Mia Yamamoto, 78, did not set out to make history as a transgender trial lawyer.
In fact, as a young person Yamamoto was not even sure that she would finish college.
After getting a degree, she enlisted in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.
After that, she earned a law degree and later worked for the Los Angeles Public Defenders Office.
This is her story.
Its one of the first reported instances of transgender people fighting against oppressive actions.
1993:Minnesota extends the nondiscrimination law to the entire state.
2005:California bars medical insurance companies from denying transgender people health care with the Insurance Gender Nondiscrimination Act.
2008:Stu Rasmussen, of Silverton, Oregon, is elected the nations first openly transgender mayor.
The Obama Administration also rules that Medicare must cover gender-confirmation surgeries.
The same year, Levine became the first openly transgender four-star officer across the countrys eight uniformed services.
Mia Yamamoto:[My first memories are] a recollection of the resettlement fromPoston internment camp.
I certainly experienced a lot of the discrimination.
Because being Japanese was probably the most uncool thing you could imagine in postwar East Los Angeles.
Your early growing up is torture youre trying to fit into a place where you dont fit in.
And you start to believe theres no place for you.
Especially trans kids, because thats a pretty minuscule minority.
I think just being a queer kid is different.
My brothers were tough.
But I will say this, having to fight my brothers really taught me how to fight.
I really learned how to take care of myself on the street.
My grades were really bad, but I did succeed in graduating high school.
Eventually, I graduated L.A. City College and I went to Cal State.
And then I went into the Army becausethe Vietnam Warwas going on.
I came back from the war and I had to do something.
So I went to law school I wanted to do what my dad did.
I wanted to continue his legacy.
He was a member of the NAACP.
He was an ACLU lawyer.
His ideal was to always do the most noble thing, and that was to work for the poor.
I think I still am.
Eventually, I went to the public defenders office.
I needed something to make me want to get up in the morning and needed a sense of purpose.
And the work did that for me.
Working for poor people in the criminal courts gave me a sense of purpose.
