NAACP Passes Pro-Trans Resolution!

You longtime TransGriot readers are quite aware that I have been calling out for years the NAACP's cricket chirping silence when it comes to what is happening to Black transgender people .

They are the oldest civil rights organization in our community, and whether you feel that way or not, the 110 year old  NAACP's voice is still respected in the progressive civil rights community and with elements of our people.

I have urged them to not only say the words 'Black trans lives matter' from their convention stage, but pushed for NAACP state and local chapters to take action to make sure those words, when they are finally spoken publically, are backed up with policy.

Today, I was thrilled to hear that a resolution supporting the trans community was passed yesterday by the delegates of the 110th NAACP convention in Detroit!

The resolution reads:

Be it resolved that the NAACP will work with all of its Units to work to support equal protection for transgender individuals so that all members of our community can live free of violence, shame and discrimination.

This is a huge win for the Black trans community!  One of our legacy civil rights orgs has actually passed a resolution that acknowledges our existence. 

We in Black Trans World want all members of our Black community to be free from violence, shame and discrimination.   It's imperative that we at least get the process and conversation started about how we do so for Black trans individuals in collaboration with the NAACP before we start plunking down our T-bills for memberships.

Hopefully this opens the doors for conversations with the Black trans community as to the best way to accomplish coordinated action that makes a reality the goal set forth in that resolution.

The State Of LGBTQ POC In America NAACP Convention Town Hall

You TransGriot readers know that I have been pushing for the NAACP to end the silence, say the words Black Trans Lives Matter, and start aggressively backing them up with policy.

Yesterday afternoon during the NAACP convention happening in Detroit two longtime freinds of mine and fierce Detroit SGL leaders in Michelle Elizbeth Brown and Curtis Lipscomb were on a livestreamed townhall entitled The State of the LGBTQ POC In America town hall that was moderated by Keith Boykin.

Wish I could have seen this panel live, but I did get to see it on the NAACP convention website and was pleased that a trans person was on that panel.

Maybe next year we can get a panel at an NAACP convention that specifically talks about the issues that black trans people have to navigate in our community.

It was once again a needed and necessary conversation to have in that space,  We need our community's oldest civil rights org to recognize that Black TBLGQ people exist.  We also need the NAACP to open their mouths and consistently say that Black trans lives matter. 

But thanks for a wonderful and much needed conversation.

49th Annual NAACP Image Awards Voting

The 49th Annual NAACP Image Awards are happening on the Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr 's birthday (January 15). 

So what are the NAACP Image Awards?  Noting the fact that the major award shows far too frequently don't recognize the talents of our people, the NAACP founded this annual event in 1967 to honor outstanding people of color in the film, television,  music and literature.

The NAACP Image Awards were first televised on FOX in 1994, and the first live telecast also happened on FOX in 2007 for its 38th annual edition.    It has happened every year except in 1978 and 1995, but since then has become an eagerly attended and anticipated event . 

This year's edition of the NAACP Image Awards are adding a new feature in 2018.  For the first time, the general public can cast votes for this year's nominees

If you are interested in weighing in on who will walk away with awards next month you need to get busy.  The deadline to cast your votes for you think should win the various NAACP Image Awards categories is December 15.

Here's the link to do so, and once you do, tune into TV One on MLK's birthday at 9 PM/8 PM CST to watch this year's edition of the NAACP Image Awards.

I Repeat NAACP, Where You At When It Comes To Trans People?

Black trans people are Black people.  We are also the Black men and Black women we say we are.  In many cases we fight for our very existence in the same neighborhoods cis Black people live in and we grew up as part of.  We Black trans people are also there when it comes to fighting for the causes that are important to the Black community as a whole, 

Now it's past time, NAACP for you to stand with us.-TransGriot, March 2, 2017 

Of all the organizations that expressed outrage about 45's tweet attempting to eviscerate trans people from the US military, I noticed that despite the NAACP currently having their 108th Annual Convention in Baltimore and having an LGBT Forum last night,  there is still a deafening silence coming from the NAACP concerning transgender people.

And as a former youth member of the NAACP who is contemplating rejoining the organization, that is bothering me.

Yes, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund has commented on Trump's anti-trans tweet and that's wonderful they did so.

But what we Black trans peeps need to see and hear is a board, NAACP presidential or chair level statement unequivocally spelling out where this 108 year old organization stands when it comes to the humanity and human rights of trans people, and backing that up with action.

Just an FYI NAACP, some of those 15,500 active duty transgender service members Trump attacked happen to be Black

We Black trans folks are catching hell, and we have noted that you have been far too silent about it.The Republican Party is gleefully passing anti-trans legislation like the odious SB 3 that just passed through the Texas Senate.  We have had 15 trans women of color murdered in 2017, with 13 of those women being Black.   Most disturbing to me is the increasing levels of anti-trans rhetoric being uttered in our community spaces, the time is now NAACP for you to step up and provide the moral leadership inside this community and unequivocally state that Black trans women are Black woman, Black trans men are Black men, and the NAACP will fight for their humanity and human rights.

And we need that said not only at the national level, but in state and local NAACP chapters as well.

As Jade Lenore of BTWI-Texas recently stated, " NAACP can you take a stand for the Trans people of the Black community? Myself and others need to know if you support us and stand with us. Will you defend us against this blatant hatred that ripping through our Black Trans community?"
I'd like to know the answer to that question myself, NAACP? .

So what say ye, NAACP?   Will you summon the moral courage to stand with the Black trans community and unequivocally state that you do?  Will you form partnerships with Black trans organizations already doing the work but who could use your century plus civil rights gravitas to aid their efforts? Will you work to become trans culturally competent?  Will you reach out to the Black trans leaders, parents of Black trans children and Black community allies and supporters for guidance to help you get there as expeditiously as possible?

Will you make a dent in our 20% unemployment numbers by actually hiring qualified trans people to do the work of this organization?  Black trans people are damned sure front and center in fighting for the human rights of everyone, including cisgender Black people.

Would be nice if we could get a regular paycheck for doing so.

Or will you do what many people and millennials expect you to do and say nothing, thus justifying the ossifying impression that the NAACP doesn't care about trans people or anyone that is not heteronormative , and is continuing its journey toward 21st century irrelevance?

We in Black Trans World eagerly await the answer to this question.

I Repeat. NAACP, Where You At?

Their new ad slogan is 'The NAACP Is Today', but I don't see you addressing the very real issues that transgender people of African descent face today here in the States. If the NAACP is claiming to represent African-Americans, then I respectfully submit that it includes me as a transgender African-American as well. -TransGriot,  June 21, 2008

I wrote these words in 2008, and sadly, I'm still having to ask the same damned question nine years and dozens more deaths of Black trans women later

Yo NAACP, where you at?

We have had seven trans women killed in the opening two months of 2017, with six of them being African American.  The silence coming from the NAACP is not only deafening, but increasingly irritating to the Black trans community.

But if it had been cis Black men being killed at this rate by the po-po's, y'all would be making a beeline for the National Press Club, various media outlets, having town halls across the country to generate nonstop conversation about it, and standing arm in arm with Congressional Black Caucus legislators demanding that Congress act to stem the tide of the violence.

Instead, what we have here when it comes to Black trans women being murdered is cricket chirping silence from the oldest civil rights organization in our community, and that needs to stop.

Where are you NAACP when Black transpeople need you in this time of challenge and controversy to stand up for us?   Are we not Black enough for y'all?  Do our Black trans lives that are being savagely taken matter to you?   Does the fact that many of these trans women being killed are under age 40 even move you to act on our behalf?

So what's up NAACP?  Inquiring minds wanna know, especially in Black Trans World.

Black trans people are Black people.  We are also the Black men and Black women we say we are.  In many cases we fight for our very existence in the same neighborhoods cis Black people live in and we grew up as part of.  We Black trans people are also there when it comes to fighting for the causes that are important to the Black community as a whole,

Now it's past time, NAACP for you to stand with us.

We Black trans folks not only want the NAACP to talk about it, but consistently be about standing up for the humanity and human rights of Black trans folks.  We need y'all as the oldest civil rights organization repping our people being a committed partner at the table doing so like white orgs are starting to do and the National Black Justice Coalition and Transgender Law Center have been.

And if you need info, how about chatting with Black Transwomen, Inc or the Trans Persons of Color Coalition to help start your Black Trans 101 'ejumacation' to craft that message, or even better, hire some Black trans folks to handle that job?

With a hostile administration now assuming power in Washington DC and GOP controlled state legislatures aiming anti-trans legislation at us that will disproportionately harm Black trans folks, the time is now NAACP for you to step up your leadership game on behalf of Black trans people.

So I will ask again the question that many of us in Black Trans World are anxiously awaiting the answer to

When will we see the NAACP step up to the plate and call out the scourge of anti-trans violence aimed at Black trans women in the same way that we see you fearlessly speak truth to power on other issues of importance to the Black community?   .

Racist White Supremacists Show Up At Houston NAACP HQ

While many of us were at church or chilling out today, the local area white supremacists, feeling froggy because their man Donald Trump is running for president, decided to leap out of their suburban 'hoods and desecrate Third Ward with their presence.  

They showed up in front of the Houston NAACP headquarters on Wheeler Ave bearing guns, Confederate flags and White Lives Matter signs for a Sunday afternoon protest

They claimed they weren't racist (dead giveaway) and weren't there to instigate or cause trouble, but the Confederate flag, guns and 'White Lives Matter' signs in addition to showing up in front of NAACP headquarters in the heart of the predominately Black Third Ward on a Sunday said otherwise.

They also spouted the laughably usual right wing bull feces claiming that Black Lives Matter is 'a terrorist organization' while wearing Trump 2016 t-shirts and hats.

They were also carrying a '14 Words' sign, which is a dog whistle to other white supremacists.

So what are those '14 Words'?

Fourteen Words is a reference to the white supremacist slogan: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children."

It also can refer to a different 14-word slogan in white supremacist circles that states "Because the beauty of the White Aryan woman must not perish from the earth."
NAACP president Cornell Brooks tweeted that 'We an not intimidated' by White Lives Matter' protesters.  And how ironic the white supremacist ignorati are protesting a human rights organization in the NAACP that was founded predominately by white people in 1909?

The Houston Black Lives Matter Chapter said in an official statement concerning the protest:

It came to our attention earlier this week that there would be a "White Lives Matter" protest today. While it is always tempting to go and challenge those White people who come out and attack our movement, it is more important that we teach Black people that ‪#‎BlackLivesMatter‬. People like these White supremacists are a waste of space and time, their minds are already made up and so are ours, What would we need to discuss with them?

 The hard truth is that the Houston Police Department has been waiting to pounce on us. The situation would have endangered us in a way that dishonors why one would die for the liberation of Black bodies. The moment we would have arrived, they would have protected those white folks who came to a Black community to protest not just BLM but all Black people and perpetuate the racism that has always been part of their ideology.

Hate is a powerful thing, but only IF you give it power and narrative.  

This mess today is why Trump, the GOP and the white supremacists who support him must suffer an utterly crushing electoral defeat on November 8.

Hillary Clinton 2016 NAACP Convention Speech

Lost in all the news of the opening of the RNC convention is the fact that 250 miles away on the southern end of Ohio, the 107th NAACP National Convention is taking place at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati.

As per tradition, both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates were invited to speak to the NAACP convention delegates, with Sec. Hillary Clinton accepting her invitation to do so while Donald Trump declined.

Then again, if I sucked as bad on issues of importance to African Americans, had been saying racist crap for decades and my presidential race poll numbers were worse than Romney's, I'd be finding any excuse NOT to speak to 'The Blacks' either or put myself in a position to be called on it.

Here is the video of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's Monday speech to the NAACP convention.

   

President Obama's 2015 NAACP Convention Speech

While the Latino community leaders were gathering in Kansas City for the National Council of La Raza Convention, at the same time in Philadelphia the NAACP was meeting July 11-15 for its 106th national convention at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

And yep NCLR Conference delegates, as you and I suspected, there were no sightings of GOP presidential candidates at the NAACP convention either.

One of the speakers for that just concluded convention in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection was none other than President Barack Obama.

He spoke to the assembled delegates on Tuesday, and here's the text and the video of his speech.

Why The Lack Of Media Coverage Of The NAACP Terror Bombing?

Back in 2010 I asked the question when is a terrorist attack NOT a terrorist attack?   I asked that in the wake of the predominately white media twisting themselves into pretzels to avoid calling the dive of a private airplane into the IRS building in Austin by a white anti-tax zealot a  terror attack when conservative media was gleefully stirring up anti-government fervor as a tactic to stop passage of the Affordable Care Act.

Now in a time in the USA in which we have heightened racial animus because of police brutality aimed at African-American and our protests against it, an attempted bombing of an NAACP headquarters in Colorado Springs yesterday morning by a white male suspect has gotten little media coverage on CNN or other major news networks.

And when CNN probably because of the building social media outrage finally covered ittoday , they neglected to mention the ethnicity of the suspect, who is a balding while male in his 40's driving a white pickup truck.

I'd be willing to bet that if an IED had gone off across town at Focus on The Family's headquarters building and the suspected perp was a member of the LGBT community, FOX Noise and the networks would have been on that story ad nauseum like pigs at their feeding trough.

But in an incident eerily reminiscent of the Jim Crow era Klan terror bombings aimed at churches and the homes of back in the day African-American civil rights leaders, an improvised explosive device exploded outside the headquarters building of the Colorado Springs NAACP branch on S. El Paso St. in an incident in which the FBI initial investigation is calling deliberate.

Well duh, they damned sure weren't attacking the hair salon next door.

In a statement on the NAACP website about the attempted bombing:

No injuries were reported in what is believed to be an explosion near the Colorado Springs NAACP Branch located on the 600 block of S. El Paso St. The cause of the explosion is still unknown. The NAACP looks forward to a full and thorough investigation into this matter by federal agents and local law enforcement.

But one group it seems to the increasing agitation of African-Americans that seems disinterested in covering this unfolding story is the media.   

And why is that?  Could it be because this is a concrete example of another White on Black terror attack that we can thank God didn't have fatalities attached to it?  

Or is it because you white media peeps are reluctant to admit, that when it comes to domestic terror in the United States, and especially when those terror attacks have been aimed at my people, it has historically had an overwhelmingly white male face..

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.
.

Mitt Gets Booed At NAACP Convention

I'm the TransGriot and I approve of the NAACP booing his Gordon Gekko wannabe behind for that jacked up disrespectful speech..




Reactions from the people Mitt didn't convince.




From what I gathered talking to people during the LGBT reception who saw the speech, they were just as offended as I was that Romney came to Houston and our NAACP house not to respectfully talk to us but condescendingly AT us.





Yeah Willard, it's on.

In The Shadow Of Giants-The NAACP LGBT Reception

Since I have a trip to DC coming up in a few hours I was a little bummed due to last minute scrambling I missed the LGBT panel discussion.

But I was comfortable knowing that TPOCC's Kylar Broadus was holding it down for the community and that panel has so much firepower on it I wasn't really needed for this one.  

But I was definitely going to be there at the Hilton Americas Hotel for the LGBT reception that started at 5 PM CDT.

I barely had walked into the cavernous main lobby of the Hilton Americas when I was recognized by two people who had been in the room for the panel discussion at Netroots Nation. I stopped and talked to them for a few moments and headed to the elevators that would take me to the Skyline Room on the hotel's 24th floor.

While I was waiting another woman rushed up to me, introduced herself and told me that she was a huge fan of TransGriot and had been following my blog and tweets for three years.  I thanked her for her loyalty before I stepped into the elevator.  

Once I arrived in the beautiful Skyline Room on the 24th floor of the hotel for the reception a few minutes after 5 PM I was greeted by Dee Dee Watters, one of my local transsisters and a few moments later by Daniel Williams from Equality TX.

Dee Dee, another NAACP delegate and I launched into a lively discussion about the Affordable Care Act, the Canadian universal healthcare system, the Medicare For All bill and the sorry state of the US healthcare system vis a vis other industrialized nations.

As people continued to arrive I spotted one of my activist mentors Mandy Carter sitting at the table next to me and struck up a conversation with her after welcoming her to my hometown.  We were soon joined by Nadine Smith, (one of the panelists) Kylar (who I've been playing phone tag with for the last three months), Daniel and his boss from Equality Texas.   The Texans at the table started talking about our Lone Star conservafool idiots after Mandy discussed what happened in the recent North Carolina marriage battle and we got our grub and drink on. 

We also discussed at the table after Kylar joined us the hot topic in the room, Mitt getting booed multiple times by the assembled and unrepentant NAACP masses.  (FYI, the TransGriot approves of the message to Mitt v. 2012)

As more people continued to arrive it had for me a 'the activist gangs all here' feel in terms of many of the people I last saw or met at the NBJC Out On the Hill conference being here for this event. Stacey Long from the Task Force was in the house along with Leslie Herod from the Gill Foundation, Leslye Huff as an NAACP delegate, Sharon Lettman-Hicks from NBJC, Donna Payne and other local Houston people, activists, convention delegates, and reps from various TBLG organizations.

Leslye is also on the planning committee for the 2014 Gay Games that are coming to Cleveland and we discussed how the preparation for that event were going for a few moments along with her impressions of my hometown and Mitt's speech 

I also got a chance to chat with Eric Wingerter, the NAACP's VP for Communications and New Media who I met at Netroots Nation 2012.  He told me he'd been one busy man since the convention started and had a few late nights and early riser days in keeping the new media side of the NAACP convention working seamlessly. 

A little after 6 PM Chairman Julian Bond stepped up to the mic along with Alice Hoffman to make some remarks to the now over 100 people in the room.  He talked about the recently concluded LGBT panel discussion, the road to making this event happen, and the recent affirmative NAACP marriage equality vote.

Alice Huffman during her remarks recounted what happened to her in California when she became one of the early NAACP leaders to support the marriage issue.   She talked about being spit on by a fellow African American who then went on the radio and exhorted people to resign their NAACP memberships.

She was proud of taking that stand, and was pleased to see what it has led to.  I took a moment to personally thank her later that evening and did the same with Chairman Bond, one of our civil rights icons that was in the room.

Chairman Bond also proclaimed this was a historic day of another sort in terms of cementing a permanent marriage between the NAACP and the Black LGBT community because of our interlocking interests, and he highlighted the ongoing fight against the odious voter suppression laws as one of the issue we have in common  

When Sharon Lettman-Hicks was asked to take the mic, she echoed the sentiments expressed by Ms. Huffman and Chairman Bond in terms of the long needed marriage between the African-American straight and African-American SGL/trans communities and eloquently added some comments of her own in terms of pointing out that the Black LGBT community needs the NAACP in our corner just as much as the NAACP needed us.  

Lettman-Hicks asked the LGBT people in the room to raise our hands and challenged us to become NAACP members if we weren't already active in our local NAACP chapters.  She also challenged people to become NAACP life members as well. 

Stacey Long in her remarks pointed out that we still have some human rights fights yet to come before  yielding the mic to a rep from the Gill Foundation.  Donna Payne, who Chairman Bond acknowledged was instrumental in helping set up this year's panel discussion and reception also spoke for a few moments before we returned to chatting with the people in that room with a wonderful view of downtown Houston,   Discovery Green, Minute maid Park and the George R Brown Convention Center.

With the remarks over and the clock creeping closer to the 7 PM end time for the event and knowing I had to go home, pack and write down my impressions of this event for you TransGriot readers, it was time for me to leave and head back to my undisclosed location on the south side of Houston.

But I still wish I could have witnessed the LGBT panel discussion.   That would have really made this an even better day than it already was.

NAACP LGBT Forum-Yep It's Happening

Remember when I was wondering aloud on the TransGriot pages if the LGBT forum was happening at the NAACP convention that just started in Houston?  

I ran into someone during Netroots Nation 2012 from the Washington NAACP that told me it was being organized, but now I can confirm it is happening.

And yes, there will be a transperson on that panel.

The forum will take place at the George R. Brown Convention center on Wednesday afternoon and be moderated by LGBT task force chairs Alice Huffman and  Julian Bond .

It is entitled 'Civil Rights and Marriage Equality: What's The 411?'  on Wednesday July 11, 2012  from 2:30-4:30 PM CDT.  

The panelists for the forum will be NAACP North Carolina President Rev. William Barber,  NAACP San Francisco President Rev. Amos Brown, NBJC Executive Director Sharon J. Lettman-Hicks,  TPOCC Executive Director Kylar Broadus, licensed therapist Dr. Douglas Butler PhD, and Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith and other distinguished guests.

Should be an interesting two hours.   So will the reception from 5-7 PM CDT at the Hilton Americas Skyline Room after the panel discussion

NBJC Commends the NAACP’s Support of Marriage Equality

TransGriot Note: The press release from the National Black Justice Coalition concerning the NAACP resolution supporting marriage equality.

Yesterday the NAACP released a resolution supporting marriage equality. The organization’s board of directors voted to support the freedom to marry as a continuation of its commitment to equal protection under the law. The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), the nation’s leading Black lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, commends the NAACP for this historic step.

“As a Life Member of the NAACP, I am happy to see the organization join the President of the United States in ‘evolving’ and follow the powerful example of civil rights icons and Black voices like Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery, Julian Bond, Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson and others who have said committed LGBT couples and families deserve the same protections as everyone else,” says Sharon Lettman-Hicks, NBJC Executive Director and CEO. “Family is the epicenter of Black life, community and culture. For Black LGBT people, its importance is just as great.”

The NAACP has addressed civil rights with regard to marriage since Loving v. Virginia declared anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional in 1967. In recent years the organization has taken public positions against state and federal efforts to ban the rights and privileges for LGBT citizens, including strong opposition to Proposition 8 in California, the Defense of Marriage Act, and most recently, North Carolina’s Amendment 1, which instituted a constitutional ban on marriage for same-sex couples.

Studies show that Black lesbian partners parent at almost the same rate as Black heterosexual couples. In comparison to their white counterparts, both Black gay and lesbian couples are more likely to be raising children. Robbed of the 1,138 federal protections and benefits available to married couples, including Social Security survivors benefits, Medicaid spend-down protections, and workers' compensation, Black same-sex families are disproportionately put in harm’s way. Despite these challenges, Black gay men and lesbians continue to care for children in need of a loving and supportive home.


According to the LGBT Families of Color: Facts at a Glance Report, same-sex partners who become foster parents are more likely to be families of color than among heterosexual married couples. Yet 40 states plus the District of Columbia are silent on fostering by LGBT parents, while 2 states restrict it. Same-sex couples also face uncertainty about joint adoption in 28 states and are prohibited entirely in 5 other states.

“Outdated anti-gay laws and mindsets disproportionately undermine Black families,” adds Lettman-Hicks. “When you deny loving and committed same-sex couples equal protection under the law, you’re inflicting an even greater blow on LGBT families of color whose challenges are compounded by both race and orientation.

As a voice of Black leadership, the NAACP can help the country understand that the fight for equality isn’t about ‘Black vs. gay,’ but that there are loving couples and families at the intersection who are a part of the Black/African American narrative.”

##

The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is a civil rights organization dedicated to empowering Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. NBJC’s mission is to end racism and homophobia.

NAACP BOD Resolution Affirming Support For Same Gender Marriage

The NAACP convention will be in my beloved hometown in July.  In advance of that event in which President Obama will speak to the assembled delegates at the George R, Brown Convention Center came this news out of Miami.

The NAACP's Board of Directors are meeting there and a resolution was passed on a 62-2 vote that affirms their support for same gender marriage.

The NAACP Constitution affirmatively states our objective to ensure the “political, educational, social and economic equality” of all people. Therefore, the NAACP has opposed and will continue to oppose any national, state, local policy or legislative initiative that seeks to codify discrimination or hatred into the law or to remove the Constitutional rights of LGBT citizens. We support marriage equality consistent with equal protection under the law provided under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.  Further, we strongly affirm the religious freedoms of all people as protected by the First Amendment.

“The mission of the NAACP has always been to ensure the political, social and economic equality of all people,” said Roslyn M. Brock, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NAACP. “We have and will oppose efforts to codify discrimination into law.”

“Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civil law. The NAACP’s support for marriage equality is deeply rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and equal protection of all people” said Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP.

Pay attention people.  This is one of the African-American community's iconic organizations.

So you know what's going to happen the next time I hear that bull feces laden 'the African-American community is uniquely homophobic' meme come out of someone's vanillacentric privilege laden mouth don't you?  

Alright, NAACP!. 

NBJC Statement On Passage Of North Carolina's Amendment One.

TransGriot Note: Press Release from the National Black Justice Coalition concerning the regrettable passage of the unjust Amendment One

Yesterday, North Carolinians voted to pass Amendment One, which will change the state’s constitution to recognize only marriage between one man and one woman; ban civil unions; and eliminate health care, prescription drug coverage and other benefits for public employees and children receiving domestic partner benefits.

The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), the nation’s leading Black LGBT civil rights organization, responds to North Carolina’s disappointing passage of Amendment One and how Black faith leaders rallied to condemn the amendment as well as educate voters.


Recent polls found that 60 percent of North Carolina voters were unaware of the full implications of the referendum. In fact, Public Policy Polling found that “if all voters were informed of [the amendment’s] consequences, the amendment would fail by a 38-46 margin…”

“It is a grave disappointment that North Carolinians voted to deny couples and children equal protections under the law,” says Sharon Lettman-Hicks, NBJC Executive Director and CEO. “Although this represents an unfortunate setback to progress and has devastating consequences to many families, we are encouraged by the number of Black clergy that spoke out against the amendment.”

Support for Amendment One had continued to slip, especially among African Americans. Public Policy Polling data revealed support for the amendment from Black voters dropped from 61/30 to 51/39. That was the lowest level of support PPP has found in monthly polling of the amendment since last October.

Rev. William Barber, president of the North Carolina NAACP, spoke out in opposition of any proposal that would alter the federal or state constitution to exclude any groups from equal protection under the law. Rev. Barber joined several Black pastors that spoke out publicly about their stance against the amendment.

###

The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is a civil rights organization dedicated to empowering Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. NBJC’s mission is to eradicate racism and homophobia.

0-32?

The polls open later today in the Tarheel State on the Amendment 1 ballot question to enshrine a same gender marriage ban (which by the way is already banned in the state) into North Carolina's constitution.

"Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized."  states the Amendment 1 language.

But it also goes one odious step further in addition to inserting the ban on same-sex marriage in the North Carolina Constitution.  

If Amendment 1 passes it would also frack with civil unions or any other form of "domestic legal union" for both gay and straight couples by banning those as well. .

North Carolina was the last of the old Confederate states that didn't have a constitutional gay marriage ban to the disgust of the faith-based homobigots because it kept getting killed in committee when the Democrats controlled the state legislature. But when the Tea Klux Klan got control of the North Carolina legislature in the wake of the 2010 midterm elections, it opened the door for this to happen.

Elections matter, people.    Same gender marriage when it comes to a vote has lost 31 times, and unfortunately the polling coming out of North Carolina on the eve of this election isn't looking good for the rainbow team.   But there's always hope and the chance for an upset.  

To tell you how much this issue matters, I leave you with the wise words of the Rev Dr. William J. Barber II, the North Carolina NAACP president.    Dr. Barber breaks it down with a historical, moral and well-reasoned argument against these anti-gay marriage amendments. 

Please heed those words and defeat this unjust amendment, because no one's civil rights should be put up for a vote by a misguided and hate filled majority.

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NAACP's Ben Jealous To Be Keynote Speaker At 2012 Creating Change

The 2012 Creating Change Conference will be held in Baltimore, MD from January 25-29 which also happens to be the historic headquarters city for the 102 year old National Association For The Advancement of Colored People. 

So it didn't surprise me when I heard the announcement that NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous will be the opening plenary keynote speaker on January 26. 

The NAACP is making a commitment to doing a better job of advocacy on TBLG issues, even though they stumbled out of the gate with it at their convention in Los Angeles with the trans and bi free panel discussion.  

Under Jealous' leadership the NAACP launched its LGBT Equality Task Force in 2009 in partnership with the National Black Justice Coalition.  Most recently, the Baltimore NAACP chapter joined the steering committee of Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the broad and diverse coalition working to bring civil marriage equality to Maryland.

Should be interesting to hear that speech and what he has to say and hope I can make it to Baltimore to be in the house for it.
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Guess Where The 2012 NAACP Convention Is Being Held?

In July 2012 the NAACP will hold  its 103rd annual convention with an estimated 10,000 delegates converging on that host city.

Since 2012 will be an election year, instead of President Obama doing a videotaped message to the convention delegates, the POTUS will probably be in the house to speak to the assembled NAACP members from all over the country.

And care to guess what city is hosting the 2012 NAACP convention?   

Houston. 

Yep, the NAACP will be headed back to the George R. Brown Convention Center in the TransGriot's hometown and home state for the first time since we hosted the 1991 and 2002 events.

Hmm, wonder if they're going to have an LGBT Town Hall at this convention and keep their promise of adding a trans panelist?   Yep, we're still pissed about being snubbed.

If they do, it better not be a trans-free one once again because this time it'll be a short drive downtown to make my feelings known to the NAACP how much I'm displeased with that revolting development.