Selenis Leyva from the Orange is the New Black has always shown support to the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) community, especially since her sister Marysol is transgender. She has voiced her support for this community on various occasions and will be honored by the Children of Bellevue at the end of the month with the Children’s Champion award.
The actress is being honored for her passion and dedication to children’s causes and for her work with disadvantaged Latino and LGBTQ youth—two causes at the center of Children of Bellevue’s mission.
She’s used her celebrity status to speak out on important issues for trans women of color. Her younger sister, Marizol Leyva is also an advocate for the trans community and last year the Anti-Violence Project honored the sisters for their work.
Marizol found herself in an abusive relationship and reached out to her sister, who then reached out to her co-star Laverne Cox, who is also a trans woman. Violence in the LGBT community and especially in the trans community is very common, which is why these organizations are so vital to this community.
“These communities are so underserved, particularly the Latino and African-American ones,” Selenis adds. “Trans women of color are being murdered.
“There’s still a lot of violence against the transgender community,” she continued. “As much as we have seen changes and the success of pioneers like Laverne Cox and Candis Cayne, we need to focus on the people who do not have the glitter and glamor, she said to Fusion.
Congratulations to Leyva who isn’t afraid to advocate for this community which is very underserved especially in the Latino community.