Kerry Washington's 2015 GLAAD Vanguard Award Acceptance Speech

As y'all know, I have much love for Kerry Washington, and look forward to the day when I can meet her and let my inner fangirl loose,

In accepting the Vanguard Award last night, she cut loose with a powerful speech that brought the assembled crowd to their feet.  One portion of it was calling out the hypocrisy of marginalized communities turning on each other.

"So when Black people today tell me that they don't believe in gay marriage… the first thing that I say is please don't let anybody try to get you to vote against your own best interests by feeding you messages of hate. And then I say, you know people used to say stuff like that about you and your love. And if we let the government start to legislate love in our lifetime, who do you think is next?" 

"We can't say that we believe in each other’s fundamental humanity and then turn a blind eye to the reality of each others existence and the truth of each other’s hearts. We must be allies. And we must be allies in this business because to be represented is to be humanized. And as long as anyone, anywhere is being made to feel less human, our very definition of humanity is at stake and we are all vulnerable."

And here's the video of that Vanguard Award acceptance speech.

Kerry Washington To Receive GLAAD Vanguard Award Tonight

The 26th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, LA Division will kick off in a few hours at the Beverly Hilton and I'm pleased to hear that one of my fave actresses in Kerry Washington will be honored with this year's Vanguard Award.

The GLAAD Vanguard Award is presented to the media professional who have made a significant difference in promoting equality.

Some of the previous Vanguard Award recipients have been Janet Jackson, Charlize Theron, Kristen Chenoweth, drew Barrymore, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Taylor, Antonio Banderas and Sharon Stone.

In addition to appearing in LGBT-inclusive projects like Scandal, Peeples, She Hate Me, The Dead Girl, and Life is Hot in Cracktown (in which she played a trans woman),Washington has tirelessly spoken out in support of full equality and human rights for TBLGQ people. She has has participated in GLAAD's annual anti-bullying campaign, Spirit Day, by wearing purple to show her support for BTLGQ youth, and talked about the importance of stopping bullying on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Congrats to Kerry, and looking forward to seeing her later tonight along with her acceptance speech.

If It Happens, It Happens

Had a reader ask me recently if I was disappointed I didn't get a repeat GLAAD Media Award Outstanding Blog nomination

Yep, I was.  While I would have liked for that to happen, the nomination process for this award is out of my control.  All I can control is continuing to put together a quality blog that tells stories and comments on events in the trans, bi and SGL community and beyond from a predominately African-American trans perspective.

And one day, I hope that's enough to win it.  

But best of luck to Alvin McEwen, whose Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters garnered a second straight nomination this year and everyone else nominated in the blogging category.

Tiq Discusses Trans Detainee On MSNBC

Got to spend some quality time with him last week during an NABJ panel, but always good to see my trans brother Tiq Milan handling his business on behalf of the community repping the 'T'.

While I was rolling west Thursday on I-10 towards San Marcos, Tiq was on MSNBC's Ronan Farrow Daily discussing 23 year old Marichuy, a trans detainee who was being mistreated and subsequently sexually assaulted in an immigration detention center. 

2014 GLAAD Media Awards, NY Division Tonight

While I'm in Dallas at the moment hanging out with my BTAC peeps, I will have one eye turned in the direction of New York City's Waldorf Astoria Hotel. 

Later tonight I'll discover like everyone else if I got an early birthday present and get to make a little more trans history in the process. 

The GLAAD Media Awards are taking place this evening, and as many of you loyal readers know TransGriot was nominated in the Outstanding Blog category.    I'm honored, pleased and happy that I'm the first trans feminine blogger to ever be nominated in this category.  

I thank you all for your unwavering support of this blog over the last eight years.  I thank you for occasionally dropping cash in the TransGriot tip jar and sharing my posts on you Facebook and Twitter feeds so they do get read.   I thank you for the confidence you have expressed in me that I am doing my best to fulfill the mission I laid out for this blog in being a unapologetically Black trans voice for this community telling it like it T-I-S is on subjects inside and outside the TBLG community.. 

I thank you and I'm humbled by your glowing assessments of my chances of seeing that GLAAD award land on my trophy shelf, but the reality is I do have some stiff competition in this category.

Kimberley McLeod's Elixher, Alvin McEwen's Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters , Autostraddle and The New Civil Rights Movement  are no slouchy blogs either.  This is the second nomination for Autostraddle and the third for The New Civil Rights Movement.   

Kimberley and Alvin are quality people I have much love and the utmost respect for as well

So we'll see in a few hours if I can officially say that TransGriot is a GLAAD Media Award Winning Blog and give my haters something else to dislike me for.

Should they call my name tonight, I would be the first trans blogger ever to win the Outstanding Blog award in the short history of this category that started in 2011.

But if I don't, it was an honor just to be named as one of the five finalists in that category.   

2014 GLAAD Media Awards LA

Saturday night on the Left Coast the GLAAD Media Awards, LA Division were held in the Beverly Hilton Hotel.  My category will be announced May 3 in New York, and won't be done during the live event. 

Jennifer Lopez was presented with GLAAD's Vanguard Award by the legendary Rita Moreno. 

The Vanguard Award honors efforts to increase visibility and understanding of the TBLG community.   In addition to being an outspoken advocate for the community, Lopez serves as executive producer of the ABC Family series "The Fosters," which centers on a lesbian couple raising their children.

"The Fosters" also won the award for outstanding drama series.




Laverne Cox was presented with the Stephen J. Kolzak Award,  which is given to an openly trans, bi, lesbian or gay member of the entertainment community who have made a significant difference in promoting equality for the TBLG community.   The previous recipients of the Kolzak award have included Wanda Sykes, Rufus Wainwright, Melissa Etheridge, Ellen DeGeneres and Ian McKellen, and Laverne's name has now joined that distinguished list..

Countdown To The GLAAD Media Awards

The Los Angeles ones are happening April 12, and congrats to my homegirl Laverne Cox for receiving GLAAD's Stephen F Kolzak Award.    The Kolzak Award is presented to a person who has made a significant difference in the promotion of LGBTQ equality and yep, Laverne definitely fits that bill.  .

The past winners of it are Ellen DeGeneres, Wanda Sykes, Melissa Etheridge, Rufus Wainwright and Sir Ian McKellen.

As for my category, I'll find out a month from now along with my fellow nominees in the GLAAD Media Awards Outstanding Blog category if I make history by becoming the first trans blogger ever to win it.

Would be a nice early birthday present, but have some stiff competition in this category with Kimberley McLeod's Elixher (of which my posts appear at times) , Alvin McEwen's Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, multiple nominee Autostraddle and The New Civil Rights Movement.

As I said in my post when I heard about the nomination, it's nice when you get recognized for the hard work you put in to maintain a quality blog.  When you get nominated, the hard part is over.  All the nomination does is give you a chance to win it.  

While I have appreciated the congratulations and the confidence many of you have expressed in me and my chances to win this with my first nomination, it's not official until they call my name May 3. 

And nope New York trans peeps, since this category won't be announced during the live show, no point in me coming up there.  But there is probably a New York trip in my future assuming I get an invite to speak in the area.  

Dr. Marc Lamont Hill Wins GLAAD Outstanding Digital Journalism Award

Dr Marc Lamont Hill was presented with the award for Outstanding Digital Journalism Article by Trans 100 honorees actress Laverne Cox and writer and filmmaker Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler at the 24^th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco on Saturday night.

Hill won the award for his Ebony.com piece "Why Aren't We Fighting for CeCe McDonald?"

While the Ebony magazine print version has garnered several GLAAD Media Awards this was the first time Ebony.com has won a GLAAD award.  

During his moving acceptance speech, Dr. Hill led the audience in a "Free CeCe" chant.

Jazz At The GLAAD Media Awards

Shoot, Jazz is piling up more frequent flyer miles than I am so far this year.   If I can get to Philly from here for the upcoming Philadelphia Trans Health Conference I'll finally get an opportunity to meet her and her mom sionce they are scheduled to do a panel discussion there and I'm penciled in for one on Saturday.

Jazz's latest trip was to Los Angeles for the GLAAD Media Awards.   While she was on stage she made the call for Hollywood to do a better job of trans representation on the large and small screens.

She also had this MTV interview about her recent experience.

But back to riffing on the lack of trans visibility on the big and small screens.   Lord knows I've talked about that subject on the blog a few times and especially lack of realistic trans POC characters. 

There's also the irritating tendency of Hollywood producers to cast cis women or gay men to play trans women when there are trans women of all ethnic backgrounds and age ranges working in Hollywood and eager to play some realistic trans roles.

If y'all can't come up with them, e-mail me and I'll come up with some ideas for you to build realistic trans characters for a 10% cut of the profits for starters.   And with the reality that transkids are transitioning as early as 5 and 6 or in their early teen years, that adds more chances to tell trans stories. 

Jazz's mom Jeannette recently sent me a tweet congratulating me for being named to the inaugural Trans100 list and being an inspiration to many people.  I thanked her and noted that Jazz is one my inspirations and thanked her and jazz for being role models for trans teens and transkids that don't have a voice yet.  

The transkids and transteens are one of the reasons I continue to fight for trans human rights coverage here and around the world. 

It's really about the kids like Jazz.  We trans adults and our allies not only need to be good role models for our trans younglings, we need to be fighting tooth and nail with every fiber of our beings to do what we can to leave a better world for them. 

Moni's stepping off her electronic soapbox now.   Enjoy the video

Thousands Call On Smith College To End Trans Applicant Discrimination

GLAAD, students, alumni voice support of trans-inclusive admissions policy

New York, April 11, 2013 - GLAAD, the nation's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy organization, today announced that it has joined more than 3,000 Change.org petition signers and student organizers at Smith College to call for an end to the school's policy that unfairly rejects the admission applications of some transgender women. That petition is available here: http://change.org/smithadmissions In March, Smith denied admission to Calliope Wong because the gender marker on her FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Financial Aid) form did not match her stated gender identity of female.  Despite Smith's reputation for being inclusive, this policy turns a blind eye to the many complications and challenges trans people - especially youth - sometimes face when attempting to correct gender markers on personal identification documents. "Through the pressure from this petition and the campaign in general, I hope that Smith College becomes a more responsible and transparent institution," said Wong. "What that means to me is that Smith College will no longer use arbitrary and legally dubious bars against transwomen in the application and admissions process." "Thousands of Smith's supporters are telling the school that it needs to end its policy of refusing to consider the applications of women whom they decide aren't 'woman enough' based on inconsistent documents," said GLAAD spokesperson Wilson Cruz. "Smith is setting a poor example to all of its students by not even accepting the applications of women like Calliope." "To me, the inclusion of trans women at women's colleges is a feminist issue. Trans women experience misogyny on multiple levels, making it all the more important that they have access to affirmative women's spaces like Smith," said Smith Q&A member and student Elli Palmer. Smith Q&A organizer Ollie Schwartz agreed, saying, "While Smith admissions policies remain muddled, one thing is becoming clear: our communities will not stand idly by while trans women are treated differently." Blogger and Yale student Sarah Giovanniello has been writing about Wong's story. She noted that, "the support the petition has received in just a few days is overwhelming. I hope that the widespread attention Calliope's case has gotten communicates to the Smith administration how important trans women's rights are and should be to the college's mission. Ideally, the college would commit providing trans women with the same level of support as any other applicants." For more information, visit http://glaad.org/smithadmissions ### About GLAAD: GLAAD amplifies the voice of the LGBT community by empowering real people to share their stories, holding the media accountable for the words and images they present, and helping grassroots organizations communicate effectively. By ensuring that the stories of LGBT people are heard through the media, GLAAD promotes understanding, increases acceptance, and advances equality. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org or connect with GLAAD on Facebook and Twitter.

GLAAD Officially Standing Up For Trans People

Got to see an interesting announcement happen while watching this morning's episode of the 2013 GLAAD Media Award winning Melissa Harris-Perry show with a panel that included Janet Mock and Mel Wymore.

Melissa Harris-Perry received the award in the Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine category for a segment entitled "Being Transgender in America."

GLAAD announced that the organization has formally dropped the 'Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation' from its name and will be known going forward as GLAAD, the LGBT media advocacy organization.   With the name change comes a renewed commitment to incorporate transgender people as well as allies from diverse backgrounds in GLAAD's work to shape the media narrative and build public support for LGBT people.





I took part in GLAAD's People of Color Media Institute last summer in New York, and was thrilled to hear the news about this change and making it clear they are standing up for trans people.

"I was happy to hear GLAAD has committed to prioritize trans issues," Laverne Cox, an actress and transgender advocate told NBCNews.com. "They really need to be."

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

"It is a natural progression that reflects the work GLAAD's staff is already leading," said GLAAD's spokesperson Wilson Cruz. "We respect and honor the full name that the organization was founded with, but GLAAD's work has expanded beyond fighting defamation to changing the culture. Our commitment to marriage equality, employment nondiscrimination, and other LGBT issues is stronger than ever, and now our name reflects our work on transgender issues as well as our work with allies."

Well Duh, GLAAD Review Finds Decade Of Trans Media Images Are Negative

I've been complaining on these electronic pages for years about the lack of positive media images when it comes to transpeople.  If you break it down still further and add race to it, those positive media images become even harder to find.

GLAAD recently conducted a review of the 102 episodes of trans inclusive non recurring characters in non scripted television show aired since 2002.

Not surprisingly to me GLAAD found that 54% of those shows were categorized as containing negative representations at the time of their airing. An additional 35% were categorized at ranging from "problematic" to "good," while only 12% were considered groundbreaking, fair and accurate enough to earn a GLAAD Media Award nomination.

GLAAD additionally discovered in their review:

• Transgender characters were cast in a "victim" role at least 40% of the time.
• Transgender characters were cast as killers or villains in at least 21% of the catalogued episodes and storylines.
• The most common profession transgender characters were depicted as having was that of sex workers, which a fifth of all characters were depicted as (20%).
• Anti-transgender slurs, language and dialogue was present in at least 61% of the catalogued episodes and storylines.

I'd be willing to bet if you broke the GLAAD decade long trans character show review down by race those numbers would be worse.

So what can we do to improve those numbers?   First order of business would be to make writers and producers of those shows aware of what they are putting out there that we believe is deleterious to our community.   

As we did as a community and with the help of allies when the dearly departed Work It desecrated the airwaves for its thankfully short run, we put pressure on the networks to get rid of the shows that don't meet that standard and make them aware of the ones that positively reflect on our community by supporting them.   

The ultimate solution would be to actually have trans people of all ethnicities writing said characters on those shows, trans actors to play those characters, and trans people producing and directing them.

GLAAD Intersection of Race and LGBT Issues Telebriefing

TransGriot Note: Saw this interesting note on the GLAAD POC media area of their website posted by Jeff Montes about a telebriefing from 2-3 PM EDT today sponsored by The Opportunity Agenda concerning the issues of race and LGBT issues   One of the participants is NBJC's Kimberley McLeod

Today, The Opportunity Agenda will hold a National Telebriefing on their recently released study entitled “Public Opinion and Discourse on the Intersection of LGBT Issues and Race.” The study analyzed research on LGBT topics in minority-oriented media that was conducted in 2010 and other data pertaining to public opinion on LGBT rights. The study shed light on how LGBT people of color are portrayed in the media and how different LGBT-related topics are discussed.


The study finds that coverage of LGBT issues is more prevalent in online-based media than in traditional print media and that pro-LGBT voices outnumber anti-LGBT ones across the board

Research also showed that African American-themed media did not shy away from topics such as LGBT discrimination, homophobia and HIV/AIDS. Spanish language and Latino media was found to predominantly reinforce the narrative that LGBT rights are the same as civil rights, compounding the idea that anti-equality measures amount to discrimination.

Both groups, however, have room to improve when it comes to in-depth discussions of the daily struggles LGBT people, especially low-income individuals, face in their communities and families.  At GLAAD, we have been committed to diversifying those voices, as demonstrated by the pair of Media Institutes held this summer in New York and Los Angeles. Between the two, we welcomed 21 people of color from across the country to gain valuable experience learning about how to share their own stories and discuss real-life LGBT issues with the media.

Today’s National Telebriefing will take place from 2 pm – 3 pm EST. Speakers will include Juhu Thukral (The Opportunity Agenda), Loren Siegel (Loren Siegel Consulting), Kimberley McLeod (National Black Justice Coalition), and Elena Shore (New America Media). They will explore some of the study’s findings and discuss how it relates to their own work. The telebriefing will also include a question and answer segment from the audience. If you are interested in dialing-in, please click the following link to register.

National Telebriefing
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. EST
Click here to RSVP 

2012 GLAAD National POC Media Institute Goes West

As you TransGriot readers know I recently took part in the East Coast version of it and discovered while I was in the Big Apple I'd traveled the farthest distance to attend the New York gathering of the GLAAD National People Of Color Institute

I had a wonderful time, learned a lot, and y'all were right, I don't look at television interviews, much less televised speeches the same way since I returned home. 

Now it's time for the participants in the West Coast version to undergo the same training we did

The Los Angeles version of the GLAAD National People of Color Institute started yesterday and runs through this weekend and I salute everyone who was selected for the 2012 LA edition of it.   It's going to be a wonderful experience for you.

For those of y'all who are interested, when they open up the application process for the 2013 edition in New York and LA, I'd suggest you jump on the opportunity.   GLAAD will let me know when that happens and I'll pass that info on to you readers who are interested.
      

Just wanted to take a moment to give a TransGriot shout out to Brian, Daryl, Monica, Marcus and super intern Jeff of GLAAD along with our trainer Joel Silberman.  

I was thinking about y'all this weekend and hope the LA group gets into the media realness lessons y'all will pass on before this memorable weekend is concluded..  .  

   

GLAAD National POC Media Institute Compilation Post

I got back into Hobby around 7:30 PM CDT last night after my weekend business trip in New York and thought I should for the benefit of you TransGriot readers stick the links to the posts I wrote about the GLAAD POC Media Institute in one convenient post for you to peruse.

And yeah, the TransGriot needed to do her job of chronicling this event for future generations. 

So let's get into the POC Media Institute realness.    Click on the various links to my posts discussing what transpired during the New York edition of the 2012 edition of the GLAAD National POC Media Institute.

Looking forward to hearing from you LA bound GLAAD National POC Media Institute participants what went on during your upcoming sessions on September 7-9


Moni's Going To The 2012 GLAAD POC Media Institute

Eagerly Awaiting The GLAAD National POC Media Institute

I'm In NY (Finally)

GLAAD National POC Media Institute-Day 1

GLAAD National POC Media Institute-Day 2

Leaving New York   

GLAAD National POC Media Institute-Day 2

After a wonderful first day and night hanging out with my Media Institute classmates and Janet Mock, 8:00 AM came way too soon this morning.   It was time for us to start Day 2 of the GLAAD National POC Media Institute.

We were going to spend the day at a television studio getting professional makeovers and putting into practice what we learned yesterday in front of the unblinking eye of a HD camera.

Since I took the plunge and went first in class yesterday, I earned the opportunity to chill out,  get made up by our makeup artist DeAngelo and his assistant, watch everybody else go through our individual interviews, and be constructively critiqued by Joel and our GLAAD team.

Note TransGriot readers, sometimes volunteering to go first pays off.

It was after lunch before I finally got my turn in front of the camera for my individual interview, and there was major improvement from yesterday.   I also had the opportunity to do a second round of 'Meet The Press' style interviews while being paired with a classmate. 

You know what they say about what happens when you're having fun, and the clock hitting 4 PM meant that Day 2 was over along with the GLAAD National POC Media Institute.

While I'm a little sad it's over, I did get to meet a few of my goals that I'd set before I came to this training.  I wanted to get not only some experinece doing on-camera interviews, I also wanted to get as comfortable in front of a camera as I am in front of a radio microphone.  I made some steps and progress in getting to that comfort level and I'm confident with time and repetition I'll eventually get there.  

One of the other things that happened is I'm headed back to Texas with more friends and allies than I arrived with.

So to my 2012 GLAAD POC Media Institute classmates (New York Division) Pierre, Ardranae, Arianna, Thomas, Shawn, Jonathan, Joseph,  Pamela, Tiq, Maya, Je-Shawna, and Vincent, our media trainer Joel and the GLAAD team of Daryl, Monica, Marcus, Brian and Geoff, thank you for a wonderful and informative weekend and looking forward to working with y'all in future projects and endeavors    

I also thank you New York rainbow community for showing me some love.  That means a lot to me to know how much y'all appreciate what I do and my role as an elder statewoman in our trans community.


To you folks who are about to go through the LA Division of the GLAAD National POC Media Institute, you're about to have a wonderful experience.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did in New York.

GLAAD National POC Media Institute-Day 1

There's a reason I'm writing this post live from New York and endured that drama filled travel day.  It was to attend the 2012 edition of the GLAAD National POC Media Institute.

Today was the day I would discover who the other people were in my training class   I exited my sixth floor hotel room and headed to the hotel lobby around 8:15 AM and was ecstatic to find out when the elevator door opened that one of the people involved was NBJC's Je-Shawna Wholley.  I also discovered there were other familiar faces in my group such as Maya Rupert, who I met at the 2011 Out On The Hill, Vincent Villano from NCTE that I met at the 2012 edition of Netroots Nation earlier this summer and Tiq Milan.  


So as Je-Shawna and I greeted each other, I was also introduced to my classmates I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting before today who were also here for the 2012 edition of the POC Media Institute New York Division.   Introductions were made before we were met by GLAAD's Monica Trasandes and Brian Pacheco and escorted to the nearby 4th floor offices of GLAAD for the day.

In addition to spending an enjoyable and informative day with GLAAD team members Monica, Brian Marcus Brock,  Darryl Hannah and super fellow Geoff Montes we were introduced to our media trainer Joel Silberman.  My POC Institute classmates and I on our first day got to participate in mock interviews (I took the plunge and went first), learn some concepts in terms of being more effective media messengers for our rainbow community, learn some of GLAAD's history and past and current campaigns to increase the media visibility of POC rainbow people and have a lot of fun while doing so.


We wrapped up Day One a little after 6 PM EDT before heading to a nearby restaurant about 7:30 PM to eat dinner, enjoy each others company and discuss our first day. 

That dinner also had two special guests.   One of the special guests was GLAAD's director Herndon Graddick, and the other was Janet Mock.

Yep.  I finally got to give her that hug I promised her in addition to us talking for most of the evening about a wide variety of subjects including her ongoing projects.  

My dinner companions and I also broke into a sometimes humorous discussion about Paris Is Burning in which we all started reciting lines from that iconic movie

Tomorrow is Day Two in which we'll be heading to a local TV studio, getting made up and taking what we learned from Day 1 and building on those concepts.

That means it's going to be another early day tomorrow, so I'd better get some beauty sleep.   Don't need the makeup artists having to erase bags from under my eyes.

I'm In NY (Finally)

It took me a little longer than I anticipated, but I'm finally in the Big Apple city limits for the first time since May 2000.

But not without some travel drama I'm going to break down for you in this post.

Due to thunderstorms building around the Hobby airport area my airplane for my Southwest flight to LGA was delayed from Austin and didn't get to my gate until close to the12:30 PM CDT scheduled departure time.  We boarded the aircraft and pushed off the gate only to experience an ATC delay that had us getting airborne one hour late

And thanks to that local weather, it was a slightly bumpy ride for most of the initial leg to St Louis.  I also had the woman in the seat behind me on that initial leg annoyingly sticking her knees into my seat to where I felt them in my lower back.   Thankfully she got off in St Louis, but we didn't make up much time on that leg or the subsequent STL-LGA one either. 

So we were an hour late when I got to LGA, buit what made up for it was on final appraach we flew over the still under consturction Freedom Tower and the World Trade Center Memorial and up the Hudson side of Manhattan before we made the sweeping right turn over the Westchester County burbs and into LGA. 

After picking up the bag I checked, next task was to call my friend who was supposed to pick me up, but my phone call to her rolled over to her voicemail box.  No problem, so I go to Plan B and decide to get a MetroPass to catch the bus and subway to my hotel.

I get to my station on 28th Street from the 6 train, but discover I made a wrong turn that had me walking in the opposite direction from my hotel on W 28th Street.   By the time I discover my error, I've burned another twenty minutes and had to double back from whence I came.  

I finally get to the hotel at 9 PM EDT tired, frustrated and a little embarassed, and find out I just missed Melissa Sklarz who intended to surprise me.   

So I finally get a stress relieving and well deserved hot shower after checking into my 6th floor hotel room and get a call from my expat Houston homegirl Stacey Langley literally moments after I get out of the shower.

She picks me up twenty minutes later and as I get a late night bite to eat nearby I recount my travel day in addition to filling her in on all the latest back home political news and happening before I head back to the hotel to get some sleep.

And yep, sleep is the operative word, because I'm writing this post after midnight New York time, I have a busy day tomorrow and I don't want to be doing so with bags under my eyes.

I also get to find out in afew short hours who else is taking this GLAAD National POC Media Instiutute training class with me .        

Leaving On A Jet Plane-To New York

Seems like I just wrote one of these posts last week at the start of my weekend trip to Charlotte for the just concluded TransFaith In Color Conference.

This time I'm headed to New York for the GLAAD National POC Media Institute that will start tomorrow and runs through August 26. 

Thinking about keeping a diary for this one, even though this is going to be a whirlwind trip and as of yet much of my writing in it might be in the HOU and MDW airports and on the flights up to New York and back to Houston..

It's the first time I've been in New York City since May 2000.  That vacation trip ended up with me having an unexpected but pleasant meeting with Sylvia Rivera. .  

And Mayhem, if you're reading this post, I discovered my New York hotel is within walking distance of several Tim Horton's locations so I'll finally get a chance to sample Timmy's fare and see if it's all that as several bags of ketchup flavored chips.

While I'm there I'm going to try and catch up with my New York area homegirls.once I'm finished with my GLAAD business.  

Well New Yorkers, you've wanted Moni to come to the Big Apple for awhile now.   You're about to get your wish.  See y'all in a few hours.

Eagerly Awaiting The GLAAD National POC Media Institute

In a little over 48 hours I'll be in the Big Apple eagerly awaiting the first session of the 2012 Edition of the GLAAD National POC Media Institute.   The LA edition of it will occur September 7-9..

You TransGriot readers are probably wondering with my demonstrated writing, radio interview and speaking skills why I would be taking part in this event. 

One of the reasons is that we need more trans POC spokespeople with media training speaking about the issues that impact our community for starters.  

It's something I've complained about for years and by attending this institute, to paraphrase the words of my shero the late Barbara Jordan, who was an award winning debater and speaker herself, I'm doing more than just talk about it.  I want to be in a better position to act as a spokesperson for the trans community.

They also cover television interviews as well.  I haven't done as many of those as I have the radio and print variety and definitely could use the practice.  If I make mistakes in a TV interview I'd rather do so in a learning environment rather than in a moment critical to our community's media advocacy strategy

And frankly, I'm attending the GLAAD National POC Media Institute because I want to get better at what I do media communications wise and this is a wonderful opportunity I've been blessed with.

See y'all this weekend.