BTAC 2018 - Day 5

The Awards Gala was amazing last night.   Everybody was looking fly last night including our emcees for our gala Dezjorn Gauthier and Jessica Zyrie

It was priceless to also see the surprised looks on both their faces when they also received awards .

Speaking of awards, congrats to Kayla Gore who is the 2018 recipient of the BTAC Monica Roberts Advocacy Award, our BTMI Man of the Year Trenton Johnson and BTWI Woman of the Year Jade Lenore.  Congrats as well to our 2018 award recipients in our Rising Star and other categories..

Y'all have time to think about who will be next year's award recipients when the nominations ballot goes up on the website.

In the interim, today is Family Day.   We're headed out to the Circle R Ranch in the Dallas suburb Flour Mound, TX where we get to chow down on barbecue, chill out, and play games. 

It's also the time I get to dispense more domino beatdowns as the defending BTAC domino champion Syria is back this year to reclaim her crown from Jade as the queen of the spades players 

Once we get back from our trip to the Circle R Ranch, we get ready for the Black Diamond Ball with the theme this year of Wakandan Realness.

We'll see who came close to that theme later tonight in that and other categories and who got chopped for not doing so.

BTAC 2018- Day 4

The new BTIPS king and queen have been crowned in Malaysia Black as our 2018 queen and Sybastian Smith as our 2018 king as another spectacular pageant hosted by Taliyah Cassadine took place.

Major props to 2017 BTIPS king and queen Trenton Johnson and Tiffany Starr who raised the BTIPS advocacy bar once again during their reign as BTIPS royalty.

Earlier in the day we heard inspiring keynote speeches from Diamond Stylz and Jonathan Thunderword at our 2018 keynote luncheon

We awaken in a few hours at out Wyndham Dallas Suites  host hotel to handle our last day of seminars, part three of our Black Trans Summit conversation, and conclude this day with our awards gala hosted by Dezjorn Gauthier and Jessica Zyrie.

Tonight I get to find out who won the BTAC Monica Roberts Advocacy Award

Still not too late for you to join us for BTAC 2018 and meet your trans and Gender non conforming fam from around the nation.

BTAC 2018 - Day 3

The big event today is the 2018 Mr and Miss Black Trans International Pageant later tonight

Mr.Black Trans International 2017 Trenton Johnson and Miss Black Trans International Tiffany Starr will crown their successors from the group of contestants vying for their crowns.

While those contestants are undergoing another step to hopefully snatching the BTIPS crowds with their interviews, the seminar tracks continue.

As those of you who got to see the live feeds witnessed, the Trans Manifest Live was off the chain.  It gets better and better every year, and next year I'm coming with some original poetry

At noon we also have another highly anticipated event with the BTAC 2018 Empowerment Keynote Luncheon

The Black Transmen, Inc Keynote speaker this year will be Jonathan Thunderword, and the Black Transwomen, Inc .Keynote speaker is Diamond Stylz.

At 2:00 PM we pick up with Part 2 of the Black Trans Community Summit in which we will have a chance to talk with the Dallas PD's LGBTQ Liasion Amber Roman as past of the discussion on Dating, Love and anti-Trans Violence.

If will be followed by the pageant at 8 PM to crown the new Mr. and Miss Black Trans 2018.

And oh yeah, Happy Birthday Tiffany Starr!

BTAC 2018-Day 2

The first full day of seminars is on tap for BTAC 2018 starting at 10 AM.  Registration for the Mr. and Miss Black Trans International pageant is also happening today as well.

The seminars this year are organized into three tracks.   One track for trans masculine attendees, the second for trans feminine attendees, and one for significant others and spouses of trans people.

Each will have their own dedicated meeting room and breakout group.   The Akanni for the trans men, the Ayombi for the trans women, and the Anchors group for spouses and significant others.

From 2-4 PM the first of the Black Trans Community Summit conversations will happen in which we discuss the data and results from the 2015 US Trans Survey that Black Trans Advocacy was in partnership with NBJC and NCTE to conduct 

The data for Black trans people has now been released, and  there were also enough participants to break down the US Trans Survey date by state, with Texas being one of those states.

The conversation will focus on the national data, and talk about employment, housing and healthcare.

The big event to close out Wednesday is the always popular Trans Manifest Live hosted this year by the reigning BTIPS king and queen Trenton Johnson and Tiffany Starr that starts at 8 PM.   

BTAC 2018- Day 1

We've been eagerly waiting since the last BTAC Conference closed out for the 2018 edition of the Black Trans Advocacy Conference.

This year its at a new hotel with a new theme in 2018 as we gather from across Texas, the US and increasingly the world with attendees last year from Brazil and Jamaica .

The conference officially opens with an interfaith service with an Afrocentric flavor that will take place starting at 7 PM,  For those of you who couldn't make it this year, we will be tweeting at the hashtag #BTAC2018

We will still have the Trans Manifest, the keynotes from Diamond Stylz and Jonathan Thunderword, the Mr and Miss Black Trans Pageant, the Awards Gala and the Family Day still ahead of us.

And yes, Moni is still lurking in the shadows of the hospitality suite waiting to to dish out dominoes beatdowns to all who dare step to her when I'm not handling media issues.

Welcome to Dallas, and welcome to BTAC 2018



 

Moni's In The MIddle Of BTAC 2018!

After a Megabus ride, that was delayed almost an hour in the Houston exurbs due to a chemical spill cleanup in Montgomery County, I'm on the other end of I-45 for my annual trip to hang out with my Black trans fam and attend the 7th annual Black Trans Advocacy Conference.

And yeah, it also serves as the kickoff to my upcoming Cuatro de Mayo birthday 

This year's BTAC Conference theme is Journeying Together: Living In Greater Truth and Healing.  In a time when trans people are under attack from a hostile federal government and depending on where we live, Republican state governments adding to the macroaggressive hostility, now more than ever Black trans people need to be pulling together, living our truth, and saying in a loud collective voice that our humanity and human rights are not up for debate or discussion.

It's also one of the few trans conferences that is centered on our heritage

We also have a new host hotel for this event in the Wyndham Dallas Suites Park Central, so once again we'll have to learn a new Dallas neighborhood and what off hotel property eating establishments and attractions are in the surrounding area. 

One the Cali crew is already salivating about is the nearby In and Out Burger just across the parking lot .  Nah, I'll stick to Whataburger

We're also going to be there as the NFL conducts its 2018 Draft at Jerry World (AKA AT&T Stadium) and The Star Complex in the nearby exurb of Frisco, TX.

And yeah, Moni will be looking to defend her domino championship at the upcoming picnic on Saturday.   But for those of you headed to BTAC, if y'all want a domino beatdown before that day, I will happily oblige you.

And naw, I did not stutter when I said that.  #BTACDominoChamp

Looking forward to a week of seeing the lovely Demetria Obilor doing the traffic reports on WFAA-TV along with Dale Hansen's on point commentary and my friends in the DFW area like Rachel Adams Gonzales, Rafael McDonnell, Councilman Omar Narvaez and countless others.

I'm also looking forward to the Dallas BTAC week of learning, fun and bonding at this Black trans family reunion that in seven years has become one of my favorite conferences to attend.   

Getting On The Bus- To Dallas

It's that time again, and I'm getting on the Megabus once again for the second time this year to do an instate trip. 

This time I'm headed up I-45 to hang out with my transpeeps for the 7th annual edition of the Black Trans Advocacy Conference 




Much of the reason I enjoy it is not only because I get to hang out with my Black trans family from here and around the world, it also acts as a kickoff to my Cuatro De Mayo birthday celebration.

So ready to see everyone, the new hotel, and my DFW peeps.

Time to settle into my seat and roll over for some sleep, and I'll catch up with you peeps in a few hours.

BTAC 2018 Is Coming Soon

In case you're wondering why I haven't posted much about the 2018 Black Trans Advocacy Conference, it's because I haven't had much information to share lately about it until now.

The BTAC 2018 theme is Journeying Together: Living In Greater Truth and Healing.

I've known since BTAC 2017 closed out that the dates for the 7th annual event were April 23-29.  What I didn't know is that the conference will have a new host hotel for 2018, the Wyndham Dallas Suites-Park Central after two years of being in suburban Addison, TX.

The Wyndham Dallas Suites- Park Central host hotel is located at 7800 Alpha Road not far from the intersections of the LBJ Freeway (I-635) and the North Central Expressway.   I also noted when I pulled it up in Google Maps there's an In and Out located nearby and like the old hotel, it's not far from the Dallas Galleria for those of you who like to shop.

BTAC has people from across the state of Texas, the country and even our international trans fam attend this event.   It's always a pleasure to see Neish McLean from Jamaica and Dora Santana from Brazil there to bring their African Diaspora perspectives of being Black and trans to our panel discussions and general conversations. 

And it's the conversations and fun we have in our hospitality suite that make this week in Dallas even more memorable   

Some attendees have stated post conference that attending BTAC has led to a positive change in their own lives.  That week in Dallas is a welcome oasis from the desert of negativity we face as Black trans people.

Even if you can't come for the entire BTAC week, show up for the weekend  or a day or two.

In case you're concerned about SB 6, it is NOT law in the state of Texas because Black Trans Texans were part of the coalition last year  that helped kill it twice in the regular and Special Oppression Session.  Dallas has had since 2002 a nondiscrimination ordinance in place that protects trans people from discrimination. 

So come on down to the Lone Star State, see and meet your Black trans fam and our allies, get your learn on and have some fun.

BTAC 2018 will not only comprise 50 seminars, but have the features you all love like the  TransManifest Live! talent show, the Black Trans Advocacy Awards Gala, the Mr and Ms Black Trans International pageants, the Black Trans Family Reunion day and the Black Diamond Freedom Party and Rumble Ball. 

For those of you considering attending BTAC 2018 who care about sporting things, while we are  having fun at our host hotel getting to chill out, get our learn and grub on and spending quality time together, the Dallas area will also be playing host to the 2018 NFL Draft at Jerry World (AKA AT&T Stadium), and The Star, the Dallas Cowboys world headquarters in nearby Frisco, TX .

The BTAC conference is usually the start of my extended Cuatro de Mayo birthday week celebration. 

It's one of my fave conferences in large part because it's one of the few that centers my people and our culture.   I've been coming to it since I was honored to give a keynote speech at it in 2013, which was the first one opened to trans feminine participation. 

I'm looking forward to administering more domino beatdowns during that week in Dallas. 

Yeah, I said it.  And I'm more than prepared to back it up as people found out last year during Family Reunion Day.

So this year's BTAC 2018 conference not only is in a new hotel, but it is positioned to be the biggest and best one ever. 

Hope to see y'all in my home state for this one  .

BTAC 2017 Post Conference Thoughts

Like many of my BTAC trans fam, I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep and get adjusted into being back in a world that can be hostile at times to trans people.  

I'm also trying to deal with the reality that I'll have to impatiently wait 365 days before another opportunity presents itself to spend an amazing and empowering week in Dallas with the peeps who I am blessed to have as part of my chosen family.

And I already miss them.   Oh well, that's what phones and Facebook are for.  We'll continue to connect by chatting with each other until it's time for us to meet in Dallas once again.

And yeah, I have another birthday coming up in 48 hours.  

Our sixth annual Black Trans Advocacy Conference is now another one for the history books, and we already know the dates on which #BTAC2018 will happen (April 23-29).

Your job for those of you who wished you could be at this year's edition but couldn't is find a way to get there for the life changing experience that is our Afrocentric trans family reunion.

We had a lot of first time BTAC attendees this year.  We had a group come from Birmingham.  More peeps from NYC, the Carolinas, the ATL, Kansas City, Seattle.  The DC and Maryland peeps were in the BTAC house .  Some of our BTAC family like Dr. Kortney R. Ziegler returned, while others who couldn't make it were in our thoughts during our week long BTAC 2017 event.

We'll also start in a few weeks the BTAC 2017 Regional events in which we bring a taste of BTAC to your city or state..  

This is the early schedule, and so far BTAC regionals will happen for Seattle (July 15-16), Kansas (July 28-29), Tennessee (August 5-6), Baltimore (August 19-20), Philadelphia (September 9) Houston (September 23) Atlanta (September 30)  California (October 14-15).

The New York and Carolinas BTAC Regionals events are TBD at this time.   There's also the possibility that more many happen, so as I get information about them and the dates from BTA, I'll pass that along to you.

So what would I like to see at BTAC 2018?   More representation from Houston and other cities in Texas for starters.  We had people come from Austin and Amarillo.  Houston and the DFW area were well represented since it's their hometown and home state event, but would love to see people from Corpus Christi, San Antonio, the Valley and other cities across the Lone Star State come.

I deeply appreciate the media peeps who came like David Taffet of the Dallas Voice, Dezjorn Gauthier of Black T Magazine , Lauren McGaughy of the Dallas Morning News, and Jessica Diaz Hurtado of KERA who covered our conference and interviewed people in attendance.

I also appreciate all the love that people showed me as a trans elder.   I loved the conversations I was proud and honored to be a part of with my trans siblings.   I enjoyed talking to the spouses.  I loved talking to and connecting with my first time attendee trans sisters and taking the first steps toward building that bond with them.

It was also nice seeing and spending some quality time with Daye Pope and Jessica Herbst, spending some quality time with Sandy James and Rebecca Kling, Lou Weaver and other folks and sponsors at the gala.

It was also cool to get to spend some quality time with Rachel Gonzales after I arrived in Dallas and wish I could have spent more time the local DFW area Mama and Papa Bears, but that will have to wait until the next time I'm in north Texas or they come to Houston.

I want to see and meet more trans parents and trans kids, and especially trans parents and trans kids of color.  I want to meet more spouses, siblings of trans people and have even more diversity in our BTAC ranks.   I want to continue to have those conversations with our millennial trans peeps because I learn just as much from them as hey tell me they do from me.

I also want to see more of my Houston trans brothers and more of my Houston trans siblings make the four hour drive up I-45 to meet their brothers, sisters and siblings from around the country and increasingly the world.

If one of our trans family members from Jamaica can come for the second consecutive year, what's stopping you Houston trans masculine folks from coming to BTAC?  

We set an attendance record this year with over 300 attendees.  We had the most trans women ever in attendance.  We want to break that attendance record we just set next year.  We want to continue having those thought provoking conversations during the Black Trans Community summit.  

We  want more contestants in the BTIPS Mr and Miss Black Trans International national pageants. We want to sell out the awards gala again next year.  We want you to experience the Black Diamond Ball, the Family Fun Day and the spiritual power of the opening and closing ceremonies.

And we ultimately want more people from across the African trans diaspora and our allies to experience this event.

We at BTAC want to be having and aren't afraid to have those ongoing conversations in the hotel lobby, our rooms, in the hospitality suite, with hotel guests and employees and at nearby restaurants in the area. We want to be laughing, crying and loving on each other until the wee hours of the morning.

And just so you know, some of those conversations are The Black Trans Revolution Will Not Be Televised level ones.

And warning, I want to be administering more domino table butt kickings at next year's Family Fun day or if you can't wait that long, in the hospitality suite.  Since y'all are in my home state I'll be nice and won't make y'all sign the score sheet when it's over.

Most importantly, we at BTAC want more people inside and outside the trans community to experience the life changing event and family reunion that we call the Black Trans Advocacy Conference.

BTAC 2017- Day 6 Schedule

The final day and official event of BTAC 2017 takes place with the closing interfaith service starting at 11 AM followed by our traditional brunch at Blue Mesa.

We've had a record turnout of BTAC attendees, and many of them were first timers.  We've had folks come from Alabama to Jamaica    We've learned, laughed, networked and loved on each other, and witnessed the passing of the BTIPS crowns to a new king and queen.  

But now it's time for us to say so long to Dallas and head back to our home areas to implement the things we learned here.  It time for us to wish each other safe travels to our final destinations to do the work of building family and Black trans community power until we gather in Dallas next April for #BTAC2018

It's going to be a long 365 days until we're back together again.

BTAC 2017 -Day 5 Schedule

Thanks to all the winners who were honored at our awards gala last night.

When the sun rises in the Texas sky in a few hours, we'll be bouncing from the host hotel to take part in Black Trans Family Fun Day at the nearby Circle R Ranch in Flower Mound, TX.

It's a few hours of fun barbecue and Moni dishing out domino lessors to all who dare to cross her path.   Since these peeps are visiting my home state, I'll be nice and won't make them sign the score sheet once I'm finished giving that domino lesson.

And yeah, I still chuckle about the trash talking Syria was doing when she and her partner were at an adjacent table playing spades.

Once we return from the Circle R Ranch to the hotel, it's Black Diamond Ball time and then we'll probably be hanging out late in lobby or in our rooms as this BTAC 2017 week comes to a close. .

BTAC 2017-Day 4 Schedule

Congratulations to our new BTIPS pageant royalty in Mr. Black Transman Trenton Johnson of Dallas and Ms. Black Transwoman Tiffany Starr of Atlanta who were crowned during our pageant last night..

Hey at least we kept one of the titles in Texas.

It's Friday, Day 4 of the Black Trans Advocacy Conference, and the featured event for tonight is the Awards Gala hosted by Merrick Moses and Jade Lenore that will start at 7 PM tonight.

We also have a 12 noon press conference scheduled to discuss some issues of importance to the Black trans community along with our final day of seminars.

I'm definitely going to be interested to see who will be getting the Monica Roberts Advocacy Award that I'll be presenting tonight

Yep peeps, one of the foundation awards being presented tonight is named after me..  The other awards being presented tonight in the foundation category are the Louis Mitchell Empowerment Award, The Kortney Ryan Ziegler Awareness Award, the Kylar Broadus Equality Award and the Lawrence T. Richardson Humanitarian Award.

The Black Transmen, Inc. Man of the Year Award and the Black Transwomen, Inc. Woman of the Year Award will also be given out this evening.

There are four awards in the Community Choice category.  The Rising Star, the Trailblazers, the Ally and the Youth Leadership Awards

In the Community Advocate Category, there's the Trans Alliance, the Faith Based Alliance, Black Pride Alliance and the Black Trans International Ball/Pageant Alliance Awards

Congrats to all the award nominees and good luck to you.

Learning, Networking and Having Fun At BTAC 2017

We're passing the halfway mark of the BTAC 2017 conference, and in addition to yours truly doing my part to ensure it is an informative and enjoyable conference for all our attendees, I am enjoying my extended birthday week celebration.

It is my fave conference, and increasingly we have people attending from different parts of the world. Our brother Neish is back from Jamaica, Dora is repping Brazil, and Neo is repping The Congo.

That perspective is important for those of us African descended people who grew up here in the States, and helps give us visual evidence and proof that we are part of the African Diaspora.

One of the other things that takes place during BTAC 2017 that is important is all the networking and information sharing that happens in conversations large and small.

We have two more days of panels, with today's panels being focused on health and wellness issues

The other thing that is also important when we gather at BTAC is seeing old friends, meeting new ones from around the country and the world, and just getting to know people on a personal level you may have only regular connections with previously via Facebook or other social media.

There's also meetings with people from other organizations who wish to seriously engage with our Black trans community as we are gathered here in Dallas, and me handling my business as BTAC's Media Chair.

My BTAC siblings, like myself are taking time to have some fun.  It's not all serious business.  BTAC is at a basic level, a big family reunion and one of the few Afrocentric trans themed conferences in the US.

It's a time where I get to laugh and get loved on by my trans fam that looks like me and shares my ethnic background.

When you have a bunch of Black trans women gathered at a conference, it's gonna be a fashion show.  Mama Moni is damned sure ready and able to handle her fashion business in that department with several days of clothes and three pairs of shoes in her two suitcases.

I'm also enjoying the fact that in addition the record attendance we are having this year, we have a large contingent of trans women to go along with our trans brothers.   We also have a lot of first time BTAC attendees this year, and it makes me pleased and proud to see this happening.

You can keep up with the BTAC happenings at the #BTAC2017 hashtag.   We also have people doing Facebook Live events and I'm tweeting at my TransGriot Twitter handle when I'm not taking part in an event..

BTAC 2017- Day 3 Schedule

It's Day 3 of the Black Trans Advocacy Conference, after an amazing TransManifest Live!  talent show last night and a substantive Black Trans Community Summit conversation .

And as you probably guessed, I was busy with a Black Trans Summit panel discussion and a 'Beyond SB 6' one in conjunction with Trans United Fund.

I also read two of my poems during TransManifest Live!

This year's BTAC keynote luncheon will feature our 2017 speakers Vann Millhouse and Dee Dee Watters at 12 noon CDT.

We will also have our State of the Black Trans Union  town hall conversation at 2 PM.

The featured evening event will be the Mr. and Miss Black Trans International Pageant which for the first time will feature regional winners from different parts of the country competing for the title.

The pageant will take place starting at 8 PM

BTAC 2017- Day 2 Schedule

We're continuing to gather in Dallas for the 6th annual Black Trans Advocacy Conference,  and the first day of i t was a busy one for me.   In addition to a radio interview on KERA, I also was asked to take part in the opening interfaith service. and was part of a mazing AYOMBI conversation with my trans sisters from around the country until a little after 10 PM CDT that continued into the early morning hours.

Today is the second full day of the Black Trans Advocacy Conference here at the Dallas/Addison Marriott a the Galleria.  In addition to our second day of panel discussions starting at 9:45 AM CDT, we will have starting at 2 PM our annual Black Trans Community Summit

The featured BTAC event tonight is the TransManifest Live! open mic show that starts at 8 PM hosted by Taliyah Cassadine and  TJ Johnson

And as is the case at any conference , if you see me in the halls, don't be shy, say hi.

I'm I'm not involved in the event, I'll also be tweeting and talking about it at the #BTAC2017 hashtag along with my BTAC fam.

BTAC 2017- Day 1 Schedule

My behind is hopefully in bed as you read this instead of running my mouth, but this is what's on the agenda for the first day of BTAC 2017 from our host hotel, the Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum by the Galleria.

So looking forward to Day 1 of the 2017 edition of BTAC.  The theme for this year's conference is Loving Ourselves Through Ultimate Service (LOTUS).  That's important in a time in which we have a hostile federal government and many of us live in states that are hostile to trans people as well.

On the agenda at 1 PM CDT is the BTAC Conference Welcome and Orientation along with the first two sessions of BTAC 2017.

At 7 PM the BTAC Interfaith Welcome Interfaith Service takes place followed by at 8:30 PM the AKANNI trans masculine support group meeting, the AYOMBI trans feminine support meeting and a new event this year, the ANCHORS cisgender women's support group.

We have always had cis women in our BTAC family who are either dating or married to trans men   This year we'll have a conference programming track set up to support them.

These women have also been invaluable in terms of breaking down to their trans feminine sisters what it's like and what the societal and community expectations are for being a Black woman as a person who has had to deal with those issues from birth.

Those conversations are vital to us building sisterhood not only in the BTAC and BTA ranks, but over time in the Black community as a whole.

Moni's In The Middle Of BTAC 2017!

I'm finally in my room at the Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum by the Galleria, and ready to handle my BTAC business here as a board member and the Media chair for Black Transwomen, Inc.

This Megabus trip up left Houston 18 minutes late, and we got here to my stop at the DART Downtown Transit Center 20 minutes late.  

But I forgot that quickly as Rachel Gonzales scooped me up and we killed some time before i headed to the host hotel..

And yes, since I'm treating BTAC as the start of my extended birthday celebration week, I'm going to take a little time to have some fun while I'm here as well.

There's a 7 Eleven around the corner in walking distance from the hotel, and they will be seeing me frequently destroying Slurpees this week.  Only four away from another free one.

I will be taking the time to write and tweet about what's happening here, and as a reminder, you can check out the #BTAC2017 hashtag on Twitter and Facebook to see what everyone's up to.

On that note, time to check the hotel lobby again and see who has arrived.