My #CC17 Post Convention Thoughts

I'm now back in the Houston area after spending a few days at this year's edition of the Task Force's Creating Change Conference in Philadelphia.  It was a 29th annual Creating Change that up until about two weeks before it happened, I was seriously thinking about after attending the last three consecutive Creating Change events in Houston, Denver and Chicago and being part of the Host Committee for #CC14 not coming to Philadelphia for #CC17.

Philadelphia also happens to be a city that is near and dear to my heart, because I received my 2006 IFGE Trinity Award  here and I've been since 2013 in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection for two LGBTMedia events (2013,2015) and two Philly Trans Health Conferences in 2012 and 2016.

The drama filled experience in Chicago along with the jacked up protest of the NBJC Black Institute I called out later (and I'm still pissed about) was part of the reason I was reluctant to come this year.

Because of the Trans United Fund event, the TUF leadership meeting scheduled during #CC17 and being asked by NBJC's Isaiah Wilson to participate in this year's The Black Institute, that finally pushed me into the 'I'm attending it 'ranks along with TUF Board Chair Hayden Mora telling me my voice, thoughts and attendance were needed and necessary.

And I'm glad I did.  I also got to destroy a few Slurpees in the process since there was a 7 Eleven right across the street from the convention hotel.

On my ATL-PHL flight I ran into Dee Dee Chamblee, who was seated ten rows from me.  I stepped off the Delta plane after our 5:35 PM arrival but lost track of her.  After collecting my checked bag I ran into a group of students from Portland who were eagerly here for CC17 at the Terminal D SEPTA train platform.

After getting off the train, I immediately headed to the hotel room that Angelica Ross and my Houston homegirl Nikki Loyd were sharing to drop off my bags before heading to the TUF meeting we were having at the host hotel to finalize some last minute planning or the fundraising event at Philadelphia City Hall.

When I walked into that Marriott Downtown meeting room with Angelica and Nikki and saw my trans siblings from around the country and as I found out the world in Mat and Tiana from Zimbabwe, it was a reminder why I come to conferences and events:. I go to see old friends like Danielle King and meet new ones like Daye Pope.

With me now going into my 19th year of award winning advocacy for trans people in addition to being the founding editor of a now 11 year old award winning blog, the days of me walking around any convention space for longer than ten minutes incognito are long gone.

I ran into Sunnivie Brydum and a friend of hers moments after taking that post meeting photo with the TUF peeps, and while trying to get to the DoubleTree to get my bags so I could go check into the Hilton Gardens where I was staying, immediately ran into Cecilia Chung.

After running into her, tried to tip past the bar area where folks were congregated and ran into many friends there like my fellow Texans Omar Narvaez, Ashton Woods and the lovely Geneva Musgrave, and ran into Isaiah at the exit door.  I also ran into several students who recognized me from different speeches or who were fans of TransGriot that night and over the next several days.  

While I was waiting to sort out a problem with my Hilton Gardens reservation, Louis Mitchell spotted me while walking past the hotel from a late night food run and kept me company until it was resolved.

The love I got enveloped in while walking the CC17 host hotel over those next several days didn't hurt either, especially in light of the fact that we were literally in the last two days of the Obama presidency and about to see the dawning of a Trump presidency hostile to us.

The Thursday Trans United Fund event at the Philadelphia City Hall on Thursday evening was chock full of symbolism.

I thought about the fact that we were owning our political power as trans people in the city in which the Declaration of Independence was crafted and signed at Independence Hall several blocks away from where our event was taking place with a trans pride flag on the flagpole outside the building.

We were comprised of amazing trailblazing leaders in their own rights like Melissa Sklarz, Sharron Cooks, Danni Askini, Andrea Jenkins, Bamby Salcedo, and Mama Bear DeShanna Neal with her lovely trans feminine daughter Trinity. Some of the brothers were also there in support like Sean Coleman and Rev. Yunus Coldman

It was also great seeing Philadelphia's LGBT Liaison Nellie Fitzpatrick, Cathy Renna and getting to have all those conversations with the attendees during that fundraising event.   It was also wonderful to finally meet and get to talk to Danni Askini in the flesh after years of doing so on FB.

TUF was also holding this event on the last night of the Obama Administration, who will go down in American and TBLGQ history as the best president ever on trans issues.

Since my job during CC14 in Houston was to be co chair of the committee helping put together the People of Color Hospitality suit, I'm always interested in seeing how other Creating Change host cities accomplished the task of setting up their hospitality suites in preparation for the next time Houston gets to host Creating Change.

Once I was done with my portion of the NBJC Black Institute morning programming, I headed to the POC, Bi-Panfluid, Transgender and Elder suites that were located on the sixth floor of the hotel.  

In the Bi suite I ran into Stacey Langley, new Bi-Net president Lynette McFadzen (who I met and roomed with during CC15), and other amazing folks in those Thursday and Friday excursions up to the suites.  

We aren't always talking politics in those hospitality suites.  The conversations can also be about pop culture discussions to blood family acceptance or lack thereof.   Some CC17 attendees are playing cards or board games as they wait for breakfast, lunch or dinner to be delivered to the suites.  

And yes, for you CC vets, they are still vegan.

Speaking of dishes, nice segue into moi dishing out in the Transgender Hospitality Suite a trash talking filled dominoes butt kicking to a New Jersey based activist who has promised me he'll be ready for me when #CC18 roll around.

Good luck with that Kwame.   Love ya and enjoyed our conversation, but Mama Moni still has dominoes skills that will be sharpened over the next 11 months.

You've been warned BTAC and every other conference I get to attend in 2017.  Be afraid.

The Elders suite had a TBLGQ Philadelphia history display set up.  I ran into during my visit to check it out Barbara, one of the trans elders I met during my LGBTMedia13 visit to Philly at the John C Anderson LGBT apartment building for low income LGBT seniors.

Barbara was one of the local volunteers staffing it, and it was wonderful reconnecting with her again..

But the best part of any Creating Change event is being able to not only talk to the elders that preceded me in paving the way for my generation of TBLGQ activists, but the young people for who this is their first Creating Change, who see you as their elder, and get the intergenerational conversations going that we need to have happen.

I had an interesting discussion on Friday with one CC17 attendee who let me know she'd been reading TransGriot since she was 12 years old.   I had more than a few people stop me in the halls during my time there who recognized me either from the blog, previous events, conferences or panels and tell me how much they loved TransGriot, dropping some knowledge in a panel, or appreciated me doing the necessary work to advance our shared human rights struggle.
 

Friday morning Rebecca Kling, Brynn Tannehill and I  talked to two of Bear Bergman's students about the trans rights movement and our parts in it.  Bear later sent me a message about how excited they were to meet us and went on about it for hours.

I was supposed to leave Saturday, but the fog at PHL airport that hugs the Delaware River killed that and forced me to stay an extra day at Creating Change, something I wasn't disappointed about.  But because of my travel back and forth from the host hotel to the airport, I missed the local Women's March that some of the CC17 attendees participated in and Sharron spoke at.

I also got to spend some more quality time with my Birmingham based sister Daroneshia Duncan, who graciously let me crash in her hotel room since I'd checked out of mine at the Hilton Gardens earlier that day..

After dinner at Chili's, swinging by the Boomers Dance with Daroneshia and sitting in the bar area chatting with various people until nearly 2 AM, I reluctantly left the Marriott Downtown host hotel for the last time to get a little sleep for my rebooked 7:35 AM departure back to Houston via the ATL

That meant no Sunday closing plenary or brunch for me this time.

Thanks Philadephia Host Committee for putting together a wonderful event.   I'm glad I came.  Coming to #CC17 helped me realize once again all the positive reasons why I have loved this conference ever since my first one in Oakland back in 1999.

I'm eagerly anticipating being at the 2018 edition of it in Washington DC. Hopefully by that time CC18 happens I'll be able to go to the African American History Museum in addition to seeing all of you peeps there again at our TBLGQ family reunion
.

Moni's In The #CC17 House!

After a relatively uneventful trip for me on Delta from Houston through their mother hub of Atlanta to Philadelphia, and a 30 minute train ride from the airport to Center City,  I finally arrived in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection to take part in #CC17 and see if I can get a freebie Slurpee via my 7 Eleven app before I leave Saturday.

On the ATL-PHL leg when I boarded thought I saw longtime Atlanta trans advocate Dee Dee Chamblee.   It turned out when I finally got to the Marriott Philadelphia Downtown for that Trans United Fund meeting with Angelica Ross and Nikki Araguz Loyd that indeed it was her.

And yes, it was also great to see Arianna Lint, Bamby Salcedo, Ruby Corado, Jada Mercedes Cardona, Andrea Jenkins, Becky Juro, Kayley Whalen and Hayden Mora again.

When our TUF meeting was over, I ran into Sunnivie Brydum as Nikki, Angelica and I were searching for a nearby restroom to commit the revolutionary act of peeing and pooping in before we took that group photo.  

After having a 20 minute convo with her and being introduced to her friend, we found it, handled our business, too a group photo, and then set off to go back to the DoubleTree where they were staying to retrieve my bags and get me set up in my hotel room at a different hotel for the night.

While passing the bar area, we ran into Cecilia Chung.  While talking to her, I got separated from Angelica and Nikki, so I made a beeline for the front door to try to catch up with them ,

That game plan took a detour when I ran into Ashton Woods, Geneva Musgrave, Omar Narvaez and finally met one of my longtime FB friends in Yunus Coldman while trying and spectacularly failing to tip out the front door of the Marriott undetected.    While I was talking to them, Hannah Simpson rolled up with Tamara Jeanne, followed by Crispin Torres and a friend of his and Bishop Allyson Abrams .

I finally break away from all those folks only to run into Isaiah Wilson from NBJC 100 feet from the Market Street door..  We start talking about the Black Institute and my part in it, and Curtis Lipscomb, another of our NBJC family members, walks in.

So I finally finish those hugs and convos, get out of the hotel, get to the 7 Eleven that's on the way back to the DoubleTree, procure and destroy my first Slurpee of this #CC17 run, and finally make it to the DoubleTree..

After spending some girl time with Nikki and Angelica in their room, I left with bags in tow but there was a snafu with my reservation at the Hilton Gardens that had to be cleared up before I could check in.  While waiting for Ruby, Louis Mitchell walks by the hotel while I'm sitting in the lobby after snagging a late night meal and heading back to his Air BNB spot    He keeps me company until Ruby arrives with Elle Hearns in tow.

So how did your day go?   This also points out just how many people I do know in this community.

And remember peeps, this is just Day 1 for me.   Time to get some sleep so I can be fab for the busy day ahead of me and all the peeps I have yet to see who are here at #CC17  

 

United, Undaunted, Unstoppable Trans United Fund #CC17 Event

For those of you attending #CC17 in Philadelphia next week and looking for things to do and check out that are away from the host hotel, here's something for you too put on your #CC17 event calendar.

The Trans United Fund is hosting an event at Philadelphia City Hall on January 19 that is a fundraiser with the goal of raising money to build the political strength of the trans community.

The United, Undaunted Unstoppable event will feature the Trans United Fund team, Minneapolis City Council candidate Andrea Jenkins and Danni Askini,  the Executive Director of the Washington state based organization Gender Justice League.  Washington is facing another potential anti-trans statewide referendum this November if the transphobes gather enough signatures (259,622) by July to put it on the ballot. .

The goal of the event is to raise $5,000 to help support these efforts to build trans community political power.  If you can't be at the event or aren't going to be in Philadelphia for Creating Change, you can still support it by clicking on this link to donate to the cause.   Even $1 will help  

If you can attend, suggested donation is $10, and it will take place in Room 201 at Philadelphia City Hall starting at 6:30 PM.   Address is 1 Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA 19107.

Moni's Headed To Creating Change 2017!

At one point I was debating whether or not I would go to Creating Change in Philadelphia after going through the contentious and mentally draining 2016 edition of it in Chicago.

But my presence was requested for some events taking place at #CC17 like the National Black Justice Coalition's (NBJC) Black Institute and by the Trans United Fund , so that means I'll be leaving the Lone Star State and heading up to the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection for this 2017 edition of the Creating Change Conference.

Creating Change will be taking place from January 18-22, and the #CC17 host hotel will be the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown.   With the start of #CC17 coming a mere 48 hours before a president hostile to our TBLGQ community will be inaugurated, the timing of this Creating Change couldn't be more crucial or critical to our human rights movement, especially for the transgender contingent of it.

I'm looking forward to witnessing the plenary keynote by the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II that will happen Thursday night.   I've had the pleasure of not only meeting Rev. Barber, but hearing him speak at previous events I've attended in Louisville and the last LGBT Media Journalists Convening hosted in Philadelphia in 2015.

I'm also looking forward to participating in the events I will be involved in that I know abou like Thursday's NBJC The Black Institute.  Also looking forward to tearing into a few Slurpees and some cheesesteaks while I'm there.

Speaking of being there in the #CC17 house, as always, when I step into the Marriott Downtown host hotel, don't be shy, say hi.  If I'm not rushing off to a panel, some off the hotel property event or engaged in conversation with someone, I'm more than happy to talk to people, and my trans, bi and SGL younglings will get priority.

See y'all in Philadelphia next week, #CC17.

Coming Back From Creating Change 2016

And now it's time to say the words that everyone in Harris County loves to hear.

Time for me to come back home from #CC16 Chicago style.

After some morning panels and a closing brunch we'll be gathering for the final plenary session as the Chicago Host Committee gets to the bittersweet moment of passing the hosting torch to the #CC17 host city, Philadelphia..

I won`t get to see the end of it because I have to catch my flight back to Texas at ORD.

Our Creating Change in Houston was two years ago, and all of us who were involved in putting it together still have fond memories of doing so.  We want another opportunity to host it again and want to top what we pulled off in our maiden attempt..  

Hey, Dallas has held it twice , we've only hosted it once.

But thanks Chicago for handling your #CC16 business.  It's been an amazing and drama filled at times four days here, but I'm more than ready to get back to the warmth of Houston and scarf up some barbecue when I get back home.

To my old friends I had a chance to spend time with at #CC16, enjoyed it immensely and looking forward to the next time we get to share some space together.   To my new friends and all of our youth I got a chance to talk to and take pics with, it was my sincere pleasure to do so.

And to the peeps who live for stirring up mess and drama (and they know who they are), time for you petulant children to grow up and chill with that mess because we have far more important work to do on behalf of our entire community.

Later, Chicago.

#CC16 Day 3

Day 3 of Creating Change Chicago style and the last full day of seminars after an interesting night in which a protest aimed at the A Wider Bridge reception ended up with the Chicago po-po`s being called .

Highlights of today`s agenda are the MasQUEERade Youth Ball and the 50+ and Allies Dance .  

I`ll also be tweeting at times various panels when I pop into various panels and something interesting gets said.

#CC16 Day2

The second day of Creating Change Chicago style features the first full day of seminars at the Hilton Chicago

The State of the Movemnet Plenary is happening today, and the Muslim/ Prayer service at 12:30 PM with Imam Daayiee Abdullah presiding over it.

And later this evening, the Agents of Change House Ball
.

#CC16 Pre-Conference Drama

Assuming my flight left DFW on time, I'm winging my way to Chitown as your read this.

One of the things about every Creating Change is that when you have a conference in which 4000 advocates come to town for a major conference that has the goal of training LGBT advocates to do the work, we shouldn't be surprised if people take the tactics they learned and aim them at you or decide to use the heightened media spotlight this convention gets in the LGBT and local media to advocate for various causes. ..

Drama is already happening in advance of the start of Creating Change 2016.

We already had ICE cancel a problematic #CC16 panel back on January 12, and now a kerfuffle has erupted over the cancellation and now reinstatement of a January 22 reception sponsored by the group A Wider Bridge.

Dean Spade and Dark Matter were openly critical of the reception, calling the group Zionist and an Israeli government front organization trying to pinkwash the ongoing conflict and Israeli treatment of the Palestinians.

When the reception was canceled on January 15, Jewish LGBT people responded in outrage, accused the Task Force of being anti-Semitic and began the noisy push to get the event reinstated on the #CC16 calendar.

The increasing rancor between the two groups resulted in National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey to issue this statement Monday about the reinstatement of the reception.

Having taken in a range of information and seeing what has happened over the last couple of days, I have decided to reverse our decision to cancel the ‘Beyond the Bridge’ reception hosted by A Wider Bridge with guest speakers from the Jerusalem Open House. It is our belief that when faced with choices, we should move towards our core value of inclusion and opportunities for constructive dialogue and canceling the reception was a mistake. Our decision was made by staff; neither our board members nor the local Host Committee were involved.  We are aware that our original decision made it appear we were taking sides in a complex and long-standing conflict, which was not the intention, and that in cancelling the reception we deeply offended many people, and our reversal will offend others.  In reversing the decision today, we want to make it quite clear that the Creating Change Conference will always be a safe space for inclusion and dialogue for people with often widely different views.  It was not at all our intention to censor representatives of the Jerusalem Open House or A Wider Bridge at Creating Change and I apologize that our actions left people feeling silenced.

Stay tuned, because the drama over this event probably isn't over, and we'll see how this plays out on Friday.

Moni's Leaving On A Jet Plane...

To Chicago!

The first trip of the New Year for me leaving out of Hobby in a few hours to the chilly Windy City to attend and cover Creating Change 2016.   It's not only the third straight Creating Change I've had the opportunity to attend and my fourth overall, it's going to be the first time I've flown into O'Hare since my Air Marshal days.

It's also the first time I'm traveling to Chicago in the winter.  I usually despise air travel during the winter months, but gots to do what I have to do to be in the #CC16 house including enduring a connection and DFW layover up and back.

I'm so looking forward to seeing the Chicago peeps who are in attendance, my trans sisters and brothers and  'errbody' else in the national and international TBLGQ community that are traveling by land and air to get to the Hilton Chicago host hotel and other nearby lodging spots in the Chicagoland area starting tomorrow.

But I'm not looking forward to the 40+ degree winter temperature difference between Houston and Chicago.

I need to stop whining about it and count my blessings. The temp will warm up to a high of 31 degrees F by this weekend.  Until a few days ago, it was looking like I was going to miss it and moping in Houston about not being there.

Creating Change not only is an event in which we get our learn on and hone our activist skills, it also serves as a big impromptu TBLG family reunion and one in which much of the community's business is conducted during the time everyone is in the Creating Change host city.  

But some positive things happened for me over the weekend that made moi being in the #CC16 house possible, and I thank Brock and Ruby in advance for making it happen

Well Chicago, see y'all in a few hours.  Save some Giordano's meat lovers deep dish pizza for me.

3rd Annual NBJC The Black Institute Features Groundbreaking Panel Discussion

One of the highlights of any Creating Change event is the daylong institutes that are eagerly anticipated parts of the conference programming.

Since the 2014 Creating Change hosted in Houston, The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) has organized The Black Institute, which focuses on the issues impacting the Black TBLG/SGL community and also functions as a space to foster policy discussions on a national and local level.

I've been blessed to be part of the conversations at the Houston and Denver events in 2014 and 2015, and the daylong The Black Institutes have been informative and needed substantive family conversations about the various issues that ail the Black gay, lesbian, bi, trans and SGL community

The #CC16 edition of the Black Institute once again in coordination with the Trans Persons of Color Coalition (TPOCC) will have the theme of Healing, Healthy and WHOLE and features another one of those groundbreaking panel discussions it is renowned for.

This year at 11 AM will be a discussion moderated by trailblazing musician and trans advocate Tona Brown that discusses the men who love trans women with a panel of trans attracted men.

One of the men taking part in that panel is one you TransGriot readers are familiar with from his Trans Attracted man videos in Troy.

In addition to discussing the dearth of visibility, support and resources from trans attracted men, it will also discuss the role that cisgender trans attracted men have had in perpetrating the intimate partner violence that has lead to the deaths of Black trans women when those secretive relationships are discovered.


The Black Institute will also discuss what holistic health looks like for the Black SGL/ LGBT community among other subjects they can squeeze in during that programming day  .

The NBJC The Black Institute will take place on January 21 from 9 AM-6 PM  CST at the host hotel for this year's Creating Change Conference, the Hilton Chicago.

Hope those of you headed to the Windy City will check it out.

CC15-Day 4

It's Day 4 of Creating Change 2015  and the last full day of activities before it closes tomorrow and the organizing torch gets passed to Chicago.

I'm done with my seminars unless I get drafted into being a panelist on another one.  I'm basically a spectator for the rest of my time here in Denver. and will probably use much of today to catch up with people I know here.

For those of you who want to find out the latest 411 on the HERO, there's a panel discussion for that topic called How Houston Got A HERO at 9:30 AM.

There's also a 3:00 PM one by Rev Kenneth Samuel entitled Battling Bigotry In The Black Church.

The vendor and organizational table area is still up, so check with those folks and see what they have to offer in terms of goods and services.   Various organizations also have information tables set up there, so this is also the time to ask them questions about the programming .

This is also the last day the suites will be open, so check those out as well.

There's also a police violence protest jumping off at 12:15 PM aimed at the Denver police for the killing of Jessica Hernandez

CC15-Day 3 Recap

Today marked the first full day of workshops and seminars, but I needed a little sleep and time to do some writing before I kept my promise to Imam Daayiee Abdullah to attend the Friday prayer service at 12:30.

I was pleased to see the attendance has grown, and Imam Abdullah announced some exciting news for the LGBT Muslim before the service started about an exciting initiative.

While that service was happening, Rea Carey's State of the Movement Address  was simultaneously taking place.



After talking to Imam Abdullah for a few moments after the service ended, I headed down to the vendor area to kill some time before my panel.  Ran into Andy Marra, Samantha Dato, Dani Heffernan , Kimberley McLeod and Kylar Broadus before we headed to Governors Square 14 for the 3:00 PM panel.

The Trans Women of Color: The Sisterhood featured Tela La'Raine Love, La La Zannell, Bamby Salcedo, Arianna Lint and some based Texas blogger y'all know breaking down the issues that impact us as trans women of color.

Afterwards I got to finally meet a shero of mine in Kim Coco Iwamoto, talk to Trudie Jackson, Bishop Tonyia Rawls, Diego Sanchez, Johanna Saavedra, Elizabeth Clair an my fave power couple in Aisha and Danielle Moodie-Mills.

Also ran into my NFL prognostication partner Michael Watts, and that started an almost two hour conversation in which we discussed everything from what was transpiring in our lives, football and politics to the movie Blazing Saddles.  Ran into Myles Brady, who thanked me for the engagement post I wrote about him and his now fiancee.

And the thing I'm really enjoying is running into all the people here at #CC15 who let me know how much they love the blog.  A writer always loves to hear that what they put out there is the universe for you to peruse and ponder is not only read, it's appreciated.

And the feeling is mutual TransGriot readers.

One last Slurpee run, and then I've got to shut it down for the night.

CC15-Day 3

It's Day 3 of Creating Change Denver style, and after last night's excitement at the opening plenary, going to be fun to see what happens next.

Today is the first full day of panel discussions and workshops.  I have the Trans Women of Color: The Sisterhood one at 3 PM.   It will be moderated by Cecilia Chung, and will be in Governor's Square 14 for those of you #CC15 attendees who wish to see Moni and her sisters talking about some of the issues that impact trans women of color.

But before I handle that business, I'm headed to the Muslim service at 12:30 PM led by Imam Daayiee Abdullah.  I met Imam Abdullah during the 2012 OUT on the Hill and had some interesting conversations with him about the growing movement in the liberal progressive Islamic ranks to create LGBT affirming mosques.   When I attended the service in Houston, it was beautiful to watch a young woman do the call to prayer and see men and women sitting together as Imam Abdullah  gave his sermon.

Those of us who aren't Muslim as noted by the comments in the previous paragraph are welcome.

And if you need some quiet rooms to relax and unwind from the convention hustle and bustle, grab a snack, or just chill out with some peeps you met at a workshop that you wish to get to know better, check out the #CC15 suites.

The (Hospitality) Suite Life at CC15:
Youth                                                                Plaza 793
Senior                                                               Plaza 712
Disability                                                         Tower 2209
People Of Color                                               Tower 2236
Trans* Intersex Non-binary                             Tower 2212
Bisexual/Omnisexual/Pansexual/Polysexual   Tower 2215

And yes TransGriot readers, the offer for free hugs when you stop me in the Sheraton Denver halls still stands but time is running out on it.  It expires when I leave for Denver International Airport on Sunday.

CC15-Day 2

I'm getting my beauty sleep right now because Day 2 of Creating Change features the Day Long Institutes covering a wide variety of topics from Bisexual Organizing to Digital Strategy Training.

And yes, the one I'm participating in, the National Black Justice Coalition's second annual The Black Institute.

I have two panels in that NBJC sponsored event in Governor's Square.  The opening one at 9:30 AM entitled From The Grassroots To The National Stage: Movement Building With intersectional Justice For Black LGBTQ/SGL People.

My fellow panelists for this moderated by Angela Peoples discussion will be Mandy Carter, Earl Fowlkes, Dr. Kenneth Samuel, Chai Jindasurat,  and Geneva Musgrave.

You can follow the Black Institute discussion on Twitter  with the hashtag #BI15

Speaking of hashtags, the Creating Change one is #CC15

The Welcome To Denver Opening Plenary session entitled Ferguson on Our Minds will also happen tonight at 8 PM and features Rinku Sen, Rashad Robinson and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.

CeCe McDonald To Receive The Paul A. Anderson Youth Award At CC15!

The 2015 edition of Creating Change is rapidly approaching, and one of the things the Task Force does during this event is present awards to honor the people involved in our human rights movement.

So happy to discover that the person who will receive the Paul A Anderson Youth Award is none other than CeCe McDonald.  

Since being released last January after 17 months of unjust incarceration for defending herself against a July 2010 racist and tranphobic assault aimed at her and some friends in Minneapolis, CeCe quickly became a leading and outspoken fighter in the movements for LGBTQ liberation, prison abolition, and racial justice.

She is currently working on a forthcoming documentary with actress Laverne Cox on her case entitled Free CeCe. Since being released, CeCe has spoken across the nation: she served as the Grand Marshall of Seattle Pride, received the Bayard Rustin Civil Rights award, was featured in an article published by Rolling Stone Magazine, and has appeared on Democracy Now!, MSNBC, and in various other media outlets.

And I'll finally get the chance to meet her!  Looking forward to giving her a big hug when that happens and hearing her acceptance speech.

T Minus 2 Weeks To CC15

This time last year it was those of us on the Houston Host Committee for Creating Change 2014 who were checking and rechecking our plans, nervously looking at the long range weather forecasts, and giddy with excitement that we were about to roll out the rainbow carpet to the community for our first ever Creating Change that we intentionally set the bar high for and smashed records in conducting it.

And yes National LGBTQ Task Force, we look forward in H-town to having the opportunity to host Creating Change again.

Now it's Denver's turn.   And we can feel the Denver Host Committee's excitement and nervousness all the way here in Texas.



You can exhale CC15 Host Committee because the nine months of planning meetings are over.  All you're doing at this point is dealing with last minute issues that crop up.  Your four CC15 conference co-chairs are doing their local media blitz and checking with the chairs and co-chairs of the committees they are responsible for to make sure everything is running smoothly.   
 
In just two weeks LGBT World will be gathering at the 5,280 altitude of Denver, Colorado for Creating Change 2015 at the Sheraton Denver Downtown and all the other nearby overflow hotels for the expected 3500 attendees.

And for those of us coming from Houston, we'll be interested to see if they back up the smack talk some loose lipped Coloradans allegedly uttered at the Hilton Americas bar during CC14 that they would smash all our CC all time records we'd just set.

And hope to see my Denver trans family in the CC15 house and all the rest of you peeps I know and love while I'm there.   Looking forward to meeting a few new friends as well.

Denver will be the center of LGBT World from February 3-8, and it'll be fun to see all my fave peeps in the community and report on the CC15 happenings, especially from the perspective of someone who is just a year removed from helping plan one.

I'm also excited because it's the first time ever I've been able to attend back to back Creating Change conferences and it's time for the Air Marshal to take flight again..

So see y'all in two weeks.   And yeah, I'll be bringing my Houston Texans sweatshirt with me.

Denver Trans Community, You Handling Your #CC15 Trans Business?

So as we pass the torch to you Denver trans community, we in the Houston trans community issue you a challenge.  We want you to meet or exceed our Houston trans community level of involvement as you put together next year's conference .   

We'd like to ask you to make sure that when the Denver Host Committee is formed to organize #CC15, it has significant and diverse trans representation on it like ours did.
--TransGriot, February 3, 2014, 'Denver Transpeeps, Make Sure Your #CC15 Host Committee Reps The 'T"

That was the challenge I issued to Denver as a #CC14 Houston Host committee member as we passed the torch to them as the host city for the next Creating Change Conferenec to be held in the Mile High City February 4-8. 

And while the peeps in Denver will have a tough act to follow in H-town, one of the things I hope they match or exceed us in is trans representation throughout their conference. 

At this point in the Creating Change organizing process, they have already had at least two organizing committee meetings and have selected the faces of their conference in their four Host Committee co-chairs (Leslie Herod, Krista Whipple, Rachel Chapparo and Sydney Andrews).  They have had their meetings determining who will chair and co-chair the fifteen various subcommittees. 

And yeah, TransGriot readers, I was surprised to find out I know one of the four Denver Host Committee co-chairs.  I wasn't kidding about how many people I know nationwide in this community.. 


But the Denver peeps are quite aware they are on the organizing clock for their upcoming conference.  If their process was anything like ours, the various committees and the leadership in them are just sorting things out because it is Pride Month and the primary LGBT community organizing at this time is centered around that event..

But once Pride is over, it will be time to get down to #CC15 business, and I know Courtney Gray, Host Committee Co Chair Krista Whipple and the Denver trans community took my challenge seriously.  

Challenge accepted! https://www.facebook.com/groups/446151722178870/.

Meanwhile we're just observing, fondly remembering what last summer was like for us and  waiting in Houston for another opportunity to host Creating Change and prove to LGBT World that we can exceed the high #CC14 bar we set earlier this year

Oh yeah, those of us on the Houston Host Committee haven't forgotten the alleged boasting by some of you Denver peeps while y'all were at the Hilton Americas during  #CC14 that you would break all the Creating Change records we just set.  

Sounds like someone was smoking Colorado's finest when they said that, so yeah, bring it..  Let's see if y'all topple our attendance record along with the other ones we smashed..   

When me and my Houston peeps roll up to the Mile High City in February, we would love to see transpeople involved in every facet of the Denver #CC15 Host Committee.  

And Denver trans peeps, not too late for y'all to find a #CC15 sub-committee that interests you and get busy to help plan it.  The benefit of this experiece is that you'll not only be doing your part to plan #CC15, you also foster some better networking relationships with a cross section of the Denver area TBLG community, and meet folks outside you normal influence circles you probably wouldn't have met.

There's also another perk with being on the Creating Change Host Committee I'll let your organizing committee tell y''all about.  And you may make some friends in the process.

So Denver Trans Community, are you handling you #CC15 trans business?    Just checking.

Denver Transpeeps, Make Sure Your #CC15 Host Committee Reps The 'T'

Now that Creating Change Houston style is over, we get to rest, bask in the afterglow of a job well done and wait to pounce on another opportunity to bid for it again.

In the meantime our thoughts and gaze is turning towards Colorado and the city we passed the Creating Change torch to in Denver

I'm sure you are quite aware of by now that Houston set the bar high in terms of how to organize and run this event.

One of the things that we were wildly successful at was getting the Houston trans community and our allies involved.

Lou Weaver was selected as one of the four Houston Host Committee co-chairs.  We had transpeople as chairs and co-chairs of various subcommittees and a small army of them either as members of the host committee or who volunteered their time to make the event run smoothly.   

We had transpeople presenting seminars or having major roles in panels.  And it didn't hurt that one of the people on the Houston host committee was a GLAAD Media Award nominated blogger documenting much of it..   

Our local trans community benefited immensely from having to focus along with our SGL brothers and sisters in bringing sustained collective work toward organizing a major convention. It has laid the groundwork for the work and cohesion that will be necessary when we gear up to get a comprehensive non-discrimination ordinance with gender identity and sexual orientation language passed.

It has also had the ripple effect of not only getting us better connected with each other. but with our Houston GLB family we worked side by side with on the host committee.

So as we pass the torch to you Denver trans community, we in the Houston trans community issue you a challenge.  We want you to meet or exceed our Houston trans community level of involvement as you put together next year's conference .   

We'd like to ask you to make sure that when the Denver Host Committee is formed to organize #CC15, it has significant and diverse trans representation on it like ours did.

I know that Denver's trans community has groundbreaking leaders there that the rest of the country needs to know about.  You have television personality Eden Lane in your backyard who would probably make an excellent keynote speaker or panelist.  Pam Bennett has run for office in suburban Aurora twice.    My activist mentor Dainna Cicotello lives in the area, and you have unsung trans heroes and sheroes who would benefit from having the #CC15 spotlight shined on them.

And when we roll up to Denver on February 3-8 we'd love to meet them.

So Denver transpeeps, you're now on the Creating Change clock.  Please make sure that when the Denver Host Committee starts forming in a few months, that you are there in full effect repping the 'T' and your community is reflected in the programming, suites and seminars.

But you have to be part of the organizing process to make that happen.