‘They are trying to erase us’ Colorado’s LGBTQ+ community confronts fear with resilience for this year’s Transgender Day of Visibility

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Carol Smith stands on the porch of Denver's Quince Coffee House
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Carol Smith stands on the porch of Denver's Quince Coffee House. March 27, 2025.

Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Carol Smith holds a photo of herself as a little boy in the 1960s, asking Santa Claus if he could be a girl for Christmas. March 27, 2025.

Courtesy: Carol Smith
Carol Smith's work locker before (left) and after President Donald Trump took office.

Courtesy: Carol Smith
A portrait of Carol Smith in 1989, which she said was taken "literally minutes" before she had sex with a man for the first time.

Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Carol Smith sorts through a pile of documents, about her history and the history of trans rights in the U.S., in Denver's Quince Coffee House on March 27, 2025.

Carol Smith sits in Denver's Quince Coffee House on March 27, 2025.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Carol Smith sits in Denver's Quince Coffee House on March 27, 2025.