Handling My HERO Business

For the longest time one of my fondest wishes as a Houston based activist was that one day I would get to be part of the team that would help wipe Houston's name off the human rights list of shame and pass a trans inclusive human rights act.

Well, be careful what you wish for, because it can happen and sooner than you expect.

That moment of participating in the Houston human rights fight that I've been thinking about since 1998 is here. 

The TransGriot,  Dee Dee Watters and many of our  Houston LGBT community members, activists, clergy, friends and supporters showed up at City Hall in force for the 2 PM CDT hearing on our proposed Houston Equal Rights Ordinance that spilled over into adjacent viewing rooms.  

It was a hearing of the Quality of Life Committee chaired by Councilmember Ellen Cohen in which the only item on the menu was the HERO and it took place in a packed City Council chamber.  

After City Attorney Dave Feldman laid out the case for the HERO and city council members had the chance to comment on it pro and con, the fun began around 3:20 PM.    I knew I was going to have a long wait because by the time I got to City Hall and signed in to speak the list was up to five pages.

This is what I said in a earlier post about my assessment of what I thought the haters were going to do before I even left the house for City Hall:

I'm expecting our Pastor's Council haters to be there in full effect bearing false witness and pimping their usual lies of how this will 'stifle their free speech',  'suppress their religious freedom' and fling the bathroom meme for good measure.

Can I call it or what?   They went to City Hall in full 'fear and smear' mode.  But I did forgot one of their attack lines.  They also threw the 'sexual predator' meme out there while whining about being called haters and bigots. 


Well, Houston Pastor's Council conservafools and kneegrow auxiliaries, read my lips:  If you don't want to be called haters, oppressors and bigots the cure for it is simple.  Stop acting like haters, oppressors and bigots and we'll stop calling you out on that inconvenient for you truth.       

But what really disappointed me today (but wasn't surprising) was seeing that cluster of African-American pastors eagerly playing the role of oppressors and bearing false witness on an oppressed community as some of the women mouthed not so silent amens.  

The thing also pissing me off today was the erasure of me and LGBT African-American Houstonians as they were throwing their 'smear and fear' attacks and their selective memories concerning the history of the Civil Rights Movement.  I have two words for you faith based know nothings trying to pimp the lie we don't have any claim as African-American LGBT people to the legacy of our civil rights movement:  Bayard Rustin .  

The Civil Rights Movement history is MY history too, and how dare you try to lie and say it isn't as you tried to do in city council chambers today.  . 

And there were times I had to literally leave the chamber and vent because I was so pissed off at those crimes against history. 

Note to the Houston African-American haters.  BTLG people of African descent exist who get discrimination aimed at them from multiple intersections.   We are also just as down with fighting for the issues that impact our community as my appearance at HISD headquarters to fight the closure of schools in our neighborhoods and last summer's Trayvon Martin rally on the steps of City Hall are ample testament to.  

You can deny it all you want, but African-American LGBT people are part of the kente cloth fabric of our community, and it's past time you stopped slumming with the children and grandchildren of segregationists and recognize that.   

It was close to 6 PM before I got the chance to finally approach the podium for the third time this year and speak.   Since I only had 90 seconds, all I had time to do was call out the hate pastors and point out that trans, bi and SGL African-American exist with multiple oppressions aimed at our bodies.  

The hearing concluded after 7 PM, but this was just the warm up.  

The battle to pass the HERO is about to ratchet up another level with two more public hearings before we get to the final city council vote sometime in mid May.

TransGriot Update: Final tally of the speakers at yesterday's HERO hearing was 49 in favor and 19 against.  That means we also had more human rights minsters than hate minsters speaking..  

HERO Rally and Quality of Life Committee Hearing Today

The battle to pass the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance continues as we have a public hearing on the HERO at 2 PM CDT today.

The Houston LGBT community and our supporters will gather on the steps of Houston City Hall for a rally that will start at 1:15 PM prior to the start of the Quality of Life Committee that will be conducting the hearing in city council chambers.

After this committee hearing, the HERO will go before the full council on May 7.

and for consideration by the full council on May 7. If approved, the ordinance would go into effect immediately. - See more at: http://txvalues.org/2014/04/25/religious-freedom-free-speech-threatened-by-houstons-lgbt-ordinance/#sthash.HiuT4HJU.dpuf

and for consideration by the full council on May 7. If approved, the ordinance would go into effect immediately. - See more at: http://txvalues.org/2014/04/25/religious-freedom-free-speech-threatened-by-houstons-lgbt-ordinance/#sthash.HiuT4HJU.dpuf

I'm expecting our Pastor's Council haters to be there in full in effect bearing false witness and pimping their usual lies of how this will 'stifle their free speech',  'suppress their religious freedom' and fling the bathroom meme for good measure.   

Naw conservafools, you don't get the special right to discriminate.   I'm already mad you peeps are exempted from the provisions of this ordinance, so don't even try to go there.


Should be fun to watch the haters squirm.

BTAC 2014- Day 2

It's Day 2 of the Black Trans Advocacy Conference in Dallas, and on the schedule for today is the first day of  workshops that commence at 9:15 AM. and run with breaks until 4 PM

The first full day of the conference is one packed full of interesting and informative seminar topics that will be capped off by the Imagine One Humanity - Interfaith spiritual revival service.

The people conducting that interfaith service will be Pastor Deneen Robinson, Min. Carmarion Anderson, Rev. Alex Byrd, Min Kaleb Elijah and Auset O'Neal.

And yeah people, I'll be on your end of I-45 tomorrow night.  

If We Tell You It's A Slur Word, Dont Use It

I'm still amazed that elements of the white gay male community are still tripping about the RuPaul mess and using it to let their transphobia fly simply because we told you we will not tolerate you or anybody else in cisgender world using the two words we consider slurs to us. 

And that's not overpolicing language, being PC (and I hate that term), creeping fascism or the other over the top BS I've seen in predominately gay male site comment threads over the last month. 

I'm also megatired of elements of the white gay male and drag community trying to prop Andrea James and Calpernia Addams up as their apologists and human shield cheerleaders to attack the rest of us transpeeps who hold the majority consensus opinion that 't----y' and 'shemale' are unacceptable slur words.And in some cases, some of those white gay males have gone transphobically off the rails in doing so.  

Words matter.   They matter because hate thoughts + hate speech = hate violence.  Words matter because they have the potential to be weaponized and hurt marginalized communities when aimed at them by people with societal power.   Words matter to a trans community facing unacceptable levels of anti-trans violence aimed at it in addition to anti-trans discrimination. 

When a majority of people in a marginalized community tells you a word is offensive to them, you don't fracking use it if you wish to be considered respectful allies to that community.   I don't see gay men using the slur words the Latin@, African-American and Jewish communities have told them are offensive or claiming they are 'being PC' for demanding they not do so.  

So why are they tripping in this case?   Is it because it's the trans community telling them not to do it? 

Let me drive this point home once again.  You don't get to make the call as to what words are or aren't offensive to my community.  WE make that call.  If you respect our community as you claim you do, then heed our repeated request to simply NOT use the offensive slur words.  

Hell, if Jerry Springer can stop using it, so can you. 

Neither do we need trans people acting as agent provocateurs undermining the message we as a community are trying to send to the world NOT to use them.  Bottom line is we have seen the same gay male community hypocritically crying to us about 'word policing' tearing people new anuses for using the slur words unacceptable to them.   So why is it acceptable for gay men to demand people not use the slur words they deem unacceptable, but the trans community is considered to be 'word policing' when we do the same thing in defense of our humanity?

If it is acceptable for you gay peeps to demand people respect your community and your humanity by insisting that people not call y'all the f-word that rhymes with maggot among others, then we as trans people expect the same reciprocity in the name of defending our humanity that you not use the slur words deemed unacceptable to ours.

BTAC 2014-Day One

I'll be heading up I-45 to it on Thursday, but today was also the first day of the Black Trans Advocacy Conference in Dallas running through May 4.   That means I'll actually get to do something on my birthday weekend besides sitting at the house

And it's still not too late for you peeps in easy driving range of Dallas to come join us at the Doubletree Campbell Center.

Yep, I'll be hangin' with my transpeeps starting late Thursday night.   But while I'm handling some business and tying up loose ends here in Houston so I can take off for the weekend,  the Grand Akanni led by BTAC founding co-chairs chairs Carter and Espy Brown will happen followed by the BTAC Family Social.

Darn, I hate I'm missing that. 


I'm also missing Day 2 and the first day of workshops that commence at 9:15 AM tomorrow.  

The April 30 day's events will be capped off by the Imagine One Humanity - Interfaith spiritual revival service led by Pastor Deneen Robinson, Min. Carmarian Anderson, Rev. Alex Byrd, Min Kaleb Elijah and Auset O'Neal    

Day 3 will bring us into May and more thought provoking seminars.  It will also feature the keynote speeches of Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler, Arianna Lint, and Ignacio Rivera.   That evening's event will be the Mr. and Miss Black Trans International Pageant.

Day 4 on May 2 is why I'll be there in full effect.   I have a Black Sisterhood panel I'm doing with Espy Brown and the Black Trans Community Summit before we move into the Black Trans Advocacy Awards Gala. 


Day 5 (May 3) is Family Health and Fun Day featuring the first annual Kye Allums 3 on 3 basketball tournament and BTMI Club Harlem.   

BTAC 2014 closes on my Cuatro de Mayo birthday with an interfaith service and closing ceremony and a luncheon before we all head back to our lives.  

I'll just be a year older than when I arrived in Dallas.

 

Adam Silver's Big Decision

In about an hour, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is about to hold a press conference at 1 PM CDT that will shape the perception of his leadership during this first major test of his brief two months in office.

He'll have to make the decision about what to do concerning LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling and  his disgusting racial remarks that have overshadowed the playoffs, pissed off the players in a league that is 70% African-American and sent Clippers advertising partners fleeing for the exits. 

Some of Sterling's fellow owners aren't happy either about the firestorm that has happened over the last few days

Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores probably echoed the sentiments of the other 29 team owners watching this PR disaster when he said, "There is no place for prejudice and intolerance in our league, or anywhere else. That's not a debatable point.  It's a first principle." 

Leslie Alexander, the owner of my fave NBA ballers told the Houston Chronicle that while the NBA constitution only allows an owner to be summarily stripped of his franchise for gambling, the Rockets owner does think something needs to be done to ensure "this kind of event never happens again."

But the question in everyone's minds right now is what is that something?  What kind of punishment can you come up with that hurts a multibillionaire who is a serial racist that sticks? 

Silver, like the other major sports league commissioners has 'best interests of the game' powers that do give him some latitude here.  He could declare all of the Clippers players free agents while indefinitely suspending Sterling and assessing him a substantial fine.  He could call for a meeting of the owners that could result in them voting to strip him of the club.  

But the only person that knows what's going to happen is Commissioner Silver.   He is also quite aware that the world is watching and the NBA does have to tread carefully to avoid legal trouble. 

Bottom line is Sterling should have been dealt with by the NBA when the DOJ discrimination suit came down and he paid that hefty fine.   But now that his racist chickens have come home and pooped all over the NBA's porch, they have to deal with it.

And it will be interesting to see just how that happens.

TransGriot Update:  Commissioner Silver dropped the hammer.   Slapped Sterling with a lifetime ban from the sport and a $2.5 million fine. The meeting will be held soon with the owners to get the authorization to force the sale of the team.

Diamond Stylz-You've Got @ RuPaul She-Mail

Diamond's latest video comments on the RuPaul controversy

Brandy Martell Anniversary Plus Two

Thanks to Tiffany Woods for reminding me that today is the second anniversary of the untimely death of our Oakland trans sister Brandy Martell. 

She was.shot to death April 29 in downtown Oakland at Franklin and 13th Street while sitting behind the steering wheel of her car at 5:15 AM PDT socializing with her friends.   She was Oakland’s 43rd murder victim in 2012 and the third African-American transperson killed during that month nationwide. 

Brandy was a peer advocate for TransVision, a Fremont, CA based organization for trans women. Martell worked there from February 2007 to November 2011, offering health information and outreach to other transgender women.

TransVision’s Linkage to Care project for transgender women of color has been named the Brandy Martell Project in her honor and furthers her legacy of helping her trans sisters, and continues awareness of the issues of violence and HIV that continue to negatively impact transgender women of color. A community remembrance is being planned for a later date and as soon as that date is passed on to me I'll let you know in a follow up post..

You can also contact Tiffany Woods, the Transgender Program Manager at TransVision at
510-456-3521 or twoods@tri-cityhealth.org


There was a memorial vigil held at that downtown corner last year in which Oakland Police Howard Jordan was also there urging folks with information on this case to come forward and help OPD solve the crime.

Brandy's case unfortunately is still unsolved two years later, and OPD is still looking for information to help solve it and bring the perpetrator who commited this crime to justice. 

Anyone with information in Brandy Martell's murder can send the Oakland Police Department tips anonymously by texting TIP OAKLANDPD to 888777, calling the toll-free hotline at (855) 847-7247, or by calling (510) 535-4867. Tips can also be given anonymously to Crime Stoppers at (510) 777-8572. The case number is 12-020709.

Brandy is still missed in the East Bay by all who knew her, and as those who loved her struggle through this two year anniversary of her untimely death, the one thing they are unified in hoping for is Brandy finally receives justice.

Tired Of People Racistly Painting Trans Women Of Color As 'Uniquely Violent'

We have seen this disgusting racist pattern before.    It was present when CeCe McDonald was sentenced to jail time in Minnesota despite defending herself from being violently attacked by a white supremacist and his buddies. 

Jewlyes Gutierrez was facing criminal charges for defending herself after a November fight at her high school despite being bullied and attacked  by three cis female girls in California.   Never mind the inconvenient fact that Jewlyes had been bullied by the same girls for over a year and tried to get indifferent school officials to intervene to stop it.

And now we have the jacked up case of Jane Doe.  She is a 16 year old trans girl of color who despite being in that system since age 4, surviving numerous incidents of violence, sexual assault and abuse, that in some cases perpetrated by the people in the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) that were supposed to help and protect her, she was sent to an adult male prison on April 8 despite not being charged with any crime.   Only increasing national outrage over this got her moved to an adult female prison, which is still messed up.

And the reason why this happened?  Because according to the fear mongering DCF Commissioner Joette Katz, Jane was 'far too dangerous' to remain in their care.

Really?   When DCF personnel are complicit in some of the violence that Jane Doe has faced, they are obligated to fix their part of the problem they caused in Jane's young life.  

Throwing her in a lockup with adult male prisoners is not fixing the problem, it's exacerbating and pouring gasoline on it. 

In all these cases, we have the intersections of several problematic societal layers. The first problem is the obvious whiff of racism combined with the overwhelming stench of transphobia in all these cases.  The other dynamic involved here is the racist assumption that trans youth of color are 'uniquely violent' and 'dangerous to women'.

Some of that 'dangerous to women' piece has its roots in the predator memes trans exclusionary radical feminists (TERF) have been peddling for over four decades.

And hello, let's inject another dose of reality into this conversation.  If you're constantly being picked on or have violence directed at you simply for trying to live your trans life as best you can, sooner or later you are going to snap and lash out at the person that sent you over the edge.  Hell, I was an adult when I transitioned, and there were days I'd had enough of people's transphobic bullshyt and snapped on the very next person that crossed my path spouting transphobic ish.

The bottom line is that I'm tired of transwomen of color who far too often are the victims of violent attacks aimed at them by cisgender people being given the side eye by a transphobic society as if they are the problem.  

When we transwomen of color already have to deal with societal drama brought on by our ethnicity,  and we have to deal with an unjust and racist  legal system, the last thing we need is the misguided perception of being tagged as 'uniquely violent' being thrown into this toxic transphobic stew.      

Clippers Players Protest Racist Owner

Kudos to the Los Angeles Clipper players who in the midst of the firestorm of criticism headed their owner's way over his racist comments, are trying to handle this difficult situation the best way they can. 

Before yesterday's 118-97 playoff loss to the Golden State Warriors that deadlocked their series at 2-2,  the Clipper players held a meeting to decide if they were even going to play the game..

They decided to do so, but wore their warmup jersey shirts inside out to hide the Clipper logo.  They wore their normal game uniforms, but with black socks and armbands.  

They along with their NBA brethren have been vocal about the disgusting comments from serial bigot and longtime LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling that are threatening to overshadow the NBA playoffs.  They are also causing a major PR headache for the team, the league and new commissioner Adam Silver.

Tuesday Game 5 in LA should be very interesting.

Edenside's Last Service Statement

At this moment the last service is taking place at Edenside Christian Church, my church home during the nearly nine years I lived in Louisville.   I'm sad to see the 106 year old church go. 

Since I'm going to be in Houston when that service happens, I submitted a statement that is going to be read during the service, and here it is.

***

I was saddened to learn that after over a century of service to the community, Edenside Christian Church is permanently closing its doors, and I won't get another opportunity to 'sliiiiide into Edenside' the next time I'm blessed to visit Louisville. 

Since I wanted to say a few words during this service and will be 1000 miles away from you in the Lone Star State when it happens, I hope this will suffice. 

When I first encountered Edenside Christian Church, it was a mere 48 hours after I arrived in Louisville after moving from Houston in late September 2001.  I was still depressed, homesick  and not dealing well with the ripple effects of losing an airline job I'd held for 14 years and dearly loved.   Dawn just basically told me to get up and get dressed because we were going for a ride.

Our destination was here, and I got to meet the gregarious Rev. Sally McClain that day.   You have to love a pastor with a formidable intellect and such a sense of humor she has a stuffed Cartman doll on her bookshelf. I'd also arrived just in time for the Louisville AIDS Walk, and that sunny, clear and cool fall weekend I got to participate in it with her and other member of the Edenside family.     

And yes, that's what you were to me during the eight and a half wonderful years that Edenside became my church home because my blood family was back in Texas.  You were some of the first people I met in town and before I even officially became an Edensider you made me feel welcomed, loved and included in the life of this church.   
 
That helped me get over my homesickness and eventually settle into my life in Louisville.  Whether it was spinning Christmas tunes with soul during our Bardstown Aglow events, playing softball on the coed team. having the honor of being the DJ at Derek's wedding, the times I was able to be a worship leader that I wish I could have done more often, and conversations with all the wonderful people who are and have ever been part of this church, some of the fondest memories I have of my time in Kentucky are centered on Edenside.   

Those times as a worship leader and Edenside's social justice leanings also reawakened my own desire to get back into social justice advocacy, which had taken a severe hit during that 2001-2003 period.  

And as the native Texan in this congregation, you know I got a kick out of listening to all the shady comments being thrown back and forth between you Cats, Cards and Hoosier fans during basketball season.
  
But the best thing about Edenside is that when I finally did head back to Houston in 2010, I left a better, more confident, spiritually grounded person than when I first arrived thanks in large part to Sally and many of you Edensiders. 

So while I'm saddened that the doors of Edenside will be closing forever and I won't get the opportunity to hear Rev. Beaumer deliver a sermon inside its hallowed 100 year old walls, the church and its memories will live on in the hearts and minds of all who walked through its doors.

****

British Soap 'Hollyoaks' To Have Trans Character

The British soap opera Hollyoaks has been broadcast on Channel 4 since October 1995, and is about to start another trans storyline.

Hollyoaks had previously done a trans storyline in which teen Jasmine Costello, portrayed by actress Victoria Atkin, transitioned to living as a young gay man named Jason.from August 2, 2010 to December 1, 2011.

Show regular Modupe Adyeye plays Blessing Chambers, one of the new characters on the long running soap that made her first appearance on February 21.   She is set to reveal next month to Tony Hutchinson (played by Nick Pickard) that she is a trans woman.  

This character inspired by Laverne Cox.is being loosely based on British writer and activist Paris Lees.  

Blessing will reveal that she spent time in a young offenders institution before transitioning and moving to Hollyoaks to start a new life.  At the same time her family, who has not seen her since the transition, hires a private investigator as they start looking for her.  

Adeyeye said: ‘I found researching the character of Blessing really inspiring and I hope that her story of a young trans woman who is loud and feisty and unapologetic proves to be a good role model.

‘I hope that the people who need to be touched by her story will be.’

- See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/hollyoaks-reveals-new-transgender-storyline250414#sthash.a4YxLSv8.9G7SHESV.dpuf

While the show's writers worked with The Gender Trust and All About Trans to ensure a sensitive and realistic portrayal of the upcoming storyline, and Adyeye earnestly wants to do a quality job playing this tarns story, the chatter in the British and international trans community on social media is asking the question why wasn't a trans actress hired to portray a trans person?

I guess we should thank the producers for the small favor of not putting a man in drag in the role, especially since this Hollyoaks trans character is a person of color.  .

Adyeye said in an interview, "I found researching the character of Blessing really inspiring and I hope that her story of a young trans woman who is loud and feisty and unapologetic proves to be a good role model. I hope that the people who need to be touched by her story will be."

The trans community of Great Britain and their trans cousins around the world sure hope so.  

LGBT Town Hall On Houston ERO

Councilman Michael Kubosh's campaign slogan during the 2013 election cycle was 'Fighting For You', and he used it along with being the vocal leader of the coalition that took down the hated red-light camera ordinance to vault to a Houston City Council at large seat. 

With the release of the Houston Equal Rights Amendment by Mayor Annise Parker, the push by the Houston LGBT community to get it passed and then pivot to defend it against a possible repeal referendum spearheaded by our right wing haters, one of the things we weren't sure of as a community was whether Councilmember Kubosh would fight for our segment of the community and vote for its passage.  

So there were eyebrows raised by many including myself in the Houston LGBT ranks when Kubosh decided to hold his first town hall as an elected council member in the gayborhood.about the HERO. 

I joined the assembled crowd Saturday afternoon at Haven's Center of thirty people for the event moderated by Jenifer Rene Pool to ask questions about where he stood on this issue.

Over the next two hours, Councilman Kubosh not only told his personal stories about his father and his encounters with Jim Crow growing up in SE Texas, he listened as myself and many of the people and community LGBT leaders in attendance told their personal stories about the discrimination they had faced and urged him to vote to pass the HERO.  

Those of us in attendance made the points about why it was necessary to protect our human rights.  We made the facts based case why it would be a win-win to pass the HERO and expand human rights for us and all the citizens of Houston.  We debunked the lies of the opponents.   We pointed out how passage of the HERO would spur economic development but say to Texas, the nation, and the world that we value ALL Houstonians.   

When I got the chance to speak, I discussed the Izza Lopez and Tyjanae Moore cases as examples of the anti-trans discrimination in town.  Formed councilmember Jolanda Jones talked about the experience of the  former trans intern on her staff and the bathroom drama she experienced at City Hall.   I also pointed out that if Houston still wanted to make its dream of hosting an Olympic Games a reality, with the IOC moving to prevent future Sochi situations and require all candidate cities to have human rights legislation in place, might be a great idea to pass the HERO now.


We also pointed out that Houston was embarrassingly behind on this issue of expanding our non-discrimination ordinance to cover gender identity and expression and sexual orientation, and many of the cities that we compete with have it.     

It was an interesting two hours, and with what is sure to be a contentious public hearing on Wednesday at City Hall, the political fun is just getting started as the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance moves to a vote next month.

Laverne and Lupita Snubbed For Time 100

What would your reaction be if an institution magazine sought public input into who should  make its annual influence list, a person got the fifth highest total of all the vote getters in the poll, but was still snubbed when the final list went to press?

Well, that's what just happened to Laverne Cox.  When I discovered she was briefly leading her category in Time 100 voting, I asked my readers to support her and many of you did to the tune of 88,000 votes (mine included).    That total was as I mentioned the fifth highest number of votes anyone received, but yet she was ignored by the Time editors when the final list came out. 

What up with that Time magazine?  . 

She wasn't the only one with a similar situation ignored by the Time editors.   Oscar winning actress Lupita Nyong'o was also snubbed despite the overwhelming support.of over 41, 000 people.

Time has been mute about it, but peeps pissed about both being snubbed haven't.   The champions and supporters have been vocal about their displeasure of neither woman making the list while people that polled far fewer votes and were of lighter complexions did. 

Laverne took it in stride, thanking people for supporting her. (and I and 'errbody' else always will have your back). Meanwhile the radio silence coming from Time speaks volumes.

As far as I'm concerned, without you two ladies on the Time 100 list, the quality and credibility of it took a major hit.  I submit I'm not alone in my assessment either..

LGBT Community Town Hall Tomorrow On Houston ERO

As I mentioned earlier in the week the language for the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance was released by Mayor Parker.   Now the fun of getting it passed and defending it against the almost certain effort to repeal it via ballot referendum has started. 

City Councilmember Michael Kubosh is holding an LGBT Community Town Hall tomorrow at 3 PM at Haven's Place, 1827 W. Alabama.  

Would be nice if we have a big turnout for this because Council Kubosh leans conservative and he's been getting major push from the haters and Dave Welch's Pastor's Council to vote NO.   

Since Kubosh has an at-large seat, he does have to at least listen to what we TBLG Houstonians have to say about the ERO, and tomorrow will be an opportunity for the Houston LGBT community to present our side of the story.

And as your homework assignment in preparation for this meeting, here's the draft ERO language.

So if you can make it to that location tomorrow, please do so.  Should be an interesting afternoon.     

Shut Up Fool Awards-Last Friday In April Edition

It's the last Friday in the month of April.   All the Team Taurus birthdays are being celebrated today.  Baseball season has started along with the MLS and NWSL seasons.  The NHL and NBA playoffs have started, and the NFL has already released their schedule for the 2014 regular season.   

Up I-45 north from me the final preparations are being made for the Black Trans Advocacy Conference set to start four days from now.

And yeah, next weekend I'll be blessed to have another birthday. 

But y'all didn't come here to hear all this jibber-jabber.   Y'all want to find out who won this week's Shut Up Fool Award.  

So let's get busy finding out what fool, fools or group of fools distinguished themselves this week.

Honorable mention number one is Georgia Gov Nathan Deal (R) who signed a law allowing guns everywhere in Georgia including bars.    Just what we need, armed drunks.  


Honorable mention number two is SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts, who in the wake of  another wrongheaded decision on affirmative action got excoriated by Justice Sonia Sotomayor who correctly called him and his conservative majority out of touch 

Honorable mention number three goes to Ugandan Catholic bishop Charles Wamika, who in his Easter Message praised the Anti-Homosexuality Act and preached genocide against his fellow LGBT Ugandans.

Somebody's going to have to repent for all this evil, and I submit it won't be the gay community of Uganda. 


Honorable mention number four is a joint award for drag queen Alaska Thunderfuck and HuffPostGay.  The drag queen got in hot water when he posted a video lampooning hated in their ranks trans writer Parker Marie Molloy that ended with Molloy being shot .  HuffPostGay  initially posted to their site and later had to take down when the wrath of the trans community and our supporters was visited upon them..

I'm going to say this point one more time.  It is unacceptable and dangerous to advocate for the murder of any person simply because you disagree with what they say, and especially when that person is part of a despised marginalized group who is targeted far too often with murderous violence aimed at it.  


This week's Shut Up Fool Award winner is right wing cowboy Cliven Bundy.   The newly minted right wing hero, welfare cheat and racist extremist was pumped up by FOX Noise's Sean Hannity before he started flapping his gums and letting ignorant startement come out of it that sent all the pols like Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), TX GOP gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott, Sen Dean Heller (R-NV) running like Uisain Bolt away from him..


Bundy parted his lips to say this racist tripe about Black people




Bundy then continued to flap his loud and wrong gums and ask why he and his right wing gun nuts weren't getting any support from communities of color for their anti-government protest.   

Because for starters you're a bunch of bigoted terrorists in armed rebellion against the federal governemnt and we want no part of that. 

Cliven Bundy, shut up fool!

Right Wing Cowboy

Been keeping up with the antics of our newly minted hypocritical right wing extremist hero in Cliven Bundy.

Like many of the people FOX Noise taps as they stir up anti-government sentiment, has tuned out to be racist and a prevaricating hypocrite who owes the federal government $1 million for illegally grazing his cattle on federal owned land.

That means he's screwing us taxpayers out of money he owes us. 

So that's the motivation and backstory behind the latest Moni song rewrite.   So fire up your iPods, Spotify or your fave music program as you sing to Moni's remixed lyrics.

Right Wing Cowboy
(sung to the tune of 'Rhinestone Cowboy' by Glen Campbell)

I've been grazing on federal lands so long
Not paying fees and I know I’m wrong
Owe a million to the feds I refuse to pay
That hustle's ending, that‘s the name of the game
And I called Fox News to give the feds the blame
There's been a load of lyin’
Gun toting friends all over the horizon
But I'm gonna be where the TV lights are shinin' on me

Like a right wing cowboy
Riding out on a horse as they claim that I’m a hero
Like a right wing cowboy
Getting cards and letters from teabaggers I don’t even know
And crying ‘I’m oppressed' over the phone

Well, I really don't mind the fame
And Sean Hannity shouting out my name
‘Just like Ruby Ridge’ they exclaim
As right wing extremists clog the highway
And I dream of the things I'll do
While the taxpayers I’ll continue to screw
There'll be even more lyin’
Gun toting friends on the horizon
But I'm gonna be where the TV lights are shinin' on me

Like a right wing cowboy
Riding out on a horse as they claim that I’m a hero
Right wing cowboy
Gettin' cards and letters from teabaggers I don't even know
And crying ‘I’m oppressed’ over the phone

Like a right wing cowboy
Riding out on a horse as they claim that I’m a hero

Like a right wing cowboy
Gettin' card and letters from teabaggers I don't even know....

.

Evon Young Finally Gets Justice

I've been keeping track of the Evon Young case and 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 the 22 year old transmasculine rapper.   

It took a while for the five people accused of his murder and their cases to work their way through the justice system in Wisconsin, but it has finally happened.  

It won't bring 'Yung LT' back, but justice has been served in this case.  And now, here's the final judicial scorecard and update of what happened to all the people involved.

23 year old Devin Seaberry pled guilty to a lesser charge of second degree reckless homicide on July 2 in return for his testimony against Griffin, Mcalister and Allen.   Seaberry was sentenced to eight years in prison and seven years of extended supervision..

27 year old Victor Stewart pled guilty June 5 to second degree reckless homicide in exchange for his testimony against Griffin, and was sentenced to 16 years in prison and seven years of extended supervision.
     
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.  

38 year old Ron Allen was found guilty of one count of first degree intentional homicide and sentenced April 14 to life imprisonment without the eligibility of extended supervision. 

26 year old Billy Griffin, whose first trial ended in a hung jury on June 17, was arraigned on first degree intentional homicide charges,  Just before Griffin's retrial was set to start, he plead guilty February 17 to amended charges and was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison and an additional six years and two months of extended supervision.

Time For Trans College Students To Run For SGA Seats

I know you trans students matriculating on our nation's college campuses have a lot to deal with not only managing your personal lives, but handling your academic business with finals coming up.  

Best of luck to all of you.  But when that's over and you destress from dealing with finals, Moni has something else she wants y'all to think about during the summer and consider doing when you come back to your campuses in the fall

Own your power and run for seats in your SGA's.

So what's an SGA?   It's your campus student government association.   They are the liaison between the students, faculty and university administrations.  They provide appointments to a variety of internal SGA and university committees, task forces and boards that establish or influence a wide range of policies, procedures and the general direction of academic and nonacademic programs and services offered on your various college campuses. 

And they have a national organization in the American Student Government Association that supports them..

It occurs to me after watching the drama that transpired in the UH SGA over the Josephine Tittsworth Act and the attempt of the XULA SGA to sneak this blatantly transphobic ballot question on the Xavier student body, it is past time for trans students on every college campus they matriculate on in the United States to starting next school year, seriously consider running for and winning seats on their SGA's.

I say that because we trans folks can't always count on having trans allies in SGA's to eloquently articulate our issues as Yesenia Chavez, James Lee, Guillermo Lopez and UH SGA President Charles Haston did recently at the University of Houston or the other college campuses like LSU and Sam Houston State in which pro trans legislation passed and is headed up the administrative leadership chain.  

In some campus SGA's we will have people in them who are future trans oppressors, proud of it, and  who harbor enough transphobic animus to pen anti-trans legislation.   We will have cisgender SGA members with enough ignorance concerning our issues to let slide stuff like the transphobic ballot initiative that L'lerret Ailith is battling as I write this on her XULA campus. 

We need to have trans peeps in SGA's to talk about our trans lives and break down that ignorance.  Most importantly, we need trans SGA members in them not only proposing campus legislation, but in position to kill the bad stuff before it gets going.

And if you are in an SGA, consider running for a leadership position in it or serving on the leadership of a committee to hone your leadership skills before running for the presidency of it.  That will if you win that office, put you in an even more powerful position to strike down bad legislation with your veto pen or propose good ones.

I've always said that transpeople need to be at the table helping write legislation, not begging to be included in it.  The events of the Spring 2014 semester have convinced me that yes, that needs to be expanded to sitting at collegiate SGA tables as well.
 

Retired OKC Trans Cop Running For OK State Legislative Seat

Back in the 2010 election cycle, the world's eyes were focused on Oklahoma as Brittany Novotny unsuccessfully tried to unseat homobigoted state Rep. Sally Kern (R). 

Now another Oklahoma transwoman is attempting to become the first transperson elected to its state legislature and the first elected nationally since Althea Garrison was elected to the Massachusetts legislature in 1992.

Paula Sophia, a Desert Storm veteran and 22 year veteran of the Oklahoma City Police Department announced she would run in House District 88, the same one she patrolled as an OKC police officer until she retired on April 7. 

“I was a community oriented police officer, now I’m going to be a community oriented legislator,” says Sophia in a KFOR-TV interview.  

Sophia was the first transgender officer in Oklahoma City PD history and won numerous awards during her career including the OKC Exchange Club's Police Officer of the Year award and an FBI Community Leadership Award.

The District 88 seat was held by state Rep. Kay Floyd (D), the first openly lesbian representative in Oklahoma history who was elected in 2012.   Floyd announced in February her intention to run for the Oklahoma Senate District 46 seat being vacated by openly gay state Sen. Al McAffrey, who was the first ever LGBT member of the Oklahoma legislature and is running for Congress in this cycle for the 5th Congressional District seat being vacated by Rep James Lankford (R). 

Sophia says she wants to focus on a number of issues should she be successful in winning that historic seat in Oklahoma's legislature.. “I have a deep concern about peace and justice, about respecting the dignity of every human being and I still deeply believe in those issues.”

She first has to get out of the June 24 Oklahoma Democratic primary election.  If she does become the second transperson since Amanda Simpson accomplished the political feat in Arizona in 2004 to win a primary, she'd move on to the November general election.   

Best of luck, Paula and hope you make some more Oklahoma and transgender history in the process..

Another Day, Another Offensive Transphobic Drag Queen Stunt

There's been a severe outbreak of transphobia in the white gay male ranks over our outrage in Trans World conserning the slur terms to our community and their use on RuPaul's Drag Race and elsewhere in gay male ranks.   

That has led to an ongoing war of words between predominately white gay men and the white trans feminine community of which the volume of it got kicked up another notch when LOGO decided the 't-word' and 'shemale' would no longer be part of the show. 

The trans hatred has flowed ever since, and it didn't get any better when Calpernia Addams and Andrea James wrote inflammatory posts in predominately gay male read online venues defending  RuPaul and the drag community that slammed trans people on the opposite side RuPaul as 'Internet hacktivists'.  

That drew return fire from their trans counterparts who called them sellouts, and those were the nicer anti-Andrea and Calpernia comments I can print and have have this post remain safe for work reading.

Now comes word of a stunt that somebody sent me a link to that has gone too far from the drag queen side. 

2014 Trans 100 honoree Parker Marie Molloy has been at the center of much of the ire of gay men and drag queen community for her blistering no holds barred "I fucking hate RuPaul' commentary when the now pulled offensive RuPaul's Drag Race show was aired that triggered this ongoing G and DQ vs T battle.. 

But when drag performer Alaska Thunderfuck posted a since pulled YouTube video that ends with the controversial trans writer being shot, that's when stuff crossed a dangerous line. 

Not no, but oh hell no do you ever go there when transpeople are getting murdered for simply trying to live their authentic lives and drag queens sometimes find themselves being targeted for anti-trans bigotry that escalates unto them being violently attacked (or murdered) as last summer's pizzeria incident involving drag queen Miles Denardo in Washington DC amply demonstrated.

There has been a lot of shade and angry words hurled by both sides in this kerfluffle.  I didn't like some of the stuff Parker Molloy wrote at times although I've made it clear I'm no fan of RuPaul either.  Neither have I liked the commentary coming from Calpernia and Andrea on this issue, but I will defend to the death as a fellow writer their First Amendment right to say it.

But the bottom line is that is unacceptable and dangerous to advocate for the murder of any person because you disagree with what they say.   It's even more problematic when that person you aimed it at is part of a despised marginalized group and you are a member of a privileged societal group while doing so.

And don't even part your lips to say 'this was satire' or 'a parody'.  That dog won't hunt as we say here in my home state.      

HuffPostGay was also wrong in posting that transphobic ish to their well read site, which they recognized, pulled and apologized for later.

Note: This page originally contained a video by drag artist Alaska Thunderfuck. We believed that the clip was one example of how diverse gender-variant communities are currently engaged in a complicated conversation about important issues regarding language, identity and privilege. However, we now realize that the video is patently offensive to many people and ultimately now feel it goes beyond being useful in this discussion and therefore have removed it from the site. We apologize.

Let me reiterate the money point I'm trying to get across for you to burn into your brain cells one last time. It is unacceptable and dangerous to advocate for the murder of any person simply because you disagree with what they say, and especially when that person is part of a despised marginalized group who is targeted far too often with murderous violence aimed at it.    

Xavier University LA Is Majoring In Transphobia

While positive trans friendly changes are happening at my alma mater UH and up I-10 at LSU, seems as though the opposite is transpiring at Xavier University in New Orleans.

Was sent this interesting screenshot from L'lerret Ailith of a ballot question that came out today on the XULA campus, and is due tomorrow with this interesting Question 17:  

Article VIII. Elections: Section Two- Eligibility (add Mr Xavier where Miss Xavier appears: Gender requirement)  1. Candidates for Miss Xavier/ Class Miss must be (A) female or (B) born female

In addition to the underhanded and duplicitous way this ballot question was rolled out by the Xavier SGA, L'lerret had much to say about life on the Xavier campus as a girl like us and the shady ballot question.

***

Please share this with the world so that everyone can see how blatantly transphobic Xavier University of Louisiana is.   I have been transitioning in college and as of late have been asking for more trans* amenities so I am lead to feel like this is a response to me living in my truth publicly and proudly.

They have released a ballot for the student body to vote on amendments to the constitution and one of them is to choose whether Miss. Xavier or any class Miss has to be BORN female or not.

They are publicly supporting the fate of persecution, ostracism, and discrimination of gender variant individuals. My human rights is held to a vote and majority rules.
Not only has the school simply tolerated me and not made changes I've requested (I.e gender neutral restrooms, trans* friendly housing policies and health insurance, the ability to form a GSA, etc) they now choose to publicly humiliate and subjugate my community.

I spoke to the SGA president (Javon Bracy) and she told me the word of this had been around campus for a while and so she can't do anything about it so I've opted to get community support and take public action. Help me fight this. Fight for gender equity and trans* inclusion. Fight oppression. Share this! Spread the word!:

***

Doing that for you right now L'lerret.   This is a concrete example of the ripple effects of the transphobia and anti-trans hate injected into the Catholic Church in 2003 by Dr. Paul McHugh at the Vatican level filtering down to the flock. 

XULA also has the other dynamic coursing through its history of being an HBCU as well.  

The city of New Orleans has had a non-discrimination law that covers gender identity on the books since 1998, but Xavier seems as though it is determined to create a campus environment hostile to trans and gender variant people in a city and region chock full of them.

Xavier says in its mission statement that 'the ultimate purpose of the University is to contribute to the promotion of a more just and humane society by preparing its students to assume roles of leadership and service in a global society.   This preparation takes place in a diverse learning and teaching environment that incorporates all relevant educational means, including research and community service.'

Looks like XULA is forgetting along with its SGA that trans and gender variant students are part of that global society in New Orleans, around the world and on the XULA campus.   By running roughshod over their human rights, your alleged diverse learning and teaching environment is failing to take their existence and humanity into account. 

Another Can We Talk 4 Real Show Appearance Tonight

I get the opportunity to appear on another episode of the award winning Can We Talk For Real show with Ina, Michelle, and Terry Boi for the first time since I got to see them all at CC14.  

Interestingly enough, I'll be on the CWT4R to talk about another conference, the upcoming Black Trans Advocacy one next week in Dallas ,TX April 29-May 4.

Looking forward to discussing this rapidly growing third annual conference and chatting with the CWT4R team .

To be part of the conversation, you can call 347-215-8985 at 10:30 PM Eastern time, 9:30 PM Central time, 8:30 PM Mountain time and at 7:30 PM Pacific time tonight.

UH Tittsworth Act Opponents Still Bitter They Lost

It's been a week and the opponents of the UH Tittsworth Act are still grousing in their not so quiet Internet rooms about their overwhelming defeat.  

The arc of the moral universe bent toward justice for UH trans students last Wednesday night and we are deliriously happy about that win .

Far from taking their defeat and moving on to other subjects of importance to the UH student body, they are still flapping their loud and wrong gums about the Tittsworth Act after parting their lips admonishing us to not 'rub it in their faces' or 'celebrate our win'.

Contrary to what the Daily Cougar article headline stated, as I witnessed at the April 9 town hall and the SGA meeting last Wednesday, the UH student body is not divided on this issue. 

The Tittsworth Act opponents had two months, a town hall and the SGA meeting to express themselves.  They also know like 'errbody' else on the UH campus the SGA office is in UC North. 

So I ask the question I pondered last Wednesday and during the town hall.  Where were all these students the opponents kept citing as their motivation to oppose the bill?  

When the time came for opponents to prove it and this groundswell of faux opposition to stand up and be counted during the town hall and SGA vote on the Tittsworth Act they failed to do so.  

But it's interesting to note immediately after the vote was over, the opposition immediately took to social media to complain about being 'bullied' and their free speech being 'suppressed'. 

That spin line may work in conservaworld, but not in the reality based world the rest of us live in.   I also note at what passed in the LSU SGA Senate unanimously the very night we were having the town hall at UH. 

I still have to chuckle about what SGA Senator Alan Garza, one of the few opponents who had the guts to openly name and claim his loud and wrong opposition to the Tittsworth bill, had to say in the Daily Cougar article. 

"Despite taking every measure to approach the bill in a “reasonable, open-minded way,” Garza expressed his “disappointment” with students assuming he has closed-minded ideologies simply  because he disagrees with the semantics of the bill."

Um Alan, if you and your friends make bigoted ill-informed statements about transpeople, disrespectfully refer to the Tittsworth Act as 'The He/She Bill', deploy long discredited 'bathroom predator' attacks as your main argument to oppose a simple policy change that will benefit a marginalized campus group, make ridiculous claims the bill is 'vague', or that proponents of the Tittsworth Act were 'intolerant' when the evidence overwhelmingly shows y'all threw the first transphobic shade, don't be surprised if members of the trans community and their supporters see you as a bigot or oppressor.

You also suggested during the SGA meeting, Senator Garza, that trans people not be allowed to change their names on university ID unless the state of Texas recognizes it.   As I told you outside SGA chambers last Wednesday, we've been fighting for a law in Texas since 1999 to streamline the name change process.

There are three states, Tennessee, Ohio and Idaho that will not allow transpeople to change birth certificates regardless of the transitioned status of the transperson in question.  So if you're a trans UH student that happens to come from these states, they would be SOL under your proposal     

As I additionally pointed out to you, what 18 year old trans kid after paying for college tuition, fees and books, has a spare $18,000 lying around for genital surgery or the court costs to do a legal name change?  

And I damned sure don't have any sympathy for a white UH Greek system that 45 years ago was loud and wrong in its racist opposition to the election of UH's first African-American homecoming queen in Lynn Eusan.  Your arguments against this policy sounded to my ears like,."OMG, you mean we'll actually have to admit THEM to our ranks?

Naw, you Greeks can still be as self selective as you wanna be and the Tittsworth Act didn't change that.  But frankly, it's your loss if you don't admit transpeople into your Greek ranks because of your narrow minded ignorance.  You'll be missing out on some quality trans human beings who will make any  organization who opens their arms and extends membership to them infinitely better than yours.  

Tier One universities protect all of their students.   They are also charged with creating policies ensuring every student that steps on their campus can feel safe, successfully learn, and grow to be well rounded human beings in loco parentis while earning whatever degree they are pursuing there. 
 
The bottom line is that justice prevailed last Wednesday night for the trans community.   The vote not only said to trans Cougars, you are fellow Cougars and you matter, it the same message that echoed beyond the campus to the city of Houston and around the world.   It not only resonated with trans alumni, but students who are at the middle and high school levels considering where they wish to attend college. 

That policy will do wonders for the University of Houston not only for the trans students matriculating on campus right now, but future Cougars the policy will attract to our Tier One level campus we are exceedingly proud of.