Angelica Ross To Host Historic 2020 TBLGQ Presidential Forum

If you've watched the last three presidential debates, you'll quickly notice as a member of the TBLGQ community the questions about the issues that concern LGBTQ + Americans have been non existent save for Cory Booker and Julian Castro mentioning trans Americans and Pete Buttigieg talking about love and marriage at the end of the Houston one.

GLAAD on Friday will sponsor along with The Advocate, One Iowa, and The Gazette the 2020 Presidential Candidate Forum on LGBTQ Issues at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Joining GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis on the Sinclair Auditorium stage is actress and advocate Angelica Ross.

This makes Ross the first out trans person tapped to be a presidential forum host in addition to all the trans television history she's made already as a cast member of the groundbreaking FX series POSE and American Horror Story 1984 that premieres tonight.

Congrats to Angelica!   I'm so proud of her, and I'm confident she will do a wonderful job in making sure that the concerns of our trans community are articulated during this event.

“This LGBTQ Presidential Forum is a pivotal moment in the 2020 election cycle,” said Ellis. “It’s the first time that LGBTQ issues will be exclusively discussed by 2020 presidential candidates on a national stage.” 

She adds, “We look forward to hearing how the 2020 candidates plan to reverse the attacks and rollbacks of the Trump Administration and put LGBTQ Americans on a course to 100% acceptance.”

It's a pivotal moment indeed.   We have had 20 trans people murdered this year in the US as the Trump misadministration ramps up its attacks on our basic human rights.    It opposes the Equality Act, which passed the democratically controlled House but has gone nowhere in the GOP controlled Senate.

We TBLGQ voters need to know as November 3, 2020 gets closer what Democratic presidential candidates will do to stop the erosion of our human rights, and what policies they will enact that benefit TBLGQ Americans if they are elected.

Confirmed participants in this TBLGQ specific forum are Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Joe Sestak, Elizabeth Warren and Marianne Williamson.

The forum is scheduled to start at 7 PM CDT on Friday, September 20, and you can watch the forum livestream here.

The Rainbow Crosswalk Is Up In Houston!

Just in time for Houston Pride Week is this first in Texas TBGLQ themed crosswalk went up at the corner of Westheimer and Taft streets in the Montrose gayborhood this weekend.

The site of the crosswalk was chosen to honor 21 year old Alex Hill, who was killed at that intersection by a hit and run driver in January 2016.   The traffic light control box is painted with a mural of Alex and his friends with a rainbow sunburst in the background.    

'While this project was initially requested by friends of Alex Hill,  the idea behind the crosswalk is to also honor  the support and friendship many people find in Houston's LGBT community," said Matthew Brollier, a member of the Houston Pride Crosswalk Committee in an OutSmart interview. "Hill's friends join countless Houstonians in encouraging the city to improve safety conditions for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers on its roadways,"

The $15,000 cost of the crosswalks were paid for by Pride Houston and will last for two and a half years.  A permanent rainbow crosswalk will be installed at the intersection when the Lower Westheimer reconstruction project gets completed by the city of Houston.
 

The Most Unfriendly LGBT President Ever

The turning of the calendar page to June also means that it's the start of Pride Month, and we have gotten spoiled over the last eight years by having a president who is cognizant of that.

It was this time last year I had gotten the invitation to go to the LGBT Pride Reception and I was scrambling to try to get to DC for it.

That's not the case with 45 despite the fact during the campaign he promised he would be 'the most LGBT friendly president in history'.

Like all his other campaign promises, that has turned out to be a lie.   We already had the best president ever when it came to LGBT rights issues in the previous occupant of the White House at that time in Barack Obama.

Trump stocking his campaign advisory team with long time LGBT haters like Mike Pence, other professional gay baiters and right wing hate pastors telegraphed to me and everyone else paying attention except the Log Cabin Sellouts that this would not be an administration that we could count on, much less would be inviting us to his White House for a Pride Reception.

If there were any folks in LGBTQ World holding out hope that Trump was going to live up to his campaign rhetoric, that died June 1 when he failed to put out a proclamation for Pride Month as President Obama had done for every year of his presidency.

And I was saying while in attendance at last year's Pride Reception that if Hillary didn't win, this would probably be the last one until possibly 2021.

Damn I hate it when I'm right.

Busy H-Town Saturday

Saturday was a busy one for me as I attended two events that were fortunately happening only a mile apart.

I was asked by Rhys Caraway to present an award that went to Phoebe Van Cleefe at the #BlackQueerMagic Empowerment Brunch that was held in the shadow of downtown Houston at St, John's UNC.and sponsored by Young Black Voices.

That even started at 12:30 PM, and after we got our grub on, the awards presentation started with much of activist Houston in the room for this event..

Awards were also presented to Jason Black, Mike Webb, Aurora Gray and Fran Watson in addition to two Bayard Rustin Scholarships that was emceed by Harrison Gray.

After spending an enjoyable two hours there Dee Dee Watters and I headed over to the HSPVA campus that's still in Montrose for now for a 30th anniversary celebration for Bering Omega House.

What many people don't realize is that Houston was one of the early Ground Zero's for the HIV epidemic that broke out in 1981 with the nastier HTLV-1 virus

Indigent terminally ill AIDS patients were finding themselves once they were discharged from the various Houston hospitals with no place to go.  Omega House was founded by then 76 year old retired Montessori teacher Eleanor Munger in 1986 to fill that critical care gap and give indigent people suffering with AIDS die with dignity.  

With $10,000 in seed money from Christ Church Cathedral, Munger opened the four bed all volunteer run facility with the mission to compassionately care for terminally ill AIDS patients in their final stages that could no longer be cared for by the traditional medical establishment.

It was the first residential hospice in Texas, and it recently merged with Houston Area Community Services.  Bering Omega House and celebrated its 30th year of existence with a short program in HSPVA's Denny Theater in which longtime workers there recalled the early days of its existence.

Munger passed away in 2004 at age 92, but the residential hospice she founded is still very much a part of the community.  Some of the peeps who were at the Empowerment Brunch with us also took time like Dee Dee and I did to spend a few moment at that ceremony that began at 4 PM, and also included a tour of the facility.

It was a long day, but it's always good to see my Houston community peeps.and spend some quality time with them, especially since I've  piled up a lot of frequent flier miles this year.

And I couldn't think of a better way to spend my day than to celebrate the achievements of some of our young activists and the 30th anniversary of a critical institution in our community.

Please Consider Donations To Trans Led Orgs On Give OUT Day

Give OUT Day is a 24 hour effort focused on fundraising for LGBT non profit organizations.

One of the things I hope will happen today is that trans led organizations get some of that fiscal love today because our organizations have historically not gotten the kind of consistent funding love that allowed LG orgs to grow and get to the point where they are not fundraising just to keep the lights on, but to build permanent capacity.

Frankly, it's one of the things our trans rights movement needs to have happen, and our underserved trans community could definitely use and deeply appreciates the cash infusion to help fund the work we do.

The Trans United Fund is one of those organizations that could use your help.   There's also a need to donate to organizations that focus on the Black LGBT community like the National Black Justice Coalition  and the Dallas based Black Trans Advocacy  that hosts the annual BTAC conference along with the Trans Persons of Color Coalition  (TPOCC)

They would love to clock some of those Give OUT Day dollars you wish to give today to help build their capacity and funding streams for their programs.

There's also a critical need for funding to go to LGBT human rights groups in the Southern US and trans groups based in the region now that our right wing opponents are focusing their efforts on attacking trans people.   Republican led state legislatures across this region and politicians are gleefully peddling anti-trans hatred for their nefarious political gain, and Southern based LGBT orgs would love for some of those donations to come their way.

So while the clock is ticking on this Give OUT Day, how about showing some love to national trans led organizations like the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit (TTNS), the Organizacion Latina Trans en Texas (OLTT) , Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT)  Gender Infinity and others who will definitely not only appreciate your contributions but use them wisely.

So if you can give $5, $10, $20 or whatever amount you can spare, consider doing it with a trans led organization.

Houston's Inaugural Mayor's LGBT Advisory Board Announced

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced yesterday afternoon that he was forming our city's first ever Mayor's LGBT Advisory Board that will serve as a direct link to the mayor's office and the Houston TBLGIQ community and providing recommendations and advice on issues impacting our community..

"It was important to me to make this announcement before the end of Pride Month," said mayor Turner. "However, let me be clear.  Our support for the LGBT community is not ending.  We are standing with Orlando today and we will be standing with them tomorrow.  In Houston, we fight hate with love and inclusion.  There is much work to be done and I can't wait to get started."

The Mayor's LGBT Advisory Board is comprised of 49 members (21 women, 28 men), a symbolic nod to the 49 people we lost in the Orlando Pulse club shooting, and will be co-chaired by Lou Weaver and Melanie Pang.

And in case you TransGriot readers were wondering, I'm one of the 49 TBLGIQ Houstonians who was appointed to the board.

The 49 members of this board reflect not only the diversity of my hometown, but the diversity of the Houston TBLGIQ community.  There are 21 Anglos, 13 Latinx, 12 African-Americans and 3 Asians on the Board.   In terms of the LGBTIQ composition of it, 26 members identify as gay, 13 are lesbian, 8 trans people, 2 intersex people, one bisexual, and one parent of a transgender child that is represented..

Because of the size of the board, Mayor Turner anticipates that much of the advisory board work will be done in committees.


Here's the list of the members of the inaugural Mayor's LGBT Advisory Board

Kristen Capps 
AJ Mistretta 
Alan Dettlaff 
Ashton P. Woods
Aurora Harris 
Barry Mandel 
Becca Keo-Meier 
Brad Pritchett
Brandon Mack
Brandon Wilke 
Chris Busby 
Crystal Solares-Bockmon 
Dee Dee Watters 
Dennis Beedon 
Eesha Pandit 
Erika Richie 
Felix Perez 
Fran Watson 
Frances Valdez
Harrison Guy 
Isabel Longoria 
Januari Leo 
Jeffry Faircloth 
Juan Lerma 
Kent Loftin 
Kevin Nix 
Koomah 
Lily Pando (15-year old who will serve as an honorary member)
Lura Groen 
Maria González 
Mark Chupik 
Maximo Cortez 
Mike Webb 
Monica Roberts
Paul Guillory 
R. Aaron Flores 
Renita Cooksey 
Ricardo Rodriguez 
Richard Lapin 
Ron Goines 
Ryan Leach 
Steven Guthrie
T. Ray Purser 
Tamira "Augie" Augustine 
Tammi Wallace 
Tiffany Ross 
Tim Martinez   

Congratulations to all the community leaders who were appointed to this board, and like Mayor Turner, I can't wait to get started making some positive things happen for our city and the Houston LGBT community.

Bermuda Marriage Equality Referendum Failing

I've been watching the elections returns coming out of Bermuda over their non-binding referendum on marriage equality in which there were two questions on the ballot as Bermudians went to the polls yesterday starting at 8 AM until 8 PM Bermuda time.

Are you in favour of same sex marriages in Bermuda?
Are you in favour of civil unions in Bermuda?




As I write this post at midnight CDT Houston time, both questions, with 41% of the vote counted, are losing badly by a nearly two to one margin.

On the same sex marriage question, there have been 12.670 NO votes cast versus 5797 YES votes.
Civil unions aren't fairing much better.  11,589 NO votes have been cast versus 6812 YES votes.

And the folks who are ecstatic about how the referendum is going are the Preserve Marriage peeps, who as you probably guessed, got an assist from US based haters meddling in Bermuda's electoral business and were pushing a NO NO vote with the usual gaybaiting and lies.

The Preserve Marriage opposition also stated that no matter the result, they would continue as an organization after this referendum.

Meanwhile Marriage Equality Bermuda was fighting not only the lies of their opponents, but to get their fellow Bermudians to do the right thing and vote YES YES.

No matter the result, I still have a problem with a majority group voting on the human rights of a marginalized minority group, and using deceptive tactics and outright lies to ensure victory at the ballot box in order to continue to oppress them.

TransGriot Update:  Final results are that both questions failed.   Same gender marriage by a 69% margin, civil unions by a 63% margin.  The good news was that the 44% turnout was under the 50% threshold needed to make the results binding.    

But the Bermudan government was planning on recognizing the results regardless of the outcome and reading it as 'the will of the people'.  So supporters will have an uphill climb to make it happen or will have to do it through the courts while being fought every step of the way by the Preserve Marriage haters.

And I have no doubts the Bermudians who are on the correct side of human rights history will prevail

H-town LGBT Community Shops At Target For A Cause

Ever since Target expressed support for the trans community and made it clear that employees and shoppers go to the bathroom that matches their gender presentation, the right wing faith based ignorati have been engaging in a white-hot orgy of rage aimed at the retailer.

The conservahaters have called for a boycott of Target because of their trans inclusive policies, and in response the LGBT community and our allies across the country have ramped up our support of a store that supports our community.

In addition to the numerous online petitions supporting Target, we took #StandingWithTarget a step further in Houston as the hatemongers gathered on a nearby corner at the entry street to the Sawyer Heights Target location to spread their faux faith based ignorance..

Surprised they weren't at the Bigot Fil-A across the street.  but that's probably where the haters had lunch.

Earlier today our Houston LGBT community had a shop in at the Sawyer Heights location just west of Downtown to not only express our thanks to Target employees for their support of the trans, bi and SGL community, but also purchase items for Montrose Grace Place, an LGBT youth homeless shelter located in the nearby Montrose gayborhood.

A list of items needed at Montrose Grace Place was handed to people wishing to participate in the shop-in event along with thank you cards to hand to the cashiers to let them know why we were in line spending their hard earned T-bills and rainbow cash.

The shop-in ended several hours later  with 10 carts full of items valued at $5700 for Montrose Grace Place and piles of those cards at the store registers.

Thanks for everyone who organized it, and those who participated in this innovative way to support a company that is LGBT friendly and do something for a community organization like Montrose Grace Place at the same time. .

   

MAJOR! H-town Premiere On Saturday

The MAJOR! documentary makes its debut in H-town this Saturday at 2 PM CDT during the Queer Hippo International LGBT Film Festival at the Houston Museum of African American Culture that runs from April 1-3.

The Houston Museum of African American Culture is located at 4807 Caroline Street in the Museum District, and looking forward to seeing this much anticipated documentary when it makes its Houston debut and I hope that LGBT Houston shows up to watch this movie about one of my Black trans elders that I have much love and respect for.

See y'all Saturday.

OutSmart Magazine's 2016's 10 Faces Of Black LGBT Leadership

I've known this was coming for a few weeks, but OutSmart, our local TBLG community publication in honor of Black History Month starting today has published the profiles of 10 Black LGBT leaders in my hometown.

I was honored to be one of the two trans people out of the ten selected for this story, but we do have more excellent Black LGBT leaders in the Bayou City doing the work of uplifting all the communities we intersect and interact with.

And in the wake of the unfortunate repeal of HERO in which many people in our community were hoodwinked and bamboozled into voting against their own human rights based on lies, it's past time that the Houston Black community knew who the Black LGBT leaders are inside Beltway 8.

Thank you Megan Smith and OutSmart for including me in this article

For those of you who don't live in H-town, here's the link to the article for you to peruse it.

Being A TBLG Christian Is Not An Oxymoron

One of the things I get sick of seeing and hearing is self described atheists taking every opportunity to say hateful and negative stuff about Christianity while they demand that you 'respect their belief systems'.

The hatred in LG World ramped up with the soon discredited news that Kim Davis, their fave person to have Two Minute Hates on, was allegedly given a private audience with Pope Francis during his recent visit to the United States.

Yeah, I and other BTLG Christians get it that many of you have a deep seated hatred of Christianity because of the bible beltings you have been subjected to by right wing fundie Pharisees and Sagicees and GOP politicians hiding behind the bible and the cross. 
.
But you need to take that up with the people dishing them out, not beat up on your fellow GLBT peeps who happen to be Christians or our liberal progressive Christian allies. 

May I remind you that many of us LGBT Christians take our faith journey seriously and in many cases are motivated to be better people because of our faith.   Many of us have leaned on our faith to help us get through trying times during our transitions and journeys of self awareness.  

As I have said a few times, if you wish for me as a Christian to respect your decision to be an atheist or follow whatever spiritual beliefs you are comfortable with, then the same reciprocal respect is required of you for LGBT folks like myself who have deeply held religious beliefs and who believe that being part of the LGBT community and a person of faith are NOT mutually exclusive.

Being a TBLG Christian is not an oxymoron.  Respect that.

Upcoming 2015 Aqui Estamos RGV POC Queer Conference

The state of Texas is bigger than France in size, and that can make it difficult to organize statewide or when we have BTLGQ lobby days in Austin.   The sheer size of the state for example makes it hard for someone in the Panhandle, West Texas, Northeast Texas, East Texas or the El Paso area to come to lobby, even if they fly to Austin, without planning on taking at least two days minimum for travel the day of and the day after the event. 

Because our Texas TBLGQ communities are also clustered in the state's larger cites like Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio, the statewide conferences tend to be held in those cities as well, with the same applicable travel issues.

The Rio Grande Valley in South Texas is predominately Latino and for the most part liberal progressive, but it's still about a four hour one way drive from the Valley's major cities of Harlingen, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo to our state capitol of Austin.  |But the Valley, just like everywhere else in the Lone Star State, has TBLGQ Latinos living there as well.

And with Latinos being the fastest growing ethnic group in Texas, they will be part of an increasingly powerful voting bloc.  The Latino population in Texas is estimated to eclipse white Texans and become the largest ethnic group in the state next year and nationally by 2040.

Thanks to Lou Weaver, I was alerted to an upcoming conference, the Aqui Estamos RGV Conference that will be taking place at the STC Cooper Center in McAllen from August 6-7.

It's the first ever LGBTQ centered conference to take place in the Rio Grande Valley, and it seeks to bring together queer-identifying people of color and allies to identify the institutional, social, and cultural currents and themes that continue to oppress queer and gender nonconforming identities in our borderland.

The goal of Aquí Estamos RGV is to strive to challenge those currents and themes by creating a visible and unified movement where LGBTQ people can stand in solidarity for justice.

As the first LGBTQ centered conference in the Rio Grande Valley, Aquí Estamos RGV 2015 will focus on visibility, strategizing, and community and is also open to allies . If you need further details about this first ever event , visit aquiestamosrgv.org.    The conference also has its own Twitter hashtag, #aquiestamos15

If you wish to attend, the conference is FREE, but you'll need to RSVP for it by July 20.

Is Your LGBT Community Ready For Hurricane Season 2015?

Today is also the start of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season.   Those of us living along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the US will be nervously casting our eyes toward the Atlantic from now until November toward the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico watching for storms to develop into potential hurricanes that could threaten our areas.

We have already had one named storm, Ana make landfall in the US in a year that is being forecast because of El Nino to be a below normal one for storms.

But those of us in Houston can't forget that in 1983, a year in which there were only four hurricanes, a Category 3 one whacked us named Alicia.

In case you're wondering, the rest of the 2015 storm names are Bill, Claudette, Danny, Erika, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Joaquin, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor and Wanda.

While many of us know the drill concerning having hurricane prep packs, emergency supplies, and evacuation routes out of our coastal cities and towns that don't involve traveling on interstate highways,  as Hurricane Katrina taught us in 2006, we LGBT people also have to sadly consider homophobia and transphobia when hurricane season approaches and those hurricane preparedness drills happen..

We had the disgusting situation in the Houston area of reports of LGBT evacuees in the wake of Hurricane Katrina being harassed at shelters in the local suburbs.  One trans feminine evacuee unfortunately spent a few days in jail for simply taking a shower in the area matching her gender presentation at a shelter on the Texas A&M campus.

So ever since that incident, the Houston LGBT community has put together lists of people and allies who would be willing to put up BTLG evacuees in their homes in the wake of a hurricane or other natural disaster, and it's probably something that coastal communities with sizable LGBT populations should be doing in their areas.

So is your local TBLG community hurricane ready?   Now is the time to get prepared to do so if you aren't.

Upcoming UT-Austin Lavender Graduation May 20

After doing some local events, the BTAC conference and resting from that hectic March travel schedule that saw me flying over 8000 miles that month, it's time for me to hit the road again for my first keynote speech in a while.

I'll be heading back to Austin, but not to lobby.   On this trip to the ATX I'll be spending time on the University of Texas- Austin campus delivering a speech for their 8th annual Lavender Graduation.

So what's Lavender Graduation you ask?  Lavender Graduation is a special graduation ceremony that honors the achievements of graduating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and ally students on the UT-Austin campus.

Lavender Graduation is co-hosted by the Gender and Sexuality Center and the UT Queer Students Alliance (QSA). Our goal is to provide a venue to demonstrate the success of our community members in a personal, entertaining and celebratory way.

The Lavender Graduation Ceremony will feature not only my keynote speech, but inspiring speeches from UT-Austin faculty, administrators, students, and alumni; the chance to cross the lavender stage to celebrate your success and to receive a Lavender Graduation certificate as well as a rainbow tassel; and music, cake and food to share with friends, family and well-wishers!
Would you like to show your support for the event even though you are not graduating?   You can RSVP for the event at this link.   You can attend the event, and bring your friends and community allies!

Sign up on the GSC listserv to get updates and reminders closer to the event – sign up by sending an email to the GSC.   If you need further information about it you can contact the Gender and Sexuality Center at gsc@austin.utexas.edu or 512-232-1831.

The Lavender Graduation will take place at the Student Activity Center starting at 4 PM CDT on the UT-Austin campus at Speedway and 21st Streets.   Hope to see you there!.

Judge Not, Homophobes

Love this quote by Laverne Cox, and it got me thinking about the on target point that she's making.

Indeed, how in the hell do you faith-based haters think that Conservagod (what I call your right-wing interpretation of God)  will judge SGL, bi and trans people for who they love, and that same God will not judge you for hating someone you'll never met?

Yeah, you anti-LGBT peeps that claim you're Christian sure do violate Mark 12:31 on a regular basis.

What's Mark 12:31 you ask?   Let's peruse that scripture together shall we?

And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

It's been painfully obvious to everyone in LGBT World and our allies that those of you who this Laverne Cox quote applies to are basically hiding behind the Bible to unleash your inner homophobes and oppress people.

We ain't having it.   We have long since reached the point in which we are beyond sick and tired of being oppressed by you alleged 'Christians'

And you faux Christians with your anti-GLBT doctrines give real Christians a bad name.

If you don't like me calling you faith-based oppressors, haters, Bible thumping bigots, or whatever other creative sobriquet I can think of, then when when you stop acting like oppressors and start living up to the tenets of Christian faith that you claim to follow, them I'll think about giving you some respect.

Because I don't have to respect any person that wishes to roll back mine or my community's human rights.  And it's your unbridled several decade war on the humanity of LGBT people that causes us to not like your hypocritical behinds either.

So judge not, homophobes, lest ye be not judged.

Moni's Going To The 2015 Houston HRC Gala

Check the date, this is NOT an April Fool's joke like this post was.

I have a long documented history as one of HRC's fiercest critics going back to 1998, but in a few hours I'll actually be going the 18th annual Houston HRC Gala.

The last time I actually was in the vicinity of an HRC Gala, I was in Washington DC outside the Walter Williams Convention Center protesting their national dinner in response to trans people getting cut out of  ENDA in 2007

This time I won't be there to protest, but observe the proceedings at the Westin Galleria ballroom.  Thanks to Bryant and Ian Barrett for the invitation to sit at their tables.   

As for who will be at the Houston HRC Gala,  HRC president Chad Griffin is supposed to be here for the proceedings as one of the special guests that start at 5:00 PM  along with my Houston homegirl Brittney Griner. 

They say they have changed, we'll see.   And getting a chance to meet my Houston homegirl Brittney Griner and hang out for a few hours with some friends in the community may make it worthwhile.

I'll at least get a post out of it.

HPD -LGBT Community Dialogue Tomorrow

For those of you who can make it to the Montrose Center tomorrow morning from 10-AM-1 PM CDT, there will be a town hall meeting featuring  HPD Chief Charles McClelland, HPD's command staff,  HPD LGBT Liaison EJ Joseph, HPD personnel and other community leaders to discuss the spike in anti-LGBT crimes that I believe is fueled by the hate rhetoric spouted by our opponents during the fight to pass the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance..

We will be gathering in Room 106/107 at the Montrose Center to hopefully  come up with solutions to this problem that has already taken one life and left two other people seriously injured.

One suggesting is to extend the hours that the Montrose storefront police station is open.  I suggested in a previous post to bring back the Q Patrol citizens patrols that we instituted for several years in the wake of the Paul Broussard murder back in 1991

Address of the Montrose Center for those who wish to attend is 401 Branard St.

CC15 Day 4 Recap

Since I'm done with my workshops and seminars, I decided to take this Saturday to catch up with some people who live here in the Denver area that I know.

One is an old friend of mine from Houston who moved here in 2001 and I haven't see her for years, but we made it happen over lunch at the Denver Hard Rock Cafe just up the 16th Street Mall from the hotel.

While I was marching up the street to the Hard Rock Cafe and my reunion, a protest was being held that started at 12:15 PM MST back at the hotel aimed at the Denver po-po's.  

It was still going on by the time I returned to the hotel and commenced to running my mouth with my sis Samantha Dato.   We talked about PTHC and whether I was coming for it (maybe)

My activist mentor Dainna Cicotello called me while I was talking to Samantha, and we set up a meeting for dinner at 6 PM.

I killed some time for that meeting by attending a seminar entitled The Psychology of Debunking LGBT Myths that Brynn Tannehill was an informative part of before I had to jet to meet Dainna in the lobby as we headed to a nearby restaurant.   I also got the bonus of seeing her daughter Laurie, who was celebrating her birthday

After a great meal, some peanut butter cheesecake and two hours of catching up since I hadn't seen either Cicotello in the flesh since the 2000 IFGE Conference, I was back at the Sheraton hanging out in the lobby just chilling and trying to decide what to do next.

Stacey Langley (happy birthday Stacey), Latisha, and Lynette arrived and after a few minutes, we decided the check out the 50+ Dance.    There was also a Masqueerade Ball happening., but after handing out at the dance for 30 minutes, headed back to my room after talking to Omar Narvaez about Texas politics in the bar to write up the days events and pack.

Needed some beauty sleep for my last day in Denver for awhile.

CC15 Day 2 Recap

This CC15 day started for me with the NBJC Black Institute, and ended at 2 AM cutting up in the Sheraton Denver lobby with my trans brothers and trans sisters.

After the opening remarks from NBJC executive Director Sharon Lettman-Hicks, we dove right into the first panel of the day

It was entitled From the Grassroots to the National Stage: Movement Building with Intersectional Justice for Black LGBTQ/SGL People.    It was a panel with Mandy Carter, Earl Fowlkes, Geneva Musgrave, Rev. Dr Kenneth Samuel and Chai Jindasurat and myself in a robust discussion of the state of Black LGBTQ?SGL America .moderated by Angela Peoples.

It was a 90 minute discussion that ended far to soon for the breakout sessions that followed later. and took us to lunch.

Black LGBTQ youth was served in the first panel after the lunch break was a Black Youth Project 100 sponsored panel entitled Get Free:Black LGBT Rights and Grassroots Organizing. 

The high energy and informative presentation by Angie Brilliance, Samantha Master and Charlene Carruthers discussed grassroots organizing, and building power in our community as seen from the eyes of the 18-35 set.

After their part of the institute concluded, we had the honor of Fallon Fox addressing us after being introduced by Kye Allums.   Fallon told us about her journey to becoming a kick butt WMMA fighter while trans.

That was the lead in to the next panel at 3:30 PM, presented by Athlete Ally.which focused on the sports world.   Black TBLGQ athletes such as Kye Allums, Fallon Fox, Brittney Griner, and Michael Sam have not only excelled on the field, but made trailblazing progress that also has bigger ramifications for our community.

The Color of Sports:Black Perspectives at the Intersection of Race, Gender and Orientation in Sports was moderated by Wendy Lewis after being introduced by Akil Patterson.

Panelists Kye Allums, Wade Davis Ashland Johnson and Nevin Caple discussed the challenges of being Black and LGBT in the sports world.

The final panel of the Black Institute was entitled Suffering in Silence:Addressing HIV, LGBT Health and The Black LGBTQ/SGL Community moderated by Venton Jones.

This was my second panel of the day, and I was joined by the  Rev Dr Jamie Washington, Kenyon Farrow, Jai Makokha, and Maria Glover-Wallace in which we not only discussed the HIV/AIDS epidemic in our community, but the need to focus on health care, wellness, and raising the profile of HIV/AIDS  to where it has the same level of  urgency that we give to combating obesity and diabetes in the Black community.

We also discussed the launch of the NBJC Black Wellness Initiative in that interactive panel discussion what we probably could have used another hour for.

After the closing remarks from Sharon, the second annual NBJC Black Institute was concluded.

After joining my Houston homies Ashton Woods and NBJC Emerging Leader Brandon Mack,  we headed to the People of Color suite to hilariously kill some time before heading to the what turned out to be a very interesting opening plenary session.

After writing up what happened at the protest, I returned to the lobby area to hang out with my trans sisters and trans brothers until nearly 2 AM

Yep, long day.  But I'm not complaining.Just need a little sleep and I'm good to go.

Why Does This Pattern Keep Happening In Jenifer's Council Races?

You long time TransGriot readers have seen my posts since 2011 documenting the efforts of Jenifer Rene Pool to become the first out transperson elected to Houston City Council.

If she succeeds in doing so this November, she would also become the first out trans person elected to a major city council in a city with 1 million or more population.

One of the things that has bothered me while watching Jen try to make this history and get that seat in the Horseshoe for the Houston trans community is the appearance to those of us in the trans world and our allies that elements of the lesbian and gay community are actively working to keep that history from happening.

During the 2011 cycle, it was newly out Bo Fraga suddenly deciding to run for city council in that same crowded Position 2 at large race that Jenifer had declared for.   There was also the whisper campaign started that Pool 'wasn't a viable candidate' that were allegedly spread all the way to the Victory Foundation.

Jenifer despite all that drama, finished sixth in that crowded race.

Then in 2013 when she ran for the Position 3 At Large seat, there was an allegation a group of gay delegates walked out of a meeting room just before a vote that cost her a critical endorsement.

Despite the fact that she was once LGBT Caucus President, has been a longtime host of the KPFT-FM Queer Voices radio show, and was a 2012 Pride Parade Grand Marshal, the lukewarm support from the LG community also caused her to miss the runoff in the Position 3 race against Michael Kubosh by a little over 1000 votes.

That bit the Houston LGBT community in the political behind a few months later during the HERO fight.  Councilmember Kubosh, after claiming at an April 27 town hall in Montrose he was 'against discrimination', voted against the HERO a month later and proclaimed at the Riggle hate rally masquerading as a church service in June that that "God put him on City Council to oppose the HERO."

Now Jenifer is gearing up for a third run for city council.   She is running for the at Large Position 1 seat, and we in Houston Trans World were stunned to hear that Lane Lewis, the openly gay chair of the Harris County Democratic Party,  decided to make his second run for City Council, and it ain't for the soon to be open At  Large Position 4 seat.

I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but I have to ask the question what's up with this when you know the Houston trans community has been trying to get representation on council since 1991, the Houston gay and lesbian community has had it for over two decades, .and we get elements of the Houston lesbian and gay community continuing to frustrate the efforts of Jenifer and the Houston trans community to get our first ever rep on City Council.

And don't think the Houston trans community has forgotten the calls by some peeps in LG Houston to 'dump the trannies' and pass an LG only HERO when the debate over the gender identity category got loud, transphobic, and contentious.

Hey I have much love and respect for Lane Lewis.  If  he's elected ,I have no doubt he'll make a fine city council member.   But hey, I have to ask this question.

Is it just coincidence that gay males have twice decided to jump into races for the same seat Jen has announced she's running for?   Is it personal animus toward her?  Or is it as some people suspect, there's other transphobic motivation for this pattern to repeatedly keep happening?

I have no problem with the job that gay and lesbian Houstonians have done so far in their time on council and in other city positions.   But transpeople also live inside the 700 square miles of Texas soil we call Houston, and it's past time one of us was sitting in one of those nice green leather chairs helping to shape civic policy.