The Air Marshal Is Headed To Da Ville!

If you're thinking, "Didn't you just fly off to San Francisco a week ago?" yes I sure did.  But this trip isn't for business, it's a vacation

Yep, I can actually spell that word, and I'm going to spend a week with my homies and homettes in Louisville.   Hey I did promise after my last visit to the city in 2014 that it wouldn't take me four years to come back,

I also think it's apropos that I come back to the city where ten years ago, I founded TransGriot and spent nearly nine years of my life that was critical to my development as an advocate and a person.
And frankly, I wanted to see some of my friends and chosen family here in Da Ville.

Assuming my Southwest bird leaves on time out of Hobby and from Midway, I should be stepping off the plane at 3;00 PM EDT, and hopefully will be destroying some Impellizzeri's Pizza before the week is over.,

Looking forward to seeing everyone when I get there

LGBT Health Summit At U of L Med School Coming Soon!

One of the issues that continues to plague our LGBTQ community across the country is finding culturally competent health care in our various locales we reside in..

In my old stomping grounds of Louisville, which unfortunately has the LGBTQ hatemongering Southern Baptist Theological Seminary inside the city limits, it's probably a factor in why the University of Louisville's LGBT Center is fielding calls from LGBTQ Louisvillians and residents all over the Kentuckiana area on a daily basis who are searching for doctors and health care providers willing to respectfully treat LGBTQ patients.


To address these issues, the University of Louisville  as part of their eQuality Project will host a LGBTQ Health Summit on September 12 at the UofL School of Medicine.  

It's sponsored by the U of L School of Medicine Office of Undergraduate Medical Education, Office for Community Engagement and Diversity, and the U of L LGBT Center

"Historically, LGBTQ health has not been part of any health care or medical school curriculum," said Suzanne Kingery  MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at UofL. "It is only recently that a handful of medical schools, with UofL at the forefront, have started to do this kind of training. This health summit is a wonderful opportunity for health care providers to learn about LGBTQ care so they can provide affirming care for their patients and follow best practices."

The LGBTQ Health Summit will begin at 8:30 AM EDT on that September 12 date at the School of Medicine , and early registration is encouraged for those of you health care providers wishing to attend..

Muhammad Ali 1942-2016

So saddened to hear that another one of our community icons has gone on to join the ancestors.

Muhammad Ali, 1960 light heavyweight Olympic champion, three time world boxing champion, humanitarian, father and beloved civil rights advocate passed away in a Phoenix area hospital on June 3..

Much of my childhood and teen years spanned his remarkable boxing career.  Him becoming the heavyweight champion three times.  The three fights with Joe Frazier including the 'Thrilla In Manila'. .The 'Rumble in the Jungle' in Zaire in which he rope a doped George Foreman into defeat.

While his long battle with Parkinson's .Disease robbed him of his verbal loquaciousness, he still remained one of the world's most beloved figures and humanitarian .  He helped negotiate the release of 14 American hostages before Desert Storm kicked off in 1991.    

He received the honor of lighting the Olympic cauldron to start the Atlanta Games in 1996.

I also lived in his hometown of Louisville, and visited the Muhammad Ali Center several times in the period I lived there after its 2006 opening for different events..

 His hometown is also feeling the loss.

Said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer in a statement.: “The values of hard work, conviction and compassion that Muhammad Ali developed while growing up in Louisville helped him become a global icon. As a boxer, he became The Greatest, though his most lasting victories happened outside the ring. Muhammad leveraged his fame as a platform to promote peace, justice and humanitarian efforts around the world, while always keeping strong ties to his hometown. Today, Muhammad Ali’s fellow Louisvillians join the billions whose lives he touched worldwide in mourning his passing, celebrating his legacy, and committing to continue his fight to spread love and hope."
Congressman John Yarmuth (D) said in a statement, "The word champion has never fit a man better. Muhammad Ali was a champion for peace, a champion for justice, and a champion for equality. He was a man who gained fame in a violent game, but immortality as a gentle and caring soul. In the ring, there was no one better, but his contributions to humanity managed to eclipse his boxing prowess."

But to many of us, and especially those of us who grew up during the 60's and 70's, he was simply The Greatest.

Rest in power and peace Champ/  You've earned it.

Win Attica Win!

The Kentucky Primary election is on May 17, and in this case I'll be looking at some races besides the presidential one between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders at the top of the ticket.

As many of you long time readers know, I spent nearly nine years living in Louisville, and TransGriot actually started there.  I also met and made friends with some wonderful people while I was there in Kentuckiana.

One of those people I got to know was Attica Woodson Scott.  We kept bumping into each other as I settled into my Louisville life after moving there in September 2001 and I got involved in the Louisville liberal progressive political scene and activist circles.   She's been there for me and the Kentucky trans, bi and SGL community as a staunch activist, organizer, and ally when we needed support.

And she's a cool person on top of that.

I was elated when she decided to run for the District 1 seat for Louisville Metro Council, but moved in May 2010 before I had a chance to return the favor and do some work to support her election bid.  She was subsequently elected to the Louisville Metro Council that fall and served until 2015.

While on Metro Council, she sponsored the Louisville Living Wage ordinance, efforts to ban the box and led efforts to increase affordable housing.   Attica has been an ally not only of our Louisville TBLG community, but seniors, our union brothers and sisters, and JCPS teachers.  Former state Rep. Eleanor Jordan and my former state Rep. Mary Lou Marzian have endorsed her, and Scott  has an ever lengthening list of endorsements backing her campaign

I am happy to see her take on a 34 year DINO incumbent in Rep. Tom Riner who is not an ideological fit for the diverse west side District 41 and alarmingly bragged at a recent debate about not having caucused with the Democrats since the 90's.  Riner was also responsible for hooking Kim Davis up with her Liberty Counsel attorneys and I'm surprised he hasn't jumped to the GOP.

That DINO Riner has got to go.   In addition, we haven't had a Black female state legislator representing Louisville, much less in the Kentucky House period since Rep. Eleanor Jordan (D) left her seat in 2000 to take on then Congresswoman Anne Northup (R). It's past time we had another Black female state legislator from Da Ville in Frankfort, and many peeps agree with me.  

Hope the voters of District 41 will agree with me on May 17 and give Attica Scott the opportunity to serve them in Frankfort.

.  

Note To KY Bigots: Don't Yell The N-Word At A Black Judge

We're barely six days into 2016 and we already have vanillacentric privileged white guys showing their asses and jockeying for SUF honors.

The latest example came in my old Louisville stomping grounds in Kentucky Circuit Court Judge Olu Stevens court..   He was elected to the 30th Judicial Court seat in Louisville in 2010 and was unopposed in his 2014 reelection campaign for an eight year term that doesn't expire until January 1, 2023.

Stevens is one of the few African-American judges in the commonwealth of Kentucky, and has had to deal with his share of racist commentary from people transiting his Louisville area courtroom.

He is also not 'scurred' to tell it like it T-I-S is either.   He chided one person for writing some problematic racist comments in a victim impact statement.  He has criticized all white juries for trials involving Black defendants in a Louisville that is 25% African-American.

And on Monday, the latest instance in which he has faced racism in his courtroom happened.

Adam Satterly was facing the legal music in front of Judge Stevens for violating the terms of his bond on multiple methamphetamine charges.  
As he was being taken into custody, Satterly uttered the audible to many observers in the courtroom comment of "punk azz n----r",

He was immediately brought back before Judge Stevens, and realizing he'd screwed up, tried to claim he was speaking to his brother.  Judge Stevens wasn't buying that excuse, held Satterly in contempt of court and gave him a 60 day sentence for it.   After Satterly apologized the next day to him in his courtroom, he commuted the sentence to time served.

And what did we learn here Kentucky bigots?  If you get in legal trouble and find yourself in front of a Black judge, it would be wise of you to keep your racist commentary to yourself..

Dawn Wilson Scholarship Established By U of L

Happy to see my Louisville homegirl and Louisville Human Relations Commissioner Dawn Wilson was honored October 1 by the University of Louisville during its 2015 Pride Week festivities with the establishment of a scholarship in her name.

"Tonight , I was honored to not only to have a scholarship named in my honor at the University of Louisville but I also met the dynamic Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement,." said Wilson in a statement on her FV page  "This new scholarship will offer LGBTQ students of color opportunities to pursue their collegiate dreams"

Patrisse Cullors was the keynote speaker for UL Pride Week, and her keynote speech also happened on Thursday night.

Dawn Wilson is one of the pioneering trans peeps y'all need to get to know.  She took part in the Phyllis Frye run lobby day in Washington DC in 1994, founded the Louisville based Bluegrass Belles trans group, helped pass trans inclusive human rights ordinances in Louisville and her hometown of Lexington in 1998, was the first African-American trans person to win the IFGE Trinity Award in 2000, helped organize the Transsistahs-Transbrothas trans POC conventions in 2005-2006 in Louisville and has been an integral part of the Louisville and Kentucky human rights community for over two decades. 

And yeah, she's one of my mentors.

The Wilson scholarship is for LGBTQI college bound students of color who wish to attend college on the University of Louisville campus, and may be the first of its kind offered on a college campus located in the South.,  

SBC Trans Hatefest Starts In Louisville Today

In a few hours the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary will host a hatefest conference in which they will arrogantly spend three days in trans-free rooms coming up with new ways to spin scripture to attack the trans community.

Can't say I didn't see this coming.  When they lost on marriage, they were going to have to come up with a new enemy to attack and organize their faith based minions around, and it is now us.

The Southern Baptist denomination at their June 2014 conference in Baltimore voted to hate on trans people and to officially put themselves on the wrong side of the trans human rights movement just as they did over a century and a half ago on slavery and Jim Crow segregation.   

They can meet if they wish, but the bottom line is and will always be that we trans people and our allies will not allow ANY religious denomination to attempt to turn the non-debatable existence of trans people into a theological issue.

And we damned sure are resisting it with every fiber of our beings.

Hope Louisville is planning a special welcome for you and the rest of Satan's Helpers.

SBC Trans Hatefest Happening In Louisville October 5

When I lived in Louisville, the house I lived in with my roomies was across the street from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and one of my bedroom windows faced that cesspool of anti-LGBT bigotry.

In June 2011 the Southern Baptist Church voted to officially make hatred of trans people their church doctrine, and now Satan's Helpers are convening a three day trans hate confab on the SBTS campus starting on October 5.

Did the SBC invite Keith Ablow and Dr. Paul McHugh to attend this anti-trans hatefest too?

Looks like they'll be plotting their next steps in how to attack the trans community at this event now that they have lost on marriage equality and need somebody else to organize, attack and rally their flocks around.

There's a reason SBC church membership and attendance has dropped over the last 20 years, and this is just another example of the Southern Baptists century and a half history of being on the wrong side of human rights issues.
   
Too bad I'm not still living across the street from it, I'd be protesting it when it happens.

So when October 5 rolls around on the calendar for this reprehensible event, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that my liberal progressive colleagues in Da Ville are giving the assembled faith based haters a proper Kentucky welcome.      

JCPS Finally Passes Trans Policy Expansion!

Last night some old Louisville human rights business I'd been working on since 2007 and had to unhappily leave undone when I moved in 2010 was finally completed!

By a nearly unanimous 6-1 vote, the Jefferson County Public School Board in Louisville voted to expand the JCPS  anti-harassment and non discrimination policies to includes  added gender identity and expression to the district's non discrimination and anti-bullying policies.

And the wonderful Bluegrass State news news had me doing the happy dance deep in the heart of Southeast Texas.

It was a process that Mike Slaton and I along with a team of people had been fighting for back in 2007, and I was bitterly disappointed when the gender identity and expression language was cut in favor of adding sexual orientation only

JCPS is Kentucky's largest school district, with 101,000+ students, 172 schools, and 6,400+ teachers, With this near unanimous vote, JCPS becomes only the second school district in the state to add gender identity to its non-discrimination and bullying and harassment policies.

The Fayette County Public School Board in Lexington approved a similar policy in July 2012.

As Metro Louisville Human Relations Commissioner Dawn Wilson said in a statement on her Facebook page," Tonight, the ghost of 2007 was finally laid to rest.  No outside opposition. Room supportive. As the education chair of the Louisville Human Relations Commission I applaud the JCPS board for passing 6-1 gender ID and expression to the school policy!

The chair of GLSEN Bluegrass was also pleased with what transpired at the Van Hoose Education Center last night.
“We are pleased to see JCPS pass this policy and join Fayette County as the only two school districts in the state with fully inclusive policies that protect students regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Zoey Peach, chair of GLSEN Bluegrass. “With the knowledge that they are protected from bullying and discrimination, these policies will ensure a safe and affirming school climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students in these schools.” 

And I'm happy for the trans JCPS students and employees the expansion of this policy will protect. . 

The O'Bannon's On HLN August 27

During my Texan in Exile days in Louisville, two of the many people I got to meet in the nearly nine years I lived there were Sheila O'Bannon and her lovely trans feminine daughter Shemiyia

I met them back in 2004, when Miyia was just getting started with her transition, and Sheila was adjusting to it as well.

It's a story that Sheila captured in a play she wrote and produced entitled The Prodigal.  It was a fictionalized account of a family's journey to understand and eventually come to accept the transition journey of one of its family members. 

It debuted at the Kentucky Center for the Arts in downtown Louisville, and yours truly was going to be the moderator for its June 2010 debut until I had to move back to Houston several weeks before the play had the first of its two sold out performances on June 26-27.

It was another piece of unfinished Louisville business I was disappointed and pissed off about not getting a chance to complete as I pointed the moving van southward on I-65 toward Nashville and the opening leg of my journey back home.

I did get to catch up and have lunch with the O'Bannon women at the 59 Diner when they rolled through Houston on vacation two years ago. We had a wonderful time catching up on what was transpiring in all our lives at the time while discussing the then state of the trans community for Black trans folks vis a vis our white counterparts..

Thanks to Miyia's FB page, she's alerted me to an upcoming appearance of her and her mother on Dr. Drew On Call that they taped yesterday.   It's scheduled to air on HLN August 27.

Looking forward to seeing it, and you may wish to set your DVR's for it.  I'm also looking forward to the next time I get a chance to talk to these TV stars.
.

JCPS Trans Inclusive Policy Passes First Stage Vote

When I left Louisville in May 2010 four days after my birthday to come back home, I had unfinished human rights business I was unhappy to leave undone.

That unfinished business was getting a nondiscrimination policy that included gender identity language for the Jefferson County Public Schools. 

In 2007 I was part of a coalition effort to get a comprehensive LGBT inclusive policy passed for JCPS..  Trans people were cut out of that policy in committee because of then Supt. Berman's lack of human rights vision.   I was highly pissed off about it at the time and almost dropped our of the effort at that point because I was upset about the trans community getting throw under the political bus again. 

After calming down and promises being made to me and the Louisville trans community that the Fairness led coalition would come back and fight for trans inclusion in the JCPS policy at another time, .I changed my mind and fought hard to get the JCPS trans free policy passed.. 

The trans free policy subsequently passed after three long and contentious public hearings on a 4-3 vote.

On Monday I was alerted by Dawn Wilson that the trans inclusion policy n JCPS I was fighting for passed its first stage JCPS board vote with a 5-2 margin.to take it to the second stage

Linda Duncan, just as in 2007  tried to use all the tools in her oppression handbook, but failed to slow down this policy what should have been adopted 8 years ago had Berman and the board listened to me and the coalition then..   Duncan along with board member Chuck Haddaway opposed it.

Rounds two and three are coming up, and I expect Frank Simon, Jerry Stephenson and the rest of the merry band of suburban haters will be loading up the buses to stick their nose in JCPS human rights business soon.

Told Y'all Papi Edwards Was A #GirlLikeUs

"In my two decades of lived experience as a Black trans woman, I have seen more than a few young gay males who liked doing drag, claimed it was 'a hobby', only did it for pageants or gay nightclub talent nights and swore up and down they were gay men and had no intention to transition.

But a year or two later after having that gender epiphany, those same gay males were declaring they were trans, swallowing hormones, answering to feminine names and transitioning to live full time as female."
-TransGriot, February 2, 2015,, The Case For Edwards Being A Trans Murder Victim"

Well, as this Dominic Holden March 6 BuzzFeed article points out, Moni was right.

A trans woman who knew Ms. Edwards and was also at the January 9 murder scene named Tiffany, came forward and publicly confirmed what I was hearing from multiple Louisville contacts.

“Papi got shot because she was a transgender female,” Tiffany told BuzzFeed News in a phone interview this month. “That is exactly why she was killed — because of gender identity.”

The photo in this post is a surveillance camera still shot of Ms. Edwards moments before she was killed.  And she is clearly presenting as female moments before she was killed. 

Henry Gleaves, the alleged shooter who prematurely ended Papi's young life, just had another court hearing March 26, with the trial due to start in Da Ville on October 27.

We have had eight trans women killed this year.  I expect there will be more before the calendar turns to January 1, 2016.   This Edwards case underscores the importance of police departments when they encounter trans murder victims, ACCURATELY identifying and publicizing the fact they are dealing with a trans murder case.

Because the sooner the trans community knows we are dealing with a trans murder case, the sooner we can spring into action to help you peeps in law enforcement solve them.

Another African-American Trans Woman Killed In Kentucky

Damn, I barely have calmed down from the rant I unleashed yesterday about too many of my young African descended transsisters being killed before I was sent news of this one from my old Louisville, KY stomping grounds.

It has all the disrespectful AP Stylebook violations I loathe when writing about these murders of African-American trans women.

Using mugshot photo in WHAS-TV story: CHECK.   Using victim's dead name: CHECK.   Misgendering her throughout the story:  CHECK

Surprised the WHAS-TV peeps didn't disrespect Ms. Edwards further by inserting whatever criminal record they could find since they found the mugshot.

The 20 year old Ms. Edwards (I refuse to use a name that is in violation of AP Stylebook standards for covering trans people) was found shot to death at the Fern Valley Motel in the 2700 block of Fern Valley Road on January 9.

She was from Indianapolis, and after LMPD was called to the scene, she was transported to a local hospital where she was declared dead upon arrival after suffering a single gunshot would to the chest.

LMPD is searching for 20 year old Henry Richard Gleaves in connection with this homicide and if you have eyeballs on him, please call the anonymous LMPD tip line at 502-574-LMPD.

For those of you in the Louisville area or Indianapolis area where Ms.Edwards was from, if you have some pics of her or know her femme name, please get it to me ASAP so I can properly and respectfully cover her story unlike the stenographers at WHAS-TV.

And this now make three transsisters we have lost to anti-trans violence since this year started, all 30 years old or younger.   

And this month still isn't over yet.

#BlackTransLivesMatter    Once again how many more of us have to die before the Black community gives a damn? .

TransGriot Update.  Typed the last name as Williams instead of Edwards.   That's what I get for writing while watching Serena play tennis.   It has been corrected in the post. 

Henry Gleaves, the person who is alleged to have committed the crime, is now in LMPD custody and has been charged with murder.

Strange Fruit' Hits 100 Show Milestone

Heard the wonderful news from Da Ville that Niece and Nephew's public radio show recently broadcast its 100th episode.

Niece and Nephew as you longtime TransGriot readers are aware of would be the fab duo of Dr. Kaila Story and Jaison Gardiner.   They are the hosts of WFPL-FM's Strange Fruit, a weekly radio show that discusses pop culture, current events, politics and Black gay life.

The show is produced by Laura Ellis and broadcast locally on 89.3 FM and is available to the rest of us via podcast.

I've known Laura for a few years on Facebook, but finally had the pleasure of meeting her when I did my first in studio taping of a Strange Fruit  show when I visited Da Ville back in September.

FruitCakes, as they lovingly call their loyal listeners, know that I have had the pleasure of doing three of those 100 shows which involved your fave transfeminine blogger commenting on some issue du jour.

Congrats Strange Fruit team for your broadcast milestone of 100 shows!  Looking forward to the next time I get the opportunity to appear on the show, and hope you are blessed to reach the 200 broadcast milestone.

Atherton HS Gender Identity Inclusive Nondiscrimination Policy Still Stands

Back in May Atherton High School's site Based Decision Making Committee added gender identity to the school's non discrimination policy.

Because the policy allows trans students to use the restroom based on their gender identity and presentation, predictably the local haters in Da Ville went to work trying to overturn it.

After failing at the Atherton SBDM Committee level to do so it went to a JCPS  appeal board hearing.

The SBDM Appeal Board was comprised of four teachers selected by the union, two parents selected by the PTSA and one principal selected by the Administrators Association.

There's good news to report.  By a 6-1 vote the appeal to rescind Atherton's addition of gender identity to their non-discrimination policy was defeated!  

As for the breakdown on the vote, the four teachers and the two parents voted to deny the appeal with the principal from Central High School voting for it.

So happy to hear that.   It's a big win not only for the gender variant students that attend Atherton but all students on the campus..

Okay JCPS School Board, now it's time for you to handle the business you should have handled back in 2007 and pass a district wide addition to your non-discrimination policy that includes gender identity

My Latest WFPL-FM 'Strange Fruit' Interview

Y'all know I have much love for Dr. Kaila Story and Jaison Gardner, (AKA 'Niece' and 'Nephew' and they refer to me as 'Auntie Monica') the co-hosts of WFPL-FM's Strange Fruit.  

I pop in from time to time with my thoughts on various topics, and normally I have to do so by calling in to participate on their show.

This particular appearance was different, because one of the things I got to do while I was on vacation in my other hometown was actually sit in WFPL-FM's 4th Street studios and tape an interview that was just broadcast.

Only took me being away from Da Ville for four years and be on vacation inside I-265 to actually walk in that building for the first time after years of walking past it for various reasons. 

The podcast is up of that interview, and you can click on this link to listen to it.  My comments start around the 13:00 minute mark of this edition of Strange Fruit.

Heading Back To Texas

After spending a wonderful few days in Louisville with friends and adopted family for the first time since I moved away from here, it's time to head back to my life in Houston.

As much as I love H-town and I'm a proud Texan, I'll admit that overall, the nearly nine years I spent in Louisville were enjoyable.

I grew to like the city, and those years were important to my development as a person and an activist.

And TransGriot was born here

It was wonderful getting the chance to see many of the people that became my friends and adopted family up here despite it being a holiday weekend.  For those of you I missed, I'll catch y'all next time.

Just hope it won't take me four years to come back

Moni's Back In Da Ville!

Yep people, if you wanted to know what my double secret destination was this time, it is Louisville. 

I'm in Jefferson County for the first time since I pointed the moving van south on I-65 toward Nashville on May 8, 2010 with the final destination being Houston.

Dawn wanted to keep it a surprise, and y'all know how well I can keep my lip zipped when it comes to keeping stuff radio silent. 

Anyway, I'm here through Labor Day weekend  and looking forward to not only destroying some Impelizzeri's pizza, but seeing as many peeps as I can before I head back home Tuesday. 

Louisville Forum Still Stonewalling On Adding Trans Panelist

So yes Louisville Forum, it it time to allow transpeople to plead their own cause.  Without a trans person on that panel, your impartiality and credibility as a non partisan public issues group will be called into question when it comes to this debate on trans issues.
-TransGriot. June 23, 2014, 'Louisville Forum, 'Why Are You Hosting A Trans Issues Forum With No Trans People On The Panel?'

With the scheduled Louisville Forum 'Growing Up Transgender' panel set to take place next Tuesday, the questions that Jaison and I asked began to be echoed around the Louisville metro area in local media outlets as Dale Josey and the Louisville Forum unconvincingly insisted that the exclusion of a transperson from the July 9 panel was not intentional.

But their stonewalling in terms of not immediately correcting their mistake gives people in Louisville and across the country the impression that's exactly what is happening in Da Ville.

Louisville Human Relations Commissioner Dawn Wilson echoed the thoughts of many people, myself included.  While we commend the Forum for taking on this trans-themed topic, it's problematic there is no representation on this panel from the Louisville trans community, as she noted in the WFPL-FM story about the controversy written by Laura Ellis.

"“It’s a very good start. But we really do need somebody who has the experiences of school, growing up transgender, growing up as a person who is questioning gender, that perspective needs to be there," Wilson said.

Wilson, who is black, likened the panel to a discussion on African-American issues by a panel of white experts.

“It doesn’t really make much sense, because they’re never had that experience. They’ve never been through those trials and tribulations," she said

The comments of Dale Josey have also been disquieting for the Louisville trans community and our allies. Josey is co-chair for the programs and issues committee for the Forum, made some problematic conflations of sexual orientation and gender identity in Ellis' article, and it emphatically points out why a transperson is needed on this upcoming panel in light of the fact an opponent is already on it.  

Because the Louisville Forum is usually being done in a room full of predominately white male business leaders, politicians, and other influencers, and it's being videotaped, I cannot underscore how vitally important it is to have the perspectives of an actual trans person in that discussion.

So do the right thing Louisville Forum and add the trans panelist.  It will not only balance the panel, it will improve the quality of the discussion.

And since you are discussing our trans lives, it needs to happen. 


TransGriot Update:  Looks like a change has been made to the July 9 panel.   Trans teen Henry Brousseau has been added to the panel.

Louisville Forum, Why Are You Hosting A Trans Issues Forum With No Trans People On The Panel?

Since 1984 the influential Louisville Forum has been a nonpartisan public issues group that hosts monthly meetings to discuss and debate issues of importance to the Louisville metro area. 

From their website:  The Louisville Forum is a nonpartisan public issues group. Founded in 1984, the Forum hosts debates and discussions of contemporary and sometimes controversial public policy issues that affect the greater Louisville community. The Forum provides an arena for the presentation and analysis of different sides of vital issues affecting the Louisville Metropolitan area.

As an independent and nonprofit organization, the Forum itself never takes a position on issues. Instead, we bring together speakers who aggressively articulate their specific and often opposing viewpoints. Membership is open to the public at large, and guests are welcome at all meetings.

Since its founding, the Louisville Forum has held monthly meetings to discuss wide-ranging matters of public interest, covering economic, political, environmental, health, and social issues. Members and guests receive firsthand information from community and industry figures: business leaders, elected officials, industry experts and others deeply involved in shaping Louisville's future.

So with the July 9 forum luncheon scheduled to tackle transgender issues in the wake of what happened at Atherton HS recently, it was interesting to discover courtesy of Jaison Gardiner, one of the co-hosts along with Dr Kaila Story of the Strange Fruit radio show on WFPL-FM, that the Louisville Forum panel has no transpeople represented on it.   

Yes Louisville Forum, one of the panelists is the mother of a trans child, but the fact remains there is no transperson on it to talk about trans issues.   That is the equivalent of having a discussion on gay issues, having no gay people on the panel to discuss and debate it, and the only person there to discuss the issues pertinent to the gay community is the straight mom of a gay child. 

And that's before I even point out how monoethnic the panel is to begin with..

You mean to try to tell me that in the entire Louisville metro area, you couldn't find one trans person to sit on that panel?   Or did you even try?   All you had to do was give Chris Hartman a call at the Fairness Campaign and I'm sure he and Fairness could have easily recommended more than a few trans candidates for that panel to you. 

I lived in that city for 8.5 years.  I know for a fact there are transpeople who can eloquently talk about being trans, and one of them is Dawn Wilson, who is a current member of the Metro Louisville Human Relations Commission.  

When the country is finally paying attention to the issues that transpeople face, it is vitally important to have people who actually are trans and dealing with those issues to be talking about them in these type of forums.

It's imperative in a space in which influential policy makers gather, are in the audience, and the discussion is videotaped for future multiple broadcasts on Louisville public cable television.we transpeople are represented.

It is important for a trans person to be on that Forum panel room when there is far too much disinformation and lies being gleefully spread by our opponents in order to derail trans human rights concerns. 

It is imperative to have a trans person on that Forum panel when the Southern Baptist Church, which has a seminary on Lexington Rd, just voted on June 10 to openly oppose trans human rights laws and deny our existence as human beings. 

As Samuel Cornish and John Russworm once said in 1827, 'We wish to plead our own cause.  Too long have others spoken for us.  Our vices and degradation are ever arrayed against us, but our virtues are passed by unnoticed.'  

So yes Louisville Forum, it it time to allow transpeople to plead their own cause.  Without a trans person on that panel, your impartiality and credibility as a non partisan public issues group will be called into question when it comes to this debate on trans issues.

There is time for you to reconstitute the panel so that a trans person is present and in the room representing our community on July 9.  If you can't  (or won't) do that, at least have a trans moderator there asking the questions.