Deep down you know who you are. — Aimee Stephens
(Aimee, pictured with Laverne Cox, image via Wikimedia Commons)
In 2013, Aimee Stephens wrote a letter to her colleagues. The Detroit-area funeral director told them that from that point on, she planned to live her life as a woman. She was writing the letter to ask for their respect and support.
“I have felt imprisoned in a body that does not match my mind, and this has caused me great despair and loneliness,” she wrote. “With the support of my loving wife, I have decided to become the person that my mind already is.”
Two weeks after Aimee sent the letter, the funeral home owner fired her, saying he required all employees to dress according to the gender they were biologically assigned at birth. Aimee filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which in turn sued the funeral home network. The case epitomized the nationwide battle for transgender rights, and Aimee joined the fight with Don Zarda and Gerald Bostock.
Her case ultimately made its way to the Supreme Court. But in May 2020 — just one month before the court would rule in a landmark decision to protect LGBTQ employees from the very discrimination Aimee suffered — the 59-year-old activist passed away.
“Aimee is no longer here to lead us,” wrote Aimee’s wife Donna. “What remains is the example of courage, determination and dignity she showed, providing inspiration to all of us as we carry on the fight for LGBTQ rights, until it is truly and completely won.”
Add to your reading list:
Read more:
Remembering Aimee Stephens, who lost and found her purpose (The New Yorker)
Aimee Stephens was a hero. She was also my wife. (The Detroit Free Press)
“I chose to stand up.” A Michigan transgender woman takes her firing to the Supreme Court (Detroit News)
The Supreme Court is finally taking on trans rights. Here’s the woman who started it all. (Vox)
Aimee Stephens Dies at 59 (The New York Times)
Hear more:
The Daily: Because of Sex (The New York Times)
The Daily: A Landmark Supreme Court Ruling (The New York Times)
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