30 Black Trans Men, Trans-masc and Non-binary Trailblazers You Should Know

Yance Ford

Yance Ford is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker and one of the most significant documentary directors working today. His debut film Strong Island (2017) — a deeply personal examination of his brother's murder and the racial injustices of the American legal system — won the Gotham Award for Best Documentary, a Primetime Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking, and a Sundance Special Jury Award. When it received an Academy Award nomination in 2018, Ford became the first openly transgender person nominated for an Academy Award in any category and the first openly transgender director nominated for an Oscar.

In 2024, Ford released his second feature, Power — a Netflix original documentary tracing the origins of American policing. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival before launching worldwide to widespread critical acclaim. In early 2025, Ford curated the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival's thematic program, "The Weight of a Question: Documentary and the Art of Inquiry." In August 2025, he was named Visiting Artistic Director for True/False 2026, one of the most respected documentary festivals in the world. Ford is a Guggenheim Fellow, a MacDowell Colony Fellow, and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Brian Michael Smith

Brian Michael Smith is an actor whose groundbreaking television career has consistently expanded what representation looks like on network TV. His role as Toine Wilkins in Ava DuVernay's Queen Sugar (OWN, 2017) was among his first opportunities to bring a trans man's experience to screen. From there, he was cast as political strategist Pierce Williams in The L Word: Generation Q (Showtime, 2019).

Most notably, Smith played firefighter Paul Strickland in Fox's 9-1-1: Lone Star from 2020 to 2025 — 72 episodes across five seasons — making him the first out Black trans man to have a series regular role on network television. The show concluded its final season on February 3, 2025. In 2024, he also starred in the film I Wish You All the Best. Smith has appeared in Chicago P.D., Girls, and Homeland, and continues to advocate for trans representation in media.

Dr. Kortney Zeigler

Dr. Kortney Zeigler is a writer, artist, and technologist whose work sits at the intersection of art, activism, and education. He is an award-winning entrepreneur who has built solution-driven products focused on supporting the Black diaspora. As founder and COO of Trans*H4CK, he tackles poverty, unemployment, and homelessness experienced by trans and non-binary people through technology.

Zeigler's 2008 documentary Still Black: A Portrait of Black Transmen was among the earliest films to center Black trans masculine experience on screen. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Merced, where he teaches courses on race and technology.

Tiq Milan

Tiq Milan is a writer, public speaker, leadership strategist, and media consultant working at the intersection of storytelling, culture, and identity. He is a former Senior Media Strategist and National Spokesperson for GLAAD, where he trained national transgender advocates and worked with major news outlets on fair and accurate trans coverage. He is now an independent keynote speaker and consultant — having lectured at Harvard, Stanford, and Brown — and an Executive Producer on the GLAAD Award-winning documentary Beyond Aggressives: 25 Years Later. He sits on the boards of the American LGBTQ Museum, The LGBT Center, and The Trans Genome Project at Mount Sinai.

In 2016, Milan and his then-wife Kim Katrin gave a TED Talk on Black queer love and marriage that has since been viewed over three million times. He also travels with The Moth, sharing his story of love and transition in cities across the US and internationally.

Carter Brown

Carter Brown founded Black Transmen, Inc. (BTMI) to advocate for the empowerment of transgender people through community building and organizing. BTMI later gave birth to the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition (BTAC) — a trans-led nonprofit built around community education, public policy, empowerment programs, and direct services.

Brown has testified before the US Congress in support of the Equality Act, an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include protections for transgender people. He is also the founder of the National Black Trans Advocacy Conference & Awards Gala, held annually in Texas.

Kylar Broadus

Kylar William Broadus is an American attorney, entrepreneur, and trans rights activist. He founded the Trans People of Color Coalition (TPOCC) in 2010. In 2012, he became the first trans person to testify in front of the United States Senate when he spoke in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Today, Broadus works as a consultant focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

You can snag a Kylar Broadus tee as part of Transguy Supply's Trans Trailblazer apparel series.

J Mase III

J Mase III is a poet, writer, speaker, and activist whose work has been featured on MSNBC, in the New York Times, Huffington Post, and more. His book The Black Trans Prayer Book, co-written with Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi, won a Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction. His other works include White Folks Be Trippin': An Ethnography Through Poetry & Prose and And Then I Got Fired: One Transqueer's Reflections on Grief, Unemployment & Inappropriate Jokes About Death.

Rev. Louis Mitchell

The Rev. Louis Mitchell is a pioneering "intentional man," elder, and advocate who served as Executive Director for Transfaith. He has been involved in the fight for health, respect, and self-determination since the late 1980s, with deep engagement in political, mental health, recovery, and Black church contexts. His oral history is archived at lgbtqreligiousarchives.org.

Jevon Martin

Jevon Martin has dedicated over 25 years to advocating for the TLGBQI+ community, particularly around housing and homelessness. He is the CEO of Princess Janae Place, a referral organization for TLGBQI+ services in New York, and has made strides in improving legislation for marriage equality and supporting homeless youth. He has received numerous awards for his activism, including the Man of the Year Award, the Octavia St. Laurent Trans Activist Award, and the Marsha P. Johnson Award. More at jevonmartin.com.

Ellia Green

Ellia Green is a professional rugby player and one of the most decorated athletes in the history of Australian rugby sevens. Born in Fiji and raised in New South Wales, he helped lead Australia's women's sevens team to a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio — the inaugural Olympic rugby sevens competition — as well as a bronze medal at the 2016 Commonwealth Games.

In August 2022, Green came out as a trans man, becoming the first Olympian to publicly come out as transgender. He uses he/him and they/them pronouns. His coming out was accompanied by candid public discussion of the mental health struggles he had navigated since retiring — including hospitalizations — and his hope that visibility would help other trans people feel less alone.

In June 2025, Green made his return to competitive rugby, suiting up for the Sydney Convicts in the men's NSW Suburban Rugby Competition — Australia's first openly gay and inclusive rugby club. He called the experience one of the highlights of his life alongside winning Olympic gold. Green lives in Sydney with his partner Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts and their daughter Waitui.

Patricio "Cacahuate" Manuel

Patricio Manuel is an American professional boxer and the first openly transgender man to have a professional boxing match in the United States. A five-time USA national amateur boxing champion, Manuel made his professional debut in December 2018, defeating Hugo Aguilar by unanimous decision. He went on to win his next two bouts — in March and June 2023 — building a 3-0 record before his first professional loss by TKO in April 2024.

Throughout his career Manuel has been a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport, pushing back against the World Boxing Council's proposal to create a separate league for transgender boxers. He continues to train under coach Victor Valenzuela in Duarte, California.

Kye Allums

Kye Allums gained national attention in 2010 for being the first openly transgender athlete to compete in Division I NCAA sports, playing women's basketball at George Washington University. His courage in coming out helped bring visibility to trans athletes at the college level at a time when there was almost no language or framework for it. Since then, Allums has toured the country advocating for trans inclusion in sport and is the creator of Project I Am Enough — a storytelling platform promoting self-love and acceptance for people of all gender identities.

C. Riley Snorton

C. Riley Snorton is an American academic and author whose scholarship sits at the intersection of Black studies, transgender studies, and the history of race and sexuality. He is a Professor of African American Studies and Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of Chicago. His book Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity is a seminal work exploring the intersection of trans identity, race, and slavery. He is also the author of Nobody Is Supposed to Know: Black Sexuality on the Down Low.

Pauli Murray

Pauli Murray was a civil rights and feminist activist, lawyer, and author whose contributions to American law and social justice were foundational. They co-founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) and worked with the NAACP. Their legal writings directly influenced Thurgood Marshall's arguments in Brown v. Board of Education and Ruth Bader Ginsburg's arguments in Reed v. Reed. Murray passed away in 1985 and has been posthumously honored with widespread recognition — including being ordained as the first Black female Episcopal priest in 1977.

Murray navigated questions of gender identity throughout their life — in letters and journals they described feelings that today would be recognized as trans or non-binary experience. The documentary My Name Is Pauli Murray explores their activism and gender journey in full.

Isaac Fitzsimons

Isaac Fitzsimons is an author, speaker, and activist who has dedicated his career to promoting social justice and equality through young adult fiction. His debut novel, The Passing Playbook, was a 2022 Lambda Literary Award Finalist and one of the most praised trans YA novels of recent years. His work fills a significant gap — Black trans and non-binary young people deserve to see themselves in complex, affirming stories.

Kacen Callender

Kacen Callender is an award-winning Caribbean-American author whose work explores gender identity, race, and mental health. Their novel Felix Ever After follows a transgender high school student navigating identity, bullying, and love — a moving, complex story that has resonated deeply with trans youth of color since its publication. Their other works include King and the Dragonflies, which won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

Cameron Awkward-Rich

Cameron Awkward-Rich is a writer, poet, and assistant professor of African American Studies and Creative Writing at Williams College. He is the author of the poetry collection Sympathetic Little Monster and the nonfiction book Dispatch. His work explores race, gender, and sexuality with formally inventive and emotionally precise language. Learn more at cawkwardrich.com.

Akwaeke Emezi

Akwaeke Emezi is a Nigerian-born writer and artist who identifies as trans, non-binary, and also an ogbanje — a term from Igbo traditional belief referring to a child believed to exist between the spirit world and the living. Their critically acclaimed novels include Freshwater, The Death of Vivek Oji, and Pet. Emezi is one of the most celebrated and formally daring voices in contemporary literary fiction. More at akwaeke.com.

Texas Isaiah

Texas Isaiah is an award-winning, first-generation visual narrator based in Los Angeles whose photography centers care, healing, and the humanity of his subjects. In 2020, he became the first trans photographer to photograph a Vogue edition cover and a TIME magazine cover. His work has been exhibited at galleries including the Studio Museum in Harlem, where he was a 2020–2021 artist in residence. He is a Clio Awards Silver winner for visual curation on the Being Seen Podcast. More at texasisaiah.com.

Prof. Sir Zanele Muholi

Sir Zanele Muholi is a South African photographer, visual activist, and artist whose work documents and preserves the history and experiences of Black LGBTQ+ individuals in South Africa and beyond. Muholi is the founder of Inkanyiso, a media collective working to promote social justice and human rights. Their photographs have been exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide.

Black Cracker

Black Cracker is a musician, visual artist, and director known for a blend of hip-hop, electronic, and punk influences. He has been releasing music since the early 2000s with several critically acclaimed albums and EPs, and has toured internationally performing at major music festivals. More at blckcrckr.com.

Willmer "Little Ax" Broadnax

Willmer "Little Ax" Broadnax was a gospel singer born in 1935 in Houston, Texas, whose powerful voice made him one of the most beloved performers in Black gospel music. His professional career began in the 1950s; he is best known for his work with The Dells, with whom he recorded and toured for over fifty years. Broadnax lived as a man throughout his adult life and is now recognized as part of Black trans history. His story is documented in Morgan M. Page's podcast One From the Vaults.

PALMER

Palmer is a singer, photographer, and tattoo artist based in Dallas, TX. Raised in a strict Christian home with limited exposure to popular culture, Palmer taught himself piano, guitar, drums, bass, violin, and trumpet. His music is available on Spotify, and his work can be found on his Instagram and YouTube channel.

Devin-Norelle

Devin-Norelle is a non-binary model, advocate, and writer who uses ze/zim pronouns. Ze has been a regular contributing writer to Teen Vogue, them., Allure, and Out magazine. As a model, Devin-Norelle has walked New York Fashion Week shows including Chromat and Stuzo, and modeled for the 2019 Bonobos Pride Campaign. Ze is also the creator of the original "Trans is Beautiful" tee. As an advocate, ze has consistently pushed for more diverse and authentic trans and non-binary visibility in media.

Marli Washington

Marli Washington is an entrepreneur and BIPOC trans man who is the founder and CEO of gc2b, one of the world's premier chest binder companies. gc2b is committed to creating high-quality binders that meet the needs of the transgender community, with a wide range of skin tones and sizes. The company has received widespread recognition for its commitment to inclusivity and has become a leading provider of chest binders for transgender and non-binary people worldwide.

Marquise Vilsón

Marquise Vilsón has achieved success across acting, activism, and ballroom culture over more than two decades. Born and raised in the Bronx, he entered the ballroom scene in 1995 and became a respected leader and mentor in the House of Balenciaga. He also served briefly in the military following September 11, 2001.

His acting career took off in 2017 with an Off-Broadway role in Charm. Since then he's built a steady résumé: Ben Is Back opposite Julia Roberts, The Blacklist, Law & Order: SVU (in a GLAAD Award-nominated episode about trans military service members), Netflix's Tales of the City, A League of Their Own (Amazon, 2022), and Tom Swift (CW, 2022 — series regular as Isaac Vega, a trans pansexual bodyguard). His 2024 film The Lost Holiday continues a steady working career. He was also featured in Netflix's landmark documentary Disclosure (2020) and the documentary No Ordinary Man (2020). He has received the Eric Christian Bazaar Award, the Octavia St. Laurent Trans Activist Award, and was inducted into the Dorian Corey Hall of Fame (2020).

Braxton Fleming

Braxton "Brax" Fleming is an entrepreneur and founder of Stealth Bros and Co — a company creating luxury dopp kits and sharps disposal containers for people who carry injectable medications. Born from his own experience as a trans man on weekly HRT injections, the brand serves transgender people, diabetics, fertility patients, and anyone navigating injectable medical care with dignity and style.

In September 2022, Fleming became the first openly transgender man to pitch on Shark Tank, and the first Black transgender entrepreneur to secure a deal on the show — landing an investment from Barbara Corcoran and Mark Cuban. Following the episode, the company sold out entirely and subsequently placed its Sharps Shuttle product in 3,000 CVS stores across the US. Stealth Bros continues to operate and expand its product line, and Fleming runs the Stealth Bros Support Fund, which provides grants to individuals needing financial support for gender-affirming care.

Tashan Lovemore

Tashan Lovemore is a trans activist, model, and poet who began his transition in 2017. He co-founded the now-defunct Black Trans TV, a platform promoting self-love and self-care for individuals of all identities. More recently, Tashan hosts Let's Start from the Top — a series about gender-affirming top surgeries — on his Instagram. His full story is available through the NYC Trans Oral History Project.

Tyler Ford

Tyler Ford is a writer, activist, actor, and public speaker who identifies as agender and advocates for transgender and non-binary individuals. In 2012, Ford made an appearance as the first transgender contestant on The Glee Project 2. In 2017, along with Meredith Talusan and James Clarizio, Ford was a founding editor of them. magazine. Read more about his gender journey in his piece in The Guardian: "My Life Without Gender."

Myles Brady Davis

Myles Brady Davis and his wife Precious are a T4T power couple who first gained national attention as part of Miley Cyrus's #Instapride campaign and were later featured on TLC's Say Yes to the Dress. They have used their visibility to shine a light on Black trans love and family. Their pregnancy journey was featured on TLC's Extraordinary People in an episode called "My Pregnant Husband," and in 2020 they successfully advocated for each parent to be gendered according to their identity — not their role in the birth — on their child's birth certificate, a first for the state of Illinois.

Myles identifies as Two-Spirit, uses they/them pronouns, and is the Director of Communications at Equality Illinois.