Dixon Takes The Plea Deal In The Nettles Murder Case

Just before jury selection was slated to start this morning in the trial of James Dixon, the killer of Islan Nettles decided to reconsider his previous decision to reject a plea deal and take his chances on a jury trial.

After adverse legal developments in the pretrial hearings on Thursday and Friday, Dixon decided to take the offered plea deal.   He was facing 25 years in prison if he had been convicted during the jury trial.

His defense attorney Norman Williams tried and failed to block a videotaped 2013 confession by Dixon to NYPD detectives that was played during Friday's pretrial hearing for the press and the public. The hour long confession was ruled admissible for trial by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Daniel P. Conviser.

On Thursday the video statement and two written confessions were read in court in which Dixon admitted to punching Nettles so she fell and hit the pavement because 'his manhood was threatened'.after he tried to hit on Nettles and realized she was a trans female.

Yeah, Dixon and his defense attorney tried to deploy the 'trans panic defense'.  And naw homes, if you didn't want to deal with a trans female, all your trifling azz had to do was step and be on your merry way.

The District Attorney's Office initially recommended 17 years for the guilty plea, but the judge who previously presided over the trail, Robert Stoltz, reduced it to 12 years.

"With this conviction, James Dixon has finally been brought to justice for this vicious and lethal assault," said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr in a statement. "Members of the transgender community are far too often the targets of violent crime."

Dixon will be sentenced on April 19.

Trans Woman Sexually Assaulted At Stonewall Inn

To cap off last week being one of the worst weeks for trans kind in the US with the passage of the unjust HB 2 and anti-trans legislation percolating in Kansas and Minnesota, comes word out of New York that a 25 year old trans woman was sexually assaulted in the Stonewall Inn.

Yes, the same Stonewall Inn in which trans women jumped off the modern TBLG rights movement and is a national historical landmark

The 25 year old survivor told police she went into a single person stall at 11:40 PM EDT Saturday night and a man barged in behind her claiming he needed to wash his hands.  The man then groped the trans woman and sexually assaulted her before running out of the Greenwich Village area bar.

But when you hear right wing fundies, the TERF's, GOP legislators, FOX Noise and other conservafool media pundits flap their loud and wrong gums to demonize us, it's trans women who are the predators.

Um no.  This is just one concrete example of trans women being the prey, not the alleged sexual predators.

This waste of DNA is being sought by NYPD in connection with the crime.  The NYPD Special Victims Division has interviewed the survivor, several witnessed and gotten video sufficient enough to identify the perpetrator of this crime.

 Note the sexual predator wasn't in drag when he committed his heinous crime either.

According to my NYC area trans peeps, the perp also frequents another New York area club called The Hangar.

If you have any information like that which will help speed up the apprehension of this criminal, please call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577 TIPS (8477)

Hopefully this sexual predator he will be sitting in jail soon for his crime, and I'll keep you apprised of this story as i get mere details.

Alleged Islan Nettles Killer Rejects Plea Deal, Going To March 30 Trial

James Dixon, the alleged killer of Islan Nettles was offered a plea deal today, but rejected it and is going for a jury trial.  The 25 year old Dixon is alleged to have viciously beaten Nettles to death at 147th Street and Frederick Douglass Ave in Harlem back in 2013 and subsequently confessed to several people that he was the perpetrator.  .

 Prosecutors pushed for 17 years in jail in exchanged for pleading guilty for nettle's murder, but Judge Robert Stolz, citing his age and lack of a criminal record, offered him 12 years in jail.  

Dixon turned it down and according to his defense attorney Norman Williams, "would like to exercise his right to go to trial.".

That trial is scheduled to start March 30, and the case against Dixon is considered by Judge Stolz and Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Viorst to be a strong one.

'There will be confessions the defendant made to four different civilians prior to turning himself in and a written confession he made to a detective after he turned himself in," said DA Viorst.

"There will be a lengthy, detailed, videotaped confession he made to me after that," he added.  DA Viorst also stated medical experts will also testify about the horrific injuries that killed Nettles  

"There's clear overlay of animus toward the transgender status of the victim," argued DA Viorst.

Since Dixon decided to take his chances on a jury trial, he is facing if convicted of manslaughter a punishment range of 5-25 years in jail..Unfortunately since the NY state hate crime statute passed in 2000 only covers sexual orientation, the enhanced punishment isn't available.

Yep, New York trans folks got thrown under the legislative bus to pass that sexual orientation only law.

It is a trial in which the New York trans community and all of us across the nation will be watching to see if Islan after nearly 3 years, finally receives justice.

Two NYC Groups Fundraising To Buy ATLAH Hate Church

Couldn't happen to a nicer christobigot.   I would love to see the karmic justice of someone buying that hate church and turning it into an LGBT center.-TransGriot, January 29, 2016

The news broke last week that NYC hate pastor James David Manning's ATLAH World Missionary Church is going to be sold at auction February 24 to satisfy Manning's unpaid debts.  I floated the comment out there that I hoped that it could be turned into an LGBT center or hoped that an LGBT friendly church would buy the property located at W.123rd St and Malcolm X Blvd .

And lo and behold, guess some peeps were paying attention.  Two groups have emerged to buy the Harlem based church in the Ali Forney Center and the Rivers of Living Water Ministries.  

The Ali Forney Center is dedicated to serving LGBT homeless youth, and ROLW Ministries serves as a radically inclusive faith home for many trans. bisexual, and SGL Christians in the New York area.  Both are running fundraising campaigns in order to attempt to raise the $1.2 million that will be needed to buy the property.

The Ali Forney Center has raised $75K of their $200,000 target in 48 hours to finance their bid for the ATLAH property, while the Rivers of Living Water Ministries has raised as of this writing $19,761 of their $1.2 million in their GoFundMe campaign to buy the Harlem church as well.

Whichever group is successful, the bottom line for me is I hope that a building desecrated by a christobigot purveyor of hate gets a new lease on life as either a church or a community center dedicated to helping the New York LGBT community that Manning once attacked from its pulpit.  

ESPA Sells Out NY Trans Community One Last Time

I have not been a fan of the Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA), and my dislike of the organization goes back to them throwing the New York trans community under the human rights bus and lying to Sylvia Rivera on her deathbed in 2002 when gender identity language was cut out of SONDA.

ESPA made the usual 'we'll come back for you' incremental progress promises lies in 2002 to bust their behinds to get human rights coverage in New York State for trans people that were once again broken and put on the back burner in 2011 when they raised their appletini glasses and pushed gay marriage through the NY senate as GENDA, the proposed trans rights bill that has passed the NY Assembly for multiple consecutive sessions was stalled in the NY Senate.

In a shocking except to the trans community move, ESPA announced they are shutting down, claiming that with the signing by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) of the trans rights executive orders, they have accomplished their mission.

No boo boo kitties, you haven't.  Until GENDA is passed, you HAVEN'T accomplished your human rights mission because trans rights executive orders do not equal passed legislation with teeth on the NY legal books as you New York gay and lesbian peeps have enjoyed since 2002. And all it takes as we have observed repeatedly at the federal level and around the country since 1992 is a change in governors or a POTUS to erase those executive orders.

I find it interesting that ESPA felt like their job was done in a time when trans New Yorkers are still being beaten and killed for living their trans truth and an anti-trans flavored right wing backlash is building that will be relentless in attempting to roll back and eviscerate everything that was painstakingly accomplished.

I also found it ironic that the guy responsible for throwing the trans community under the bus in 2002, then ESPA ED Matt Foreman, blasted the move

As for the assertion that organizations have a life cycle, the NAACP has been around for over a century because the missions of the NAACP have changed since their founding, and once they accomplish one goal, they adapt to the times.

As for trans New Yorkers?   Well, looks like you've been sold out by ESPA for the last time as they make the moves to shutter the doors of the organization after the ball drops in Times Square to usher in 2016.  .

Well trans New Yorkers, looks like you're on your own in getting GENDA and other community organizing priorities done.

But I have no doubts that once y'all figure out your options and come up with a solid multi year plan to make it happen, you'll get it done.

'Her Story' Premieres At New York LGBT Film Festival

Was happy to hear about the premiere of Her Story, which features two people I have mad love for in Jen Richards and Angelica Ross.   It is a web series that features not only trans people in front of the camera playing nuanced trans characters, but a trans person directing it in Sydney Freeland

Gee, trans actors playing trans people.   What a refreshing concept.   And something Hollywood has needed to do for a long time.

Her Story debuted to a packed house at New York's LGBT Film Festival Monday night, and the NewFest crowd was treated to a post screening panel with Angelica, Jen and Laura Zak moderated by Laverne Cox.



If you haven't seen the trailer for Her Story, here it is.



So looking forward to seeing it when it is released to the rest of the world.

Trans Models, Have A Wonderful Fashion Week!

I've talked about it a few times, and one of the things we girls like us can be proud of is that we do have a long and stylish history of walking the fashion runways of the world.

Now we can add trailblazing leaders to that description for our trans feminine modeling sisters as well.

New York Fashion Week started Thursday and will run until September 17.  It's when the major international fashion houses show off their collections to buyers. the media and the general public, and the New York fashion week is considered one of the Big 4 Shows along with the ones in Paris, London and Milan.

That means there will be hundreds of models also in town working those shows, and some of them will be our trans sisters like Geena Rocero, Andreja Pejic, Arisce Wanzer, Lea T, Isis King, Carmen Carrera,.and Ines Rau just to name a few of them.

There may be a few trans models who hopefully get an opportunity to strut their stuff during a few shows and become household names during this week.

If you are walking the NYC catwalks during Fashion Week, just wanted to send some love your way.

Congrats ladies, and hope you have a wonderful and successful time walking the runways during this busy and amazing weeks in which fashion takes center stage in the Big Apple..



TransGriot Note: Photos are of Geena Rocero, Ines Rau and Isis King.

14th Anniversary of 9-11 Terror Attacks

Today is the 14th anniversary of the 2001 coordinated  terror attacks launched by 19 al-Qaeda operatives predominately from Saudi Arabia against the World Trade Center Towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington DC, and the crash of United Flight 93 that was destined for another target suspected to be the US Capitol building but crashed in southeastern Pennsylvania as the passengers on that airplane attempted to overpower the attackers.

3000 people were killed in the attackers including the al-Qaeda operatives.   I was awake on that fateful morning and saw the second plane hit the south tower on live TV along with their collapse nearly two hours later.

On that site in New York is not only a memorial to those attacks, but a new World Trade Center building that  rises 1776 feet about the city.

There were also ceremonies in New York an Washington DC marking the 14th anniversary of those attacks.




Remembering and honoring all the lives that were lost on that day and may they rest in power.

2015 Williams Watch-Four Sets To History!

The US Open women's semifinals that were supposed to be played yesterday got rained out, so they were rescheduled for today and will be set up as a single daytime session.

It will start at 10 AM CDT with the match between number two seeded Simona Halep of Romania and one of the two Italian women left in the draw in Flavia Pannetta.

They are playing for their first trip to the US Open final.

Immediately following that match will be the highly anticipated one between the tournament number one seed Serena Williams and Italy's Roberta Vinci.  As you TransGriot readers know, Little Sis is just four sets and two match wins away from completing the first calendar year Grand Slam since 1988 and capturing her 22nd career grand slam title.

Serena is 4-0 against Vinci, but as NFL analyst Herman Edwards has famously said, "That's why you play the games."  But you have to believe that based on her performance against Big Sis Wednesday night, if Serena is playing at her  A++ level, they may as well start engraving the trophy with her name on it now.

We'll see in a few hours how this shakes out.

2015 Williams Watch- Which Sister Made It To The US Open Quarterfinals?

Today Venus and Serena were on the Arthur Ashe Stadium courts playing their fourth round US Open matches with quarterfinal berths at stake.

Which sister made it to the quarterfinals?   Both of them.

23rd seeded Venus got this Sunday afternoon of tennis at Arthur Ashe Stadium off to a great start with a dominating performance against Estonian qualifier Anett Kontaveit, who was playing in her first US Open and got to the fourth round after beating Madison Brengle in three sets

Big Sis took only 50 minutes to efficiently punch her ticket to the quarters with a 6-2, 6-1 straight set victory over Kontaveit and set up her first trip to the US Open quarters since 2010.

The question then became who would Venus play in that quarterfinal?

Serena took the Arthur Ashe court moments later for what was expected to be by tennis pundits the tougher match of the afternoon against 19th seeded Madison Keys.  

Serena faced and beat Keys earlier this year in the Australian Open semifinals, and wasn't playing with the tennis youngling.   Little Sis was on her A++ game from the outset, but the 20 year old Keys was hanging with her booming serve for booming serve and shot for shot as both stayed on serve .

Serena got a critical service break thanks to Keys double faults and unforced errors to put her up 5-3 and allow her to close the first set on her racquet.

The second set was just as close, with both players staying on serve and amazing shots being hit until once again Keys got broken to put Little Sis up 4-3. Serena held serve to push the lead up to 5-3, and when Keys needed to come up with the clutch serve to save match point,  she double faulted to hand little Sis a 6-3, 6-3 straight set victory that took only 68 minutes to complete.

Four down, only three more match wins to tennis history    But that next match will be against her big sister.

At 7 PM EDT on Tuesday night, we should have a sold out Arthur Ashe Stadium and a huge television audience watching the first US Open quarterfinal between the Williams Sisters at Flushing Meadow since 2008 with huge stakes for both sisters.

Venus is playing for her third US Open title, Serena for the first calendar year Grand Slam since 1998.  Which sister will prevail?.


 

2015 Williams Watch-On To The US Open Third Round

The world is watching the US Open to see if Serena Williams can win her fourth straight title and in the process, complete the first calendar year Grand Slam since 1988.  

One of the things we Serena fans know and worry about is that if she's going to get upset, it's going to happen early in the first week.  Once she gets zoned in and gets over her early round nervousness, she's tough to stop.

And in a US Open tournament that has seen ten seeded players exit the tournament in the first round, another in Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova get beat in straight sets in the second round, and Maria Sharapova withdraw before the tournament even started because of a leg injury, Little Sis as the world's number one ranked player and number one tournament seed is a prohibitive favorite to capture this final grand Slam tournament of the season.

Serena's opponent in this second round match at Arthur Ashe Stadium was Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, and in the first set Bertens gave an admittedly nervous Serena a stiff challenge that belied her number 110 world ranking.

Bertens promptly broke Serena's serve, and was serving for the set at 5-4 before Serena came back to force a tiebreaker.  Unfazed, the 23 year old Bertens sprinted to a 4-0 lead in the tiebreaker before Serena showed that heart of a champion once again,  She rallied to tie it at 4-4 with some self destructive help from Bertens, and eventually won  to steal the first set.

After that first set escape in which she had eight double faults, Serena took command of the match when she broke Bertens for a 3-2 lead and closed it out for the 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 straight set win.  

Two match wins down, five to go for the calendar year Grand Slam.

Next up for Serena will be Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who knocked off Coco Vandeweghe in straight sets after she upset Sloane Stephens in the first round.  In case you're wondering what Serena's record is against Mattek-Sands this year:  2-0

Meanwhile, Venus was playing fellow American Irina Falconi under the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights , and it looked like Big Sis was going to romp to victory in straight sets.   But that disturbing tendency of Venus not closing out matches reared its ugly head again.   Up 5-3 and serving for the match, it started going  sideways for Big Sis as Falconi raised her game up another level, and broke Venus' serve twice to force a tiebreaker, then kept her momentum going to take the second set.

The reason for the up and down performance?  35 winners offset by 47 unforced errors for Big Sis. She recorded six aces against five double faults.

Big Sis regrouped, got off to a fast start and rolled to a 4-1 lead before Falconi recovered to close to 4-2.  After holding serve, she broke Falconi one last time to close out the match and get a hard fought 6-3. 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 win and punch her ticket to the third round.        

She will face Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, the 18 year old protege of Martina Hingis who was nearly ousted from the tournament by Misaki Doi of Japan in a drama filled three set match    Venus will attempt to get past the third round of the US Open for the first time since 2010.

But the question is will the oldest player in the tournament field (35), have enough to get past the precocious 12th seeded Bencic, and get one step closer to a possible quarterfinal match with her sister for the second straight Grand Slam tournament?

And will Serena keep rolling to tennis history? 

2015 Williams Watch- On To The US Open Second Round

The first day of the US Open was a successful one for both Serena and Venus Williams as they handled their tennis business and got past their respective opponents to the second round.

number on seeded Serena kicked off the night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium by winning the first eight games of her match with Vitalia Diatchenko before the Russian retired due to injury 30 minutes later.  

6-0, 2-0 was the score at the time of her opponent's retirement, and Little Sis is now six more match wins away from tennis history and her seventh US Open title as she heads to the second round in an unexpected way.

Serena's opponent will be the Netherlands Kiki Bertens   If Serena handles her second round match business she would face the winner of the Bethanie Mattek-Sands - Coco Vandeweghe match.

23rd seeded Venus' day started a little earlier on the Arthur Ashe stadium courts as she faced Monica Puig of Puerto Rico.   She ended up in a three set slugfest with Puig, who fought off four match points to extend the match into a deciding third set before Venus turned it up another notch to get the 6-4, 6-7 (7-9) 6-3 win

Big Sis is trying to capture her third US Open title and her first since she beat Serena in straight sets in 2001 to get it.  Venus will face in the second round Irina Falconi, and should she get past her would face the winner of the Belinda Bencic- Misaki Doi match

It's possible that if both sisters keep winning in their sections of the draw, they would meet in the US Open quarterfinals.

Will be watching my fave tennis playing siblings to see how things progress at Flushing Meadow.

2015 Williams Watch- All Eyes On Serena

The 135th edition of the US Open kicks off today and runs through September 13, and there's something new for this event.   As part of a $500 million renovation,  a roof is being constructed that will cover Arthur Ashe Stadium that is scheduled for completion in time for next year's open.

That's the future along with a planned roof for Louis Armstrong Stadium and a 8000 seat Grandstand Court, so now let's talk about the present and the historic opportunity that presents itself for her.

Serena walks onto the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center grounds in NYC as not only the world's number one ranked player and number one seed in this tournament, but a favorite to take the women's title.  Big Sis Venus is seeded 23rd.

If she does so, it will not only be her fourth straight US Open title, but her fifth straight Grand Slam and as every tennis fan on the planet knows, her first calendar year Grand Slam.  And oh yeah, she would tie Steffi Graf with 22 career Grand Slam tournament titles.

But the road to tennis history starts with this first round match against Vitalia Diatchenko while Venus faces off against Puerto Rico's Monica Puig.

Arrest Made In NYC Trans Subway Attack

I'm happy to report that an arrest has been made in the wake of last Monday's attack on a 28 year old trans woman who was waiting for a train at the Bleecker St Station.

According to a Reuters report, NYPD arrested on Friday 32 year old homeless man Rolan Reid on the same 6 line the trans woman was attacked

Reid was acting erratically, threw a plastic Coke bottle at the woman, and subsequently shoved her off the Bleecker Street Station platform.

Reid has a history of 28 previous arrests and was spotted on a northbound 6 train and taken into custody at the Canal St. Station.  He had to be physically restrained at the station where he was booked and was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

Reid has been charged with second degree attempted murder as a hate crime and with various assault charges according to Sergeant Carlos Nieves.

The 28 year old victim of the alleged attack was treated at Bellevue Hospital for her injuries and released on Monday.

Know my NYC trans family will be keeping an eye on this case as it develops.  If  they pass along any pertinent information in it, you TransGriot readers will be made aware of it as well.

Forever 21 Hit With Trans Discrimination Lawsuit

Another retail outlet is hopefully about to find out that discrimination aimed at trans people is unacceptable and costs you money.

Former Forever 21 employee Alexia Daskalakis filed a discrimination lawsuit Wednesday after enduring transphobic commentary that she was a “hot mess” and “disgusting,” that she looked “offensive,” and that “in my eyes and in the company’s eyes, you’re still a male.”

Daskalakis was hired by Forever 21 in May 2011 as a sales associate at their Brooklyn store and was quickly promoted to visual merchandiser, a job that made her responsible for setting up the store's visual displays.

In January 2014 she began her transition, and that's when she alleges in the lawsuit that the harassment and discrimination began.

In August 2014 she began taking hormones, and the transphobic  insults from male supervisors escalated.   Over the next few months, male supervisors insulted her and subjected her to bias because of her transgender identity, the lawsuit says. In one instance, a store manager told Daskalakis that her clothing choice of jeans, a crop top, and leather jacket was inappropriate and that she needed to change even though other female employees were wearing the same thing.

She was also told according to the lawsuit, “The male dress code is different from the female dress code and you’re still a male until you change your birth certificate,” the manager said, before sending Daskalakis home for the remainder of the workday, according to the complaint. In another instance, the same manager told Daskalakis, “You used to be a hard worker when you were a guy, but not anymore.” The store fired Daskalakis in January.

“[Forever 21] has discriminated against [Daskalakis] on the basis of her gender, gender expression, gender identity and/or failure to conform to gender stereotypes in violation of the [New York State Human Rights Law] by denying [her] the same terms and conditions of employment available to other employees, up to and including the termination of her employment,” the lawsuit says.

This also comes in the wake of Saks & Company last month settling a discrimination lawsuit filed by Leyth Jamal after she was discriminated against at a Houston Saks store in December 2012. 

It also follows a recent announcement by US Attorney General Eric Holder that the Department of Justice will interpret the sex prohibition of Title VII in the 1964 Civil Rights Act as applicable to transgender people.

This also glaringly points out why GENDA needs to be passed without delay in New York State.

Melissa Sklarz Elected ESPA Foundation Board Co-Chair!

The trans rights movement momentum continues forward despite the desperate attempts of our misguided oppressors to stop it.

Megacongratulations go out to Melissa Sklarz, who was elected the co-chair of the Empire State Pride Agenda Foundation's Board of Directors.

It marks the first time in the 25 year history of the organization that a trans person has been tapped to lead it.

Sklarz will serve alongside Norman C. Simon, a partner at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, who has served as Co-Chair of the Foundation Board since 2013 and was reelected to a third term at last weekend’s board meeting.

Sklarz is no stranger to breaking barriers.  In September 1999, she was the first transgender person to be elected to office in the New York Democratic Party.  Sklarz also was the first transgender delegate from New York to the Democratic National Convention in 2004.  In 2008, she was co-chair of Obama Pride NYC, the LGBT group working to elect President Obama in New York.  Sklarz served as the first transgender President of the Stonewall Democratic Club in New York City from 2012 to 2014.  She also served on Manhattan’s Community Board 2 for six years, and as president of the Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats.

After becoming a peer counselor at the Gender Identity Project in the mid-90s, Sklarz discovered there were little to no resources available to transgender New Yorkers, inspiring her to get involved with government and the political system.  She was a leader in successfully advocating for transgender anti-discrimination protections in New York City under a law signed in 2002 by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. 

Since then, Sklarz has been working hard to  enact the same protections statewide through the passage of GENDA.  Sklarz has long worked on other issues of importance to LGBT New Yorkers, including civil rights protections; improved health care funding and access; birth certificate gender marker change modernization; education on transgender issues; and services for the LGBT aging population..

Congratulations once again Melissa for another groundbreaking step, and hope it finally results in the far too long delayed and denied trans human rights coverage for all New Yorkers

Islan Nettles KIller Finally Arrested

Nearly two years after he confessed to the heinous crime, 24 year old James Dixon has finally been arrested for the murder of Islan Nettles.

Dixon was indicted for manslaughter and felony assault in relation to Nettles' death   He has entered a  not guilty plea and is being held without bond.

According to court documents, Dixon made his statements to officers at the 32nd Precinct on August. 21, 2013.

But because Paris Wilson also confessed to launching the attack on Nettles and he has a similar resemblance to Dixon, it bogged down the investigation.

"I'm overwhelmed," Delores Nettles, the victim's mother, told DNAinfo New York. "I still want to know the facts, but it's been a long time coming."

Kiara St, James said in reaction to the news, "It's long overdue to have some positive traction in this case,but I won't be happy until the full weight of the law is brought down on him and he is convicted.

And I concur with your assessment Kiara.   #BlackTransLivesMatter, and a conviction and severe punishment in this case will help send that message.  Will be keeping an eye on this case until justice is served.

Another Trans Woman Beaten In New York City

Back in October a trans woman was attacked by four men in Brooklyn.  She survived the assault, but may have been left with permanent brain damage.

Meanwhile, the perpetrators o the Islan Nettles assault that led to her death are still walking the streets of New York City, with a DA that has been reluctant to bring that perpetrator to justice.

And now comes word of another trans woman that has been attacked on the mean trans streets of New York City.

It happened January 18 in the Bronx's University Heights neighborhood at the corner of Davidson and W 192nd Streets.   Jocelyn Diaz was approached by a man in a group asking her for a cigarette before attacking her with a bat and using derogatory slurs about her gender.  
She ended up with a broken arm in the attack.




The streets of New York are not safe for trans New Yorkers, and especially trans New Yorkers of color.. New York State has not passed GENDA and added gender identity in the hate crimes laws, and neither have they thrown the legal book at the waste of DNA who killed Islan Nettles.   

By failing to do those simple things, you have sent the message for those who wish to do harm to us it's okay to do so.with impunity and you'll look the other way.

An Empowering Day Discussing Trans Media

I spent much of today at the NBC Universal building's 16th floor to attend an Arcus Foundation and USA Network's sponsored Media Think Session.

The room had a nice view of the nearby St. Patrick's Cathedral, but we had more important things to discuss in terms of the state of trans media 

One of the cool things about these events is you get to see some folks you have been to other events with and others that you are aware of because of their work or they are your Facebook friends.

I finally got to meet at this event Kimberly Reed, Eden Lane and Tracee McDaniel. I got to see some of my fave trans men in Tiq Milan, Diego Sanchez, Dr. Kortney Ziegler and Gunner Scott.  It was wonderful getting to see Janet Mock, Cheryl Courtney-Evans, Angelica Ross, Rebecca Juro, Amos Mac, Jen Richards, Autumn Sandeen and Christina Kahrl again.

And one other person I finally got to meet after all these years was Andy Marra.

We knew there wasn't going to be any shortage of thoughtful commentary about the state of trans media with this group of trans writers, bloggers, filmmakers  activists and media personnel. While we were gathered for a serious purpose, we did manage to have a little fun

Some of the things we talked about are in 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' territory, which is why you didn't see many tweets about this.

In the end, it was a wonderful day discussing the importance of media to the trans community and once again getting the opportunity to spend some quality time with some amazing trans community leaders courtesy of our Arcus Foundation hosts.

Arcus Foundation Trans Media Think Session

Despite all the drama that greeted me upon my arrival into New York, I do have some business to attend to before I can go back to observing all the protests going on here over the Garner case non indictment.

I'm here along with several other peeps from New York and across the country to take part in an Arcus Foundation sponsored Trans Media Think Session that kicks off at 8 AM EST and will run until 4 PM.

I already am aware that Cheryl Courtney-Evans, Christina Kahrl, Rebecca Juro, Dr. Kortney Ziegler and Eden Lane are some of the participants here from out of town like moi.  I know that Andy Marra is one of the local participants.

So definitely looking forward to seeing everyone and having a productive day.

As to what happens after that, we'll see.  My flight doesn't leave from NYC until 3:35 PM EST tomorrow.