5. Rizi Xavier Timane
He used to be a woman. Born in Lagos Nigeria.
Now living in the US as Rizi Xavier Timane, a man.
In an interview with Ebony, he reflects on his journey to living his truth, and the burden that comes with doing it in a country (US) that doesn’t value ‘Black men’.
Here what he has to say;
I was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and I was assigned the female gender at birth. Both of these facts amounted to one thing: I had no power, no respect, and no privilege, nor would I have much of any of these throughout my life. Add in that I came from a less than wealthy family and was, for all intents and purposes, a lesbian, and I became a truly invisible human being; when I wasn’t being ridiculed or abused, I basically did not exist.
