To celebrate Pride Month, the City of Golden Valley is highlighting various individuals and their contributions to the LGBTQIA2S+ community.
Andrea Jenkins made history in 2017 as the first openly trans African American woman elected to public office in the United States. Her journey into Minnesota politics began in 2001, when she successfully campaigned for Minneapolis City Council Candidate Robert Liligren and later served as an aide to City Council member Elizabeth Gidden.
Jenkins’s dedication to transgender issues led to groundbreaking achievements, including winning the Bush Fellowship (dedicated to transgender issues) in 2011. She also helped establish the Transgender Issues Work Group and organized a City Council summit on transgender equality, both in 2014.
After 12 years as a staff member for Minneapolis City Council, Jenkins embarked on curating the Transgender Oral History Project at the University of Minnesota’s Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection.
Today, the City honors Andrea Jenkins for her unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety, visibility, and respect of transgender visibility.