Laverne Cox Starring In The Rocky Horror Picture Show' On FOX October 20

I've attended a few showings of the cult film classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, including a memorable Halloween one not long after I moved to Louisville in September 2001.

Usually when I hear about people talking about remaking classic films, I'm of dual minds about it leaning more toward the 'leave it alone' camp.   I have seen remakes in which they have done a great job in remixing the original story like the Samuel L Jackson Shaft, and  sometimes they do a /WTF were you thinking?' job and completely screw up a classic.

So while I'm waiting for Laverne Cox to show up on my TV screen in the CBS legal drama Doubt, just in time for Halloween I and America will get the chance to see Laverne in the role of Dr Frank-n-Furter in the Rocky Horror remake being broadcast on FOX October 20.



In addition to Laverne, Tim Curry will also be in this Kenny Ortega production as the narrator.  This Rocky Horror remake also stars Victoria Justice, Ryan McCartan, Adam Lambert, Christina Milian, and Ben Vereen.

The reviews of the trailer so far have been good, and I'm looking forward to checking it out, since I'm not only supporting my homegirl, I'll definitely need something to watch on TV besides the Trump-Pence ticket lying all the way to Election Day.

 The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Lets Do The Time Warp Again will be broadcast on FOX .

Mya Taylor Makes Some Movie History

While the Oscars broadcast and the people nominated for the awards will be melanin free, there are other awards shows that are far more diverse than the whitewashed Oscars.

Was excited to find out that Tangerine actress Mya Taylor picked up an Independent Spirit Award for her performance as Alexandra in that independent film that was considered Oscar worthy but unfortunately was snubbed by the Academy for consideration.

Taylor made a little trans history when she picked up that award for Best Supporting Female. She's probably the first out trans person to do so and noted in her acceptance speech that Hollywood needs to expand opportunities for trans actors.

 

Congratulations Mya!  Hope the award results in more acting opportunities coming not only your way, but for all trans actors.

The 'Trans Obamas' Meet President Obama

You TransGriot readers know how much I love one of my fave couples in Precious Davis and Myles Brady,  and it's looking more likely I'll be bouncing up to Chicago for Creating Change 2016 when it kicks off in January at the Hilton Chicago.

Precious is one of the four co-chairs for #CC16, and looking forward to seeing her and the rest of our Chicago fam January 20-24

Our community nickname for our fave trans couple is the 'Trans Obamas', and during the LGBT Pride Reception at the White House back in June they finally got to meet the POTUS they are nicknamed after.   If you were watching this year's VMA's they were onstage presenting an award during that event, in addition to being the MC's for this year's Trans 100 event.

And coming soon is the January 2016 Say Yes To The Dress episode featuring Precious.   When it airs she will become the first trans feminine woman ever featured on the show.

So yeah, they get around.   And I'm bursting at the seams proud of them.   They are a living example of what I am talking about when I say that Black trans people are part of the kente cloth fabric of our community.

Precious and Myles are not only role modeling what a trans couple in love looks like, they are by doing so  committing a revolutionary act while doing so.   It's even more important Precious and Myles are open and visible about that when we have elements of our own Black community trying to erase our Blackness and our humanity as trans people.

Looking forward to seeing y'all both in a few months.

 

Jordana Composing The ''Free Cece' Movie Soundtrack

You have heard me discuss Jordana LeSesne on this blog numerous times because I have much love for her, and you TransGriot readers have her to thank for me starting this blog.

She got me to commit to that January 1, 2006 start date for TransGriot, and stayed on my behind until I put up that first post on that date at midnight EST.

And the rest is history.

My musically talented little sis from another mother is a groundbreaking and amazing music producer that is on the comeback trail after breaking out in a major way in the 90's

Jordana is ramping up for a return to the music biz and has been tapped to create the music soundtrack for the upcoming Laverne Cox produced documentary movie Free CeCe that is in the crowdfunding stage.

Congrats Jordana!  can't wait to not only see that movie but hear the awesome soundtrack you're going to put together for it.  Also looking  forward to seeing what else is on the horizon for you.

What's Isis Doing?

The last time I wrote anything on the blog about my sis Isis besides her birthday shoutout posts, I was discussing the quality time I spent with her when her movie Hello Forever premiered during our WorldFest film festival here in H-town.

Since then it has been pretty quiet for the woman who first exploded into our collective conscience when she became the first out trans contestant on America's Next Top Model in 2010.

She subsequently walked runways, designed a collection in which she held a show for, spoken at college campuses on trans issues, sand has made some apperances in the New York area.

But just as she decided to take a little me time and cut back on some of that public schedule, Janet Mock and Laverne Cox gained attention.    With Geena Rocero coming out last year and the Barney's Campaign featuring trans models along with the rise of Andreja Pejic and Lea T, the time was right according to her publicist Leigha Hagood for Isis to reintroduce herself to mainstream America and remind folks she's still here.

Isis is not only ready to get back into the modeling world, she also ready to make some moves in her acting career according to Hagood.

And it couldn't happen to a nicer person.   So looking forward to seeing what the next chapter in Isis' life looks like.

Andrea Jenkins Gets Added To The Congressional Record!

You know I have much love and respect for my sis Andrea Jenkins, who I met and roomed with during the TransFaith in Color Conference in Charlotte back in 2012 and is a trailblazing girl like us and advocate in her own right up in Minneapolis.

Jenkins recently received two honors that need and deserve to be signal boosted.   She was named as the Grand Marshal for the upcoming Twin Cities Pride Parade.  She is the second trans person to receive that honor.(Debbie Davis in 2000) third African-American after Minnesota Lynx guard Seimone Augustus and her fiance LaTaya Varner in 2012 and first ever African-American trans person to do so.

Andrea on May 20 had her name added to the Congressional Record for the 114th Congress by Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), whose 5th Congressional District covers that area.

So what's the Congressional Record you ask?  It is the official record of proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, and from time to time congressmembers will take a moment to use some of their time to do floor speech that recognizes people and organizations in their home districts.

Those speeches, because they happen on the House floor, get recorded, published and at the end of the 114th Congress in 2017 will be placed in bound volumes enshrined permanently in the Library of Congress and online via THOMAS.

Translation, this is a Big Fracking Deal, and so proud of Andrea for getting this well deserved recognition for the work she's done in the Twin Cities.  

She was a longtime policy aide for 12 years on the Minneapolis City Council for Minneapolis City Council Member Elizabeth Glidden where she initiated and helped develop the the Minneapolis Transgender Issues Work Group and produced the first Transgender Summit in the city.

Jenkins also a published poet, serves on numerous boards and is now with the University of Minnesota as the curator for their Transgender Oral History Project

I hear Andrea plays a mean game of tennis, so I'll have to remember to bring my racquet when I get the opportunity to visit her and the rest of the Twin Cities trans fam.

Congratulations Andrea for a well deserved honor!

Told Y'all Papi Edwards Was A #GirlLikeUs

"In my two decades of lived experience as a Black trans woman, I have seen more than a few young gay males who liked doing drag, claimed it was 'a hobby', only did it for pageants or gay nightclub talent nights and swore up and down they were gay men and had no intention to transition.

But a year or two later after having that gender epiphany, those same gay males were declaring they were trans, swallowing hormones, answering to feminine names and transitioning to live full time as female."
-TransGriot, February 2, 2015,, The Case For Edwards Being A Trans Murder Victim"

Well, as this Dominic Holden March 6 BuzzFeed article points out, Moni was right.

A trans woman who knew Ms. Edwards and was also at the January 9 murder scene named Tiffany, came forward and publicly confirmed what I was hearing from multiple Louisville contacts.

“Papi got shot because she was a transgender female,” Tiffany told BuzzFeed News in a phone interview this month. “That is exactly why she was killed — because of gender identity.”

The photo in this post is a surveillance camera still shot of Ms. Edwards moments before she was killed.  And she is clearly presenting as female moments before she was killed. 

Henry Gleaves, the alleged shooter who prematurely ended Papi's young life, just had another court hearing March 26, with the trial due to start in Da Ville on October 27.

We have had eight trans women killed this year.  I expect there will be more before the calendar turns to January 1, 2016.   This Edwards case underscores the importance of police departments when they encounter trans murder victims, ACCURATELY identifying and publicizing the fact they are dealing with a trans murder case.

Because the sooner the trans community knows we are dealing with a trans murder case, the sooner we can spring into action to help you peeps in law enforcement solve them.

Deal With The Fact Black Trans Women Exist

Angela Giaandrea Valentino is one of my longtime readers who had a major problem with transphobic hate for Laverne Cox coming out of the mouth of Flo Anthony on a morning radio show. recently and had something to say about it on her Facebook page.

I thought it deserved to be signal boosted, so here's Angela's comment.

***
So this morning on a local radio station (WDKX-FM) they were talking about Laverne Cox appearing on The View yesterday (January 8) and Flo Anthony had called in to express her thoughts. Okay fine.

As I was listening more closely I hear them calling trans women all types of he/shes, shims, men.... Flo Anthony calling Laverne Cox a drag queen, saying that she shouldn't be representing black women. "We have all of these bad reality show stars and now we have Laverne..." Why THAT comparison? Flo Anthony should be so fucking honored.

They went on to mock her voice, saying she sounds like a man, like a drag queen, asking why her voice isn't higher... So this is what it comes down to? Overlook her intelligence, her character, her poise, her elegance and her grace and let's focus on "She had on too much makeup and her wig was too long and her voice isn't feminine enough."

Seriously? Laverne is flawless. Point blank period.

I intend to light Flo Anthony's raggedy ass up once I get on Twitter. How dare she. Never mind the fact that she mentioned how she hasn't been able to get on The View to save her life.

So it's sour grapes then? Nobody is checking for you boo. Laverne was there for a reason. We trans women are here for a reason. Oh you can't deal? That's too bad. Because you will. One way or another.

We are not going anywhere.  Deal with it.

***

All I can do is say amen and piggyback on what my sis Angela said for you transphobic Black cis women (and 'errbody' else who cosigns Flo Anthony's alleged loud and wrong ignorant comments) to chew on.

Stop  hatin'.  Trans women are women as many of your cis sisters realize.  

We are proud and beautiful Black trans women    We are going to live, laugh, love, excel and represent ourselves, our people and our community to the best of our ability.  We are part of the diverse mosaic of human life and part of the Black community as well with all our perfect imperfections.

Ain't we Back women, too?   Yes, we are.

We are part of the kente cloth fabric of the African American community.  Black trans women have appeared not only on the stage of The View, but the stage at Carnegie Hall.  We have been elected to a state legislature, graced the covers of ESSENCE and Time magazines and even had a JET Beauty of the Week.  

We are New York Times bestselling authors and GLAAD award nominated bloggers.  We are college professors, actors, doctors, lawyers, business owners, musicians, models, athletes, ministers, wives and mothers   We are as diverse and multifaceted as the Black cisfeminine community is.

We Black trans women also face sexual assault and genocidal levels of violence aimed at us.   We have had our beauty denigrated just as Black cis women's beauty has been under attack by whiteness and white supremacy for the last 400 years.  

And I and other Black trans women are sick and tired of being sick and tired of hearing out of the mouths of jealous cis Black women engaging in femininity policing that we shouldn't be 'representing Black women' 

The melanin in our skin says otherwise.

We also get enough of that erasure of our femininity crap from society.  It's even more hurtful when it comes from our own people, and even more injurious coming from our cis Black sisters.

We'll keep that 'not representing Black women' sentiment in mind the next time a Black trans woman does something groundbreakingly amazing.  

And I have no doubt that with the young, gifted and talented Black trans women following in mine and other Black trans feminine pioneer's pumps, they will exceed what even we have been able to accomplish so far in this decade.

We Black trans women are also down with the cause of uplifting and celebrating Black womanhood.  If you have a problem with the depictions of Black womanhood in the media, I suggest you start in your own cisgender feminine house first before you even attempt to ignorantly step to Black trans women.

And as my sister Angela advised, deal with it.  Black trans women exist and aren't going away.

Happy Black Trans Kwanzaa 2014

Haban gari    What's The News?  

Well, today's news is that it is the first night of Kwanzaa for those peeps who celebrate it.  It will run through  January 1.

During the Kwanzaa 2010 and 2011 celebrations I wrote a series of posts that put a Black trans twist on the seven Nguzo Saba principles celebrated each night during Kwanzaa. 

What I attempted to do in 2010 and 2011 was break down  each one of the Nguzo Saba principles that are celebrated during Kwanzaa and explain how they apply to the African descended trans community.   

I wanted to point out by doing so not only that African-American trans people are not only members of the general African-American community with a shared history, but we trans Black folks can also use these principles  to organize to help us own our power

What are those principles that kinara candles are lit for over the next seven days of Kwanzaa?

• Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
• Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.
• Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems, and to solve them together.
• Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
• Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
• Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
• Imani (Faith): To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

As the late Kwame Ture said. "In order to become a part o the greater society, you must first close ranks.".   It has been necessary at the beginning of this second decade of the 21st Century for trans African-Americans to unify, collectively organize, and own our power.

That simple act, combined with the last two years of proud African-American trans people becoming visible possibility models and spokespersons for the trans human rights movement and ourselves has scared the crap our of some folks.

It shouldn't, but if it does, too bad.because the Black trans unification train has left the station, and this needed to happen a long time ago.

We are simply doing what our ancestors did at the turn of the 20th century when also confronted by an America hostile to them and using those time tested techniques to build our community

We African-American transpeople exist at the intersections of oppressions for being Black and trans, and we have to come up with strategies to navigate those issues.

We are also evolving to become New Black Transmen and Transwomen.   We are beyond sick and tired of being demonized not only by society, but by elements of our own people who are doing so to sell out to the white conservative power structure or out of sheer ignorance.

They are also joined by elements of the white trans community jealous of our recent positive media attention.    Those issues must be addressed in concert with our allies in 2015 and beyond as well. 
  
The process must continue because in order for us to be able to help the ENTIRE trans community advance to have the human rights we all deserve, the African-American trans community must do so in order to counter the Forces of Intolerance who are organizing to oppose our just human rights cause.

And if you can't visualize the value of a stronger, powerful unified Black trans cohort confidently exercising its power in concert with our allies , then the problem lies with you.

So Happy Kwanzaa, Black Trans Style 2014.

Black Community, Does My Black Trans Life Matter?

In the wake of another young Black transwoman being murdered in Los Angeles, am definitely going to signal boost this post by Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi asking the Black community a question that's on the minds of all African descended transpeople no matter what our age is.

Do our Black lives matter?   

They most certainly do.   #BlackTransLivesMatter.    Here's a taste of what Lady Dane had to say.

***

Trans women are not killed by trans women, we are killed by cisgender men. Often cisgender black men. Is this why our black community is so afraid of having this conversation? Trans folk are the greatest embodied form of revolution against colonization. Our very existence spits in the face of all that colonization wishes our black community to hold true: is this why our black community is so afraid to have these conversations? Is it that the poison of colonization has seeped so deeply into the  veins of  the black movement that it is easier to ignore black trans folk and use them as place holders then to honor our existence? We must begin to honor not just our fallen  cis brothers but our fallen trans siblings and cis sisters. We must fight against the notion that we black women must ignore our brutalizers, although many of us are forced to co-exist with them

***

You can read the entire to the Black community she wrote by clicking this link.

Laverne Is A 2014 Glamour Woman Of The Year!

This has been one amazing year for Laverne Cox in which she has broken ground for transkind on one level or another.  She was the first transperson to appear on the cover of Time magazine.   She was  the first out transperson to be nominated for an Emmy thanks to her groundbreaking Sophia Burset role on Orange Is The New Black.   She's produced a documentary on the unjust incarceration of CeCe McDonald for defending herself from a transphobic attack.

And now you can add one more first to an amazing list of them for Cox.   The first out trans person to be named a Glamour Woman Of The Year.

Yep, there's a girl like us along with other 2014 winners Chelsea Clinton, Robin Roberts, Lupita Nyong'o, and Mindy Kaling just to name a few of the other honorees

Megacongrats on another trailblazing first, Laverne.  

Koko's Album 'Who's That Lady?' Drops November 18

I've talked about Koko Jones,  my seriously talented musical sis from time to time on the blog and had the pleasure of doing one of my TransGriot Ten Questions interviews with her.

How talented is she?  Talented enough for this Jersey girl over her four decades in the music biz to have performed with some of the most recognizable names in the pop, R&B, jazz, house and African music worlds.

Jones has either performed or recorded as a first call musician with the Isley Brothers, Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana, Angela Winbush, Raul Midon, Marcus Miller, Randy Weston,  Jose Feliciano, Buddy Miles, Clarence Burke, Louie Vega, Luisito Quintero, Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child, DJ Kenny Dope, Archie Shepp, and Reggie Workman.

And now you'll have something to look forward to during TDOR Week in terms of her 'Who's That Lady' LP dropping on that date..

The timing of the release of the album near that date is not an accident.  As a girl like us who happens to be a  musician, several of the tracks on this upcoming album release on Motema Music reflect either personal or universal issues facing the trans community:







“Why” honors those trans individuals who have lost their lives due to violence or suicide and “Turn It” pays tribute to the heroes, past and present, who strive for civil rights, justice and equality. “I’m Free” celebrates the joy of reveling in who you really are despite societal norms and constraints. And “Xtravaganzas” pays homage to the House of Xtravaganza, one of the most important cultural institutions in the trans community.

While she has always handled her business as a musician first and foremost, she has had an ongoing parallel role as an activist and a voice in the trans community. In addition to Koko’s ground-breaking work as an interventionist at the Center for HIV Education Studies and Training (CHEST) at Hunter College, where she is a part of T-Talk, a project delivered by trans women for trans women that seeks to reduce sexual health risk, substance use, and internalized stigma affecting the community.

Koko frequently speaks at events, and recently gave a TEDx talk at Seton Hall University and delivered a lecture on Current Issues in the Trans Community at Columbia University Teachers College. She is also an active member of Trans Women of Color Collective (TWOCC)

But it's time for peeps to get to know Koko Jones in her primary role as an extraordinary musician

Those of you in the New York area can check her out on December 1 at her CD release show that will start at 8 PM EST at Sub Culture. The venue is located at 45 Bleeker St, and if you're looking for more info hit the link or call 212-533-5470.

And yeah, Christmas and Hanukkah are coming up, so why not purchase 'Who's That Lady?' and kill two birds with one stone at the same time?  You buy a gift for someone (or keep it for your own music collection), keep our T-bills circulating in our community, and support a fantastic musician at the same time.

Aniya Parker Case Update

In the latest news concerning the Aniya Parker murder in Los Angeles, a $50,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the three men who are believed to have committed it.

As the search for her killers continues, family and friends have launched a GoFundMe page to help raise money for Parker’s funeral expenses, describing her as a woman with “a heart of gold.”

The reward was announced during an emotional October 10 press conference. While the LAPD continues to investigate the case as a 'robbery gone wrong', the LA LGBT community continues to insist it was a hate crime.

Aniya Parker's distraught family members just want to know why she was killed.

“I don’t understand how you young people could do such a mean and cruel thing,” said Adrian Parker. “We just want to know why. We didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. … Our family is in deep emotional stress.”

As usual TransGriot readers, will keep you posted on the updates and developments in this case as I receive them.

Finding KOKUMO

Our Chicago based sister KOKUMO is one innovative, gifted and talented artist and like myself an inaugural Trans 100 honoree.  I've had the pleasure of seeing her perform at the 2014 Black Trans Advocacy Conference in Dallas, while others recently got their opportunity to see her at the recent Philadelphia Trans Health Conference or the T.G.I.F. Festival in Chicago.  

So when I received the alarming report KOKUMO went missing Thursday from her Baltimore hotel in a city that had just experienced a trans woman being murdered, the concern was obviously high amongst myself, the trans community and our allies. 

But instead of this story having a tragic ending, it turned into a moment in which our Black trans community and our allies banded together.  Using the power of social media and the determined boots on the ground of the Black Transmen, Inc.-Maryland/DC Chapter, it had a positive outcome

I received an alarming e-mail message at approximately 8:50 PM CDT from Vann Michael, one of the members of that BTMI chapter.  He  told me that she was missing and the clerk at the Motel 6 located at 110 W. North Street reported that KOKUMO left with her black suitcase.   The clerk also reported to them that she appeared distraught and confused.

That led a very concerned me to post the initial alert on my blog and Facebook page.   The blog post eventually got 3000 hits by Saturday morning and the Facebook page alert being shared 312 times.  

From my awareness about missing person cases, if you don't find the person within the first 24-72 hours after they go missing, the probability they will be found alive precipitously drops.   So time is critical in these cases, and the earlier you start the search and file the police report, the better.

By default because I have a lot of connections across the country and even in the Baltimore area, I became the national communications point person.

Centralized communications was needed in this situation, especially when it comes to a well known in our community figure like KOKUMO that suddenly goes missing.  Rumors popped up on Facebook in that frantic Friday night she had been found a mere hour after the TransGriot blogpost went up alerting everyone she was missing.   Another rumor was posted she was okay and had called various people including her mother    Those rumors weren't true because KOKUMO didn't have her cell phone. 

Meanwhile, as I was getting the word out she was missing with emphasis to my Baltimore area peeps, Vann, Brendon and the BTMI brothers were filing the missing persons police report and gearing up to begin the search for KOKUMO starting at 7 AM EDT Saturday morning . A nervous Trans Nation, our allies and all the people who love and care about her turned their attention to Charm City, prayed and sent warm thoughts that our sister would be found safe and unharmed.  

Meanwhile other Baltimore area trans community leaders like Beth Morgan and Jenna Fischetti were busy spreading the word in their influence circles

Saturday morning dawned with the BTMI search team beginning the daunting task of trying to find her in the 209 sq miles and 623,000 people that comprise the city of Baltimore.   While some members of the search team checked Johns Hopkins Hospital and a rumored sighting at a shelter,  Vann doubled back to the last known location of KOKUMO at the Motel 6 to get more information after calling me with an update as to what had transpired since our initial contact Friday evening..

Longtime Baltimore area trans leader Cydne Kimbrough e-mailed me not long after seeing the news on my Facebook page, and I was amazed to hear that she lived mere blocks form the Motel 6 in question.   I asked her if she would get the people she knew in her neighborhood and influence circles to keep their eyes open in case she was still in the area. 

The BTMI search team hit the East Baltimore streets armed with a photo of KOKUMO and the steely determination not to allow her to become another casualty of violence against transwomen of color or law enforcement insensitivity.   Vann, Brendan and the BTMI search team shared her photo with Baltimoreans at bus stops, people setting up community outdoor markets, who were attending morning rehab groups and with local community members who keep track of the pulse of the street.  

One person they talked as they shared that photo prayed at that moment with them for KOKUMO's safe return. 

The search finally began to generate leads.  The search team began to run into people that recalled spotting  the statuesque KOKUMO on Friday.   One person reported spotting her near a local market which sent the search team quickly heading in that direction.  

Once they arrived at that local market, it turned out the lead was a solid one.  More people confirmed she'd  been the area but the ironclad one turned out to be when they showed her picture to a local gypsy cab driver.   The gypsy cab driver yelled to his friend to take a look at the photo of KOKUMO, of which the friend of the cab driver and his female companion recognized her immediately.

"Yeaaa! I seen her! This morning!" he said as the woman asked," She have on a flower dress?"

Unable to confirm what she was wearing when she left the hotel, the BTMI search team member was about to dismiss it as a soft lead until the woman asked,"Did she have a black suitcase?"   At that point he definitely knew he'd picked up KOKUMO's trail, and he was instructed by the helpful pair to go to West Baltimore.
 
After calling the rest of the members of the search team with the news, buoyed with increased hope, they headed to the West Baltimore location where the couple had spotted KOKUMO.   The couple also told them before they headed off to that section of town that some police activity had  happened in that area . 

While that was a concern, they were hopeful as they drove toward the West Baltimore location this was going to be the last stop in their search for our lost sister.  But the report of the couple of police activity had them unsure and worried this was in connection with KOKUMO. 

After they arrived at the location where the couple had last spotted her,  the BTMI search team approached a crowd and showed them the picture.  One of the people in the West Baltimore crowd recognized her and said she was last seen walking "Over there," as he pointed in the direction that he'd spotted her ambling off in.  When the BTMI brothers turned their gaze in that direction, there was KOKUMO, sitting under a tree surrounded and protected by bushes. 

Success!  Against long odds she had been found, and after I got the call they found her a little after 9 AM Saturday EDT, the BTMI brothers cautiously approached her, identified themselves, scooped her up and took her to a nearby hospital to be checked out.   She was released to their care after the medical exam and was handed a phone to call some people as her mother Sandra Baker prepared to hit the road from Chicago to drive to Baltimore to retrieve her daughter.   

KOKUMO has been picked up, is enroute back to Chicago with her mother and in great spirits after spending some quality time with the BTMI brothers.  She thanks everyone along with her mother Sandra for your warm thoughts, prayers, and pulling together as a community to ensure she would be in the position to come home safely.

KOKUMO is going to get a needed rest break, and when she's ready, you know she'll come back from it refreshed and ready to amaze us with her talents. 


Thanks also to Vann Michael and Brendon for their accounts of what happened that I used as the basis for this story, and the BTMI-Maryland/DC chapter search team that did the legwork Saturday to ensure this story had a happy ending.  

Arkansas Transwoman Fired For Using Correct Bathroom

If you wonder why I go ballistic every time I hear people who don't share my ethnic background ignorantly stating public accommodations language is not important when it comes to protecting the human rights of trans people, I call bull feces on that.

If you're a non-white transperson, that public accommodations language is critical, especially since we seem to find ourselves in situations far more frequently in which discrimination is aimed at us based on our ethnicity and our trans status..  

Meet 21 year old Kaye Bowens, a girl like us living in Star City, Arkansas.   It is a town 75 miles SSE of Little Rock and Bowers until recently was an employee at a local McDonald's.   

Bowens made it clear when she was hired in December that she was trans and had begun her transition three years ago..  She used the bathroom appropriate to her outward gender presentation and had no trans status related job problems until two weeks ago.  

Obviously either a coworker or somebody in the area had a transphobic problem with her and complained.   Bowens found herself being confronted in the women's restroom by the store's shift manager who told her she should be using the men's room.    

The very next day she was called into the general manager's office and terminated.   When she threatened to file a lawsuit over the obvious gender discrimination,  she was offered her job back later that day provided she agreed to the dehumanizing demand of using the men's restroom. 

Bowens description of the events was corroborated by two fellow employees who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution. 

If I'm a good worker for you, what does it matter where I use the restroom?" said Bowens. 

Bowens has now filed an EEOC discrimination complaint against the Mickey D's in question to which Michael Retzer, the owner of the McDonald's franchise in Star City issued the following statement on Wednesday:

“We believe in the value of a diverse workforce, equal opportunity and a workplace free from all forms of unlawful discrimination and harassment.  As such, we continue to do our best to meet the needs of our employees and customers, and we are reviewing this situation carefully. It is important for us to share that the employee in question is a current employee and has not been terminated. We have asked the employee to discuss this issue with us, but we have not received a response.”

Yeah, right.  Now that your rumps are in the legal wringer, and you have made national and international news for your transphobic bigotry, now you wanna talk. 

Here's hoping the situation does end in a satisfactory conclusion for Ms. Bowens. 

This is also another concrete example of why the federal ENDA law needs to be passed ASAP and the gender identity language needs to stay in it.  

Open Letter To The UHD Black Student Alliance

As you TransGriot reader are aware of, I was part of a wonderful panel discussion yesterday with Augie Augustine, Dee Dee Watters and Ashton Woods entitled African American Perspective Within The LGBTQ Community.

It was a no holds barred discussion in which we touched on a lot of issues inside and outside the bi, SGL  and trans communities and was enjoyed by the people in attendance.   I thank LaTrina Carter and Safe Zone once again for the opportunity to be a part of it.

One group that was supposed to be a part of it was the UHD Black Student Alliance.  They had agreed to co-host the event with Safe Zone, but I discovered when I arrived on campus that they pulled out with as of this writing no explanation.     .  

That didn't sit well with me, and I decided to write this open letter to express why they should have followed through with their agreed commitment, especially in this case.

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Dear UHD Black Student Alliance,

As one of the participants in yesterday's panel discussion that you were supposed to co-host with Safe Zone, it bothered me to hear when I arrived on campus that you pulled out of the event at the last moment.

And the salient question I have for you at this moment which compels me to write this open letter is why did y'all pull out of the event with Safe Zone today?

Was it fear of the unknown? You didn't want to be associated with 'those people'? Not willing to step out of your comfort zone and learn something about a group of fellow African-Americans that love being Black as much as you do and also happen to be LGBT? You don't want to walk the walk when it comes to unity in our community?

Or was it a case of unresolved phobias, hate and bias toward the SGL, trans and bi community?

You missed out on an opportunity to not only get your learn on about the Houston Black LGBT community, you also missed an opportunity to ask us questions, learn about how we navigate our lives, and also about the issues we deal with as we interact with the various communities we intersect with as African-American LGBT people. 

But the thing I'm most saddened and concerned about for my Safe Zone fam was that it was a lost opportunity to do some chocolate community building  and jump start an on campus dialogue between that is sorely needed.  

As the passage last week and subsequent veto of SB 1062 in Arizona emphatically proves, all oppressions are linked.   That bill aimed at the GLBT community would have also had deleterious discriminatory impact on you cis Black straight peeps as well.   

You would have also discovered had you shown up in Room N420 today that Black trans issues are Black community issues.   If the NAACP and other legacy organizations in our community understand that, why can't you?  

The voter suppression laws that the state of Texas passed knocked me out of the 2013 election cycle, but because you no-showed, you didn't get to hear me talk about that.  

You would have also been surprised to discover that I and my fellow panelists are just as concerned about other issues that impact the Black community besides TBLG ones.  

You also missed hearing about the other interesting aspects of my life and the lives of Augie, Ashton, Dee Dee, LaTrina and some of the people in the audience who spoke today.

You would  have also discovered that I'm unapologetically Black and a member of the BTLG community like 'errbody' else on that panel and our moderator was yesterday.  We also aware of what we need to do individually and collectively to uplift our people and also own our power in the LGBT community we are an important part of.


That's what you missed by not showing up, and it's your loss.  But you do owe your fellow Gator LaTrina Carter, who worked hard to put the panel together, an honest explanation along with the members of Safe Zone as to why you did so.

The bottom line is that not I nor anyone else on that panel forfeited our Black Cards when we acknowledged we're also members of the trans, bi and SGL communities. 

We were all looking forward to having that dialogue and building that sorely needed community on the UHD campus and within the 600 plus square miles of Texas soil that we call Houston.  We have more that unites us than divides us, including a shared community history and African ancestry and batturd delusional conservafool politicians that have a foaming at the mouth hatred of Blackness.

In closing, I'd like to say this.  If you claim to love Black people, then you must love ALL Black people, including trans, SGL and bi ones, without exception.


Respectfully yours,
Monica Roberts
The TransGriot

Longtime Philly Activist Jaci Adams Battling Cancer

When I picked up my IFGE Trinity award back in 2006 in Philadelphia, after the ceremony I was taken by Dionne Stallworth and Jordana LeSesne who was living there at the time to get my celebratory cheesesteak and meet some of the local activists.

One of the people I met that day was Jaci Adams, who in the Philly area is one of their amazing and beloved activists.

She is a founding member of the Temple University Community Advisory Board, served on the planning committee for the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference, and the Morris County Planning Committee, a long term volunteer with the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, a member of the Philly Police Department LGBT Liaison Committee Team and was a founder of the 2004 People With Hope Trans Conference.

Adams was also honored at OutFest last year with the first annual Jaci Adams OutProud Transgender Award

She also made the POZ 100 List, an annual compilation of the 100 HIV-positive unsung heroes and sheroes from around the country who are committed to ending the epidemic. 

Jaci is battling Stage IV cancer as I write this, and she is fighting it with every fiber of her being.

Ever the activist, she recently sold AIDS :Law Project raffle tickets to her chemotherapy team. 

I'm hearing the news from my Philadelphia sources that Jaci is in a hospice right now and even though she been doing everything possible to beat it, she will need the added assistance of your warm thoughts and prayers.  

If you live in the Philly metro area, may be a good idea if you have time in your busy schedules to swing by Keystone Hospice and see this valiant trans human rights warrior as well.

CeCe McDonald On MHP

CeCe McDonald is going to make her first post release national media appearance on the Melissa Harris-Perry Show today with Laverne Cox.

It stands to reason that it would be on MHP because in addition to being a advocate for the trans community, she was one of the few Sunday morning talk show hosts who discussed and covered the story.

This definitely will be interesting to watch.  I'll be parked in front of the TV wanting to hear what our sister has to say about what happened and the other issues they discuss. 

Minister Bobbie Jean Baker Passes Away

I was stunned to hear moments ago from Louis Mitchell of the sudden passing of Minister Bobbie Jean Baker.

She was born in Memphis, TN, and overcame some challenging circumstances in her life before moving to the Bay Area in 1992.   She became an ordained minister at the City of Refuge UCC in San Francisco and served as the West Coast Regional TransSaints Minister of the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, and Lay Minister at Transcending Transgender Ministries of CORUCC. 

She was the lead singer of the world renowned all transgender member Transcendence Gospel Choir for a decade

I had the pleasure of meeting Min. Baker during the TransFaith in Color conference in Charlotte in July 2012, and we touched base with each other from time to time via Miss Major.  . 

Min. Baker in addition to being a seminary student at the Pacific Religion School, was a sought after speaker and workshop leader.  She worked for several Bay Area non profits as a peer advocate, case manager, supportive housing manager, with certification as an HIV Risk Assessment Counselor and Domiestic Violence Specialist. 

Minster Bobbie Jean Baker will be missed by her ministerial colleagues in the trans faith ranks and all who loved and admired her in the Bay Area and beyond.

Rest in power and peace, sis.

As soon as I find out the details of what happened and the date, time and location of her homegoing service, I will pass them on to you.

TransGriot Update:  According to Bishop Yvette Flunder's FB page, she and Deacon Bobby Wiseman were struck by a hit and run driver after Watch Night service. Deacon Bobby is in the hospital at present and reasonably stable. Min. BobbieJean passed away at the scene of the accident.

Happy Milestone Birthday Bree!

My birthday is tomorrow not excited but grateful to see another year....My Lord is awesome......
--Bree Wallace, December 1, 2013

If the waste of DNA Michael McBride had gotten his way in the early morning hours of June 21, then 29 year old Bree Wallace's name would have been one of the 238 names we read at the 2013 Transgender Day of Remembrance memorials back on November 20. 

But instead the 23 year old McBride is in custody for attempting to stab her multiple times and is facing assault with intent to kill charges. 

After being hospitalized for and recovering from her over 30 stab wounds, Bree is celebrating her milestone 30th birthday today.

It is a birthday she is obviously grateful to have reached.   All her friends and family and the people who love and care about her in the Washington DC area and beyond feel the same way about it as she does.

Bree, Happy Milestone Birthday!   So happy you have reached the Big 3-0 one and I pray this is a birthday that will be filled with smiles as wide as Texas, lots of hugs, lots of love, and a launching pad for better birthdays to come. 

I hope that somebody at least hooks you up with a birthday mani and pedicure, dinner or whatever you wish to have happen on your special day. 

May you also be blessed to know what it's like to be as old as I am . 

One thing I hope Bree receives as a late birthday present is McBride being convicted and spending much time in jail for trying to take her life.  But that's me being angry, frustrated and sick and tired of being sick and tired of my transsisters being targeted and killed for just living their lives.    

Again, happy milestone birthday Bree!   May you not only have many more birthdays to come, but God bless you to reach more of your milestone birthdays as well.