DNC Chair Tom Perez, DNC LGBTQ Caucus Chair Earl Fowlkes, and DNC Member Dr. Marisa Richmond released the following joint statement on International Transgender Day of Visibility:
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“Today, we celebrate and honor transgender and non-binary people and the contributions they have made and continue to make to our country and the world – from Stonewall to the halls of public service. We celebrate artists and entrepreneurs, scientists and athletes, authors and activists. We admire all members of the transgender and non-binary community for their bravery and strength. And we remember all those who have lost their lives to tragic acts of transphobic violence.
“While we celebrate the lives of so many transgender leaders and heroes, we also recognize the significant legal, financial, and social barriers transgender and gender non-conforming people face on a daily basis and recommit to fighting all forms of discrimination through the statehouse, courthouse, White House, Capitol, school board, and town hall. Sadly, we don’t have to look far for examples of such injustice. Just yesterday, Republican Idaho Governor Brad Little signed two anti-transgender laws.
“Democrats stand with trans people in their push for full equity. We will not allow Trump and the Republican Party to drag us backward to a world that is less tolerant, less inclusive, and less just. House Democrats unanimously passed the Equality Act last year, and we look forward to a Democratic president signing it into law next year and undoing Trump’s historic record of anti-trans actions. While we still have a long road ahead to achieve full equality, we will never stop fighting.”
Houston City Council voted 15-1 to formally put in a bid to land the 2020 Democratic National Convention after being asked to do so by the Democratic Party.
The last time we hosted a DNC was 1928. That led to the construction of the Sam Houston Coliseum, which was eventually demolished to make room for the Hobby Center.
Houston was also host city for the 1992 Republican Convention at the Astrodome in which Pat Buchanan made his infamous 'culture war' speech.
Houston joins seven other cities, Atlanta, Birmingham, Denver, Miami Beach, Milwaukee, New York and San Francisco in competing for the coveted convention.
The DNC had previously sent out letters to a longer list of cities to gauge their interest in hosting the event. Birmingham and New York were considered as host cities in 2016, but were passed over for the eventual winner Charlotte.
The winning city will be announced in January 2019
As many of you may or not be aware of, 2018 is an election year in which we will determine the makeup of Congress for the next two years.
This midterm election year is even more critical, because it will also determine what happens during the rest of the Trump Misadministration.
For of you hating the direction of Dear Cheeto Leader's mispresidency , the lack of will by the Republican controlled House and Senate to do anything about it while eagerly passing a tax cut for billionaires and corporations, November 6 is your chance to strike back and #FireTheGOP.
While the Democrats thanks to the Sen. Doug Jones (D) win in Alabama only need to flip two more Senate seats to regain control of the Senate, they also have the problem of having to defend 26 senate seats while the Republicans have to defend just eight in this 2018 cycle.
And Al Franken's seat that he resigned from wasn't supposed to be up for reelection until 2020. That extra Senate seat being up for grabs in Minnesota only adds to the Democrats challenge in taking the chamber back from the Republicans.
In the House, the Democrats political challenge is a lot more doable despite GOP gerrymandering and voter suppression laws in many red states. What they have to do is flip 24 congressional districts in order to make Rep. Nancy Pelosi the speaker of the House again.
What's the significance of the Democrats getting control of the House? If that happens, they can block any bad legislation that Trump wishes to pass.
And for those of you who want Dear Cheeto Leader impeached, the process starts in the House Judiciary Committee. It's much more likely to happen in a Democratic controlled House chamber than the Republican controlled one we have now.
In addition, accountability investigations of the Trump administration that aren't happening now will take place with far more frequency under a Democratically controlled House Congress.
nd yes, if by some miracle they get control of the Senate. The trial and vote to remove Trump from office happens in the US Senate. Failing that, they will also in a Democratically controlled Senate will also be able to investigate the Trump Misadministrations.
Can they make that happen? It depends on what you the voters do this November.
TransGriot Note: This op-ed is courtesy of Philadelphia based trans advocate Sharron Cooks, who was our lone African-American trans feminine delegate at the 2016 DNC, and recently participated in the Trans United For Hillary event centered in North Carolina.
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The Democratic Party and its leadership as we know it have been devastated by the results of this election term especially the presidency. This is particularly troublesome for people of color, Muslims, people with abilities issues, LGB people and the transgender community. The transgender community of color will be the first and most negatively affected by the 2016 presidential election results because of the discriminatory policies the Republicans plan to implement while in control of our three branches of American government; the presidency, congress and the Supreme Court (if a conservative is appointed). Mike Pence has been hailed as one of the most conservative and anti-lgbT government officials of our time. His views and policies on lgbT issues will strip away any and all progress made for lgbT equality under President Obama's administration. For transgender individuals this is absolutely terrifying.
During the Hillary Clinton campaign, I took a visit to North Carolina with Trans United for Hillary (TU4H). TU4H is a political organization that is comprised of Trans activists from various organizations and states from around the country. TU4H organized several events in North Carolina to help support Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party, and oppose Governor Pat McCrory, the sponsor of HB2. House Bill 2 or more formally known as the, "Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act," is a piece of statewide anti lgbT legislation that grants the state permission to legally discriminate against gay and transgender people in North Carolina and it is in full effect.
My visit to North Carolina, gave me and others in the Trans community, a glimpse of what is in store for the lgbT community underneath a Trump/ Pence administration, which is the legalization of discrimination against lgbT individuals not only in North Carolina but nationwide. A member of the TU4H team had a first had experience being discriminated against for simply existing. While canvassing for the TU4H campaign, a Trans woman had law enforcement officials called on her not once but twice. The perception of being "Trans," is all North Carolina residents need when they call law enforcement officials. Luckily, my TU4H team member was not arrested but it was definitely a wake up call for me and many other TU4H team members.
Trans activists from the National Center for Transgender Equality, the Human Rights Campaign and from around the country along with some Trans delegates from the Democratic National Convention were informed about the discrimination our TU4H team members faced and we were instructed not to "post" about it by a TU4H organizer. In essence we were being "silenced" in the face of anti- lgbT protections even though our mission is to advocate for pro- lgbT legislation.
This was most troubling for me for several reasons; first, why would the TU4H and the Democratic Party knowingly send a Trans people in a known conservative county with No Trespassing" signage to canvass (knock on the doors of residents to get them out to vote and to promote the Democratic Party's platform of inclusion and diversity)? Second, why was our safety being compromised for political gain? Third, why did TU4H organizers ask the team to "remain silent" about two incidents involving the police being called on a Trans woman for simply existing?
All too often, Trans people are exploited and their safety put at risk all for the sake of a human resource such as labor and political capital in this case.
Republican Governor McCrory was defeated in North Carolina's gubernatorial race by Democrat Roy Cooper which gives lgbT people in North Carolina some hope of HB2 being repealed. But is it a victory considering what the Trump/Pence administration has planned?
It has been days now since the results of the American presidential campaign and many white LGBT organizations and leaders are at a loss as to which direction they "should" focus on to ensure the protections LGBTQ people, secured during President Obama's administration. As a member of the Trans community of color, I am extremely concerned that the rights of Trans people will be the first set of protections to be revoked. It is time for white LGBT leaders to become supportive allies to the Trans community and it's leadership. It is time for the "old guard" to step aside and listen to those who are facing discrimination on an all too frequent basis, and to help elevate members of the Trans community to lead this battle for equality. Not equality for some, not equality in incremental stages, not equality that only consists of white LGBT run organizations but true equality for all people.
In Philadelphia, PA we are very fortunate to have lgbT protections but how long will that last under a Trump/Pence administration? Well if it is anything like HB2 in North Carolina, our nation's LGB and Trans community is in for a world full of troubles. The Trans community, all too often, has not been a priority when it comes to legal protections and now that we are probably the first in line facing a repeal of any and all rights we have fought for, we are demanding our inclusion in every the stage of the legislative process. #ProtectTransRights
Another one of the outstanding speeches of this just concluded DNC convention in Philly was delivered by a man that I had the pleasure of meeting while I was living in Louisville, and got reconnected with him during the 2015 LGBT Media Journalists Convening when he was our keynote speaker for the event.
I'm talking about the Rev Dr. William Barber II, the president of the North Carolina NAACP and a fierce social justice warrior. Thursday night America got to witness what many of us who have had the opportunity to hear him speak already know. This is a man who is an unapologetic truth teller who has no problem speaking truth to power and tellin' it like it T-I-S is.
I was handling some TTNS business and unfortunately missed it live, but when I found out he had spoken to the DNC, when I got some downtime I checked it out.
Here's Dr. Barber's DNC speech for those of you who missed it.
Hillary Clinton wasn't the only woman making history last night at the Wells Fargo Center . When Sarah McBride stepped to the podium on the DNC convention stage, she became the first out trans person to deliver a speech at a major party political convention
It's apropos that she is making this history as we showed up at #DNCinPhilly with a record trans contingent of 28 people..
Srah standing on that stage helped fulfill something I was hoping along with the rest of the American trans community would happen, and emphatically points out that the Democratic party is the one what supports the humanity and human rights of trans Americans.
We're now past Day 1 and Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia as we rush toward the historic Thursday night that Sec Hillary Clinton will make her acceptance speech for the Democratic presidential nomination. But before we get to that historic day, we have to get through Day 3 of the #DNCinPhilly
Day 3 kicked off with now 14 year old Sebastien De La Cruz singing the national anthem to start the #DNCinPhilly proceedings day. If you don't remember my fellow Texan, several years ago during the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat his then 11 year old self got hated on by bigoted ignorati on Twitter after singing the national anthem. It prompted the Spurs to issue another invitation for the 'Little Mariachi' to sing the national anthem during the Finals.
Since then De La Cruz has appeared in an episode of Telenovela, since Eva Longoria is a big fan of his along with President Obama, Longoria also produced the documentary for ESPN about the incident. He sang his way into the semifinals of America's Got Talent, and back in March sang the national anthem before the Clinton-Sanders debate in Miami.
The big business of the day was the vice presidential nomination, which was formally done by acclamation for Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) which he accepted in his speech later that evening.
The Democratic vice presidential nominee showed off his Spanish language skills as he whacked Trump on his fitness for office..
There was also the enjoyable takedown of the Trumpenfuhrer by former New York mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who called him out as a 'dangerous demagogue' and on his shady business practices.
It was also nice to see Vice President Joe Biden's speech tonight He reminded everyone of the stakes in this election and also talked about our presidential nominee in comparison to the opposition..
Texas bragging moment alert. We're showing up and showing out at this DNC event. Eva Longoria, Sebastien De La Cruz, Cecile Richards, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Ilyse Hogue...
And that's before I start talking about my fellow Texans who are there repping the Lone Star State in the Texas DNC delegation like Ashton Woods, Melissa Vivanco, Kim Frederick, Lou Weaver, Brad Pritchett and countless others. Also cool to know that my H-town homegirl Yesenia Chavez, who is working down I-95 in our nation's capital is in the DNC house
I'm enjoying your FB and other photos your're posting of the convention action and the celebs you're running into. Makes me feel less bummed about being there.
I enjoyed seeing the various Democratic legislative leadership caucuses like the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Congressional Asian Pacific Islander Caucus on stage reminding people that we not only have some amazing leaders in our party, but some up and coming young ones like Georgia state Rep. Park Cannon.
As each of those groups took the DNC stage, they reminded everyone to not stop at the top of the ticket, but finish the job and vote for every race on your November 8 ballot . We have a great shot of flipping the US Senate back to Democratic control, and a longer one at getting control of the US House back
But the big speech of Day 3 was given by President Obama. Kinda obvious he's the second best speechmaker in that family, but he succinctly laid out the case for supporting Sec Hillary Clinton and making sure she's taking the oath of office January 20 as our 45th president.
Day 1 of #DNCinPhilly was contentious at times, but this was the day that eluded Hillary Clinton eight years ago and that sound you heard was the glass ceiling finally shattering.
Move over boys, Hillary Clinton has now made history as the first woman to be nominated for president by a major party . It was a long road to get to this point in American history with many women trying to do so but ultimately falling short of making that history.
Somewhere Ann Richards, Shirley Chisholm and Barbara Jordan are smiling because that glass ceiling she put 16 million cracks in back in 2008 has finally been broken.
After Hillary Clinton narrowly missed the big prize in 2008, she finally made it happen in 2016. Now if we can just get her to the point in November of calling her 'Madame President' instead of 'Madame Secretary'.
The LGBT Caucus happened today, and one of the highlights of it was Barbra casbar Siperstein presenting the Jane Fee Award to Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA).
While some of the Bernie Sanders supporters are still upset about the fact that you can officially stop calling Clinton the presumptive nominee, the efforts continue in this convention space and beyond to get those folks who see the big picture of what needs to happen on November 8 to be totally on board with her instead of 'I guess I'm with her.'
Some of the highlights of Day Two of the DNC besides the Roll Call of the States were speeches by the Mothers of the Movement to the shouts in the Wells Fargo Center hall of 'Black Lives Matter'
They pointed out that they trust Hillary Clinton , not Donald Trump to reduce racial tensions between police and the Black community because of her longtime commitment to social justice and urged people to vote for her.,
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright also took the stage to point out Trump's problematic fawning over authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong-un, who recently endorsed him.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) also repeated something I've been concerned about as a Kennedy baby who grew up during the Cold War and had to do duck and cover nuke attack drills in elementary school until 3rd grade.
I don't want Donald Trump's paws and thin skinned behind near the US nuclear launch codes, and McAuliffe echoed my thoughts in terms of cautioning the nation about giving control of the nuclear launch codes to a man who praises Putin and Saddam Hussein
The speech by former Attorney General Eric Holder debunked the lies that Trump has been telling, and pointed out that violent crime has gone down since President Obama took office.
He went on to passionately endorse Hillary Clinton for president.,
The big speech of the night was given by our Democratic presidential nominees' husband, who happens to have been the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton.
Bill talked about his wife, how they met and her lifetime of fighting for liberal progressive causes as his daughter Chelsea looked on from the arena box seats.
It was a side of her that many people, haven't heard in terms of her undercover work in Alabama on behalf of Marian Wright Edelman to spike the tax exemptions for the racist private academies that sprang up across the South in order for white parents to avoid sending their kids to integrated schools.
It was nice hearing from Bill about how they got married before he launched into his case as to why she should become our 45th president.
And yeah, not only has the music been better at this convention, ,so has the star power.
Trans people have been part of the DNC convention landscape since 2000, but it wasn't until 2008 that we African American trans folks got our first out trans delegate in Tennessee's Marisa Richmond. She was in the Mile High City for that historic convention that Sen. Barack Obama was nominated at, and eventually won the presidency while carrying our party's label a few months later.
In 2012 Richmond was joined in Charlotte by another person used to making history. Trailblazing trans leader Kylar Broadus of Missouri became our first out Black trans masculine delegate.
This year in Philadelphia we have a record contingent of 27 trans people in the Wells Fargo Center house and attending the various events and panels Marisa Richmond is attending her third consecutive DNC convention, but this time she is making history again by serving as the DNC convention's official timekeeper.
But fear not dear readers. Just as in 2012, the #DNCinPhilly event will have Black trans masculine and Black trans feminine delegate representation in the house for the second consecutive event as part of this record trans DNC contingent thanks to Pennsylvania homegirl Sharron Cooks and Merrick Moses of Maryland.
Both Cooks and Moses will be attending their first DNC convention, and both of our trans siblings are excited to be at another historic Democratic convention as we nominate Sec. Hillary Clinton for president.
"It is an honor and a privilege to be a part of the democratic electoral political process. I am so excited and thrilled to be a first time delegate for Pennsylvania Congressional District 1 especially since Philadelphia is the DNC host city," Cooks said.
She's also proud to be representing the Black trans feminine community here at #DNCinPhilly, and is cognizant of the importance of being here.
"This experience is so humbling, educational and is an amazing opportunity to network with lobbyists and legislators, which I believe is very valuable, because as a community organizer, advocate and activist; it helps when it comes to securing the rights and protections for the LGBTQ community," she added.
Merrick Moses echoed Cooks' excitement about being at his first convention/ He felt honored to be there in Philadelphia and part of the record trans DNC contingent and the Maryland delegation..
He's proud of representing the Black trans community and the state of Maryland. He also been pleased about the diversity being showcased to America an the world at this #DNCinPhilly event.
"We have a large number of LGBT delegates, and I am so happy the party has been intentional about showing our diversity." he said.
"It's been interesting, I'm loving the experience and hope that more Black trans folks join us in 2020."
Well, I'm working on it.
Both Cooks and Moses have also expressed interest in wanting to meet each other, exchange information and take photos with each other before the convention closes Thursday
Thanks to you and Sharron for repping our community in Philadelphia and making a little Black trans history while doing so.
Thanks to both of you for not only being witnesses to American history being made at this DNC convention, but actually playing a part in making it happen on behalf of the people you're representing in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
TransGriot Update: Sharron and Merrick finally met on Wednesday ...
Yesterday in downtown Philadelphia the 2016 DNC LGBT Caucus meeting took place in a packed room at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
11.5% of the delegates here for the #DNCinPhilly are members of the LGBT community, which is an increase over the 7.5% of the delegates our community made up at the 2012 DNC in Charlotte.
While we're repping different letters of the alphabet and in some cases multiple intersectional identities, we are united in LGBT World in ensuring that Donald Trump goes down to crushing defeat on November 8 and ensuring our civil rights are protected.
During the LGBT Caucus event, that started at noon EDT, in addition to discussions about the Equality Act, HB2 and other issues of importance to the community, some of the 28 trans delegates in attendance at this event were introduced to the LGBT caucus crowd.
Barbra Casbar Siperstein, who is on the DNC Executive Committee and one of the two trans superdelegates, was also on hand to give out the Jane Fee Award, which is quadrennially given at the DNC convention and named for the Minnesotan who in 2000 became the first out trans delegate to attend a DNC convention..
It;s given to the trans ally within the Democratic Party who has stood up for and is supportive of trans rights issues within the party.
The Jane Fee Award was given to Rep. Mike Honda, (D-CA) who has been openly supportive of his transgender grandchild and has been not only on an evolutionary journey to understand the terminology of our community, but has stepped up to become a trans supportive legislative champion..
For those of you who didn't get to witness it live, First Lady Michelle Obama took to the DNC 2016 stage last night and delivered a speech for the ages that reminded me at times of the one her hubby dropped at the 2004 DNC event in Boston.
This #DNCinPhilly convention is tuning out to be even more historic for trans kind than I anticipated. In addition to having a record 27 trans delegates attending the event and the American trans community eagerly awaiting Sarah McBride's Thursday podium speech, there's more news cementing this Philadephia DNC convention as one of the most trans friendly events in American political history.
Longtime Nashville based trans advocate Marisa Richmond has been active in Democratic Party politics for years and has been a delegate to several DNC conventions including the 2008 one in which she witnessed history in then Sen. Barack Obama's historic nomination.
She'll have a lot closer seats than she did in 2008 to witness another historic nomination this time, like on the convention stage.
Marisa's task as the convention's official timekeeper is to keep all the speakers on schedule and within their allotted time limits. Through her roles with Trans United For Hillary and the Democratic Party's LGBT advisory board she was contacted and subsequently offered the position.
"It's a personal honor and privilege to be up there on the stage," said Richmond in an interview with The Tennessean. "I'll be just a few feet away from all of the speakers all four nights. it's literally one of the best seats there."
"It shows that this is easily the most trans friendly convention ever, " she said. "It shows that this party has really made progress in terms of inclusion and diversity."
Speaking of seats, if you're looking for her, during the television telecasts, where the arrow is in the photo by Mara Keisling is where Marisa will be sitting and doing her timekeeping duties during the convention.
The Tennessee Democratic Party was also pleased about Richmond being chosen as the 2016 DNC convention timekeeper, and Tennessee State Democratic Party Chair Mary Mancini said she was thrilled by her selection.
Mancini noted that Richmond, the former chair of the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, has been one of the strongest LGBTQ advocates in Tennessee and across the country for many years."
And yes, I'll definitely cosign that sentiment. I've had the pleasure of knowing her trailblazing self since the late 90's, and I'm proud of her for getting this amazing honor.
What a first day for the #DNCinPhilly Debbie Wasserman Schultz gets called out at the Florida delegation breakfast and subsequently resigns as chair of the DNC because of the drama stirred up by the Wikileaks hack. Donna Brazile as a result becomes the interim chair of the DNC.
The Berners showing their assess in the Wells Fargo Center convention hall by booing Rep. Marcia Fudge, & Rep. Elijah Cummings, which isn't sitting too well right now with the Ohio and Maryland delegations and Black Democrats like myself, and only adds to the pissivity we feel about Sanders supporters.
The Sandernistas were ranting on social media (and probably still are) claiming that Bernie was cheated out of the Democratic presidential nomination because the process was 'rigged'.
Naw Bernie boo boo kitties, Hillary beat him, and he lost because he and his campaign team forgot that in Democratic Party primaries, #BlackVotersMatter. Even your own peeps are admitting that the process wasn't rigged.
They got mad at me on social media because I called them out about the #DNCinPhilly bigotry eruptions aimed at women and POC speakers. Don't care if you don't like it and my block game on Twitter is strong once I get tired of playing with y'all. Not happy about you dissing Black Democrats as y'all have done during this entire Democratic primary process, and gonna call out the Green Tea Party bigotry when I see it.
As for what network I'm watching for my DNC coverage, I'm predominately watching C-SPAN. I got tired of the incessant CNN and MSNBC chatter about e-mails and Hillary's 'likeability' and flipped it to C-SPAN at 3 PM CDT.
They cover everything with no commercial interruptions and no talking heads commentary.
It was also cool seeing my New York homegirl Melissa Sklarz on stage with the rest of the New York delegation as they took to the stage to express their support for Sec. Clinton, who was their former junior US senator from 2001-2009
But once the speakers starting hitting the stage, the beautiful diversity of our party revealed itself.
We had more lesbian and gay peeps on stage in the first three hours of DNC 2016 once it was gaveled into session by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake than the Republicans had in their entire four day run in Cleveland. We still have my trans sister Sarah McBride's historic speech coming on Thursday. She been getting a lot of media attention as this Time.com profile story attests to.
Congrats Marisa on this honor. Will be paying closer attention to the podium for the rest of the DNC Convention
Loved the speech by my Texas homegirl Eva Longoria before she introduced Sen. Cory Booker to the stage.
She is a longtime Democratic Party activist, and was asked a few years ago to consider running for the US Senate in the Lone Star State which she declined for now.
Longoria had a few mic drop line of her own she talked about herself being a 9th generation Texan, and stated during her remarks 'we didn't cross the border, the border crossed us.'
#NoLieDetected in that comment. Also keeping up with all my Texas homies and homettes via their Facebook pages concerning their experiences at #DNCinPhilly
The 2016 Democratic National Convention gets started in Philadelphia today with the opening gavel in the Wells Fargo Arena scheduled at 3 PM CDT. Should be much better than the Klan rally masquerading as the Republican convention in Cleveland last week even with the drama of Debbie Wasserman Schultz's resignation
The featured speakers lineup for today is First Lady Michelle Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).
Looking forward to once again seeing a Democratic convention hall that looks like America, and I'm exceedingly proud of the fact trans Democrats will be in the hall in full effect. There will be a record 28 person DNC trans delegation and they and Trans World will witness a historic Thursday speech by Sarah McBride from the convention stage..
I'm taking a moment to give a TransGriot shout to my Houston home peeps who are part of the Texas DNC delegation. Like I've said before, we have some amazing advocates repping H-town at the DNC, and those Texas delegation meetings at your host hotel should be a lot of fun.
Wish I could be there with you for this historic convention which will witness the first woman to be nominated as a major party presidential candidate but have another commitment I made I must fulfill. But definitely will be with y'all in spirit.
Also sending love to my Kentucky peeps who made it to #DNCinPHL and all the peeps on my FB pages and Twitter feeds who will be in the house with their various state delegations.
Already enjoying reading your Facebook statuses and tweets, and anticipating the pics and posts I'll see as the DNC is gaveled into session later today and it winds to its climax of Sec. Hillary Clinton's acceptance speech on the 28th..
Hope y'all have fun, handle your business, get to spend a little time enjoying the city and make some amazing memories while you're in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection.
I'm hoping that the 2016 trans DNC contingent during their time in Philadelphia will actually see more trans history made with one of our people actually making a speech to the convention attendees and hopefully the nation from the convention stage. -TransGriot July 24, 2016
Wow, talking about speaking something into existence. I mused about having a trans speaker in a 2012 DNC post along with literally posting several hours ago my expressed hopes that the upcoming #DNCinPhilly event would witness one of the out members of our community speak from the DNC convention stage for the first time.
I'm happy to announce that Sarah McBride will get to make that history on Thursday as the first out trans person to speak from the Democratic National Committee stage in Philadelphia.
She said in a statement to The Hill that she is honored to have the opportunity to do so.
“People must understand that even as we face daily harassment, tragic violence, and an onslaught of anti-LGBTQ political attacks across the country, we are real people merely seeking to be treated with the dignity and respect every person deserves," she said in a statement.
"I'm so proud to stand with the LGBT Caucus and speak out in support of Hillary Clinton, because we know she stands with us.”
What an honor for Sarah, and what an amazing and apropos step forward for the American trans community in a year in which we will send a record 28 trans people to the Democratic National Convention. That's a huge evolutionary step from Jane Fee being the lone trans delegate in Los Angeles in 2000. Since then we have had six trans DNC delegates in Boston in 2004, eight in 2008 in Denver and the then record 13 in Charlotte. I am happy and proud that Sarah will be the person on that DNC Wells Fargo Arena stage, and frankly it's not surprising me that she's the one being tapped for it.
Ever since I met her as a White House intern back when I was attending a 2012 National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) OUT on the Hill White House briefing, she struck me as someone who was going to do some wonderful groundbreaking things for our community, and over the last four years I have been proven correct in my assessment of her.
The only question I have is will Sarah's DNC speech be in prime time on Thursday or sometime during the convention day? If it's during the convention day, I'll have to watch the C-SPAN DNC feed to be able to see it without the network pundits and commentators chattering over it.
Congrats Sarah, this is one amazing accomplishment, and I'll be along with Trans America and our allies eagerly awaiting your historic speech.
One of the things I'd like to see in that 2016 DNC transgender delegate contingent besides more people and continued ethnic diversity is that trans DNC delegation in 2016 and beyond include trans people who are elected to public office. That would be in addition to the trans people already diligently working inside the various levels of the Democratic Party to ensure we have a voice in it at the policy formation tables.
TransGriot, September 6, 2012 When the 2016 Democratic National Convention is gaveled into order for its first session at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, we will have a record 28 trans folks in the house and taking part at this historic convention which will see Hillary Clinton officially become the first female presidential nominee of a major political party.
The Green Party and Jill Stein doesn't count as a major political party and she doesn't have a credible chance of taking the oath of office on January 20, so stop hatin' fauxgressives and deal with that dose of political reality.
We've come a long way in Trans World from the 2000 days in which Minnesota's Jane Fee became the first out trans person the attend a DNC convention and was the lone trans delegate in Los Angeles.
Trans representation at the DNC convention has grown exponentially to the point that we had our most diverse delegation ever in Charlotte with 14 people in 2012, One of the 14 people in attendance in Charlotte was a superdelegate in New Jersey's Barbra Casbar Siperstein.
Babs has been blazing the trail and active in New Jersey and national Democratic Party politics for years, and will be one of the superdelegates in attendance in Philadelphia, the other super being Laura Calvo of Oregon. I'm hoping that the 2016 trans DNC contingent during their time in Philadelphia will actually see more trans history made with one of our people actually making a speech to the convention attendees and hopefully the nation from the convention stage.
It's even more vital the American people see that in the wake of the Republicans putting together a virulently anti-trans and LGB platform. We need to make it clear as a party that we are proud of the most pro-trans platform in Democratic Party history, and putting a trans Democrat on stage would put an exclamation point on our values of treating trans people with dignity and respect.
We already know the Texas DNC delegation will have its first ever out trans masculine representative in Lou Weaver, and Montana will be sending its first ever out trans delegate in Anita Green. Monica DePaul will be the first ever out trans delegate from Florida.
There will also be just as in 2014, two African American trans representatives in Merrick Moses from Maryland and Sharron Cooks representing the host delegation from Pennsylvania
While I'm proud of the record numbers of trans people headed to Philadelphia, many for the first time, we do have room for improvement in terms of the diversity of our trans DNC delegates. It's been a dream of mine to one day be a DNC delegate, and I hope I can make that happen someday.
I would also like to see more trans people of all ethnic backgrounds showing up at future DNC's as elected representatives, and hope the 2016 election cycle is the first step toward that becoming a reality.
Speaking of reality, will be nice to not only see a political convention that's grounded in reality, but looks like America at the same time.
Still discovering who was elected to become delegates at the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia July 25-28 and congrats to all of those who were elected to represent our state. In case you're wondering, it's one of the things I would like to do someday.
While perusing Facebook, I discovered a little trans history was made during the just concluded Texas Democratic convention in San Antonio.
So far have discovered that we have two trans Texans headed to Philadelphia for this years Democratic National Convention. One of the delegates representing our state is Danielle Pellet, who is pledged to Bernie Sanders, the other is Houston's own Lou Weaver, who was elected as an at-large delegate pledged to Hillary Clinton.
With that selection, Lou made Texas trans history as the first ever out trans masculine Texan to accomplish that feat. We have had three out trans feminine Texans represent our state at previous national DNC conventions in Vanessa Edwards Foster (2004,2008), Christina Ocasio (2004) and Meghan Stabler (2012).
Danielle Pellet will also be joining him in Philadelphia as a trans delegate for the Lone Star State pledged to Sanders.
And Texas trans bragging time, Texas is so far the only state (2004) to have had at least two trans delegates attend the same national DNC convention and we've now accomplished that feat for the second time. Foster so far is the only trans Texan to have gone to the DNC national convention twice.
And we trans Texans since 2004 have now sent at least one trans delegate to the national DNC convention for now four straight conventions.
The 2012 DNC national convention in Charlotte had a record 14 trans delegates. We already know that two from the Lone Star State will be repping our community and I hope that nationally we'll shatter that 14 trans delegates number.
Congratulation to Lou Weaver for not only making it to Philly, but making a little history along the way as he gets to witness what is sure to be a historic Democratic convention next month.
Looking forward to hearing about it the next time we cross paths.
TransGriot note: Photo of Lou by Eric Edward Schell photography
I was going to compile a post (and probably still need to) that put together the best speeches from the recently concluded DNC, but this one needed its own stand alone post.
It's from Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-MO), the current chair of the Congressional Black Caucus who when he's not batting the Teapublicans is an ordained minister in Kansas City.
And he ditched his prepared remarks and took the DNC to church.
