Janet Mock To Receive 2020 GLAAD LGBTQ Advocacy Award

The last time I had the opportunity to talk to Janet Mock face to face was back in August 2016 when we were at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York.   We were less than 24 hours from becoming  the first out Black trans folks to hit their historic Amphitheater Stage to talk about trans issues and the current events of the time period.

Since then, she's been a little busy.  Her first book in 2014, Redefining Realness, debuted on the New York Times bestseller list    She released a second book in 2017 entitled Surpassing Certainty that focused on the years in her life that she was not out as trans.

Y'all may have heard about a hit TV show she writes, directs and produces called POSE on FX.

Janet Mock has been making history ever since I had the pleasure of meeting her when I was in New York in 2012 for a GLAAD POC media training. 

Some of the things Janet Mock has been recognized for have been TIME naming her to its 100 Most Influential People list, The Hollywood Reporter naming her one of its 2019 “Women in Entertainment Power 100,” Ebony naming her to the Ebony 100 list, Vanity Fair named her on its “New Establishment” list, while the PEN Center USA honored her with an Award of Honor during the 2017 Literary Awards.,

In Hollywood, Mock has continued to blaze trails.  She became the first trans woman of color to write and direct a television episode when the 'Love Is The Message' episode was broadcast during POSE's first season.

She also became the first Black trans person to sign a deal with a major movie studio when she inked a multiyear deal with Netflix.

I am exceedingly happy to find out that when the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards happens, she will be honored with an LGBTQ Advocacy Award! 

Janet is Black Trans excellence personified, and I'm proud to call her a friend in addition to watching her make moves and still do some amazing things.

And yeah, I'm a huge fan of POSE and can't wait until its third season happens. 

CC 2020 Susan J Hyde Award Speech

TransGriot Note:  This is the text of the speech I'm currently delivering at the opening Creating Change 2020 plenary session

To Rea Carey, the Creating Change leadership team, the Dallas CC20 Organizing Committee, Barbara Satin, Creating Change 2020 attendees, my Houston activist family and my trans siblings.

I am beyond thrilled and excited to be honored with this year’s Susan J Hyde Award for Longevity in the Movement.   Even better is the knowledge that I’m receiving it in my home state. The only thing that would have made it more amazing would have been to be receiving it on my end of Interstate 45.

I humbly accept it not only for myself, but for every Black trans person who will never have the opportunity to contribute their talents to our community because they were taken from us far too soon..  

Can we please have a moment of silence for all the trans people we’ve lost to anti-trans violence in 2019?   

Thank you.

I’m not the first Black trans person to receive this award, and you can trust and believe I won’t be the last Black trans person standing up on a future Creating Change stage to pick up one of their own.

Kylar Broadus received this Hyde award during Creating Change 2011 held in Minneapolis.  He’s a trailblazer, community leader and a man I have the utmost respect for. I’m proud to be on this date following in his footsteps and receiving this prestigious award.   

As much as native Houstonians like myself revel in poking fun at the third largest city in the state because it is ingrained in people growing up either here or in Dallas to throw shade at each other and their respective NFL franchises (Go Texans!) , there is no denying the fact that Dallas has been a major part of my life.  My mom grew up here until her junior year of high school and my grandfather was transferred by his Continental Airlines job to Houston.

Every summer, my family and I made the four hour trip up I-45 to Dallas to visit many of my relatives that still live here in the area and span the Metroplex from Garland to DeSoto, and South Dallas to Oak Cliff.   I’ve been coming here since 2013 for the Black Trans Advocacy Conference, and proudly sit on the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition board as a member of Black Transwomen Inc. I’ll be back here to spend my birthday week at BTAC’s 9th annual conference also being held here in Dallas May 5-10. 

And I can’t forget last year, when I made multiple trips to Dallas for everything from a BTAC leadership institute to Muhlaysia Booker’s wake and funeral.

I’ve been a trans activist for over two decades, and 2019 was a milestone year on two levels. It marked 25 years since that April 4,1994 day I walked into Houston’s Intercontinental Airport to begin the work shift at my airline job that would change the course of my life for the better. 

2019 also was the year that I passed the 20th anniversary of my first Texas trans lobby day organized by my late mentor Sarah DePalma, the ED of the Texas Gender Advocacy Information Network or TGAIN.    TGAIN is still around, but is now called the Transgender Education Network of Texas.

It also marked the 20th anniversary of me attending my first Creating Change conference in Oakland.

But to be honest, when I started the transition in 1994, being an activist was the furthest thing from my mind.  My goals then were a little more modest. I wanted to do my 35 years at the airline job I absolutely loved and retire   I wanted to just get comfortable being me and enjoy my life evolving into the fabulous Black trans woman you see on this stage today.

There’s an old saying that if you want to make God laugh, try to plan out your life.

There used to be an organization back in the day called the International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE) that was around until 2015.   Back in the 90’s they published a quarterly magazine called Transgender Tapestry that I started a subscription to in 1995. 

In 1997 they decided to publish a series of articles highlighting 100 out and proud trans leaders.   The first magazine I received highlighted 25 people, many of them iconic elders in our community like Jamison Green and Phyllis Frye just to name a few. 

But as I read that article, I was left asking the question, “Where are the trans leaders who look like me?”   I know we exist.

I get my next quarterly Tapestry issue, and it finally had two Black people in it.   RuPaul and Dennis Rodman.

Needless to say I was pissed.  RuPaul and Dennis Rodman had made it quite clear they weren’t trans, and worst of all their inclusion was perpetuating a racist stereotype that the only thing Black folks could do was be an entertainer or an athlete.

Never mind the fact that Marisa Richmond in Nashville and Dawn Wilson in Louisville were at that time running trans support groups called the Tennessee Vals and the Bluegrass Belles on opposite ends of I-65.  Marisa and Dawn were also emerging Black trans community leaders that I would later meet at the 1999 Southern Comfort in Marisa’s case and Dawn at the 2000 IFGE Convention in DC.. I’m also proud to call them my friends,

So after seeing that I resolved to not only be at the 1998 GenderPac Lobby Days in Washington DC, I made it my mission to start getting involved in local and national trans activism.

So yeah, a jacked up article in a trans magazine was the impetus for me getting into trans activism, and I never looked back.

When I  came into trans activism in 1998, there was unfortunately a prevailing attitude that adding trans folks to pending legislation for the TBLGQ community would kill it for everybody, so all TBLGQ activism at the local, state and federal level operated on the euphemistically named ‘incremental progress’ model.  

Translation: We trans folks were told by some Big Gay Org this bill won’t pass with you trans folks in it.   Or we were told that ‘trans rights was ‘too new’, so let’s just take what we can get and we’ll come back for you trans folks later.  

A later that never came.   Ask the trans folks in Wisconsin, who have been waiting since 1982 for people to come back for them and add them to their state’s nondiscrimination law.

Sometimes the anti-trans legislative hostility came from our own community    The anti- trans bathroom argument was created not by Republican politicians, but by one of our own in former US Rep Barney Frank in 1999 because he didn’t want trans folks included in ENDA..  

The 1998 landscape also included the trans community being relentlessly attacked by TERFs, evilgelicals  and being laughed at and considered a joke by politicians on both sides of the political aisle

But still we rose.  During my 22 years in this movement, I have been blessed to see changes in how the trans community was perceived, and I'm happy to say that the Task Force played a major role in making that happen.  As the Political Director of the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition, (NTAC) from 1999-2002, one of the first events I attended in that role was a National Transgender Policy meeting facilitated by the Task Force in 2000. 

I got to witness the rise of our trans kids like Jazz Jennings and the Mama and Papa Bears as a political and cultural force for our community    I got to witness politicians stop laughing at the trans community and take our demands for human rights equity seriously

I started a blog in 2006  ‘nobody reads’ called TransGriot that not only just celebrated its 14th birthday on New Year’s Day, but was just honored with its fifth GLAAD Media Award nomination.

I get to watch an amazing TV show called POSE in which the issues that affect the trans community get told as you watch it from coast to coast.   The trans characters are also played by trans women, with trans women being writers and producers of the show. 

I’m also happy to witness trans men not only become better known in Hollywood, but stepping up across the country and the world to take on their leadership roles in the movement.  I’m also proud to see my Dallas based sibs in BTMI under Carter Brown’s leadership role model not only what that leadership looks like from a Black trans masculine perspective, but also be sterling examples of Black men while doing so.

I have gotten to witness people like Virginia Delegate Danica Roem get elected and reelected to their state legislature.   I got to see Black trans people like me in Councilmembers Andrea Jenkins and Phillipe Cunningham be elected to the Minneapolis city council and serve together on that body.

And naw siblings, I didn’t forget about the work that nonbinary and gender non conforming people are doing to drive home the point that gender is on a spectrum, not a rigid binary.

I have also been blessed to witness the beautiful sight of our Texas trans kids living up to our history of being tenacious fighters for trans rights in the Lone Star State and helping lead the charge in 2017 to kill twice the odious SB 6 ‘Bathroom Bill’ in a regular and a special oppression session. 

It’s interesting that Creating Change is back here in Texas at a potential tipping point moment in our politics.   We are now only nine seats away from flipping the Texas House to Democratic control for the first time since 2002   There is the possibility that we may flip this state blue on November 3 and flush John Cornyn out of his US Senate seat he has occupied for way too long at the same time.

We have lesbian and gay office holders across the Lone Star State from judges to city councilmembers to state legislators.  I hope to see in my lifetime a Texas trans person get elected to public office before the decade of the 2020s has passed into the history books.

But much needs to be done here in Texas before we can see that glorious day.  We mush flip our legislature and ensure that fair maps instead of gerrymandered ones are drawn.  We must make sure that every TBLGQ person is counted in the upcoming 2020 Census and registered to vote.   On November 3 we must do everything within our power to ensure that every person who is registered to vote has the opportunity to cast a ballot in a critical to our democracy election.

We must push to ensure that trans Texans are covered not only in our state’s James Byrd Hate Crimes Act, but a statewide nondiscrimination law.

In my Houston hometown, we must convince our female majority city council to pass HERO 2.0, and defend it from attack from the evilgelicals and the Republican Party.

We must kill any proposed bills in Texas and anywhere else in the US that seek to ban the ability of trans kids to get trans medical care before their 18th birthday or criminalize doctors for providing that treatment.

And yes, I have a message for Gov Greg Abbott, Lt Governor Dan Patrick and the Texas Republican Party:  Don’t mess with Texas trans kids.

Don’t mess with our trans kids in the other 49 states and\ US territories either.  
   
How do we accomplish all that?  That’s why you’re here in the 214 area code for the next few days at CC20.  You are here to not only network with the peeps that can help you accomplish those goals, but learn new skills, and brush up on ones you learned decades ago like I did at my five previous Creating Change events.

You are also here to hopefully make lifelong friends during the time you’re here in Dallas for CC20.

In conclusion, when I transitioned a quarter century ago, I never imagined standing up on stages as my fab self getting honored for the work I do to make my community, the Lone Star State, and our nation better.   I never imagined back in 1994 that I would be appearing on Nightline or MSNBC, or doing print media interviews or podcasts to talk about trans issues.

I didn’t consider the possibility that people would be asking my unapologetically Black trans self to run for public office.  I never thought about the fact that while I don’t have children of my own, I would gain a whole lot of nieces and nephews who chose me to be their Aunt Monica.  

But it’s happening.  I’m seen as a possibility model and an icon to a community that I’m unabashedly proud of.  I’m proud of the next generation Black trans women I see who will make me look like a slacker by the time that I’m done in terms of what they collectively accomplish for our movement .

And to quote our  trans elder Miss Major, “I’m still effing here.”

We’ve got work to do CC20.  Time to go handle our movement business, get our learn on, and get it done for the TBLGQ + kids who look up to all of us.  

And I’m not going to disappoint them.  

TransGriot Gets 5th Nomination For GLAAD Media Award!

Woke up to the wonderful news that TransGriot has been nominated once again for a GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Blog category.

It it is my fifth overall  nomination, and the fourth consecutive nomination since 2017.  As you long time readers know, I won the Outstanding Blog award in 2018.

Once again the Outstanding Blog category is packed, with the other nominees being 2019 winner Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents, 2011 winner JoeMyGod, Gays With Kids and My Fabulous Disease.

Ever since this category started in 2011, there has never been a repeat winner of it.  Will this be the year that happens for me or the other two previous award winners, or will Gays with Kids or My Fabulous Disease finally get their first wins?

There are also folks who got nominated for GLAAD media Awards in which I had a participatory role in. 

Lauren McGaughy of the Dallas Morning News received a nomination in the Outstanding Newspaper Article category for her article  "Texas Leads the Nation in Transgender Murders. After the Latest Attack, the Dallas Trans Community Asks Why”

In the Outstanding TV Journalism Segment Category, Vice News Tonight was nominated for their 'Black and Trans in Texas' one.

ABC News Nightline was nominated  in the Outstanding TV Journalism category for "Am I Next? Trans and Targeted

Congrats also to my homegirls Trish Bendix, Raquel Willis, Geena Rocero and Dawn Ennis who also received GLAAD Media Award nominations for their work.

Bendix and Ellis are nominated in the Outstanding Digital Journalism category, while Willis and Rocero were nominated in the Outstanding Magazine Article category

I Am Jazz received another nomination in the Outstanding Reality Series category, so congrats to the Jennings family again..

The winners will be announced during the GLAAD Media Awards events in New York at the Hilton Midtown on March 19 and in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton on April 16.

Congrats to everyone who received nominations today, and good luck!

I'm Getting The Susan J Hyde Award At CC20!

When Creating Change kicks off in Dallas, I'll be getting another award for my 22 years of activity in the TBLGQ movement.

I'm being honored with the Susan J. Hyde Award for Longevity in the movement during the opening plenary on January 16.

I'm not the first Black trans person to receive this award.   Kylar Broadus received it during the 2011 Creating Change event held in Minneapolis.  It's nice that I'm following someone in receiving this award that I have much love and respect for. 

I'm looking forward to that when it happens, and it also means I'll have a speech to deliver as well

For those of you planning to attend, see y'all in two weeks.

 

Rev Lawrence T. Richardson Set To Make History As Next Linden Hills UCC Senior Pastor

"My message to every trans and gender non-conforming person is this: God is love and you were made in the image of perfect Love.  There is space for you in this world.  There is space at your church, in your desired career, in your family, on sports teams...and it is time to take your space.  Show up!  In large number or in small...your presence is valued and necessary.  So what, they stare or ask questions, answer them.   Look them in the eyes proudly with your beautiful, handsome, artsy, brilliant, capable, transgender self.  Claim your space. Rearrange the seating to make room at the table.  Correct people when they use the wrong pronouns.  Hang up your own sign on the bathroom door.  Tell them who you are and who you are not. Be bold.  No one is going to understand what they cannot see, cannot hear or cannot know. "  -Rev Lawrence T, Richardson, 2013 

One of the best things about being a advocate over 20 years is that you get to meet some amazing people along the way.

I met Rev. Lawrence T. Richardson during a BTAC conference back in 2013, and saw him again during my recent April trip to Minneapolis and on the University of Minnesota campus.

For the last five years he has been the associate pastor at Linden Hills United Church of Christ in Minneapolis under the Rev Eliot Howard, who has been the senior pastor at Linden Hills UCC for the last 26 years. 

Rev Howard, along with everyone else Rev. Lawrence has encountered, has recognized that he is an amazing leader who is well respected not only in the local and national faith communities, but in the trans one as well.

Rev. Howard has decided to retire, and in an overwhelming affirmative vote by the membership of Linden Hills on October 27, chose Rev Richardson to be their next leader.  It makes him the first out Black trans cleric in his home state of Minnesota

Rev Richardson is excited about the new opportunity, and one of his his missions will be to have Linden Hills UCC continue to be a welcoming church community, just as it was when he encountered it.

Congratulations Rev. Richardson!  I'm extremely proud of you and the history you're making!   I hope that I'll get a chance to visit Linden Hills the next time my travels bring me to the Twin Cities.     

ESSENCE Woke 100 List Has Trans Feminine Representation On It

ESSENCE is the iconic Black women's magazine in our community, and over the last few years I have noted them making an increasing effort to include Black trans women in their stories.

The ESSENCE Woke 100 is a list of women of color who are examples of being change agents and power players.   It is now in its third year of publication, and The Essence Woke 100 encompasses women in politics, social justice, sports and entertainment who are inspirations to people around the globe. 

The 2019 edition included some trans women on this list. 

The trans women who were named on this 2019 list are OUT magazine editor Raquel Willis, actors Dominique Jackson, Angelica Ross, MJ Rodriguez and Indya Moore, and activist/media personality Ashlee Marie Preston.

Congrats to all of you ladies for being named to this prestigious list and thanks for everything you do to rep and uplift our entire community.

This is also another example of Black trans people being an undeniable part of the kente cloth fabric of our community. 

Marsha's Plate Hits 100th Show Milestone

My multi-talented sis Diamond Stylz is a trailblazer in many areas of the media.   She was a YouTube video blogger for over a decade until they shadily deleted her channel. 

When she was in high school, she was the plaintiff for a successful trans rights lawsuit, then became the first out trans student to attend Jackson State University.    Being in that somewhat hostile environment helped her hone her activist skills.  She's also a singer and songwriter. 

She recently wrote an article that was published in ESSENCE magazine, and for several years now she has a podcast called Marsha's Plate that she hosts with Mia Mix and Zee that focuses on Black trans community issues, pop culture and other subjects.

I've had the honor of doing one of their shows since the podcast is based here in Houston, and hope I get the chance to do another one in the near future.

The big news is that Marsha's Plate is now celebrating its 100th show, and it's a must listen to one in which one of the topics they discussed is Andre Mizrahi's jacked up transphobic rant.

Congratulations to the Marsha's Plate team for hitting this milestone!

CeCe Telfer Wins NCAA Division II 400m Hurdles Track Championship!

While the attention of the Texas Black trans community was focused on the DFW area, what we weren't aware of was that some Black trans excellence was happening here in the Lone Stat State. 

The NCAA Division II Women's Track & Field (Athletics to the rest of the world) Championships were held in Kingsville, TX on the campus of Texas A&M-Kingsville just outside of Corpus Christi during that May 23-25 weekend.

In the 400 m hurdles race final starting in Lane 4 was Franklin Pierce University senior CeCe Telfer.  She'd already finished fifth in the 100 m hurdles final earlier in the day at 13;56 seconds, a half second behind NCAA Div II national champion Courtney Nelson of Pittsburg State..

Telfer captured the 400 m NCAA Div II title in the 400 m hurdles in a personal best time of 57.53 seconds

"It was tough conditions out here with the wind and the heat over the last three days but, as she has over the last six months, CeCe proved herself to be tough enough to handle it," said FPU head coach Zach Emerson of the performance. "Today was a microcosm of her entire season; she was not going to let anything slow her down. I've never met anybody as strong as her mentally in my entire life."

As you probably guessed, the TERFs and other haters are already coming out to attack her.   Telfer competed on the FPU men's squad for three years before stepping away from track for a year to transition.   NCAA rules state that you must be on hormones and testosterone suppression meds for one year before you are allowed to compete in your presentation gender. 

Telfer's love of the sport pulled her back to the track, and she was enthusiastically supported by the Franklin Pierce University administration, the AD, and her teammates.
 

But she still faced transphobic hatred from other competitors during her senior season. 

Nevertheless she persisted, and is not walking way with the NCAA Div II title as 400m hurdles champion.

Indya Moore Makes History Again

You've seen them as part of the history making cast of the FX show Pose, and now 24 year old Indya  Moore is making history again as the first out trans person to grace an ELLE magazine cover.

Moore is not only Black Trans Excellence personified,  Moore also uses they them pronouns. 

Despite a challenging childhood and early adulthood, ,it seems that life has now moved into an amazing sweet spot for Moore.   Opportunities are opening up for them as Pose kicks off its second season on June 11.  Moore now  has a major fashion magazine cover to their credit, and made history in the process.

And yes, Moore wants to remind you peeps that they are unapologetically Black, and you need to acknowledge them and the Black trans community.

Sometimes I feel like i have to remind people that I'm black and that makes me feel less black, But yeah! I'm black and I'm trans and I'm here and I think it's important our community acknowledges black trans people because we are murdered countlessly in our own communities. 

I'm not only looking forward to meeting her one day, I'm looking forward to seeing how their character Angel continues to evolve on the show

The ELLE magazine featuring Moore is scheduled to hit your fave newsstands on May 24

Correction: Four Black Women Have Won Major Beauty Pageants In 2019

Been seeing the memes out there that have proudly pointed out that with only the Miss Universe pageant left to be conducted,  Black women in the US have won in succession the Miss Teen USA, Miss America and the Miss USA Universe pageants for the first time ever in the same calendar year.

Major props to 2019 Miss Teen USA winner Kaleigh Garris, Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin and Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst for doing so.   They are all accomplished women and I'm exceedingly proud of all of them snatching crowns in the same calendar year.

Even more impressive, Miss Teen USA Kaleigh Garris did so while rocking a natural hair style.

But people are forgetting the fourth Black woman who also made history by winning a major beauty pageant title this year, and she did so back in March.

Jazell Barbie Royale became the first Black women to ever win the Miss International Queen trans pageant in Thailand.  Her accomplishment was just as historic as the pother women being celebrated, but once again when it comes to Black Trans excellence, the Black community sadly is ignoring it.

Let me repeat for y'all that Black trans women ARE Black women.   When we rise and excel at doing whatever we accomplish, so does the entire Black community.

So what if the Miss International Queen is a pageant for trans women?   No Black woman from the African Diaspora had ever won that pageant in its fifteen year history until this year, and it had been 2005 since the last American woman had won it.

So yes, I would like to see it acknowledged that FOUR Black women have won major pageant titles in the same year.   If no one else will acknowledge that fact, I damned sure will. 

Marisa Richmond To Receive Fan Fair's Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award!

"While I may be the first African-American trans person honored with this Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award, I emphatically believe I won't be the last one to be so honored. 

We have some people who have been and still are trailblazing African-American leaders such as Marisa Richmond, Kylar Broadus, Dawn Wilson, Miss Major and Louis Mitchell just to name a few who could have easily been standing here today instead of me."
Monica Roberts,
Virginia Price Transgender Pioneer Award Acceptance Speech 
October, 2015 

In 2015 I became the first African American trans person to receive the Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award from Fantasia Fair as Marisa Richmond congratulated me for doing so.

Now, four years later, Marisa Richmond will become the second African American trans person to win this prestigious award when Fantasia Fair kicks off in Provincetown. MA October 20-27.

And I couldn't be happier for her.   She has been blazing trails in our trans rights movement since 1992, and I'm pleased and proud to call her a friend.

In 1992 she founded the Tennessee Vals gender group that is still in existence.  She was a board member of NTAC, AEGIS and NCTE.   She founded the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition.  In 2008 she became the first African American trans delegate to the Democratic National Convention that was held in Denver.  In 2008 she also became the first openly trans person to win an election in Tennessee when she was elected to the Davidson County Democratic Party Executive Committee. 

Marisa was also the 2016 Democratic National Convention's official timekeeper
She is also a sought after speaker on trans issues in addition to being a college history professor

Congratulations Marisa!   It's well deserved, and hopefully I can get to FanFair 2019 and be in the room when she accepts her award

Trans Soul Singer Jackie Shane Joins The Ancestors

Sad to hear the news via her record company that Grammy nominated trans soul singer Jackie Shane has passed away at age 78.

Shane was born in Nashville in 1940, but spent much of her life in Canada, specifically in Montreal and Toronto,  rising to prominence in the local Toronto R&B music scene centered on Yonge Street.   She and her band toured Canada and the US until she returned to the United States in 1971.

She turned down an offer from George Clinton to join Funkadelic (I would have loved that as a hardcore Funkateer ) to take care of an aunt and returned to Nashville in 1996.   

A CBC documentary brought her out of obscurity and gave us a chance to learn about our pioneering transcestor.   A collection of her music entitled Any Other Way, was nominated for a Grammy this year/ 

Rest in power and peace, Jackie.   You paved the way for the next generation of trans singers like Shea Diamond, and we're happy as a community we got to give you your flowers in the time that we got to know about you.

Now it's up to our trans musicians to pick up the torch you have left behind and hold it up for the next generation.

Happy Black History Month 2019

Black History Month may only happen in the shortest month of our calendar, but for me, every month is Black History Month.   Our greatness as a people is not limited to just these 28 days of the year.

It also didn't stop with the Civil Rights Movement.

Over the last month I have been gleefully celebrating with our 17 new African American women judges here in my home county as they take their judicial benches and go through their investiture ceremonies.

During Sunday's upcoming Super Bowl in the ATL between the Cheatriots Patriots and the Rams, the Rams cheerleading squad will make history as the first male cheerleaders in Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies  take the a Super Bowl sideline.

The New Orleans Saints, the Rams' NFC championship game opponent,  also had a male cheerleader as part of their squad in Jesse Hernandez

To drive home the point once again that Black trans people are Black people, we are doing our part to blaze new trails ourselves.   Back in December Breanna Sinclaire made her debut with the San Francisco Opera .  Sinclaire also happens to be the first trans woman to sing the national anthem at a professional sports event, doing so for both the Oakland A's in 2015 and the San Francisco Giants last year. 

Also proud of Raquel Willis making history by becoming in December the first trans executive editor at OUT Magazine. 

Black trans men are also blazing trails.   Filmmaker and tech entrepreneur Dr Kortney Ryan Ziegler became the first trans masculine person named to EBONY magazine's Power 100 List

And yes, myself and Alvin McEwen are poised to make a little history ourselves.  If either of our names are called during the GLAAD Media Awards, it would be the first time that any blog has won the Outstanding Blog category multiple times since it began in 2011. 

I'm also happy to see as this month starts Senator Kamala Harris pick up the torch that Shirley Chisholm left behind and embark on her hopefully successful campaign to become the first woman and second Black president of the United States. 

We'll have to wait until 2020 to see how that plays out for her. 

Happy Black History Month 2019!

Raquel Willis Becomes Executive Editor At OUT Magazine

I'd heard Raquel Willis was leaving her position with the Transgender Law Center to move to New York, saw that she had posted it on her Facebook page, but didn't elaborate at the time why she was doing so. 

Now I know why she went from the Left Coast to NYC.  .

It was announced today that Willis would become an executive editor with OUT magazine  and in the process, become the first trans person in that role in the 25 year history of that publication.

“It’s an honor to be a part of this team and be a part of this new crew of queer and trans people who wanna shake things up, and bring in more color along with new perspectives,” she said in an interview with ESSENCE magazine.

And you better believe I'm extremely proud of her for being tapped by OUT to fill this new role.

Willis is still getting acclimated to her new position and what she wants to do to elevate the voices of trans people on OUT's pages, but I am looking forward to seeing what happens at the magazine.

Congrats Raquel one making history, and I wish you nothing but success in your new position.

POSE's Dominique Jackson Coming To UH!

Been wanting to meet Dominique Jackson from POSE.   Now she's coming to Houston. 

The University of Houston Center for Diversity and Inclusion as part of their fall speaker series is bringing her to H-town.   Dominique will share her story about being a transgender woman and other aspects of her life. 

And she may talk about the show and her role as Elektra Abundance Evangelista on POSE. 

This conversation will take place on October 16 in the Houston Room on the south side of the UH Student Center at 6 PM.   Hope y'all come, check it out and show Dominique some love.     

Shea Diamond Sings At The HRC National Dinner

I met Shea Diamond during the 2017 BTAC conference in Dallas, and one of the highlights of it was our Family Day when she, Shea Freedom, Diamond Stylz backed up by Carmarion Anderson on percussion gave us an impromptu mic drop worthy singing performance.

Last Saturday the 22nd annual HRC National Dinner was held in Washington DC at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, and Shea Diamond was tapped to sing at the event. 

Shea has been blowing up since I last saw her at BTAC.   She has been signed by a major label, and she is currently working on her debut EP that is being executive produced by Justin Tranter. 

After being introduced at the dinner by Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, she went on stage and handled her business, singing an acoustic take on her hit song 'American Pie'.  She also gained a new fan in our former Vice President Joe Biden. 

VP Biden was so moved by her performance he met with Shea backstage after she finished



Congrats Shea on all the positive things happening in your life right now.   Looking forward to hearing that EP when it drops.

Tona Brown Blazing Trails Again

You know my sis Tona Brown has been #BlackTGirlMagic personified throughout her music career when it comes to trans people gaining attention in the classical music world.

She has sung for a sitting US president and performed at Carnegie Hall.  Now this December she will be participating in an all LGBTQ ensemble of soloists and musicians performing Handel's Messiah. 

Tona told me in a phone interview that she's still in shock that this is happening for her.

"I didn't know if this would happen for me in my lifetime," Brown said. "They asked me, and I'm still in shock about it."   "I'm pleased to be part of this groundbreaking event," she added.

This historic performance of The Messiah will take place at the First Presbyterian Church in Arlington, VA on December 15.   Address is 601 N Vermont Street in Arlington, and if you're in the DC-MD-VA area I hope you'll support this event

Sir Lady Java Interview

Sir Lady Java was one of our trans pioneers and elders who worked with Lena Horne, Redd Foxx and others as the premiere female illusionist of the 60s and 70's.

She was not only #BlackTransExcellence in her day, Lady Java was also a trans rights warrior, helping to take down the odious LAPD Rule Number 9.

Lady Java is still with is.  She's living in Los Angeles these days and now doing interviews talking about her life and 'her people' as she calls girls like us. 

Check out this

Ciora Thomas Named To PA Commission of LGBT Affairs

That was fast.

Just posted yesterday about the Pennsylvania Commission of LGBT Affairs being devoid of Black trans representation, and now comes word that the oversight has been fixed.

Ciora Thomas of Pittsburgh has been added to the commission as of today.   And yes, she's a proud girl like us.

She's the founder of Sisters PGH,  serves on the Pittsburgh LGBTQIA+ Advisory Council secured a partnership and position on the board of Proud Haven, an organization that provides a safe shelter for homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) youth/adults.

Congrats Ciora!  I know you'll be an unapologetic voice for Pennsylvania trans folks.   Kudos also to whoever was reading and listening to Ernest and myself, and fixed the representation problem with the LGBT Commission that Ernest Owens and I were calling out.