Biden Blows Out Bernie Again!

Another Tuesday, another Biden blowout of Bernie Sanders as six more states held their Democratic Party primary elections. 

Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota and Washington were the six states participating in what was dubbed Super Tuesday II, with the biggest prize of the night being Michigan and its 125 delegates. 

Sanders now finds himself in a familiar position of trailing after getting his butt whipped during Super Tuesday, and was desperate to stop the slide in a state he surprisingly won four years ago. 

But just like in 2016, Sanders was ice skating uphill because once again, Black Democratic voters aren't Feeling The Bern and are making it loud and clear since the South Carolina primary they aren't.

Biden shattered and splatted that comeback trail political pipe dream by not only winning Michigan, Mississippi and Missouri by 'YUGE' margins,  Sanders failed to win a single county in all three of those states. 

Those huge wins in the 'Three M states' were once again powered by Black voters.  If you're wondering what the Black population percentages were in those three states, in Michigan, it's 13.7%.  In Missouri, it's 11%, and in Mississippi, where he was endorsed by Jackson mayor Chokwe Lumumba but still lost Hinds County and every other one in the Magnolia State, it was 37%.

Biden also captured Idaho to add to his big night and expand his overall lead in the race to 1991 pledged delegates to clinch the nomination, while Sanders is leading in Washington and won North Dakota 

Next up on the Biden Beats Down Bernie tour are the states of Arizona, Illinois, Florida and Ohio, who will all vote on St Patrick's Day.

While Arizona's Black population is only 4.1%,  in Illinois it's 14%, Florida it's 16% and Ohio it's 14.3%.   Not surprisingly, the polling is not looking good for Team Sanders in any of those March 17 primary states as Election Day rapidly approaches. 

Sanders' comments praising Fidel Castro also aren't going to help him in a state with a large Cuban population.   Florida is also the biggest prize delegate wise, with 219 pledged delegates.  Arizona has 67, Illinois 155 and Ohio 136.

Will Biden get closer to getting the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, or will Sanders spring an upset along the way?   Not likely because he's losing more diverse states while winning overwhelmingly white ones. 

Sanders is also pinning his barely got a pulse comeback hopes on this Sunday's debate which has now been moved to Washington DC because of coronavirus concerns.

But the only polls that count in any election are the voters actually casting ballots. 

We'll see what happens next Tuesday. 








 

Beyond Getting Tired Of Black Trans Women Getting Attacked For BS

Last week I went to Austin to testify in favor of HB 1513, a bill sponsored by TX state Rep. Garnet Coleman that would have added gender identity to our state's James Byrd Hate Crimes Act.

Once again, the people most in need of being covered by that act were left out in the political cold as the bill died in committee.   Never mind the fact that we'd had two Black trans people attacked in Dallas and Killeen a week apart BEFORE I made the trip to Austin to testify in favor of that bill.

Now I'm hearing about a 22 year old Black trans woman who was shot outside a Waffle House in the suburban Memphis town of Southaven, MS early Friday morning.

Nia Brooke Smith was verbally abused by Hampton as she walked into the Waffle House on Hamilton Road near Main Street in Southaven around 3:00 AM CST on May 10 to simply get some food and head home. 

An argument and fight ensued after transphobic disrespect was aimed at her and Hampton threw a glass of water in her face.   Smith defended herself, attempted to walk away and get in her car to leave the Waffle House and was cut off by Hampton. causing a traffic accident.    Hampton subsequently pulled out a gun as Smith got out of her car and attempted to use it as a shield.    Hampton was shot twice in both legs.  One of the bullets broke her femur bone, and will require surgery to fix.

Smith was taken to Regional One Hospital in Memphis for treatment.   Prayers going up to Nia and her family, and I hope she has a speedy recovery from her injuries.

I also want justice for Nia as well.

23 year old Jimtarius Hampton of Memphis was arrested Friday afternoon and charged with aggravated assault, manifest extreme indifference to life   He spent the weekend in the DeSoto County (MS) jail without bond, and is appearing in court on May 15.

This is also not Hampton''s first brush with the law.  As a 19 year old Lane College student he was arrested after he shot someone in the leg during an on campus altercation.

Mississippi does have a hate rimes law, but it doesn't cover gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability.  Mississippi police and sheriffs departments are not required to report hate crimes to the FBI.   Two bills to update the Magnolia State's hate crimes laws, House Bill 1494 and Senate Bill 2163 failed to advance out of committee in the Republican controlled Mississippi Legislature.

Mississippi's current hate crimes law does allow prosecutors to seek enhanced penalties against a person for committing a crime against another person based on actual or perceived race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, national origin or gender.

But back to discussing what happened here in Southaven.   The Black trans community is beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of Black trans women (and Black trans men) being assaulted by cis Black people because you have a personal problem with us existing.

You also need to work out whatever toxic masculinity issues you have with a therapist.  Black Trans World is not here to be your punching bags to make you feel better about your miserable selves.

FYI to you trans attracted men trying to hook up with us.  Spouting anti-trans insults when you're hanging out with your homies, then trying to get with us on the sly later is not a good look for you, and is a real turnoff. 

Black trans people are Black people.  We exist, and we aren't going away or back into the closet.  If you have a problem with us living our lives, that's on you.   It does not give you cis Black people carte blanche to disrespect us, put your hands on us, or kill us.

Contrary to what you peeps may think, violently putting your hands on a Black trans woman or killing us WILL get you serious jail time.

And it needs to stop.   Today.

Trans Woman Messed With At Mississippi Casino

One consequence of the false anti-trans 'bathroom predator' rhetoric the Republican Party pushed to oppose trans rights laws is it invites scrutiny on any cis or trans woman who doesn't fit the stereotypical and goalpost shifting standards for what a woman is supposed to look like.

It has also emboldened transphobes to play gender police and mess with people going to the damn bathroom

One of the things Alexus Tate loves to do is head to the Gold Strike Casino in Tunica County Mississippi and enjoy the time she frequently spends there trying her luck. 

But the trip she took to the casino the day after Thanksgiving with a friend wasn't anything but pleasant for her because transphobia smacked her in the face.

I'm also not liking the transphobic 'born a man' line in this WREG-TV article   Back to the story. 

A female casino security guard loudly demanded to see Tate's ID as she left the restroom in front of other casino patrons.   A janitor confided to Tate that the security guard had made disparaging transphobic remarks about her as she entered the restroom, saying 'Why is 'it' in there?"

Tate immediately sought out other employees to address the transphobic incident and has been in contact with Gold Strike casino management.   The casino management claimed they were investigating the matter, but haven't been in contact with Tate since December.

Tate says while the Gold Strike management has been apologetic about the incident, has offered her free plays and hotel stays, what she wants most, the firing of the transphobic security guard, hasn't happened. 
MGM Resorts, who owns the Tunica casino in question, sent this statement to WREG-TV

“Inclusion is a core value for MGM Resorts, and all security officers are trained on our company’s policy of allowing guests to utilize public restrooms based on the gender with which they identify. Unfortunately, the security officer involved in this incident did not respond appropriately. The security officer in question was immediately corrected, the policy was clarified to the guest by a supervisor at the time of the incident, and the security officer involved was disciplined accordingly. We sincerely regret this incident and have apologized to the guest. We hope for the opportunity to make up for her poor guest experience 

“This incident does not represent our values or the conduct of employees across our company. Our employees train extensively on our policies, and we will continue to reiterate and emphasize our commitment to inclusion and our focus on treating guests appropriately. Our goal, as always, is to ensure all guests feel welcome and have a safe and enjoyable experience.”

Nice sentiment.  But until that message is sent with the firing of the security guard in question that transphobia isn't tolerated, and there are consequences for those who engage in it, these will be nothing but empty words 

Mississippi Senate Runoff Today

Today the voters in Mississippi finish the last election of the 2018 midterms in this senate race between Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Confederacy) and her Democratic challenger in former congressman and agriculture secretary Mike Espy.

The runoff election has gotten a lot closer because Confederate Cindy's racist baggage has come tumbling out of the KKKloset to the point that Agent Orange had to fly to the Magnolia State to try to save her voting 100% for his agenda behind. 

A loss in this race means that the GOP only has a 52-48 edge in the US Senate despite a Senate map that favored them, and would be the icing on the cake for a blue tsunami in 2018 that flipped control of the US House and gave the Dems a 40 seat majority.

The Republicans are justifiably worried they are about to see a repeat of what happened in neighboring Alabama, and don't be surprised if that happens when the votes are counted later tonight.

Mississippi has a 32% Black population.  That's higher than Alabama's.  And if you think Mississippi's Black electorate won't bumrush the polls for an opportunity to smack down a racist and elect the first African American US senator to rep the state since 1877 at the same time, y'all are seriously naive and sleeping on the power and sophistication of the Black vote. 

Here's hoping that Espy pulls the upset 

TransGriot Update:  Confederate Cindy won, but only by a single digit percentage margin.

Mississippi 2018 US Senate Debate

If you thought the 2018 midterms were over, not quite.   We still have some races in a few states that went to runoffs, and others they are still counting ballots in close races. 

One of those states in which a runoff is occurring is Mississippi, where Mike Espy is trying to become the first Black senator elected from the Magnolia State since Hiram Revels did so during Reconstruction.

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) was appointed to fill the seat after Thad Cochran resigned for health reasons.  She has lately been making news for all the wrong reasons.

She commented that she would be on the front row of a public hanging lynching, and came out in favor of voter suppression.   An old picture has surfaced with Hyde-Smith in a Confederate cap standing next to a person from an SPLC certified hate group. 

This isn't dog whistle racism.  This is alarm klaxon racism.  That also concerns me as someone who has maternal side family members who live in Mississippi.

The debate between Espy and Confederate Cindy was last night, so if you missed it, here's the video of it.

Number 16 - Rest In Peace Diamond Stephens

I just finished writing about the most recent person we have lost to anti-trans violence in Sasha Garden.   Was sent word of our latest trans murder we are just now finding out about courtesy of TransGriot reader Paige Mahogany Parks.

This is why we harp on media and police respecting the pronouns and lives of trans people.   This woman was killed in June, but the community is just now finding out about it because of media and police misgendering

We head to Meridian, MS for the latest report concerning a trans sister who has gone too soon.   And as you probably guessed, she was misgendered and disrespected in death by the local media.

Pay attention WTOK-TV and Carly Blake.  This is how you properly report on the death of a transgender woman.  Pronouns have been corrected from Blake's original story.

39 year old Diamond Stephens was discovered dead Monday afternoon June 18 after Meridian police were called to the scene of an accident in the 2200 block of 26th Avenue in which a van crashed into a home.

Stephens was found dead from a gunshot wound to the back of the head according to Lauderdale County Coroner Clayton Cobler III

"It looked like a single shot from what I could tell without disturbing anything. The body has gone to Jackson for an autopsy and we are just waiting for the investigation to hold there," says Cobler.

Meridian police are still looking for the shooter and a motive in the killing.  MPD Chief Benny Dubose says that the gunshot wound was not self inflicted.

"Number one, she was shot in the back of the head. Number two, it appears that there might have been either one or two other individuals in the vehicle at the time she was shot," explains Chief Dubose.

Chief Dubose says there are currently no suspects in Stephens' murder, but confirmed they do have tips from several citizens.

If anyone has information about this case, you are urged to call Meridian police or Crimestoppers at 855-485-8477.

Stephens sadly is now is the 16th person killed in the US this year, and the tenth African American trans and GNC person we have lost to anti-trans violence in 2018.  She is also sadly as per the ongoing pattern in these killings, under age 40.

#SayHerName, since WTOK-TV, Carly Blake and Chief Benny Dubose have a problem doing so and respecting her Black trans life.  

Not aware at this time of any memorial service or vigils being planned for our fallen sister. 

Rest in power and peace, Diamond.   Your trans siblings and all who loved you won't rest until the person or persons who prematurely ended your life are brought to justice.

TransGriot Update:  My apologies.   Had to rewrite the story because I didn't notice the posted date of the problematic media report from Meridian.   

Diamond was killed back in June and was one of three people we lost that month . 

Dee Whigham Killer Sentenced To 40 Years

Here's an update in the Dee Whigham case.

Just to refresh your memories since we lost far too many sisters in 2016,  Whigham was the 25 year old trans woman killed in a St. Martin, MS hotel room on July 23 of last year by 2 year old Dwayna Hickerson, a US Navy sailor based at the nearby Keesler Air Force Base.  

After corresponding for months, she and Hickerson had a sexual encounter that resulted in her brutal murder at the hands of Hickerson   She had been stabbed 119 times and had her throat slashed three times, , with many of the stab wounds being to Whigham's face.

Hickerson on Thursday accepted a plea deal in which he  pled guilty in a Jackson County court to second degree murder and was sentenced to 40 years in prison for it.   Hickeson also got 15 years for robbery, for stealing Whigham's purse and cell phone.

He was set to go to trial for Whigham's murder on August 14 on a capital murder charge,  and was facing the death penalty in this case.

Hickerson will have to serve 35 of the 40 years assigned for the second degree murder charge, and 8 of the fifteen years he received for the robbery charge.

Dee Whigham Case Update

This update in the Dee Whigham case is trigger warning worthy because it is going to discuss just how savage her murder was and how the waste of DNA who killed her deserves to be thrown under the jail, or even get lethal injection for it.

Whigham was found dead in her St Martin, MS hotel room on July 23. and the waste of DNA who allegedly killed Whigham was in court on September 12 as Jackson County Sheriff's Deputy Leo Allen described what happened from the witness stand.

The waste of DNA I'm talking about is 20 year old Dwayna Hickerson, who was captured on hotel surveillance video walking into the hotel room with Whigham, then leaving alone 23 minutes later.

According to Allen's testimony. the autopsy report revealed that Whigham was stabbed 119 times, with over 100 of those stab wounds to her face.  Her throat was also slashed three times.

Hickerson stole a Coach bag belonging to Whigham along with her cell phone and other personal items. His bloody clothes were found in a dumpster not far from his Keesler Air Force Base barracks, and base surveillance camera captured him throwing a large garbage bag in the trash.

The items stolen from Whigham were found on a beach near Keesler AFB partially burned.

Hickerson has been charged with capital murder in this case, and I will be keeping an eye on developments in it to see if Dee Whigham receives justice.

Arrest Made In Dee Wigham Case

I'm happy to report for you TransGriot readers that an arrest has been madee in the Dee Whigham case.   She's the latest one of our sisters to be unfortunately taken from us in 2016.

The 25 year old Whigham was found stabbed to death in her St. Martin, MS hotel room on Saturday after traveling there with a group of friends from the Hattiesburg, MS area to attend the Gulf Coast Black Rodeo in Biloxi, MS.

20 year old Navy seaman Dwanya Hickerson of New Orleans, who was stationed at nearby Keesler AFB for training was arrested Monday morning and charged with capital murder     He got charged with capital murder because he was trying to rob Whigham.

Hickerson was the man spotted on the hotel surveillance cameras leaving Whigham's room, and a tip led investigators to Keesler AFB armed with a with a search warrant.  Hickerson had been there at Keesler since April for training.

The case is an ongoing investigation, and as I get more developments I'll pass them along to you TransGriot readers.  

RIP Dee Whigham

We've lost another trans sister to senseless violence, this time in Mississippi

Dee Whigham is her name, and the 25 year old registered nurse was found stabbed to death Saturday in a hotel room in St Martin. MS.   She was just starting her career in the medical field and worked for a hospital in Hattiesburg.

And once again, another Black trans woman who won't make it to her 30th birthday.

Whigham had traveled to the South Mississippi area with several friends in order to attend the Gulf Coast Black Rodeo in Biloxi, and she and her friends were staying in Room 127 at the Best Western Plus Cypress Creek Hotel just north of I-10 near the Ocean Springs exit

There is a person of interest in the murder that Jackson County sheriffs are looking for.   A man was spotted by the hotel security cameras around 8:35 PM wearing a green shirt and carrying a backpack, but at 8:58 PM showing the same man leaving with his shirt off and hanging around his neck.

Jackson County Sheriffs are looking for any information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the Whigham murder case, and if you do have information that will help solve it, call Detective Leo Allen at 228-875-0292, the Jackson County sheriff's dispatchers at 228-769-3060 or Crime Stoppers at 877-787-5898 or online at mscoastcrimestoppers.com

Rest in power and peace sis.   We won't rest until your killer is brought to justice.

TransGriot Update: An arrest has been made in the Dee Whigham murder.   20 year old  Dwanya Hickerson has been charged with her murder.

Another Split Decision In The March 8 Democratic Primary Contests

There were two primary contests Tuesday in Mississippi and Michigan that were favored to go in Sec. Hillary Clinton's direction on this International Women's Day.

Once again, the Black vote mattered as she stomped Sanders in Mississippi in another electoral blowout by an 83-17% margin.  Michigan however turned out to be a Sanders upset as the white independent and crossover Republicans vote helped Sanders as he eked out an upset victory that for now, has the Sanders peeps crowing until Saturday.   

A little reality check for sanders folks.  He's still trailing in the all important delegate count and in fact because of the Clinton blowout in Mississippi LOST ground because of the proportional allocation rules.

Clinton finished the night with 88 delegates while Sanders picked up 70,and she's now up 761 to 547 not including the superdelegates which Sanders still massively trails in.

On to the March 15 contests in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio.

Michigan And Mississippi Primary Votes Today

Two more primary elections are taking place today in Michigan and Mississippi in the wake of Sanders supporters getting all happy over their three caucus wins in Kansas, Maine and Nebraska while Clinton took Louisiana in another blowout fueled by Black voters.  

But what they conveniently forget to mention is that despite the caucus wins in (ho hum) predominately white states, by the proportional allocation rules, Clinton still walked away with 76 delegates while Sanders came away with only 64 delegates.

Drip, drip drip.   That's a +12 delegate gain for Clinton to add to her growing delegate lead, and it's only going to get better for her starting tonight..

Told y'all that failure to connect with Back voters would cost him the nomination.  And as the media finally does the deep tissue vetting of Sanders, a problematic picture is emerging even before he opened mouth and inserted foot in it during that Flint debate with the stereotype laced comment about Black people just in time for the Michigan and Mississippi primaries.  .

Michigan will be the big prize today with 130 delegates available, with Mississippi chipping in 35 more before this upcoming cluster of Saturday primary elections in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio that are worth 691 electoral votes.

And yeah, not only is Clinton leading in Michigan and Mississippi, she's also leading in all five states voting on Saturday,.  Black Democratic voters will have a major say in who emerges victorious.in the wake of Bernie Sanders continuing to fail to connect with Black voters.

Will be fun to watch it play out in a few hours.

Mississippi Silicone Pumper Tracey Lynn Garner Gets Life

Been keeping an eye on the Tracey Lynn Garner silicone pumping case in Mississippi that resulted in the death of 37 year old Karima Gordon of the ATL.  

When I last checked in Natasha Stewart was getting a total of 15 years in jail back in February for accepting $200 from Gordon for a referral for the pumping procedure and falsely claiming Garner was a nurse.

After two trial date resets, the 54 year old Garner finally faced the judicial music. After a trial last week in Hinds County Circuit Court, was convicted August 29 of depraved heart murder for the death of Gordon and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

She was sentenced Tuesday by Judge Winston Kidd to five years for the wire fraud charge and life imprisonment for the murder of Gordon.   Garner is still facing charges for the 2010 death by pumping of Marilyn Hale of Selma, AL. 

The trial date in the Hale case has not been set as of this writing, and will keep you TransGriot readers posted on what transpires in that case.  

Tracey Lynn Garner Pumping Case Update

When I last checked in on the case of Mississippi silicone pumper Tracey Lynn Garner, she was now facing two charges of depraved heart murder for the March 2012 deaths of 37 year old Karima Gordon of Atlanta and the January 2010 death of 23 year old Marilyn Hale of Selma, AL due to silicone butt injections that went horribly wrong..

40 year old Natasha Stewart, an adult entertainer known as 'Pebblez Da Model' went on trial in Jackson, MS January 27 for her part in the death of Karima Gordon.  

She had accepted $200 to refer Gordon to Garner for the silicone pumping procedure and falsely claimed Garner was a nurse.   Stewart herself had been injected 20 times in the last seven years to create the signature pumped 48 inch derriere she possesses courtesy of Garner.

Stewart had been charged with "depraved-heart" murder, which is defined as one committed with a callous disregard for human life.   Depraved heart murder carries a sentence of life imprisonment, but the jury convicted her on January 31 of the lesser charge of culpable negligent manslaughter.

Stewart was facing 20 years, but was sentenced on February 14 by Judge Bill Gowan to 15 years with 8 years suspended on the manslaughter charge and 5 years on the charge of conspiracy with both sentences to run concurrently.    Translation:  She'll be locked up for 7 years and has 8 years suspended.  

As for Garner, her trial was supposed to start after two resets on March 17, but it looks like it has been reset again since I have yet to find any news stories concerning a trial or conviction.

If I discover any new information concerning the Garner case, I'll pass that information along.

Mississippi Silicone Pumper Tracey Lynn Garner Trial Date Set

In the latest news surrounding the Tracey Lynn Garner silicone pumping case, the 53 year old Jackson, MS trans feminine pumper is now facing two depraved heart murder charges in the March 2012 deaths of 37 year old Karima Gordon of Atlanta and the January 2010 death of 23 year old Marilyn Hale of Selma, AL due to silicone butt injections that went horribly wrong.

Garner pled not guilty in a June 18 hearing in Hale's case, and a trail date hasn't been set for it.  

There has been a date set for the start of Garner's trial in the Gordon case, and it is scheduled to begin March 17, 2014 after two postponements.

Natasha Stewart is also facing charges in the Karima Gordon death and pled not guilty in January to charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  Stewart is an online model with a 48 inch pumped behind.courtesy of Garner's handiwork.

If Garner is convicted on either charge of depraved heart murder by the Hinds County jury, she is facing life imprisonment. 

Tracey Lynn Garner Facing Second Murder Charge In Silicone Pumping Death

Tracey Lynn Garner of Jackson, MS is now facing a second charge of depraved heart murder to add to the one she's facing concerning the death of Karima Gordon.   

Also charged in the Karima Gordon case is Natasha Stewart, an adult entertainer who goes by the name Pebbelz Da Model who accepted $200 for the pumping referral to Gordon.

Garner is now being accused of and charged with causing the January 2010 death of Selma, AL resident Marilyn Hale after another silicone butt injection that went horribly wrong.

The Jackson Clarion-Ledger story violates the AP Stylebook guidelines, but what else is new?

The new indictment issued by the Hinds County grand jury according to the in violation of the AP Stylebook guidelines story alleges that Garner, on or about Jan. 13, 2010, “did kill Marilyn Hale…by means of injecting a silicone substance into the body of Marilyn Hale, thereby committing an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved heart.”

Garner is under house arrest while awaiting a trial that has been postponed twice after being set to start on April 8 and June 10.  There is also an ongoing investigation in which the Attorney General's office is searching for more people who got pumped by Garner. 

If Garner is convicted in either case she is facing life imprisonment.   

50th Anniversary Of Medgar Evers Assassination

It didn't take long for reaction to come from the Southern segregationists and Klan terrorists to come in reaction to President Kennedy's civil rights speech the previous night

50 years ago today civil rights leader and NAACP Field Secretary Medgar Evers was shot and killed in the driveway of his Jackson, MS home by white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith as he returned from a meeting with NAACP lawyers in the early morning hours of June 12, 1963.

After his funeral in Jackson, the Army veteran was buried with full military honors June 19 in Arlington National Cemetery as President Kennedy and other leaders of the time condemned the murder.

De La Beckwith was arrested for murder within weeks of Evers’ shooting but his first trial in 1964 ended with a hung all-white male jury. When a second all-white male jury also failed to reach a decision, De La Beckwith was set free. 

With the persistence of his widow Myrlie Evers-Williams, who later became the chair of the NAACP herself in 1995, pressure was applied three decades later by the Evers family and civil rights leaders to force the state of Mississippi to reopen the case based on new evidence.   

Evers body was exhumed from his grave for autopsy during the trial and on February 5, 1994 a racially mixed jury convicted the then 73 year old unrepentant white supremacist De La Beckwith for the 1963 assassination of Evers and sentenced him to life in prison, where he died in January 2001 at age 80.
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Black Trans History-Jim McHarris

Found another interesting story from our African-American trans past in the fascinating EBONY archives.

Courtesy of a November 1954 issue of EBONY and the books Black Love, Black Resistance and Dr Susan Stryker's The Transgender Studies Reader, I began to read the story about transman Jim McHarris.

It starts in his birthplace of Meridian, MS in 1924.   He was born as Annie Lee Grant and his parents died early during his childhood. 

McHarris was raised by two sets of foster parents and exhibited a distaste for all things feminine except dating the ladies.   The young Jim McHarris would often slip away to Jackson to hang out.  Longtime friend Bishop Smiley Jones noted that young McHarris was not only attracted to women, but preferred mens clothing and living as a man as well.  

He transitioned in his early teens, ditched the female clothing and began in 1939 to move frequently to different cities around the country.   McHarris lived in Memphis, Chicago and other midwestern cities living his transmasculine life.   In that 15 year period as a restless traveler the 5' 5" McHarris worked as a short order cook, cab driver, gas station attendant, auto mechanic, shipyard worker, and preacher.while continuing with his handsome baby face and husky 175 pound frame to draw attention from and enjoy the company of the ladies he was attracted to. 

He moved to Kosciusko, MS in November 1953 and ran into his old friend Bishop Smiley Jones, who was now living there and was the pastor of the True Tabernacle Church of the First Born.  (If that town name sounds familiar, it is the hometown of talk show queen Oprah Winfrey who ironically was born there in January, 1954, but back to the story)

McHarris asked his old friend to keep his gender secret as he set out to build his life in Kosciusko.  He worked at a gas station for almost three months, was living at a local boarding house, was working as a short order cook and was engaged to be married to a young high school girl.  . He was also scheduled to be elevated to deacon at the True Tabernacle church

But the life he was carefully building in that town of 10,000 people at the time unraveled in 1954 when he was pulled over by Kosciusko.police on a traffic stop.  Officers pulled him over for McHarris' car having improper lighting and noted he had a pint of whiskey in the car.   He was arrested and when the officers prepared to do a pat down search on him Jim revealed his birth gender..     
  
The gender revelation caused drama in the town and subjected Bishop Jones to some criticism from local residents.  The people most upset were the cis women that Jim dated as well as the woman he dated when he was living in Memphis who admitted in the EBONY article she was receiving money from him.  

There was even more drama when Jim in order to 'prove' he was born female, retreated to a closet, stripped off his male clothes and revealed breasts and female genitalia in front of the judge and the arresting officers.

He was quickly fined by Judge (and mayor of Kosciusko) T.V. Rone and given the option of paying a $100 fine or doing 30 days in jail at the prison farm.  While Jim was serving his sentence he was dressed in men's clothes, and worked in the prison kitchen, but housed with a female prisoner.

When he served his time, he stepped out to a Kosciusko that gave him a cool reception and people he once called friends shunning him..  McHarris decided it was time to move once again.  As he gathered his belongings and prepared to move to Jackson, he said in the article "I ain't done nothing wrong and I ain't breaking no laws"

He also made the decision to live his life permanently as a man.  But one thing Jim McHarris didn't do was register as all US men had to do at that time for the draft.

When EBONY asked him why, he quipped, "Man, I ain't crazy."   But in every other respect, Jim McHarris was happy to be treated as one of the boys and made certain he lived his life that way to the best of his ability.

Cis Women Die From Silicone Pumping-Trans Women Pumpers Facing Murder Charges For It

Silicone pumping is just not a transfeminine phenomenon any more.  Cis women are increasingly getting pumped, paying the money and in some cases traveling long distances to do so at the hands of transwomen getting paid to do the pumping.. 

And in some cases those cis women are paying the ultimate price for that silicone injection that goes wrong at the hands of these unlicensed pumpers.   

While I'm not liking the total ineptitude of the Jackson, MS television stations to adhere to the AP Stylebook standards for reporting on transpeople, need to tell the stories and deal with the AP Stylebook violations later..

37 year old Karima Gordon of Atlanta served in the military and wanted to become a model.  She found 53 year old Tracey Lynn Garner after meeting someone on the Internet known as "Pebbles" and paying $200 for the pumping referral to Garner.

Gordon then drove to Mississippi in March with a friend to get pumped at Garner's house and became ill a few hours later.  Gordon endured a painful trip back to Atlanta where she died in a hospital a few days after the pumping procedure to enhance her buttocks.    The substance injected into Gordon was lab tested and according to authorities is alleged to be a counterfeit version of silicone.  



Garner was arrested September 6, denied bail Tuesday and is in jail (guess which side) facing a depraved heart murder charge.  It's a legal term for an action that demonstrates a "callous disregard for human life" and results in death and carries a life sentence.  Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood (D) said investigators were also looking for "Pebbles" the person who referred Gordon to Garner.

Tracy Ann Garner isn't the only trans pumper facing serious charges.  

In the Philadelphia area 42 year old pumper Padge Victoria Windslowe is facing third degree murder charges in the 2011 Claudia Aderotimi case. 

She was arrested in an unrelated case by Philadelphia police in March just as she was about to host another pumping party.   A 23 year old exotic dancer paid Windslowe $1000 in February to pump her, became seriously ill, was hospitalized and required intensive care..

Windslowe was being held on $750,000 bail in that February case on charges of aggravated assault and deceptive business practices before she was charged July 24 with third-degree murder in 20 year old Claudia Aderotimi's death, in addition to conspiracy, reckless endangerment, possessing an instrument of crime and unauthorized practice of medicine, aggravated assault and deceptive business practices.

Down I-95 south in Miami, serial pumper Oneal R. Morris is also in jail facing murder charges. 

She was not only pumping other people, as you can see by the photo she'd done some work on herself.

Morris was arrested and charged November 18, 2011 with practicing medicine without a license with serious bodily injury after a procedure she performed on transwoman Rajindra "Rajee" Narinesingh's face went badly 

Morris was arrested again a mere week later along with 40 year old co-defendant Corey Alexander Eubanks, after a second alleged pumping victim came forward. Like Narinesingh's cosmetic enhancements from Morris that went wrong, the alleged victim told Miami police that Morris had injected her buttocks with a mixture of cement, Fix-A-Flat and mineral oil. Morris and Eubanks were booked into Miami-Dade County jail.

In March 2012: Oneal Morris turned herself once again to face more charges of practicing medicine without a license and practicing medicine without a license resulting in serious injury, after three new victims, 41 year old Lournise Linton, 36 year old Ophelia Parker, and Tiffany Kennedy came forward to allege that in 2009 Morris, dressed as a nurse, gave them butt injections that left them disfigured.



Morris denied it in an interview that appeared on Entertainment Tonight for some reason, but she can't cavalierly slough off the current manslaughter charges she's facing in the wake of the March death of another one of her former pumping clients, 32 year old Shatarka Nuby.   

Nuby admitted to being treated by Morris prior to her death and paid hundreds of dollars to meet "Duchess' have her inject her Fix a Flat infused pumping cocktail into her breasts, thighs, hips and butt.      

Nuby's death was attributed to "massive systemic silicone migration." The injection sites had turned black and the silicone in Nuby's body hardened.

One of the major reasons the pumpers keep doing it because they are making serious money off of the cis and trans women who want to enhance their looks by any means necessary.

Those three pumpers I profiled may be in jail, but there are plenty of others willing to take their place.