Civil Rights Icon Rep John Lewis Dies

We knew this sad day was coming, but it still doesn't lessen the devastation we feel at it happening.

Rep. John Lewis has died at age 80 from stage 4 pancreatic cancer. 

He was the sharecropper's son from Alabama who became a leading figure in the fight against Jim Crow segregation.  He was a major leader in the African American Civil Rights Movement at just age 23, and one of the last surviving (and youngest) speakers from the 1963 March on Washington. 



He later was elected to Congress in 1986, and served for 17 terms as the congressman repping Georgia's Atlanta centered 5th District.   He not only voted against Desert Storm and the Iraq War, but led protests on the House floor against apartheid and gun violence., and testified against the nomination of Jeff Sessions to become Attorney General.

He was also a passionate and determined fighter and eloquent voice for voting rights..

John Lewis was demonstrating through his words and actions that all Black lives matter even before it was cool or trendy to do so.      He was aloud and eloquent voice for marriage equality.   More recently we spoke against the trans military ban.

I have fought too long and hard to end discrimination based on race and color to allow discrimination based on gender identity to be considered acceptable. 

“This mean, misguided policy takes us back to another place, a darker time.  How is it acceptable to target those who love our country so much that they put their bodies and livelihood on the lines for its defense?  This is a sad and dark day. 

“As a nation and as a people, all Americans should expect and deserve better.  There is no place in our society for hate or bigotry.  To punish any person based on their sexual orientation or gender identity is a shame and a disgrace, but to penalize those who pledge to serve and protect our country is unconscionable. 

“I stand with our transgender service members, and I pray that they will not lose heart.  They must know that we love them.  We respect them.  We are grateful for their service and sacrifice, and most importantly, we will stand for their rights, just as they have stood for ours.”

During the May 2007 NTAC Lobby Day, I was tasked with hitting as many CBC offices as possible.
Of course one of the first offices I decided to visit was Rep John Lewis.   I wan't to find out where he stood when it came to trans rights, since he had been a loud consistent voice for marriage equality. 

Unfortunately, because the House was doing a lot of procedural voter at the time I was in his office, I spent an hour there talking to his then staffers until I had to leave for an appointment in another CBC office. 

But had I had the blessing of talking to him, I would have thanked him for his work in the Civil Rights Movement, and continuing to be a role model for those of us fighting for a better America.

Then I would have asked him my question.

Rest in power, sir   All of us who call ourselves activists have you as an amazing possibility model to follow. It's also our task now to get into 'good trouble'  to get us closer to the Beloved Community that you and Dr King dreamed about.

The 'Obamacare Kid' Is Now Part Of Our Trans Family

Remember when President Obama signed the landmark Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010 and there was an adorable 11 year old African-American child standing there to witness the signing of this new law?

Marcelas Owens' mother died in 2007 as a result of losing her job and subsequently her health insurance, and the then pint sized advocate told that story as part of the contentious push to pass the ACA.

It's now six years later, and Marcelas Owens is now a 17 year old trans teen living in Seattle who recently celebrated a birthday on March 10 and transitioned at age 16 with the love and acceptance of her grandmother Gina Owens.

It's bitterly ironic now that while the Affordable Care Act she championed does prohibit discrimination against trans people, unfortunately there are loopholes in the ACA that result in providers not being required to provide the transition related health care that she is now considering.

She is now beginning her evolutionary trans feminine journey while wondering if people will still love her.

While Rush Limbaugh, the right wing, transphobic fundies and the ignorati may hate on you, know that I, your trans elders and your trans family in Seattle, here in the US and around the world welcome you with open arms to our family.

You are now part of a community that stretches across the world.  If we are blessed to meet each other, I'll be more than happy to give you a hug and whatever advice you wish about becoming the fierce Black trans woman that you have the potential to be.  .

Welcome to the trans family, Marcelas.

CBS' Bold And The Beautiful Soap Reveals A Trans Feminine Character

African-American trans characters on TV shows are a rare phenomenon. 

The last time a CBS broadcast television series had a serious African-American trans feminine character that wasn't a stereotype, you have to go all the way back to 1977 and Edith Stokes on The Jeffersons 'Just A Friend' episode to find her.

Now that Orange Is the New Black and Transparent have proven it's okay to put trans characters on TV and surprise surprise, if you do them right get ratings and Emmy nominations for the actors that portray them, it seems as though the networks are finally coming to the trans character party late as usual.

Seems as though CBS has decided to continue to break ground when it comes to creating African-American trans characters.   Laverne Cox will debut as the lead character in a legal drama slated to air this fall called Doubt, and now comes word that yesterday the CBS soap opera The Bold and The Beautiful shocked its viewers with an unexpected cliff hanger that involves a trans character.

Actress Karla Mosley has played model Maya Avant on the soap for the last two year.s   Yesterday the bomb was dropped by Nicole Avant (played by Reign Edwards) that Maya was once her brother with the dead name Myron.

“You’re not my sister, Maya. You’re not Maya at all,” said Nicole (Reign Edwards) during an emotional argument. “You’re Myron, my brother.”




That bombshell lit up the Twitterverse as a trending topic for several hours, and now has me scrambling to catch up on some back Bold and The Beautiful episodes, since I've been on a soap hiatus ever since ABC took my beloved All My Children off the air.

“My first reaction was surprise, because 10 or 20 years ago, this is not a story we would be telling, and not in a way that’s truthful and not sensational,” said Mosley in a USA Today interview about her trans feminine character. “My second reaction was, ‘Thank you.’ It’s a gift. It’s a privilege,” she told the newspaper. “It’s a real opportunity to educate our viewers here and all over the world.”

“It is about people respecting other people’s differences and their uniqueness,” said Bradley Bell, executive producer and head writer for B&B in a statement obtained by USA Today. “In the end, we all want to be loved, and in order to love someone else you first have to love yourself,” Bell added. “If you are transgender, gay, straight, it doesn’t matter. It’s about finding love in life. This is a love story.”

And this is going to be a long term B&B storyline according to Mosley that unfolds over a long period of time, and the characters on the show will gradually find out about Maya's past.

"Everyone has a different reaction," she said. "So even if the audience can't necessarily be on board with Maya, or if they have [certain] feelings about Maya's experience now, hopefully they'll be able to see themselves in the reactions of the people around her and we can all sort of process it together."

Until yesterday, Bold and the Beautiful wasn't in my soap opera watching rotation.  Now it is Must See TV as I watch this historic television storyline unfold.

Musing About These Austin Gender Variant Photos

I've talked about the point more than a few times that Black gender variant people are an intertwined part of the African-American community and not something that just popped up out of thin air in the late 20th-early 21st century . 

Thanks to Max Reddick, I have some more proof of that and some interesting photos to peruse.

The cool part is that these photos were taken at a club in the Lone Star State.

Max sent me a link to a story in the Arts Labor Austin blog by Michael Corcoran dated February 7, 2014.    In it Corcoran discusses finding some photos dated October 7, 1955 while searching for another legendary Austin establishment called Charlie's Playhouse.  

The photos weren't of Charlie's, but possibly of the IL Club which was on East 11th Street    The east side of Austin was predominately African-American at the time but due to gentrification of those historic neighborhoods and the rising cost of living, Austin's African-American population is falling. 

It's interesting to note these photos are of drag artists of that time period performing at a blues club.

Not a big surprise to me, knowing that the Halloween Finnie's Ball in Chicago and elaborate drag balls in New York's Rockland Palace dating back to the Harlem Renaissance were quite popular and drew large crowds during that period.  

The winner of Finnie's Ball was covered in Jet magazine from the 50's through the late 60's-early 70's.  
      
And just across the Sabine River, New Orleans has had a longtime gender bending reputation and Mardi Gras events that lent themselves to celebrating gender variance .

As I look at these photos I'm curious about the lives of the people in them.  How old were they at the time these photos were taken?  Did they continue to live in the Austin area or move on to cities with larger gender variant populations?

Did their gender variance cross over into transgender territory? 

To see more photographic evidence of gender variant people prior to my arrival on the planet is exciting to me and drives me to want to learn more about this Austin scene and the snapshots taken on this October 7, 1955 night.   It's even more exciting to note that it's in my home state, and these folks share my ethnic background..

Still Musing About Marcus Major

Back in July 2011 I wrote a post asking the question what happened to author Marcus Major? 

After writing the short story Kenya and Amir and the bestselling novels Good Peoples, 4 Guys And Trouble, A Man Most Worthy and A Family Affair from 2000-2003, it seemed as though he just vanished from the literary world and hasn't written a new novel since 2003.

Basically myself and ofter fans of Major who grew to love the characters in his Philly-Newark-DC centered writing universe have been wondering ever since what's happened not only to him, but the characters populating his novels?

When Major's last novel A Family Affair was published, we discovered Marisa and Myles were married.  Mike had just gotten married to now Dr. Erika.Truitt.  Carlos and Jackie Roque were the parents of adorable toddler CJ. Kenya and Amir were married and dealing with their now eight year old twins Deja and Jade, and everyone's fave playa player Ibn Barrington is still hilariously single.

Eleven years has elapsed since A Family Affair was published.   For those of us Marcus Major fans musing about Marisa and Myles, not only do we wonder if our fave couple had a boy or girl, did that at this point 11 year old child receive a name starting with 'M'?  

If their child is a girl, would Marisa name the baby for her late Cuban mother or if a boy, would he be a Myles Jr or some other male name?   Would the career obsessed Cubana slow down her legal, media and advocacy track for mommyhood or would Myles be more of the stay at home dad as they discussed at the end of Good Peoples? 

Speaking of juniors, what's up with Carlos Roque, Jr?   How is he progressing under the parental guidance of Jackie and Carlos Sr?   Is the group home that Jackie and Kenya were running still active?    What's up not only with Kenya and Amir Moore, but with their twin daughters Deja and Jade who would now be about college age at 19?   What's their Aunt Tanzania up to?   Did Jasmine and Darius stay together or move on to other people as Jasmine pursued her college education?  

As for the questions focused on the characters from 4 Guys and Trouble, we know that Mike and Bunches AKA Dr Erika Truitt got married, and Ibn's being Ibn, but did the same thing happen for the other characters in that novel? 

Did Tiffany get married to Maryland state senator Harold Hawkins III and repair her friendship with Erika?  Are Colin and Stephanie still together and did that newly blossoming relationship result in them getting married?  Did Dexter find someone else in the wake of his breakup with Denise?   Did she marry Kwame?.

What happened to Sharice?  Terence?   Did Erika keep her promise and adopt Tiana who would now be in her early twenties?  

We know Stacy went on to cause the end of a Moore family marriage in A Family Affair , but is she still wrecking homes?  

And Ibn, Ibn, Ibn?   Has Ibn finally met the woman that made him want to give up his playa playa card?  Does he still think about losing Tiffany?   If he hasn't given up his playa card, what other wild situations did Ibn find himself in as alluded to in the A Man Most Worthy book when he showed up at Adele's with his frat neophytes who had just gone over, and his hilarious cameos in Amir's barbershop in A Family Affair? 

As for the Newark based characters in A Man Most Worthy, we can probably presume that John and Josephine Sebastian and Gloria and Jules Anthony are still together because both couples had seriously rocky roads to their dual  reconciliations and marriages.   But there's still questions you can ask related to that novel.

How did Gloria adjust to being the stepmother to Jules' then seven year old daughter Nakira, and what's Nakira doing now that she's 18?  

Did the now 34 year old Scent get her doctorate and find love?   Are Hakeem and Rashahn still living up to the motto of their problem solving business and dishing out well deserved beatdowns?  

In case you forgot:  "No problem too big or too small to be fixed, no azz too big or too small to be kicked."

Going back to Nakira, would be interesting to see a novel in which Tiana,  Nakira, Jade and Deja bumped into each other at college with Scent or Jasmine as one of their professors,  Marisa doing a guest lecture, and Ibn making a hilarious appearance doing his usual frat mentoring.

But then again, that's up to Marcus Major.   Would be nice of him to unleash another book for his devoted fans like moi who would love to once again immerse themselves into his Philly-DC-Newark centric character universe and see what's transpiring in the 2k10's.    

Hey, Ibn Barrington's exploits are worth two novels and a movie by himself.

B-Daht Bounced From WSSU Announcer Duties

You'll recall back in April when Chevara Orrin, Jane Vaughn and We Are Straight Allies brought to my attention the over the top bias, homophobia and transmisogyny being aimed at openly gay Winston Salem State University student Aaron McCorkle.  

He was running for Mr. WSSU at the time and photos of him dressed in feminine attire were maliciously released in an attempt to derail his campaign. 

Popular 102 Jamz DJ, WSSU alum and announcer Brian 'B-Daht' McLaughlin then poured gasoline on the situation with a series of homophobic tweets.  While McLaughlin eventually apologized for the tweets, McCorkle accepted that apology for them, the damage was done and McCorkle lost the Mr. WSSU election.

In the wake of this kerfluffle, WSSU has indicated that cultural competency training will be offered.  Orrin, Vaughn and allies continue to push WSSU to add gender identity to the school's non-discrimination policy and implement the Safe Zone program campus wide.    

As for McLaughlin, after a 10 year tenure as the PA announcer for WSSU Ram football and basketball games that started in his junior year at the school, McLaughlin was fired as the announcer for WSSU athletics.

Bigotry has a cost

Ivy Taylor's TBLG Rights NO Vote Coming Back To Haunt Her

You'll remember during that contentious summer last year that San Antonio successfully passed their non-discrimination ordinance, I wrote an open letter to Councilmember Ivy Taylor imploring her to be on the right side of history and vote for the ordinance. 

Unfortunately she was one of the three members of the San Antonio City Council that voted against it.   It was disappointing and personally offensive to me because she is the only African-American member of the council.

Now in the wake of Mayor Julian Castro's May 22 appointment by President Obama to become HUD secretary, the political maneuvering has begun in the Alamo City to appoint an interim mayor to fill out his remaining unexpired term.

Taylor has emerged as one of the front runners to replace Castro, which has alarmed San Antonio activists.

“I don’t think she’s representative of this entire city. She doesn’t support equality for LGBT people, and it’s very bothersome,” activist Daniel Graney said in a San Antonio Express-News interview. “I don’t think she should spend one day in the mayor’s office because of it.”

In response to the concerns of the San Antonio TBLG community, Taylor has pledged that if she's appointed mayor she wouldn't move to undo the ordinance that passed 8-3.  But that pledge has zero credibility in the community and with our allies because of a long list of problematic anti-LGBT statements going back to 2011  

During her 2011 city council campaign, Taylor stated that if she received the endorsement of the Stonewall Democrats, she wouldn't advertise it because it would be 'too divisive'.  She made a subsequent statement that she wouldn't appear in the city's pride parade. 

Despite admitting the hateful comments of the faith-based opponents of San Antonio's ordinance made her cringe, Taylor still voted against the law based on the specious argument that the law would be used to stifle religious freedom.

“I really wanted to be able to vote yes on this ordinance because I wanted to be able to affirm that all citizens deserve protection under the law, which I do believe,” Taylor said at the time of the September 5 vote. “I know that people will say that I’m an ignorant bigot, or that I gave in to fear and prejudice, but I know my heart. I am not a coward. I am not a bigot. And I am not ignorant.”

Councilmember Taylor, you are a coward who gave in to fear and prejudice, and your NO vote is irrefutable evidence of that.  You let 'fear and smear' tactics deter you from being a drum majorette for justice. 

Now you will have to reap the karmic consequences of that decision    Your NO vote on a human rights ordinance last September may derail your chances of making history and becoming San Antonio's first African-American mayor.  

And frankly, I'm not only giddy about karmic justice asserting itself so swiftly, I won't be shedding any tears for you if that's the case.

Maya Angelou Meets The Ancestors

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel
-Maya Angelou

One of the things I was saddened to hear about as we settled into City Hall to deal with a long day of HERO testimony was finding out that award-winning author, renowned poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou passed away at age 86 after a brief illness.

It was especially sad for us in Houston because she was scheduled to come here to accept an award Saturday.  

Her trailblazing life was an inspiration to me as well as several generations of women.   I have a Phenomenal Transwoman poem I wrote in the early days of TransGriot inspired by her Phenomenal Woman one, and I do from time to time draw upon her inspiring quotes, wisdom and words, do some hard solid thing about them to serve as inspiration for my own writing.

She made us all feel human anytime we were in her presence.  And that's why we will never forget her. 

Rest in power, Sister Maya!  

OUT On The Hill 2014 Dates Set

I've had the opportunity to go and participate as a panelist during the 2011 and 2012 editions of the National Black Justice Coalition's OUT on the Hill conference, and we're now less than four months away from the 2014 edition of it.

OUT on the Hill is NBJC's annual leadership conference.  It gives us a chance in the Black LGBT community to come to Washington DC for several days of networking, lobbying, meetings and learning best how to Own Our Power

This year's 5th annual event is set for September 24-27, and if you're interested in attending you can e-mail OOTH2014@nbjc.org

No April African-American Trans Murders!

"So will we see a threepeat of that pattern in 2014?   I hope and pray we don't, but with the increased attention transpeople and trans issues are getting in the media, it has also fueled backlash.  Some of that backlash will be manifested in people who are mean spirited, hateful and angry enough to take their transphobia to murderous levels." 
-TransGriot, April 3, 2014, 'Will April Be A Deadly Month For African-American Transwomen This Year?'

For the last two years, April has tended to be the deadliest month for anti-trans murders aimed at African-American transwomen. 

2014 so far has been a quiet year on that trans murder front here in the States, but when the calendar page flipped to April my anxiety level went up known the pattern of the last two years.  Now that we have turned the calendar page to May, I can exhale and report an amazing occurrence.

This year was the first in two years we didn't have trans African-Americans murdered in the month of April.  So keep up the good work my transsisters.  As a birthday present to me, please continue to be vigilant and most importantly be safe so I don't have to type out stories of a transwoman being killed somewhere in this country for the month of May. 

I'll have to sort through the Remembering our Dead statistics to see how far back the trend of African-American transowmen being murdered in April goes, but it's wonderful news to note that for the first time in a while, we won't have some family planning an all to soon funeral for a loved one they lost during the month of April.  

March 6, 1857-A Date That Will Live In SCOTUS Infamy

"beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations, and so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect."
--Chief Justice Roger B. Taney

It would give to persons of the negro race, ...the right to enter every other State whenever they pleased, ...to sojourn there as long as they pleased, to go where they pleased ...the full liberty of speech in public and in private upon all subjects upon which its own citizens might speak; to hold public meetings upon political affairs, and to keep and carry arms wherever they went.
--Chief Justice Roger B. Taney

There are days I read those words and feel that elements of the white community in 21st century America still believe that.

Moving on to talking about this sad anniversary.  

Today is the day that Dred Scott v Sandford, one of the worst Supreme Court decisions ever, was handed down on March 6, 1857.   Slavery supporting Chief Justice Roger B. Taney wrote the majority opinion for the Court..  

It not only ruled 7-2 the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was unconstitutional, but held that African-Americans whether slave or free, were not citizens of the United States and had no standing to sue in court. 

Interesting to note the birthers tried to use Dred Scott v Sandford in their attacks of President Obama that has long since been overturned by the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution. 

But far from settling the question of slavery as Taney hoped, the Dred Scott Decision poured gasoline on a simmering fire, exacerbated tensions between the slaveholding South and the abolitionist North, caused the Panic of 1857, split the Democratic Party, helped solidify a nascent Republican Party, encouraged the secessionist politicians in the South to make even bolder demands in support of slavery, helped grease the skids for the American Civil War that broke out three years later and laid the ground .

While Dred Scott didn't receive justice from the SCOTUS that day, his and his wife's freedom that he sued for was purchased by the sons of Peter Blow, his first owner in May 1857.   But Scott unfortunately didn't get to enjoy that freedom for long.   He contracted tuberculosis and died 18 months later on November 7, 1858.   His wife Harriet passed away June 17, 1876.

And Taney's reputation was forever tarnished by that unjust decision.  

Taney was correct on one aspect of that horrid decision.   Today I and other African Americans are not only recognized as citizens of this country (the level is still debatable) we are born in, we run for and hold public office, have those political meetings, speak truth to power, travel and live wherever we please inside the borders of this nation, vote (when the Repugs aren't trying to suppress it) and some of us even carry arms.  

But for those of us who have those freedoms, its anniversary days like this in which we need to take a step back and realize that a little over 150 years ago we didn't.    We owe our freedoms to people like Dred Scoot and countless others as Africans in America, and we have to fight tooth and nail to ensure that they are never rolled back.   

Inaugural BlaqOut Conference Coming Next Month

The inaugural BlaqOUT Conference will be held April 18-19 on the UC Riverside campus!

The University of California, Riverside cordially invites all folks who self identify as Black/African American or of African descent and as Same Gender Loving, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning or somewhere on the LGBT spectrum to apply to attend. 

So what does it cost to attend BlaqOUT? 

• The Regular Registration Fee is $20 per person selected to attend and a t-shirt is included.
• The Reduced Registration Fee is $10 per person selected to attend, NO t-shirt.
• Some scholarships will be available for those unable to afford reduced registration.
• Information on paying registration fees will be sent via email to those people selected to attend BlaqOUT.
• For those receiving support from their campus (student government or departments), an invoice and W-9 form will be provided upon request.
  

The deadline to submit proposals for this inaugural conference was extended until March 9, so for those of you on the Left Coast or interested in attending this event or presenting at it, you have a little more time to do so.  Notifications of accepted proposals will occur by March 14.

The deadline to submit the online application to attend the event is April 1 with registration payment due by April 4. 

Will keep you posted as the date draws closer for this inagural event.

Miss Kentucky 2010 Comes Out

Back in 2010 Djuan Trent became the second African American woman after Lyda Lewis in 1973 to be crowned as Miss Kentucky.   She went on to place in the Top 15 during the 2011 Miss America pageant. |

Having lived in Louisville when that marriage ban stain on the Kentucky Constitution was enacted and approved by a misguided majority of voters in 2004, I was happy when federal Judge John G. Heyburn dropped the legal hammer February 12 and ordered the Bluegrass State to recognize legal out of state same gender marriages.

With the haters homophobic rhetoric running hot and heavy, Ms.Trent came out in a February 20 post at her 'Life in 27' blog.   She noted in that post:

Ideally, I would love to one day live in a society where coming out is no longer necessary because we don't make assumptions about one another's sexuality and homophobia is laid to rest. For now, that is more of an ideal than it is a reality. But if you want see that ideal become a reality and you have the courage to change history...if you want to earn some gold stars, then yes, come on out and make your presence known. People can't know that their best friend, brother, sister, co-worker, neighbor, news anchor, favorite singer, or local coffee shop barista is being oppressed and denied the rights in which their heterosexual counterparts are so happily welcomed partake, unless you open your mouth and say it.

Or the former Miss Kentucky 2010 titleholder

I wrote this comment on her coming out post 

Thank you, Djuan!

As one of your trans sisters who once lived in Kentucky (Louisville) from 2001-2010, I definitely applaud you for taking this one small step for you, but a giant leap for the Kentucky LGBT community.

You help emphatically drive home the point that LGBT people are just living their lives, following their dreams and wanting to do so without interference. 

As you pointed out, the more people we have coming out, speaking their truth and living their lives, the better. 

Since this post is about Ms Trent coming out, her words need to be the ones closing it out.  But I echo what my SGL sistah said.

I applaud those who take that step in speaking up and speaking out, because in your doing so, you create a sense of awareness amongst your friends, family, and peers, letting them know that this hits a lot closer to home than they may have realized.  You create a sense of community, letting others know that they are not alone, and giving them the courage to also speak up and speak out.

 

The NC GOP's Massive Fail In Black Voter Outreach

If you want to know why I have such overwhelming contempt along with 96% of African-American voters for the Republican Party and reject their message, Rachel Maddow breaks it down for you how the North Carolina GOP this week is a case study in why I can't stand them and call the GOP the political arm of white supremacy. 

These are just the latest examples of the clueless GOP racism that ensures we African-Americans will be voting for Democrats and against Republicans for another generation.

GOP Was Once Black But Can't (Or Won't) Go Back

In the wake of losing 95% of the African-American vote to the Democrats and President Barack Obama in the 2012 election cycle, the Republicans finally woke up to the reality that if they ever want to regain the White House and stay a competitive national party, the GOP can't run campaigns geared only to white people and expect to win national elections even if they attempt a massive voter suppression effort. 

All it does is piss us off and make us more determined to turn out in higher numbers to vote your politically shady behinds out of office. 

So now the Republicans are in the awkward position of having to try to approach a community they have politically abused, smeared and written off for over 40 years and ask them for their votes. 

They are also quickly finding out their standard anti-government propaganda that works with their vanillacentric privileged low information voter base doesn't work on a people who for the most part don't see government as evil and know that at times in our history we have required a strong central government to step in and safeguard our human rights. 

Yeah, once upon a time, back in the late 19th-early 20th Century the Republicans were politically tight with my people while the Democratic Party post Civil War was like the GOP is today, the party of white supremacy.    The first two African-American senators and congressmembers elected to Congress during Reconstruction and Black state legislators during that period had R's behind their names.  But the GOP lost the trust and loyalty of African-Americans as the Democrats starting with FDR made a serious push to compete for African-American voters.   That drift to the Democratic Party ranks that started in the 1930's became permanent after LBJ's landslide win in 1964 and the passage of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act.  

Pimping that 'Party of Lincoln' spin line, pointing out the first African-American politicians post-emancipation were Republicans and insultingly claiming that Black people are 'brainwashed into voting for Democrats'  or 'on the Democrat plantation' not only won't make us stop voting for Democrats, we damned sure will line up in droves to vote against you.

African-Americans do what every other ethnic voting bloc does in the United States.  We vote for the people and the party that aligns with our community's political and economic interests, respectfully asks for our votes, gives us seats at the policy making table and enacts that policy agenda once elected to office.

It's the Democrats deeds over the last 40 plus years backed up their words and the diversity of their party that have earned them that whopping 95% of our ballots.  Ron Brown became the head of the DNC in 1988.  It was 20 years later that the RNC elected Michael Steele as its chairman and then you badmouthed, stabbed him in the back and bumrushed him out of the seat after one term.        

We also have evidence courtesy of the NAACP Civil Rights Legislative Report Cards (another respected org in our community you continue to demonize) just how receptive Republican legislators in Congress are to the concerns of African-Americans.

*Average NAACP Civil Rights Legislative Report Card grade for Democrats in Congress -  'A'    
*Average NAACP Civil Rights Legislative Report Card grade for Republicans in Congress-  'F'
 
Conversely, the Republican Party has spent so much time demonizing African-Americans since 1964 to get the Dixiecrats and white voters in their column that for a vast majority of our community conservatism + GOP = racism.

That impression keeps ossifying in the African-American community with every all too frequent racist comment by GOP politicians, every voter suppression efforts, every rollback attempt on signature civil rights legislation, and every failure to support policies that help our community.

Every time you racistly attack, demonize and disrespect President Obama, it's like a slap in the face to Black people.  It keeps us motivated to vote the GOP bums out of office.

And it's not just disrespect of President Obama that pisses us off.   When we see a Harvard educated Black Miss America with moderate views announce she wants to run for Congress as a Republican and she is disrespected, that is convincing evidence to African-Americans that you hate us and don't want my community's involvement in GOP circles period or votes in your party.   

It also doesn't help when your 'Come Back To The GOP' campaign has a person leading it in Sen. Rand Paul.   He not only embarrassed himself on the Howard University campus when he got called out by HU students about his revisionist history of the Civil Rights movement and the insulting way he did so, he later had to let go of an aide in his senate office with white supremacist ties.

And don't even get me started talking about the long list of cookie chomping sellouts you parade as spokesnegros for your party.  

Black conservatives have proved repeatedly over time they are more concerned with their individual status in the conservative moment than being drum majors for justice for our people. 

Herman Cain, Star Parker  Sen. Tim Scott, Allen West and Dr. Ben Carson are just the latest examples of chocolate coated sycophants regurgitating the same failed policies and anti-Black rhetoric that turns us off when we hear it uttered by conservative white people at CPAC, on right wing talk radio or Fox Noise.

The point is, as someone who loves this country and is a proud Democrat, I would love to see the Republicans stepping up ther game and competing for my vote.   It would not only make my party beter but the nation, too. 

But because you continue to make the same idiotic unforced errors and bigoted mistakes, the Republican Party won't get African-American votes for the rest of this decade and the forseeable future until they come to the realization that the policies they are in love with are reviled in my community.   Doubling down on the social conservatism and ramping up the racist rhetoric may play well with your predominately white base, but will hasten your political extinction as a party
 

NoMoreDownLow.TV Upcoming Show On Unsolved Black LGBT Murders

NoMoreDownLow.TV is in its third season of broadcasting shows about the African American SGL, trans and bi community from our perspective.

It is executive produced by Earnest Winborne and broadcast its first episode three years ago on October 11, 2010 (Happy Anniversary!). 

On the next episode of NoMoreDownLow.TV it will broadcast a special report entitled: Unsolved Black LGBT Murders, Attacks, and Hate Crimes with its hosts Janora McDuffie, Kendell Hogan, Mark Noble and Lawrencia Dandridge.

Show will be posted this Sunday, October 13th, so you may wish to check it out.

Fayetteville State University To Become Third HBCU With LGBT Center

There are 105 HBCU's in the United States (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and only two of them have LGBT centers on their campuses.  And no, those schools aren't the elite ones like Howard or  Spelman, but Bowie State University and  North Carolina Central University.

I'm happy to hear that the pathetic lack of LGBT centers on HBCU campuses is starting to be addressed by this generation of TBLG college students seeking to make the HBCU campuses they matriculate on more conducive to their needs and less scary places to navigate. 

I talked to students at Florida A&M University during last year's OUT on the Hill.  One of their goals was getting an LGBT center established on their Tallahassee, FL campus as part of a package of reforms in the wake of the Robert Champion hazing death that shut down the FAMU Marching 100 band until this season.   

I'm also happy to report that a third HBCU, Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, NC will have the grand re-opening of an LGBT center on their campus fittingly on October 11, National Coming Out Day. 

The goals of the FSU Safezone Office is to raise cultural competence of faculty and staff on LGBTQ issues, provide visible support to the LGBTQ population on campus, educate students on issues facing LGBTQ people and retain LGBT students.

If Fayetteville State University sounds familiar to you long time TransGriot readers, it's because back in November 1995 it was the same HBCU that discriminated against #girllikeus Sharon Franklin Brown, who was working as a residence director of a women's dorm at the time when it was discovered she was a trans woman.    

Look like the campus climate at Fayetteville State University has come a long way since that less than honorable day

As I have said before and will happily state for the record again, HBCU's need to send the unmistakable message to their faculty, current and future students, alumni, and the communities they serve that discrimination against LGBT students on HBCU campuses will not be tolerated, policies and nondiscrimination statements to back it up, they have inclusive and welcoming campuses, and they are willing to include LGBT students in their ongoing missions to uplift the race through educational achievement.

Fayetteville Stae University has decided to do just that..   

NBJC Statetment On Bayard Rustin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 9, 2013 Contact: Michael Brewer Email: mbrewer@nbjc.org Cell: 202-520-0586 STATEMENT FROM: Sharon J. Lettman-Hicks Executive Director & CEO National Black Justice Coalition In response to yesterday's announcement from the White House that President Obama will be awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to civil rights icon Bayard Rustin (posthumously), NBJC Executive Director and CEO Sharon J. Lettman-Hicks released the following statement: On behalf of the National Black Justice Coalition and the Black lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, I applaud our President for giving the late Bayard Rustin the national esteem and recognition he deserves by awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. As one of the chief architects of the Civil Rights Movement and the brilliance behind the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Rustin's indispensable contributions to the ethos of our country continue to reverberate and push us toward a more just and fair society. America is indebted to Rustin, and our nation is right to finally honor him for his stalwart courage and leadership. Rustin was a radical visionary--a Black gay activist for freedom and peace during a time when the conditions of both of these identities were perilous. The fact that he lived at the intersection of these identities while fighting for the freedoms of all oppressed people is even more revolutionary. Rustin owned his power as a Black, openly gay man to fiercely challenge the status quo and fight on behalf of the oppressed and marginalized, while at the same time refusing to be defined by any single aspect of his identity. Rusting was as unapologetically Black as he was gay, and by his very presence challenged the evils of homophobia and racism throughout his life. His legacy leaves a salient lesson for us on the power of living authentically. Our Fearless Leader - Mandy Carter However, in spite of all that Rustin was able to achieve on behalf of justice and equality, racism and homophobia has long clouded the narrative of Rustin's work, erasing him from our history books and stymying the proper celebration of his contributions to our country. Thanks to the tenacity and unabashed passion of Black lesbian activist Mandy Carter, who ushered us toward this moment and has selflessly given of herself to serve as NBJC's National Coordinator of the Bayard Rustin Commemoration Project for the last two years, I am proud that the National Black Justice Coalition has remained dedicated to giving voice to Mr. Rustin's history of social justice organizing and strategy. Our work at NBJC is a testament to the spirit of Bayard Rustin's life, inspiring Black LGBT people to own their power and teaching others how Black LGBT people navigate space at the intersection of their identities.      Rustin dedicated his life to the pursuit of human rights and justice for all in a dynamic and selfless way, and has verily earned his space in the history books. Words cannot express how elated I am to see Bayard Rustin given his just due. I thank President Obama for lifting up this important piece of our nation's history, and look forward to working with the White House and other allies, like the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI), American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU), to continue sharing the significance of Rustin's life and work through this prestigious national honor. Our dream is that more will come to know of the late, great Bayard Rustin, and will use the lessons of his life to make the world a more just and welcoming place for all people. The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), the nation's leading Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, has launched the Bayard Rustin 2013 Commemoration Projectto honor the life and legacy of the late Bayard Rustin. To this end, the AFT, APRI and SEIU have joined forces with NBJC to host "A Tribute to Bayard Rustin and the 50th Anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington" with a focus on the role Bayard Rustin played in the organization and execution of the 1963 March on Washington. For more information on this event and the Bayard Rustin Commemoration Project, visit NBJC.org.

Hey Media Peeps, Trans People Wish To Work With You, Not Fight You

After another media mess up over pronouns that in far too many cases happens with non-white trans people, it's time we trans folks make this point crystal clear to the media 

Trans people wish to work with you to accurately get our stories out there, not fight with you.

As someone whose late father was in the media for over three decades, I witnessed firsthand the power of the media and its ability to shape the perceptions of a marginalized group fighting for visibility, acceptance and understanding. 

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was also cognizant of the media's power to mold and shape opinion and galvanize people to action for a human rights struggle.  He said so in an August 1967 speech to the National Association of Radio and Television Announcers.(NATRA).   

I would prefer to have that media power on our side working with the trans community to expand knowledge of it.

But when misgendering, blatant salacious reporting and indifferent to hostile attitudes from media people occur when we trans people point out the instances of problematic reporting and they continue despite having guidelines in the AP Stylebook and other places such as GLAAD, the National Association of LGBT Journalists (NGLJA) easily accessible on the Web that explain how to respectfully report on trans people, we have the right to be highly pissed about it. 

Speaking of the AP Stylebook, what does it say concerning the respectful reporting about transgender people?

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 individuals live publicly.

Translation.  If the transperson in question has acquired the outward physical appearance of a female regardless of the genitalia configuration between their legs, that person is a transgender female and needs to be referred to with feminine pronouns and a feminine name.   If the transperson in question has acquired the outward physical characteristics of a male regardless of the genitalia configuration between their legs, that person is a transgender male and needs to be referred to with masculine pronouns and a masculine name.

Their old birth names that do not fit the person they are now aren't germane in many cases to the story and our 'real name' is what a transperson tells you it is.  Neither is it any business what the genitalia configuration of a transperson is.  You've already done so by mentioning the person is trans given the reader a clue that their genitalia may not match their physical gender presentation. 

Badly written or salacious stories also add to the climate of intolerance and fear that facilitates anti-trans violence and can lead to court cases in which justice is denied to the families of trans murder victims.

We realize that you have a tough job under deadline pressure to get a story out fast, first and accurately.   But the accuracy part is what we are focused on.   Not only is it important for you to tell our stories in the first place, it's vitally important they be told accurately so that we can get justice for our fallen transpeople and start the process of organizing vigils. 

When you misgender transpeople in stories, peddle the 'deception' meme or use old names we don't recognize, that delays the process.  

And yes, we'd like media coverage to happen for the trans community when we have positive things to report in our community and not just during TDOR or when someone gets murdered. 

There are trans people that have fascinating and universal stories to tell, events we organize and conduct that will drive home the point we are engaged members of our various communities. 


Those guidelines aren't that hard to follow.   Following them will get you and your news organization much love and respect in the trans community when doing so.

I Repeat: Black Trans Issues Are Black Community Issues

'We are one, our cause is one, and we must help each other; if we are to succeed.'--Frederick Douglass, 1847
I made that point in a 2008 blog post and seven years later, ain't nothing changed except for the fact I have more compelling data to back it up. 

I also have a growing list of legacy organizations in our community such as the NAACP realizing not only that Black trans community issues are Black community issues, they are vocalizing it more often. 

We Black trans people are part of the kente cloth fabric of the community and deserve our seat at the family table.  That point needs to be made even more clearer in the wake of the unjust Zimmerman verdict. 

We're dealing with 26% unemployment and underemployment, near genocidal rates of anti-trans violence aimed at us, zero Black trans people elected to political office since 1992, and difficulties in getting our identification documents to match up with the people we are now due to lack of consistent policies on making those changes accessible and affordable, and it must end now.

That's before we even begin to talk about the issues we have in common with our cis African-American brothers and sisters like stop and frisk policies and police brutality that disproportionately affect us, voter suppression and dealing with a society that hates our Black bodies just as much as they hate yours.   

We must help each other as Frederick Douglass stated if we are to succeed.   That also means you must respect and treat the trans community as equal partners in this struggle and not some unwanted relative you reluctantly speak to

The bottom line is if we are beginning the process of closing Black community ranks in order to build a more cohesive community to better execute the legal and sociopolitical struggle we're about to embark on, transpeople not only must be part of the conversation, but foot soldiers and leaders in it.

Black trans community issues are Black community issues, and now more than ever, that message needs to be burned into the brain of every African-American.

We don't have time for the petty BS when whiteness and white supremacy is still working on their now four century old effort of keeping all African descended people demonized and marginalized in American society for their benefit.