Transwoman Brandy Martell Killed In Oakland

Another day, another Black transwoman killed somewhere. and as a Daily Kos post noted, nobody gave a damn.   Correction, nobady gave a damn except her friends, family and other Black transwomen and our allies around the country who are saying to themselves there but for the grace of God go I.

Hell, Paige Clay still hasn't been buried yet in Chicago, and we're talking about the murder of yet another one of our African descended transsisters.    We now have to add 37 year old Brandy Martell's name to the depressingly lengthening list of people whose names we'll be lighting candles for and reading at the 2012 TDOR.
















Martell according to a news report was shot to death April 29 in downtown Oakland at Franklin and 13th Street just a block from city hall while sitting behind the steering wheel of her car.   

According to what a witness told Laura Anthony of ABC7, Martell was sitting behind the wheel of her car around 5:15 AM PDT  Sunday when one or two men walked up and began a conversation that appeared cordial on the surface but a few moments later one of the men became angry and fired into the car at Martell.

Until late last year, Martell worked as an outreach worker at the Tri-City Health Center in Fremont, CA  which serves the local trans community.

According to a note posted on my FB page courtesy of Tanajsha Thomas the homegoing service will take place on Wednesday May 9 at 11 AM PDT at C.P. Bannon Mortuary .  Address for those of you in the Bay Area wishing to attend is 6800 International Blvd,. Oakland, CA. 94621.

"When you don't provide a space in society for people who you think are the other or different, especially transgender women, especially transgender women of color, when you don't provide spaces for them to be in a safe environment or a safe space, whether it's socializing or services, this is what happens," said Martell's friend Tiffany Woods to ABC7.

Martell's friends also suspect like we all do this murder is an anti-trans hate crime.   But until the wastes of DNA who killed her are apprehended and brought to justice, all we have is suspicion, another famiily having to make burial arrangements for a loved one, and her friends and colleagues mourning the passing of someone who died way too fracking soon.

Trial of Victoria Carmen White's Alleged Killer Starts Today

Today would have been Victoria Carmen White's 30th birthday, but unfortunately she's not around to celebrate it because of the actions of Alrashim Chambers, the man who is alleged to have killed her in September 2010 

Chambers trial will start today in Newark and he facing murder, weapons and bias intimidation charges as this trial gets underway.  If he is convicted he faces life in prison.

White was shot by Chambers multiple times in her Maplewood, NJ home after meeting the model at a club in Irvington and discovering she was a transwoman.   The reason you didn't hear much about the Victoria Carmen White case is because it was blown off the news pages by the subsequent suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi and the massive news coverage that followed it.

One of the star prosecution witnesses besides the two women that were in White's home in different rooms and heard the shots and the transphobic comments aimed at White is Marquise Foster.   He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for his testimony in this trial.

Will be keeping an eye on this case along with Victoria Carmen White's friends and family.   Might be a wonderful gesture for you transpeeps in the Newark and NYC area to show up at the Essex County courthouse and pack the courtroom in solidarity with her family.

CeCe's Case Going To Trial

Unfortunately it looks like the CeCe McDonald case is going to trail starting on April 30l.    District Attorney Michael Freeman has been reluctant to drop the charges in this case as he has done with other white cis people in the same situation for some reason..

Is it because it's an election year in Minnesota and he wants to look 'tough on crime' at CeCe's expense?  My inquiring mind wants to know. 

For those of you in the Minneapolis-St Paul area or in driving distance of it you may wish to consider helping the local activists there pack to courtroom and show support for her and her family as this potential two week proceeding gets underway.

Here's the Support CeCe website for news about the case, links to the petition and other information to keep you apprised of how things are playing out in this situation.




As I find out here at TransGriot, I'll post it as well and for those of you that are spiritually inclined to do so, you may also wish to say some prayers for her as well.

Dear Stupid Knee-Grows Considering Sitting Out The 2012 Election

Have you lost your fracking minds?  

And no you don't deserve to be called Black of African-American if you're considering something so disrespectful to the memory of our ancestors who fought, marched, organized, bled and died for you to have the ability to cast a ballot.  

You may want to reconsider that asinine plan and make sure your ass is standing in line on November 6 or during the early  voting period in your state ready, willing and able to do your patriotic duty for your people and your country. .

Mitt Romney belongs to a faith which has had such a contentious history with our people the LDS church was frequently protested about its racist doctrine until it was changed in 1978.

His silence when fellow Republicans Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich on the campaign trail were gleefully diving into the dog whistle racism aimed at African Americans have led to this comment from a satirical website being circulated in the Afrosphere as something Willard actually said.

"I understand how difficult it can be for an African-American in today's society. In fact, I can relate to black people very well indeed. My ancestors once owned slaves, and it is in my lineage to work closely with the black community. However, just because they were freed over a century ago doesn't mean they can now be freeloaders. They need to be told to work hard, and the incentives  just aren't there for them anymore. When I'm president I plan to work closely with the black community to bring a sense of pride and work ethic back into view for them".
Mitt Romney.

But then again the self-deportation thing before it became part of Mitt's 'severely conservative' primary campaign  was once part of a satirical post aimed at former California governor Pete Wilson (R) for his anti-Latino stances.  

But back to focusing on Mitt.   There are other ways to call his behind out without dogging the LDS Church.   The fact that he's straight up lying to get the presidency and has no core principles other than he'll do and say anything to get elected is a major pet peeve.

If you allow Mitt and his clueless wife to on January 20, 2013 move into that nice house our ancestors built at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave with their unpaid labor because your asses were too lazy to go to the polls, you deserve everything the Republicans are going to throw at you policy wise and I don't want to hear your sorry mouths utter one word in complaint when it happens.

But the country, our children and our people don't deserve to suffer for your stupidity either, so I'm going to try to make an appeal to you based on our shared community history.

The point is the Department of Justice, the NAACP and countless other organizations are working tirelessly to ensure you have the ability and opportunity to cast a ballot in this upcoming election despite the best efforts of ALEC, the Republican Party and the millions of dollars they invested to suppress our votes. 

You saying some stupid ish like that makes them smile. 

Are you mad because the change he promised in 2008 didn't happen fast enough for you?   Were you paying attention in 2009 when Sen Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said the goal of the Republican Party was to make him a one term president?  Were you paying attention to all the 'massive resistance' that the POTUS has faced from the congressional Republicans since then?

And I do believe the 2008 slogan he campaigned on was 'Yes WE can', not 'Yes I can'.   He is the POTUS, not King Barack I.  He needs help from Congress to get his agenda passed and he hasn't had that since some of y'all stupidly sat out the 2010 midterm elections in protest and allowed the Tea Klux Klan to get control of the US House..             

Sitting out the 2012 election is a vote for Mitt Romney and the Republican Party and if you haven't figured it out by now, the Republicans only care about wealthy white people like Mitt, not you..  

And yeah, I and a lot of other people in this community like having a POTUS and FLOTUS that shares our ethnic background and want to see them continuing to represent our nation until January 20, 2017. 

But what we want even more is these Tea Klux Klan sellouts like Allen West gone along with his racist buds and return the adults back to the halls of Congress to help solve the country's problems .  

So you can be Boo Boo the Fool if you wanna be, but if you wish to have a government that works for you and your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews....you get the drift, then you better run, not walk to the nearest polling place in this election and every one that happens from now on and ensure that you're putting not only President Obama back in the White House, but give him a Democratic congress to work with to continue cleaning up the GOP mess that GW Bush left him.   

And while you're at it, you need to be kicking everything with an (R) beside his or her name at the state, local and federal level and in the judicial branches out of office too and keep them out.

Until they expunge that Tea Klux Klan element out of their party, the only good GOP politician is an out of office one.

You have time to get registered to vote in your locales, get ready to do your duty on November 6, and vote as if your life depended on it.

Because frankly, it does.

Our African Descended Cis Community Must Treat Our Trans People Better

One interesting conversation I had during the recent gender conference at HCC was discussing the observations of one of the sponsors as to how white transwomen were treated by their cis compatriots and noting the negativity aimed at them by gay and straight white cis people alike..

In a conversation I had later with Professor Baggett, she remarked that Black cis people must learn from that history and treat Black transwomen better than what we have observed has happened with the white cis community and their problematic interactions with white trans people .

Well, I'm trying to do my part along with other Black transwomen and transmen around the country to lay the educational foundation down. We're also diligently working to facilitate the dialogues that need to happen to ensure we African descended transpeople are integrated into the kente cloth fabric of African-American life.

We don't need to be repeating in the African American  community the anti-trans hate we have observed being aimed at white transwomen for decades in terms of the rabid transphobic hate from rad fems, fundies, gay and lesbian people and the scientifically illiterate transphobic cis masses. We also don't need to have our academics espousing ignorant psychobabble like autogynephilia. 

What we do need as African descended transpeople is more of our clergy and legacy civil rights organizations getting on board with helping us not only stopping anti-trans violence aimed at our community, but helping us push trans human rights laws through.

Our African descended cis community must be an example to others in how to treat their trans populations with dignity and respect.  We need that to happen so that we can do our part to uplift the entire African American community.    

Diamond Stylz Take On The Martin Case

You've heard what I've had to sat (and will continue to say on the Trayvon Martin case.   Diamond's popped up with her first video in a while with her thoughts about it.

Remember Trayvon Martin's Name

Melissa Harris-Perry did on her show last weekend.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Justice For CeCe McDonald

There has been a story developing in Minneapolis concerning a young African-American transwoman who is being held in jail and facing second degree murder charges for defending herself against a hate attack.  

23 year old college student Chrishaun 'CeCe' McDonald and her friends (all African-American BTW) were minding their own business on the night of June 5, 2011 walking to a grocery store in South Minneapolis.   As they passed the patio of the Schooner Tavern white adults on that patio started yelling transphobic and racist slurs at CeCe and her friends.


After CeCe made it clear they weren't tolerating the hate speech coming from the white club patrons, a fight ensued after one of the white women uttered a derogatory slur at the African-American youths as she smashed her drinking glass in McDonald's face, lacerating her cheek.

Unfortunately, one of the attackers, 47 year old Dean Schmitz (who had a swastika tattoo on his body) was fatally stabbed in the fight, but the only person who was arrested when the Minneapolis po-po's arrived on the scene was CeCe.  She was denied medical treatment for her injuries, was interrogated for hours, placed in solitary confinement on top of that and forced to sign a confession that she later recanted..  

CeCe was charged with two counts of second degree murder with her bail being set at $500,000.   A petition was started that so far has garnered 9,500 signature imploring Hennepin County District Attorney Michael Freeman (D) to exercise the power he has to drop these charges just as he has done in three other self defense cases similar to Chrishaun's that involve white cis people.  

So why isn't Freeman or the assistant DA doing so in this case especially when CeCe and her friends were defending themselves against white supremacists?   Another question I'd like to ponder is has anyone talked to Congressman Keith Ellison (D) about this case?   Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D)?  Sen. Al Franken (D)?  The NAACP?   

The more national firepower on this the better.   And yes, here's the addresses and phone numbers so you can (politely please) be agents for Chrishaun's liberation

To tell Michael Freeman you support dropping the charges against CeCe:

call: 612-348-5561
email: citizeninfo@co.hennepin.mn.us
fax: 612-348-2042

In November McDonald wrote to supportcece.wordpress.com):

“To deal with racism and transphobia directly and upfront is very hard to deal with. Even hearing the words being said left me in total confusion and shock. And to be attacked in my own community by individuals who felt it was their duty to yell hate speech at not only me, but my family who was with me, and attack me for their own satisfaction of making someone else’s life miserable.

“I felt that I’ve worked very hard from where I started, to where I’m at now in my life, just to have it all taken away from me. It’s hard enough for gays and trans people to find stability in this society, and I’ve worked too hard to let anyone just take it from me. We have to stand up against those who put us down and try to oppress us.”

Yes, we do.  We also must do what we can to get DA Freeman to drop this case before it goes to trial on April 30.

The Story of Georgia Black

If people thought I was kidding about the point that I've repeatedly made about Black transpeople being integrated into the kente cloth lives of our people, it's time to take a trip back in time to 1951 and the town of Sanford, FL.

One of the town's beloved citizens, an African-American woman named Georgia Black has passed away in June.  She ran a boarding house, was married twice and had several boyfriends after those relationships ended.

Black also raised a son, did domestic work for many of the wealthy families in the town, was a devout church going woman who was the leader of the local Women's Missionary Society and after she passed away was buried at the Burton Cemetery in Sanford.   The town's baseball stadium once barred Jackie Robinson from entering it but she is mourned by all who knew her even in this era of virulent Jim Crow segregation. 

Dr. Orville Barks, the county physician doing the autopsy, is astonished to discover that the frail woman he is examining has male genitalia.

Georgia's story was covered in a transphobic, sensationalized manner by the EBONY reporter when he wrote about her in October 1951. I'm going to give it the dignity it deserved. 

Georgia Cantey was born in South Carolina in 1906 and at age 15, ran away from working on a farm in Galeyville, South Carolina and headed to Charleston.  It was while working as a house servant in the city that Cantey began living as a woman.  One of the unidentified members of the household staff supplied her with a feminine wardrobe and became her first boyfriend as she honed her feminine gender presentation. 

Eventually that first relationship soured, and she met in Winter Haven, FL the man that would become her first husband, Alonzo Sabbe.  He was quite ill at the time and after Cantey nursed him back to health Sabbe asked her to marry him.  Sabbe also had a child named Willie that he had been raising.   Willie was the child of Sabbe's cousin  who visited Florida and abandoned him when he was three months old.  Cantey adopted Willie and raised as her own child after the couple moved to Sanford, FL.     

Sabbe's health took another negative turn and he died shortly after the marriage, and Cantey got married to Muster Black at the home of Mrs. Joanna Moore, the principal of Sanford's Black elementary school.  Unfortunately, seven years after getting married for the second time in her life to Black, the World War I vet died and as his widow, the EBONY story notes she was the beneficiary of his Veteran's Administration pension.  .  

Georgia continued to live her life until she herself became ill and her story leaked out to the irate disbelief of the Black and White denizens of Sanford, FL.  

Roy Williams, the police chief of Sanford at the time launched an investigation, but ended it after finding no evidence of criminal activity.  Even Dr. Orville Barks was upset about his role in spilling Georgia's gender business.  She was not intersex, and Barks caught some flack about the reporting about it from some of the denizens of Sanford.

The local paper, the Sanford Herald ceased publishing the story after pastor James Murray of the Trinity Methodist Church phoned the editor and protested about it being placed on the front page.

According to the EBONY article, one wealthy person that Black worked for defiantly said," I don't care what Georgia Black was.  She nursed members of our family through birth, sickness and death.  Sh was one of the best citizens in town."

Georgia Black told her story to EBONY a month before her death.   She insisted that fate had intended her to be female and dismissed her male genitalia as 'growths'.  'The doctor says he didn't see how I could married, but I don't pay no 'tention to that doctor.  My husbands and me had a peaceful, lovely life "  

And your life Georgia was a fascinating one that African-descended transpeople following in your footsteps needed to hear about as well.  

Texas Black History GLBT Style-Judge Tonya Parker

As the story of 116th District Judge Tonya Parker's refusal to perform marriages for straight couples until she and other rainbow community people can get married in the Lone Star State is going viral after being posted in the Dallas Voice, there was also another piece of info that was overlooked in this story.

Everyone was so focused on the marriage piece of it they missed the fact that Judge Parker may be a trailblazer in another way.

She may be the first elected openly gay African-American official in the state of Texas.

Yes, Rep. Barbara Jordan was elected to the Texas state senate in 1966 and the US House of Representatives in 1972, but her sexuality wasn't revealed until after her death in 1996.

But Judge Parker is the first LGBT person elected as a judge in Dallas County and possibly the first openly gay African-American elected official in Texas.   I think that's more newsworthy than her stance on marriage.

Message From Black Transmen Conference

Black Transmen, Inc Founder-Director Carter Brown has a YouTube video welcome message for folks who are coming to (or considering coming to) the first annual Black Transmen Advocacy Retreat Conference & Dinner being held in Dallas, TX March 29-April 1.  

One of the keynote speakers will be Minister Louis Mitchell and the TransGriot may have to make that run up I-45 for this event.to support her transbrothers at this historic conference. 

     

Unexpected Black History Honor

Received an e-mail from Josephine Tittsworth yesterday that advised me of something that made me cry when I thought about the enormity of the news I was receiving.

At the University of Houston-Clear Lake, in their Bayou Building atrium they have a display up for Black History Month that includes our local heroes and sheroes and their accomplishments such as the late great Rep. Barbara Jordan

According to Josephine, one of the people UH-Clear Lake included in their Black History Month display was me.

Wow.  I was blown away by that news    Rep. Jordan has always been one of my sheroes, but never in my wildest dreams when I began fighting for the human rights of trans people in 1998 did I ever think that people would consider me in those terms.  In fact, Barbara Jordan is one of the trailblazing women I've tried to role model in terms of what I do with my own flava added to it.


But I do have some indications of my impact on history and the legacy I'm building even if I try to downplay my role in shaping that history.

At TBLG events and conferences people tell me it's an honor to meet me.  I'm mentioned in Dr. Susan Stryker's Transgender History book.   I'm one of four African-American transpeople to receive the IFGE Trinity Award and the first African-American Texan to win it. 

I was one of the founders of NTAC in 1999 and its political director until 2002.   I served on the boards of Louisville's Fairness Campaign and C-FAIR, have this award winning blog, helped organize the 2005-2006 Transsistahs-Transbrothas conventions in Louisville and participated in lobbying events locally in Houston and Louisville, nationally, in Texas and Kentucky.  

When the opportunity presents itself, I get invitations to discuss trans issues from an Afrocentric perspective. I enjoy speaking to college students and various audiences about our issues and love participating in panel discussions.  

So yeah, guess I am living Black History being made and need to toot my own horn a little bit.     

I have respect from the Houston, Texas, national and international trans communities, but this is a really cool and mindblowing thing to hear when people are putting you in the lofty company of Barbara Jordan and other trailblazing African-Americans. 

But I'm still a work in progress.  All I've been trying to do since 1998 was push for trans human rights coverage in Houston, Texas and the nation, ensure that POC transpeople's voices are included in the policy mix, tell our stories, unearth our history and be the stereotype busting role model for African-American transwomen that I didn't have growing up. 

And what makes me happier is that even my African-American brothers and sisters and some in the African Diaspora are beginning to recognize what I do.

From where I sit, I still have much work to do just to be close to being mentioned in the same breath with Barbara Jordan and other trailblazing African-Americans.   To quote the old Curtis Mayfield song, I'm going to have to keep on pushing to get there.

And oh yeah, if anyone has a picture of that display at UH-Clear Lake, send it to a sistah.