Not Feeling Michael Bloomberg

It's not lost on me that on the 67th anniversary of the day Christine Jorgensen returned to New York after being in Denmark for two years for her physical transition and GCS, I'm looking at the prospect of having a transphobe on stage tonight at the Harris County Democratic Party's (HDCP)  Johnson Rayburn Richards (JRR) dinner being held tonight at the Marriot Marquis>

It ain't Julian Castro, who I am looking forward to hearing speak to night as the JRR keynote and hopefully getting a chance to meet.  Michael Bloomberg?   Not so much.

The JRR is the largest Democratic funraiser in Texas, and it's the one in which I received the Barbara Jordan Breaking Barriers Award from last year.  In the 2020 edition of the JRR, which is back to being a dinner now, awards will be presented to Amber Goodwin, Linda Morales, Cecile Richards and the Supermajority group..

I have not been happy with the remaing candidates available in the 2020 Democratic primary since Kamala Harris was forced to drop out along with all the other non white candidates.  I felt last year that 21 candidates in a presidential primary was far too many in a critical for our democracy election, and the sorry state of the primary confirms that.  My concerns are heighted by the realization that the Dems are the only thing standing beween Trump and a fascist dictatorship.

Neither am I happy that the media and Berners after Iowa and New Hampshire are rushing to crown Bernie Sanders as our nominee after primary contests in two of the whitest states in the nation.

Y'all need to slow your roll on that.  Guess y'all forgot about 2016 huh?   Rigged primary my azz. 

More like Black Democrats massively rejecting St Bernard of Sanders, and news flash, ain't nothing changed in Black America since 2016 concerning our low opinion of Sanders, no matter how much you believe the hype from Nina Turner.

Black Democratic voters matter, and it looks like we'll have to teach that lesson once again.  Early voting for the Texas prmary starts on February 18,  with the election happening on March 3.

FYI, Texas awards 262 delegates.  That dwarfs the number you can get in Iowa and New Hampshire combined .

But back to talking about Bloomberg.   One of the other things that has me concerned is this rush to canonize him as some sort of savior when he is deeply problematic to me and many Black Americans

And oh yeah, haven't forgotten that Bloomberg ran as a Republican to become mayor of New York

I'm not happy about the 2016 transphobic comments that Bloomberg uttered in Great Britain, and damned sure was paying attention when stop and frisk Black and Brown people was going on when he was running New York City. 

Many of the Black and Brown people being frisked by NYPD were also transgender New Yorkers.
It was also a policy that Bloomberg zealously defended and didn't apologize for until he decided to jump into the 2020 presidental race.

Note to Bloomberg:  Trans Democrats exist and you're about to find out that salient point the hard way that we do.   Some of us are major leaders in not only the national party, but in our local party organiations as well.

FYI, two of the first statewide trans inclusive non discrimation laws were passed in Minnesota and Iowa, so contrary to your 2016 transphobic opinion, Midwesterners and folks around the country do get the point that trans rights are human rights. 

Trans people are also part of everyone's family.  It's why the increased support for trans rights is happening along with trans folks across the country, our Mama and Papa Bears, and our allies fighting tooth and nail to make it happen.. 

So if you see me pouting at the JRR tonight, now you have the backstory on why.     .

My Post CC20 Musings

I'm back on my end of I-45 after an amazing few days in Dallas for Creating Change 2020.

In addition to bringing something back to Houston with me to put on my trophy shelf called the Susan J Hyde Award for Longevity in the Movement,  I brought something else back with me.

The knowledge that we're gonna be alright as a movement because of all our wonderful younglings.

The younglings are not only pushing us elders and yelders to be better, they are also doing the same with their youthful energy to society and our movement as a whole. 

They also get the benefit of being part of the intergenerational conversations that happen in the CC20 space

As with any Creating Change, while I always enjoy getting to spend quality time with my cohort of trans activists marveling how far we've come since our days when we were the new kids on the activist block, I get my life and enjoyment from talking to and actively listening to the younger generation.

And yeah, proud of my Houston activist fam.   We are always busy at these events, whether we are presenting at panels or strategizing about what we're going to do in the coming year to make Houston, Texas and our TBLGQ community better

There are also those wonderful moments when I get to step away from the convention hustle and bustle and jet for a few hours connect with friends who live in the host city.   I was glad that Kyiana Wheeler and I got a chance to make that happen on Wednesday.

One thing I need to do a better job of is checking in with my blood relatives who live in Dallas.  Some of them only knew I was in town when they saw me on the local news doing an interview.

In my defense to my Dallas relatives who are reading this post and sucking their teeth, this is a business trip for me.  A fun one, but at its most basic level it is a business trip.

I tend to get busy with panel discussions, interviews, and all the other stuff that happens at conference events like CC20, and before I know it, the event is over and I'm headed back home.

I enjoyed just getting to at times sit back in the hospitality suites and listen to them talk about what was happening in their lives.  There were times when I was asked to drop some knowledge about what I'd experienced as a 22 year advocate, and time when I just sat back and absorbed it.

TBLGQ intergenerational conversations matter.

There was a moment when Antonia d'Orsay and I were giving a Trans 101 history class to three gender non conforming peeps as they were out in the smoking area. .

There are the meetings happening on and off the #CC20 campus between ED's of the various organizations in attendance in Dallas plotting the next phases of our human rights movement

There were also moments during CC20 when I was the person having those meetings with leaders of various TBLGQ community orgs

There was me walking around at my sixth Creating Change having the younglings stop me in the hall, take photos, and tell me how much they appreciated my work and the blog.

And I needed to hear that.   One attendee told me about her professor actually assigning TransGriot blog posts as reading material for her Women and Gender Studies class.

That increased in intensity after I gave the acceptance speech for the Hyde Award, and I'm not mad about that.   Once upon a time (CC99 in Oakland)  I was the wide eyed newbie nervously rubbing elbows with the leadership icons of that period.

Now I have become that icon.   I want peeps to be aware of the fact that if I'm not busy at a conference, I will always have time (or make time) to talk and listen to you. 

It was also nice to get to know the other Black and Latinx trans folks that were able to attend and get to know them better in addition to taking part in that rally Thursday afternoon.

Creating Change 2020 has passed into the TBLGQ community history books.  I salute the Dallas organizing team for putting on a great event while pointing out the Houston #CC14 attendance record is STILL intact.

Looking forward to the next time I can be at one, either in Washington DC next year or NOLA in 2022.

.

Moni's Early Morning #CC20 Musings

I'm up early because I haven't been able to sleep since 5:30 AM, and finally said frack it and got up.

This is the big day for me at Creating Change 2020.   I have a 10 AM panel during the Trans Institute, and later tonight a speech to make during the 8 PM opening plenary as  I accept the Susan J Hyde Award for Longevity in The Movement.

But in the runup to this day, I've gotten to see a lot of old friends, meet some new ones, and introduce myself to the younglings who may not be aware of what I've been doing since 1998.

While I'm trying to stay humble and modest about this major award I'm about to get, many of you #CC20 attendees have let me know how much you love and care about me, and how much of a BFD you think this is to you.

There have also been some nights like last night where me and elders like Diego Sanchez, Antonia d'Orsay, Yosenio Lewis, and others have had a chance to chill out in front of the conference hotel, sit either outside  or in the hotel and talk about the good, bad and humorous days of our activist journeys.

We marvel about the fact that some of us are still effing here, and lament the ones who have gone on to join the ancestors.    Some of those TBLGQ+ folks who joined the ancestors left us way too soon,either by their own hand or someone else's murderous one.

I also have had the chance to catch up with Dallas area friends like Kyiana Wheeler,  just have a quiet dinner away from the convention hotel, and catch up on what has been going on in each other's lives.

I've gotten to spend some time with my BTAC family, and that will continue until Sunday. 

And yes, as promised, Slurpees are being destroyed at the rate of two a day

This conference, as always, gets to serve as not only a giant family reunion for all of us in the TBLGQ+ movement, it's also a time where we can break bread together, talk about the direction of where we want to take our human rights struggle, and acquire the skills and knowledge we'll need to help us accomplish the goals we set here.

While I love talking to my fellow advocates and elders,  the best part is meeting and hanging out with the younglings.  Getting to hear them talk about their hopes, dreams and aspirations for the future.  Having the blessing of having those intergenerational conversations with them

Them getting to realize that the person and possibility model they idolize in me also is human, down to earth, has a wicked sense of humor, and always has time to give a needed hug, listen to their conversations and give advice if they request it..

Am I nervous about the speech tonight?  A little since it will be the largest crowd I've ever done one in front of in my life.   But I've been doing speeches in front of crowds large and small since elementary school, and once I get started and into it, I'll be fine/ 

Speaking of getting started, time fo me to hit the shower and get ready for my big #CC20 day
   

Why Trans Murders Are Happening

As some of you were aware of, I made my MSNBC pundit debut on January 5 to talk about (briefly) transgender murders and why they are happening.

It a subject that deserves more than the three minutes it got on MSNBC Live.

I wanted to make these points, and give examples backing them up./

*The anti-trans murders are predominately intimate partner violence.
*They are happening because of anti-trans rhetoric being spread by the Republican Party, TERFs,  evilgelicals and orgs like the Heritage Foundation
*That anti-trans rhetoric is also being spread by pop culture figures like JK Rowling and Dave Chappelle
*Conservative media is also playing a role in spreading the anti-trans rhetoric that results in our murders.
*The Southern Baptist church and the Roman Catholic Church are also responsible for spreading anti-trans rhetoric from their pulpits.
Since i didn't get enough time to explain them during MSNBC Live, it'll have to wait until i get to Creating Change 2020 in Dallas next week.

Moni's Thoughts On The NCTE Mess

Many people in this community know I have much disdain for the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) to the point I didn't post about them on TransGriot or ignored their press releases. But because I've been getting a lot of questions in my recent interactions with trans peeps and allies as to my thoughts about NCTE and why I feel the way I do about them and their executive director.
Hmm, where do I start in discussing NCTE, its ED and the mess they are in right now?
My disdain of NCTE is centered in large part not only because of their racist and mediocre ED, but because of its questionably murky founding in 2003. One of the rumors about it was the seed money that started NCTE came from folks that didn't like the feisty National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC) and wanted a trans org more subservient to Gay Inc.

NTAC was founded in large part after GenderPAC suddenly decided to take itself out of national trans lobbying in 1999, and the NTAC founders discovered during the 1999 GenderPac DC Lobby Days that GenderPac's ED Riki Wilchins had been colluding with HRC lobbyists Nancy Buermeyer and Winnie Stacheberg to sabotage their own lobby days in 1997, 1998 and 1999. That group of diverse NTAC founders included yours truly, and after compiling a forensic report to document how bad the backlobbying was and how long it had been going on, we created the org to fill the void left by GenderPac's WTF level decision to immediately abandon national trans advocacy.

NTAC as a nascent multicultural trans org quickly earned the respect of Capitol Hill legislators with its professionalism and political acumen. But that wasn't good enough for some white trans peeps big mad the people at the head of the new national trans org and on the board included people that didn't look like them.

Many of you trans Beckies trashed NTAC at every opportunity, and wanted to bow to HRC's demand to have trans leadership deferential to it instead of relentlessly holding them accountable.
We as the NTAC founders were well aware of the fact we needed to quickly grow to critical mass to ensure the organization's long term survival

Several of us in NTAC warned y'all about Keisling, her lack of activist credibility, and how incompetent she was, and y'all called it 'sour grapes' It wasn't just NTAC calling her incompetent. Peeps on Capitol Hill and congressional staffers were also saying it to us.

That was a request we NTAC leaders said 'hell no' to, knowing that we would need an unbought and unbossed trans org that didn't have uncomfortable ties to an HRC that at the time was still hostile to trans inclusion, and whose ED, Elizabeth Birch, had already demonstrated we couldn't trust her, and at that late 90s-early 2000s time period was the woman most hated by the trans community next to Janice Raymond.
NTAC was also determined that we weren't going to stop our primary mission of advocating for trans persons of color, whose voices and issues were nonexistent in the trans policy conversation prior to NTAC's founding.

That Keisling leadership incompetence was on full display in 2007, when NTAC lobbyists that included yours truly warned the trans community in July 2007 after our May DC lobby days that we were about to get cut out of ENDA and immediate action was needed to stop that from happening .

Keisling called us in NTAC ';delusional' during the Gender Odyssey conference in Seattle that August and claimed to the people in attendance that trans inclusion in ENDA was a 'slam dunk'

It was a slam dunk alright. A slam dunk that clanked off the front of the civil rights basketball rim in October 2007 when Barney Frank yanked us out of ENDA as we in NTAC predicted.

NCTE was part of the Houston Unites coalition of out of town orgs that in 2015 fubared our defense of the now repealed Houston Equal Rights Ordinance to mine and Black LGBTQ Houston's exasperation.
And when I say that Keisling is racist, I say so with personal experience of it. I am one of the two Black IFGE winning trans leaders (Dawn Wilson is the other one) that was called an 'uppity n-word' by her at the 2002 Southern Comfort Conference after she gleefully torpedoed an NTAC initiative that would have resulted in NTAC doing a Trans 101 presentation to the Congressional Black Caucus during the CBC's Annual Legislative Conference weekend in Washington DC with the provision it stay secret. I was not shocked when it was revealed that NCTE had an in house racism problem, and NCTE has zero respect in the trans communities of color.

That lack of respect and disdain for NCTE and its executive director was so pronounced in Black Trans World, I had to write a TransGriot blog post urging Black trans folks to participate in the 2015 US Trans Survey. Because I and the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition (BTAC) did so, we got just enough Black trans participation to allow us to get good statistical numbers on the national Black trans population, and in several states including Texas.

We were also paying attention in Black Trans World when we noted that NCTE's staff looked like a Republican Party convention, and considered it seriously problematic that you could count the number of Black trans women hired by this org throughout its history on one hand.

The average shelf life for a Black NCTE employee was also because of the toxic racist culture in the organization, six months to a year. And naw, we aren't going to forget how one of our highly respected and few Black Mama Bears was disrespected while employed there.

So nope, not surprised to hear that NCTE may be imploding. Neither am I popping champagne corks because NCTE may be in its death spiral. The one thing I am shocked about is that it didn't happen sooner.

Welcome Back To School, 2019-2020 TBLGQ Students!

School is starting for many students in Texas this week, and later this month for Texas colleges and universities.   While this is the favorite time of the year for parents and the retailers enjoying their cash registers ringing from the just concluded sales tax holiday, the kids are lamenting the end of their summer vacations. 

The start of the 2019-2020 school year is upon us, and I'm wondering what kind of school year that will be for our trans kids.  While Cruella DeVos has been rolling back protections for our kids at the Department of Education level and looks for new ways to inflict cruelty on our trans and GNC kids from pre-K to graduate school, our trans and gender non conforming kids despite the obstacles continue to survive and in some cases thrive   

There are a few districts in Texas and other states that have policies that protect the humanity and human rights of trans students, teachers and employees.

You'll also as this school year plays out pass into the start of another decade of the 21st century during the winter break and the start of a presidential election year.

Bur during this first week, my thoughts are with our trans kids.   I'm definitely concerned about the ones who are about to start elementary school.  I'm also concerned about the ones making the jump from elementary to middle school since we elder all know how rough puberty was before adding trans issues on top of it. 

And with my 40th high school reunion happening next year, I'm thinking about our trans and gender non conforming kids who are either starting their freshman year in high school or beginning their senior year.

I'm also thinking about the ones who about to take that giant leap to college or our trans folks who are in grad school.   Major props also go to the trans people who are in law school or medical school with the goal of serving our community in the medical and legal professions once they finish. 

I have no doubts that like many of your trans student predecessors, you will not only accomplish your educational goals, but in some cases will make history along the way.   There are still schools that have never had a trans homecoming or prom king or queen.  I'm still waiting to gleefully write about that first out trans valedictorian or salutatorian.   The first out trans class president.

Some of you during the 2019-20 school year will unfortunately have to fight anti-trans bigotry along the way as you strive to get your educations.   Some of you who wish to participate in high school athletics will have to fight tooth and nail just to be able to compete while trans. 

Some of you will have to fight just to be able to wear clothing at prom or your graduations that reflects your true selves   But it's worth that battle for you to do so. 

Know that if you choose to fight for you human rights, your parents, your trans elders and our allies will help you fight that battle against the transphobes if that comes to pass.

As a TK, I'm exceedingly proud not only of our trans and GNC students, I'm proud of all you trans folks who teach, whether it be at the K-12 or collegiate level.  You have my utmost respect and love as you do the most important job in our society and educate our next generations.

Happy 2019-2020 school year, TBLGQ students!   Hope it turns out to be a wonderful. and memorable one for all of you 

Warning H-town Progressives, Bill King and Tony Buzbee Are Republicans

Houston municipal elections are officially via the city charter nonpartisan, but a little digging into voter records,  Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) and Federal Election Commission (FEC) campaign donations records will reveal despite any spin attempts whether you're really a Republican or Democrat.

Because of the blue tsunami last year that flipped Harris County to Democratic control and the desperation of the Harris County Republicans to capture a Houston mayor's chair they haven't held in over 30 years, they are trying to peddle the fiction, especially in Houston's Black community, that mayoral candidates Tony Buzbee and Bill King are Democrats.

Um naw players, not on my H-town watch.  Buzbee and King are undeniably Republicans.  Don't want any Republicans in my mayor's chair.

Thanks to Melody Tan and Erik Manning, I have the receipts.

Let's start with Buzbee.   That's him on the right in this pic at the top of the post with Rick Perry and Lugenprasident at Buzbee's River Oaks mansion.

Um no.  He not only held a fundraiser for Trump, he has according to this FEC filing, made multiple donations to the Republican National Committee and Trump,

Buzbee has also given money to the state Republican parties of AR, CT, LA, MS,NJ, NY, TN, VA, WV and WY.

Nope, #NeverBuzbee   You were canceled when you donated money to Trump.

Now for Bill King,  the former mayor of the suburban community of Kemah who narrowly lost to Sylvester Turner in 2015.   He still wants to take his act to the Horseshoe. 

Um. no boo boo.   Not on my watch  Democrat my azz. Peddle that lie to someone that isn't paying attention.   #NeverKing

Note King's donation record.    Rep. Jarvis Johnson, the person who succeeded Mayor Sylvester Turner in HD 136 is the only Democrat on this donation list.   The rest of his cash is going to Republican leaning groups like the Houston Realty Business Coalition,  the Kingwood Republican Women's Club, The Spring Branch Republicans, state Sen. Paul Bettencourt's (R) problematic behind, and the Coalition For a Greater Houston.

And yes, King since 2006 has been voting (when he has cast a ballot ) in the Republican primary.

So naw Harris County Republican Party and all you Houston activists mad at Mayor Turner to the point you're considering spitefully voting for these two.   The Houston mayor's chair is not something to be played with because of its immense power in our strong mayor form of governance.

We know the Harris County GOP is big mad about being swept out of power, so they are trying to push that 'Buzbee and King are Democrats' lie to siphon enough votes from Turner to force a runoff.

Frankly, I don't see a compelling reason why Mayor Turner should be kicked out of office after only one term.  Neither am I inclined to fire only the second African-American and first Black Houstonian to have the job without an exceptional candidate to replace him.

I'm also not happy about the dog whistle racism that King has deployed in his second campaign implying there is  'corruption' at City Hall, or the dog whistle racism being aimed at him by some of his detractors.

As Trump has overwhelmingly proved, being a businessman doesn't mean you have the ability to handle the demands of being mayor of the soon to be third largest city in the US.  If these two are trying to cover up the fact they are proud Republicans, what else are they covering up?

Because of the charter change, the mayor no longer serves just a two year term.  If we don't handle our electoral business, we're stuck with that person in our mayor's chair for four years. 

So we must choose wisely on November 5. 

But at least you're going into the voting booth when early voting starts on October 21 armed with the knowledge that Buzbee and King are not Democrats, but undeniable Republicans. 

TransGriot Note:  Lugenprasident = lying president in German 

Moni's Thoughts On The 'Trans People Are Sacred' Billboard In Detroit

The 110th annual NAACP convention is taking place in Detroit starting today, and I'm loving a pic of this billboard that popped up in east Detroit that states 'Trans People Are Sacred'.

In a time in which we have a presidential misadministration that is openly hostile to trans people and gleefully being egged on by evilgelicals to be as cruel as possible to our community , this billboard is a timely reminder of our humanity

And yeah, let me say it once again and make it clear where I stand with Dolt 45.  The Trump misadministration is the worst ever for the trans community.

I also find it interesting this billboard popped us just as the NAACP  convention has arrived in town.  It's my hope and prayer that some of the expected 10,000 delegates to the NAACP convention not only see this billboard, but ponder the fact that our community's oldest civil rights organization has been way too silent on the violence being aimed at Black trans people.

Black trans America has noticed that deafening silence and your cricket chirping response to it.   We need you to say from the floor of your convention that Black Trans Lives Matter and then follow it up with action.

Trans people are indeed sacred.   Our trans kids are even more sacred to us.   It's past time you treat us that way.

But to echo what my Texas homegirl Anna Nguyen said when I posted this pic on my Facebook page, I'd just be happy with trans people just being considered human. 

And we need that to happen like yesterday

 

Trump Is A Racist, And So Are You If You Support Him

Like every rational African American, I supported and voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election because as I warned y'all repeatedly in the runup to that election,  Trump was historically bad  and unqualified to become POTUS.

Some of y'all were too caught up in your 'Bernie lost' fee fees to get over it and see the big political picture that I and many Black voters saw as November 8 loomed.

It was about the SCOTUS and the federal court system, stupid

Because of your lack of political vision, we are now navigating the worst presidency of my lifetime, and I was a teen during the Nixon years.

Black people have known for decades that Trump was a racist, and after his unwarranted attacks on four POC US congresswomen, some of y'all are finally shaking off the willful ignorance along with the media to call his racist azz out.

Now it's time for you folks who fell for the okey doke, voted for Trump and gleefully support him to come to grips with an unpleasant truth about yourselves.

Since you are enabling and unquestioningly defending his azz, that makes all you MAGA hat wearing white peeps and the 53% of white women who voted for Trump racists as well.

And before you go there, don't even part your conservalips to illogically call me 'racist' for calling out the racism I undeniably see. 

You don't like Moni saying that unpleasant truth about you?   Too damned bad.   You voted for and still support a man that David Duke endorsed.  With every passing day of this incompetent mispresidency he makes it clear he hates Black and non white people.

And y'all are eating up the oppression, hate speech and cruelty he aims at us.  Some of you are even engaging in it.

Spare me the whitesplaining about how saying 'go back to you country' is not racist because it is.

To me, the most disgusting Trump supporters are ones who are in the trans and SGL community.  That's a rant for another time.

Note to you Trumpettes and MAGAts.  I am not obligated as an American citizen to unquestioningly love this country.   That what you conservafools do.   I love my country enough to praise it when it does the right thing and when it's wrong, to use my First Amendment rights to speak truth to power and call BS out.
 
I love my country when it comes closer to living up to its democratic principles and I see people who look like me participating in governing it.  I want it to be better and always striving to evolving to be a more perfect union.

Trump and his ilk want a dark, white supremacist America that is the antithesis of the beloved community that the Rev Dr Martin Luther King talked about  Your racism is not patriotism, and the sooner you MAGAts grasp that concept, the better our country will be.

Trump is undeniably a racist.  Disagreeing with him doesn't make me un American.  It makes me a patriot. 

The Meaning Of July 4 For Black Trans Americans

One of my favorite Frederick Douglass speeches is one he gave on July 5, 1852, entitled The Meaning of July 4 for the Negro. That speech pointed out the glaring hypocrisy of America celebrating Independence Day while enslaving millions of African-descended people. Since the 4th is upon us, I decided to write this column in the style of Frederick Douglass’  famous speech, but apply it to what is happening with black trans Americans here in Texas and elsewhere in this country.

***

My fellow Americans.

Once again, we pause to celebrate another birthday of the nation we love. July 4 is also the day when the Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 brave men who put their lives on the line for the principles they believed in.

But there is a group of Americans for which this day that many of you celebrate seems hollow. In this dark time, our transgender siblings are not feeling the national love or pride in this nation. In fact, we feel there is nothing to celebrate on this day when we have already lost 11 people to anti-trans violence this year.

Say their names. Dana Martin, Ashanti Carmon, Jazzaline Ware, Muhlaysia Booker, Michelle Washington, Claire Legato, Paris Cameron, Chynal Lindsey, Chanel Scurlock,  Zoe Spears and Brooklyn Lindsey. Their Black trans lives have joined the ancestors far too soon because of the anti-trans hate speech and rhetoric coming from the Oval Office, evilgelical church pulpits, and the mouths of right-wing media pundits.

Black trans Americans are dismayed and angered by the silence of both our politicians we helped to elect and our legacy organizations like the NAACP concerning the genocidal levels of violence being aimed at us.

Why should a Black trans American be proud of this nation when they are demonized for being African-American and transgender? Why should we feel proud of a nation that gleefully denies us the ability to earn a decent living by making it easier to prevent us from getting a job?

Why should we be proud of a nation that seeks to deny us medical care or get housing? Why should we be proud of a nation that seeks to pass dehumanizing modern-day Jim Crow laws regulating where we poop and pee?

Why should we be proud of a nation that won’t allow us to serve in its military because a bunch of evilgelical bigots are advising the historically unqualified person currently occupying the White House to keep us from serving?

Why should we be proud of a nation that has rolled back President Obama’s positive policies and executive orders that were designed to help our community?

You claim to respect the rule of law, the Constitution, and the Bible, but ignore all of those things when it suits you to do so for conservative political advantage.

I already know what you MAGAts are going to say: If you don’t like America, leave it.

I will do no such thing. I love this country more than your Fox News-watching behinds ever will. I will not leave, because my ancestors shed four centuries’ worth of blood for us to be here in this moment, living better lives than they could have imagined for themselves. I love this country enough to fight for its soul and make it better than it was when I arrived on the planet.


I am not leaving because it would dishonor the memories of all the trans people we have lost to anti-trans violence. It is for their sakes that I must fight with every fiber of my being to create an America that recognizes the fact that the “We the People”  in our Constitution unequivocally includes Black transgender Americans.


Our nation is increasingly accepting the fact that Black trans people not only exist, but the violence being aimed at us must stop. Our people are also increasingly coming to the realization that Black trans women are women, Black trans men are men, we are an intertwined part of the Black American family, and we have much to contribute to make the Black community better.


We Black trans people exist, and are proud of all the intersections that are housed in our Black trans bodies. If some of you in Black Cis World don’t like that, get over it, because we are beyond caring what your loud and ignorant opinion is about that.


You will give us the respect that we are due. We aren’t going away, or back into the closet. We Black trans Americans are going to work to the best of our ability to make a better world for the trans kids coming behind us.



And if that work to make a better world for our trans kids creates a better world for ourselves in the process, then we will consider that as a blessing.

And when that day finally becomes a reality, that will be a July 4 worth celebrating.
This article appears in the July 2019 edition of OutSmart magazine