Barack Obama's Eulogy of Rep John Lewis

President Barack Obama delivers the eulogy at Rep John Lewis' funeral in Atlanta;'s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church

Civil Rights Icon Rep John Lewis Dies

We knew this sad day was coming, but it still doesn't lessen the devastation we feel at it happening.

Rep. John Lewis has died at age 80 from stage 4 pancreatic cancer. 

He was the sharecropper's son from Alabama who became a leading figure in the fight against Jim Crow segregation.  He was a major leader in the African American Civil Rights Movement at just age 23, and one of the last surviving (and youngest) speakers from the 1963 March on Washington. 



He later was elected to Congress in 1986, and served for 17 terms as the congressman repping Georgia's Atlanta centered 5th District.   He not only voted against Desert Storm and the Iraq War, but led protests on the House floor against apartheid and gun violence., and testified against the nomination of Jeff Sessions to become Attorney General.

He was also a passionate and determined fighter and eloquent voice for voting rights..

John Lewis was demonstrating through his words and actions that all Black lives matter even before it was cool or trendy to do so.      He was aloud and eloquent voice for marriage equality.   More recently we spoke against the trans military ban.

I have fought too long and hard to end discrimination based on race and color to allow discrimination based on gender identity to be considered acceptable. 

“This mean, misguided policy takes us back to another place, a darker time.  How is it acceptable to target those who love our country so much that they put their bodies and livelihood on the lines for its defense?  This is a sad and dark day. 

“As a nation and as a people, all Americans should expect and deserve better.  There is no place in our society for hate or bigotry.  To punish any person based on their sexual orientation or gender identity is a shame and a disgrace, but to penalize those who pledge to serve and protect our country is unconscionable. 

“I stand with our transgender service members, and I pray that they will not lose heart.  They must know that we love them.  We respect them.  We are grateful for their service and sacrifice, and most importantly, we will stand for their rights, just as they have stood for ours.”

During the May 2007 NTAC Lobby Day, I was tasked with hitting as many CBC offices as possible.
Of course one of the first offices I decided to visit was Rep John Lewis.   I wan't to find out where he stood when it came to trans rights, since he had been a loud consistent voice for marriage equality. 

Unfortunately, because the House was doing a lot of procedural voter at the time I was in his office, I spent an hour there talking to his then staffers until I had to leave for an appointment in another CBC office. 

But had I had the blessing of talking to him, I would have thanked him for his work in the Civil Rights Movement, and continuing to be a role model for those of us fighting for a better America.

Then I would have asked him my question.

Rest in power, sir   All of us who call ourselves activists have you as an amazing possibility model to follow. It's also our task now to get into 'good trouble'  to get us closer to the Beloved Community that you and Dr King dreamed about.

A Trans Homecoming Queen Reigns In Forsyth County, GA

Forsyth County, GA has a long, ugly history for the peeps in the ATL metro area of being a hotbed of racism and homophobia deep in the heart of Georgia Klan country.

It was a huge and delightful surprise when I learned that the latest trans homecoming queen lives there.

17 year old Charlie Baum is a senior at Forsyth Central High School who has known she was a girl like us since childhood.  She has endured bullying and even death threats for much of her scholastic career.

She started wearing makeup and doing drag in high school, and that only intensified the transphobic and homophobic hatred and public bullying being aimed at her.

Nevertheless she persisted, and started an Instagram page last June with thousands of followers that  serves as an outlet for her pro TBLGQ stances and thoughts.

She didn't come out as trans until December, and was just simply looking forward to graduating and leaving Forsyth County for a more welcoming environment and to be girl like us herself.

That was until two of her classmates, Midori and Nicole, nominated her for homecoming queen.

At first her family feared that this was only a cruel joke being played on her, but once Baum was determined to be eligible for the honor, she went for it after realizing the potential historic nature of her winning the homecoming queen honor as a trans girl.

She discovered when she won, she had far more support at Forsyth Central High than she thought she had, and hopes her historic win helps normalize the lives of trans people.   She also hopes it helps trans kids to not be afraid to dream big.

"I want trans individual stories to be heard, and visibility is everything.  I want to inspire other trans youth to know you can do it," said Baum.

"Break boundaries!  Make History!  Rock that sash!"|

Congratulations Charlie for making that history, in Forsyth County of all places.

 

A Historic Graduation For Keo!

Needed some positive news to talk about after writing about several trans murders, and this is coming from the ATL

Since Spelman changed their policies to allow trans people to matriculate on their campus,  been wondering when would witness our first trans graduate from the first liberal arts college for African American women. 

Turns out it's May 2018. 

Meet Keo Chaad O'Neal.   It's apropos that the 21 year old O'Neal is graduating with a degree in history because he is making it as the first openly trans masculine graduate of Spelman College.   

When the South Plainfield, NJ native first enrolled on the Spelman campus he identified as non binary and used they/them pronouns.    While O'Neal loved Spelman, he didn't feel at the time he would be able to become themself, so O'Neal transferred to a predominately white institution (PWI).

While at the PWI, O'Neal transitioned, grew and developed on that campus, but missed Spelman.

"I came back to Spelman in my junior year because although I could flourish in my queerness, I felt like I was denying my Blackness.  I was nothing more than a body to those folks," O'Neal said.

O'Neal returned to Spelman for his junior and senior year  and says he faced some backlash from current students, their parents and alumni.    He came out during a on campus convocation for Spelman aluma and author Alice Walker who was visiting as ana artist in residence. 

As to what is next for O'Neal.  While he has been accepted into a PhD program in the fall, he wants to take a few years to establish himself before returning to school.

While it was a tough two years, he also had a message for his supporters.

"I could not have made it this far without the encouragement of others, O'Neal said. "It truly takes a village.  For everyone who played a part in my successes, this is a win for all of us."

And in a week full of bad news for our trans community, it's a win we sorely needed.

Congratulation Keo! 

Number 10- Rest In Power and Peace Nino Fortson

We have lost our first trans masculine person  of 2018 to anti-trans violence in what is turning out to be a deadly week.

36 year old Nino Fortson was shot multiple times during an argument early in the morning of May 13 at the corner of Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway and Woods Dr NW

As you probably guessed, the initial news report on CBS46 misgendered our brother.

According to the misgendering CBS46 report, Atlanta PD was executing a traffic stop nearby, heard the gunfire and rushed to the scene where the mortally wounded Forston was spotted.   He was taken to the nearby Grady Memorial Hospital where he died from his wounds.

Fortson is the 10th trans person we have lost to anti-trans violence this year, the sixth Black person and the first in Georgia this year   

APD is looking for Fortson's killer.   If you have any information on this case you are urged to call Atlanta Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS (8477)

If there are any vigils being planned, I'll pass that information along as soon as I receive it.

Rest in power and peace Nino.   You were taken from us far too soon, and we won't rest until the person who killed you is swiftly arrested, convicted and justice is served in your case.

 

GA Lt. Governor Reveals Who He Really Represents- The NRA

For the last few political cycles since I've came back home to Texas in May 2010, the Republican TV commercial I see love to have the tagline of 'proven conservative leadership'. 

To me and everyone else in reality based world who pays attention to politics, the only thing that 'proven conservative leadership' proves is how off the charts stupid it is.

The latest example of that comes from Atlanta.   Delta Airlines has been headquartered in the ATL since 1941, and is the largest carrier at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.  It is also the world's second largest airline and one of Atlanta and the state of Georgia's largest private employers, with over 33,000 workers in the state of Georgia.

So when Delta asked the state to cut it some slack on the Georgia jet fuel tax, the GOP controlled state legislature, in order to lend credibility to its 'business friendly' political mantra, began to oblige it by putting together legislation to restore a $50 million jet fuel sales tax exemption in a large tax reform package requested by Gov.Nathan Deal (R).

While it as billed as a boon to all airlines, the primary beneficiary would be ATL based Delta. 
The bill sailed through the Georgia House and was in the process of doing the same thing in the Georgia Senate when the February 14 Parkland, FL mass shooting happened and Delta, with United Airlines following suit two hours later, ended the discount National Rifle Association (NRA) members get. for using them to travel to the NRA's annual conference which will be held in Dallas (for now)..

Delta joined a growing list of companies that are ending partnerships with the NRA in the wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people.

That pissed off Georgia Lt, Governor Casey Cagle (R) who is not only running to replace the term limited Gov. Nathan Deal (R), but has an A+ rating from the NRA he brags about.  Cagle is also considered the favorite to get the GOP nomination 

He tweeted to Delta in the wake of it, (and probably set himself up for an extortion charge) that he would kill any tax break that Delta benefits from unless the NRA discount was reinstated.

An NRA airline discount that has only been used 13 times in the last 5 years.

The GOP controlled Georgia Senate then followed through on Cagle's threat by cutting the jet fuel tax exemption from the tax cut bill Gov. Deal wanted before passing it. 

Atlanta was in the running for Amazon's second headquarters before this happened, so it remains to be seen if they get it now.   Meanwhile cities that praised Delta's move began to pitch Delta about moving their hub to their areas.

"Hey @delta—Virginia is for lovers and airline hubs. You're welcome here any time," tweeted Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam. 

".@Delta, if Georgia politicians disagree with your stand against gun violence, we invite you to move your headquarters to New York," tweeted New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Randall Woodfin, mayor of Birmingham, Ala., also told Delta his city was open for business."Hey @Delta . You know, in mathematics, Delta represents the change in something, e.g. 🔺HQ. Let’s chat. #BHM," Woodfin tweeted Feb. 27.

Even Cagle had to admit after dissing the airline and killing its tax break Delta's importance to the state's economy, calling the dispute a 'family squabble'.

But Delta's probably not feeling the love for Cagle or his Georgia Republicans, and may do some political punishing of their own by bankrolling dome Democratic candidates in the state

I sure hope that's the result of this.

If this political posturing and attacking of Delta ends up getting Cagle the Republican nomination for governor, I hope Georgians remember that this man revealed that he cares more about the NRA than them, and it results in this Black woman, Stacey Abrams, being elected governor of Georgia on November 6.

Power Rising Summit Happening In The ATL February 22-25

During a Congressional Black Caucus female members retreat held after the 2016 election, DC pastor Leah Daughtry, who had chaired the 2016 DNC convention, was speaking at that retreat. 

She was asked by Rep, Maxine Waters (D-CA)  what should Black women do next after they had undeniably proven to the country and the world they were the base of the Democratic Party, having voted 94% for Hillary Clinton nd almost getting her into the White House.

Daughtry recalled saying at the time in a Washington Post interview, "If I could wave my magic wand, I'd have a conference of Black women to come together across the spectrum and say 'How do we leverage the political power we just demonstrated that often gets ignored?"

The CBC women's retreat concluded without any action on Daughtry's idea. 

But as 2017 unfolded Daughtry began to get angry as she witnessed the Trump misadministration and its conservative media allies repeatedly attack Black women such as ESPN anchor Jemele Hill, White House correspondent April Ryan, Rep Waters, Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) and the widow of slain soldier La David Johnson.

Watching those attacks, combined with Black women's own simmering anger at the Democratic Party's white leaders and white activists claiming that the party spent too much time in the 2016 cycle with voters of color and not enough with the white rural Trump voters who made it clear they don't love Democrats also didn't sit well with her.

Meanwhile as that problematic conversation was happening in the party, Black women once again demonstrated that they were undeniably the base of the Democratic Party by flexing their political muscle by powering Democratic wins in Virginia and the senate upset win for Doug Jones in Alabama.

But the media coverage that night dismissed the major role Alabama's Black women played in making Doug Jones the first Democratic senator elected from the state in 25 years, calling it a 'victory for women'.   The media trying to ignore the fact that Alabama's Black women voted at a 98% clip for Jones while Alabama's white women voted 63% for Republican Roy Moore also exasperated Daughtry.   



The dormant idea she'd had resurfaced, and Daughtry began calling Black women to ask if they would be willing to help organize the conference that she'd talked about during that retreat.

She got resounding YES answers to that question, and meetings began to be held in Washington DC at the National Council of Negro Women HQ on Pennsylvania Avenue.  The conference that was just an idea a few months earlier began to take shape. 

The Power Rising Summit is organized around 'five pillars' or policy areas.  Business and Economic Empowerment, Culture, Community and Society,  Education Technology and Innovation,  Health and Wellness and of course Political Empowerment.

The Power Rising Summit is nonpartisan, and hopes to attract at least 1000 attendees to the event ranging from big name celebrities, grassroots activists, seasoned leaders and students from all 50 states to the ATL from February 23-25.

One of the questions I have as I peruse this Power Rising Summit website is will Black trans women be welcome to attend?

Registration fees range from $25-$100 with scholarships available for participants.   They are also working on getting corporate sponsorship to help defray some of the costs of the gathering. 

The last time Black women gathered to create an agenda that reflected our unique intersectional concerns was back in the 1970's courtesy of the Boston chapter of the National Black Feminist Organization.

The Combahee River Collective of Black lesbians and feminists disillusioned with second wave feminism and and the civil rights, Black Power and Black panther movements gathered from 1974-1980.   That gathering of Black feminists resulted in the 1977 Combahee River Collective Statement  that is considered the bedrock principles document for Black feminism.

The Power Rising Smmit is building on that legacy.  It'll be interesting to see at this 21st Century gathering of Black women what action plan and statement comes out of this eagerly anticipated conference.

Number 22- RIP Candace Towns

Woke up this morning to find out that we've lost our 22nd trans person to anti-trans violence in the person of 30 year old Candace Towns of Macon, GA.

Candace is also the 17th Black trans person we have lost this year to anti trans violence, and 16 of the 17 people were trans feminine.  Sadly she was just 30 years old.   She's the tenth Black trans person we've lost in 2017 who was age 30 or younger.

And as you probably guessed, the initial article by Laura Corley not only misgendered her, but also deadnamed Candace as well. 

Towns was staying at the Rodeway Inn on Eisenhower Parkway, was last seen alive Saturday,   and war reported missing on Sunday.   At 4 PM EDT Tuesday an anonymous 911 call was received  reporting a person was down at the end of a driveway and was possibly dead. 

That person was our trans sister, and police arrived she was found shot to death on top of a hill on Rosecrest Avenue between  Bright Street and Edgewood Ave. 

This had not been Candace's first brush with anti-trans violence.   In July 2009 the Macon Telegraph reported that she'd been shot in the ankle on Pebble Street, a few blocks from when her body was found Tuesday afternoon.

As of this writing there are no suspects in this case, and if you have any information that will lead to the apprehension and incarceration of the killer, please call  Macon Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-877-68CRIME (1-877-682-7463)

No word of any memorial service or funeral arrangements as of yet.   I'll pass that info on as soon as I receive it.   I also will keep track of the case until justice is served for our sister to the satisfaction of her family and all who loved her..

Number 16- RIP Tee Tee Dangerfield

Was just thinking the other day that it has been too quiet this month on the anti-trans murder front, and just before I went to bed last night I received word that we'e lost our 16th trans person this year to anti-trans violence.

Her name is 'Tee Tee Dangerfield, and according to reporting from the Georgia Voice, the 32 year old was found outside her car in the South Hampton Estates apartment complex suffering from numerous gunshot wounds at approximately 4:30 AM EDT on July 31. .

According to Major Lance Patterson of the College Park Police Department, she was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital by College Park Fire rescue, but succumbed to her wounds.

This comes just days after a rally was held in the ATL expressing support for the transgender community..  She is the 16th trans woman of color murdered in the United States this year, the 14th African American trans woman killed in 2017, and most infuriating to me, was under age 40.

This also comes in the wake of the transphobic comments of the so called 'comedian'  Lil Duval expressing his 'kill the t----y' sentiments on the syndicated the Breakfast Club show.

Anti-trans hate thoughts + anti-trans hate speech = anti-trans hate violence.

And I'm sick of my trans sisters dying.

As of this time there are no suspects in Tee Tee's murder, and if you have any information that will lead to the arrest, incarceration and conviction of her killer, please call the College Park PD TIp LIne at 404-768-8664

As of yet, have not heard of any vigils or memorial services being planned at this time for our fallen sister, and will pass that info along as soon as I receive it.

Rest in power and peace Tee Tee.   We won't rest as a community until the person who took your life is spending the rest of theirs behind bars.

Number 14- Rest In Power and Peace Ava Le'Ray Barrin

It's my sad duty to report that another trans sister has been lost to anti-trans violence, this time in Athens, Georgia.

The latest addition to our sadly lengthening 2017 list of trans women who are being killed is 17 year old Ava Le'Ray Barrin.  As usual, a Black trans woman was misgendered by the local media.

According to reports from the Athens Banner- Herald and the Atlanta Journal Constitution, for still unknown reasons a fight broke out in the parking lot of the Riverview apartment complex in Athens early Sunday morning between Barrin and 21 year old Jalen Breon Brown .

The two knew each other, according to Athens Clarke County PD spokesperson Epifanio Rodriguez.

When Athens-Clarke County PD responded to the 11:45 AM EDT report of the altercation, when they arrived at the apartment complex at 1020 College Ave, they found Barrin lying in the parking lot of the complex not breathing and suffering from a gunshot would to the left side of her chest.

 Ava was taken to a nearby Athens hospital where she was pronounced dead at 12:45 PM EDT

Witnesses told the arriving officers that Barrin was shot by Brown, who was still in the complex.  Despite claims of self defense, Brown was arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault, and is currently in the Athens-Clarke County jail with no bond.  .
 

A candlelight memorial service for Barrin was held in Athens at 7:00 PM EDT Monday evening,at the complex, and her funeral arrangements are still pending.

Ava LeRay Barrin is not only the 14th trans person killed this year, she is now the youngest trans woman to die in the US at age 17.   All 14 trans women murdered in the US this year have been trans women of color, with 12 of the 14 being Black   One person, Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow was Native American, and we recently lost our first Latina in Josie Berrios.

Rest in power and peace Ava.  You were just beginning to live your life as your true self, and were taken from us way too soon before you even had a chance to make your dreams become a reality.

Handle Your Election Business, GA 6

Today is the runoff election in the Georgia 6th Congressional District between Democratic Candidate Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel.

Last month Ossoff just missed winning this congressional seat outright on April 18, getting 48% of the vote to Handel's 18% in a crowded field,  This was a seat that was once held by Newt Gingrich for 20 years and hasn't been held by a Democrat since Jimmy Carter lived in the White House.

And both sides want it badly.   The Democrats want it because it'll put them one seat closet to taking back control of the House in 2018 along with the psychic satisfaction of taking away a seat that once was a GOP bastion.    The Republicans are just as determined to keep it, and that has resulted in both sides spending $56 million in this race.

After all the ads, the campaign stops in the district, the ground games and canvassing for both sides being unleashed, it's all in the hands of the GA 6 voters to decide who gets the seat and momentum toward the 2018 midterm elections as the nation and national news media awaits the results.

So if you live in the GA 6th Congressional District, go handle your electoral business .  This one is extremely close and your vote could decide this election.   You have until 7 PM EDT to cast it, so go do so and take a few friends to the polls with you.

Handle your election business GA 6.

Oppressor Kenneth Adkins Found Guilty Of Eight Child Molestation Counts

We always say in TBLGQ world that those people who adamantly and loudly hate us, attack our humanity and oppose our human rights advances are usually folks who doth protesteth too much and are deeply closeted when it comes to their own sexualiy or gender identity until the skeletons come bursting out of the closet.

One of our oppressors in 57 year old former Brunswick, GA pastor Kenneth Adkins is a prime example of that.  

He was the carpetbagging kneegrow frontman the white fundies and Republicans in Jacksonville deployed as a useful fool to successfully attack and shut down the passage of their LGBTQ inclusive NDO a month after HERO went down in flames, and made some nasty and hateful anti-gay comments via Twitter in the wake of the June 2016 Pulse Latin Night terror attack.in Orlando.

[I’ve] been through so much with these Jacksonville homosexuals that I don’t see none of them as victims. I see them as getting what they deserve!!

Adkins was arrested on eight counts of child molestation and yesterday, it took a Glynn County jury only one hour to convict him of all eight charges after a week long trial.

He was accused of having a then 16 year old teenage male and his then 15 year old teenage female girlfriend under the guise of 'mentoring them', perform sexual acts in front of him at his church to ensure they were 'doing it right'   He eventually joined in on the acts, and sent the male accuser two photos of his penis.  

There were also electronic communications between the female and him from 2014 revealed during the trial.

Well Kenneth, we're now having the schadenfreude laced moment of watching you get what you deserve and justice being served for your crimes.

He will be sentenced on April 25, and because of Georgia's strict mandatory minimum law and Adkins' prior criminal convictions, he's facing spending the rest of his life in jail.  

Stay tuned to see how much time he got for his crimes..  

Service For Cheryl Courtney-Evans October 12

The life and legacy of our pioneering trans sister Cheryl C. Courtney-Evans will be celebrated on Wednesday, October 12 at the Vision Church of Atlanta starting at 12 PM EDT.

The Vision Church of Atlanta is located at 704 Ormewood Ave SE. in Atlanta, GA

Following the service, the repast will take place at the Phillip Rush Center Annex, located at 1553 DeKalb Ave NE, also in the ATL.

The repast will be a potluck, and the request is being made for people who plan to attend to bring a dish to share with other.  

A request is also being made for people to bring their favorite photos of Cheryl to contribute to a photo memory wall that will be set up at the repast.

If there's any additional information, I'll pass it along to you as I receive it..

Iconic Entertainer The Lady Chablis Dies

“I want people to remember, parents to remember, that when a child is born, it may possibly be someone like myself, so be prepared for things like that. If you don’t like it, just remember that great things can happen.”--Lady Chablis

Sad news to report out of Savannah, GA.  Several local TV stations and Club One are reporting that our trans sister Brenda Dale Knox, AKA The Lady Chablis, who gained fame during the 90's thanks to the 1994 book and 1997 movie Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil and her subsequent 1996 autobiography Hiding My Candy has died at age 59.

She passed away surrounded by family and friends at St Joseph's/Candler Hospital

I have an autographed copy of that book thanks to meeting her during our LGBT Derby party in Louisville in 2003.   She was one of the celebrity guests that was invited to attend along with the late Tammy Faye Bakker and Anna Nicole Smith, and when I spoke to her diminutive self she was impressed by my average for a supermodel height.

When I whipped my copy of Hiding My Candy out of my purse and asked her to autograph it, she cheerfully did so while exclaiming "You made my day".

I replied, "You've made mine, too".   She really had, since the next day was my birthday.

She was born and raised in Quincy, Florida on March 11, 1957, and she's been making people's day as an entertainer since her debut at Savanaah's Club One in 1988.   In addition to briefly doing pageants and winning a few titles, she has raised thousands in campaigns for the American Diabetes Association and various LGBTQ charities,

She played herself in the Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil movie.   Her most recent TV appearance was on the Real Housewives of Atlanta in 2013, but has been in declining health lately.

The Grand Empress of Savannah has transitioned and she will be missed.  Rest in power and peace, sis.

TransGriot Perv Watch- Jacksonville Oppressor Kenneth Adkins Busted On Two Molestation Charges

It's been a while since I wrote a TransGriot Perv Watch post, and this one is too delicious and chock full of schadenfreude to not talk about another #stillnottrans anti-trans hypocrite.

If you were keeping your eye on what happened earlier this year in Jacksonville, FL when they tried literally a month after HERO went down in right wing instigated flames and failed to pass an HRO amendment that added sexual orientation and gender identity that , you would have heard me mention the name of Kenneth Adkins.

Adkins was the Brunswick, GA based megachurch pastor who was meddling in Jacksonville human rights business as the out of town frontman for the white evangelicals and GOP activists opposing the Jacksonville HRO.  He helped stir up so much negativity about the HRO that the Jacksonville City Council caved and pulled it in February.

Adkins also declared in the wake of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting in Orlando that the 'homosexuals got what they deserved'.

Thanks to a tip from one of my longtime TransGriot readers in Brenda Lunger, I was pointed to this story on the  'Joe My God' blog that announced the arrest of Adkins this morning by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation  (GBI).

The 56 year old pastor is cooling his heels in the Glynn County Jail after turning himself at 9 AM EDT this morning.   He is accused of one count of aggravated child molestation and another count of
child molestation that allegedly occurred in 2010 in a vehicle, his church, and the victim's home.

The investigation according to a GBI press release and reporting from the Florida Times-Union is ongoing.

And we'll be watching to see how it turns out.

Racist Georgia State Senator Wants To Keep Blacks From Voting

I've said more than a few times that the most dangerous bigot is one that has the power to write legislation.  I have also called the Republican Party the political arm of white supremacy. 

The fool  that is going to openly co-sign both statements is Republican (surprise, surprise) Georgia state Senator Fran Millar from Dunwoody..

When DeKalb County, of which his state senate district covers a portion of, announced that they were going to allow Sunday voting, and set up an early voting location in a popular shopping mall, you would think that any politician would welcome making it easy for people to cast their ballots in this upcoming election.  

But that's you and I thinking logically, which is not where the Republican Party lives right now.   Republicans are hellbent on keeping voter turnout low because they have basically pissed off very demographic group except rich white males, clueless white males, their Stepford wives and sellout people of color.

And the fact Michelle Nunn, the daughter of former senator Sam Nunn is on the ballot as the Democratic US senate nominee along with Dem gubernatorial candidate Jason Carter, the grandson of former governor and POTUS Jimmy Carter, already has the Georgia GOP on edge.

When Millar heard that the mall in question was The Gallery at South DeKalb Mall,  which is popular with the ATL's African-American population, it was enough to trigger a bigot eruption for the Senior Deputy Whip of the Georgia Republicans.

"Now we are to have Sunday voting at South DeKalb Mall just prior to the election. Per Jim Galloway of the AJC, this location is dominated by African American shoppers and it is near several large African American mega churches such as New Birth Missionary Baptist. Galloway also points out the Democratic Party thinks this is a wonderful idea – what a surprise. I’m sure Michelle Nunn and Jason Carter are delighted with this blatantly partisan move in DeKalb.

Is it possible church buses will be used to transport people directly to the mall since the poll will open when the mall opens? If this happens, so much for the accepted principle of separation of church and state."

He even went there and suggested he is “investigating if there is any way to stop this action”.   Millar also stated that  he and State Representative Mike Jacobs (R) “will try to eliminate this election law loophole in January,” as it might boost Democratic voter turnout.

Your white sheets are showing, Fran.  

FYI, if your party actually tried to pursue policies more popular with my people instead of demonizing us, maybe you might have a shot, slim as it is these days of actually earning our votes.  But the more you act like James Crow III oppressors, the more you piss us off and ensure that we will keep voting for Democrats for another generation. 

And Black Georgians, what's up?  This Republican State senator openly said that he was going to work to restrict your voting rights.   If that's not a call for you to bumrush the polls and vote him and everything else out of the Georgia Legislature with an 'R' behind its name, then the next post I write will be calling your asses out for allowing this BS to go unchallenged.

If you don't bumrush the polls this November, then you are spitting on the fact that Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) took a po-po beatdown in Selma for you to have the right to vote in the first place.

Show Georgia, the country and the world just how seriously you take any threat to shut down your right to vote. Send this conservafool and his party a message that we don't play when it comes to our right to vote.

The Draconian ATL Banishment Ordinance-Still Pushing The Pig Of A Law

Cheryl Courtney-Evans' latest update from her A Bitch For Justice blog about the ongoing efforts of Atlanta's 'Queen of Mean' Peggy Denby and elements of the Atlanta Police Department to push a proposed anti-prostitution ordinance that would banish sex workers from the ATL.

Cheryl tells us in this latest post entitled "Atlanta Banishment UPDATE; Still Pushing the "Pig", about the ATL efforts to fight this unjust law and how a recent meeting transpired. 

And here's a taste of that post:

Our SNaP Co representative on the WGRP, Ms. Xochitl Bervera, then presented the proposal we're pushing, which provides for offenders to be given a choice of arrest or diversion to programs that will prepare them for alternatives to prostitution (i.e., job training/preparation, education [GED], housing, etc.). This is the "Pre-Booking Diversion Program", modeled after the successful program that has been implemented in Seattle, WA., and the only program presented that offered a diversionary option for prostitutes as opposed to arrest and jail. We feel that this system, that provides feasible alternatives to street work has the greatest chance of reducing recidivism (prostitutes would most likely prefer this option to the danger of the street, and jail).

After each presentation, during the period that possible questions are asked of the presenters from other WGRP members about their proposals, a Mr.  Bill Cannon, "concerned community citizen" [and colleague of Peggy Denby] would ask, "And how will this reduce prostitution...we must remember, we're here to figure out how to reduce prostitution." Those of us with SNaP Co knew that all he's interested in (as well as Peggy) is doing more arresting and locking up [and feel that perhaps the "john's school" would reduce the demand and therefore reduce prostitution (HA, as if that's a finite number of men; remember this is "the oldest profession in the world" we're talking about, right?)].

You can read the rest by clicking on this link. 

Georgia Cis Woman Asked To Prove Femininity To Correct Birth Certificate Error

For those of you who are skeptical of the point I repeatedly make that Black trans issues are Black community issues as well, I submit that after her recent drama, 37 year old Nakia Grimes of Clayton County, GA would be the latest cis person saying amen to that.

Her birth certificate contained a typo on it listing her in the gender code as male that she'd never noticed, but an unidentified female employee in the Georgia Department of Public Records did.

As part of the restrictive Voter ID laws that many Republican controlled dictatorships states have enacted to make it harder to get a driver's license so you can then vote, they require you to produce a birth certificate in order to get it.   

When she showed up at the driver license place on the cusp of her 37th birthday the error was noted, and she now had to make a trip to the Georgia Department of Public Records to correct the birth certificate before she could get her license..  

Should be a simple process right?   Umm, no vanillacentric privileged conservafools, it isn't because the Voter ID Suppression laws you overwhelmingly support aren't specifically designed to frack with you.   

The still unidentified Georgia DPS clerk told Grimes she needed to have a PAP smear done, have a doctor write a notarized note verifying she was female before the error would be changed    

Never mind the fact that Grimes is the mother of a young son and of course she was highly pissed off after hearing that request.

She wasn't having it, much less undergoing an invasive medical procedure to verify for a bureaucrat what she knew in her mind, body and soul that she was a cis female. 

Grimes took her concerns to a local ATL television station and when FOX5 turned their unblinking TV camera eyes on this situation, the birth records for her son were pulled up by the GDPR and verified the fact Ms. Grimes was his mother.   Ms. Grimes' jacked up birth certificate was expeditiously corrected after that. 

No one cis or trans should have to go through that much drama, much less have to go to court to get a simple documentation change on your birth certificate so you can vote or get a drivers license.  It's one of the reasons why I was so pissed about the SCOTUS ruling invalidating Section 4 of the VRA and their BS reasoning for it.  

Trans people's fight to make it easier to change identity documents will also benefit cis people like Ms Grimes who have coding or other errors.

The moral of this story is once again it proves that we all exist in an interconnected web of mutuality.  What negativity you aim at a despised group has ripple effects that can blow back upon you cis people in unexpected ways. 

It also is more conclusive evidence that what ails Black trans America also ails Black America as well and vice versa.

Georgia GOP Legislator Sponsoring Drug Testing Bill Fails One Himself

One of the other features of the GOP War on the Poor is to attempt to pass legislation that would force people to undergo drug testing before they can receive any public assistance.

In Georgia one of the six sponsors for Georgia House Bill 464, that state's version of that odious legislation is state Rep. John Andrew 'Kip' Smith (R-Columbus). 

HB 464 if passed would force welfare recipients to submit to yearly random drug testing and anyone who failed the test would automatically be cut off from public assistance. 

In response to HB 464, state Rep. Scott Holcomb (D-Atlanta) submitted one that would require state lawmakers to undergo random drug testing 


Turns out that Rep. Smith got busted in Buckhead for DUI after being pulled over by an Atlanta police officer for running a red light.   The officer smelled alcohol after pulling him over and after initial refusal by Smith to submit to the Intoxymeter test relented. 

Blowing into it resulted in a .091 reading, which is above the .08 limit in Georgia.   To compound his problem Smith failed the 'walk and turn' and one legged stand field sobriety tests.  



After failing those tests he was placed under arrest and taken to the ATL Iron Bar Motel.  He later failed two more tests in which he blew a .099 and then a subsequent .100 reading.

I love what Think Progress commenter Savethecountry had to say about what his punishment should be for his DUI arrest.

Here's an idea for Kip's punishment­. Instead of slapping him on his wrist by allowing him to complete some 30-day "Club Med" treatment program, let's make him live on what a typical Georgia welfare recipient receives, and let's make him do it for 30 days in Section 8 housing in a dilapidate­d, crime-ridd­en, economical­ly depressed neighborho­od with no car (entirely appropriat­e), an unscrupulo­us landlord and indifferen­t law enforcemen­t. Dr. Drew couldn't offer a better shock to ol' Kip's system than making him at long last walk the walk. Hey, we could get Morgan Spurlock to film it for posterity.

Extreme hubris should be rewarded with extreme humility.

Karma is a witch sometimes isn't it GOP?