Happy Black History Month 2019

Black History Month may only happen in the shortest month of our calendar, but for me, every month is Black History Month.   Our greatness as a people is not limited to just these 28 days of the year.

It also didn't stop with the Civil Rights Movement.

Over the last month I have been gleefully celebrating with our 17 new African American women judges here in my home county as they take their judicial benches and go through their investiture ceremonies.

During Sunday's upcoming Super Bowl in the ATL between the Cheatriots Patriots and the Rams, the Rams cheerleading squad will make history as the first male cheerleaders in Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies  take the a Super Bowl sideline.

The New Orleans Saints, the Rams' NFC championship game opponent,  also had a male cheerleader as part of their squad in Jesse Hernandez

To drive home the point once again that Black trans people are Black people, we are doing our part to blaze new trails ourselves.   Back in December Breanna Sinclaire made her debut with the San Francisco Opera .  Sinclaire also happens to be the first trans woman to sing the national anthem at a professional sports event, doing so for both the Oakland A's in 2015 and the San Francisco Giants last year. 

Also proud of Raquel Willis making history by becoming in December the first trans executive editor at OUT Magazine. 

Black trans men are also blazing trails.   Filmmaker and tech entrepreneur Dr Kortney Ryan Ziegler became the first trans masculine person named to EBONY magazine's Power 100 List

And yes, myself and Alvin McEwen are poised to make a little history ourselves.  If either of our names are called during the GLAAD Media Awards, it would be the first time that any blog has won the Outstanding Blog category multiple times since it began in 2011. 

I'm also happy to see as this month starts Senator Kamala Harris pick up the torch that Shirley Chisholm left behind and embark on her hopefully successful campaign to become the first woman and second Black president of the United States. 

We'll have to wait until 2020 to see how that plays out for her. 

Happy Black History Month 2019!

Meet The 1st Black Player Ever On The US Olympic Hockey Team

FOX Noise's John Moody may hate the diverse US Winter Olympic team, but I don't. 

One of the cool benefits of that team diversity is we have Black History being made by our 2018 winter Olympians in several events.   One of those events is hockey.

Because of a dispute with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) concerning several issues, the NHL refused to allow its players to participate in the Olympics this year.   That meant for the first time in three decades, the US team was going to be composed primarily of collegiate players.   One of the collegiate players who was selected to play on this men's Olympic hockey squad was Jordan Greenway of Canton, NY.

And with that selection, Greenway makes history.  When he steps on the ice at PyeongChang on February 14 the first African American ever to play on a USA Olympic hockey team.

“I dreamed of [it] as a kid, and I didn’t think it was going to happen before I graduated college, but I’m fortunate that it did, and I just couldn’t be more excited!” Greenway said in a CNN interview.

The 20 year old Greenway is also the tallest player on the team at 6 feet 5 inches and 238 pounds.  He was drafted by the NHL's Minnesota Wild in 2015, but decided to complete his college education at Boston University . Greenway also has a younger brother, JD who plays the sport.

“I’m the first African American to play hockey for the United States at the Olympics but hopefully I’m the first of many,” Greenway said. “Hopefully these kids go out, try something different, play hockey, and hopefully I see a lot more playing in the near future.”

I'll have even more incentive to not only watch the USA men's Olympic hockey team, but root for its success.   The last time a USA men's team won gold was when I was a high school senior at Lake Placid in 1980

Black Trans History Is Undeniably Black History

Today is the start of Black History Month.   It's only 28 days (29 in a leap year) but for me, EVERY DAY and EVERY MONTH is Black History Month. 

Black History didn't stop with the Civil Rights Movement or the Obama Administration, it is happening in our time.  Since Black trans people are Black people, even if you cis Black folks at times ignore that reality, the things we accomplish are an undeniable part of our collective history.

It's one of the major reasons why TransGriot exists, to document and ensure that history isn't forgotten, whitewashed or deliberately ignored, and the importance of that mission became clear on Election Night 2017.

When Danica Roem completed her historic victory over Bob Marshall, many news outlets reported she was 'the first transgender state legislator'.  I immediately took to Twitter to point out that Althea Garrison had already made that history in 1992, and they eventually corrected that developing media narrative and linked the Garrison post I'd written to back it up. . 

The major examples of Black trans people making Black history occurred last November when Andrea Jenkins and Phillipe Cunningham because the first out Black trans people elected to public office since Althea Garrison made it happen in 1992.

Phillipe also made some history on his own.  He became the first Black trans masculine person in the United States to be elected to public office, and together Jenkins and Cunningham are the first trans people of any ethnic background to be elected to a major city council.

And as we continue to move forward into 2018, the potential for Black trans people to continue to make history and build on our progress is even more tantalizing.

Ashlee Marie Preston is now running for a California Assembly seat that is she is successful in capturing, would make her the first out Black trans person elected to a state legislative seat, the first trans person of any ethnic background in California  and the first Black trans state legislator since Althea Garrison 

And yeah, I've received my third nomination for a GLAAD Media Award.  If I'm fortunate to win th Best Blog category, TransGriot would be the first trans owned and oriented blog to capture that award ever since they started that category in 2011.    We'll see if that happens in a few months.

And sadly, when I keep track of the people that we've lost to anti-trans violence, that's also part of our collective history. There are also the people that we don't know about who may be thrust into our public consciousness before the year is over.

 So yes, Black Trans History is undeniably Black History.

This Is What An Intelligent Presidential Black History Month Statement Looks Like

I miss President Obama with every passing rotten day of this Trump mispresidency.

After making my brain and eyes hurt reading that travesty of a Black History Month message from Dear Orange Leader while seated with sellouts Omarosa and Ben carson flanking him, I'm reposting as a TransGriot public service what a real presidential Black History Message should look like.

This is last year's January 28, 2016 African American History Month proclamation from President Obama.

***

America's greatness is a testament to generations of courageous individuals who, in the face of uncomfortable truths, accepted that the work of perfecting our Nation is unending and strived to expand the reach of freedom to all. For too long, our most basic liberties had been denied to African Americans, and today, we pay tribute to countless good-hearted citizens -- along the Underground Railroad, aboard a bus in Alabama, and all across our country -- who stood up and sat in to help right the wrongs of our past and extend the promise of America to all our people. During National African American History Month, we recognize these champions of justice and the sacrifices they made to bring us to this point, we honor the contributions of African Americans since our country's beginning, and we recommit to reaching for a day when no person is judged by anything but the content of their character.

From the Revolutionary War through the abolitionist movement, to marches from Selma to Montgomery and across America today, African Americans have remained devoted to the proposition that all of us are created equal, even when their own rights were denied. As we rejoice in the victories won by men and women who believed in the idea of a just and fair America, we remember that, throughout history, our success has been driven by bold individuals who were willing to speak out and change the status quo.

Refusing to accept our Nation's original sin, African Americans bound by the chains of slavery broke free and headed North, and many others who knew slavery was antithetical to our country's conception of human rights and dignity fought to bring their moral imagination to life. When Jim Crow mocked the advances made by the 13th Amendment, a new generation of men and women galvanized and organized with the same force of faith as their enslaved ancestors. Our Nation's young people still echo the call for equality, bringing attention to disparities that continue to plague our society in ways that mirror the non-violent tactics of the civil rights movement while adapting to modern times. Let us also not forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could make our voices heard by exercising our right to vote. Even in the face of legal challenges, every eligible voter should not take for granted what is our right to shape our democracy.

We have made great progress on the journey toward ensuring our ideals ring true for all people. Today, African American high school graduation and college enrollment rates are at an all-time high. The African-American unemployment rate has been halved since its Great Recession peak. More than 2 million African Americans gained health insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act. The incarceration rates for African-American men and women fell during each year of this Administration and are at their lowest points in over two decades. Yet challenges persist and obstacles still stand in the way of becoming the country envisioned at our founding, and we would do a disservice to all who came before us if we remained blind to the way past injustices shape the present.

The United States is home to 5 percent of the world's population, but 25 percent of the world's prisoners -- a disproportionate number of whom are African American -- so we must find ways to reform our criminal justice system and ensure that it is fairer and more effective. While we've seen unemployment rates decrease, many communities, particularly those of color, continue to experience significant gaps in educational and employment opportunities, causing too many young men and women to feel like no matter how hard they try, they may never achieve their dreams.
Our responsibility as citizens is to address the inequalities and injustices that linger, and we must secure our birthright freedoms for all people. As we mark the 40th year of National African American History Month, let us reflect on the sacrifices and contributions made by generations of African Americans, and let us resolve to continue our march toward a day when every person knows the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 2016 as National African American History Month. I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fortieth.

Black Trans People Are STILL Making Black History

"Black trans history is also vitally important to point out to Black cis people, our allies and our detractors we not only exist, we have lives that are part of the kente cloth fabric of the African American community.  

We also need to pass that history down so that it serves to inspire the next generation of trans kids who are following in our footsteps and point out that Black trans people have a legacy and possibility models they can be proud of."
-TransGriot   February 26, 2015
 
It's the first day of the 2017 edition of Black History Month, and Black trans folks are doing their part to not only uplift our community, but blaze historic trails and territory while they do so.  We're still role modelling #BlackTransExcellence in the 21st century as well, no matter what age we are..

My trans elder Tracey Norman, after making history back in the 70's and 80's by becoming a model with five ESSENCE covers to her credit and major advertising contracts like Clairol, Ultra Sheen and Avon Cosmetics before she was shadily outed during a sixth ESSENCE photo shoot, triumphantly returned to the modeling world last year.

Still waiting for y'all ESSENCE to make it right and hire my trans elder for another photo shoot.

We were represented at the National Women's March in DC by Janet Mock and Raquel Willis, who are both trailblazing women in their own rights.  Sharron Cooks not only was a speaker at the Philadelphia Women's March, but last summer became only the second African American trans woman to become a Democratic National Convention delegate and the first from Pennsylvania.

At that same DNC Philly convention, Dr Marisa Richmond (the first African-American DNC trans delegate) was the official timekeeper of the convention making sure the speakers stayed on schedule.

Angelica Ross was nominated for an Emmy Award and Her Story is still garnering positive recognition and awards nominations.   The reality TV show Strut featured models Isis King, Arisce Wanzer, Dominique Jackson and Laith Ashley,

Amiyah Scott with the debut of the FOX show Star, became the first out trans person of  any ethnic background to play a trans major character in a scripted dramatic series.

Although she missed out on that television historical note, Laverne Cox will continue to blaze trails when she debuts on the CBS legal drama Doubt on February 15 as attorney Cameron Wirth, which is a major character on that show.

Andrea Jenkins and Phillipe Cunningham are both running for the Minneapolis City Council and vying to become the first Black trans people elected to public office since Althea Garrison got elected to the Massachusetts state legislature in 1992.

If they are successful, they would also make history by become the first out trans people of any ethnic background to be elected to the city council of a city larger than 250,000 in population.

Even our Black trans kids are trailblazers.  Trinity Neal told me she would be making history, and she's making good on that promise.   She was not only one of the people featured in the recent National Geographic 'Gender Revolution' issue, she was also featured in a recent ESSENCE magazine article.

Was happy to see her during #CC17, and I suspect this won't be the last time I'm writing about this trailblazing teen

And yeah, there was some blogger y'all know who was making history as well last year.   She became the first transperson of any ethnic background to receive Harvard's Phillips Brooks House Association's Robert Coles Call of Service Award.   Some of the previous winners of it?   BLM co-founder Alicia Garza, Marian Wright Edelman and Vice President Al Gore.

So yes, Black trans people are still making Black history, and we are proudly doing so in various fields   Can't wait to see what history we collectively make in 2017.

Happy Black History Month 2017

It's only 28 days every February, but as far as I'm concerned, every month is Black History Month.  It's one of the reasons as the child and godchild of historians, I named this blog TransGriot to talk about and record the history of Black trans people for future generations.

This is the first we're celebrating as the Museum of African American History in Washington DC is open and continues to draw visitors.  It's also sadly, the first one we've had with Trump as president.

Moving on from that depressing thought.

Over 750,000 people have been welcomed through the NMAAHC doors since it opened in September, and it is now sold out through May 2017.  

Hmm, will definitely have to get my passes early before Creating Change 2018 happens in DC once I find out the #CC18 dates.

Black history is not just a recitation of dates and past accomplishments of a mighty people.  Black history is also being made by Black people living in our 21st century time like POTUS 44 and countless other trailblazers..

Let's also not forget the important point that Black history is also being made by numerous Black trans, bi and SGL people here and across the African Diaspora in our 21st century time frame..

The biographical stories and narratives of our forebears are ones in which we can not only glean insight and strength from in troubled times, they can also serve as an inspiration to current and future generations of Black people.

Our history is also an enduring record of and emphatic proof that we're here, we've accomplished great things to benefit ourselves and humankind despite massive challenges, and are continuing to build on that legacy of achievement.

It's also an opportunity for those of you who don't share my ethnic background to learn about some of our heroes and sheroes that we draw inspiration from   Sadly, ome of the people who need that education to happen ASAP, about our history are in our own ranks

Happy Black History Month 2017!

Happy Black History Month 2016!

Today is the start of the second month of 2016, and the flipping of the calendar page to February means that it is also Black History Month.

It was the idea of Dr Carter G. Woodson, 'The Father Of Black History' who understood the importance of education and knowing our people's history in order to secure and expand our human rights and freedoms.

In 1915 Dr. Crater, recognizing the dearth of information about the accomplishments of  African-American people, he founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History.  It's now call the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History (ASALH).   The Houston chapter of it is named after my late godmother Pearl C. Suel. who was its longtime president.

Under Dr. Woodson visionary leadership, ASALH created research and publication outlets for Black scholars with the 1916 founding of the Journal of Negro History and the Negro History Bulletin in 1937.

In 1926, Dr. Woodson founded Negro History Week, which corresponded with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln .  In 1976 it was expanded to the entire month of February as people of all ethnic backgrounds discuss the historical accomplishments and societal impact of my people.

For Black History Month 2016, we get 29 days this year since it is a leap year, but as far as I'm concerned, every month is Black History Month.  And in the wake of a loud and wrong FOX negroid fembot calling for the end of Black History Month, it's more important than ever, especially to those of us in Black LGBT World.

For Black trans people, knowing our history and accomplishments as Black trans people is critical to build pride in ourselves and our community.  That is one of the missions of this blog in pointing out the ongoing inspirational and evolutionary story of Black trans people.

Happy Black History Month!  

Black Trans History Is Inspirational

TransGriot Note: This is a Black History Month post I wrote for the Transgender Law Center blog.

***

'Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history."
Dr. Carter G. Woodson


I come from a family of historians that includes my late godmother Pearl Suel, who ran the Houston chapter of the Association For The Study Of Afro-American Life and History that Dr Woodson founded.   The local chapter is named after her.  As my mother and late father's high school history teacher, Ms Suel passed that love of history to my parents, and as their eldest child I was instilled with a deep love of my people's history and an insatiable curiosity to continue to seek it out.

One of the first questions I asked after my 1994 transition that wasn't gender related was, where is the history of African-American trans people?   What did my forebears accomplish?  What did they do to contribute to the advancement of trans human rights and knowledge of trans people while living their own complex trans lives?

These are questions that led me to seek out that history and eventually found TransGriot in 2006 as part of my ongoing effort to disseminate that history and tell the stories of trans people who share my ethnic background.

#WeExist., and what better time to point that unassailable fact  out than during Black History Month?

In a community which is being ravaged right now by over 18 murders since June, it's comforting to know that one of the people who jumped off the Stonewall Riots in 1969 was a girl like us in Marsha P. Johnson.    It's fantastic to note the story of African-American gender variant kids who 50 years ago this April launched the Dewey's Lunch Counter Sit In and Protest in Philadelphia to strike a blow against anti-trans discrimination.

It's fascinating to read the story of trans man and gospel singer Wilmer Broadnax, know that we had a trans girl like us in Althea Garrison elected to the Massachusetts state legislature in 1992, a JET Beauty of the Week in actress Ajita Wilson and had trailblazing leaders like Marcelle Cook-Daniels, Alexander John Goodrum, Dawn Wilson, Dr. Marisa Richmond, Lorrainne Sade Baskerville and Gloria Allen just to name a few.

Cant' forget that when the first all-trans performance of The Vagina Monologues happened in LA back in 2004, Valerie Spencer was part of it.

It's also wonderful to know that Black trans women rocking runways and photo shoots didn't start with Isis King or Arisce Wanzer, but Tracy Africa Norman who shot five ESSENCE magazine covers and had major print ad contracts in the late 70's and 80's.

It was also a revelation to find out via the Google Books online JET and EBONY electronic archives the first ever person that completed the now closed Johns Hopkins gender program was an African-American trans woman named Avon Wilson.   It was also inspiring to read the story of Carlett Brown as she attempted in 1953  when the world's attention was focused on Christine Jorgenson to become the 'First Negro Sex Change'.  

While we never found out if it happened for Carlett, we do know it did happen for Delisa Newton..

It's also inspiring to note the stories of people like Jim McHarris, Georgia Black, Lucy Hicks Anderson in an era in which the trans word wasn't around to label their lives.

We also have the stories of people like Lady Java striking the first blows against the odious LAPD Rule Number 9 and Miss Major, which will soon be documented for posterity on the silver screen.

Black trans history makers are in our midst today like Janet Mock, Laverne Cox, Kylar Broadus, Diamond Stylz, Dr. Kortney Ziegler, Kye Allums, Fallon Fox, Tracee McDaniel, Dee Dee Chamblee, Tona Brown,  Rev Louis Mitchell, Angelica Ross and some Texas based blogger y'all may have heard of.

And yes, Black trans history also includes the stories of my trans sisters across the African Diaspora like Audrey Mbugua of Kenya, and my trans sisters of African heritage in Brazil, Great Britain, Canada, and the Caribbean.

Black trans history is also vitally important to point out to cis Black people, our allies, and our detractors we not only exist, but our lives are part of the kente cloth fabric of the African-American community.

We also need to pass this history down so that it serves to inspire the next generation of trans kids who are following in our footsteps, and point out Black trans people have a legacy and possibility models they can be proud of..

It's Black History Month 2015

February 1 in addition to being Super Bowl Sunday is also the first day of Black History Month.

One of the missions of this blog has been to find those nuggets of Black Trans history and talk about them because it is important for you peeps to know it.

May even throw another TransGriot Black Trans History Quiz at you before this month is over.

Here's a sample question for you get to get you ready for it:

50 years ago this event took place in Philadelphia.  What was it?

It's an open Internet and TransGriot blog test and will help you get your Black trans history learn on.  And FYI, Black trans history is also being made in the 2K10's.



.

Atlanta Thrashers Are Soul Powered

I like watching hockey and one of the first games I attended as a child was the World Hockey Association inaugural game featuring the Houston Aeros and the Howe family squaring off against the Chicago Cougars.

Like any sport that is played in North America, despite the perception that it is a white man's sport, hockey has also been influenced by the creativity and presence of  the African descended people who played it.

The Nova Scotia based Coloured Hockey.League was the forerunner of the younger and white dominated National Hockey League that wasn't founded until 1917.  According to the book Black Ice, many of the things you see in the modern game in terms of the speed of play, the acrobatic goaltending styles to the slapshot created by Eddie Martin of the Halifax Eurekas were innovations created by Black hockey players

It wasn't until 1958 when Nova Scotian Willie O'Ree became the first Black player to break the color line in the then six team NHL when he joined the Boston Bruins and played in his January 18 debut game against the Montreal Canadiens.

But this bit of sporting Black history slipped under my radar.   The Atlanta Thrashers became only the second NHL team since the  2000-01  Edmonton Oilers to start five Black hockey players.

The ATL has a 31% African American population, and a large concentration of middle class affluent African Americans.   With rumors flying that the team may be headed for the same fate as the Flames, the previous Atlanta based NHL team that moved to Calgary in 1981, an ownership that admits they've been trying to sell the team since 2005 and attendance numbers that  rank 28th out of the 30 NHL teams, the Thrashers are seizing on an opportunity to introduce hockey into an untapped market for the NHL in terms of African Americans in a bid to keep professional hockey in the ATL..

As Thrashers management knows and I discovered in 1972, once you see a hockey game live, you're hooked.  The team is not only highlighting that factoid in advertising geared toward Black media outlets in the Atlanta area, Thrashers leading scorer, Minnesota native and NHL All-Star defenseman Dustin Byfuglien was interviewed this morning on the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show.  The team is also reporting anecdotal evidence of increasing numbers of African Americans in the stands at Philips Arena as the word spreads about the Thrashers in the community and their efforts to grow the game pay off.. 

Interestingly enough, one of the Thrashers African descended players, Vancouver born winger Evander Kane, is named after former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield who lives in the Atlanta area.

The 19 year old Kane also has the distinction of being the highest drafted African descended player in NHL history when he was selected as the number 4 overall player picked in the 2009 NHL Draft.

The other African descended Thrashers players are defenseman Johnny Oduya from Sweden, and Canadian born wingers Anthony Stewart and Nigel Dawes.

The Atlanta Thrashers have made history a few times this NHL season.   There have been a few occasions this season in which a Thrasher goal and the two assists on the play setting up the goal were tallied by Black players.  


But if they are going to draw more fans in the ATL period regardless of ethnicity, they will need to step up their on ice play.   They are at the time I compile this languishing in the NHL's Southeast Division in fourth place with a 25-26-10 record.   Only the top eight teams in each conference make the Stanley Cup Playoffs and they are number 11 in the Eastern Conference standings four points out of the last Eastern Conference playoff spot

Here's hoping they get on a winning streak that gets them a playoff spot and I get to see one of the few soul powered NHL teams playing for the Stanley Cup..