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> Kiya (Mack) Morton
 Courage in the Face of Discrimination
KIYA (Mack) MORTON, 20, born a biological male child to teenage parents in urban Philadelphia, was beaten and emotionally abused by older relatives throughout her childhood. Her mother found out she was gay and sent Kiya to a mental institution, which drugged her to make her straight. After several attempts to escape, she ran away for good and at the age of 15 began life as a sex worker, while transitioning to become a girl. Arrested for prostitution, she was placed in a series of group homes, forced back to being a boy, and finally sent to a juvenile detention center, where she was physically and sexually assaulted by the prison staff. She finally escaped the system by claiming she was suicidal. Once out, she protested to the state's Commissioner of Juvenal Justice about the treatment of transgender people in the state foster care and prisons. Due in part to her efforts, that specific juvenile detention center was shut down and the state incorporated new guidelines for the treatment of all LGBT youth in state care. Kiya continues to be a tireless advocate for these rights and hopes through study to become a professional photographer.
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