An hour before the show started, freshman Andy Branham stood at the head of the long line that had formed in front of the auditorium doors.
Behind those doors, Laverne Cox, star of “Orange is the New Black,” was prepping for her Union ?Board-sponsored talk.
“I watch ‘Orange is the New Black,’ and I know a little bit about Laverne’s activism,” Branham said. “I have seen some of her speeches before and I know she is a really good speaker, so I wanted to come and she what she had to say.”
Wednesday evening, Cox spoke at the IU Auditorium about her journey of being transgender and how that ?influenced her career and life.
“Hopefully she speaks about her experience as a trans woman,” Branham said. “I’m trans, so that’s something I’d really like to hear about.”
The crowd erupted, applauding and cheering as Cox graced the stage.
She sported a red and black dress and her curled blonde hair swayed as she placed herself behind the podium.
“Indiana University,” Cox said. ?“Indiana University, oh my goodness.”
Cox attended IU for two years for her undergraduate studies.
“I gotta tell you that I’m pretty emotional tonight because this is my first time being back in Bloomington, Indiana, since I left here so many years ago,” Cox said. “It feels real good to ?be back.”
When the cheering simmered, Cox switched gears to address a more serious subject.
“According to the Injustice at Every Turn National Transgender Survey, 78 percent of students in grades K through 12 who express a transgender identity experience harassment or bullying,” she said. “Seventy-eight percent.”
Cox continued, sharing some of her own experiences as a child that she struggled with while growing up.
“When I started interacting with other kids in preschool, I was weeded with words like ‘sissy’ or the ‘F’ word,” Cox said. “From preschool up until high school I was bullied every ?single day.”
Although Cox said her childhood was emotionally difficult, she was still able to joke about it with the ?audience.
“They said I acted like a girl,” she said. “Whatever that means, because I know girls act in all sorts of ways.”
Cox was able to make an impact on the audience even before she stepped on the stage at 7 p.m. last night. Ellen Epstein, a Bloomington resident, heard Cox speak in other interviews. She said that inspired her to hear her speak in person.
“Anyone who’s that out there with their issues at this level in the culture inspire and validate me,” Epstein said. “She sort of helps me to be open with myself.”
The audience was not only filled with laughs, but also constantly nodding heads.
Cox said she wanted to share her personal struggles, but also her triumphs through her transformation of becoming a successful transgender woman ?working in Hollywood.
“I stand before you this evening as a proud, African American, transgender woman ... I stand before you as an artist, an actress, a sister and daughter, and I believe it’s important to name the various intersecting components of my multiple identities,” Cox said. “I’m not just one thing, and ?neither are you.”
