Tavares Spencer Trial-Guilty!

Looks like the attempted use of the 'trans panic' defense by his defense team failed.

Tavares Spencer was found guilty in a Tampa courtroom today of all charges including attempted 1st-degree murder, robbery with a firearm, attempted 2nd-degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated battery in the shooting of Coko McDonald.

As soon as I find out when Spencer will be sentenced and what that sentence is, I'll definitely post it to the blog.

Attention TDOR Organizers-Unite With Us

TransGriot Note:  I definitely approve of this message from BTMI-BTWI

Attention TDOR Ceremony Organizers - Unite With Us! Invite and Include Black and Latino Trans people in your programming. Let THEIR VOICE be heard!

Thank you to the many TDOR Ceremony organizers for organizing TDOR services around the world on November 20 in acknowledgment of Transgender Day of Remembrance. Black & Latino Trans women are on each TDOR list every year at an overwhelming amount so for this reason there should always be a voice from this community invited in your programming every year. Celebrate Trans Lives!

TDOR directly affects the black Trans community. TDOR for our black Trans community is a time of memorial, spiritual and community support and activism. We are asking TDOR organizers to be mindful of what TDOR means to our community and frame your TDOR Ceremony where it is always inclusive of Trans people in African American & Latino American communities. Remember Our Deaths!

Look at your current TDOR program. Are you finished planning your ceremony? How many Black & Latino Trans women do you have as speakers? Are you paying for TDOR keynote speakers? How many of them are Black or Latino? Have you invited the families affected by TDOR to your ceremony, are they included? If you are raising money to "fund" TDOR ceremonies how many Black & Latino families benefit from this fund? How many Black & Latino Americans do you anticipate participating in your ceremony? How have your reached out to this community to ensure that they are invited to attend? The ceremonies should speak to the community it affects! Give Black & Latino Trans people a place for their voice to be heard.

Activism around TDOR also calls for continued support of black and Latino Trans communities. We need stronger alliances that will help to prevent disparities faced by trans communities including violence and the number of crimes committed against our community. End Trans Violence! Build with Black Trans Advocacy.

Having trouble in reaching the Black Trans Community? Black Trans Advocacy is represented nationally and you may access our community through our Black Transmen Inc, Black Transwomen Inc and Black Trans International Pageantry networks.

Need more help? You may partner with us directly or as a TDOR Unite! partner and use the TDOR Unite! logo in your programming as a sign of support for unity around the concern of violence against women and transgender people -- and that particular targeting of transgender women of color that is so evident on November 20 each year.

Thank you again for hosting TDOR in your local community. We need you and depend on you to help unite our community and to advance our mission of equality, advocacy, empowerment and social change.

Invite and Include Black and Latino Trans people in your programming. Let THEIR VOICE be heard!

2013 TransGriot NFL Predictions Week 9

We're now starting the second half of the NFL season and the NFL prognostication contest between me, Mike and Eli continues. 

Last week birthday boy Mike was happy that he'd finally caught up with Eli after that hot start and Eli obviously cooling off for several weeks.

But Eli awakened out of that prognostication slumber with a vengeance as he nearly had a perfect week, with the only game he misfired on being the Philadelphia-NY Giants one. 

I rebounded from my lousy Week 7 to go 9-4 in the games that were played last weekend.  Meanwhile, hoping my fave NFL team does the same when they come out of their bye week to play the Indianapolis Colts with the bright lights of the NBC TV cameras coming to Reliant Stadium. 

And since Texans head coach Gary Kubiak has now handed the starter's job to Keenum that he earned against Kansas City, that means this game will not only be his first start at Reliant Stadium.in front of the home fans, it'll be Case Keenum's NBC Sunday Night Football debut.

And yep, it's fitting that's also Battle Red night    Eat 'em up...er Go Texans!

So time to pick the Week 9 Games.   Once again since there are six teams enjoying their bye week, only 13 games to select.  My picks as usual in underlined bold print, Mike's and Eli's are here.

Week 8 Results
TransGriot     9-4
Eli Blake        12-1
Mike Watts    9-4

2013 Season Record
TransGriot      69-51
Eli                  81-39
Mike              78-42 

NFL Week 9
Bye Teams  Arizona, Denver, Detroit, Jacksonville, NY Giants, San Francisco 

Thursday Night Game
Cincinnati at Miami

Sunday Noon Games
Atlanta at Carolina
Minnesota at Dallas
New Orleans at NY Jets
Tennessee at St Louis
Kansas City at Buffalo
San Diego at Washington

Sunday Afternoon Games
Philadelphia at Oakland
Tampa Bay at Seattle
Baltimore at Cleveland
Pittsburgh at New England

Sunday Night Game
Indianapolis at Houston

Monday Night Game
Chicago at Green Bay

Happy Trans National Holiday 2013!

Happy Trans National Holiday, or what the rest of you cisgender peeps recognize as Halloween. 

It's what I sometimes call this day because of the drag balls that used to happen in Chicago, New York, New Orleans and even here in Houston that drew attendance in the hundreds and thousands and were eagerly anticipated events. . 

It's also the one day on the calendar except during Mardi Gras when society doesn't trip about gender bending costumes, female illusionists or trans people walking the streets.

It's the rest of the year that's the problem. 

Before I transitioned I used to eagerly circle this day on the calendar and assemble what I was going to wear, and what LGBT clubs in Montrose I was going to hit with the efficiency of Gen Schwartzkopf planning Desert Storm.

It's probably why post transition I'm not as into the Trans National Holiday as I used to be before 1994. 

It's raining here in H-town as I compile this post, and I hope it slacks off so the kids can at least go out and get their trick-or-treating done. Then again, maybe I don't because it's Thursday night, and y'all know what show comes on tonight. 

Note to you in H-town, if you ring my doorbell after 9 PM CDT in search of candy,  it won't be answered because I'll be munching on leftover candy, writing when the mood hits me and watching Scandal. 

Speaking of writing, here's some of my past TransGriot Halloween themed scribblings for your perusal.


As for the big kids, my homegirl Vanity Wilde already held her annual Halloween party last weekend. 

She probably still has her transformations business locale  decorated in spooktactular fashion for tonight.

I suspect since it is Trans National Holiday, she's going to be busy working her makeover magic on all her clients who booked her today so they can put their gender best foot forward later tonight.     

So if the TransGriot were going out tonight in costume, who would she be dressed as? 

My top five would be Olivia Pope, our FLOTUS, a supermodel, Miss Universe and a WNBA ballplayer.

That's a thought for next year.  The costume stores are cleaned out at this point and  I have every intention of being on the couch tonight and chilling as I wait for the latest episode of my fave show to start.

But for those of you who are going out tonight as your fave characters or your true selves, Happy Trans National Holiday!  

LA Fitness Hates On A Transwoman

One of my not so fond memories of one of my frequent non-rev trips to Los Angeles in the late 90's was when I flew out there as soon as my gate shift was over at 9 PM on Wednesday to spend two of my three consecutive off days hanging out with my homegirl Seni.

But unfortunately on that particular trip my flight got delayed due to a cold front passing through the Houston area.  It not only cooled the temps off in the IAH area, it created dense fog that dropped visibility enough to create lengthy ATC delays into and out of IAH because at that time it only had four runways  

By the time we finally took off  to do the 3 plus hour flight to Los Angeles my 12 AM Pacific time arrival in LAX became a 2 AM one.   Me thinking I'd be able to make up that sleep I lost on the trip to the Left Coast was cruelly shattered when Seni woke my peacefully slumbering butt up to accompany her to her nearby LA Fitness gym for a workout.  

I was so pissed off that when I hit the Stairmaster in that near Beverly Hills area location I was stomping my pissivity out on it for 20 minutes before I realized it was set to be much harder than I normally liked and my legs reminded me of it a few minutes later when they cramped up. 

That trip down Moni Memory Lane was generated because of the story that TransGriot reader Jazmine Brockington sent me concerning transwoman Yanel Valenzuela.  

She was allegedly told after she revealed her trans status to an LA Fitness employee in an effort to get workout advice specific to her situation she could no longer use the women's locker room.  

The cis female manager at the Montclair, CA location  (located at 9385 Monte Vista Ave in case anybody in the LA area wants to organize a picket of it)  told a stunned Valenzuela she could no longer use the women's locker room.   The manager was also unmoved when Valenzuela produced her carry letter from her gender therapist and herCalifornia DL with the F in the gender code area. 



“It gave me emotional stress,” Valenzuela told reporters. “I don’t think it was fair... I felt hurt because I don’t understand why she did it. She had no reason. She had no complaints from anyone."

According to news reports in the area LA Fitness is aware of the situation but has no comment   And note to that transphobic cis female manager:  In California trans people are a protected class under the state's anti-discrimination laws.

"I hope this never happens to anybody again because it’s not fair for me to be disrespected in front of clients and members that come here,” Valenzuela said. 

So do I Ms. Valenzuela.  And hope you give Lambda Legal's LA office a call while you're at it. 

And it is because of situations like this why I go straight the hell off when some cis person, especially from the GLB community tries to suggest we pass half-assed trans human rights laws (Massachusetts) that don't have public accommodations language in them. 
 

Second Person Arrested In Vivian Diego Assault Case

The Los Angeles Police Department has announced they have arrested the second of the four suspects involved in the vicious early morning May 31 beating of transwoman Vivian Diego on Hollywood Boulevard near Vine Street..

21 year old Samuel Garunts was arrested October 23 and according to LAPD officer Drake Madison has been a person of interest in the investigation for some time according to an LA Times report by Ari Bloomekatz and Robert Lopez 

 21 year old Nicol Shakhnazaryan was arrested June 20 and charged with battery with serious bodily injury and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury.  He has pled not guilty to those felony charges.   

Two down, two to go.  

LAPD investigators have set up a special email account, hollywoodcrimetips@gmail.com, for anyone to contact them or provide information.   In addition, anyone with information about the attack on Ms. Diego can contact LAPD's Hollywood Area Detective Division at (213) 972-2967 or (877) LAPD-24-7 during non-business hours or weekends.

And yes I'll be keeping tabs on this Left Coast case until justice is served.

Houston Rockets Start 2013-14 NBA Season Tonight

Since the Texans are having a less than stellar season and the Dynamo don't start their MLS playoff run until tomorrow night,  the eyes of Houston's sports fans are turning toward Toyota Center and what we are anticipating to be a very successful and entertaining season in the wake of the signing of Dwight Howard from the LA Fakers Lakers.

So are the networks who cover the NBA, because the Rockets are scheduled for 20 national telecasts this year.

Y'all can keep on hatin' LA.  He's on our end of I-10 not yours.  And yeah, he does look good in a Rockets uniform.

This highly anticipated season for my fave NBA ballers gets launched later tonight against the Charlotte Bobcats.  We're not expecting to make it to the NBA Finals a few months form now but if they get 55 wins, a top 4 seed in the Western Conference and out of the first round of the NBA Western Conference playoffs we'll consider it a success.   It they exceed that, even better.

And yeah Laker fans, we're looking forward to November 7, when your NBA franchise has to bring their butts to Toyota Center.
 
TransGriot Update:  Dwight Howard sure did look good scoring 17 points and yanking down 26 rebounds as the Rockets won their season opener 96-83 over the Charlotte Bobcats

Tavares Spencer Trial-Coko Takes The Stand

The question was asked by the Tampa media if Coko McDonald would testify against her attacker or even be there in the audience as the Tavares Spencer trial started yesterday. 

Well, she did.  Sis was looking good as she described the events of that horrific April 9 day. 




And yeah, not a surprise to me that Spencer's defense attorneys are already trying to deploy the 'trans panic' defense.   They actually claimed that since McDonald made sexual advances toward their client, the now 17 year old teen felt scared for his life and shot her.

WTF?   Just another sterling example of why the 'trans panic' defense needs to be banned and consigned to the legal ash heap. 

Gee, I hope the jury didn't buy those woof tickets the defense attorney was selling, but then again, we have previous experience with Florida juries buying bull feces laden defense cases up the road in Sanford, FL. .  

The Spencer trial is expected to wrap up by the end of the week.

Andrey Bridges Trial Starts In Cleveland

TransGriot readers, here's another trial for us to keep our eyes on to see if the deceased trans person and all who loved them gets justice.

The murder trial of 36 year old Andrey Bridges, who is accused of killing 20 year old Cemia Dove Acoff began on Tuesday in Cleveland.  He is charged with aggravated murder, kidnapping, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse.

Bridges has a long and violent criminal history that includes felonious assault and four stints in prison.  He was on probation in 2010 to Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Hollie L. Gallagher for one of those assault charges according to Cleveland.com when he was arrested in connection to the Acoff case.

And guess who the presiding judge is in this case?  

According to the report by the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Rachel Dissell, Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Brian Radigan briefly described for the jury how Dove's body was found and how police used taxi cab call records to link Bridges to the crime. He didn't present a motive but said witnesses would tell the story as the trial unfolded.  

Defense attorney Henry Hilow told jurors that there had been a lot of talk and conjecture about what the case was about. He asked the jurors to consider evidence and witness testimony, not theories.
"We're not here to create false impressions," he said. "It's about fact."

Well, Mr. Hilow, the fact is that a 20 year old person is no longer on this planet, and the evidence points to your client being the reason that's the case.  

But as I know from almost 20 years of being Moni and 15 years of trans activism, murder trials involving trans feminine victims, especially transfeminine victims of color sometimes have not so just endings.

I'm still concerned the blatant demonizing misgendering of Ms Acoff gleefully engaged in earlier this year by the Cleveland Plain Dealer may still have an effect on the jury pool that was empaneled yesterday

The jury in the Bridges trial has been selected, and they are taking a trip out to the Olmstead Township, OH crime scene that will be the focus of this case.

Let's just hope justice is served when they return to the courtroom, hear all of the evidence presented in this case by the prosecutors and defense attorneys and render their verdict.

Evon Young Trial Update II

As I promised you TransGriot readers, I was going to be keeping track of developments in the various trials of the five people, Victor Stewart, Ashanti Mcalister, Billy R. Griffin, Ron Joseph Allen, and Devin L. Seaberry who were arrested and charged with the murder of 22 year old transmasculine rapper Evon 'Yung LT' Young.

Young went missing on New Year's Day and it is suspected that after the alleged perpetrators killed him and disposed of the body in a dumpster, his remains ended up in a Menomonee Falls, WI landfill which was searched for 13 days but the body was never recovered.

Now to update the judicial scorecard for you in the search for justice for Evon Young..   

23 year old Devin Seaberry pled guilty to a lesser charge of second degree reckless homicide on July 2 in return for their testimony against Griffin, Mcalister and Allen.   Seaberry was supposed to be sentenced October 17 but as of yet haven't discovered what his punishment was. 

Same story for 27 year old Victor Stewart.  He pled guilty June 5 to second degree reckless homicide in exchange for his testimony against Griffin, Mcalister and Allen and was supposed to be sentenced July 23.     
26 year old Billy Griffin, whose first trial ended in a hung jury on June 17, was arraigned on first degree intentional homicide charges and his retrial is set to start in November.

19 year old Ashanti Mcalister was found guilty of first degree intentional homicide on June 27, and was sentenced on September 12 to life imprisonment.   He'll be eligible for parole in 2066.  

The trial of 37 year old Ron Allen was supposed to start on October 7, but haven't discovered as of this writing whether it started on that date or was rescheduled for a later date.

Will continue to keep an eye on how things are transpiring in Milwaukee until all the people who are being tried in this care are tried and our fallen trans brother and all who loved him receive justice.  

Ben Hall Comes Out Of The Closet Against Houston LGBT Rights

For those of you who have perused my posts about the Houston city elections that are now in the early voting phase, you know I have not been a fan of former Houston city attorney Ben Hall, who is the leading challenger in current Mayor Annise Parker's quest for getting her third and final term as Houston's mayor.

He was trailing her in the last poll done on the race by double digits, but unless she polls more than 50% of the ballots cast in the early voting and November 5 ballot casting, it will go to a December runoff and he would probably be the person she faces in it.

Now I have another reason to not want this man sitting in the chair as my hometown's mayor.  If he were elected, he would become only the second African-American ever in Houston history to do so.

And he's not the person I want making that history.  Ben Hall's campaign literature claims he's for all of us living in the Houston city limits, unless you're a TBLG Houstonian.

Hall just confirmed in an interview on the KUHF-FM radio show Houston Matters what I point blank asked him at a mayoral candidate forum on October 14.  He is not only NOT in favor of adding sexual orientation and gender identity language to the city's non-discrimination policy,  Hall took it a step further and said he would repeal Executive Order 150, the one issued by Mayor Lee Brown that protects SGL city employees from discrimination.

Mayor Parker added trans city workers to Executive Order 150 coverage in 2010.

I'm not surprised he's coming out of the closet as a LGBT rights oppressor. He told me to my face at that candidate forum that he opposed it (and gave me a BS reason why) when I asked him at that mayoral forum I wrote. 

He flip-flopped from the municipal candidate questionnaire answers that he gave to the Harris County Democratic Party when he was seeking their endorsement in which he answered he would support a non-discrimination ordinance for all Houstonians, including those in the LGBT community.

Hall also failed to sit down with both the Houston Stonewall Young Democrats and the Houston
GLBT Political Caucus when those organizations were screening municipal candidates.

So how surprising is it to me or the Parker campaign that Piney Point Ben is caught in another situation in which his deeds don't match his lofty rhetoric?  

And FYI, in the KUHF-FM radio interview,  when a homophobic man called in to announce indignation towards Mayor Parker for offering protections to transgender Houstonians, Hall joined in on the hate by announcing that, in his opinion, it was unacceptable for transgendered people who are “anatomically another gender” to be treated as anything but the anatomical gender. Further, he doubled down on the prejudice by fully opposing a non-discrimination ordinance, calling homosexuality a “lifestyle choice.”

And you of all people who prosecuted discrimination cases for the city should know better. 

Okay Piney Point Ben, it's on like Donkey Kong now.  I'm not only not going to accept trans human rights crumbs in my hometown, I will fight tooth and nail against any rollback of the meager rights trans Houstonians employed by the city have courtesy of Executive Order 150 now.

So yeah, H-town trans and SGL community, y'all know what to do.  Handle your electoral business in the remaining early voting period and on November 5 to ensure Ben Hall  is not the person taking the oath of office for mayor in the Wortham Theater this January.  

Lynda Carter Interview On MSNBC

I have loved Lynda Carter ever since I saw her playing Wonder Woman back in 1975.  The fact she is a Latina was a bonus.

She's a huge ally for the TBLG community and liberal- progressive causes, and isn't shy about speaking her mind like she did back in October 2008, when the wingers were trying to portray Caribou Barbie as her famous alter ego and she quickly put that to rest.

She was recently interviewed on Thomas Roberts' MSNBC show, and what she said about the political discourse in Washington DC and Fox Noise viewers will probably have them attacking her in 5...4...3...2...1...

Anyway, for your enjoyment, the October 24 MSNBC interview with Thomas Roberts

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

'Houston Beauty' Preview

Franklin Beauty Schools have been an iconic part of Houston's African American community for almost a century.  It is the oldest beauty school in the country, having opened its doors in 1915 and been run by the Jemison family that founded it for the 98 years it has been in business in H-town.

If you are getting your hair done, cut or styled in H-town or this area, chances are that it's a Franklin Beauty School student or alum that has done so

As a matter of fact I live down the street from one of the two locations and pass it on a regular basis on my way into downtown or home.   I frequently see its purple clad students either getting on or off the bus enroute to their classes to get their Texas cosmetology or barber's licenses.  

I'm not usually a fan of reality TV shows, but in this case because it's featuring a historic Houston business, I may have to break down and watch the sneak peek episode tomorrow of Houston Beauty on OWN at 9 PM CDT.   

And yes, one of the reasons I'm watching in addition to getting a peek inside this iconic part of Houston and checking out the legendary Glenda 'Ms. J' Jemison is to see the story of Mia, one of the trans students attending the school and how it plays out.

I'm hoping Mia's has a positive ending and looking forward to checking out Houston Beauty when the show starts its season on November 2.

MAJOR! IndieWire Project Of The Month Voting Has Started

You helped MAJOR! get funded.  You helped it win IndieWire's October Project of the Week.  Now the voting has started on IndieWire for October Project of the Month, and you once again get the opportunity to help Annalise and StormMiguel get another step closer to making this documentary film a reality. 

The voting for October Project of the Month has started and will happen until 5 PM EDT (2 PM PDT) on November 1. It only takes a few seconds and doesn't cost you anything, so please consider it. We need all hands on deck to ensure that MAJOR! emerges victorious once again.

If MAJOR! wins October Project of the Month, it means that Annalise and StormMiguel get a creative consultation with the Tribeca Film Institute!     

Happy Milestone Birthday Mr Watts!

Had to take a moment to give a TransGriot milestone birthday shoutout to my fellow Texan on his Big 3-0 birthday.

Many of you TransGriot readers know that I've been jousting with this Navy vet for the last three seasons for NFL prognostication supremacy, but he has other interests besides beating me and Eli picking football games.   

In addition to expressing himself on his Michael's Rant blog, he is the chair of the Veteran's Caucus of the Texas Young Democrats

We have our moments of good-natured disagreement when it comes to being passionate defenders of our areas of the Lone Star State and our favorite Texas based NFL teams, but what we do agree on is that Texas deserves much better leadership than it has gotten over the last decade and a half from the Teapublicans.  

Happy milestone birthday Mr Watts!   May you have many more.

Tavares Spencer Attempted Murder Trial Starts In Tampa

22 year old Coko McDonald almost ended up being another one of the sadly too long list of Black trans women whose names we'll read on November 20.

But because of quick thinking on her part she's not, and the waste of DNA who allegedly tried to kill her is on trial.

16 year old Tavares Spencer is facing attempted murder and hate crime charges after luring McDonald to a home on April 9 in the 5000 block of Winnie Street N.in the east Tampa area and shooting her. 

Spencer wanted to date Coko and after discovering she was a trans woman, became enraged about that revelation and allegedly plotted to kill her.

Just because you get pissed about finding out you are attracted to a trans woman doesn't give you or anyone else the authority to kill us.  

Off soapbox, returning to story.  

A week after the two met, Spencer lured Coko to the home on Winnie Street, pulled out a gun, and told her to get on the ground.  Police say he stole her cell phone and her purse and then shot her. Coko says the bullets hit her in the hip.


“I lost my breath with the first shot.  The second one kind of put my body in a shock,” said Coko.

McDonald played dead until Spencer walked away.  She then got up and took off running as Spencer fired another shot at her that fortunately missed.

Tampa Police Department investigators said that within an hour of the shooting, the teenager was bragging about it on text messages and using "defamatory statements" about McDonald's sexual orientation.

Spencer was in jail on an unrelated charge when he was arrested and charged as an adult for the attempted murder of McDonald along with robbery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.  The enhanced hate crime charge was the result of a warrant authorized search of Spencer's phone that revealed the transphobic text messages. 

Jury selection started this morning with prosecutors and Spencer's defense attorney interviewing potential jury members for this attempted murder trial.   It's also not known at this time whether Coko will appear in the courthouse to either testify during the trial against Spencer or just be there in the courtroom to watch the proceedings.

At any rate, I'll be keeping an eye on it along with the Tampa area trans community to see if justice is served in this case.

Nominations For 2014 Trans 100 List Open!

It was a tremendous honor for me to be nominated for and eventually be selected to become part of the inaugural list of honorees for the Trans 100 List

Time flies, and it gives me great pleasure to announce that the nominations period for the 2014 Trans 100 List is now open!

So start thinking about and nominating the people in your area who are active, out and proud trans people, and deserve the recognition for their stellar work to benefit the trans community. 

And for you international trans folks not in the USA who wondered why there were no deserving international names on the 2013 Trans 100 list, here's an announcement concerning what y'all need to do to set up your own Trans 100 List to honor the people doing the work in your respective nations in 2014

So yes, looking forward to see who makes the 2014 Trans 100 List here in the States and hopefully see lists from Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Asia-Pacific Rim, Europe, Africa, South America.... 


*** 

This form is to collect nominees for a list of 100 trans activists currently working to make life better for Trans people. The final list is intended as a resource guide and seeks to raise the visibility and awareness of advocates, activists,and those who do their best to improve the lives of trans people.

The Trans 100 is a curated listing from open nominations of the top 100 Trans activists and advocates that are working to make a difference in the daily lives of Trans people,in order to provide attention, contacts, and recognition to those who do the on the ground work of reducing stigma, ending ostracizing, and furthering the social and economic development of Trans people throughout society.

Guidelines:
- Nominees must be living and currently working to improve the lives of trans people.
- Nominees can be working at any scale, locally, regionally, or nationally.
- We would like to see all parts of the country represented, and especially otherwise unsung or only locally known workers.
- We particularly encourage the addition of persons of color.
- Nominees must openly identify as Trans.
- They must have been living at least half the year 2013

Notes:
- Voting is anonymous.
- The list will not be ranked, and the tally will not be publicized.
- Nominees will be contacted by the editors for permission before the list is published.
- International nominations will be forwarded to that nation's working group.

Thank you for participating, and please share this widely!

***

Click on this link to nominate someone for the 2014 Trans 100 List

White People, Blackface Is NOT Appropriate For Halloween Or ANY Day

'North American Black people have a zero tolerance policy toward any manifestation of white people in blackface, whether it is maliciously racist or not.

We don't care if you are a drag performer, a model doing a high fashion photo shoot, somebody doing so as a badly thought out Halloween costume or drunken white college kids perpetuating negative stereotypes of African descended people in the name of fun and frivolity. You need to get it through your vanillacentric privileged minds blackface is offensive to African descended people and there is no justification in our chococentric minds for doing so.'
--TransGriot July 7, 2013  I Repeat: White People Doing Blackface Drag Is Not Acceptable, Period!


With Halloween fast approaching, we have had increased sightings of vanillacentric privileged people in blackface and when they get justifiably called out on it, have other clueless white peeps trying to come to their defense about it.


Blackface was used to demean and dehumanize African-Americans for almost 2 centuries, and non-white folks are beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of having this discussion about blackface and why we have a zero tolerance policy toward it. 

Julianne Hough is only the latest white person to find out the hard way just how much we hate blackface. Or was she not paying attention when we called out everybody from Ted Danson to college students majoring in disrespect for doing so?     

Yes Julianne, we get it you love the show Orange Is The New Black.  But you had plenty of other characters you could dress up as like Pennsyltucky, Piper and Red for example.  Why Crazy Eyes?

"I am a huge fan of the show Orange is the New black, actress Uzo Aduba, and the character she has created,” she wrote. “It certainly was never my intention to be disrespectful or demeaning to anyone in any way. I realize my costume hurt and offended people and I truly apologize."

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/10/26/4579558/julianne-hough-apologizes-for.html#storylink=cpy

But this wasn't the lone instance of well known white people donning black face.   Check out what designers Alessandro Dell'Acqua, Paula Cademartori and others did at a fashion industry Halloween party in Milan with a 'Disco Africa' theme.   

Any wonder why the catwalks at the fall and spring fashion shows are always overwhelmingly walked by white models? 

Bottom line, say no to blackface, because your azz will be called out about it. 

Read the next line and commit it to memory for Halloween and beyond. 

My people and my culture are not costumes for you put on for your or your people's entertainment and amusement.  And when we call your azz out about it, you don't get to tell me as the offended POC party what is and isn't offensive or to 'lighten up' about it.


Blackface is not appropriate for Halloween or ANY day.

 

Houston Dynamo Headed To 2013 MLS Playoffs

Since the Texans were chilling during their off week, I got the opportunity to focus my undivided attention on our local football team that wears orange unis and kicks a round ball. 

The Houston Dynamo suffered a devastating 3-0 home loss last week at BBVA Compass Stadium to the New York Red Bulls that knocked them out of Supporters Shield contention and dropped them to sixth place in the tightly bunched MLS Eastern Conference playoff race.

Only the top five teams in each conference make the playoffs and the Dynamo were in serious danger of missing the 2013 MLS playoff party.  In addition the loss robbed the Men In Orange of control of their playoff destiny heading into the final game of the season.

The Dynamo were now facing a do or die situation to get back into the playoffs against a DC United team that although they have beaten them three times this year and United was on an eleven game losing streak, were desperate to not set an MLS record for futility.   And yes, DC United was relishing the opportunity to salvage some of their team pride and avenge last year's Eastern Conference final playoff loss by knocking the Dynamo out of the playoffs.

The Dynamo also needed some help from other teams Saturday and got it.   Toronto FC upset the Montreal Impact 1-0 and Sporting Kansas City beat the Philadelphia Union 2-1 to make the MLS playoff equation simple for the Men In Orange:  Win against DC United and the Dynamo were in the MLS playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons.

They did so but not without DC United fighting them every step of the way.  After Dynamo striker Giles Barnes was hauled down in the penalty box, Oscar Boniek Garcia confidently converted the penalty kick into the lower right hand corner of the goal for the initial tally of the game in the 11th minute.

Things were looking good at that point for La Naranja because when they score first this season, they have not lost (13-0-3) in this 2013 MLS campaign.    

DC United fought back to tie the game in the 27th minute with a Kyle Porter header but six minutes later Giles Barnes got the game winning header in the 33rd minute past DC goalkeeper Bill Hamid.to give the Dynamo a 2-1 lead they would not relinquish despite major pressure at times in the second half from a DC United squad desperately trying to avoid MLS infamy. 

But as the referee's whistle blew in the 94th minute DC United would indeed set the mark for fewest wins in an MLS season with a 3-24-7 record, one less than the four wins Chivas USA managed in 2005.  They would have also set the record for fewest goals in a season if it hadn't been for Porter's score that allowed DC United to finish with 21 goals scored on the season.

But back to discussing my playoff bound hometown MLS squad. 

The Dynamo finished the season in fourth place at 14-11-9 after the New York Red Bulls thumped the Chicago Fire 5-2 and the New England Revolution beat the Columbus Crew 1-0.  That created a third place tie in the Eastern Conference standings that bumped the Dynamo into the Eastern Conference play-in game they will host at BBVA Compass stadium Halloween night.against the hated Montreal Impact (14-13-7) who slid to a fifth place tie with the Fire 

Winner of the play-in game gets the New York Red Bulls 17-9-8 in a two leg playoff series 

The two time defending Eastern Conference champs are seeking their third straight appearance in the MLS Cup and last year on their way to the title game the road to it started in the play-in game against the Chicago Fire. 

The Dynamo just seem to kick up their play aonther level when they get to the MLS playoffs, and here's hoping the Men In Orange stay true to playoff form in 2013 as well.