A talented artist and fierce activist, Miss Diamond knew from a young age that she was not what other people saw her as. In search of ways to freely express her gender identity, Miss Diamond struggled. But, “I didn’t want to die pretending, I didn’t want to die living for everybody else. I wanted to die being happy,” she said. Transphobic violence —physical, verbal, and structural—have devastating consequences: 41 percent of transgender people attempt suicide, and trans people of color are victim to some of the highest police brutality and incarceration rates. Miss Diamond’s story, unfortunately one among many, exposes the abuse trans people must suffer everyday.

“There are a lot of risks of saying no when you’re incarcerated, saying no to inmates and saying no to the correctional officers.” – Miss Diamond