Third Annual Jamaica Pride Happening August 1-7

For the last two years we at BTAC have been exceedingly proud to note that our BTAC fam includes two people from Jamaica and Brazil, and we hope it continues to expand across the Diaspora at #BTAC2018.

Our award winning Jamaican BTAC brother Neish McLean is part of J-Flag, TransWave Jamaica and on the organizing committee for their pride event.

It would surprise many in the US to know that since 2015 Jamaica's TBLGQ community has held a pride celebration during the island nation's Emancipendence Week.   There's also another pride event that happens later in the year in Montego Bay.

Emancipendence Week celebrates the ending of slavery on the island in 1832 by the British and the nation's independence Day from Great Britain on August 6, 1962.  

Something else that will be celebrated during Emancipendence Week from August 1-7 will be the third annual Jamaica Pride week to celebrate LGBT life and culture in Jamaica, the Caribbean and the Diaspora.

The two previous J-Flag sponsored events have been incident free, and the organizers not only strive to keep it that way, this year they want people from across the Diaspora and the Caribbean to come to Kingston and witness #PrideJA2017 for themselves.

Big Freedia, the Queen of Bounce is heading there from NOLA to be there for the event.

The weeklong #PrideJA2017 schedule of events kicks off on Tuesday, August 1 with a Sports Day and Lyme   Lyme is Caribbean slang for hanging out and chilling with your friends.

Wednesday August 2 is Open Mic Night and the start of the two day inaugural Pride JA Conference that concludes on August 3.    Also happening on Thursday August 3 is the Pride JA Concert

If you're wanting to attend the Pride JA Conference and submit abstracts and panels for it, they are due on June 25.  Information on how to do so can be found here.

Friday August 4 is the Day of Service, in which beautification projects and the feeding program will take place along with the Movie Night and Bonfire.

Saturday August 5 is the Wellness Walk and Health Fair, followed by a Black Tie Event that evening.

Sunday August 6 is not only Jamaican Independence Day, but the day the Family Picnic happens

Pride JA 2017 concludes on Monday August 7 with a Breakfast Party-All Inclusive Event.

That's the current schedule, and as the date gets closer to it happening, I'll keep you TransGriot readers updated about this third annual pride event that continues to make and write TBLGQ history in Jamaica and across the Diaspora.

The J-Flag sponsors, partners and organizers also hope this event continues the ongoing process of opening hearts and minds on the island as they build pride in being Jamaicans who just happen to be LGBTQ people.  

Call Me Ashley

As I have repeatedly pointed out over the history of this blog, trans people are part of the diverse mosaic of human life and we can be found on nearly every inhabited continent on planet Earth and every region of it.

That includes as we definitely can tell you at the Black Trans Advocacy Conference, Jamaica and the Caribbean.

Meet Ashley Gordon, a girl like us from Montego Bay who is and out and proud fashion blogger and model. She tells her story in two videos for the Jamaica Observer that were originally posted in September 2015.

Clinton Sweeps Caribbean Democratic Contests

Break out the broom, because Sec. Hillary Clinton had a great weekend in the Caribbean without riding on a cruise ship or going on vacation..

This weekend there were two Democratic presidential nomination contests in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico worth a combined 79 delegates, and Sec. Clinton has taken both of them.

She overwhelmingly took the Virgin Islands caucus on Saturday, and in the Puerto Rico primary went on to another overwhelming win there.

With the 36 delegates as of this writing she picked up during her Caribbean sweep, she is now poised to clinch the nomination in 24 hours when the Democratic Omega Primaries kick off.

It also proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Black and Latino voters matter when it comes to Democratic primary races.

Looks like I hear an opera singer warming up and singing the 'It's Over' aria.

 But then again that was obvious to anyone grounded in political reality.  She's no less than 30 delegates away from clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, and how apropos for it to happen on the day that she conceded the race to President Obama back in 2008.

Tuesday will be a historic day for this country and Sec. Hillary Clinton despite Bernie Sanders and his followers unwillingness to deal with it.  But it's past time for this contest to be over so that we can focus as a party on beating Donald Trump in the fall.

Trans Undocumented Immigrants Also Look Like Us

One thing we have been aware of is the face of trans undocumented immigrants being a Latina one.   We know that many trans Latinas are here in the US because of anti-trans violence directed at them in their Latin American and Central American nations.

But the Caribbean nations also have problematic levels of anti-trans hatred that drives people from those nations to move elsewhere to escape it.

New York based activist Kim Watson was born in Barbados in 1964, and left at age 23 to attend fashion school and avoid the anti-TBLG abuse she experienced from family and other people there

When her tourist expired in 1988, she stayed here in New York City and after some personal struggles, earned a degree from Pace University, began grassroots organizing for trans and HIV issues. Eight years ago she met and married her husband, and is now a wife and mother in addition to being a kick butt award winning advocate.

But she still faced the real possibility of being deported back to Barbados until she received the good news after a November 19 immigration hearing that she can stay in the United States.

Kim's story is one that comes at a time in which we need to to be paying attention to the lives of undocumented African, Caribbean and Afro-Latinos.  Their #BlackLivesMatter,too  and we need to be as unapologetically Black people who love all Black folks also standing up for their humanity and human rights as well.

Interestingly enough there is a first ever convening being organized to take place in Miami from January 15-17 called Undocumented and Black that seeks to create a safe space for conversations, own and tell their stories, create acceptance and awareness and become active in creating movement in Blacks for getting involved in the immigration issue.

Because as Kim's story tells us, some of the undocumented immigrants look like us.

Trinidad And Tobago Starts Their FIFA Playoff Leg Today

In the history of the FIFA Women's World Cup, a Caribbean based team has never played in the tournament. 

With CONCACAF tournament qualification play dominated by women's soccer powers the USA, Canada and Mexico and only 16 women's national teams around the world being involved in the tournament, that made it tough for a Caribbean based  women's team to break through a tough CONCACAF region and play on the big FIFA international women's stage.

Female players in Caribbean nations also had to contend with the sexist notion that soccer was a 'man's game'.  That resulted in little to no funding or corporate sponsorship for their teams.

;But with the FIFA women's tournament (finally) being expanded to 24 teams, and Canada hosting the 2015 edition, it created an opening for a Caribbean team to finally break through and qualify for the tournament.

The Reggae Girlz of Jamaica tried but were eliminated in the group stage after heartbreaking losses to Costa Rica and Mexico.

That left the Women Soca Warriors of Trinidad and Tobago with a goldenGroup opportunity to grab that history for themselves

After holding the FIFA world number one ranked Americans to one goal in their initial group play loss, the rebounded to beat Haiti 1-0 and Guatemala 3-1 to finish second in their group.

They faced Group B winner Costa Rica in the semifinals with a berth on the line, but lost after a 1-1 draw on penalty kicks.   Trinidad and Tobago still had a shot to qualify with a win in the CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament third place game, but they fell to Mexico 4-2 in extra time. 

That sent them to a two leg aggregate score playoff starting later today that has the Soca Warriors facing the daunting task of playing CONMEBOL rep Ecuador in the 9300 foot altitude of Quito's Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa.   They will return to the friendly confines of Hasely Crawford Stadium on December 2 for the second leg with the last Women's World Cup berth on the line.

I'm paying attention to this playoff for multiple reasons.  I want to see the Soca Warriors make that history because it's their best shot to do so. With Trinidad and Tobago being a fellow CONCACAF member, I'd love to see another CONCACAF squad playing next June.

It also strikes a blow for women's sports in the region and will hopefully lead to better funding and corporate sponsorship if they pull it off.

There's a large cadre of Trinis that live here in Houston and I'd love to see the smiles on their faces if it happens.   Randy Waldrum,, the coach of the Houston Dash, is also the national coach of the Trinidad and Tobago women's squad

Will they do it?  We'll find out as the opening chapter of this sports story unfolds later today.

TransGriot Update:  Trinidad and Tobago 0-Ecuador 0  in a Leg 1 scoreless draw.  

Sade's Story

I posted a while ago about efforts of the trans community in Guyana to overturn the British colonial era anti-crossdressing laws that are used against them, and the legal review that happened as a result of those determined efforts to end the anti-transgender oppression last year

In this video, Sade Richardson tells her story about being trans in Guyana.

 

Happy Anniversary Wendy and Ignacio

Today is the second wedding anniversary of our Cuban trans sister Wendy Iriepa and her activist hubby Ignacio Estrada, and wanted to wish our Cuban girl like us and her hubby a happy one.

Wendy got married back on August 13, 2011 to her hubby in a very public wedding in Havana in front of the unblinking eye of the world's media with Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez as a witness.

Iriepa is the first person in that island nation to get a state sanctioned SRS through the CENESEX program run by Mariela Castro.

Iriepa worked for it and was the public face of CENESEX until she and Castro had a public falling out over her attacking her activist hubby, who is the self proclaimed 'number one opponent of the Castro government'. 

She and her hubby have been visiting the US for three months and in addition to being in Miami and taking part in panel discussions and events in the area traveled to Washington DC and met with Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) whose district covers Miami along with touring Casa Ruby.

Happy anniversary Wendy and Ignacio!  May you continue to speak truth to power in your homeland and your marriage be a long, happy and healthy one.

Wendy And Ignacio Visit America

The Wendy and Ignacio in this case are our Cuban transsister Wendy Iriepa Diaz and her hubby Ignacio Estrada Cepero who had a very public wedding in Havana back in 2011

The Cuban dissidents arrived here in the States back on June 26 and are spending three months visiting our country before heading back to Cuba in the fall.

They also have some very interesting things to say about what life is really like for our TBLG brothers and sisters on the island.

Mariela Castro was given an award by Equality Forum in May for being a trans rights and gay rights advocate, but Iriepa has a different opinion of the woman she once worked for at CENESEX, the Cuban gender clinic that Castro runs.

“Mariela totally manipulates the LGBT community,” Iriepa said.


“Everything is fake, it’s false,” Iriepa said of Castro’s portrayal of the current status of the Cuban LGBT community.  “The gays still feel repression. When the police come, they say you have to leave here. Mariela sells to the world the same image the Cuban government does. Everything from the outside looks beautiful, but when you go inside, everything is not.” 

Iriepa said that for years she sought sex reassignment surgery, but didn’t get it until she pledged loyalty to the Castro regime.   In 2007 she became the first person on the island to have the surgery as part of the government-run CENESEX program.and was its public face until she and Castro came into conflict in 2011 over her blossoming relationship with Ignacio and his self described status as an 'opponent of the Castro government'. 

until she and Castro came into conflict over her blossoming relationship with ignaio Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2013/07/cuban-lgbt-dissidents-visiting-miami-dont-believe-mariela-castro-about-gay-rights-on-the-island.html#storylink=cpy

 
After participating in a Spanish language panel discussion at Miami-Dade College's Wolfson Campus and having events at other venues in the area, they have arrived in Washington DC. 

The couple toured Casa Ruby and the Us Helping Us HIV/AIDS service agency and are scheduled to visit with Congressmember Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) today before heading back to Miami and eventually departing back to Cuba. 

Jamaican Justice Minister Condemns Jones Killing.

Was wondering if anyone from the Jamaican government would condemn the brutal July 22 mob violence killing of Jamaican gender variant kid D. Jones.

My musings were answered according to the Jamaica Observer.  Justice Minister Senator Mark Golding has done just that and commented on the senseless killing of the 17 year old.teen.

Given our our country's history of brutality and the pluralistic nature of our society, all well-thinking Jamaicans must embrace the principle of respect for the basic human rights of all persons," Golding said.

"This principle requires tolerance towards minority groups, and non-violence in our dealings with those who manifest a lifestyle that differs from the majority of us".

"Depraved acts of violence against individuals such as Dwayne Jones have to cease. The police must spare no effort in bringing the perpetrators to justice, so that any persons who may be inclined to indulge in such vile brutality will know that they cannot do so with impunity," the Justice Minister added.

I agree.  They need to find the wastes of DNA who did this and bring them to justice as soon as possible because the world is watching.

J-FLAG Condemns Jones Murder

In the wake of the violent murder on Monday of gender variant teen Dwayne Jones, J-FLAG, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians All-Sexuals And Gays released a statement dated July 23 condemning the killing. 

***

J-FLAG notes with deep concern the recent mob killing of Dwayne Jones, a teenager in St James who is gender non-conforming; the recent murder of two gay men at an anti-gay religious rally organized by a coalition of evangelical churches in Haiti; and the continued misuse of medical data by some members of the faith-based community to fuel anti-gay animus in society.

We send our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the teenager who was slain as well as to our friends in Haiti. We call for a thorough investigation into the murder of the teenager in Montego Bay and hope that the family and loved ones of the slained teen will find the justice they deserve. We encourage persons in the Irwin community of St. James to support the police with any information that could lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.

It is time that these murders, beatings, and evictions are seen and treated as an affront to democracy, peace, justice, harmony, and freedom of our society.

Jamaica cannot become the place of choice to raise families if we continue killing our children, expelling our most productive, and perpetuating a divisive atmosphere through the skewing of objective truth to suit subjective prejudices.

Read the entire statement here.

Jamaican Teen In Femme Attire Killed By Mob

Infuriatingly sad story coming out of Jamaica

Dwayne Jones, a 17 year old Jamaican teen was at a street party on July 22 in the Irwin community near Montego Bay wearing femme attire at the time and dancing with a cis male. 

Unfortunately sometime around 4:00 AM local time Jones was outed by a cis woman, held by another cis male party attendee, searched by another cis male and when it was discovered the genitalia didn't match the femme clothing Jones was wearing the teen was set upon by a mob.

The teen was chopped, stabbed and shot to death.  The body was dumped in bushes along the side of the Orange main road where it was subsequently discovered at 5:00 AM local time.

Jamaican police are stating that patrols will be increased in the area, but that doesn't help Jones, the teen who is dead now because of the rampant homophobic and transphobic ignorance of the denizens of Irwin. 

And speaking of rampant transphobic ignorance, it's starting to run wild in the comment threads and there needs to be people pushing back in them.

Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) said they have documented nine cases of TBLG people killed in Jamaica this year and have reported a 400% rise in homophobic attacks since 2009.

Jamaican churches have also gleefully increased their anti-gay rhetoric and fiercely lobbied against an effort by Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller last year to repeal the odious British colonial era buggery law fueling much of the anti-LGBT animus in the island nation.

A looming conscience vote in the wake of a review of the buggery law is also drawing the ire of fundies.

We can't overlook the role of American based fundie conservative Christian groups injecting their vile poisonous doctrine into this volatile mix of injustice.  In the Montego Bay area, an anti-gay rally was held in St. James on June 23 by Montego Bay Pastor Glendon Powell, who shills for a US based fundie conservafool church in Des Moines, IA

And Maurice Tomlinson of J-FLAG told it like it T-I-S is.  “Despite this ongoing slaughter of innocents, many Jamaicans, including attorney-at-law and senior member of the opposition political party, Ernest Smith, categorically deny that gay Jamaicans are under attack,” Tomlinson said in an LGBTQ Nation interview.

To the Jamaican flag waving transphobic haters I say this:. 

Buy a vowel and get a clue that sexual orientation and gender identity are not the same.

Neither do you have the right to kill someone because you DON'T like their outward gender presentation not matching with the genitalia between their legs.

I thought Jamaica was an independent nation. Amazing the haters are still quoting a jacked up British colonial era law with no basis in science or reality and hiding behind the Bible as their justifications for their anti-gay and anti-trans hatred with tragically violent outcomes to our trans and SGL peeps on the island who happen to be facing the brunt of it.

The Jamaican national motto is "Out of Many, One People".  The Jamaican national motto also applies to them as well. Too bad you haters have continued to shown no inclination to respect the human rights of or acknowledge that some of the people who are proud to be Jamaicans also happen to be part of the TBLG community.

Guyana Reviewing British Colonial Era Crossdressing Ban

I wrote about this February 2009 case in the South American nation of Guyana in which several of our transsisters there were arrested for violating the British colonial era anti-crossdressing statute that for now is still in effect in that nation.   They were fined and given a faith based lecture from the bench by Guyanese Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson, the judge handling the case. 

The four transwomen involved in the case filed a lawsuit on February 20, 2010 to challenge that 1893 law.

Three years have now passed since that case was filed, and Guyana's chief judge Ian Chang is holding hearings on whether to eliminate that colonial-era prohibition on cross-dressing that Seon Clarke, spokesman for the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination alleges is being selectively used by the police to target the country's trans population.

“The law is plainly at odds with the ethos and provisions of the Guyana constitution, which states that it is committed to eliminating every form of discrimination,” said Clarke.

Guyanese officials who attend an annual United Nations conference on human rights issues have promised to review the British colonial era law.   The Government of Guyana committed at the Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations in Geneva in May 2010 to “hold consultations on this issue over the next two years.”

But as you probably guess, because of faith based opposition Christian, Hindu and Muslim groups no action has been taken so far to keep that promise to review the law the faith based haters wish to keep in place.

The first hearings to review the law were recently held, with the government response coming on June 4. 

“Tuesday’s full-day court hearing is really the culmination of more than 4 years work between SASOD, U-RAP, Guyanese human rights attorneys and the transgender folk who suffered egregious abuses and enduring injury to their human dignity during the February 2009 police crackdowns on cross-dressing,” said SASOD’s Co-Chair, Joel Simpson. “Justice can only be served by the court declaring this insidious law unconstitutional, null and void,” Simpson concluded.

Jamaican Girls Like Us Standing Up For Their Rights In Ad Campaign

Those of us in the US and elsewhere across the African Diaspora have watched in horror the last few years as our Jamaican trans sisters have been brutalized and mistreated for daring to live as their true selves.

J-FLAG back on January 17 launched the We Are Jamaicans video campaign which seeks to encourage respect and understanding for transgender, bisexual, lesbian and gay  (TBLG ) people on that island nation and raise awareness about BTLG identity and the community.

Two of the people who are taking part in that J-FLAG sponsored campaign are girls like us Whitney and Tiana Miller





What you ladies are and always will be in addition to being Jamaican is part of the diverse mosaic of human life.  Thank you for stepping up to courageously tell your stories and being willing to be visible representatives for the Jamaican trans community in this important GLBT rights ad campaign. 

Is Trinidad and Tobago Making Moves To End TBLG Discrimination?

I've been happy to see that several Caribbean Anglophone island nations are discussing or starting to make their first tentative steps toward ending discrimination against their TBLG citizens.

Was happy to read that Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar in the wake of discontent over the country's Sexual Offences Act and the provision of Trinidad and Tobago's Immigration Act that bars gay and lesbian non citizens from entering the country has stated that she does not favor discrimination against Trinidad and Tobago's LGBT citizens.. 

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar in a letter to UK based Kaleidoscope Trust executive director Lance Price answered his July 2012 expressed concerns about those anti-LGBT laws.   Her letter was obtained and printed by the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian and stated. 

'With respect to the concerns raised in your letter regarding aspects of T&T's Sexual Offences Act and the Immigration Act which may target persons who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), I wish to assure you that due consideration is being given to these issues by my Government.

'I do not support discrimination in any form against any individual, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

'I share your view that the stigmatisation of homosexuality in T&T is a matter which must be addressed on the grounds of human rights and dignity to which every individual is entitled under international law.  

'As such I am pleased to inform you that I have mandated my Minister of Gender, Youth and Child Development, Senator the Honourable Marlene Coudray to prepare and present a national gender policy to Cabinet over the coming months.

'It is expected that once adopted, this policy will forge the way forward for T&T as my Government seeks to put an end to all discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation.'

It will be interesting to see if PM Persad-Bissesar's words do indeed match the deeds of Trinidad and Tobago's government.   The world will be watching to see if they formulate a national gender policy that not only satisfies LGBT Trinis and reduces the discrimination and stigmatization aimed at them, but is the envy of the Caribbean and the world.

Dominican Republic Trans Org COTRAVEDT Demands End To Anti-Trans Discrimination

There have been some interesting things happening for trans people in the Caribbean since 2010.  With the Organization of American States adopting a resolution urging its member nations to implement their resolutions covering human rights sexual orientation, and gender identity we are starting to see some of our transpeople in the region become more insistent that their various nations respect and protect their human rights.  

Monday was the 64th anniversary of the ratification of the UN Declaration of Human Rights.   In the Dominican Republic COTRAVEDT, the organization that advocates for the Dominican trans community, chose that date to hold a press conference demanding an end to anti-trans discrimination and they have equal access to basic services in their nation.

COTRAVEDT represents over 1,200 trans people in their island nation and Nairobi Castillo, the coordinator for the group pointed out 18 transsexuals and sexual workers have been killed this year, but no indictments to solve any of those killing have yet been made by authorities.  

Castillo noted the Dominican Republic lags further behind in discrimination in education, health and freedom of movement for the trans community.

To add an exclamation point to the anti-trans discrimination being decried by Castillo, Eddy Flores, the mother of a transwoman described her outrage over taking her trans daughter to a public hospital but having to leave because of the negativity aimed at her.  She eventually had to find the money to take her trans child to a private clinic.


Flores also proclaimed at the COTRAVEDT press conference her trans child isn’t a monster and she loves her the same as any other mother loves her child.

It's past time for the Dominican Republic to treat transpeople living inside their country's borders with the same dignity and respect that they would have for any other citizen of that nation.

Be nice if that would happen for our trans cousins in the Dominican Republic as expeditiously as possible.
.

Happy 50th Birthday, Trinidad And Tobago!

Jamaica wasn't the only Caribbean island nation celebrating its 50th anniversary of independence from Great Britain this year.  The twin island nation of Trinidad and Tobago is also doing so as well

At a few moments before midnight on August 30, 1962 in Port of Spain's Woodford Square, the Union Jack was lowered for the last time and in its place at midnight was raised the red, black and white flag of Trinidad for the first time.   It was the catalyst for more than a week of festivities and events across the country from August 28 to September 5 during that first Independence Day celebration.

Noted Caribbean historian Dr Eric Eustace Williams became its first prime minister, with the 'Father of the Nation' holding that position until his death in 1981.

Its current prime minister is Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who is the seventh person to do so and has served as prime minister since May 2010. She also hods the distinction as the first Trini woman to do so.  Here's the address she delivered on the occasion of Trinidad and Tobago's Golden Jubilee 

The 1.3 million people who call the islands home along with the people across the Diaspora who proudly claim Trini heritage in just 50 years as an independent nation have impacted the world in many fields and been history making trailblazers as well. 

They have produced a Nobel Prize winner, scholars in various fields, Olympic medal winning athletes and sporting legends, chart topping innovative musicians and artists such as Nicki Minaj and have created an educational system in their nation renowned across the Caribbean and the world. .  

Of the four African descended women to win the Miss Universe crown, two of them hail from Trinidad and Tobago. Janelle Commissiong (1977) was the first ever to do so with Wendy Fitzwilliam doing so in 1998.   The steelpan, the only instrument created in the 20th century was invented there and in 2006 Trinidad and Tobago became the smallest nation by population to qualify for the World Cup Soccer tournament finals..  

Interestingly enough, want to point out the first transperson purported to have SRS from the Caribbean, activist Jowelle De Souza, hails from that island nation as well. .

To all my Trinidad and Tobago readers, Happy Independence Day!   May you have many more to come.  .   .

Happy 50th Independence Day, Jamaica!

Like me and many of my friends, 1962 is a special year for the island nation of Jamaica..  It was 50 years ago on this date that a ceremony occurred signaling that the Jamaican Independence Act was now in force, it was no longer a British colony after 307 years of British rule and from this day forward Jamaica would handle its business as an independent nation.
 
At a few moments before midnight on August 5, 1962 at the National Stadium in Kingston the Union Jack was lowered for the last time and replaced with the brand new black, gold and green flag of a newly independent nation.  .

It triggered several joyous days of celebration across the island before the day to day business of running their nation began with the August 7 opening of the first Jamaican parliament.

Like all nations in their post-independence day phase Jamaica has had their good times and bad times, but the 2.8 million people who live in the third largest Anglophone country in the Western Hemisphere and their people across the Jamaican Diaspora love their country, are proud of its accomplishments, and proud of their Jamaican heritage.

They wish to use this 50th Anniversary year to reflect on Jamaica's past half century, learn the lessons from them, dream of a better Jamaica and get to work building that nation for future generations. 

The people of Jamaica are also determined to imagine a better future for themselves and their country and work hard to achieve it.


And now, please rise for the Jamaican national anthem, a song we US track fans got way too familiar with during the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and are hearing again during these London Games.






Seriously, to all my TransGriot readers there, happy 50th Independence Day, Jamaica!.

Caribbean Nations Urged To Adopt OAS TBLG Human Rights Resolutions

TransGriot Note: Rainbow community human rights issues in the Caribbean are still a mixed bag and require much work and improvement.  Press release from The Coalition of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite, Transsexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTTTI) Latin American and Caribbean organizations concerning a recent TBLG human rights resolution adopted by the OAS   

The Coalition of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite, Transsexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTTTI) Latin American and Caribbean organizations (The Coalition) is calling on all Caribbean states to implement the Organization of American States (OAS) Resolutions on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity. 

During the 42nd General Assembly of the OAS which took place in Cochabamba, Bolivia June 3-5, 2012 a fifth resolution “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” was adopted. A result of long term advocacy of the Coalition, the resolution includes all the issues contained in the previous resolutions which call on Member States to introduce measures against discrimination and human rights violations and to implement public policies.

Additionally, the resolution requests that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) “prepare a study on legislation and provisions in force in the OAS Members States restricting the human rights of individuals by reason of their sexual orientation or gender identity and to prepare based on that study, guidelines aimed at promoting the decriminalization of homosexuality.”       

According to the Coalition “indifference, omission and complicity by many states in cases of discrimination and violence against the LGBTTTI community make those more severe and limit the enjoyment of the basic needs of our communities.” The Coalition noted that this situation is even more serious in the case of legislation in 11 Anglophone Caribbean nations.   The Coalition contends that in the Caribbean:

• 11 countries still criminalize consenting adult same-gender intimacy;

• two countries ban entry of gay people,

• one country imposes life sentences for consenting adult same-gender intimacy;

• homophobia contributes to the region having the second highest HIV and AIDS prevalence and incidence rates;

• there are no protections for domestic violence committed against LGBTTTI persons by their intimate partners or their families; and,

• Lesbian and bisexual women and invisible from any government data produced in the Caribbean.

With this in mind the Coalition states that Caribbean countries must adopt the fifth resolution of the 42nd General Assembly of the OAS and condemn all forms of human rights violations against the LGBTTTI community, as well as take immediate steps to end all forms of discrimination against this vulnerable group.

Pridefest in Jamaica This Weekend

There are TBLG communities around the world, and even with the drama and negativity aimed at them they still exist and proudly and openly live their lives.

I've gotten to know one of my fellow bloggers down there who is the creative force behind Gay Jamaica Watch and GLBTQ Jamaica. If you're interested in keeping up with what's going on in the TBLG community there, check it out.
.
Contrary to what you've heard, the Jamaican BTLG community is putting up a spirited fight for their human rights in their homeland and are building community.  

As part of those efforts, this weekend Pridefest will take place in Kingston on September 11


The Pridefest will include a Party with a Twist Expo running from 2-6 PM local time, a fashion show that starts at 6 PM and then the party gets started until 12 PM

There will be MC's, live concert performances from LGBT community members and oh yeah, did I forget the music?

***

Come out and see LGBT Talent.

Top Designers, Dancers, Caterers, Artist, Comedians!

 TATTOOS & BODY PIERCINGS all day, Food and refreshment on sale

Admission: ONLY J$500

BASHMENT IN TOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PRIDE FEST is the first annual fundraiser for THE UNDERLINED RESPONSE.

Krazy Talents will be displayed!!!!
All boys dance group!!!
all girls dance group!!!!
Vouging!!!!!
Comedians!! (Rugrat Toons)
Singers
Artiste
Fashion Designer (H.O.D Designs and more)
Excellent food!!
WE HAVE A VERY EXCITING SHOW LINED UP!!! AND AFTER THE SHOW IS THE "AFTER LYME"!!

Objectives of PRIDE FEST:

1. To raise seed funds for The Underlined Response activities.
2. To highlight LGBT owned and friendly business, services, talent and resources.
3. To present Couture Elements Scholarship Fund 2011 Awardee.
4. To present the inaugural annual LEVEL UP award.
5 To formally introduce The Executive Board 2011-2013 for the Underlined Response.

PRIDE FEST will take the form of an exhibition, stage show and lyme

Any questions or concern please contact us at theunderlinedresponse@gmail.com.

Tickets for Pridefest are J$500 presale   J$700 at the door