major health care providers cover gender reassignment surgery for those who are diagnosed with it. Here at home, the Detroit Police Department recently hired its first transgender officer, who will be graduating from the academy in June.









