Lucy Hicks Anderson (1886 - 1954) was assigned male at birth but was adamant that she was a girl from a very early age. Luckily for Lucy, her parents and doctors fully supported her gender transition by the time she started school. Her early life was spent happily. She got married and became a renowned chef, preparing dinner parties for the area's elite. After divorcing her husband, she made a living operating a brothel where she also sold liquor during prohibition. She was able to get away with these illegal activities thanks to her reputation as a socialite. In fact, the one time she was arrested for selling liquor, a friend bailed her out because he needed her help with a dinner party he was hosting that very evening. In 1944, she married her second husband, a soldier named Reuben Anderson. The next year, trouble began when a sailor visited her brothel and contracted an STI, leading to an outbreak in the US Navy.

Lucy and all the women working in the brothel were legally required to undergo a medical examination. The exam revealed that Lucy was a transgender woman, and since this was an era where trans people could not have their gender legally recognized, she was charged with perjury for registering as female on her marriage license and put on trial. Her most famous quote comes from that trial: “I defy any doctor in the world to prove that I am not a woman.” She was found guilty and sentenced to ten years probation.

The federal government was not satisfied with probation and, because they no longer recognized the validity of the Andersons' marriage, sent both Lucy and Reuben to prison for Lucy having "fraudulently" collected money allotted to soldiers' wives. While in prison, Lucy was forced to wear male clothes. After their release, the couple moved to Los Angeles where they lived happily until Lucy's death. Today, Lucy is regarded as one of the earliest known African American transgender people.