Lambda Legal Proud to Be Part of Peabody-Winning NPR Special on Transgender Families

(New York, NY – April 21, 2015) – A September 2014 NPR special on transgender families that featured Robina Asti, a 94-year-old transgender woman who worked with Lambda Legal to successfully challenge the Social Security Administration, has won a Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting. Director of Lambda Legal’s Transgender Rights Project, Dru Levasseur, part of the team who represented Asti on her case, today released the following statement.

“We are thrilled that this episode of ‘State of the Re:Union’ on transgender families won a Peabody Award. We couldn’t be more proud that Robina’s story, one of remarkable courage and persistence in the face of systemic discrimination against transgender people, has received this tremendous recognition, and we are delighted that we were able to be part of this story.”

Asti, who was a pilot during World War II, engaged in a long legal struggle with the Social Security Administration (SSA) following the death of her husband, Norwood, in 2012. SSA refused to recognize the legitimacy of Robina and Norwood’s marriage, after it determined that the widow was “legally male” at the time of their marriage, despite all the legal documents to the contrary.

In 2013, Robina reached out to Lambda Legal, who helped her successfully challenge SSA’s discriminatory policy both legally and through a public education campaign that featured a compelling video of Robina’s story, “Flying Solo: A Transgender Widow Fights Discrimination.”  After more than six months of advocacy, Social Security in February 2014 paid Robina her owed back payments. And, in April 2014, SSA changed its policy concerning the treatment of transgender spouses for purposes of survival benefits.

The complete list of 74th annual Peabody Award winners can be found at www.peabodyawards.com/ stories/story/74th-annual-peabody-award-winners.

“Flying Solo: A Transgender Widow Fights Discrimination” can be viewed here.

The Peabody Award-winning episode of State of the Re:Union can be heard here.