Thirty years ago it was practically unheard of for a major African American publication and an African American trans woman to work together. That is unless you're JET Magazine and Ajita Wilson. Wilson, a transgender woman who completed her transition in the mid 1970s, was an actress with an international cult following for her work in foreign films.
She would later become a JET Beauty of the Week, appearing in the magazine's 1981 August 20th issue. Her status as a transgender woman was not acknowledged until after her death in 1987.
(h/t Monica Roberts at TransGriot )