Laverne Cox Gives Powerful Speech Against Trump Agenda at SCAD TVfest: ‘They Are Committed to Eradicating Trans People from Public Life'

Yahoo

08-02-2025

Laverne Cox got the SCAD TVfest crowd to its feet on Friday evening, as the star delivered a powerful, emotional speech about the new Trump administration's attack on trans rights, civil rights and destruction of regulations in order to enrich the billionaires now in office. Taking the stage to accept SCAD's Impact Award, before premiering two episodes of her new Amazon Prime Video series 'Clean Slate,' Cox delivered a call to action while also admitting the frightening truth that at the moment, 'it might be too little, too late.'
'The system is rigged in favor of corporations, plutocrats, oligarchs, the wealthy,' she said. 'It might not be the time for us to be able to rise up not only as trans people, but as working people, as people of color. People with the capacity for pregnancy, people who really just want to get a no fault divorce. And so many other things.'
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Cox noted that Trump ran on a platform that could easily be interpreted as white supremacist. 'The Project 2025 agenda is a Christian nationalist agenda, if you read the text,' she noted. 'And their form of Christian nationalism is a white Christian nationalism. It is a Christian nationalism with the man, the patriarch, as the head of the household, after God, and women being subservient, women not being able to get a divorce, women not being able to get an abortion, and people with ectopic pregnancy not being able to get an abortion. This is the America they dream of, iIn addition to dismantling the regulatory state, which we're seeing happen very quickly right now. It is a future, a vision of America that would completely deregulate everything so the corporations can do whatever they want and make as much money as possible.'
But Cox saved her most heartbreaking portion of her speech to discuss what is now happening to trans people, particularly trans youth, across the country. 'They are committed to eradicating trans people from public life, they've said it blatantly,' Cox said. They said it in everything that they have done. This is not a distraction. This is part of their agenda… When states pass laws that criminalize, stigmatize trans people, it emboldens the public to do the same thing, to commit violence against trans people. Violence against trans youth has skyrocketed in states that pass discriminatory policies affecting trans people. When the state sanctions discrimination against us, it emboldens citizens to commit violence against us, and it is heartbreaking. And it has been heartbreaking for years what trans people, and particularly trans youth, have experienced.'
'Clean Slate,' which comes Sony Pictures TV and the late Norman Lear's Act III Prods. (led by Brent Miller), centers on car wash owner Henry (George Wallace), whose estranged child comes home to Alabama after 17 years. But he must do some soul searching as he comes to terms with the fact that his adult child is a trans woman, Desiree (Cox). The eight-episode series premiered Feb. 6 on Prime Video.
The 'Clean Slate' premiere rounded out this year's SCAD TVfest, held Feb. 5 to Feb. 7 at the school's Atlanta campus. Here's a full text of Cox's remarks:
'I've had a few little accolades in my career that I am incredibly proud of. And it reminds me that an impact award or an Emmy nomination or two SAG awards or countless magazine covers (including British Vogue, twice!), these are wonderful, wonderful things. These honors have inspired many people, and I'm proud of that, and given perspective to people who might not know a trans person in real life.
'But these honors have not changed the material reality of the majority of trans people in this country and around the world. The reality is that most trans people in this country are poor and working class. The reality of the lives of most trans people, particularly trans youth in this country that over the past several years, they have been fleeing states who have passed laws banning gender affirming care, laws that would criminalize parents that support their trans kids. And so, families have been fleeing states for several years. And mostly states that are here in the south.
'This wonderful honor will not change the material reality that right now there are trans people who have put in applications for passports, and they're waiting to receive their passports back, knowing that they will not get their gender marker changed — and are not even sure they'll get their passports back. It won't change the reality that in the state of Florida, for a year now, you have not been able to change your gender marker on your state identification.
'It won't change the fact that when states pass laws that criminalize, stigmatize trans people, it emboldens the public to do the same thing, to commit violence against trans people. Violence against trans youth has skyrocketed in states that pass discriminatory policies affecting trans people. When the state sanctions discrimination against us, it emboldens citizens to commit violence against us, and it is heartbreaking. And it has been heartbreaking for years what trans people, and particularly trans youth, have experienced.
'In the 26 states that have been gender-affirming care for young people, there are often laws that would criminalize the doctors for providing that care. According to recently signed executive order from the current president of the United States, gender affirming care for all young people should be banned in this country. I want to remind you that there are 14 or 15, states that say we're not following that because that's illegal.
'And so much of what is happening under in this chaotic new administration is blatantly illegal. If you read Project 2025 — it was quite a read — none of this is surprising. And it is the jobs of our elected representatives and the amazing organizations who are suing this administration to challenge them and to resist at every point.
'But it might be too little, too late. There is the power system is rigged. The system is rigged in favor of corporations, plutocrats, oligarchs, the wealthy. It might not be the time for us to be able to rise up not only as trans people but as working people, as people of color. People with the capacity for pregnancy, people who really just want to get a no fault divorce. And so many other things.
'The Project 2025 agenda is a Christian nationalist agenda, if you read the text. And for the Heritage Foundation, their form of Christian nationalism is a white Christian nationalism. It is a Christian nationalism with the man, the patriarch, as the head of the household, after God, and women being subservient. Women not being able to get a divorce, women not being able to get an abortion, and people with ectopic pregnancy not being able to get an abortion.
'This is the America they dream of. In addition to dismantling the regulatory state, which we're seeing happen very quickly right now, is a future, a vision of America that would completely deregulate everything so the corporations can do whatever they want and make as much money as possible. It is a vision where, billionaires get even bigger tax breaks while the cost of health care goes up while people can't afford a home or rent or groceries. It is an administration that is for the wealthy and corporations. And disdain for you, all the working people all over this country.
'And what is so disappointing to me about the Democratic party and so many people who identify as a liberal, a leftist, is that somehow we have not been able to come together across our differences and form coalitions to resist this. The fact that there is such a lack of willingness to tell the truth about our racist legacy when presidential candidates run for office. Democrats run — particularly Democrats of color — and don't talk about racism, because it's really uncomfortable for a lot of white people to hear about racism, and they don't want to feel guilty. And so, 'talking about racism is like, you know, not really good. So let's not do that.'
'And for the entire history of the United States, we just don't talk about racism. Racism exists, and this President ran on a blatantly white supremacist platform. So if we have a white supremacist platform that's being run on, and we don't talk about race, there are a lot of people who are like, 'what?' If you don't actually have an agenda for working people? A lot of people say, 'what?' And then forming coalitions of working class people around you, when you leave trans people behind.
'Kamala Harris, love her, didn't talk about trans people at all. You'd never know it based on what the Republicans were saying. We can't leave people behind. We actually have to tell the truth about the history and legacy of this country so that we can actually be in coalition with each other and trust each other. Trans people are not going to be in coalition with folks who deny our existence or who want to say that our issues are a distraction.
'If you read Project 2025, or just look around at what Republicans have been doing on the state level for the past five years, it is not a distraction for them. They are committed to eradicating trans people from public life, they've said it blatantly. They said it in everything that they have done. This is not a distraction. This is part of their agenda. And so saying we're a distraction is a great way to say 'this issue is a little touchy, and I really don't want to go there' instead of standing up for the most marginalized, having some values and standing up for something.
'We have to take back our narratives as people on the left and Democrats and not just respond to the agenda that the Conservatives are setting. They have been setting the agenda, and leftist Democrats have been responding. We can set the agenda, an agenda for working people, agenda for human rights and civil rights, because if we don't, well, we're probably already screwed.
'So if we are already screwed, and I think we kind of already are, if that is the case, then what? To be honest, that 'then what,' it actually excites me. Because then the 'then what' is community. The 'then what' is our legacy and history as LGBTQI+ folks and people of color, of mutual aid, of chosen family, of finding resources.
'You know, trans people have been getting access to gender-affirming care since gender-affirming care existed. And Susan Stryker, who literally wrote the book on trans history, told me many years ago she interviewed Miss Major Griffin-Gracy. If you don't know who that is, girl, you need to get your life together. Google her! Miss Major is from Chicago. And she told me that Miss Major said in 1955, when she was 15 years old, doing sex work on the streets of Chicago, the girl had hormones. In 1955, Black trans sex workers had access to feminizing hormones. In 1955.
'For years, through black markets, through underground railroads of resources, trans people have been getting access to gender-affirming care. It's not always the safest. There have been issues with that. I want to get our blood work done. We want to be able to go to a doctor and do it. But we've never been stopped from being ourselves. We've never allowed any government, anyone to tell us that we can exist. And we've done everything we can to be ourselves and to support each other on that journey. I've heard stories from the back in the day of forging birth certificates, forging IDs, doing what we have to do.
'Obviously, the criminalization of trans people, it's all very, very scary. But I look to my ancestors and trans-cestors. I look to my history as a Black American, and think about the resilience that is baked inside of us to resist this as individuals. Because what is happening now is so big. We need systemic change, and there's not political will or politicians with courage to really make that happen. But each of us as individuals can make changes in our lives and the lives of the people we know and love. We can go out into our communities, and do what we can for each other. We can support organizations like Campaign for Southern Equality, who are helping to relocate people. We may need to relocate to other countries. So all of that is happening.
'So that 'we're probably screwed' thing becomes an opportunity to love each other more. To lean into all the things that make us human. To rehumanize each other. Even people we disagree with. Even people who voted for that man. We can rehumanize them, they're still human beings. We're all humans, and this is what I love about being an artist. Being able to tell human stories. To be an arbiter of empathy. With 'Clean Slate' being able to tell a story of a trans woman and her family, just trying to do the best that they can. A story about love and family. I want to thank everyone at Amazon and Sony for working with us to make this possible. It is a big deal for a studio to support a project like this at any time in history, but particularly at this time…
'I want to say how much I love all of you and how grateful I am. We need our allies more than ever right now as LGBTQ+ people. If you say you're with us, girl, this is the time to show it. In a substantial way, a material way. For us to be there for each other, across all our differences. Because they're not just coming for trans people, we know that, right? They're coming for all of us. I'm focusing on trans, but I also am thinking of people who are undocumented, people who are incarcerated, marginalized people everywhere, people with disabilities. I'll end with this. Brene Brown's definition of love. Brene Brown says that 'we cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when we honor the spiritual connection that grows from offering with trust, respect, kindness, and affection. Love is not something we give or get; it is something we nurture and grow, a connection that can be cultivated between two people only when it exists within each of them- we can love others only as much as we love ourselves.' She ends by saying, 'Shame, blame, disrespect, betrayal, and withholding affection damage the roots from which love grows. Love can survive these injuries only if they're acknowledged, healed, and rare.''
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