I grew up across Miami, Boston, and Forest, Mississippi.

My classmates in Mississippi hurled spitballs at me and called me “the nigger’s child.” But my father, who described himself as un negro japonés Cuban — a Black, Japanese-eyed Cuban — never understood that my lighter skin or his heritage did not shield me from prejudice.

Our neighbor, Mrs. Love, told me the hard truth: mixed children like me aren’t hated for our beauty; we’re ridiculed because we embody what society fought so hard to keep apart.

But beyond the racial struggles, there was the visceral knowledge that I was in the wrong body.

My godmother, who raised me, couldn’t wrap her mind around what was happening inside me and what I was doing to live my truth. So she kicked me out — and never let me forget that I was what she had “thrown in the trash.”

There I was, just 13 years old, struggling at the intersection of race, gender dysphoria, and abandonment.

It wasn’t until I attended José De Diego Middle School and Booker T. Washington High that I found some stability. By then, I had been on puberty blockers and had begun hormone replacement therapy.

High school was where I visibly blossomed, though I still hid in plain sight to protect myself. At that time, representation of girls like me was reduced to caricatures on sensationalized talk shows. I refused to accept that narrative.

I was 17 when my father died, and it fell on me to care for my younger brother. I worked as an exotic dancer to cover our rent and my tuition at Miami Dade College. It was challenging, but I did not break — I broke through.

Today, I’m an advocate — certified event interventionalist, certified recovery peer specialist, paralegal, and aspiring attorney.

I do this work for my community. For my Black and Brown sisters, who have been systemically oppressed, routinely persecuted, and ridiculed for not conforming to Eurocentric beauty standards. For the young trans women blossoming right now, who cannot yet see their own beauty, as I once could not see mine. To break generalizations and curses placed on our community. To change lives.

My testimony is not one of defeat, but precedent. Proof that survival, faith, and advocacy can rewrite the record. 

Angel Perez Duran is a paralegal, Certified Recovery Peer Specialist, and entrepreneur with 17 years of experience. Angel is dedicated to bridging legal support, wellness, and community advocacy. She is passionate about fostering healing and empowerment in the lives of others.