Indya Moore Makes History Again

You've seen them as part of the history making cast of the FX show Pose, and now 24 year old Indya  Moore is making history again as the first out trans person to grace an ELLE magazine cover.

Moore is not only Black Trans Excellence personified,  Moore also uses they them pronouns. 

Despite a challenging childhood and early adulthood, ,it seems that life has now moved into an amazing sweet spot for Moore.   Opportunities are opening up for them as Pose kicks off its second season on June 11.  Moore now  has a major fashion magazine cover to their credit, and made history in the process.

And yes, Moore wants to remind you peeps that they are unapologetically Black, and you need to acknowledge them and the Black trans community.

Sometimes I feel like i have to remind people that I'm black and that makes me feel less black, But yeah! I'm black and I'm trans and I'm here and I think it's important our community acknowledges black trans people because we are murdered countlessly in our own communities. 

I'm not only looking forward to meeting her one day, I'm looking forward to seeing how their character Angel continues to evolve on the show

The ELLE magazine featuring Moore is scheduled to hit your fave newsstands on May 24

Correction: Four Black Women Have Won Major Beauty Pageants In 2019

Been seeing the memes out there that have proudly pointed out that with only the Miss Universe pageant left to be conducted,  Black women in the US have won in succession the Miss Teen USA, Miss America and the Miss USA Universe pageants for the first time ever in the same calendar year.

Major props to 2019 Miss Teen USA winner Kaleigh Garris, Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin and Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst for doing so.   They are all accomplished women and I'm exceedingly proud of all of them snatching crowns in the same calendar year.

Even more impressive, Miss Teen USA Kaleigh Garris did so while rocking a natural hair style.

But people are forgetting the fourth Black woman who also made history by winning a major beauty pageant title this year, and she did so back in March.

Jazell Barbie Royale became the first Black women to ever win the Miss International Queen trans pageant in Thailand.  Her accomplishment was just as historic as the pother women being celebrated, but once again when it comes to Black Trans excellence, the Black community sadly is ignoring it.

Let me repeat for y'all that Black trans women ARE Black women.   When we rise and excel at doing whatever we accomplish, so does the entire Black community.

So what if the Miss International Queen is a pageant for trans women?   No Black woman from the African Diaspora had ever won that pageant in its fifteen year history until this year, and it had been 2005 since the last American woman had won it.

So yes, I would like to see it acknowledged that FOUR Black women have won major pageant titles in the same year.   If no one else will acknowledge that fact, I damned sure will. 

Still Pissed About Zeta Phi Beta Banning Trans Women

I've had a week to think about what happened, and like my Black trans sisters around the country I'm still pissed off about the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc trans ban.

I'm upset not only because this came out of left field, but the news broke as a Black trans woman was beaten in Dallas.

As for the cis folks trying to deflect this outright trans discrimination by saying that we trans people should form our own sororities, or not 'force ourselves into Zeta Phi Beta', miss me with that noise. Saying that smacks of the same separate but unequal song we've heard sung during Jim Crow segregation.

Yes, we Black trans women could (and have) .created our own sorority. But they wouldn't have the gravitas of a Divine Nine one and would take decades to get to that level.   

Two of the four D9 sororities, Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta, are over a century old. The other two, Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Gamma Rho, are approaching their centennial years in 2020 and 2022

The Divine Nine sororities are organizations that collectively have over 500, 000 professional Black and other non-Black cis women in the USA, Canada and around the world in their ranks.  

Divine Nine sorority member are involved in business, sports, media, entertainment, science and technology, the military, politics and government at all levels.  The D9 national and regional conventions are sought after by civic convention bureaus across the country. 

Their national and regional conventions also serve as networking events for their members. .

My mom, sister and several cousins are AKAs. I grew up in a neighborhood surrounded by the pretty girls that wear 20 pearls.   I read my mom's Ivy Leaf magazines when she was done with them. 

When I lived at home I drove Mom to her chapter sorority meetings, and I'm well versed in the history and traditions of. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.  My late godmother was a Sigma Gamma Rho, and I have friends and colleagues I have mad love and respect for in all the D9 sororities.
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But which one would I have pledged if the opportunity had presented itself?    I probably would have pledged AKA.   But there was one problem.  When I was in college, I wasn't in the right body to be considered for membership.

Back to discussing the Zeta trans ban.   It's bull feces, it reeks of transphobia  and is extremely infuriating.  There is no justification for banning qualified out Black trans women who are down with the culture and history of D9 sororities.   If it is that trans woman's wish to join and be part of writing their next chapters of service and legacy to the Black community , that trans woman should have the option of doing so, and the chapter in question should have the option of accepting her as a member or not..

What pisses Black Trans World off even more is knowing that  Zeta Phi Beta bans trans women, but would have no problem admitting a qualified white cis women or other non Black cis woman in their sacred circles.   But since you made it clear you don't want us, your loss.    You'll miss out on some amazing women that another D9 sorority will hopefully be wise enough to admit into their ranks

The ban is not only ignorant on its face, it is discriminatory and dehumanizing.   It also sends a negative message to us and Black trans feminine kids that trans people aren't wanted by your organization that claims to be diverse and welcoming. 

The Zeta Phi Beta trans ban not only makes TERF's and evilgelicals smile, it also reinforces the stereotype that Black cis people are more transphobic and homophobic than other ethnic groups.
The sad part is I know some amazing people who are members of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.   And news flash for you transphobes,  some of them are trans. 

I hope the people who support us inside the organization are doing what they can to point out just how transphobic and disastrous this looks to the outside world.

May The 4th Be With Me

Happy birthday to moi.   May the Fourth be with me always.

Easy for everyone to remember my birthday because it has now become synonymous with Star Wars Day.

My Megabus ride from Houston took an hour and a half longer to make the drive between Austin and San Antonio down I-35 because of torrential rains and flash flooding erupting in the Austin area just as the bus arrived here for H-town and Katy Mills Mall around 6 PM   

It was also an annoying ride after we left the ATX Megabus station because the auto emergency weather alerts were going off on twenty plus phones including mine at different times during the slog to San Antonio.

Nevertheless, the driver's determination to get there paid off and I and my fellow passengers finally made it to the Alamo City to celebrate my birthday.

I'm hanging out with my homegirl Ashley Smith at her place, and we plan on hitting Wayne's Wings  later today so I can sample their cuisine.

It's a three year old establishment owned by my homegirl Jessica Zyrie's father, and it has as rated by several orgs the best wings in Texas.  About to find out in a few hours if that's the case.

I'm also here to see if Frankie Gonzales Wolfe makes history when I get to check out her campaign watch party later tonight.

But first things first, I  need some beauty sleep. 

Moni Is Going To San Antonio!

Going to San Antonio for the second time this year, and this time it's for two purposes.

May 4 is election day here in the Lone Star State.  San Antonio, Dallas and other municipalities across the state will have elections on that day. 

One of the election campaigns I'm watching is a San Antonio city council race which pits Frankie Gonzales Wolfe against an incumbent council member in District 8.

If Wolfe wins, she would become the first trans Texan elected to public office in the Lone Star State, and possibly the first out trans Latina elected nationally to any office.  I definitely want to be there to witness that history should it happen.

It goes without saying that I enthusiastically endorse Frankie Gonzales Wolfe for that San Antonio city council seat

May 4 is also my birthday and I wanted to do something on my birthday this year besides chilling in my apartment.   

So that's just a few of the reasons why I'll be spending it on the San Antonio end of I-10.   I hope I'll have a lot to celebrate before that day is over.     

Why Y'all Want To Change Texas Judicial Elections Now, TXGOP?

Over the last 25 years the Texas Republican party has gleefully celebrated as they took over the state judiciary in large part because of partisan judicial elections.

In 2018, that script flipped in a major way.   In addition to being eviscerated from 59 judicial benches in Harris County (Houston), the TXGOP lost 22 benches in Bexar County (San Antonio), seven in suburban Fort Bend County and saw four Texas Court of Appeals districts serving Austin, Houston (which has two districts serving it) and Dallas flip to Democratic control.    The Texas Democrats also gained majorities on half of the state's 14 appeals court districts 

Can you say TXGOP panic?   Thought you could. 

Because the state of Texas is finally starting to show signs of turning purple because it has been since 2009 majority non-white in population, now all of a sudden the Texas Republican Party wants to change the way judges are elected in the Lone Star State,

The Republicans still have control of all nine seats on the Texas Supreme Court but SCOTX Chief Justice Nathan Hecht is calling for changes in the way that elects its judges.

Waah, cry me a river.   After using the GOP run Texas judiciary to roll back or stymie progressive policies and laws passed in Texas cities, now y'all mad that the political pendulum is swinging back in the direction of Texas Democrats. 

It's also the diversity of the judges bothering the TXGOP more than the fact they are now on the losing end of these judicial elections.  You're also big mad that with those Texas Democratic judicial wins also comes more diversity to the bench.   

In Harris County for example, we not only saw 17 African American women elected to the bench, we also saw our first ever Pakistani American female judge get elected in Rabeea Collier.

And naw TXGOP, it wasn't all straight ticket voting that was responsible for your disastrous election night.   That the fake news you told yourselves and your followers, but the reality is that your party is viewed by nonwhite Texans as racist and hostile to us.

In 2018 we decided to do something about that by bumrushing the polls is massive numbers across the state to throw you TXGOP bums out of power.   Didn't hurt that Beto O'Rourke was running for the US Senate against Rafael Cruz either.

The Texas electorate is changing to reflect the diversity of the state, and we want our judicial benches to reflect that diversity. 

So Texas GOP judges, it's either respond to the inevitable demographic changes that have been taking place in the Lone Star State since 2009, or continue to suffer the electoral consequences in 2020 and beyond.

Will We Have A Trans Miss Norway Universe?

If you're wondering if there will be ever another trans woman gracing the Miss Universe stage in the wake of Spain's Angela Ponce doing so, the answer to that question is maybe.

We have already had two trans women in this Miss Universe 2019 competition cycle attempt to do so in Brazil and Puerto Rico,  but neither advanced to their national pageant stages. 

Nathalie Oliveira competed in the Miss Rio de Janeiro Universe pageant back in January.   While she was a first runner up at the 2016 Miss International Queen trans pageant in Pattaya, Thailand,  she failed to advance to the Miss Brazil pageant stage.

The same was the case for Puerto Rico's Daniela Arroyo.   She got a callback for the Miss Puerto Rico Universe pageant, but wasn't selected as one of the final 29 contestants. 

The latest trans woman who will attempt to win her nation's Miss Universe pageant crown is Norway's Eirin Grinde Tunheim.

The 26 year old is of Thai, Cambodian heritage, and is a dental student who speaks five languages.



She is the first out trans person to make the 12 person field that selects Norway's representative in the Miss Universe Pageant. 

The Miss Norway Universe pageant finals will take place in August, and we will learn at that time if Eirin makes history again by becoming the first trans Miss Norway and the second out trans woman to be able to compete in the Miss Universe pageant.

Good luck to Eirin, and hope she does grace the Miss Universe 2019 stage later this year.   I also hope she goes farther in the competition and actually makes the 15 semifinalists.

Testifying For HB 1513

Been resting after spending  ten days away from Houston for BTAC and another trip to state capitol to testify in favor of a trans positive bill.

After the 9 AM CDT press conference, I spent  the rest of the day visiting a few House and senate offices to kill time before the 2 PM scheduled start of the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee meeting was scheduled to start. 

But because we're mercifully getting close to the end of this Texas legislative session, the House session didn't adjourn until 6 PM, with the committee meeting not starting until 6:30 PM

By the time I and Claire Bow, Danielle Skidmore, Ash Hall, and Leslie McMurry finally got to testify it was two hours later. 

Only one hater from Texas Values showed up, but it wasn't who I expected.   Instead of Jonathan Saenz doing his hatemongering personally, he sent a Black woman to try and fail do the job.

Sadly, the bill was left pending in committee despite our compelling testimony as to why trans Texans should be added to the Byrd hate Crimes Act.   That means if it doesn't pass out of committee and by the full House by Friday, it dies for this session. 

While I'm disappointed by that result,  Rep Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) has made it clear he will introduce that bill when the next session takes place in 2021.

And I and my Texas trans community will be there in force when it's time to testify in favor of it

Moni's Back In Austin Again!

While BTAC 2019 concluded yesterday, still couldn't go home just yet.   I hopped a Megabus from Dallas down I-35 to come to Austin for the fifth time this session.

An opportunity presented itself to go on legislative offense for a change when I was notified that HB 1513 was scheduled for a hearing in the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee today.

HB 1513 would add gender identity and expression to the Texas James Byrd Hate Crimes Law, and it is something that is long overdue.

It's authored by Rep Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) with Reps Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas), Jessica Gonzalez (D-Dallas) and Ron Reynolds (D-Missouri City)  signing on as co-authors

I came to the ATX after BTAC ended because there's a 9 AM CDT press conference being held by Rep Coleman that I'm speaking at this morning.    I'll also be signing up to testify in favor of the bill when it has its scheduled hearing at 2 PM in the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.

The committee is chaired by Rep. Nicole Collier (D-Ft Worth) with her Vice Chair being Rep Bill Zedler (R-Arlington)

The members of House Jurisprudence are Reps Keith Bell (R-Forney), Jessica Gonzalez (D-Dallas), Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi), Phil King (R-Weatherford), Joe Moody (D-El Paso), Andrew Murr (R-Junction), and Rep. Leo Pacheco  (D-San Antonio)   

You may wish to call their offices and politely ask them to vote in favor of HB 1513.    I'll do my best to make the case when the hearing starts at 2 PM CDT in room E2.112 why they should do so.

That hearing will be broadcast, and you can check it out on the Texas House legislative website.