Donnie McClurkin's Hatin' Again

One of the things that I hate as a Christian is people who have used my faith as a shield to try to mask their bigotry and hatred of GLBT people.

I've also been distressed about this negative trend that started in the mid 90's. We have had increasing numbers of conservative Black megachurch pastors cooning for white fundamentalist pastors. They have not only acted as a conduit for injecting these misguided beliefs into our community, they have pimped their own hatred of GLBT people for media attention and faith based bucks.

I've also been angry about the appalling silence from progressive Black pastors and their failure to call out the conservafools for sullying the activist legacy of the Black church.

I don't like the conservative megachurch ministers or the 'prosperity gospel' they pimp from their pulpits. I believe it has been harmful to our community and the civil rights cause. It has caused a schism in the Black community and diverted the attention of the Black church away from its historic ongoing mission of speaking truth to power and standing up for the powerless.

In too many cases, these megachurch ministers have spent more time doing photo ops, kissing up to a party that has no love for us. and opposing the advance of civil rights rather than being on the front lines fighting for their passage.

They've spent so much time mouthing the words 'Thus sayeth the Apostle Paul' than saying 'Thus sayeth Jesus'

One of the people I really can't stand is so-called ex-gay Donnie McClurkin. He's a real life Amityville horror (was born in Amityville NY) who has a long history of anti-gay statements and Republican ass kissing.

But at the recent COGIC convention in Memphis he outdid himself by calling gay people 'vampires'.

Donnie, you need Jesus. As a matter of fact you need to be praying to God and asking to take the anti-gay hate away.

I as a proud African descended transperson have enough to deal with from white and Catholic fundies. Now here you go drinking the Hateraid Fierce from 55 gallon drums and stirring up the Black ones.

Some of my TransGriot readers over the last two days hit me up on Twitter and Facebook. They stated I should have made Donnie the Shut Up Fool! award winner for the week and I'm beginning to concur with you. His self hatred and jealousy of Tonex is so obvious at this point that even Stevie Wonder can see it.

But he's definitely in the running for the Shut Up Fool! Of The Year Award.

The sad thing is that McClurkin and ministers like him are turning gay and straight people away from Christianity in droves with this repeated anti gay rants.

It's also sad that people like Donnie McClurkin who claim to be 'Christian' are anything but that

I Love This Afrocentric Barbie!

This is the 50th anniversary year of the birth of Mattel's iconic Barbie doll.

Barbie has had a somewhat interesting relationship with Black women and the Black community. The first Black Barbie dolls weren't created until 1980, although Christie dolls were available starting in 1968. The Oreo Barbie was a PR disaster, but the AKA Barbie they created for the sorority's Centennial celebration last year was a big success commercially and PR wise.

However, the reviews inside and outside the Afrosphere about Mattel's announced intention to make their iconic doll more Afrocentric have been mixed as well.

I own nine Barbies of various shades, but they still have the same Eurocentric Barbie nose and lips. In addition, the dolls have substituted light brown, brown and green eyes for blue.

Well, if they want a better idea how to do it besides take their stock Eurocentric doll with straight hair and make it slightly darker, they need to surf on over to Tabloach Productions and peep the retooled custom Barbies Loanne Hizo Ostlie does.

It may seem insignificant to some of you reading this post, but when you are a minority, you have to constantly be on guard against the negative messages that the dominant culture constantly and insidiously bombards at us and our children.

So yeah, I'm definitely loving and feeling these Afrocentric Barbies.

H/T Womanist Musings

School Daze-Straight And Nappy

School Daze is one of my favorite Spike Lee movies even though it was released in 1988. One of the issues that he brought up in this film is the contentious one of our hair.

Here's the musical take on that age old community discussion from the movie.

My GLBT Brothers And Sisters Are My Family

TransGriot Note: A guest post by my Canadian sister Renee, the editor and scribe in chief at Womanist Musings.

First, it must be stated that the sexuality of POC has been used against us as a weapon. Black women have been understood to be hypersexual Jezebels, constantly in search of the next available penis. Black men have either been understood as thug rapists, or as highly effeminate. In each instance this has been to promote White supremacy. POC are not allowed to experience their sexuality as naturally occurring, rather it exists simply to satisfy the needs of others or to promote our bodies as a continual threat to Whiteness.

Due to the White leadership of the mainstream GLBT community, many have refused to accept and or embrace our same gender loving members. Homosexuality is not a White thing; it is not a perversion of bodies of color. Many believe that by rejecting homosexuality that they are rejecting Whiteness, when indeed what they are truly rejecting is our OWN PEOPLE.

The marriage of Michael and Jamil set off quite the firestorm in the Black community. A Morehouse College administrative assistant Sandra Bradley sent the following e-mail.

"I can't believe this wedding. It's 2 men. They don't smile in a lot of pictures and they look like a few brothers I've seen in the streets looking STRAIGHT. Black women can't get a break, either our men want another man, a white woman (or other nationality that's light with straight hair), they are locked up in jail or have a "use to be" fatal disease. I'm beginning to believe Eve was a black woman and we Black women are paying for all the world's sins through her actions (eating the apple)."

Some may view this e-mail as simply a commentary regarding the difficulty of young professional Black women to find a successful Black mate and others see homophobia. It certainly cannot be denied that Black women are likely to remain unmarried or will partner below their class level. This has to do with the ways in which Black femininity has universally been devalued.

The sexuality of Michael and Jamil has nothing to do with the supposed drought of eligible men. It would seem to me to be a very basic fact – Gay men are not attracted to women and any coupling with them would be unsuccessful based on this one simple truth. To belittle them, or question their masculinity is to misplace anger.

When AIDS first became a serious threat many in the Black community, so many refused to speak out and claimed it was the price for engaging in “lifestyles” that were either patterned on White behaviour, or displeasing to God. The very same people who express rage at the genocide that occurred during the middle passage, easily ignored the deaths of thousands. These people had much to contribute to our community and now their voices have been silenced forever, without even a murmur of regret.

Whether someone is same gender loving or trans they are still Black. Their color did not disappear because they chose to live their lives not hiding who they are. We speak about the Black community but what community exists when we deny the happiness and well being of our members? Same gender loving people marched alongside Dr.King for our rights. Same gender loving people are subjected to racism and hatred just as any other person of color. They did not give up their race because they decided to be true to who they are.

When I read commentary like the above I wonder who they think wins when we decide that the same gender loving people in our community do not deserve to be embraced. In fighting and divisiveness serves Whiteness. We must speak with a unified voice to demand equality and by choosing to silence those in our community that make us uncomfortable due to undeserved privilege, we are supporting the very same system that keeps us all understood as secondary citizens. You cannot claim to love Blackness or Black people, if you do not love openly all of its manifestations.

UMass Amherst Student Facing 30 Years For Defending Himself Against Hate Attack

Nope, that post headline is not a typo. University of Massachusetts Amherst student Jason Vassell is facing 30 years in jail for defending himself against two white men who attacked him on campus.

In the early morning hours of February 3, 2008 Jason was in his first floor dormitory room at Mackimmie Hall when he discovered two inebriated white males, Jonathan Bowes and Jonathan Bosse peering into it.

They weren't UMass students He told the two men to leave, and after declining their vitriolic invitation to fight, broke his dorm room window while repeatedly uttering 'nigger' and other racial slurs at him.

After calling an on-campus friend for help while the RA's called the UMass police, Bowers and Bosse bumrushed their way into the dormitory lobby and assaulted Vassell, breaking his nose in the process.

After warning his assailants, Vassell took out a pocketknife and defended himself from the unprovoked assault against the two assailants.

So, in light of the fact you have two inebriated white males with a history of racial attacks and associations with white supremacist groups who jumped this off against a person with no criminal record and an exemplary academic and personal reputation, several witness in the Mackimmie dormitory who corroborated Vassell's story, videotaped evidence blowing Mack truck sized holes in the stories Bowers and Bosse told the UMass po-po's that Vassell 'viciously attacked' them, and medical evidence of Vasser's injuries, who did Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel choose to press charges upon in this case?

Jason Vassell.

Thanks to ingrained racism in the UMass PD, whose officers on the scene repeatedly stated that Vassell was a 'drug dealer' and the prosecutors office, the decision on who to prosecute were made based on the race of the persons involved, not the evidence.

Incredibly, Vassell was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and is facing thirty years in jail for defending himself against these racist thugs who sent him to the hospital with a broken nose and a concussion.

Meanwhile, the legal system turned a blind eye to the thugs in question and the serious felonies they committed, including the potential hate crime violations.

Bowes only received misdemeanor charges carrying a maximum sentence of 18 months in jail. On March 13, 2009 a jury acquitted John Bowes of a misdemeanor civil rights violation and found him guilty of misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

His punishment? A year of probation. John Bosse was never charged.

In the meantime, the court case against Vassell grinds on.

Sounds like the ugly echoes of the Jena 6 and the Jersey 4 cases.

White peeps start crap, then Black peeps get legal hammer thrown at them by white dominated justice system for daring to defend themselves against the white peeps who started the mess in the first place.

On December 31, 2008, Jason’s defense submitted a Motion to Dismiss his charges on the grounds of selective prosecution.

This 52-page document lays out in greater detail the events of that evening. It adds radio transcripts of the UMass Police responding to the incident, taped interviews between police investigators and Bowes and Bosse, eyewitness statements, the criminal histories of Bowes and Bosse, as well as the charges that could have been brought against Bowes and Bosse.

This document has demonstrated that both Bowes and Bosse have histories of violent racially motivated assaults; that the UMass Police Department’s investigation was racially biased by immediately assuming Jason’s guilt while treating Bowes and Bosse with care and respect; and that the prosecution has continued this bias through their selective prosecution of Jason Vassell.

There is racist and clueless BS being spouted by some commenters on the various Massachusetts area media sites covering this case. In addition to dissing Justice For Jason, they are futilely trying to rationalize the attack by Bosse and Bowes upon Vassell with specious logic.

It's time to wake up and smell the injustice and get a sobering dose of reality.

Whites have had a consistent centuries long history of initiating and visiting racist violence upon people of color, not the other way around.

We know the justice system is stacked in your favor, so POC aren't going to just start any crap unless we are provoked, attacked, or in fear of or defending our lives. But if we're put in that no win situation, we will end it.

So don't start none, won't be none.

Speaking of the Justice For Jason group, they are keeping track of the ongoing legal fight to get the charges dismissed and clear his name.

It would be a travesty of justice to have Jason Vassell's life ruined and society lose his potentially valuable contributions to it because he defended himself in an unprovoked attack perpetrated by drunken, racist thugs.

Model Diandra Forrest Helps Raise Awareness About Albinism

The hottest model on the international catwalks these days is 19 year old New York native Diandra Forrest.

She's a 5'11" tall, African American with blonde hair, high cheekbones, hazel eyes and full lips.

Diandra is also an African American with albinism. It's a hereditary condition that occurs in one of of every 17,000 births in which the skin, hair and eyes produce little or no melanin, resulting in a lack of pigmentation.

ABC's 20/20 is doing a story later tonight at 10 PM EDT on people that have this condition. In Tanzania people with albinism are being attacked, killed or mutilated by witch doctors who believe that their organs or potions made from them can bring luck or cure disease.

In Zimbabwe people with albinism are reportedly being raped by those who believe that sexual intercourse with them can cure HIV/AIDS.

Those atrocities and the persistent discrimination have galvanized people around the world with albinism to organize and become more active and vocal in combating the discrimination and negative stereotyping they face.

Diandra Forrest knows all too well about that. She was teased, taunted and had her ethnic background questioned while growing up in the Bronx.

Thanks to Melissa Reed, her sixth-grade teacher who was also an African-American with albinism, the future model began to undergo a transformation from a shy, quiet child too afraid to speak up to an outgoing young woman unafraid to speak her mind and pursue her dreams.

Diandra's career is starting to take off. She's signed with the prestigious Ford Models in Paris after initially starting her career with Elite.

She just took her first trip outside the United States to France in order to walk the runways during Paris fashion week and fulfill a lifetime dream.

"I'm a model, but I'm not a model just because I'm albino," she said. "I have the look, the body and it's just something that I've strived for, that I've always wanted to do."

She's also expanding our definition of beauty at the same time as well.

New TransGriot Feature-Saturday Sellout

I've decided to start a new feature on TransGriot tomorrow called the Saturday Sellout.

I'll take the time to shine a spotlight on and highlight the people who are actively working to retard our progress as African descended people, who are collaborating with the agents of whiteness and intolerance and are getting paid for it.

While it won't be a weekly thing like the Shut Up Fool! Awards are, the Saturday Sellout will be designed to enlighten you about the peeps that may be our skinfolk, but damned sure ain't our kinfolk.

You need to know who they are, what they are up to and why they deserve the Oreo cookie they're going to get.

Many of our Uncle Thomas and Aunt Thomasinas aren't as blatanly open about it as the Supreme Court Injustice and Condoleezza Rice. Some of them try to slide below the radar before they get outed by conservatives praising their names or they show up on Faux News attacking progressive Blacks.

No more will they be allowed to do that. Time to tell it like it T-I-S is about these 'honorary white people' as Pat Buchanan called the man sitting on the Court.

You sell us out, I'm callin' your ass out.

And here's the cookie you so richly deserve for doing so.

Free The Antigua 6

I learned about this story courtesy of the TJMS (Tom Joyner Morning Show) commentator Jeff Johnson and BlackAmericaWeb.com. It plays into some of the stuff that Kola Boof, Renee, Allison and I briefly discussed in our podcast with her a few weeks ago.

By dint of our birth in North America, African descended people living in the United States and Canada are considered by the rest of the African Diaspora as wealthy in comparison to the rest of our African cousins.

That's news to us on a lot of levels, but the reality is that the median income of an African-American family was $25,351 in 1998.

While we know that pales in comparison to the $88,000 median income of a White family, our African descended cousins, with visions of American TV shows on the mind, see it differently.

But that perception of wealth plays into some of the negative treatment that we African-Americans sometimes receive when we sail on these cruises that stop in Caribbean islands

But on to the subjects of this post. The Antigua Six are Rachel Henry, 27, Shoshannah Henry, 24, Dolores Lalanne, 25, Nancy Lalanne, 22, Joshua Jackson, 25, and Mike Pierre-Paul, 25.

And before you haters get started with the usual negative stereotypes about African-Americans, let me nip this in the bud now.

Peep the professions of the Antigua 6:

Rachel Henry, certified chef; fashion and runway model
Shoshannah Henry, singer-songwriter; law school student
Dolores Lalanne, social worker
Nancy Lalanne, licensed practical nurse
Joshua Jackson, crew chief for an international airline and a customer service representative for a utilities company
Mike Pierre-Paul, licensed practical nurse

They were part of a group of a dozen Brooklyn, NY residents aboard a Carnival Cruise ship that docked at Antigua earlier this month.

The six negotiated a $50 fare with a cab driver to tour the island, but ended up in a dispute with the cabbie when he demanded double the amount at the end of the ride. When the group refused to pay the new amount, he drove the passengers to a police station away from the port where the cruise ship was docked.

The group was subsequently arrested and beaten by the Antiguan po-po's. They are facing numerous charges and had an Antiguan court hearing at 2 PM yesterday in which the all pleaded not guilty.

There was a press conference held for the Antigua Six yesterday in New York, and this is the statement that was prepared by Dudley Brutus, one of the group of the tourists the Antigua Six was part of.

****

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

On August 30, 2009, Martine Larochelle, Kirstie Mauze, Joshua Jackson, Nancy and Dolores Lalanne, Antoinette Lovelace, Rachel and Shoshannah Henry, Natacha Chicoye, Edwine and Dudley Brutus and Mike Pierre-Paul, embarked on an 8 day cruise on the Carnival Victory ship leaving from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Throughout the week, we visited the following islands: St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua and St. Kitts.

On Friday, September 4th, 2009, we docked on the island of Antigua, where the majority of the group wanted to go to the beach, while Shoshannah wanted to rent All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs). As we disembarked from the ship, Martine was greeted by a van operator who agreed to take us to the beach and rent ATVs afterwards. Martine negotiated a flat fare of $50 for a trip to the locations, to which the driver agreed. Martine shared the agreement with the group, and we all walked with the driver towards his minibus, which was parked separately from the other taxi cabs. While in the minibus, we asked the driver permission to use his cell phone so we could inquire about the renting costs for the ATVs. He informed us that we would need to purchase a phone card to put minutes on his phone so we can use it. The driver took us to a store, where Martine, Kirstie and Joshua went in to buy the phone card.

While inside the store, Martine decided the price was too excessive for the phone card and decided not to purchase it. We then decided to just go to the beach.

The driver took us to the beach and agreed to return and pick us up within an hour. When the driver did not return at the agreed time, the group began to consider getting another driver. A few minutes after the hour, he returned and we decided to continue with his services because the driver had not yet received payment from us. We got back into the minibus, and Shoshannah asked the driver about the costs of renting ATVs again. He indicated that he was unaware of the price or its location, but would take the group back to the store to get the phone card to call and obtain the necessary information.

During the ride back from the beach, some of us entertained ourselves by playing games, singing and listening to our IPods. At some point, we noticed that we were driving towards the direction of the ship and not to the store to obtain the phone card. When we asked the driver what was happening, he told us that the trip has ended and the fare is $100 US. We argued that the price was not a $100 US but $50 US. In his response, he stated its $50 US going and $50 US coming. The driver re-stated that the price was $100 US and informed us that if we did not pay what he was demanding, he would take us to the police. We asked to be taken to the police that we had seen at the port earlier in the day to resolve the issue and the driver agreed. At that moment, he picked up his cell phone and made a call as he drove in a direction that appeared to be away from the boat. When the group inquired about where he was going, the driver informed us that the road was closed and as a result, he had to take another route.

The driver started to pull up to a gated area and we became fearful of the unfamiliar surroundings. As the driver approached the gate, it began to open and I jumped out of the minibus, and the rest of the group followed behind me. As the gate opened, a uniformed officer approached the minibus and exchanged words with the driver and then with Mike. The officer tried to grab Mike, who pulled away, and the officer said, “You are under arrest!” We were still largely unclear of our surroundings, and we were becoming increasingly fearful and confused. At this point, all we saw was a uniformed officer standing outside a gate in front of an unmarked building. We asked the officer, “Why is he under arrest? What did he do? What did he do?”

A man in a white polo shirt approached the group, punched Shoshannah in the face and hit Nancy (which was witnessed by Antoinette, Kirstie, Edwine and myself). Shoshannah then told the uniformed officer that she wanted to press charges on the man who punched her. The officer ignored her and continued to hold on to Mike. Then, several people in plain clothes came out of the gate and started attacking us. Shoshannah was being kicked by individuals in plain clothes as she was down on the ground. We were pushed inside the gates and Joshua was placed in a grappling hold from behind by a plain clothes male (witnessed by Edwine, Martine and myself).

Soon afterwards, Joshua was placed in a cell with Mike and a uniformed officer came to the cell, with his hand resting on his gun, and told them that if they moved, he would shoot them.

Meanwhile, Kirstie was being attacked by a plain clothes female with a red shirt and twists in her hair. Nancy ran to her defense, and then the same female began attacking Nancy. Another woman also in plain clothes came over to hit Nancy with a baton, but was advised by another person not to do so. Kirstie and Martine asked uniformed officers to intervene, but the requests were ignored, as the uniformed officer watched the scene unravel. Natacha witnessed Dolores get kicked, while Dolores was sitting on the floor crying. Antoinette and Rachel were on the floor by what looked like holding cells. Antoinette was helping Rachel calm down, who was having what appeared to be an anxiety attack at the time. I also tried to stop the fighting between the plain clothes women and Nancy, but I was pulled by the collar by a uniformed officer with a paddle in his hand. The officer then moved me off to the side and hit me in the stomach with the paddle. Antoinette, Martine and Natacha noticed our belongings on the ground and began retrieving all our property.

The police attacked us with no attempts to resolve the situation with the driver. We were in an unknown territory, trying to obtain assistance to resolve a dispute. Some of us were working at breaking up the squabble, but when attempts were made to do so, we had to protect ourselves from being punched, hit with paddles, pushed and kicked by “officers” who failed to identify themselves.

Martine, Kirstie, Natacha, Edwine, Rachel and I were released, but then two-three plain clothes individuals came running after us and demanded that Rachel return with them. Shoshannah was carried away to a different area on an upper level above the jail cells outside the main office. Shoshannah asked that her sisters, Antoinette and Rachel, accompany her, but the police officials states only one sister, Antoinette, can escort her. Inside the room, Antoinette and Shoshannah were met by Reverend Mark Azille, who instructed them to do as they were told by the officers.

There was a tall, burly, dark-skinned police officer who noticed the Reverend speaking to the women, and told the Reverend to leave the room, and then the officer demanded that Antoinette leave the room as well. Antoinette asked the officer for a reason, stating that she did not feel comfortable leaving her sister alone, but with no remorse she was commanded to leave.

Mike and Joshua were jailed while Nancy, Rachel and Dolores were behind a partition in a different holding area. Martine, Kirstie, Natacha, Edwin and I returned to the ship and met Antoinette there. We told the Carnival officials about what occurred. Carnival referred us to an individual named Kevin, who took us to Nathan Dundas, president of the travel tourism office on the island. He called us into his office and explained that the six individuals who were arrested would not be returning to the ship and advised us to retrieve the passports and personal belongings of the detained. Mr. Dundas helped us get the belongings to the group. Martine and I returned to the holding facility and left the detained with cash and debit cards. Joshua asked for a lawyer so Mr. Dundas reached out to Mr. Benjamin, a private lawyer, to represent the six in jail.

As it stands, the six of us 12 are on trial for battery and wounding of police officers, using indecent language and disorderly conduct. The six of us here are concerned about the injustice they are receiving, and we all feel victimized. Presently, we are seeking assistance from the U.S. government, media outlets and citizens of the Unites States of America to bring our friends and family members home.

****

Time to not only see to it that our peeps not only receive justice, but bring them back home to their families. W should also let the Antiguan government, the Antiguan ambassador in Washington D.C. and their Ministry of Tourism know that we African Americans ain't having and won't tolerate this bullshit.

Y'all won't pull this bullcrap on white tourists because the unblinking eye of the MSM would come crashing down on you.

You already got a taste of that in the wake of the July 2008 attack on British honeymooners Dr. Catherine and Benjamin Mullany at an Antiguan beachside resort that left her dead and her husband on life support.

Speaking of the MSM media besides the TJMS, where y'all at on this?

I Repeat, I Didn't Stop Being Black When I Transitioned

I try to call my family at least once a week to keep up with what's going on back home and in my old neighborhood, catch up on the latest Houston scuttlebutt and family news.

During my conversation with my mother a few days ago she mentioned she'd had a conversation with one of my old neighbors who was unaware of my gender transition. Her sons stumbled across my blog and of course relayed the news to their mother.

She made some cis privileged comments such as 'I was too smart to transition' and other ones that smacked of Christoignorance that my mom called her on.

I thought I made it clear for you African descended peeps last year that harbor the same thoughts as my old neighbor when I wrote about this subject.

It looks like it's time to remix and reiterate what I said because it still applies in the '09 and beyond.

Say it loud, I'm Black, trans and I'm proud!

Just because I transitioned a decade and a half ago doesn't shield me or any African descended transperson from being whacked with all the daily slings and arrows that being Black in America presents you with.

I still get called 'nigger'. As a matter of fact I've had that epithet thrown at me more so by people in the GLBT community since I transitioned than folks outside it.

I also get the displeasure of in addition to having the other anti-black and anti-gay ones hurled at me, having the b-word and other epithets directed at women spat at my statuesque behind as well.

As a child and godchild of historians I am not only cognizant of our history, I eagerly embrace and revel in it. I'm always striving to learn more about my people's accomplishments across the Diaspora.

Transition did not lower my IQ. As my cis girlfriends jokingly tell me, it enhanced it.

I am still down with our ongoing effort within the Black community to uplift the race and make it better. I want to add the voices, thoughts and talents of African descended trans people like myself and others to that effort both inside and outside the Black community.

At the same time I recognize the value of having and building a vibrant, self-aware Black trans community that knows its history, recognizes its heroes and sheroes and is a key player in the decision making ranks of the GLBT community.

I am still a 'Big C' Christian who is more concerned with 'what Jesus said' than the 'what Paul said' mean spirited right-wing prosperity gospel brand of Christianity.

I am not a 'birth defect'. I was made by the Creator to be here at this particular time and place with a certain skill set and talents. I am as a trans person a person with unique insights and part of the diverse mosaic of human life.

I also still share, as William Hastie said in a 1950 speech at the University of Rochester, the 'militancy against discrimination and racial indignity that is a heritage from our forbears'.

Being a proud African descended trans person does not constitute grounds for yanking my 'Black Card'.

Now Clarence Thomas is another story, but I digress.

I'm proud of who I am and 'who I be' as I continue to evolve into a beautiful, Quality Black Woman.

And you Black peeps who have a problem with trans people on specious religious grounds or because of your own insecurities need to buy a vowel and get a clue about that as well.

Serena Williams: Can A Woman Get Angry? Can A Black Woman?

TransGriot Note: This guest post is courtesy of Tami at What Tami Said.




The facts seem to be thus:

On Saturday, in the U.S. Open semifinals, champion Serena Williams faced an unranked Kim Clijsters, who more than held her own in a taut, close battle.

According to Sports Illustrated online:

With Williams serving at 5-6, 15-30 in the second set, she faulted on her first serve. On the second serve, a line judge called a foot fault, making it a double-fault -- a call rarely, if ever, seen at that stage of any match, let alone the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament. Read more...

Williams responded to the call with an uncharacteristic level of anger. Again according to Sports Illustrated: "walking toward the line judge, screaming, cursing and shaking a ball in the official's direction, threatening to "shove it down" her throat."

In response, Williams was penalized a point for poor sportswomanship, giving a surprise victory to Clijsters.

On these things, most people agree. And few would celebrate Williams' outburst, which was ugly, unfortunate, graceless, ineffective and WRONG. My concern is that reaction to Williams lapse of judgement is ripe with sexism and racism.

When you consider the legacy of tennis "bad boys" like John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Ilie Nastase, the hyperventilating over Williams' lapse seems completely out-of-proportion.



McEnroe's outbursts that included marching aggressively up to line judges, cursing and destroying rackets have become part of the tennis legend's mythology. His childish behavior can be compiled into a two-part You Tube greatest hits reel set to cheerful music. And though McEnroe continued to have meltdowns long after his behavior could be deemed youthful folly, we chalk his actions up to the sort of single-minded intensity it takes to be a legendary winner in sport...when you are a man (and preferably a white one). McEnroe is affectionately remembered as a "bad boy."

But when you are a woman, and a black one at that, your wrong is more wrong than the next person's. In contrast to comments on McEnroe You Tube videos, reactions to Williams' tantrum are filled with racist language. Of course, for anyone who has ever spent time on You Tube, it shouldn't surprise to hear the word "animal" tossed around in reference to black women. What does surprise me (or maybe not) is the reaction of more mainstream sources.

Yahoo has been playing the Williams story on its front page for two days with language that would make a reader believe Williams had gone on some sort of bloody rampage.

The New York Times offered a breathless lead in to its coverage:

Serena Williams became unhinged in a shocking display of vitriol and profanity toward a line judge at the most inopportune time Saturday night — right before match point for Kim Clijsters in the semifinals of the United States Open.

The lineswoman involved in Williams' outburst is now said to have felt "threatened."

Several commenters on the generally progressive and feminist Jezebel piled on Williams and failed to note the gender and race biases inherent in their reactions. A commenter named LaComtesse offer this post and photo:

From the article: "I've never been in a fight in my whole life, so I don't know why she would have felt threatened," Williams said with a smile. Ummm....really, Ms. Williams? You don't see how, in certain situations (say, when you threaten to shove a ball down someone's throat), one might be intimidated by you when you're angry?

The poster's implications were rightfully challenged by several others.

Sports columnist Jason Whitlock blasted Williams as "an oversized, underachieving loudmouth..." who got "smacked into reality by a just-out-of-retirement mom." In the same article, Whitlock defends Michael Jordan's pompous, ungracious, "possibly cocktail-inspired" Hall of Fame rant, also delivered this weekend. Whitlock writes:

In graphic detail, he explained the slights — real, exaggerated and imagined — that fueled his competitive fire. He gave us a peek behind the curtain, a look at what drove the greatest competitor in our lifetime. I overlooked his missteps. He's a basketball player, not a motivational speaker. He spoke without a map. His words were not measured or chosen to create the impression he was anything beyond a competitive son of a bitch.

Got that? Jordan, whose ego is legendary, is an awesome "competitive son of a bitch." Williams? Just a "whiner," and an "oversized" one, in case you missed than throw-away sexist language.

Commenter Tom Smith, giving his opinion in the Orlando Sentinel's "Dud of the Week" sports feature, says simply:

Ah, Serena. You can take the girl out of the 'hood but .............

Wonder if McEnroe, Connors and Nastase are from that same 'hood?

The Williams sisters have long been demonized in the tennis world for having the temerity to be, not just winners, but also big (women shouldn't take up too much space), strong (women's bodies should be soft. Not too soft, mind you. Serena's muscular round posterior, preposterously gets called "fat."), confident (women should be shrinking and always self-effacing) and worse, black. They are called manly and unfeminine. Discussions of their playing style are accompanied with words like "brute strength."

Jezebel offered an excellent post about new tennis favorite Michelle Oudin last week that offers a hint at what America wants in its female athletes.

Oudin certainly seems to be a lovable sports star, and her accomplishments are definitely praise-worthy, but there is something off about the way she is being celebrated. She has been called the "darling" of the U.S. Open, America's sweetheart," a "pint-sized, freckled-faced blonde from Georgia," the "tiny little savior of women's tennis," everything it seems, save tennis' "Great White Hope"
although given the media coverage of Oudin's win, it would probably be more like the "little, teeny-tiny, super cute White Hope").

Especially problematic was this article from the Daily Beast, which quoted ESPN sportscaster Michelle Beadle comparing Oudin to the Williams sisters. "From Day 1, I've never heard the Williams sisters referred to as sweethearts." Read more...


It is instructive to see how Williams has been cast as a "baddie" in contrast to a talented, but admittedly more-sweetheart-appropriate Clijsters, who went on to. Jezebel notes in a post today:

Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News, who called the incident "very sad," notes that Williams is already being cast as a villain to Clijsters heroine: "There were fascinating elements to this match, though most of them were lost in the chaos. It might have been constructive to debunk the traditional, sexist perceptions about Clijsters and the Williams sisters. We condemn Serena and Venus for juggling business interests, while applauding Clijsters for quitting the game completely to have a baby."

This incident is perhaps the best example of how little leeway women, and black women in particular, have in the public eye. Serena Williams' behavior this weekend should be viewed as an unfortunate misstep by an otherwise admirable athlete, whose life, on an off the court, stands as a model for young women and men. Instead, we're worrying about Williams' future and whether her reputation can recover from this single incident. One incident, and to the masses, Williams has proved that she is not "America's Sweetheart," as if there was ever a question. One incident, and to the masses, Williams has proven their sexist and racist biases correct. One incident, and she is an angry, black woman--threatening, an animal.

Reports today say that Williams will receive a maximum fine for this weekend's incident and more sanctions may come. I wonder how much she will be fined by the public.

Can a woman--a black woman--lose her shit in public and recover without the stain remaining on her reputation forever? Will Serena's wrong be treated in the same way as the wrongs of male athletes? I wish that the answer was yes, but I don't know.

Katrina Plus Four

Today is the fourth anniversary of the devastating landfall of Hurricane Katrina in the New Orleans area.

I spent two years living on the West Bank and was there when Hurricane Betsy whacked the city in 1965. I still have friends and my godsister in the area.

I still find it amazing that four years later the GOP and assorted conservaidiots are still trying to have it both ways in the wake of this disaster. Eben on his way back to Texas in the waning days of his presidency Junior was trying to rewrite history and claim their response was timely.

The only timely response that came from the Bush misadministration was how many no bid contracts they could shovel at their cronies and how they could do a 'heck of a job' using this disaster for GOP political purposes.

On one hand they whine it wasn't their fault that Junior's goverment massively failed the citizens of New Orleans, it was Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin

The evidence says otherwise. Gov Blanco and Mayor Nagin did everything possible on their ends to prepare for the disaster.

It's all on you conservaboys and girls who hate government and routinely spout that 'government can't do anything right' conservaabull.

Maybe you should truthfully restate your pet phrase. It's CONSERVATIVE run governments that can't do anything right.

We still have New Orleans residents living in FEMA trailers while others were part of the largest relocation of African descended people since the Great Migration.

The area is still slowly recovering from the storm, but for many people it will never be the same as it was pre-Katrina.

Say a prayer today for the people that didn't survive the storm, and for the people in the area who are still struggling to rebuild their lives in the aftermath.