We like to say in the Black community that we are descended from kings and queens, but did you know that August 4 is the day a president and a member of the British royal family were born?
Barack Obama and Meghan Markle were born twenty years and 2558 miles apart in Honolulu, HI and Los Angeles, CA.
The other thing they both have in common is that conservatives in the United States and Great Britain have irrational levels of hatred for both of them.
Y'all are already aware of the awesomeness that is POTUS 44, but did you know that Meghan was born four days after her hubby Prince Harry's parents were married?
Happy birthday to President Obama and the Duchess of Sussex!
Four years ago today I was waking up at Ruby Corado's place in Washington DC. She and I were getting dressed in order to head to the White House to attend the White House Pride Reception that was starting at 2 PM EDT.
It was my fifth trip of the Obama Administration to the White House, but the first time I'd gotten an invite to be in the People's House for this event It was also extra special to be because I was getting to see a president shared my ethnic background while hanging out with many of the peeps in the movement.
There was also this air of sadness because this was the last one that President Obama would be presiding over' It added to my thankfulness and excitement that after missing the previous seven receptions, I was going to be able to attend it for the first time.
The sadness was exacerbated by those of us in attendance realizing this could be the last one for a while if for some convoluted reason our Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton lost to that racist orange grand wizard the Republicans nominated.
While it was a concern, we focused on the excitement of that day. As Ruby and I got in line at the Southeast Entrance to clear security in order to enter the White House, the fun began of seeing who else had been invited from outside the beltway and made it to DC.
I could invite a person to attend with me as a plus one, and since most of the DC area trans and SGL folks were already covered along with much of my Houston activist fam who could go, I chose Catalina Velasquez to be that person.
She thanked me when she spotted me in that long line, and after I saw Catalina, started spotting other TBLGQ peeps I knew.. We were also fortunate that it wasn't a typical muggy Washington DC late spring day while we waited to enter the White House.
I spotted Phillipe Cunningham, and it was while we were talking he told me he was going to run (successfully) for the Minneapolis City Council.
I ran into Fiona Dawson, and we finalized our plans for driving up I-95 later that evening to the Philly Trans Health Conference that had started the same day. I had a panel I was participating on Day 2 of that conference organized by Brynn Tannehill, and was looking forward to seeing everyone I knew that was there.
While I was happy that the reception was happening on the first day of the PTHC, it still meant I was going to miss the first day of that conference. But the opportunity to do a 139 mile detour from Philly to the White House for this event was way more important.
After clearing the multiple layers of security, I entered the People's House to be greeted by the amazing sight of the original trans pride flag in a glass case, and took a pic of if to show to Monica Helms later.
The people sighting started exponentially increasing as we were escorted to the East Room for the reception. I ran into Danielle and Aisha Moodie-Mills. I started seeing various members of Congress including then House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
And while I was talking to Danielle and Aisha, somebody walked up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around to discover it was Laverne Cox. We all started chatting, and that when I was spotted by Andrea Jenkins.
Andrea and I eventually stopped in front of Hillary Clinton's First Lady White House portrait to take a pic at the time in hopeful anticipation that she would be our next POTUS. I also said to her at the time, "I hope that you and Phillipe get to make history and serve on the Minneapolis City Council at the same time."
Hey, just call me Monidamus. I put it in the atmosphere, and it came true.
Let me put this in the atmosphere. . I hope trump loses in a landslide in November, the Republicans lose control of the US Senate, John Cornyn and Mitch McConnell are defeated, we get control of the Texas House, and the four Democrats women running for the Texas Supreme Court all win.
We also enjoyed the nice hot finger foods prepared for us like the mini Maryland crab cakes instead of the 'hamberders' Trump WH guests get before gathering in the East Room to see the man of the hour in President Barack Obama.
While we were disappointed that the First Lady couldn't be there, we were still happy to see the best president ever on trans issues (and LGB ones)
And just like that, once President Obama finished speaking, it was over, and it was time to depart the White House After chatting with a few more folks, I finally exited the White House with Ruby to finish packing up and getting ready to roll up I-95 north with Fiona.
We left the WH Pride reception that day hopeful that America was finally on the right track when it came to LGBTQ issues. Those of us who were part of the trans community had even more reason to be excited and hopeful because we knew for the first time since Christine Jorgensen stepped off the plane from Denmark, the federal government was on our side, and we had reasonable expectations that the forward trans rights progression would continue under a Clinton Administration.
We would find out 48 hours later just how much anti-TBLGQ hatred we would have to overcome in the United States to make this a more perfect union for our community when I was awakened in Philly that Sunday morning by Dionne Stallworth to the news of the Pulse mass shooting in Orlando. .
But that June 9, 2016 day was the start of an amazing weekend for me. A whirlwind weekend that took me from Houston to Washington DC, to Philly for the PTHC thanks to Fiona, the Philly Trans Health Conference, back to DC for Capital Pride, and home.
And today's Pride Reception anniversary reminded me how fast time not only flies, but how history and the course of it can change with one event.
For those of you who not only miss the No Drama Obama Administration days and how effortlessly cool he looked in his tan suit, it's back in his official White House portrait.
Unlike the portraits that were unveiled in 2018 for POTUS and FLOTUS 44 that are in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, these are curated by the White House Historical Association and hang in the White House.
President Obama and the First Lady chose the artists who created them in early 2017, but the contracts are negotiated by the White House Historical Association and kept confidential.
The National Portrait Gallery paintings of POTUS and FLOTUS 44 were created by Kehinde Wiley for President Obama and by Amy Sherald for First Lady Michelle Obama.
For the last 40 years, there has been an East Room ceremony that occurs at the tail end of a president's first term in which the current president invites his predecessor to unveil the official White House portrait.
Although Lady Bird Johnson had hosted Eleanor Roosevelt and Bess Truman for their portrait unveilings, and Richard and Pat Nixon hosted Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in 1971, the first unveiling ceremony involving a sitting president and his predecessor didn't take place until 1978, when then President Jimmy Carter hosted Gerald Ford.
The Obamas invited George W and Laura Bush to the White House in 2012 for their portrait unveiling.
But with Forever President Obama not interested in setting foot in a Trump White House, and the White House Grand Wizard still jealously (and racistly) hating on Barack Obama and trying to blame him for his misadministration's failures, it's clear that tension between the two is at Defcon 2 levels and probably will be for a while.
Obama justifiably put him on blast recently for Trump's massively incompetent response to the coronavirus pandemic, and of course Orange Foolius responded in his usual petty and vindictive manner.
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So look for that portrait ceremony to happen if Joe Biden happens to become (and I pray he does) the 46th POTUS.
Looking forward to seeing what Forever First Lady Michelle Obama's official First Lady portrait looks like as well. If it turns out better than her official First Lady photo, I wouldn't be surprised.
"We are Americans. We are supposed to stand up to bullies, not follow them. We are supposed to stand up to discrimination. And we sure as heck supposed to stand up clearly and unequivocally to Nazi sympathizers. How hard can that be, saying that Nazis are bad?" -Barack Obama
Former president Barack Obama in a fiery speech, called out the Trump misadministration during a speech at the University of Illinois and urged people to get out and vote this November.
For those of you who are boycotting (like I am) Dear Orange Misleader's State of the Union speech and are wishing you could once again see a president we could all be proud of giving one of these addresses, may I present to you President Obama's final State of the Union address in 2016.
What a galaxy of difference in terms of not only intellect and respect of our president, but actually having someone who can speak in complete sentences, unlike the white supremacist idiot we have now.
Today is the day back in 1993 that the skinny kid from Hawaii with the funny name got married to a brilliant statuesque sister from the South Side of Chicago.
25 years ago on October 3, 1992 Barack Obama and Michelle LaVaughn Robinson got married at Trinity Church of Christ in front of 200 guests. They had two lovely and amazing daughters in now 19 year old Malia and 16 year old Sasha, and as y'all know, in 2008 he became the 44th president of the United States and she became our first African American First Lady.
I wish they were STILL living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. but that's a ranting post for another day.
Happy 25th Anniversary Mr. President and Madame First Lady!
Over the eight years you were living in that nice house in Washington DC our ancestors built with their unpaid labor, you became the shining examples of enduring Black love and our relationship role models.
President Obama journeyed to Berlin at the invitation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the leader of the free world, for the Kirchentag, the German Protestant Church Congress.
This one was taking place not only during the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, but with a looming German federal election in September that you know the Russians are just itching to mess with.
The invitation to speak came last year, so it's a coincidence that the former POTUS is here in Europe as the same time as 45 is on his problematic first international trip in which he's Making America Look Bad Again..
And President Obama is still very popular in Germany. He visited Germany six times, with the initial trip happening during his 2008 campaign in which 200,000 Germans gathered to hear him speak in front of Berlin's Siegessaule (Victory Column).
Here's the video from today's event with Chancellor Merkel
'I hope that current members of Congress recall that it actually doesn't take a lot of courage to aid those who are already powerful, already comfortable, already influential - but it does require some courage to champion the vulnerable and the sick and the infirm.' -President Barack Obama
Last night former president (sniff sniff) Barack Obama took a trip to Boston to make one of his first public speeches since 45 was inaugurated on Sunday night to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum to accept the JFK Profile in Courage Award.
And as you probably guessed, I was glued to the television for that one.
For those of you who missed it, here's the video of his speech. It's so nice to see a POTUS that actually has an eloquent command of the English language.
I miss President Obama with every passing rotten day of this Trump mispresidency.
After making my brain and eyes hurt reading that travesty of a Black History Month message from Dear Orange Leader while seated with sellouts Omarosa and Ben carson flanking him, I'm reposting as a TransGriot public service what a real presidential Black History Message should look like.
This is last year's January 28, 2016 African American History Month proclamation from President Obama.
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America's greatness is a testament to generations of courageous individuals who, in the face of uncomfortable truths, accepted that the work of perfecting our Nation is unending and strived to expand the reach of freedom to all. For too long, our most basic liberties had been denied to African Americans, and today, we pay tribute to countless good-hearted citizens -- along the Underground Railroad, aboard a bus in Alabama, and all across our country -- who stood up and sat in to help right the wrongs of our past and extend the promise of America to all our people. During National African American History Month, we recognize these champions of justice and the sacrifices they made to bring us to this point, we honor the contributions of African Americans since our country's beginning, and we recommit to reaching for a day when no person is judged by anything but the content of their character.
From the Revolutionary War through the abolitionist movement, to marches from Selma to Montgomery and across America today, African Americans have remained devoted to the proposition that all of us are created equal, even when their own rights were denied. As we rejoice in the victories won by men and women who believed in the idea of a just and fair America, we remember that, throughout history, our success has been driven by bold individuals who were willing to speak out and change the status quo.
Refusing to accept our Nation's original sin, African Americans bound by the chains of slavery broke free and headed North, and many others who knew slavery was antithetical to our country's conception of human rights and dignity fought to bring their moral imagination to life. When Jim Crow mocked the advances made by the 13th Amendment, a new generation of men and women galvanized and organized with the same force of faith as their enslaved ancestors. Our Nation's young people still echo the call for equality, bringing attention to disparities that continue to plague our society in ways that mirror the non-violent tactics of the civil rights movement while adapting to modern times. Let us also not forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could make our voices heard by exercising our right to vote. Even in the face of legal challenges, every eligible voter should not take for granted what is our right to shape our democracy.
We have made great progress on the journey toward ensuring our ideals ring true for all people. Today, African American high school graduation and college enrollment rates are at an all-time high. The African-American unemployment rate has been halved since its Great Recession peak. More than 2 million African Americans gained health insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act. The incarceration rates for African-American men and women fell during each year of this Administration and are at their lowest points in over two decades. Yet challenges persist and obstacles still stand in the way of becoming the country envisioned at our founding, and we would do a disservice to all who came before us if we remained blind to the way past injustices shape the present.
The United States is home to 5 percent of the world's population, but 25 percent of the world's prisoners -- a disproportionate number of whom are African American -- so we must find ways to reform our criminal justice system and ensure that it is fairer and more effective. While we've seen unemployment rates decrease, many communities, particularly those of color, continue to experience significant gaps in educational and employment opportunities, causing too many young men and women to feel like no matter how hard they try, they may never achieve their dreams.
Our responsibility as citizens is to address the inequalities and injustices that linger, and we must secure our birthright freedoms for all people. As we mark the 40th year of National African American History Month, let us reflect on the sacrifices and contributions made by generations of African Americans, and let us resolve to continue our march toward a day when every person knows the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 2016 as National African American History Month. I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fortieth.
Note I didn't say 'potentially'. I have the confidence to say that he WILL be a great president. If we were going to have a first Black president I like my African descended brothers and sisters wanted him or her to be the best and brightest member of our community. Hopefully at the end of his second term, the nation will be lamenting the fact that we couldn't elect him to a third term.-TransGriot February 28, 2009 'Why Barack Obama Will Be A Great President
It doesn't end until 12:01 PM EST tomorrow, but today sadly is the last day of the historic administration of President Barack Hussein Obama.
The POTUS had his final press conference yesterday which i didn't get to see because i was traveling, but it probably was a blessing in disguise because I probably would have started crying during it.
He talks about the role of the press and the Chelsea Manning pardon among other subjects, and for those of you who have asked me about my feelings about Manning, I'm pondering it and you'll see it in a later TransGriot post.
Back to this one. I'm going to miss this president for a lot of reasons, but the most important one was here was a man who was born nine months before I was, shares my African heritage, and excelled in the office despite many challenges and a Republican Party unified in racist opposition to him that gleefully wanted him to fail.
This is also a man who had a scandal free administration, and made me feel as though my country was in good hands with him in the Oval Office. He also made me feel for the first time in my life unabashedly proud of my president and this country.
He has also been the best president ever when it comes to not only acknowledging we trans folks exist, but expanding and defending our human rights.
I'm also going to miss our lovely FLOTUS, who Michelle, who made history of her own in becoming the first African-American woman ever to be the First Lady, and did so with style, dignity and class even as people irrationally hated on her.
We also go the pleasure of watching your your daughters Sasha and Malia grow up into amazing young women.
Mr. President, thanks for eight amazing years, and wish it could have been longer. I confidently wrote eight years ago that you would be an outstanding president and you have made me look like a genius for saying it.
Mr. President, thanks for eight wonderful years that have flown by. Unfortunately some idiot that claims he's going to Make America Great Hate Again takes over at 12:01 PM tomorrow
Today is the 53rd birthday of our fabulous FLOTUS Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, who was born on this January date in Chicago in 1964.
This is (sniff sniff) the last birthday she will celebrate as our amazing First Lady, and I'm definitely not looking forward to seeing her go back to her civilian life this Friday after eight fabulous history making years
Like the POTUS said doing his farewell speech, you have represented our nation with dignity and class despite all the haters and the racist, misogynist and transmisogynist hatred thrown your way,.
You have been a wonderful possibility model for not only our youth, but myself/ We also deeply appreciate and love you in TBLGQ world for being an ally for our community..
Happy birthday Madame First Lady! Looking forward to seeing what the next chapter in your life brings.
