It’s been a long day for Laverne Cox. We’re sitting in a windowless room at the MTV offices in Times Square, the last in a series of back-to-back interviews that began with an appearance on The View and included a trending Twitter chat. After our meeting she’s to be whisked away to Chicago to speak at an event for Chicago House, an agency that assists individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDs, homelessness and LGBT marginalization. Then she’ll return to New York to help turn the lights of the Empire State Building purple for Spirit Day, in support of LGBT youth.

Today we’re here to talk about Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word (premiering Oct. 17 on MTV and Logo TV)—a documentary project she and producing partner Eric Miclette have been trying to get off the ground for nine years.

Uploaded By: Logo TV

No doubt, Cox’s newfound status as an Emmy-nominated actress and transgender icon has helped push the project over the finish line. But the truth is, Cox has long been active in LGBT advocacy—and as her star has risen, so has her visibility. Now, as one of the trans community’s most recognizable advocates, she admits it has placed a certain weight on her shoulders.

“I am one person and I am telling my story and I’m trying to elevate the stories of other trans people as well and that is my job,” she says. “But I can’t speak for an entire community; I wouldn’t dare try to speak for our very diverse community. It’s a lot of pressure. It’s a huge responsibility, but for me it’s about elevating other voices and speaking the names of people who have inspired me.”

This is exactly what she’s doing with The T Word, which follows seven young trans people as they share their personal histories and go about their lives.

The documentary touches on issues unique to trans individuals—such as the story of Kye, 24, who recounts what it was like to be the first trans Division One basketball player in the U.S.—and others that resonate with everyone, such as Avery, 20, and Ari, 18, who discuss their difficulties navigating the dating scene.

“I was jealous, honestly, that she got to live her tween years as a little girl, which I didn’t get to do.”

However, the film’s subjects encounter hurdles not faced by the cisgender community. Perhaps most impactful is the story of Daniella: A 20-year-old in the Bronx, she talks about living on the street and the sexual assault and police profiling she’s endured. She brings a human face to a broader truth—the disproportionate violence and discrimination facing trans women of color.

“When trans women of color are profiled, I mean the reality is that black people are just profiled, right? So they’re being profiled partly because they’re black, but then they’re being profiled as sex workers because they’re women and because they’re trans,” says Cox. “It’s at the intersection of these multiple identities that we’re finding this kind of discrimination and persecution. We have to be able to look through an intersectional lens to humanize these folks and critically change hearts and minds, and then public policy will follow.”

Though Daniella, and everyone we meet, has a definite resilience, 12-year-old Zoey is especially remarkable. The confident and articulate middle-schooler says that without the backing of her family she probably would have killed herself, and now we see that she is thriving.

As Cox explains, living in your truth can be lifesaving and life-affirming, and Zoey is proof of that.

“I met Zoey for the first time in June of 2013. I met her and her mom, and she was just bubbly and delightful,” says Cox. She adds with a smile, “I was jealous, honestly, that she got to live her tween years as a little girl, which I didn’t get to do, and that she had this amazing family support.”

Laverne Cox was honored with lighting the Empire State Building purple to mark National Bullying Prevention Month. Brad Barket/Getty Images, Quinde

Cox is especially proud to be telling diverse stories that cross the spectrum of trans experiences, explaining that trans people have been visible for a long time, but not always in affirming ways that represented their humanity.

“Trans people have been on TV talk shows, for example, daytime talk shows since the mid-’70s, but it was spectacle,” she says.

She adds that the documentary gives a voice to those who have traditionally been underrepresented—something she thinks should happen more, especially in organizations that are meant to represent the LGBT community.

“My activist sister, Lordes Ashley Hunter, says very boldly that if you are an LGBT organization and you do not have trans women of color in positions of power, then you’re part of the problem,” she says. “But I think it’s not enough just to have someone, because tokenism is rampant in this country. It’s not just enough to have a person of color or a person who’s trans, but a person who has that perspective and is thinking in a really oppositional way and a way that’s really inclusive and a way that really speaks to the issues.”

The documentary Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word airs Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. on MTV and Logo.