Saturday, August 05, 2017

ATX Here To Slay Capitol Rally

Image may contain: 9 people, people standing
I got to take a quick trip to Austin yesterday to speak at the Here To Slay Austin Capital Takeover a mere 24 hours after the hate ministers desecrated the South Steps and express myself about Texas GOP legislative oppression..

Too bad we didn't bring any holy water or sage to cleanse them.  Neither did I get my Slurpee.

Image may contain: one or more people, people standing, tree and outdoor
It was put together by several organizations, including the Houston based Organization de Latina Trans en Texas (OLTT) , Aqui Estamos RGV,  Familia and the Transgender Law Center.

It was also an honor to be asked to be the lead speaker for it, and ended up getting quoted in the San Antonio Express-News article about the event.  I also enjoyed the conversations I had with many of the attendees.

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, outdoor and closeup
So it was nice getting to see Raquel Willis, Isa Noyola and Jennicet Gutierrez again, see the ladies of OLTT,  hang out for a moment with Danielle Skidmore  and enjoy spending the quality time on the ride up to and back from the ATX with Alice Serna-McDougald.   Also got to meet more trans and BLG younglings and talk to them about our Texas trans history.

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, tree and outdoor
I was also proud to be part of an event that is building ties and working partnerships between the Texas Black and Latinx community since the Texas Republican Party over the last decade has been hellbent on curbing the growing political power of our communities.  

Image may contain: 2 people, people sitting and indoor
They are also deeply aware of the fact that since 2009 the Texas demographics are against them

For five hours they not only heard our voices, but three lobbying teams visited key House legislators and senate legislators.

And what did I have to say about Texas legislative oppression?

“When you have people like the trans community who have had to fight tooth and nail just to exist, we’re not going to roll over for legislative repression."

Nope, we're going to fight it with every fiber of our being.  And yeah, we'll be back when you have those hearings on Rep. Ron Simmons' unjust bills..



No comments:

Post a Comment