What: Transgender advocate and actress Laverne Cox visits the University of North Texas to speak about her experience as a minority transgender woman as part of the 2014-15 Mary Jo and V. Lane Rawlins Fine Arts Series.
When: 7 p.m. Feb. 24 (Tuesday)
Where: UNT's Super Pit Coliseum, 600 Ave D, Denton
Cost: $10 for general public; $5 for UNT faculty, staff and Alumni Association members; free for UNT students. Students can print their free ticket, while UNT faculty/staff/alumni and the public, may purchase their tickets at UNTUniontickets.com.
More information: More information on other events this season can be found at the Fine Arts Series Facebook page.
DENTON (UNT), Texas – The University of North Texas will host Laverne Cox, transgender advocate and actress in the Netflix series Orange is the New Black, as part of the Fine Arts Series for Spring 2015. The event will be held at 7 p.m. on Feb. 24 in UNT's Super Pit Coliseum, 600 Ave D, Denton.
The lecture is part of an ongoing series by Cox titled "Ain't I a Woman: My Journey to Womanhood." Cox will discuss how race, class and gender shaped her experience as a transgender woman.
Cox will also interweave into her lecture her history and the challenges that she has faced. Growing up in Mobile, Ala., going to college in New York to pursue a career in acting, and finding the courage to become the woman she always knew she was are all examples of challenges that she has had to overcome.
These challenges taught Cox how to move beyond gender expectations and live a more authentic life. This lesson, in turn, led Cox to a successful career as an actress and activist.
Kathleen Hobson, student services coordinator for UNT's Pride Alliance, says that Cox's appearance is a monumental event for UNT.
"I think that it is a giant step forward for the institution," she said. "It shows that UNT is willing to shed light on transgender issues and shows that they value the transgender community."
Hobson also believes that the lecture will be beneficial and educational to a wide audience.
"If someone is just starting to understand the struggles that the transgender community faces, this would be an excellent opportunity to learn," she said. "[Cox] humanizes transgender issues for people that feel like they don't know a whole lot about the community. She has a very profound message that will also guide those already trying to make changes."
Cox is the first transgender woman to produce and star in her own television show, "TRANSForm Me," appear on the cover of TIME Magazine and be nominated for an Emmy. She received the Emmy nomination for her groundbreaking character of Sophia Burset, an incarcerated African-American transgender woman, on Orange is the New Black.
The lecture is free for UNT students, $5 for UNT faculty/staff/Alumni Association members, and $10 for public. For more information about this and other events UNT's Fine Arts Series for Spring 2015, visit the Fine Arts Series Facebook page.
About the Mary Jo and V. Lane Rawlins Fine Arts Series
Now in its 111th season, the Fine Arts Series began as the Lyceum Series in 1903 when UNT was North Texas Normal College. The series has grown over the past century while never losing sight of its purpose to enrich UNT students' lives and provide a higher quality of life at the university. The series continues to entertain and educate the campus community by presenting an exciting series of performing, visual and literary arts events. All Fine Arts Series performances are presented free of charge to UNT students.