Houston Trans Woman Murdered

Been wondering how long it would take before all the anti-trans hate peddled during the HERO repeal last year by the Republican Party, Rev. Ed Young, Steve Riddle, Steven Hotze, Dave Wilson, and the Baptist Ministers Assn of Houston and Vicinity would start negatively affecting my community.

The answer was last night.

34 year old Shante Thompson and her friend Willie Sims were fatally shot and killed in Midtown Houston late last night at the corner of Dennis and Fannin Streets.  .It appears Thompson and Sims were hit with a crowbar or tire iron before being shot. According to a KHOU-11 report the motive for the killing is still under investigation.

The blood of Shante Thompson is on your hands Harris County GOP, Max Miller, Steve Riddle, and Ed Young.  Your faux faith based spreading of transphobia for political gain has finally manifested itself into the death of this trans woman.   You cannot spread anti-trans hatred as you did for years and think it won't have real world societal consequences.

And as you probably guessed, the initial news report on ABC-13 misgendered and deadnamed Thompson before it was corrected thanks to Nikki Araguz Loyd and other community allies calling them out about it.

Nikki Araguz Loyd

2 hrs · Houston · 

Another Trans woman named "Chante" was murdered last night in Houston..... And the media led with her dead name and then said known to friends as.....‪#‎ABC13‬

Hey ABC-13 and other Houston media outlets,  there is something you need to familiarize yourself with called the AP Stylebook.  It has had since 2001 guidelines on how the respectfully cover trans people.  So does GLAAD and the NLGJA.  But then again if you have been reading it from the beginning, we'd still have HERO on the books.

Ahem.  From the AP Stylebook:Transgender: Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth. If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals live publicly.

And one other thing.  It's transgender person, not transgendered.

Thompson is now the seventh trans person we have lost to anti-trans violence in the US in 2016 and the third one  we have lost in Texas.   All the Texas trans people lost have unfortunately been trans people of color.

The opening stages of planning for a vigil  have started, and I'll pass on the time and date for that event once it's finalized.  Houston Police are still looking for the perpetrator of this killing and if you have any information about what happened that will lead to the capture of the person or persons who did this, please call Crimestoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477)

As I get more information about Shante's murder, I'll pass it on to you in subsequent TransGriot post.

Rest in power and peace, sis.   We won't rest in H-town until your killer is captured and brought to justice.

Trans Woman Sexually Assaulted At Stonewall Inn

To cap off last week being one of the worst weeks for trans kind in the US with the passage of the unjust HB 2 and anti-trans legislation percolating in Kansas and Minnesota, comes word out of New York that a 25 year old trans woman was sexually assaulted in the Stonewall Inn.

Yes, the same Stonewall Inn in which trans women jumped off the modern TBLG rights movement and is a national historical landmark

The 25 year old survivor told police she went into a single person stall at 11:40 PM EDT Saturday night and a man barged in behind her claiming he needed to wash his hands.  The man then groped the trans woman and sexually assaulted her before running out of the Greenwich Village area bar.

But when you hear right wing fundies, the TERF's, GOP legislators, FOX Noise and other conservafool media pundits flap their loud and wrong gums to demonize us, it's trans women who are the predators.

Um no.  This is just one concrete example of trans women being the prey, not the alleged sexual predators.

This waste of DNA is being sought by NYPD in connection with the crime.  The NYPD Special Victims Division has interviewed the survivor, several witnessed and gotten video sufficient enough to identify the perpetrator of this crime.

 Note the sexual predator wasn't in drag when he committed his heinous crime either.

According to my NYC area trans peeps, the perp also frequents another New York area club called The Hangar.

If you have any information like that which will help speed up the apprehension of this criminal, please call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577 TIPS (8477)

Hopefully this sexual predator he will be sitting in jail soon for his crime, and I'll keep you apprised of this story as i get mere details.

Another Trans Person Lost-RIP Demarkis Stansberry

It's sad for me to announce that we have lost another trans person to violence in 2016

30 year old Demarkis Stansberry was fatally shot in the head on Saturday in Baton Rouge by 24 year old Nicolas Matthews, who turned himself in to the police the day of the shooting and confessed to killing him.

And in case you're wondering if Stansberry was misgendered and deadnamed by the media as does routinely happens for trans feminine people who are killed, unfortunately it happened to Demarkis.

Once again media peeps, the AP Stylebook standards for reporting on trans people exist for a reason. How about you follow them?

Rest in power and peace, Demarkis

Maya Young Makes Three Trans Murders In 2016

Sad to report that another US trans woman has been murdered this year.

25 year old Maya Taylor was found stabbed multiple times in the neck and chest in the 4800 block of Penn Street at 11:50 PM EST Saturday in the Frankford section of Philadelphia.

She was taken by police to Aria Health-Frankford, less than two blocks away from where she was found. where she was pronounced dead at 12:21 AM EST on Sunday.

"The community is heartbroken once again with the senseless slaying of another transgender woman of color," wrote Naiymah Sanchez, a coordinator with the Philadelphia based TransHealth Information project on her Facebook page.  


The Philadelphia Police Department is looking for information in this case, and if you have it, you can call the PPD Police Homicide Unit at 215-686-3344 or 911.

A $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in this case.

As I get more details about this case I will post them

Rest in power and peace, Maya.  Not happy about your life violently ending before you even got a chance to spread your wings and fly.

Murderer Of Melony Smith Convicted

Some good news coming out of southern California concerning our fallen trans sister Melony Smith

A Pomona Superior Court jury found 30 year old Stephen Gonzales guilty of first degree murder in the September 9, 2013 death of 26 year old Melony Smith.

The article has some problematic violations of the AP Stylebook in using Smith's deadname, describing her life as a 'lifestyle'.

But back to the post.

She was found dead at 1:30 PM PDT in her Baldwin Park motel room where she had been staying off and on for a year.

While Gonzales escaped being eligible for capital punishment when the jury found him not guilty of robbing Smith, they did find him guilty of petty theft.

Gonzales is facing a 25 years to life sentence when he returns to court on February 11 for sentencing. Hope they throw the book at his behind.

First Trans Murder of 2016- RIP Monica Loera

I'm sad to report thanks to a tip by Gina Morvay and the Austin Chronicle that the first trans murder of 2016 has happened in the Lone Star State in Austin.

The reason we in Texas and Austin didn't know about it until a week after it happened is because once again, the trans victim was misgendered by the police and subsequently the local media.

As usual, I'm going to do the Austin media's job for them and give our sister the respect in death and proper pronouns she deserves and another example of how to properly report on trans murder cases..

According to the Austin Police Department, 43 year old Monica Loera was engaged in a conversation with a man in front of her home along the 300 block of East Powell Lane in north Austin at 3 AM on January 22 when she was shot.

Loera was transported to the nearby University Medical Center Brackenridge hospital where she was pronounced dead from her injuries and the Travis County Medical Examiner ruled Loera's death a homicide.

Thanks to witness descriptions and messages from the alleged perpetrator left on Loera's phone, 29 year old JonCasey William Rowell was later arrested by APD and charged with the first degree murder of Monica Loera.  Rowell is currently in the Travis County Jail under a $250,000 bond.

I will be watching this case until our sister receives justice.  If I receive any further information about the Loera case, I will pass those details along as I get them.

Rest in power and peace, Monica.   Your trans family and all who loved you will not rest until justice is served/.

TransGriot Update:  Got a call from one of my reporter contacts in Austin.  KEYE-TV will start working on doing their due diligence, talking to people who knew Monica as a prelude to correcting their station's story starting Saturday morning.   

APD's information officers need to do a better job as well of informing the media when it comes to dealing with trans murder victims and not misgendering them. 

Number 22- Another Trans Person Killed In Maryland

According to the Metro Weekly, another young trans woman has been murdered, this time in Gaithersburg, MD.

And as you probably guessed, the person was subsequently misgendered by FOX5 stenographers

21 year old D. Smith (not using the deadname) was shot in the head yesterday at 5:49 PM during an altercation between herself and the shooter near the intersection of Lost Knife Rd and Contour Rd near the Montgomery Village Plaza and Montgomery Village Crossing shopping centers.

An eyewitness to the crime told FOX5 that he saw the shooter standing over Ms. Smith and firing.  He attempted to chase down the shooter, who reloaded and attempted to shoot him but the gun fortuitously jammed.    A Montgomery County police helicopter and K-9 units were called in to assist in the search for the perpetrator but have been unsuccessful in locating him so far.

Smith was transported to a nearby hospital where she died from her injuries at 8:12 PM EDT..

This makes the 22nd trans person killed in what is unfortunately shaping up to be a potentially record breaking year for anti-trans murders   And once again I'm not happy this person will not make it to their 30th, much less their 25th birthday.

This is still a developing news situation that has been complicated further by the transphobic misgendering of Ms. Smith by DC media,  

If anyone in the DC metro area has photos of Ms. Smith or knows her femme name, please get that info to me as soon as possible.

Rest in power, Zella.   We won't rest until the perp who took you away from us far too soon is captured and doing time for his crime

TransGriot Update: Was just advised by Elizabeth Rivera moments after completing this post that our murdered trans person's femme name was Zella Ziona.

This also means we have lost another trans woman of color

Maybe If...

Guest Post by Vanessa Victoria.   This was originally on her Facebook page, and it needed to be shared and signal boosted.

Maybe if…

Maybe if every man who has ever hired a trans escort, if every boy who has ever beat off to trans porn, if the millions who fetishize our bodies, who press us against hotel windows, who lay with us in our beds, if the men who adore me and my sisters, but only behind closed doors, would STAND THE FUCK UP AND SPEAK OUT…maybe 17 Transgender Women, wouldn't have gotten murdered in 2015.

Maybe if all of you who read this, our allies and friends and colleagues and family, would call out when others make jokes at our expense, even when we’re not around, if you’d tell advertisers and producers and journalists and writers and comics that you’re not okay with them making trans women nothing but the punchline of jokes or tragic tossaways, that you know us, that we’re not disposable….maybe groups of people would stop feeling so free to harass me and my sisters, maybe crowds wouldn’t just laugh when a man spits at me, or just watch when two young men chase me down the street yelling “shemale”…maybe if you ALL stood up and said enough, maybe a young woman just being herself wouldn’t be beat to death in the streets of the supposedly best place on earth to just be yourself.

Maybe if all the gay men who act as if equality means marriage, if all the white feminists who only serve those that look like them, if all the queers who drop “TWOC” like a shibboleth but don’t know or talk to or walk beside any actual trans women of color…maybe if all of you saw what was happening here and how your actions allow it, how every moment of silence, of waiting for people of color to start the conversation about race …maybe these women could have enjoyed a few more years of being beautiful among us.

It happened because our men won’t admit they love us, because our friends aren’t speaking out against the thousand little dehumanizing actions of others, because our own “LGBT” community isn’t comfortable talking about race and class.

This has to change. Now!
Vanessa Victoria
‪#‎TransisBeautiful‬ ‪#‎StoptheShade‬ ‪#‎TransLivesMatter‬ ‪#‎GirlsLikeUs‬

Trans Women. Stop Hatin' On Your Trans Sisters

In a time in which trans women are being killed at record rates, we trans people are fighting for recognition of our humanity, our human rights are under assault from haters who are using the legislative process to try to criminalize our trans lives, haters like the TERFs are attacking us because they are let's be real, straight up evil vanillacentric privileged wenches, and the conservative moment because they need somebody new to hate on after their catastrophic loss on marriage equality, one of the things that pisses me off is when I see it is elements of the trans community hating on other trans sisters.

And it needs to stop

So what is hatin' for the context of discussion in this post? 

*Hatin' is when you disparage another sister for no reason other than because you're jealous of her.

*Hatin' is when you engage in non-constructive criticism or throw unwanted and unjustified shady comments at your trans sister 

*Hatin' is deliberately outing her and putting her in a potentially dangerous situation in which she could be assaulted or killed.

*Hatin' is any action on your part specifically designed to negatively impact her life like outing her at her job to a boss or co-worker that you know is transphobic and you are aware of the fact she is low to non-disclosed about her trans status on that job.

*Hatin' is colluding with the enemies of the trans community like conservafools and TERFs to impede the human rights progress of the trans community for your personal gain, comfort or you just wanna be a nekulturny azzhole.

There are many of my sisters who are successful, accomplished women and they look damned fly when handling their business.  To borrow the line from Melissa De Souza's Shelby character in the movie The Best Man Holiday, 'Don't hate, emulate'

When I see see my sisters at a White House event, Eden Lane on CNN, Janet Mock on MSNBC guest hosting the Melissa Harris-Perry Show, Laverne Cox's face on ESSENCE and other magazines, Geena Rocero and Isis King strutting down catwalks, Jazz and her family on TLC, Ruby Corado running her now three year old center in DC, Angelica Ross handling her TransTech business, Precious Davis searching for the perfect wedding dress as she and her fiance Myles role model what Black trans folks in love with each other looks like, and Nikki Araguz Loyd and her business partner Meagan Gillett stylishly handling their Gallery Girls business, why should I be hatin' on that? 

There are many trans women in this community that  I admire and look up to for many reasons   All of us are beautiful and have qualities that make us so.  The women I admire and look up to I do so not only for their beauty, their intelligence, their creative talents, their trailblazing leadership qualities, their on fleek sense of style, or some combination of all of the above, they also add into that mix of qualities being genuinely good people  . 

I see these women, some of who I am proud to call my friends, what they have accomplished, and I'm inspired to step up my own personal game.  Instead of hatin' you should be taking notes and trying to replicate what she did to arrive at that point of success you are so green with envy about.  

Is it your trans sister's fault if she hit the genetic lottery and her family DNA hormones were extremely good to her? She busted her ass to get her education?  She has amazing music talent that she has worked hard to hone?  That she has a significant other who is not only proud of her, but loves her?   That she's successfully getting paid and working in a nice job?  

#StopTheShade because frankly, in this critical moment for our community,  we don't need trans sisters hatin' on each other.  We have more than enough cis folks out there ready and willing to line up to not only hate on  us and challenge our very humanity, but who are willing to take that hatred to the next level and oppress and kill us.

We also have serious human rights work ahead of us that will take all of us working as a unified team doing different tasks to make real the promises of democracy for trans kind.
 

So keep that in mind the next time you wish to pop the top on that Haterade and spit it back out at another trans sister.  .

We The People Petition To Formally Investigate US Trans POC Murders

As many of you TransGriot readers know, I have been tracking since the inception of my blog nearly a decade ago the murders of trans women of color and whether or not they have received justice in their cases.

I have been alarmed by the fact that we have already matched the number of trans women killed in the US in all of 2014 (12) in just 8 months, and this year still has 4 months left to go.  I am also particularly concerned and incensed about the fact that the majority of trans women that have been murdered are not only trans women of color, but under age 30.

I am pleased to not only affix my signature to this (Signature #23), but also signal boost this We The People petition that started today.   It seeks to get 100,000 people to sign on to this effort to get the federal government to investigate this unacceptable slaughter of trans women of color, of which far too many of them have been under 30 years of age.

We have to get the 100,000 signatures by September 10 to get a formal response from the White House on the requested action stated in the petition.

Here's the link to the petition and I hope you will join me in taking just a few moments of time out of your busy day to sign it.

If you do, thank you.  I and my community deeply appreciate the support, and please share this news in your influence circles.

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..
.

We Trans Peeps Are Just Like You Cis Peeps

Now that our right wing opponents have lost their war on marriage equality, I expect them to shift their time, effort and prodigious funding to attacking the transgender community`s humanity and human rights on a full time basis.

It is the historical nature of conservatism to always find an enemy to organize and rally their troops around to hate.

Once their enemy du jour they pick on grows strong enough to fight back and repeatedly win againsst them, they`ll move on like the bullies they are to pick on somebody else they perceive to be politically and numerically weaker than them to in their minds oppress.

But despite the upturned volume of the Right Wing Noise Machine and their increeasing efforts via FOX Noise and right wing hate radio to demonize trans people, what Americans and the world are beginning to understand is that we trans peeps are part of the diverse mosaic of human life just like cisgender people are.

The right wing will also find out as they engage with us and attempt to halt our human rights progress that we have allies, family and friends who will stand shoulder to shoulder with us to help us fight back against the oppression they wish to impose on us.

We trans people have the same characteristics and personality traits as many of you Homo Sapiens.   We come in all shapes, sizes and ethnic backgrounds.   We live on every inhabited continent on Planet Earth,   We are people who love and wish to be loved by others.  We are gay, bisexual, pansexual, straight and whatever other sexual orientation possible in our species.  

We are beautiful, intelligent, funny, thoughtful and multitalented.   We are writers, doctors, lawyers, athletes, models, teachers, politicians and parents raising kids.

We are proud of the communities and nations we inhabit, and we transpeeps want the best for our kids that we raise.   We want to live our lives to the best of our ability in careers that we love.   We want to be able to fully participate in the  political systems of our nations and create the laws that govern us.   We want to contribute our talents to bulding our societies.  We want to work, pay our fair share of taxes, join a union and get paid a fair wage while doing so.

We transpeople want to be able to worship a higher power in the manner we choose or not attend a church at all without being falsely labeled by demagoging religious leaders as `dangers to mankind`.

And speaking of bearing false witness against trans people, frankly we are tired of right wing adherents of all denominations pushing transphobia from the pulpit and it needs to stop.

We trans people want affordable trans culturally competent health care  that not only features medical practitioners that treat us with dignity and respect, but also realizes that sometimes we come to the doctor to be treated for other medical issues besides trans oriented ones.

And yes, just like in Cisworld, Trans World has people in it who are selfish jerks, mean azzholes , jealous, vindictive....well you get the drift.   Just as you don`t want us broad brush judging you for being transphobes based on the actions of a few nekulturny individuals, we demand the same level of respect from you.

Don`t start no drama with us, won`t be no drama in return.

The bottom line is that trans peeps are just like cis peeps in terms of just wanting to be the best people we can be while we are spending whatever time we have on this space rock.

And what we want in TransWorld is for you in Cis World to acknowledge our common humanity, accept our right to exist, respect our human rights across the globe, and be left alone by you folks who irrationally hate on us so we can get to the daily business of being the men and women of trans experience we are.

Brazilian Trans Woman Beaten After Arrest

Trigger Warning  anti-trans violence and police brutality.

It's been way too quiet news wise about our trans sisters in Brazil, and this police brutality story was brought to my attention by my sis Aleika Barros

Model Veronica Bolina, for reasons that are still unclear, was arrested for assaulting a senior citizen in her apartment building April 12 in Sao Paulo.

She was sent to a male prison, which is problematic to begin with, and during a prison transfer allegedly got into a scuffle with a police officer that resulted in half his ear getting bitten off.

The police claimthey didn't do it, but how did Veronica end up with her hands and feet handcuffed, breasts exposed, head shaved and severely beaten to the point she was hospitalized?  

The Brazilian media predictably misgendered Veronica, and focused on her alleged scuffle with the police officer while conveniently neglecting to mention what they may have savagely done to her.

Bolina told Alessandro Melchior, the coordinator for LGBT policies in the city of Sao Paulo, that she was also attacked in the hospital she was sent to recover in from the injuries she received from the police beating.

The horrific pics are circulating on Brazilian social media and has the Brazilian trans and LGB community outraged over what has happened to Veronica.  

They are tweeting #SomosTodasVeronica (We Are All Veronica) in support of her.

Aleika and other Brazilian trans women would agree that what Veronica is accused of doing in the assault is unacceptable, and if she committed the crime, she should do the time for it.

However, my Brazilian sisters would also tell you they draw the line at Veronica being thrown in a male jail cell, exposing her to the possibility of sexual assault, having her head shaved and being savagely beaten. 

Being savagely beaten and humiliated by the police or whoever did it should never be part of a jail sentence, and it points out the  need for human rights laws in Brazil that cover trans women in a country in which 113 trans women were murdered last year,

It's even more imperative trans human rights coverage happens in a Brazil in which faith based hate is directed at the Brazilian trans community on an almost daily basis.

Kristina Gomez Reinwald Miami Vigil

February 19th there was a memorial held for Kristina Gomez Reinwald AKA Kristina Grant Infiniti on an unseasonably chilly (for them) Miami night at the Torch of Friendship.

They had a nice turnout for the event, with Arianna Lint commenting on Spanish language TV and our glamorous sis Lauren Foster not only taking part in the event at the Torch of Friendship, also getting some media face time on our community's behalf on their local CBS station.

One thing that marred the ceremony was flyers passed out by the Miami-Dade PD seeking information in the case had an unflattering pic of Kristina and misgendered her. 

Miami area trans peeps are on the case and doing the education with the local po-po's to let them know where they screwed up and ensure it doesn't happen again.

As for the search for justice for Kristina, her killer is unfortunately as of this writing still at large

Anyone with relevant information regarding Kristina Gomez Reinwald’s death is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

And as always, will be keeping you posted with any developments in this case and the other trans murders as I receive them.

#TransLivesMatter Protest Takes Center Stage At #CC15 Opening Plenary

One of the things about a diverse conference of over 3,500 activists from around the country, especially one that is dedicated to movement building, is that sometimes the lessons that are being taught in seminars to create change in our society are put into practice.

Minutes after a moment of silence was completed for slain teen Jessie Hernandez, who was shot and killed by the Denver Police on January 26, several members of the Trans Latina Coalition along with queer POC youth rushed the stage just as MC Kate Clinton was approaching the podium shouting "Trans Lives Matter"  and "Jessie, presente!"

After Clinton graciously yielded the podium to the protestors, Bamby Salcedo read a statement and a list of demands calling for more robust support for trans people and to end the obscene levels of anti-trans and police violence negatively impacting trans women of color from the LGB community as the capacity plenary crowd cheered.

The Demands:

*Funders and organizations, especially LGBT organizations to intentionally invest in the Trans Community

*Support and acknowledge trans leadership to build and foster strength in our power.

*Meaningful equity of resources in order to eradicate the economic and  health crisis our brothers and sisters face.

*LGBT and ally organizations to hire trans people for leadership positions.  We demand for these organizations to be intentionally inclusive and truly provide leadership opportunities for the trans community.  If you serve us, you must include us.
*Investments in new and upcoming trans specific organizations and support their works in underserved areas.

*Big tent and anchor organizations to leverage their access to policy makers and funders and use their privilege to support trans-led efforts in eradicating the ongoing structural violence that our community faces.

Stay tuned to see if the protest results in an improved quality of life for trans people. I certainly hope it's successful in that regard.

Ahem: #BlackTransLivesMatter

Just a reminder as I head to Denver for Creating Change 2015 in the wake of trans women being attacked by thugs, one being missing for three months and others being murdered from coast to coast.

#BlackTransLivesMatter     #StopTransMurders