DNC Trans Delegate Musing

We have one more day to go in this 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, sixty days to go until Election Day. and this DNC convention has been historic in many respects.  

It's the first one ever held in North Carolina and it is the first time we have ever had a Latino give a keynote speech.  I'm happy that San Antonio mayor Julian Castro, the person who made that historic speech is from my home state

The trans community has made history as well with not only our largest DNC delegate contingent ever at 13 people, it is also the most diverse one we have ever sent to any DNC convention.   It's remarkable progress considering that it was only 12 years ago that Jane Fee was the lone representative for our community at the DNC 2000 convention in Los Angeles.

From one solitary trans person in 2000 our numbers increased to six in 2004, eight in 2008 to thirteen in Charlotte out of the nearly 6000 delegates in the Queen City for the DNC. 

But I was reminded when Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado stepped to the podium Monday night and other GL delegates got the chance to speak about their partners of the one thing that didn't happen for our diverse trans delegation.  

We didn't get to see any of our trans delegates speak at the convention podium on the first or second nights of the DNC convention to the delegates in the hall.   It probably won't happen tomorrow night either since that night will belong to Vice President Biden and President Obama as they make their respective acceptance speeches and the convention will draw to a close after they are done..

So when the Democratic party in Charlotte is over and we head back to our different sections of the country to do the work to ensure that President Obama is taking the oath of office on January 20, we transpeeps will still have things to check off on our Own Our Power To Do list.

Besides getting the POTUS reelected, working to elect Democratic House and Senate majorities to help a presidential brother out, we trans people still have work to do in the Democratic Party ranks.   We need to garner inclusive acceptance in the ranks to the point the Democratic Party won't hesitate in terms of selecting a trans speaker to proudly stand in front of a future DNC convention floor with a national TV audience looking on.  

I'm hoping when that 2016 DNC occurs, we'll have more than thirteen delegates in another diverse contingent of transpeople.  

And for those of you who have asked if one of those 2016 transpeople will be yours truly, I'm seriously thinking about it.   Back in 1984 I tried to become a Texas DNC delegate and only made it as far as the state senate district convention level.  

If I'm going to make a serious run at becoming the first ever African-American trans Texan DNC delegate in 2016,  I'll have to get busy on that soon.. 

One of the things I'd like to see in that 2016 DNC transgender delegate contingent besides more people and continued ethnic diversity is that trans DNC delegation in 2016 and beyond include trans people who are elected to public office.  That would be in addition to the trans people already diligently working inside the various levels of the Democratic Party to ensure we have a voice in it at the policy formation tables.

We have four years to work on that trans community, so let's make it happen.