The Trans-Free NAACP Town Hall Is History

Yesterday the first ever LGBT Town Hall meeting was held at the 102nd annual NAACP Convention in Los Angeles.   But instead of a groundbreaking event that would have been a watershed moment for the entire African descended rainbow community, it's left hurt feelings in the bi and trans sectors of it and the sense that once again, transpeople don't matter..

That message is even harder to swallow in the wake of a transwoman being killed in Washington D.C.days before the convention started in the historic back yard of the NAACP and her vigil being held the first day of the convention..


When a trans free panel happens, one of the things that we transpeeps are most concerned about is when there are no transpeople at the table, it equals jacked up misinformation about transpeople around and emanating from the table

And that happened at yesterday's NNACP panel.   Ashley Love happened to be in the room and called moderator Don Lemon out on a problematic comment.



The town hall has yet to be archived to the NAACP convention website webcast area and you know I'll be waiting with interest when it does show up so I can see the entire event.

And FYI, it seems the pressure and loud displeasure expressed about our erasure here, across the Net and through our allies has resulted in a promise by Julian Bond to include us at the next LG(bt) town hall meeting at the 2012 NAACP convention.

Yeah, right.  We'll see about that.   We have long memories about just how well organizations keep their promises to African descended transpeople.  


Okay, so we're pissed about being dissed and excluded from this year's GL dominated event.   So what do we do about it going forward?

My first suggestion is join the NAACP.   Since they seem to think we transpeople don't exist, the specter of NAACP membership card carrying transwomen in local NAACP chapters will blow that assumption away immediately.  

Our allies can also help in terms of introducing POC transpeople to any NAACP leaders they personally know. 

I want to make it impossible for the NAACP to ever be in the position in which they feel they can diss us like they did with this event ever again without repercussions.


So who's with me on this?


TransGriot Note: Thanks to Queerty for the graphic of Wanda and Don gracing this post