Meet the First Trans Women of Color to Teach at Harvard Law (The 19th)
“For the longest time … I didn’t see other people who looked like me or had stories like me.”
But now, Anya Marino is not alone.
Marino, 37, is one of the first two transgender women of color to teach at Harvard Law School. Earlier this month, she joined the school’s LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic. Her colleague Alejandra Caraballo, 30, began instructing at Harvard’s Cyberlaw Clinic Monday.
Both instructors, who identify as Latina, told The 19th that they are excited to start a new chapter at Harvard after dedicating years to LGBTQ+ legal and advocacy work. They are also both familiar with the unique pressure and emotional weight of their presence in the legal field — where systematic hurdles still block trans people from entry, much less the top of the profession.
Marino and Caraballo join two other trans people on the faculty — Alexander Chen and Kendra Albert.
“To have three trans people of color working at Harvard Law school is very significant,” said Dru Levasseur, director of diversity and inclusion at the National LGBT Bar Association. “Especially with lawyers, it matters to be able to see yourself in this profession.”
The discrimination that trans people face at school and at home can lead to financial and educational barriers that keep many from entering law, several transgender lawyers told The 19th. Many trans youth are rejected by their families or experience periods of homelessness that can derail school performance — and can convince them to abandon their degrees or erode their self-worth.
“I think that’s one of the hugest issues we’ve seen for many members of the community is how the system really, truly just stacks everything against them,” Marino said.