The untold story of Sally-Tom, who legally changed her gender in the 1860s
Sally-Tom was one of the first people in the US to have her gender recognized by a legal governing body long before sex was included in regular documentation. Sally was a formerly enslaved Black trans woman who became an incidental activist. Unlike many others at the time, she was open about her gender in public. In fact, she may be the first trans person in US history to have her gender recognized by any governmental institution. Around 1869, the Georgia Freedmen’s Bureau approved her decision to live as a woman. Although no photographs or recordings of Sally exist, local journalists […]