Why Is This Trans WH Petition Lagging In Getting The Necessary 100K Signatures?

When a White House petition posted on January 3 in honor of the departed Leelah Alcorn called for the passage of Leelah's Law to ban all conversion therapy aimed at TBLG Americans, it easily garnered its over 100,000 signatures, and got a WH response from Valerie Jarrett

Now we have a Fran Watson created White House petition posted on August 10 calling for the federal government to investigate the anti-trans violence that leads to the unacceptable slaughter of trans women of color.  

And how close are we to hitting that 100,000 signature threshold that we need to reach by September 10?   As of this writing, it has only 4735 signatures, well short of the number needed.

Ii this signature rate doesn't ramp up soon, we are probably NOT going to hit that 100,000 signature target required by September 10 to get an official White House response on this .

 And that's irritating and depressing to the trans communities of color reeling from the off the charts murders and anti-trans rhetoric being aimed at us.   I have no doubts if the racial composition of the trans murder victims was switched, and it was overwhelmingly white trans women under 30 being eviscerated, this would be 'State of Emergency' news and we would have already hit that signature target.

But since its predominately Black and Latina trans women, note it's now August 25 and we haven't even gotten to 50,000 signatures, much less 10,000.
This disappointing response is sending us in Trans POC World and our allies the unmistakable impression that All Trans Lives Don't Matter, and that the lives of the 17 murdered trans women of color we've lost in 2015 don't matter as much as one non-POC teen that committed suicide.  

The differing signature rates between the WH Leelah's Law petition and the current one aimed at trying to get action on a trans issue that overwhelmingly affects trans women of color is striking and a problematic look.  

So come on trans community and allies.  How about you showing as much love for murdered non-white trans women as you did for Leelah Alcorn earlier this year?  Black Lives Matter, how about you encouraging people to sign this WH petition?    Where you at NAACP?  Congressional Black Caucus?
 
Sign it and share it...Talk this petition up and also get people to understand why this is important to get 100K signatures for it so we can hit and exceed the signature target before that September 10 deadline. 

The clock's ticking.
  

The Black Trans Visibility Conundrum

At this August 2015 date in Black trans history we are in the best of times and also the worst of times.  We have had unprecedented visibility in thanks to Janet Mock,  Laverne Cox and other veteran and emerging African American trans masculine and transfeminine leaders.  

There is Isis King and Arisce Wanzer following in the trailblazing footsteps of Tracy Africa Norman and repping us in the modeling world..Laverne Cox continues her Sophia Burset role on Orange Is The New Black while adding to an impressive list of magazine covers, getting attention and buzz about playing other roles and possible network show pilots and having groundbreaking things happen for her like becoming the first ever trans person to have a wax figure of themselves at Madame Tussaud's

Speaking of movies, we have documentary films in production profiling the lives of Miss major and Marsha P. Johnson.   Fallon Fox is in the women's MMA ranks kicking butt with a 5-1 record while also being featured in the Game Face documentary and a voice for trans inclusion inside and outside the sporting world as Black trans feminine trailblazers do their thing in other fields like Angelica Ross, Breanna Sinclaire and Tona Brown

The unprecedented visibility of Black trans women even extends in the entertainment world, with a groundbreaking Bold and the Beautiful soap opera storyline that features Maya Avant, a major character on the long running CBS soap played by cis actress Karla Mosley, being revealed as a trans woman in March.  .We have gotten to see since then the issues of that revelation not only affect Forrester Creations and her relationship with Rick, but for the first time see how this plays out in a Black family. 

Even our trans brothers are finally getting their long overdue time in the spotlight, with people like BTAC founder Carter Brown, Jevon Martin, Rev Lawrence T. Richardson, Kylar Broadus, Dr. Kai Greene, Dr. Van Bailey, and entrepreneurs like Dr Kortney Ziegler representing us in the tech world.

But the increased visibility has come with a price.   Last week we had an historically unprecedented situation in which five Black trans women across the country under age 35 lost their lives, three of them were announced on the same heartbreaking day.   Far too often and the people doing the killing are in many cases other cis African-Americans as our legacy organizations are cricket chirping silent about it..

And that needs to stop. Hey NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus and the Urban League,   #BlackTransLivesMatter, too.. 

We have ministers preaching anti-trans hate from their pulpits at the behest of white right wing fundamentalists and anti-LGBT activists that is deleteriously affecting us and translating into far too many of us drying so these sellouts can build conservative street cred.

That  sets up a conundrum for Black trans people and our cis allies to ponder.  While the increased visibility for Black trans people has been a mixed bag, it's also necessary to advance our trans human rights struggle.

We must have people willing to be visible and busting stereotypes while others continuously agitate for the systemic change we need.   We can't do that while hiding or suffering in silence.  Because the trans narrative has been framed from a vanillacentric perspective, we Black trans people need to be visible in order to break down the lies and stereotypes about us that have been spread in far too many quarters of the Black community.   Those lies and stereotypes have the deleterious effect of feeding the transphobia that leads to the anti-trans violence that kills us.

We've gone through tough times before, and we will get through them again.  We Black trans people have always been visionary leaders at the forefront of change for our people, and that pattern is no different in the second decade of the 21st century.  We have much to contribute to the Black community if just given the opportunity to do so.

The question is how soon will our people give us that chance to prove it/

BLM Statement: It's Time! Putting The T Back In Black

In case some of you were wondering if #BlackTransLivesMatter to the #BlackLivesMatter movement, based on this statement and a previous comment from BLM co-founder Alicia Garza, the answer would be an emphatic YES!

The 'T' has always been part of the Black community.  It's just taking some people time to let that concept sink into their nappy headed craniums.

But I'll let you TransGriot readers peruse it for yourselves.

***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 19, 2015
It's Time! Putting the T Back in Black

It is time we accept that state sanctioned violence is much more than police brutality. In the wake of 5 beautiful trans women losing their lives, just last week alone, we are full of grief. These terrible happenings are a result of the many factors that place black trans women in so much risk just by leaving our homes, if we even have homes to begin with. It is far past the time to shut shit down for black trans folks the same way we shut shit down for cis black men.

Black trans women have consistently resisted against anti blackness, patriarchy, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia and white supremacy by being a model of unapologetic truth. Black resistance doesn’t belong to just one group of black people it belongs to us all. We believe that in order to get free we must all get free. Black trans folks getting free isn’t up for debate.


We ask that you commit to learning the names of your sisters who have been murdered. We ask that you learn the names of your sisters who are fighting for your lives just as much as we are fighting for ours. We need more from our black cis counterparts. We need you to show up for the simple fact that black people are dying at the hands of this violence. When a black trans woman's body is found burned in a field, and there is no outrage from the community, it sends the message to us, and to everyone else that there is no value in our existence. That black trans women are fair game.

#BlackLivesMatter has consistently been supportive and in collaboration with black trans folks and especially with Black trans women. We have spent time developing principles,developing analysis,and creating deep practice that is full of love. There’s no action without practice. The time has come for us to practice what we have created. The time is now to resist in honor of Marsha P. Johnson. Islan Nettles. Cemia Dove. Amber Monroe. Penny Proud. Ashley Sherman and so many others. The time is now to join #BlackLivesMatter in action as we celebrate our sisters who are living- the very sisters who have fought next to us to sustain this declaration that has been heard around the world.


We don't show up and show out for cis black people for accolades, or to insure that they show up for us. We have shown up for cis black folk because we know “that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” We show up for cis black folk because as a black person, we know that if they will kill my siblings, they will kill us. We have shown up for black cis people when black cis people are contributing to the violence we face as black trans women. We have shown up for Black cis folk when the face of violence for a black trans woman is often a black cis man. No longer can we move through society ashamed of the trans people who come from us. Before we were trans, before we were queer, before we were anything we were black. Our Black Lives Matter whether you are ashamed or not.


The creation of #SayHerName was not just a hashtag, it is a call to action. It is the demand that we hold space for our most marginalized. We urge that in our time of great collective grief, we take the time to process and feel but also uplift the black trans women who are still living. Reach out to your black trans sisters, remind us that we are loved and sustain that love through service to our empowerment. Be with us in protecting black trans lives. Build community with black trans women. Uplift black trans leadership. Extend humanity and love to black trans women. Be with us and be of service. We might as well stop fighting, if we can't show up for the people in our community who need us the most.

We have all been called to take bold direct action by black trans women. That action is more than a retweet or share of the names of black trans women who have been murdered but to organize with vigor in solidarity. We are calling for support from all #BlackLivesMatter chapters,and all black organizers committed to black liberation to join us in our fight towards liberation this Thursday, August 20th, 2015 at 6pm PST/ 9pm EST for a National Call of Solidarity to take action for our lives. Please register for the call using this link:
https:// myaccount.maestroconference.com/register/6XEVMRMZ0H206MHW

In Black Revolutionary Love,

Elle Hearns, Ahya Simone, Aaryn Lang
Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi
#BlackLivesMatter

Don't Even Dare Part Your Lips To Say 'All Trans Lives Matter'...

When it is my young trans people who are being slaughtered along with trans Latinas in 2015.

Please do not part your lips to say that vanillacentric privilege laden 'All Trans Lives Matter' crap.  Not in the mood to hear that from some white trans people, especially after a week in which the deaths of FOUR Black trans women in different parts of the country were announced, one of them was in Texas, and the four trans people in question were all under 35.

As my Texas trans elder Sharyn Grayson said to me earlier in the week when we were talking about it, "Our babies are being killed."

Yes ma'am they are, and some of the people doing it share my ethnic heritage.   It's why I have zero tolerance for that 'All Trans Lives Matter line.  It's insulting and problematic to say for the same damned reasons as that jacked up marinating in white supremacy 'All Lives Matter' response to ‪#‎BlackLivesMatter‬.

Let Moni school you on something right now.  There are because of whiteness and white supremacy, some trans lives that matter more than others.  The narrative about trans femininity has been focused on white trans women ever since Christine Jorgenson stepped off the plane in 1953, and now in the 2K15 attention and focus is finally being paid to trans women of color for something besides our murders, and some of y'all are still hatin' about that..

I repeat,  we have had FOUR Black trans women's deaths announced in this week alone and five in this month of August that still isn't over yet.  This is a crisis situation that deserves immediate attention and action to solve it.
‪
#‎BlackTransLivesMatter‬

Some of you may not care about Black trans peoples lives, but I, my trans elders and our Black cis trans allies damned sure do. Those kids are my next generation of trans people, and it deeply concerns me, my trans elders and cis Black allies they are being eviscerated before they have even had a chance to live their lives and make whatever contributions to society they would have possibly made.  

If you're saying 'so what?' to that point or the problematic life expectancy average of a Black trans woman being age 35, better rethink that.   If my 34 year old self hadn't kept a cool head and gotten myself out of a potentially dangerous situation in 1996, I wouldn't be here to talk about it, much less make the contributions to trans kind that I have made since then. 

This blog wouldn't exist either.

We Black trans peeps have talents that we can contribute to this community.  We may also be the ones destined to do some great things for humankind in general.  But we can't do that or make those contributions to society while buried in a grave.

I'll bet if the script was flipped and we had young white trans women under 30 dying at the same rate as Black and Latina ones have been in 2015, we would already have the 100,000 signatures on that White House We The People petition calling for the federal investigation of anti-trans violence and then some. 

Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton would be saying it from the Democratic campaign trail, and Hollywood's trans supportive allies would already be talking about 'stopping the orgy of violence aimed at young  trans people.'

So no, don't even dare part your lips to let that infuriating and insulting 'All Trans Lives Matter' comment pass through your lips when some of these trans kids have yet to be buried..

It's fairly obvious some trans lives matter more than others, and we need to keep it real on that point.

#BlackLivesMatter Founder FB Statement On Trans Murders

I had the pleasure of meeting during #CC15 the #BlackLivesMatter founding trio of Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometti .  We had an interesting and substantive conversation about the BLM movement and where trans peeps fit in it.

FYI, meeting people like them is why I want to attend if possible #CC16 in Chicago this coming January. 

In the wake of this unprecedented bloody week for US trans people.(I'd need another post to tell you what's going on in Brazil), and being asked what is BLM's stance concerning what is on pace to be the worst year ever since we started tracking them for trans murders in the US, Alicia Garza put out a statement on her Facebook page concerning this problem that is at state of emergency status.

And enough chatter from me, here's Alica's statement.

***

Shade Schuler. Papi Edwards. Lamia Beard. Ty Underwood. Yasmine Payne. Taja Gabrielle de Jesus. Penny Proud. Kristina Gomez Reinwald. London Chanel. Mercedes Williamson. India Clarke. K.C. Haggard. Amber Monroe. Kandis Capri.

These are the names of the trans women *reported* murdered since the beginning of the year. So many more go unreported. I call on all of us to say their names. Each one of these women should still be alive--but they are not because the lives of trans women are seen as disposable.

The average life expectancy of a trans woman of color is 35 years old. And yet even still, no state of emergency has been declared. Black communities are in crisis, and we declare that more than 13 murders of trans women, 5 of whom were murdered just this week, 11 of whom are of color and most of whom are Black, is indeed, a state of emergency.

State sanctioned violence is about much more than police violence. State sanctioned violence is the multiple forms of violence enacted against trans women of color, including exclusion from the economy, from services, from democracy. The murders of trans women alongside the multiple other forms of violence that trans women experience must be elevated to the level of conversation that the murders of cis Black men now occupy.

What that means is that it cannot constantly be the job of trans women to constantly remind us that their lives matter too. The liberation of Black people as a whole depends on the liberation of Black trans folks. None of us are free until all of us are free.

And Kandis Makes 15

This is getting out of control now.   This is the third Black trans woman killed or has had her death announced this week

This is 35 year old Kandis Capri of Phoenix, AZ.   She was shot to death on Tuesday and pronounced dead from the four gunshot wound she received at a Phoenix hospital.   Her purse and phone is missing, and her mother was notified by tight lipped Phoenix PD t 5:30 AM local time on Wednesday.

I say tight lipped because they haven't said anything about this case, the Phoenix media has been mute about it, and what I know about it I had to read an article in The Guardian with Kandis' mother Andria Gaines just to get the basics.that I've written here.

As of this writing Phoenix PD hasn't even published a number so that people with potential leads to solve this case an call either Crimestoppers or the detectives working the case.   But with Phoenix having some amazing activists in the area, hope that will change soon..

Kandis Capri makes number 15 in a year that is rapidly becoming a deadly one for US based trans women, and we still have 4r months to go.  far too many of those deaths have been overwhelmingly of Black and Latina trans women, and far too many of them this year have been under 30.

If #BlackTransLivesMatter Black America, prove it to me and your trans kin.  Sign the Fran Watson created White House We The People petition (that I have already signed) that seeks to begin a federal investigation into the anti-trans violence that is snuffing out far too many young Black trans people.

We have talents as trans people we can contribute to the greater African-American community and society.  But we can't do that if we're lying dead in a grave.

Rest in power and peace Kandis.

August 14, 2015 Wasn't A Good Day For Black Trans Folks

Yesterday, August 14, 2015 will go down in the history of our US trans community and our trans rights movement as a very tough day for us. We had announcements of two more trans younglings in Detroit murdered in Amber Monroe and Ashton O'Hara. We had in North Carolina the announcement that the remains of Angel Elisha Walker had been found after she disappeared 10 months ago. And we are also trying to confirm the death of Kandis Capri in Phoenix.

The infuriating thing about all these cases that adds to the pain of their losses is that all of them were under 30 years of age, with the exception of Kandis, who is 35..

The ray of sunshine in those dark clouds of despair is that in two of the cases. the perpetrators are sitting in jail awaiting further action from law enforcement.

We are in a human rights war we didn't start, but have no choice but to fight it and win. At stake is our humanity and our human rights, and like all wars, unfortunately there are causalities.

We take a moment to mourn our dead, dry our tears, comfort those who loved our fallen sisters and then steel ourselves for what we know we must do. We must fight tooth and nail for a better world for our trans kids, trans kind and all humanity so that we aren't having days like August 14, 2015 ever again.

We will do what we Black transfolks have always done. We will fight with every fiber of our being for our lives, our humanity, our human rights and our ultimate freedom from the tyranny that other misguided people wish to impose on us.

‪#‎BlackTransLivesMatter‬. They always have, always will, and they are worth fighting for.


TransGriot Note:  A White House We The People petition created by Fran Watson of Houston is calling for the federal government to do a formal investigation into the unacceptable levels of murders of trans POC people.  It needs 100K signatures by September 10 to get a formal White House response and to date as of the time I wrote this post it has only 818 signatures.  

Unacceptable when we are looking at a crisis in our community.  Trans women of color are being killed and nobody seems to care about doing something to solve the problem,

If you really care about Black trans people and aren't paying lip service to it, I ask that you not only sign this petition on behalf of the people no longer here, but pass it around your influence circle and urge them to sign it too.

Here's the link


TransGriot Note2:  Did confirm that 35 year old Kandis Capri was shot to death on Tuesday. 

Missing NC Trans Woman Angel Elisha Walker's Remains Found

As if we trans peeps didn't have enough grief to deal with right now with two murders this week while awaiting confirmation from Phoenix about still another Black transwoman being killed, been advised courtesy of a QNotes story by Matt Comer that the remains of 20 year old trans woman Angel Elisha Walker were found Thursday after a search of a property in Johnston County, NC by law enforcement officials.

She disappeared October 30, 2014 while driving her 2000 silver Pontiac Sunfire westward from Salisbury, NC and was reported missing by her mother on November 11.  Walker's burned out car was found two weeks after the investigation began in Sampson County, NC.

Walker's remains were found by law enforcement officials at 7:30 PM EDT on a property outside Smithfield, NC in the woods behind a house there.

23 year old Angel Arias, a known member of the Latin Kings street gang, was arrested and charged with murder and felony larceny of a motor vehicle.   He is being held without bond in the Johnston County jail on unrelated drug charges pending a return to Rowan County.

Will be keeping an eye on his case as well to see if justice is served in it.   Rest in power and in peace Elisha.

H/T QNotes

Damn, Damn, Damn! Ashton Is Number 14

Okay, at this point I am starting to feel like Florida Evans in terms of hearing the news about another trans person that won't ive to see their 50th, much less their 40th or 30th birthdays.  

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired of writing these posts about another young Black trans person being murdered before they have even had a chance to live their lives.

Meet 25 year old Ashton O'Hara of Detroit, who was murdered on July 14.  Ashton is sadly now the 14th trans person murdered in this deadly year of 2015 that has exceeded in 8 months the entire total of US trans murders for all of 2014.   And once again, Ashton is another trans and gender variant person under the age of 30  who has been taken away from us far too soon. 

We've had five murders announced in August alone and this month still isn't over yet.  And yeah, this is the second one in Detroit in 2015.  Amber Monroe was the other one, and the last report I had was her killer has yet to be found.

Once again, when will our #BlackTransLivesMatter?  And far too often, the people killing us are other Black people.   That was the case in this latest murder in which we already have an arrest in this case.

O'Hara's suspected killer, 37 year old Larry B.Gaulding is facing a first degree murder charge in a trial set to begin on September 24.   Let's pack the courtroom and ensure that justice is served in this case.

One thing I am happy to see is that a dialogue has been opened up between the Detroit PD and the local community that will hopefully result in a reduction in crimes aimed at the trans population.  

We also need other cis Black folks to stop cosigning on the conservafool driven hatred of trans people for their nefarious political purposes.  We're tired of y'all in Black Cis World thinking that the way to be a 'good Christian' is to mimic white fundamentalists conservafools who have a deep seated hatred of blackness and Black people. .  

As per usual, I'll be keeping up with this case as well in order to see if Ashton got justice.

Mia Henderson Case Update

Thanks to Jen Fischetti, I have been advised that the Baltimore PD has solved the case involving our departed sister Mia Henderson.

You may recall that the 26 year old Henderson's lifeless body was found in an alley near the 3400 block of Piedmont Ave in the Hanlon-Longmont neighborhood back on July 16, 2014.

On August 6, the Baltimore PD announced they were filing murder charges against Shawn Oliver, who is currently incarcerated at a state penal facility in Hagerstown, MD on an unrelated conviction.

Turns out that Oliver was attempting to rob Henderson, and she fought him before she was killed   That fight led to the discovery of DNA evidence under Mia's fingernails.

Of course, her family is pleased with the new developments in this case along with the Baltimore area trans community..  Stay tuned to these TransGriot electronic pages to see if Henderson gets justice in this case and Oliver gets to do some additional time in the Hagerstown Iron Bar Motel.

We Mourn A 13th Trans Woman's Murder This Year

Another trans person has been murdered, and this time the scene shifts to my home state of Texas.

The 13th trans woman murdered this year is 22 year old Shade (pronounced like the singer Sade) Schuler, whose badly decomposed body was found in an open field July 29 near Dallas' medical district.

It took Dallas PD detectives nearly two weeks to positively identify her, and as you probably guessed  as per the pattern with murdered Black trans women, Shade was promptly misgendered in the local media.

FYI, the violator of the AP Stylebook standards for reporting on trans people this time was The Dallas Morning News.   The Dallas Police Department has also been guilty of misgendered Shade as well in their press releases.

With this now 13th murder, we have surpassed all the trans people killed in 2014, and once again, still have four months to go in this year.

Anyone with information on this Shade Schuler case is asked to call Dallas PD Detective Chaney in the Homicide Unit at 214-671-3650, and refer to case number 174511-2015. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 214-373-TIPS (8477).

And as usual, as I receive information concerning this latest murder of an under 30 trans woman of color we are now just finding out about, I`ll pass it on to you.

And the question I asked in the last post is still relevant today.  When will #BlackTransLivesMatter to you Black America?

Rest in power and peace, Shade.  We will not rest until justice has been served in your case.

RIP Amber Monroe

Was made aware of this by Melanie Davis that we have now had a 12th transwoman killed in 2015, this time in Detroit.

Her name was Amber Monroe, and she was just 20 years old and a student at Wayne State University in Motown.   Her body was found early yesterday morning, and she had been shot, according to a statement by Equality Michigan .

“Our hearts are heavy with grief that we have lost another vibrant member of our community too soon. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of Amber’s family and friends whom she clearly loved deeply,” said Yvonne Siferd, Director of Victim Services for Equality Michigan.

“We have no idea yet whether this attack was fueled by transphobia, but we do know that Amber’s murder is the 12^th murder of a transgender woman in the United States this year, and the 10^th murder of a transgender woman of color. Transgender women, and especially transgender women of color, are disproportionately affected by violence.

Her life was just beginning; I know that this loss will leave so many people with a hole in their lives and with more questions than answers. Let’s come together to celebrate her life, and work for real change so that our transgender sisters can be free from persecution. I know we can do better. We have to do better.”

Yes, we as a society MUST do better.  With this third murder of a transwoman in the last 17 days, I know I'm getting fracking tired of writing the story about another young Black trans woman being killed.   We are being hunted, and nobody seems to give a rats anus about it.

Papi Edwards, 20, Louisville, January 9

Lamia Beard, 30, Norfolk on January 17

Ty Underwood, 24, Tyler TX on January 26

Yazmin Vash Payne, 33, LA on January 31

Taja de Jesus, 36, San Fran February 1

Penny Proud, 21, New Orleans February 10

Bri Golec, 22, Akron on February 13

Kristina Grant Infiniti, 47, Miami on February 15

London Chanel, 21, Philadelphia on May 18

Mercedes Williamson, 17, Alabama on May 30

India Clarke, 25, Tampa on July 22

K.C. Haggard, 66, Fresno on July 23

Amber Monroe, 20, Detroit on August 8#SayHerName

This is still a developing story and Detroit Police are still investigating what happened, so as further details get passed on or I find out about them, I'll pass them on to you TransGriot readers.

This crap needs to strop.   With this murder we have matched in eight bloody months what it took all of 2014 to accomplish, and these are just the ones we know about.   Ten of the 12 trans women killed have been trans women of color.  

What also irks me the most is that nine of the now twelve murdered trans women were under 30 years of age, and one was just 17 years old.

I'm also tired of my young trans sisters being misgendered and posthumosly slimed by the media after they are murdered. 

So tell me Black America, when will #BlackTransLivesMatter to you?   Today?   Next week?  Next month?  Next year?  How many more young Black trans people must die before you start caring enough to work with us to stop the murders of trans people? 

When will you  send the message that Black trans people are part of the Black community too? 

Your fellow trans people are waiting to hear that answer instead of loud and wrong condemnation from sellout ministers cooning it up for white cconservafool fundamentalists and deafening silence from our legacy organization like the NAACP and the Urban League.

Rest In Power and in peace, Amber.   You are loved, and your trans family and our allies won't rest until justice is done in your case..
.

It''s Past Time To Recognize That Black Trans Lives Matter

Still thinking about the fact tomorrow will mark 20 years since a 24 year old Tyra Hunter died from survivable injuries in a SE DC car accident at 50th & C Streets because of medical transphobia.  

In my hometown I along with other activists are battling an attempt to place anti-trans language in the Houston City Charter along with fighting to protect our trans inclusive human rights law.

Out of the 11 trans women who have unfortunately been murdered in the United States this year, seven have been Black trans women.

And we still have elements of the Black community who are attempting to erase our existence from a community we have cultural and blood ties to, and even colluding with white conservative fundamentalist ministers to erase our human rights  

Black transpeople exist.  We are your brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts,  neighbors, co-workers and fellow African descended human beings who deserve acceptance and respect, not your faux faith based contempt.

I say this often, and I will repeat it again.   Black trans people are part of the kente cloth fabric of Black America  and we.aren't going away.  We didn't turn in our Black Like Me cards when we transitioned to become the Black men and women we were born to be.   We have talents and skills to contribute to make Black America , the states and the cities we reside in better.   We vote.  We are involved in other protest movements besides LGBT ones and trailblazing leaders inside and outside our community.  

Yep, we're there.  It's just at times we don't disclose we are trans.   Because of the virulent hatred we face even inside a community we should be able to have as a safe haven from anti-trans bigotry and prejudice, we have to fight our own people, and that is depressing and exhausting at times.

Some of you in Black America get that obvious point that Black trans people are also Black people, while others of you still have to get it through your nappy headed skulls that we are.

Black trans people are Black people, and we are caught up in an inescapable web of mutuality.  The minimum requirement we have of you as fellow African descended people is unconditional love and acceptance of who we are, and our humanity is not up for debate or discussion.

What affects the Black community affects me and other Black trans people, and what ails Black trans America is also a problem for Black America as well that needs to be tackled and solved with coordinated action.

If #BlackLivesMatter, ]our #BlackTransLivesMatter, too

The question is how long will it take you Black cis people to realize that?.

Arrest Made In India Clarke Case

There has been an arrest made in the India Clarke case.

18 year old Tampa resident Keith Gaillard turned himself in to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's office on July 28.  He has been charged with one count of first-degree murder, and one count of possession of a firearm.

Police investigators have declined to cite a motive in the case (transphobic hate) but believe that he knew the 25 year old Clarke, who was found dead on July 21 from a single gunshot wound to the head.
Detectives found a fingerprint on a cigar wrapper inside Clarke's car, and Gaillard's public Facebook profile allegedly showed him showing off a small-caliber revolver, the sheriff's office said. .

Will keep y'all updated as to whether justice is served in this case.

Meagan Taylor Is Free!

Received the wonderful news that Meagan Taylor, who was visiting Iowa with a trans friend and ended up in jail after being racially profiled because of a transphobic Drury Inn employee, is now free!

“I’m ecstatic to be released,” Meagan told the Transgender Law Center. “Words cannot express the way I feel to be out. I want to thank everyone who shared my story, and let people know that I am going to seek justice for what they did profiling me as a Black transgender woman.”

She spent over a week in isolated custody in the Polk County jail in Des Moines as local activists Kaija Carter, Tony Tyler and Mira Bellwheter , national organizations and San Francisco based Rev. Megan Rohrer teamed up to free Meagan.   Pastor Rohrer, who is also transgender, raised over $4400 thanks to 133 donors to help pay her bond as the Transgender Law Center worked to get the Illinois warrant vacated.

I thank Kaija for keeping me informed as to what was happening on the ground in Des Moines.

“We are relieved and thrilled that Meagan is finally free, but know that her story is all too common,” said Flor Bermudez, Esq., Director of the Detention Project at Transgender Law Center, which helped advocate for Meagan’s release. “Black transgender women are regularly viewed as criminals in public spaces, triggering unlawful arrests. In the vast majority of cases, transgender women are jailed in facilities that do not know how to house them safely and humanely.”

Ass for what happens now, that remains to be seen.  The Drury Inn has yet to issue an apology to Taylor, and may be facing action on a possible violation of the Iowa Civil Rights Act.

But the important part of this story is that  Meagan is free, and hope the next time she gets to take a trip it is drama free.

Another Black Trans Woman Killed In Florida

It is my sad duty to inform you once again that another Black trans woman has been murdered, this time in Tampa, FL.

25 year old India Clarke's body was found after the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department received a phone call at 9 AM EDT this morning from an employee at the University Area Community Center located at 14013 N. 22nd Street.   The employee reported that a deceased body was lying next to the basketball courts.

Clarke was last seen alive by her parents at their home on Sunday and as usual, the local media violated the AP standards for respectfully covering trans people by misgendered her.   Eric Glasser of WTSP-TV took his disrespectful reporting a step further by not only misgendering India, but putting  her chosen name in quotation marks, and aggravatingly injecting an old arrest.into this story.

Do you media peeps do that crap to white women and white people in general who are murdered?  I doubt it.  So why do you media peeps continue to racistly disrespect the lives of Black trans people by doing that BS?

If you live in the Tampa area, please pass along any updates concerning this case, arrest of suspects or pending funeral arrangements so I can post them on the blog.

India is now the tenth trans woman murdered in 2015, and what is pissing me off is that once again, the murdered trans person in question not only shares my ethnic background, but is under 30..

Once again I ask the question of my African-American cis brothers and sisters?  When will #BlackTransLivesMatter?   When will your trans brothers and sisters see ministers and politicians decry the loss of these lives as loudly as you do for cisgender Black people?

Detectives are asking for anyone with any information to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at 813-247-8200.

My condolences to your family and friends who loved you.  Rest in power and peace, India.

TransGriot Update: A candlelight vigil in Clarke's memory is planned for Friday, 8 PM EDT at Lykes Gaslight Square in Tampa.

How A Black Trans Woman Ended Up In Jail Because Of An Iowa Transphobe

When 22 year old cosmetology student Meagan Taylor and a trans feminine girlfriend traveled to Des Moines, IA from Illinois for a visit, they were only planning to stay a few days in the city before returning home.when they checked into the Drury Inn in West De Moines.  

Unfortunately transphobic hotel staff and racist assumptions about them would combine to make this visit to Iowa a less than pleasant one.

Taylor and her friend noticed that the staff was in their words 'acting funny towards them' when they checked in.

That 'acting funny' was the transphobia the hotel staff was expressing, and several hours later it manifested itself into the police arriving at their hotel room door after being called by the staff about 'two males possibly engaged in prostitution activity.'

When the police officer arrived to begin the investigation, he found no prostitution activity occurring.   But a search of Taylor's purse led to the discovery of the spironolactone she was taking as part of her hormone regimen in an unmarked bottle, and she was arrested and charged with possession of prescription drugs without a prescription.  

She is also being head-scratchingly charged with  'malicious prosecution', which is an aggravated misdemeanor and Taylor’s bond was set at $2,000.

A subsequent check revealed that Taylor had an outstanding Illinois warrant for a probation violation stemming from a previous 2010 credit card fraud conviction that occurred when she was 17.  She had served time for it, but still owed $500 in fees.

She was taken to a Polk County jail that has no policy for housing trans prisoners, and since she was pre-op, they used a female officer to search the top half of the patdown search and a male office for the  bottom.

Because Polk County officials don't feel comfortable housing her with women, and the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) still is unclear about where trans feminine prisoners should be housed (it definitely ain't with the cis men) she's being stuck in isolation in the medical unit.   She told the Des Moines Register in an interview that if she were from Polk County, she could have paid 10 percent of her $2000 bond and been released.

But because Taylor is from out of state, she would need someone in Polk County to co-sign.  She doesn’t have a lawyer and doesn't have a court date set until August 25..

So because a transphobic Drury Inn hotel employee racially profiled two Black trans women who were minding their own damned business, Meagan Taylor is stuck in an Iowa jail at least until August 25,  or until she gets some help from the local LGBT community

TransGriot Update,  Since I wrote this post, crowdfunding has started to raise the money to not only pay for bail in Iowa, but the $500 she still owes in Illinois.  Also been advised that an attorney has stepped up to represent Meagan.

There is also a protest being organized that will take place in front of the West Des Moines, IA Drury Inn where this mess started.

TERF's Have Zero Say In Defining My Black Trans Life

I got to see the transphobic piece of TERF trash written by Elinor Burkett for the New York Times (which I refuse to link to) and have held my tongue for a few days to process that waste of bandwith op-ed that has been seized on by transphobes who want to get the anti-trans hate on. 

People have asked me my opinion about what she wrote. so here goes.  

I have zero respect for people who hate me and my trans community and wish to oppress it by any means necessary.

I have zero respect for another Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist white woman who makes it clear in another published screed she never has and never will know what being trans is like, arrogantly thinks she has the power to define us and uses her privilege and media access to demonize and oppress trans people.

I'm also beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of media outlets repeatedly giving white TERF's space in their publications to publish these so called contrarian pieces that are barely disguised TERF anti-trans hatred.

Burkett, Burchill and everyone else in TERF World want to keep ignoring the fact that despite trans exclusionary radical feminism's unrelenting 40 plus year failed effort to morally eradicate transsexuality from existence,  and still we trans feminine women rise.

That rise is being led by trans women of color sick of their words that translate into death, pain and misery visited upon our trans ranks.   And contrary to what your vanillacentric privileged TERF egos may tell you, you don't get to define the parameters of trans womanhood and what terrain the discussion will be held on, we trans women do.

The other thing that has pissed me off about this whole ongoing Caitlyn Jenner discussion is that  unless it has happened and I've missed it while handling some personal business, I have yet to hear the voices of cis non-white women in this media conversation.

When it comes to what feminists are thinking about trans women, I will take my cues from people like Melissa Harris-Perry, Kaila Story and Brittney Cooper just to name a few along with other thoughtful Black cis women who know that we Black cis and trans women have far more issues that unite us than divide us.

Both Black cis and trans women are also aware that Black womanhood has been under attack for four centuries, and it is in our mutual interests to end that demonization of Black femininity.

It's also in our mutual interests to jointly hammer home the point to the Black community that if #BlackLivesMatter, some of those Black lives that matter are also Black trans lives. 

It does not help our community when Black trans people are facing 26% unemployment.   We Black trans people need to be in a position to whee we can not only make a decent living, but be in the position in which we can contribute our talents to uplift all African-Americans.

And that needs to happen sooner rather than at some future date.

It is also in the mutual interests of Black cis women in the spirit of Black lives mattering to speak up against the attacks by white TERF's on the femininity of their trans sisters.  They need to drive home the point white women do not speak for Black women when it comes to discussing the parameters of what femininity is, and especially what Black femininity is.

One of the things that has helped me the most in my own ongoing evolutionary Black feminine journey is to have Black cis women in my corner who understand that trans women are women.   They have let me and other Black trans women know in no uncertain terms that I and other Black trans women are their sisters.

And the cool thing about that is we continue to have dialogue about what sisterhood between Black cis and Black trans women looks like in practice.

You TERF's don't get to in your loud and wrong terms slime trans women because you have never walked a nanosecond in our pumps.  Neither do you as white cis women know what it is  like to be a non-white cis or trans woman because race impacts our transitions and our trans lives.   

But non-white cis women are intimately aware of that intersection of race and femininity, and have more than a clue about what it's like to be hated for who you are for existing on Planet Earth in a Black feminine body. .

So no TERF's, you have zero say in defining my Black trans life.  I and other trans women of color thought leaders do.

And Now There Are Eight...RIP London Chanel Allen

After the initial flurry of trans women that were killed in the first two months of 2015, things had gotten quiet on that front in the United States until today.

News stations in Philadelphia are reporting that 21 year old London Chanel Allen was stabbed tin the back and neck after a fight between her and her 31 year old attacker that occurred in an abandoned rowhouse on North Philadelphia at 12:40 AM EDT in the 2200 block of Ingersoll Street

She was rushed to Hahnemann University Hospital where she was pronounced dead just after 1 AM., police said.

"My heart goes out to her family, friends and the community as we mourn her death," said Nellie Fitzpatrick, Director of LGBT Affairs for the City of Philadelphia. “I know that the police department will work tirelessly to fully investigate the case."

Allen had a Texas connection.  She was born in Victoria, just 127 miles southwest of Houston and moved to Philadelphia several years ago.   She'd reconciled with her mother Veronica Allen, was in the process of getting her name change done and moving back to Texas when she was murdered

“She was going to go to court to change her name and then she was going to come home," Veronica Allen said. “That’s what we were working towards, but that man took it away from me."

A candlelight vigil is set to be held this Friday at that location, and a bank account has been set up to collect funds to pay to return  London's body back to Texas for burial

But once again, we sadly have another young trans woman of color dead before her 25th birthday.

RIP London

TransGriot Update:  31 year old Raheam Felton has been arrested and charged with London's murder.

Blake Brockington Commits Suicide

“I’m still a person, and trans people are still people. Our bodies just don’t match what’s up (in our heads). We need support, not people looking down at us or degrading us or overlooking us. We are still human.”
Blake Brockington

I have mixed emotions as I'm writing this post because I have the sad duty of informing you courtesy of QNotes that history making trans activist Blake Brockington took his own life March 23.

18 year old Brockington made history last year as the first ever African-American trans masculine homecoming king when as an East Mecklenburg High School senior he beat out 12 other nominees and raised $2355.55 for a school chosen charity to win the honor.

Since his graduation from East Mecklenburg HS he has been involved in the #BlackLivesMatter movement, a mentor to other trans kids and an outspoken advocate for our community.  I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to his at the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference to congratulate him on his historic win and tell him how proud I was of him.

And that's one of the parts that is pissing me off and literally has me in tears as I compose this.  Brockington is the third trans person of color youth suicide this year, and that unhappy trend must end.  22 year old Aubrey Mariko Shine jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge February 24, and was preceded by the February 11 death of 19 year old Melonie Rose of Laurel, MD.

And to add insult to both those deaths, the families of Shine and Rose added to the hurt and anger we feel over these death by deliberately erased their trans identities at their funerals

We lost another one of our trans younglings to the ramped up anti-trans violence and hatred.   If #BlackLivesMatter,  don't #BlackTransLivesMatter too?

Trans younglings, your best revenge is living well and setting the goal of living to see your 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th and 70th birthdays.  If you need to talk to someone, find a trans elder or call the Trevor Project.  
It would have been interesting to see how Blake's life would have turned out, but we've been robbed of that opportunity.   

Rest in power, Blake


 For TBLG youth (ages 24 and younger) contemplating suicide, the Trevor Project Lifeline can be reached at 1-866-488-7386. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 can also be reached 24 hours a day by people of all ages and identities.