In the fall of 2012, Monica Jones, a young, Black, transgender woman living in Phoenix achieved her dream of studying at Arizona State University. Against the odds, she was accepted into the School of Social Work, overcoming barriers such as a learning disability and gender bias discrimination.
Within a few months her life plans were derailed because she spoke out against police brutality at a protest in front of a church where local police were bringing people they had detained as part of citywide raids known as Project ROSE. The day after speaking out publicly on these issues, she herself was arrested by the sting. The film follows her confrontation with the court system, her Constitutional challenge to the statute and resistance to the social work practices that define transgender women as criminal. Using verite footage, news media reports and animation we follow Ms Jones from May of 2012 (1 year before her arrest) until her graduation in 2016. This inspirational story is also a heartfelt journey of triumph over adversity, played out against a backdrop of deep social upheaval for the rights of black people and for those of transgender experience.
Within a few months her life plans were derailed because she spoke out against police brutality at a protest in front of a church where local police were bringing people they had detained as part of citywide raids known as Project ROSE. The day after speaking out publicly on these issues, she herself was arrested by the sting. The film follows her confrontation with the court system, her Constitutional challenge to the statute and resistance to the social work practices that define transgender women as criminal. Using verite footage, news media reports and animation we follow Ms Jones from May of 2012 (1 year before her arrest) until her graduation in 2016. This inspirational story is also a heartfelt journey of triumph over adversity, played out against a backdrop of deep social upheaval for the rights of black people and for those of transgender experience.