Moni's In New York Again...

For the first time since 2012 when I was here to do the GLAAD POC Media training.

This is the first time I've ever been to New York close to Christmas even though I flew up here multiple times to hand out with friends during my Air Marshal days.   I just never attempted a trip close to Christmas because of weather concerns and fear of getting bumped.

The reason I'm here in the Big Apple is not to peruse the Christmas decorations, flip the finger at Trump Tower or do some laps around the Rockefeller Center ice rink (yes people, I can ice skate), but for an Arcus Foundation trans media event along with other trans media peeps from around the country.

The Club Quarters hotel I'm staying at is on W. 51st Street in Rockefeller Center, and I'm loving the fact it has complementary wifi in my 26th floor room.

Thanks to Stacey Langley for grabbing me at LGA and taking me for a Texas style meal at Hill Country BBQ.

I also didn't know that while I was breaking bread and  having a pleasant time catching up with Stacey, I'd be here when a major news story was breaking out in terms of a grand jury not indicting the cop involved in the Eric Garner murder which has jumped off protests that are blocking the West Side Highway

Too bad I'm only going to be in it until Friday morning, then I have to bounce back to a much warmer and less volatile for now H-town.

Looking forward to seeing everyone in a few hours, but I need to get my behind in bed..

Koko Jones Release Show Tonight

As some of you already know, my sis Koko Jones dropped a new album called Who's That Lady' back on November 18.

Unfortunately I'm going to miss this by at least 48 hours, but later tonight Koko is having a CD release event with her band Soul Spirit from 8-9:30 PM EST at SubCulture.

The location of the venue is 45 Bleecker Street and you can get your advance tickets for it for $15.   Tickets at the door will be $20.

Doors open at 7 PM, so get there early

So go check out some live music from a  girl like us who toured with the Isley Brothers and Whitney Houston, has played with a wide variety of artists across several music genres and has been in the music scene fro four decades.

Halloween 1962 NYC Ball Raid

I was talking about the drag balls that happened in various locales around the country on Halloween in an earlier post.   Those balls occurring on that evening usually drew big crowds and the po-po's looked the other way in terms of enforcing the anti-crossdressing laws that were on the books in many cities at that time.

So what happened when you had those events on days besides Halloween and you were en femme? 

Well, you got arrested for violating the anti-crossdressing law.  The one in Houston was only repealed in August 1980.

And sometimes there were Halloween nights in which the po-po's decided they weren't going to look the other way and enforce the law that was on the books.

These are photos of a Halloween 1962 raid on the Artists' Exotic Carnival and Ball at the Manhattan Center  in New York.

Seven years later, it was peeps being tired of the consistent harassment by NYPD and the constant raids of gay bars that led to the Stonewall Rebellion.

So the next time you're able to gather at a venue to have a ball, or walk the street as yourself without consistent harassment or threat of arrest, take a moment to think about your elders who fought to express themselves in a more hostile climate.

They fought the powers that be of the times so we'd have a better world to live in, and it's time for us to do the same for the next generation of gender variant kids..

Trans Woman Beaten In New York

This is another concrete example why GENDA needs to be expeditiously passed.

Was pissed off to hear via Gay City News that on October 12 a 28 year old trans woman was brutally beaten by four men in the Bushwick neighborhood around 11:20 PM EDT.

The incident took place outside of 1250 Buckwick Ave near Halsey St, and started when the transwoman while walking with a gay friend was approached by the man and asked 'what they were doing in the neighborhood'.

When they figured out the woman was trans, they began calling her a 'faggot' and beat her with a 2x4.  The gay friend escaped without injury, but the still unidentified transwoman was transported to Elmhurst Hospital in critical condition.

The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the hate attack.  In addition to the NYPD having surveillance video of it along with the weapon used in the assault, a bystander captured phone video of it.

The still unidentified transwoman according to Kate Barnhart, the executive director of, New Alternatives for Homeless LGBT Youth. was a client of their organization.  Barnhart added that it is not known at this time if the victim will have permanent brain damage as a result of this hate attack.

Barnhart added, “It is outrageous that transgender people are still not safe in what is supposed to be the safest LGBT city in the world.”

They are not safe because New York State has not passed GENDA and added gender identity in the hate crimes laws, or thrown the book at the waste of DNA who killed Islan Nettles last year.

Here's hoping these wastes of DNA are swiftly captured and is served in this heinous attack.justice

TransGriot Update:  The surveillance video of the wastes of DNA in this case.

Dwight DeLee Case Hearing October 15

I was majorly pissed off along with many trans people in New York state and across the country when the conviction of Dwight DeLee in the murder of Lateisha Green was overturned on a technicality. 

DeLee was subsequently released from prison, and the case in now back in the NY Court of Appeals after the Onandaga County District Attorney asked the appeals court to review the case.  

After the conviction was overturned, the Onondaga County District Attorney asked the court of appeals to review the case. - See more at: http://centralny.twcnews.com/content/news/central_new_york/708214/dwight-delee-s-overturned-case-to-be-reviewed/#sthash.BPfsSg8V.dpuf

On October 15, the NY Court of Appeals will hold a hearing to decide if the conviction in this case will be reinstated and DeLee can go back to serving that 25 year sentence he got for killing Green back in 2008.

Should have been longer, but it is what it is..

While we're waiting along with Lateisha's family for justice to be served again, here's a petition for you to sign if you wish calling for the reinstatement of DeLee's conviction.

The message needs to be sent that killing a trans woman comes with a cost to the perpetrtors of these heinous acts and that our lives are valuable.

TransJustice Fellowship Applications Due October 1

For those of you in the New York area, got word of a fellowship opportunity that is accepting applications.

If you're interested, you'll have to get that completed application in for the fellowship by October 1.

TransJustice Political Education and Campaign Fellowship

Who We Are:

TransJustice is a political organizing group created and led by Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color in New York City. We work to educate organize and mobilize our communities and allies on the pressing political issues we face. We are a multi-racial, multi-gender, multi-class, and all ages group.

TransJustice is an organizing program of the Audre Lorde Project. The Audre Lorde Project is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non Conforming People of Color center for community organizing, focusing on the New York City area. Through mobilization, education and capacity-building, we work for community wellness and progressive social and economic justice. Committed to struggling across differences, we seek to responsibly reflect, represent and serve our various communities.

About the Fellowship:
-- Are you interested in community organizing and developing leadership in yourself and others?
-- Want to develop skills in facilitating workshops, building curricula, and political education?
-- Interested in learning more about campaign and coalition work?

The TransJustice Fellowship is a pilot project to support and develop the leadership of Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color. Fellows will receive supervision and work closely with the TransJustice Coordinator to meet the following goals:
-- Build skills and capacity in Community Organizing work, including coalition work, political education, and facilitation
-- Support the coordinator with logistics, planning, and implementation of programming
-- Support with administrative work and documentation

Requirements;
-- Can commit to ten months (November 2014 through September 2014), 10 hours per week
-- Can be on site at the Manhattan offices of the Audre Lorde Project during fellowship hours
-- Identifies as Trans and/or Gender Non-Conforming and a Person of Color
-- Can demonstrate experience using Microsoft Office, Google Docs, and Gmail.
-- Is invested in building community/movement and struggling across difference from a loving place
-- Wants to grow in their skills and support others in growing their skills as an organizer and facilitator
-- Willing to be supervised, and willing to give and receive feedback in open and communicative ways
-- Works well in collaboration and teams

Responsibilities Include:
-- Participating in coalition meetings with the program coordinator and core members, and creating new and exciting ways to share information from meetings back to the membership base
-- Supporting with logistics and facilitation for TransJustice Community School, our 9 week Political Education and Leadership Development Program.
-- Supporting with logistics, planning and facilitation of our 3 monthly meetings
-- Data Entry and Administrative support
-- Supporting members in outreach for meetings and events
-- Preparation and planning for all TransJustice Related events (Trans Day of Remembrance, Trans Day of Action, TransJustice Community Schools, and Open Political Education Workshops)

How to Apply!
Please send a cover letter stating why you are interested in the fellowship and a resume to efukui@alp.org.
This is a paid fellowship. TransJustice Community School Graduates and Daring to Be Powerful
 Graduates are strongly encouraged to apply!

The Audre Lorde Project is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color community organizing center focusing on the New York City area.

147 West 24th Street, 3rd Floor New York, NY 10011
Tel: 212-463-0342
Fax: 212-463-0344
www.alp.org

2014 Williams Watch-US Open Party Getting Started

The last Grand Slam of the 2014 tennis season cranked up in New York yesterday, and the question the tennis world is asking is will Serena break out of her Grand Slam mini-slump and finally win one this year and win her 18th to tie Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on the all time list?

We'll find out the answer to that question later today when number one seeded and world Number one ranked Little Sis takes to the Arthur Ashe Stadium court to begin defense of her US Open singles crown against Zina Garrison coached 18 year old Taylor Townsend.

The winner of this opening round match will move on to the US Open singles second round face the winner of the Vania King-Francesca Schavione match.

Big Sis won her first round match with Kimiko Date-Krumm at Arthur Ashe Stadium yesterday, but not without a struggle.   Venus had a rough first set as Date-Krumm kept her off balance with her repertoire of spins to take the first set 2-6.   Venus roared back to take the second set 6-3 and rolled to a 5-0 third set lead before Date-Krumm fought back to snatch the next three games and have two game points to chop Big Sis' once seemingly insurmountable lead to 5-4. 

But Venus recovered to stave off the two game points and eventually take the hard earned match 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.  It extended her career record in first round match wins at the US Open to an impressive 16-0.

Big Sis will face in the second round the winner of the Kiki Bertens-Timea Bacsinszky match, but before she does so, she may wish to cut down on those 36 unforced errors.

My fave tennis playing siblings are entered in the US Open Women's doubles tournament, with them having an opening round match with the seventh seeded team of Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic 

Best of luck ladies, and hope you have a long successful run in this tournament and piss off your haters.

Islan Nettles-One Year Later

21 year old Islan Nettles was just beginning to have some positive things happen in her life.   She had just started a new job.  She had recently moved into her own apartment in Harlem and the budding fashion designer was starting to work on her own clothing line.

She was also beginning to blossom into a confident young woman as her transition progressed..

But that came to a screeching halt one year ago today.  Nettles was out with a group of trans girlfriends when they ran across a group of cis men around 11 PM EDT on that fateful Saturday night at the corner of West 148th Street and Eighth Ave in Harlem. 

When the men on that corner realized the women they encountered were girls like us, they began spouting transphobic slurs at first that progressed up the transphobic violence scale to knocking Nettles to the ground and  savagely throwing punches at her until she was rendered unconscious. 

Nettles was taken to Harlem Hospital where she remained on life support for several days.  She was declared brain dead, taken off life support on August 22 and subsequently died of her injuries.

It's a year later and Nettles alleged killer Paris Wilson still hasn't been brought to justice, to the major pissivity of my New York area trans sisters   TWOCC and others in the area continue to stay on the case to ensure that Islan's memory and what happened to her doesn't fade from our consciousness.  

They are also determined that the perpetrator of this heinous crime is tried, convicted and sentenced to extensive jail time


Rest in Power, Islan.  Know your New York sisters and all who loved you will keep fighting to ensure justice is served in your case.

TransGriot Update:  There will be at 4 PM EDT a demonstration at the same corner and police precinct where Islan Nettles was murdered.    Gathering at the corner of 147th St and Fredrick Douglas Ave in Harlem,  NYC 10030.

Race Wasn't Involved In NYPD Garner Killing? Yeah, Right

As my brother Dr. Kortney Ziegler pointed out, in a life imitates art moment, 43 year old Eric Garner's cause of death last Friday, like Radio Raheem in the Spike Lee movie Do The Right Thing, was death by po-po.

Spike Lee thought so as well.   He recently mixed the video of Garner's fatal encounter with the NYPD with the Radio Raheem fictional one from the film.

The father of six was killed by an illegal choke hold after being agitated about being harassed by NYPD police.

Eric Garner's funeral was yesterday, but the firestorm surrounding this latest episode of NYPD behaving badly when it comes to non-white denizens of New York  is just getting cranked up.  

You add to it the ridiculous statement by NYPD Police Commissioner William Bratton. who is in his second stint of leading NYPD (1994-1996 was the previous one), that "race didn't have anything to do with the tragic death of Garner."

Seriously?  You may wish to rethink that based on the racist online comments of NYPD officers let loose in the wake of last Friday's murder by po-po of Garner and the negative spotlight once more being shined on the New York Police Department.

When now thirteen people of color have been killed in various ways over the years by NYPD officers, other non-white New Yorkers complain of harassment and less than respectful treatment, and the reaction you have to it is deny you have a race problem, not good.

It damned sure was about race.  It's about the vanillascented privileged mentality that too many white police officers have when they come into our neighborhoods from their gated suburbs and treat us as less than human.  

If you're a bigot with a badge and gun, that is destined to cause a problem sooner or later.       

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the comment of Eric Garner 'bringing it  it upon himself'   In what FOX Noise addled conservaworld did you come up with that specious crap? 

How does breaking up a fight justify death by po-po?

All y'all had to do was let Garner off with a warning and let him go on his merry way. home   But y'all couldn't resist the temptation to go into Officer Oppressor mode, and one of you went too far with the fatal choke hold which BTW, is illegal under NYPD policy..

Meanwhile we people of color keep finding ourselves in the situation of having to bury our loved ones after negative and deadly interactions with predominately white cops fir trivial crap..   

And we're sick and tired of it.

Tona Brown's Carnegie Hall Gofundme Campaign

Now that Tona Brown has secured the date to play at Carnegie Hall, and the tickets have gone on sale for it, she still needs to raise the funds to make this historic concert a truly memorable first class event and pay the remainder of the hall rental fees.    

She''s had to do the Gofundme route because some of the funding for this historic June 25 night that was promised by organizations and corporations has yet to materialize.   She can't wait for these organizations to do the right thing and make good on their promises since the clock is ticking towards that date.

Here's the link to the Gofundme campaign in which Tona is trying to raise the $25,000 she'll need.

Imagine hearing this on the Weill Recital Hall stage in a sold out Carnegie Hall in less than 30 days.




So can you help a sistah out and drop a $1,5,10, 20 or whatever you feel you can afford to get her closer to her goal?    Every donation, no matter how small helps.    

Tona's Carnegie Hall Concert Tickets Go On Sale Today!

Well, the historic day gets one step closer to reality with tickets going on sale for Tona's historic event at New York's famed Carnegie Hall.  .

Tona's upcoming concert on June 25 is entitled 'From Stonewall to Carnegie Hall' and will take place in the  Weill Recital Hall starting at 8 PM

The concert will feature our awesome girl like us mezzo-soprano violinist sister Tona Brown, and Charlie Gilmer on piano.

The guest artists are comedian Tammy Peay and Nathan James as the Emcee.

The tickets start going on sale at 11 AM EDT, so you may wish to get those tickets now because they are sure to sell out quickly for this historic night.   

Lorena Escalera Plus Two

Today marks the second anniversary of the death of 25 year old New York girl like us Lorena Escalera.

The model and member of the House of Xtravaganza was found dead in her Brooklyn apartment after a suspicious fire.  It was discovered during the subsequent investigation Escalera died by strangulation and suffocation suffered BEFORE the fire started at approximately 4 AM EDT on May 12, 2012.

It also didn't help that in the wake of this murder Lorena was subjected to sensationalized media disrespect by the New York Times and other Big Apple news outlets that Laverne Cox, Janet Mock and other New York City based activists vehemently criticized at the time.

“As my city's and our nation's paper of record, I would expect the New York Times to treat any subject, regardless of their path in life, with dignity.”

"In Lorena Escalera's life she was so much more than the demeaning, sexist portrait they painted of girls like us. It goes beyond a ‘choice of words.’ According to the Times' limiting, harmful portrait of Lorena, she was nothing more than a ‘curvaceous’ bombshell for men to gawk at. That is not the ‘personal’ story of any woman, and until we treat trans women like human beings - in life and death - with dignity, families and struggles, our society will never see us beyond pariahs in our communities."
-Janet Mock

As of this date Lorena's killer has yet to be brought to justice, and the House of Xtravaganza, Lorena's friends and family and all who loved her are still hoping that justice will eventually be served in this murder

I will be checking with New York trans activists and other interested parties in this case to see what is transpiring in the NYPD investigation concerning Lorena's murder, and as you can expect, if there is any news that comes to light regarding this case, I will definitely pass it on to you.

If there is a memorial service or vigil planned, I'll also pass that information to you as quickly as I receive notification of it.

Lorena, we won't rest until the person or persons who took your life are rotting in a jail cell. 

Nor will we ever forget you.  Rest in power sis.

We Have A Date For Tona's Carnegie Hall Concert

June 25, 2014.

That is the day that Tona Brown makes history when she plays Carnegie Hall.   If you're in the New York area, I hope you have circled that date on your calendars and are planning to be there for this historic moment for all transkind and support her.

If you can't, then chip a little something, ($1,$5, $10, $20...) into the campaign to help Tona pay for it.  

Since several LGBT organizations and corporate sponsors that promised to help have mysteriously reneged on their promises or have been mute when she has tried to call them back and reconfirm their promised commitments to her, she has now had to start this crowdfunding campaign to help defray the $25,000 cost for this historic concert.

So drop something on it to help Tona get closer to her fiscal goal and set up one amazing night to showcase her talent on behalf of our entire community 

And would I love to be in Carnegie Hall on that date writing about what transpired on that magical and historic evening.  

2014 GLAAD Media Awards, NY Division Tonight

While I'm in Dallas at the moment hanging out with my BTAC peeps, I will have one eye turned in the direction of New York City's Waldorf Astoria Hotel. 

Later tonight I'll discover like everyone else if I got an early birthday present and get to make a little more trans history in the process. 

The GLAAD Media Awards are taking place this evening, and as many of you loyal readers know TransGriot was nominated in the Outstanding Blog category.    I'm honored, pleased and happy that I'm the first trans feminine blogger to ever be nominated in this category.  

I thank you all for your unwavering support of this blog over the last eight years.  I thank you for occasionally dropping cash in the TransGriot tip jar and sharing my posts on you Facebook and Twitter feeds so they do get read.   I thank you for the confidence you have expressed in me that I am doing my best to fulfill the mission I laid out for this blog in being a unapologetically Black trans voice for this community telling it like it T-I-S is on subjects inside and outside the TBLG community.. 

I thank you and I'm humbled by your glowing assessments of my chances of seeing that GLAAD award land on my trophy shelf, but the reality is I do have some stiff competition in this category.

Kimberley McLeod's Elixher, Alvin McEwen's Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters , Autostraddle and The New Civil Rights Movement  are no slouchy blogs either.  This is the second nomination for Autostraddle and the third for The New Civil Rights Movement.   

Kimberley and Alvin are quality people I have much love and the utmost respect for as well

So we'll see in a few hours if I can officially say that TransGriot is a GLAAD Media Award Winning Blog and give my haters something else to dislike me for.

Should they call my name tonight, I would be the first trans blogger ever to win the Outstanding Blog award in the short history of this category that started in 2011.

But if I don't, it was an honor just to be named as one of the five finalists in that category.   

President Obama's NAN Convention Speech

President Obama spoke at the 2014 National Action Network Convention in New York on Friday in which he called out the GOP on the voter suppression BS and a few other subjects..

You Democrats, how about you follow the POTUS' lead and do the same from now on until November 4 and beyond?  

Islan Nettles Rally And The Lingering Questions After It

Something else that was happening while I was busy hosting 4000 of our TBLG family and allies in H-town last week was a January 30 New York rally demanding action on the Islan Nettles case.

When we last checked in on the case the Manhattan DA dropped misdemeanor assault charges against Paris Wilson, the person who was pulled off of Nettles by the police. because the speedy trial prosecution clock had run out and to ostensibly pursue more serious charges in this case. 

Well, the New York trans community isn't staying silent about this, they want justice for Islan like all of us do.  There was a December 20 meeting of New York City trans leaders headed by Laverne Cox and Brooke Cerda Guzman and various organizations facilitated by the New York Anti-Violence Project with the Manhattan DA.. 

Over 100 people including Janet Mock showed up for a January 30 rally at One Police Plaza organized by the Trans Women of Color Collective of New York (TWOCC) to keep the public pressure on NYPD and the Manhattan DA's office, keep the case in the public eye, and prod them into speedier action to solve the Nettles case. 

“Having survived a violent assault, I know what a struggle it can be to get justice in NY. Not one of my attackers was charged - and I was almost treated by the police as though I deserved to be assaulted,” says Madison St. Claire, Co-Chair of Membership for TWOCC. “Now, the same thing is happening in the Islan Nettles case - and that sends the wrong message: that trans women of color are disposable - that our lives don’t matter.” says St Claire. “Today, we send our own message NYPD and the DA’s office: TRANS LIVES MATTER!”

TWOCC activists have pointed out some troubling issues and things that make you go hmm concerns surrounding the Nettles case.  TWOCC has accused the NYPD and the Manhattan District Attorney's office of negligence and mishandling of this investigation that is leading to fear in the NY transfeminine community that a perpetrator of violence against us will get away with it.

It was revealed by TWOCC that no DNA evidence was collected from Paris Wilson at the scene of the crime, nor were witnesses rigorously questioned. Nor has it been satisfactorily explained why Simone Wilson, the suspect’s mother, was never held accountable or charged for hindering prosecution or falsifying evidence when she persuaded a friend of her son to make a false confession which was later recanted.

And perhaps in a statement that strains credibility, the DA’s office is claiming that all 10 surveillance cameras in the vicinity of the beating that lead to Islan Nettles’ death on that August 17 night were broken.

There have also been questions raised by transpeople in the NY area and nationally about what exactly is the Rev Al Sharpton's and the National Action Network's stance concerning the Nettles case and trans human rights in general.  

NAN held a December 7 panel discussion moderated by Dominique Sharpton entitled 'My Brothers Keeper' at NAN's Harlem headquarters that included trans panelists Sean Coleman, Arisce Wanzer and Kimberly Howard.  But the forum has not quieted the trans community asking this legitimate question in light of the fact the vicious attack on Islan occurred mere blocks from NAN's Harlem headquarters.

So will keep you TransGriot readers posted on the latest developments in the Nettles case as I receive them.

NY Islan Nettles Case Meeting

TransGriot Note:  From the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP)

On December 20 trans community leaders Laverne Cox and Brooke Cerda Guzman, along with representatives from the Audre Lorde Project’s Trans Justice and the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP) met with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office regarding the Islan Nettles investigation after misdemeanor charges were dropped against Paris Wilson on November 19, 2013. 

Islan Nettles was attacked on August 17 in Harlem by an individual or group of individuals shouting anti-transgender slurs.  Ms. Nettles was taken to Harlem Hospital for her injuries and on Thursday August 22, was taken off of life support and died.

At the meeting, community leaders spoke about their concerns about the real danger that transgender women of color face in New York City and the need for the District Attorney’s Office to prioritize violence against transgender women of color.  The District Attorney’s Office assured community leaders that the Islan Nettles case remains a top priority and that they were doing everything in their power to move the investigation forward.  The group also spoke about ways in which the District Attorney’s Office and transgender women of color could work together to create safety and highlight the disproportionate impact of violence in transgender and gender non-conforming communities.

The Anti Violence Project (AVP) will continue to work with transgender community leaders and the District Attorney’s Office on the Islan Nettles case and on issues of safety for all transgender women of color in New York City.

AVP stands with transgender women of color, our allies, community members and community leaders in saying we will not be silent about the violence faced by transgender women and transgender women of color in our city.  In September 2013, at AVP’s Courage Awards, Laverne Cox called the violence against transgender women of color “a state of emergency,” and it is exactly that, both here in New York City and across the nation.  The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) most recent report, Hate Violence Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV-Affected Communities in the United States in 2012, documented 25 anti-LGBTQ murders.  73.1% of all anti-LGBTQ homicide victims in 2012 were people of color and 53.8% were transgender women.

So far this year we know of 14 transgender women nationally who have been victims of homicide.  In many of these cases, no motive is known, and we are concerned about the pace of investigations, the serial misgendering of the victims by police and media, and by a lack of public awareness about these tragic deaths.

 REPORTING VIOLENCE HELPS TO END VIOLENCE
AVP encourages you to report violence you experience or witness to our free and confidential 24-hour bilingual (English/Spanish) hotline at 212-714-1141 where you can speak with a trained counselor and seek support, or you can report violence anonymously online at http://avp.org/get-help/report-violence.

Rev. Al, Where You At On The Islan Nettles Case And Trans Rights In General?

I have much love for the Rev. Al Sharpton as a human rights warrior, and don't miss his MSNBC show Politics Nation when it comes on at 5 PM CST.  

He has been a standup ally for the same gender loving (SGL) end of the community, but I'm curious to find out along with other people in the African descended trans community where does Rev. Al stand when it comes to trans human rights?

This question became more valid in the ongoing developments in the Islan Nettles case.   

Nettles was attacked by transphobic thugs on the corner of W. 148th St. and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, mere blocks away from the Harlem headquarters of the Sharpton founded and headed National Action Network on W. 145th St.   The organization had been silent on this case as local trans women and Delores Nettles, the mother of Islan have demanded justice be served for this senseless murder.

In the meantime, as the clock ticks toward the dawning of a new year, a message is being sent that the lives of transwomen of color in New York City don't matter as long as Paris Wilson, or whoever the alleged perpetrator of this transphobic hate crime is not sitting in a jail cell.

We also had New York attorney John Scarpa basically saying trans lives don't matter in open court while defending his client Rasheen Everett.  Fortunately the judge in the case thought otherwise and he is getting called out by organizations and various people for the anti-trans remarks. 

In defense of Rev. Al, I'm aware that he and the National Action Network don't get involved in cases unless they are invited to do so by the families of the victims. 

So based on that knowledge, have to respectfully ask the next question of the New York trans community.   Have you or Delores Nettles talked to people at the National Action Network and asked them or 'the Rev' to get involved?

If Ms. Nettles or the local trans community have done so, then the onus shifts back to the National Action Network and Rev. Sharpton, and you can legitimately ask the question and get righteously indignant New York trans community about why NAN or the Rev haven't gotten involved.  

It also opens the door to asking the followup questions of where does Rev. Sharpton and by extension the National Action Network stand when it comes to this case, decrying the horrific levels of homicidal anti-trans violence aimed at trans women of color and the human rights of trans women in general?  

The trans community of New York City, the nation, the TransGriot and the world are awaiting your answer to those questions.

TransGriot Update.  Seems as though the answer to the first question I asked in this post is that Rev. Al and the National Action Network are aware of the Nettles case.   There was a December 7 panel discussion moderated by Dominique Sharpton entitled 'My Brothers Keeper' at NAN's Harlem headquarters that included trans panelists Sean Coleman, Arisce Wanzer and Kimberly Howard.  

No Justice For Islan, For Now

To remind everyone that sometimes we don't get justice when our haters kill us (which fuels the anti-trans violence because the perps believe they can get away with it)) we had the concrete example of the Islan Nettles case. 

20 year old Paris Wilson, who was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault in the savage fatal beating of 21 year old Nettles in Harlem that put her in a coma for several days before she died, walked out of Manhattan Criminal Court yesterday a free man for now.  The Manhattan DA's were forced to drop the charges because the case was older than 90 days and the speedy trial clock had run out

According to a report in the New York Daily News,  Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Viorst said "we would concede that speedy trial time has run with regard to the misdemeanor with which the defendant is charged and therefore the case must be dismissed," but said the probe into Nettles' tragic death remains active.

While the New York trans community and Islan's mother Delores Nettles are obviously disappointed and upset about what transpired in the courtroom yesterday, they remain resolute and hopeful that justice will be served in this case. 

And you know I'll be keep an eye on it along with the New York trans community. 

Rasheen Everett Convicted In Amanda Gonzalez Andujar Murder

We've been on a roll lately in terms of justice being served for our fallen transsisters around the country.

You can add 32 year old Rasheen Everett's name to the list of wastes of DNA who killed trans women and are going to do serious time (we hope) for it.

Everett was arrested in Las Vegas back on April 9, 2010 for the March 27 killing of 29 year old Amanda Gonzalez Andujar in her Queens apartment and had been held without bail since his arrest. 

He was caught on video entering Gonzalez Andujar's apartment building at 8:50 AM ET and after strangling her to death, poured bleach over her body and left 18 hours later carrying two bags that contained her keys, suitcase, laptop, cellphone, camera and coat. 

He then departed New York on a three day bus ride to Las Vegas where he was later arrested by NYPD homicide detectives.

Everett was charged with second degree murder, second degree burglary and tampering with physical evidence.   The trial lasted four weeks in Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard L Buchter's court with the jury finding him guilty of all three charges on November 8.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a press release, "The defendant stands convicted of violently taking the life of another human being in her own home and then tampering with the body in an attempt to escape justice. Such a vicious act of violence demonstrates that this defendant is a threat to society and deserving of a lengthy prison sentence." 

So how much time is Everett facing for this heinous crime?  He's looking at 40 years to life in prison and will be sentenced by Judge Buchter on December 5, 2013.

So New York trans community, if you can make it on that day, you may wish to do so to support the family of our fallen Latina trans sister and witness justice being served.