Rest In Power, Kenishia Hubbard 1964-2014

Was stunned to hear that one of our transsisters, Left Coast advocates and my fellow Texan Kenishia Hubbard suddenly passed away at age 50 on Monday August 18 in San Diego, CA..

From Kenishia's daughter Nita Hubbard:  (multiple pronouns changed to avoid misgendering Kenishia and respect her life)

For those of you who are unaware my father suddenly passed away at the age of 50 years young yesterday afternoon. I am saddened and in shock but more importantly I want to make sure that everyone who knew Kenishia is aware of her death so they may join our family and friends in her home coming. Please spread the word.  I will keep everyone posted on the wake and funeral services. Rest in peace daddy, I love you. Kenishia "KiKi" Hubbard January 3, 1964 - August 18, 2014.

Kenishia was born in Fort Worth, graduated from Dunbar High, studied at Tarrant County Junior College and served our country proudly as a US Marine.   Kenishia was also a mentor to many transsisters in the San Diego area .

I had the pleasure of meeting her along with many of my BTAC family at the recent edition of the Black Trans Advocacy Conference in Dallas.

Kenishia was my roommate for the event and we spent a few long nights discussing our lives up to that point and her desire to expand her outreach wings in the San Diego and national trans community.   She had a heart as wide as our home state and never failed to put a smile on my face and everyone else who she came in contact with during the time we were together at BTAC 

And as I found out to my chagrin at the Saturday fun day, she plays a mean game of dominoes.

I made a friend during that weekend, and saddened I didn't get the opportunity to build on the connection we made during that weekend in Dallas like I wanted to do.    

A reminder to all of us.  Tell the people that you care about and who mean a lot to you how much you appreciate them while they are in this plane of existence to hear it..   Once they are gone, it's too late to do so. 

Services for Kenishia Hubbard are pending at this time, and as I get information about the homegoing service arrangements or any memorial services being planned in the San Diego area, I'll pass that info to you as soon as I receive it.

If you wish to send donations, flowers or cards, you can do so via Kenishia Hubbard's daughter Nita Hubbard.  Phone number is 972-750-1929 or you can call 619-506-7505.

Rest in power and peace Kenishia.  Until we meet again.  

Diamonds Are Mo'Ne's Best Friend

Marilyn Monroe once sang diamonds are a girl's best friend.   But in 13 year old Mo'Ne Davis' case, it's a baseball diamond.

Mo'Ne is the 18th girl to make it to the LLWS, but she has the sporting world's attention as one of the few girls in the 67 year history of the LLWS to be the star player of their Little League team.

Her Taney Youth Baseball Association Little League of Philadelphia squad got to the 2014 Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA on the strength of her pitching arm and her 70 MPH fastball.  

In addition to the personal history Davis is making, her Taney squad is also making it as a team. They are the first team from Philadelphia to make it to the LLWS. 

In the Taney Dragons first game on Friday a 4-0 win against Nashville, Tennessee, Davis proved she was no joke as she pitched her second complete game,   She gave up only two hits and struck out eight batters enroute to becoming the first girl ever in the 67 year history of the event to pitch a shutout. .

In the game last night against Pearland East, my H-town suburban homies and the overflow crowd  of 32,000 found out that Mo'Ne can hit, too. 

Her first inning single made her only the sixth girl to record a hit in LLWS play and help her Taney Dragons team to a 7-6 win that puts them two game away from the US Championship.

They face Mountain Ridge LL from Las Vegas in the winners bracket on Wednesday.

Hopefully Mo'Ne and Taney LL will continue to prove that baseball diamonds are a girl's best friend, too.
   

2014 NBJC Emerging Leaders To Watch Campaign

Needed to post this NBJC news for those of you who are interested in applying for it or you know some young Black TBLG leaders in the 18-30 range that you believe need to be recognized for their work.

Over the ten years that the National Black Justice Coalition has been in operation, one of the things they have been laser focused on besides being unapologetically Black advocates for our BTLG community and the issues that affect us from our perspective is youth leadership development.

The NBJC Emerging Leaders Campaign seeks to identify rising Black LGBT leaders ages 18-30 n the Black LGBT movement.   NBJC also seeks to provide a platform and space for these standout leaders to use their voice, build networks, and take action in their communities.

It is important because not only is the youth perspective a necessary and critical one in shaping policies in our community, it is critical they become actively involved in order to hone their leadership skills, gain experience working with our season leaders and community elders.  It's also important for us as a Black LGBT community to have them in the leadership pipeline so that our LGBT movement can continue to grow, prosper, remain vibrant and relevant into the foreseeable future.

Nominations are now open for NBJC's 100 Black Emerging Leaders to Watch Campaign that is part of NBJC's commitment to developing our future LGBT leaders.

The compiled NBJC emerging Leaders to Watch List represents a consortium of standout leaders that are ripe with potential and who deserve a greater exposure.

You can nominate someone for consideration to be included on this list that will be revealed at the 2014 OUT on the Hill conference September 24-27 
   
All applicants must submit the following:
1. Completed Online Application (below)
2. Current Resume (send by e-mail or mail)
3. (1) Letter of Recommendation (send by e-mail or mail)

Applicants should e-mail submission materials to 100toWatch@nbjc.org. Please make sure to include your name in the subject line. Your letter of recommendation MUST BE signed. A scanned copy of the signed letter is permitted. If e-mail is not possible, applicants may send submission materials to:

National Black Justice Coalition
ATTN: 100toWatch
Post Office Box 71395
Washington, DC 20024

Applications are due May 30, 2014. Applications and materials submitted after the deadline will not be processed. If mailing submission components, please be sure that materials arrive to the address on or before the deadline. Packages postmarked on May 30, but received after the due date, will not be processed.

We encourage anyone interested in applying to become familiar with the National Black Justice Coalition and the Emerging Leaders Initiative. For further questions, comments or concerns, please contact Je-Shawna Wholley, NBJC's Program Manager for the Emerging Leaders Initiative and Special Projects, via email at jwholley@nbjc.org or (202) 319-1552 ext. 102.

106 Years- Happy Anniversary AKA!

January 15 is not only the birthday of the greatest American our people have ever produced, it is also the date in 1908 on the Howard University campus the world's first sorority organized by African-American women was founded and later incorporated. 

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. has grown from the original group of women led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle to an international organization headquartered in Chicago of 250,000 women of diverse backgrounds that include my mom and my sister in over 900 graduate and undergraduate chapters..   

It has now entered its second century of service to all mankind under the leadership of International President Carolyn House Stewart, who is making AKA history by not only being the first attorney to head the organization, but the first to serve a full term in the sorority's second century.

To all my TransGriot readers who are AKA's, Happy Founder's Day and happy anniversary!    

Olympic Gender Drama-Flo Jo

Since the 1960 Rome Olympics, with the exception of the period from 1976-1984 when the steroid fed East German women were tearing up the tracks, the USA women have had a multiple medal sprinting star in athletics.  

It was Wilma Rudolph in Rome.  Wyomia Tyus did so during two Olympiads at Tokyo in 1964 and the 1968 Mexico City Games.  In Los Angeles in 1984 it was two American women who shared that golden Olympic spotlight in Valerie Brisco-Hooks and Evelyn Ashford.

In the 1988 Seoul Games, no star shone brighter or with more style than Florence Griffith-Joyner's.

FloJo's story was beginning to be told as the hometown girl competing in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics with the glamorous looks, long nails with speed to burn.  She took home a silver medal in the 200m in 22.02 behind Valerie Brisco-Hooks gold medal winning Olympic record time of 21.81 seconds.

Now it was four years later and Griffith-Joyner after a trying post LA Games period served notice at the US Olympic Trials in Indianapolis in July 1988 the Seoul Olympics was going to be her party. 

In her 100m opening heat in the 1988 Olympic trials she ran a wind aided 10.60, which was below Evelyn Ashford's then four year old world record of 10.76 seconds.  Undaunted, Griffith-Joyner obliterated the world record in her quarterfinal heat by clocking an astounding 10.49 time that STILL hasn't been matched.  The wind gauge was showing 0.0 meters per second (no wind) so it stood.

She then ran 10.70 in the 100m semifinal (wind a legal 1.6 mps) and 10.61 in a legal 1.2 meters per second wind in the final to claim her ticket to Seoul. 

If anyone had doubts that those Flo-Jo times were flukes, in her specialty, the 200m, she just missed by .06 of a second matching East German Marita Koch's world record with a 21.77 quarterfinal time and clocked a 21.85 in the final.  

After running the four fastest 100m times for any woman in history in Indy, setting a world record in the 100m, barely missing the 200m world record and setting an American record in the 200m Trials quarterfinal, Flo-Jo was a heavy pre-Olympics favorite to dominate the track in Seoul

She didn't disappoint. On her way to the 100m gold medal she broke the Olympic record three times with 10.88, 10.62 and 10.54 times.  Her 10.54 time to capture the gold over defending 1984 Olympic champion Evelyn Ashford was unfortunately wind aided, so 10.62 is the current Olympic record.  

It also gave Griffith-Joyner at the time the seven fastest 100m times in history.

But Flo-Jo wasn't finished.  In the 200m, she warmed up with a quarterfinal time of 21.76 to erase Valerie Brisco-Hooks' Olympic record she set in 1984.   Flo-Jo then obliterated Marita Koch's 21.71 world record with a semifinal time of 21:56, then lowered it to 21:34 in the 200m final to capture her second gold medal of the Seoul Games. 

She added another gold in the 4x100m relay  but her attempt to become the first woman ever to win four gold medals in a single Olympic track meet was dashed when she couldn't catch Olga Bryzgina of the Soviet Union down the stretch. 

The Soviet 4x400m relay quartet ran a world record setting time of 3:15.17 just to get the gold with Griffith-Joyner and her American teammates having to settle for silver.   That 4x400m relay was not only the first time Flo-Jo had run an internationally rated 400 meter relay, the 3:15.51 time they ran is still the second fastest ever run. 

But because Ben Johnson failed a post race drug test and had to give up his 100m gold medal and the 9.79 world record he ran to beat Carl Lewis to get it, it cast a pall over the Games and the times of Flo-Jo came under suspicion. 

1984 LA Games 800m gold medalist Joaquim Cruz of Brazil started throwing shade at Flo-Jo by claiming she was on steroids or other performance enhancing drugs and there was no way she could have run those times.

She denied it, the tests came up clean, and Griffith-Joyner later won that year's Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete male or female in the US.  She moved on after the 1988 Games to retirement, have her daughter Mary Ruth Joyner in 1990 and her post Olympic life.

But those questions about alleged drug use kept coming up, and dogged her to her untimely death at age 38. While sleeping in her Mission Viejo, CA home she died of suffocation during a severe epileptic seizure on September 21, 1998.  An autopsy conducted by the Orange County Coroner's office noted she had not died from drugs or banned substances.  

After Griffith-Joyner's death in 1998, Prince Alexandre de Merode, the Chairman of the International Olympic Committee's medical commission, stated that Joyner was singled out for extra, rigorous drug testing during the 1988 Olympic Games because of rumors of steroid use.  She was rigorously tested according to him by Manfred Donike, the foremost expert at the time during the 1988 Games, who failed to find anything

"We performed all possible and imaginable analyses on her...We never found anything. There should not be the slightest suspicion [on Florence Griffith Joyner]  

So stop hating, and give Flo-Jo her due as the fastest woman ever.

The 'I Don't Know Any Black Trans People' Excuse Doesn't Fly

I've done a lot of posts about the subject of erasure of trans people of color.   In the process of combating the media invisibility I've taken to task media outlets in our chocolate media world that put these LGBT's list together that either had no trans persons on it or conflated drag queen with trans persons. 

One of the excuses I heard attempting to defend the indefensible was someone who claimed that 'they didn't know of any Black transpeople, much less Black trans activists.; 

Well, as of 10:00 AM EDT on April 9, that excuse doesn't fly anymore, not that it ever had the credibility in the first place    I've been writing about the trans community with an Afrocentric slant since 2006.

We have other African-American transpeople stepping up to leadership roles and providing positive visibility for our community.   We have growing organizations such as BTMI, BTWI, TPOCC and the National Black Justice Coalition advocating for us, helping us own our power and being the change we want to see in the world. 

We have conferences such as the BTMI event and Trans Faith In Color in which we can gather, talk about issues, honor our people doing the work and build community amongst ourselves and with the groups we intersect and interact with.  As Kwame Ture once said, 'In order to participate in the greater society, you must first close ranks.'

A stronger and more cohesive Black trans community means a stronger one which can be a better, more potent ally to the groups we intersect, interact and have mutual interests with.   

Black legacy orgs such as the NAACP are realizing not only that Black trans community issues are Black community issues, we Black trans peeps are part of the kente cloth fabric of the community and deserve our seat at the family table.  

So no, the publication of this initial Trans 100 List eliminates that excuse that you don't know any Black transpeople along with our increasing visibility across all media platforms.   We have people in various professions who are Black, trans and are attorneys, doctors, college professors, writers, homemakers, models, fashion designers, entrepreneurs...well, you get the drift 

And we didn't just pop up in the second decade of the 21st century either.  We've helped shape and mold not only trans history, but made some Black history of our own in addition to doing our part to uplift ourselves and our people.  

If you don't know any Black trans folks, you either aren't trying to get to know us, or have some of my trans brothers or trans sisters right under your nose living their everyday lives without you realizing it. 

But the days of people dismissively saying that they don't know any Black trans people are over.  . 
 

I Believe There's An LGBT Community, But...

One of the ongoing arguments I hear and I reject whether it comes from the LGB end of the spectrum or the trans end of it is that 'there is no LGBT community'. Granted I've railed more than a few times on this blog about some of the contentious history that has occurred between elements of it, but the evidence is overwhelming that an LGBT community exists.

While I believe there is an LGBT community, at the same time I as a person of color have seen, heard and experienced enough negativity to give me pause.enough to seek to emulate what my people have done in interacting with a predominately vanillacentric privileged parent society.

The BTLG community as a microcosm of the society at large has the same drama, race, class and inequality issues that permeate the parent society and just because we fly rainbow or pink, white and blue striped flags it didn't change that dynamic one bit.

Black trans and same gender loving (SGL) peeps still get called the n-word just as quickly by people inside this community as they do by knuckle-dragging idiots outside of it.  So to combat that, for our own sanity and well-being we POC members of this contentious group we interact with have to do our parts to ensure we have vibrant trans and same gender loving communities of our own across the nation..

It's why during this Black History Month I'm making sure that trans history makers get highlighted on my  blog and my Facebook page.  It's why the National Black Justice Coalition got founded ten years ago and the Trans Persons of Color Coalition got founded in 2010.  I don't doubt because of that same dynamic you will soon (if it hasn't happened already) trans and SGL organizations that cater to the issues unique to the Latin@ community. 

We aren't doing it just to separate from predominately white TBLG groups as we've been accused of doing, but to strengthen our own voices.   We're owning our power and pointing out to the members of the ethnic groups we belong to that yes, we exist and being a person of color and trans, gay, bi or lesbian is not an oxymoron.   We're addressing in our ranks the shame, guilt and fear issues by building pride in being same gender loving and trans people of color.  That's needed so that we can be better, more powerful allies in our common human rights struggle.
We're also calling attention to the fact that we're feeling marginalized, invisible and ignored in the greater GLBT community and that policy issues need addressing besides 'all marriage all the time'.
. 
This LGBT community is a diverse group we are a part of, and we all agree that our human rights as BTLG citizens of our nation must be respected and protected under the laws of our land and the 'We the People' in the United States Constitution also applies to trans and same gender loving citizens of this nation 

I believe there is an LGBT community.  But because we are a diverse bunch, much work has to be constantly done to ensure we are all on the same human rights page and keep moving forward to accomplish our human rights goals.

Gettng To Out On The Hill On A Dime

TransGriot Note: The 2012 edition of Out On The Hill is rapidly approaching, and for our collegiate younglings who would like to take part in this empowering event, here's a guest post from Toni-Michelle Williams, one of the members of the NBJC Leadership Advisory Council who I met at last year's Out On The Hill along with some of her Norfolk State classmates.

Attending the National Black Justice Coalition's  OUT on the Hill Black LGBT Leadership Summit last year was both an honor and a blessing. I left knowing who I was and who I wanted to be. I fell in love all over again with my Black LGBT family. As Emerging Leaders, we don't always have the means to pay for conference costs such as registration fees, lodging, and meals. That didn't stop me (and the ten Norfolk State University students I recruited). And it shouldn't stop you. Here's all you need to know about the upcoming summit and six steps for you to attend OUT on the Hill at practically no expense.

 

On September 19-22, 2012, over 200 Black LGBT leaders and activists from across the country will once again gather in the nation's capital for the 3rd annual OUT on the Hill. Attendees will participate in an inspiring week of discussion, strategizing and organizing as well as educate congressional leaders and federal agencies about Black LGBT public policy concerns.

OUT on the Hill was a liberating experience for me and my colleagues. As African American LGBT and ally students, it is important for us to gain knowledge of not only the politics of the overall LGBT movement, but the strategies specifically dedicated to the experiences of people of color. OUT on the Hill provides opportunities for Emerging Leaders to network amongst each other, while providing a safe space for us as future leaders to hold conversations that will advance our community. The summit also allows Emerging Leaders to connect with powerful Black LGBT politicians, activists, creatives and more.

OUT on the Hill is an experience that will change your life as LGBT person of color and as an Emerging Leader at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) or majority institution. It is an experience worth fighting for. By the end of the journey you will be equipped with the tools necessary to own your power.

OUT on the Hill - Video Promo

Six Steps to Gain OUT on the Hill Sponsorship from Your College/University

1. Point out the pluses. Notable conferences are typically events that college campuses sponsor. The college gains "bragging rights" (they will get to boast that their students attended special briefings at the White House and met with Members of Congress) and students return to the institution with a wealth of knowledge to share with the campus community. It's a win-win all around.  
2.  Know your target. Seek out departments that are in need of knowledge on LGBT-inclusion. These include the Student Life and Engagement, Office of the Provost, Student and Resident Affairs, Women's Center, Sociology Department, Gender and Women's Studies and the Political Science Department. Maybe there has been an increase of reports of violence against LGBT students or a new women's center recently opened. Take advantage of these opportunities to be a resource for information and cultural sensitivity.  
3. Be relatable. Connect your experiences as an LGBT person to their broader research or mission. For example, approach the School of Education with an emphasis on bullying and how LGBT students of color are disproportionately victims. Or stress the importance of advocating on behalf of homeless LGBT youth to the School of Social Work. The possibilities are endless.  
4. Identify allies. Speak to Deans and other administrators who will have access to funds that could possibly promote awareness of these causes. Look to faculty advisors of student groups and professors of LGBT-inclusive courses.  
5. Be a champion of change. Know what you and/or your student organization want to accomplish on and off campus. Then market yourselves as ambassadors of change and diversity for your college campus.  
6. Be prepared. Utilize resources and statistics on everything from hate crimes to transgender equality from national organizations such as the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Gay & Lesbian Student Education Network (GLSEN), and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. You will be able to make a better case for why your presence at OUT on the Hill is imperative.

See you at OUT on the Hill, September 19-22, 2012. Read more about this year's summit here!  Contact NBJC's Programs Associate Je-Shawna Wholley via email at  jwholley@nbjc.org with any questions.

- Antonio "Toni-Michelle" Williams

Antonio "Toni-Michelle" Williams studies journalism at Norfolk State University and hails from Atlanta, Georgia. Her most significant leadership position is as President of LEGASI, which serves as NSU's Gay-Straight Alliance organization. Under her two year leadership, the organization's membership has significantly increased. Toni-Michelle is also a distinguished member of the National Black Justice Coalition's Leadership Advisory Council.

2012 Trans Faith In Color Conference- I'll Be There

Been in the works for a few weeks, but now I can officially tell you TransGriot readers that I'll not only be in the house for the upcoming Trans Faith In Color Conference, I've honored with the opportunity to give the keynote speech at it.

Been wanting to attending this August 17-19 event in Charlotte, NC for a while, and now I get to fulfill that wish with the added bonus of the speech.

It'll be at the Hilton University Place in Charlotte, and it's sponsored by the Freedom Center For Social Justice, Southerners On New Ground (SONG), and the Arcus Foundation just to name a few of the groups that are assisting with helping put on this event.  

I'll be revealing more details as the event draws closer to happening, and I'm looking forward to seeing you folks when I get to the Tarheel State.

NBJC Stands In Solidarity With CeCe McDonald and Community-Transgender Assault Victim Accepts Plea to Reduced Manslaughter Charge

TransGriot Note:  The May 3 NBJC press release concerning the McDonald trial

***

Reports out of Minneapolis reveal that CeCe McDonald, a Black transgender woman who was allegedly attacked with racist and transphobic slurs, has accepted a plea deal to second-degree manslaughter due to negligence.

Supporters have rallied at the courthouse all week, saying that her case is a blatant example of institutional biases against Black and transgender people. The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), the nation’s leading Black LGBT civil rights organization, stands in solidarity with CeCe McDonald and community members.

“CeCe’s case is a sad reminder of the injustices transgender women of color face,” says Sharon Lettman-Hicks, NBJC Executive Director and CEO. “Where do we get off blaming the victim in what was clearly a hate- and bias-motivated attack? It’s unthinkable and it’s un-American.”

Just yesterday, NBJC released a statement about the charges in the hazing death of Robert Champion Jr., a gay drum major at a Historically Black College and University that was pummeled to death:

The sad reality is that justice drags its feet when a Black life is at stake. There’s even less outcry when it is the life of someone Black and gay. That is why we must continue to proactively advocate on behalf of Black LGBT people who are victims of violent crimes.

That unfortunate reality rings true in McDonald’s trial and represents a larger system of violence towards Black transgender women. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs has found that violence against LGBT people is up 23 percent, with people of color and transgender women as the most likely targets. Of the victims murdered in 2010, 70 percent were people of color while 44 percent were transgender women.

“It is unfortunate that in this case, as in so many, the hate crime itself is overlooked entirely," explains Kylar Broadus, NBJC Board Member and Executive Director of the Trans People of Color Coalition (TPOCC), a national organization that promotes the interests of trans people of color. “We must continue to rally for fair and equal treatment for our Black trans sisters who are disproportionally targeted and killed because of who they are.”

###

The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is a civil rights organization dedicated to empowering Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. NBJC’s mission is to eradicate racism and homophobia.  

--
Kimberley McLeod
Director of Communications
National Black Justice Coalition
P.O. Box 71395
Washington, DC 20024
(202) 319-1552 (office)
(202) 319-7365 (fax)

Rest In Peace, Paige

While today is a happy day for me, it's tempered with the sadness that a young transwoman in Chicago will not get the chance to experience her 50th birthday, much less her 25th, 30th or 40th ones because some waste of DNA callously took her life..

Paige Clay is being buried today, so Chicago rainbow family, if you can, pay your respects to her later this evening.

As a gentle reminder, it will be held at the Acklin Funeral Home, 1325 W. 87th St. in Chicago.   The wake will run from 3-4 PM CDT with the funeral services commencing shortly after the wake from 4-5 PM CDT

One of the things I want to see happen along with my trans brothers and sisters is witnessing the person who committed this crime be brought to justice.

A Look At African-American Trans Traliblazers

TransGriot Note: Hey TransGriot readers, while I'm not writing at the Huffington Post (yet), this is about a big an honor as you can get as an African-American writer.   I've been published by the iconic EBONY magazine.  It's their online version, but still, we're talking about EBONY. 
***

Though February has passed, there is never a bad time to get reacquainted with African American history makers- the events that shaped our lives, our heroes and “sheroes.” Over the last few years we've been paying closer attention to the accomplishments of Black gay and lesbian people such as Bayard Rustin. But there is another group of African Americans who have shaped our people's history: transgender people.
Transgender African Americans have been active contributors to history, even though they have often been overlooked.

Their presence and contributions are not a recent development, but can be traced back through the centuries. Consider the story of Lucy Hicks Anderson, who was born in 1886 in Waddy, KY. She made it quite clear that she was a girl and insisted on wearing dresses to school.  The term “transgender” didn't exist at that time, but the doctor who examined her advised Lucy's mother to raise her as a girl.
As an adult, Lucy eventually got married and divorced twice while en route to Ventura, CA via Pecos, TX.  Her second marriage-to soldier Reuben Anderson in 1944-introduced legal complications that led the Ventura County district attorney to prosecute her for perjury after it was discovered that she was born biologically male.  He asserted that Anderson committed perjury when she signed the marriage license application and swore that there were 'no legal objections' to the marriage. Lucy expressed her conviction in her gender identity to reporters during the trial. "I defy any doctor in the world to prove that I am not a woman,” Anderson said. “I have lived, dressed, acted just what I am, a woman.”  The jury convicted her of the perjury charge, but the judge sentenced her to ten years’ probation rather than send her to prison.

In 1953, while much of America focused on the story of Christine Jorgensen (a White woman who was the first person widely known to have undergone sex reassignment surgery) JET Magazine readers learned about Carlett Brown's attempt to become the "First Negro Sex Change." Transgender African Americans actively participated in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, incorporating tactics from those efforts into their own work toward liberation. The gender non-conforming African American youth in Philadelphia, PA who kick-started the Dewey's Lunch Counter Sit In and Protest in April and May of 1965 were a prime example of such involvement. It was the first protest specifically organized around and concerning trans issues, and preceded both the 1966 Compton's Cafeteria Riots and the better known 1969 Stonewall Riots in which African American transgender advocates such as Miss Major and Marsha P. Johnson (pictured) were involved.

In 1967, civil rights and transgender advocate Lady Java stood up against discrimination and struck the blows that eventually brought down the odious codes used by the LAPD to harass her and other LGBT people in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the Johns Hopkins Gender Program in Baltimore opened its doors and welcomed one of its first patients, an African-American transwoman named Avon Wilson. In the 70s, 80s and 90s, Black transpeople played key roles in the emerging trans advocacy movement.  A. Dionne Stallworth helped organize and sign the incorporation papers of GenderPac. The late Alexander John Goodrum was not only a founder of TGNet Arizona, but sat on the City of Tucson's LGBT commission.  Lorrainne Sade Baskerville became an award winning leader in Chicago, a role which was eventually picked up by the late Lois Bates.

Dawn Wilson and I were part of a team that founded the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC) in 1999, a multicultural trans advocacy organization.  Zion Johnson became the first African-American chair of FTMInternational, while Trans People of Color Coalition (TPOCC) founder Kylar Broadus became the board chair of the National Black Justice Coalition. We also can't forget the people like Justina Williams, Patricia Underwood, KK Logan, Diamond Stylz, Patti Shaw, Diana Taylor, and countless others who stood up for their human rights when they were trampled on by others.  They have advanced the movement toward equality for transgender people.

On a sadder note, we can never forget our fallen transpeople. Rita Hester's 1998 murder was the impetus to organize the now worldwide memorial service we call the Transgender Day of Remembrance. And yes, Black transpeople were (and still are) making breakthroughs inside and outside the LGBT community.  Currently four of us, Dawn Wilson (2000) Dr. Marisa Richmond (2002), myself (2006) and Rev. Earline Budd (2010) have won the IFGE Trinity Award, the trans community's highest award for outstanding service in advocacy. We IFGE Trinity winners, along with countless other heroes and sheroes organizing locally, continue to serve the trans community in various ways and make trans history in the process.

Read the rest of my EBONY.com article here.

Not All Women Received The Right To Vote Today

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."   United States Constitution, 19th Amendment 

Today is the 91st anniversary of the August 1920 day that the 19th Amendment to the constitution for women's suffrage was ratified by a one vote 50-49 margin in the Tennessee House of Representatives.

With Tennessee becoming the 36th state to adopt it, the 19th Amendment became the law of the land and is rightfully celebrated as a human rights advance in the States. .

But I can't let this day pass by without reminding people that not all women got the right to vote today.  Despite the involvement of Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman,  Ida B. Wells, Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin and Frederick Douglass, Black women had to fight for inclusion in a suffrage movement in which white women were upset that the 1870 ratification of the 15th Amendment had given Black men (in theory) the right to vote before they received it.  

White suffragettes, especially those from the South sought to "win women's suffrage through demonstrating their allegiance to white supremacy."

Translation: they threw Black women under the bus to get their suffrage rights.   That came to a head with an 1894 clash in Great Britain between Ida B. Wells and Frances E. Willard. .  

Even when on paper African American women earned the right to vote on this date, Jim Crow segregation, disenfranchisement and all the heinous bag of tricks and violence used to suppress the rights of African Americans to vote would ensure that the power of African American women voters wouldn't be felt until after the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

Today the power of the African American women's vote has led to Black women getting elected to all levels of government including former Senator Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL) and a long list of distinguished former and current members of the House of Representatives.  Some of those Black women reps have provided major political leadership roles as well.

Rep.Shirley Chisholm in 1972 and Carol Moseley-Braun in 2004 made historic runs for president, and the votes of Black women are sought after by politicians seeking to build a winning electoral voting coalition    

And thanks to Black women voters, there's an African American POTUS and FLOTUS residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

So yes, today is a wonderful day to celebrate, but as with all things in America when it comes to African Americans and our long tortured history in this country, it's a bittersweet moment as well.

And Then There Were Five

Rut-oh! Bishop Eddie Long has another problem in that the fifth mystery accuser in his ongoing sex scandal has just surfaced courtesy of an Atlanta FOX-5 TV station investigative report.

22 year old Centino Kemp came forward with similar allegations of sexual misconduct against Bishop Long once the initial lawsuits were filed. According to FOX 5 TV sources quoted in the report they say Kemp became involved in the settlement talks as the mystery man. Though his name was never made public, the FOX 5 I-Team learned he may have played a significant role in the mediation.


    

Bishop Eddie Long Had Fifth Accuser in Sexual Misconduct Lawsuit: MyFoxATLANTA.com

Bishop Eddie led a controversial December 11, 2004 'Re-ignite The legacy' anti-marriage march in the ATL that drew between 20,000-25,000 people and started at the foot of Dr. King's grave.  Elements of the African American LGBT community (myself included) have despised his behind ever since.

My ire with him was not only for cozying up to the white fundie bigots and doing their dirty work, but his cozy relationship with then president George W. Bush.

What was that they said about karma?

African-American Trans Woman Dissed By DJ At Nashville Event

When Forresta Bee attended the 101.1 The Beat Jamz All White Party at Nashville's LP Field on June 4, little did she suspect that transphobia was going to be included with the price of her ticket.

According to Ms. Bee and a story in the Out & About blog, after the fashion show, DJ Dolewite of the Dolewite & Scooby show invited people to dance on the stage that was set up for the show.

When Forresta joined in on the fun, she was greeted with the comment from DJ Dolewite, "If you don't get your Amazon, Shaquille O' Neal-looking ass off the stage, you better now." and alleges she was immediately confronted by a heavyset guy tugging at her arm and telling her to get off the stage.

This incident at the All-White Party happened one day after Tracy Morgan's highly publicized anti-gay rant.

This is the third annual edition of the All -White Party that the Clear Channel owned hip-hop programmed station has conducted in Nashville, and this year it was attended by a record 3800 people. 

Not surprisingly, Forresta has yet to receive an apology for what happened from either DJ Dolewite or Rich Davis, the Operating Manager of Clear Channel/Nashville.   In the face of their intransigence and stonewalling on this issue Bee has obtained legal counsel to explore her options.  

Forresta Bee recently conducted a protest at the WUBT-FM studios to draw attention to DJ Dolewite's disrespect of her.   She believes that role models in society have a special responsibility to inform and positively influence young people in terms of TBLG rights issues, and feels DJ Dolewite should consider his platform as a well-known local radio personality and community opinion shaper.






"I don't feel I should be secluded and told I can only go to certain places," Forresta Bee said in the Out & About interview.  "You shouldn't be judged. When you say stuff like that, kids are listening to that and you're teaching them it's OK to think that."

And she's right about that.   Radio station DJs have a revered place in the African American community and our history, something as the child of one I'm acutely aware of. 

Since they have refused to issue the apology to Ms. Bee, y'all know what to do.  Time to be agents of our liberation and help a trans sistah out.   You may want to e-mail  WUBT-FM and let DJ Dolewite know how foul and transphobic his behavior was.