President Obama's Message To The 2015 Grammys

I didn't get to see them (not that I cared anyway) because I was making my way back home from the  27th edition of Creating Change in Denver.

President Obama had a message for the peeps watching the event that address rape culture, and you need to see this.

C-SPAN GOP Caller's Pointed Hood Is Showing

Remember  over the weekend when Sen Mary Landrieu (D-LA) said that the major reason that President Obama was having problems in the South was because of his race, and the GOP and conservafool movement went apoplectic about it?

Well people,  Sen. Landrieu's observation just got majorly cosigned. 

In the afterglow of the Republicans bigoted white peeps fueled midterm win, in addition to their sore winning, many of their supporters have been letting their inner Klansmen out.   They have also exposed their acute cases of Obama Derangement Syndrome since Tuesday as well.  

One named Anthony from San Diego, CA did so on C-SPAN yesterday when he called President Obama the n-word on-air.

"This is about race. The Republicans hate that n----- Obama."
-Anthony, San Diego, CA C-SPAN GOP caller

And here's the C-SPAN video to prove it.



Well duh, you conservabigots have made that quite KKKlear you hated the man and by extension his family since November 2008.  It was clear in the runup to this 2014 midterm you were going to race bait..

So no, GOP, don't even try to tell me your or your political base's animus with the POTUS is not race based.   Because the teabagging members of  your base have no problem thinking or saying it.

And the next white conservafool that tries to argue with me that my assertion that the Republican Party is the political arm of white supremacy is wrong will get cussed out and blocked afterwards.

The bottom line is that conservatism IS a racist movement, and you have used white male resentment and anger to fuel it since the 1970's.   Anthony isn't just 'one bad apple' as you GOP defenders will try to claim, you have a Republican Party and a movement full of them in which proud members of your GOP ranks say bigoted, racist, sexist, misogynist, transphobic and homophobic crap on a weekly basis.   

You are reaping the continued harvest of the racist seeds you sowed with the Southern Strategy and your four decades of anti-Black rhetoric.

And yeah, you can't suppress the Black vote forever.   You will pay at the ballot box for it

President Obama's Remarks At Mandela Memorial

To Graça Machel and the Mandela family; to President Zuma and members of the government; to heads of state and government, past and present; distinguished guests - it is a singular honor to be with you today, to celebrate a life unlike any other.  To the people of South Africa - people of every race and walk of life - the world thanks you for sharing Nelson Mandela with us.  His struggle was your struggle.  His triumph was your triumph.  Your dignity and hope found expression in his life, and your freedom, your democracy is his cherished legacy.

It is hard to eulogize any man - to capture in words not just the facts and the dates that make a life, but the essential truth of a person - their private joys and sorrows; the quiet moments and unique qualities that illuminate someone’s soul.  How much harder to do so for a giant of history, who moved a nation toward justice, and in the process moved billions around the world.

Born during World War I, far from the corridors of power, a boy raised herding cattle and tutored by elders of his Thembu tribe - Madiba would emerge as the last great liberator of the 20th century.  Like Gandhi, he would lead a resistance movement - a movement that at its start held little prospect of success.  Like King, he would give potent voice to the claims of the oppressed, and the moral necessity of racial justice.  He would endure a brutal imprisonment that began in the time of Kennedy and Khrushchev, and reached the final days of the Cold War.  Emerging from prison, without force of arms, he would - like Lincoln - hold his country together when it threatened to break apart.  Like America’s founding fathers, he would erect a constitutional order to preserve freedom for future generations - a commitment to democracy and rule of law ratified not only by his election, but by his willingness to step down from power.

Given the sweep of his life, and the adoration that he so rightly earned, it is tempting then to remember Nelson Mandela as an icon, smiling and serene, detached from the tawdry affairs of lesser men.  But Madiba himself strongly resisted such a lifeless portrait. Instead, he insisted on sharing with us his doubts and fears; his miscalculations along with his victories.  “I’m not a saint,” he said, “unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”

It was precisely because he could admit to imperfection - because he could be so full of good humor, even mischief, despite the heavy burdens he carried - that we loved him so.  He was not a bust made of marble; he was a man of flesh and blood - a son and husband, a father and a friend.  That is why we learned so much from him; that is why we can learn from him still.  For nothing he achieved was inevitable.  In the arc of his life, we see a man who earned his place in history through struggle and shrewdness; persistence and faith.  He tells us what’s possible not just in the pages of dusty history books, but in our own lives as well.
Mandela showed us the power of action; of taking risks on behalf of our ideals.  Perhaps Madiba was right that he inherited, “a proud rebelliousness, a stubborn sense of fairness” from his father. Certainly he shared with millions of black and colored South Africans the anger born of, “a thousand slights, a thousand indignities, a thousand unremembered moments…a desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people.”

But like other early giants of the ANC - the Sisulus and Tambos - Madiba disciplined his anger; and channeled his desire to fight into organization, and platforms, and strategies for action, so men and women could stand-up for their dignity.  Moreover, he accepted the consequences of his actions, knowing that standing up to powerful interests and injustice carries a price.  “I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination,” he said at his 1964 trial.  “I’ve cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.  It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve.  But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Mandela taught us the power of action, but also ideas; the importance of reason and arguments; the need to study not only those you agree with, but those who you don’t.  He understood that ideas cannot be contained by prison walls, or extinguished by a sniper’s bullet.  He turned his trial into an indictment of apartheid because of his eloquence and passion, but also his training as an advocate. He used decades in prison to sharpen his arguments, but also to spread his thirst for knowledge to others in the movement.  And he learned the language and customs of his oppressor so that one day he might better convey to them how their own freedom depended upon his.

Mandela demonstrated that action and ideas are not enough; no matter how right, they must be chiseled into laws and institutions.  He was practical, testing his beliefs against the hard surface of circumstance and history.  On core principles he was unyielding, which is why he could rebuff offers of conditional release, reminding the Apartheid regime that, “prisoners cannot enter into contracts.”  But as he showed in painstaking negotiations to transfer power and draft new laws, he was not afraid to compromise for the sake of a larger goal.  And because he was not only a leader of a movement, but a skillful politician, the Constitution that emerged was worthy of this multiracial democracy; true to his vision of laws that protect minority as well as majority rights, and the precious freedoms of every South African.

Finally, Mandela understood the ties that bind the human spirit.  There is a word in South Africa- Ubuntu - that describes his greatest gift: his recognition that we are all bound together in ways that can be invisible to the eye; that there is a oneness to humanity; that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us.  We can never know how much of this was innate in him, or how much of was shaped and burnished in a dark, solitary cell.  But we remember the gestures, large and small - introducing his jailors as honored guests at his inauguration; taking the pitch in a Springbok uniform; turning his family’s heartbreak into a call to confront HIV/AIDS - that revealed the depth of his empathy and understanding.  He not only embodied Ubuntu; he taught millions to find that truth within themselves.  It took a man like Madiba to free not just the prisoner, but the jailor as well; to show that you must trust others so that they may trust you; to teach that reconciliation is not a matter of ignoring a cruel past, but a means of confronting it with inclusion, generosity and truth. He changed laws, but also hearts.

For the people of South Africa, for those he inspired around the globe - Madiba’s passing is rightly a time of mourning, and a time to celebrate his heroic life.  But I believe it should also prompt in each of us a time for self-reflection. With honesty, regardless of our station or circumstance, we must ask:  how well have I applied his lessons in my own life?

It is a question I ask myself - as a man and as a President.  We know that like South Africa, the United States had to overcome centuries of racial subjugation.  As was true here, it took the sacrifice of countless people - known and unknown - to see the dawn of a new day.  Michelle and I are the beneficiaries of that struggle.  But in America and South Africa, and countries around the globe, we cannot allow our progress to cloud the fact that our work is not done.  The struggles that follow the victory of formal equality and universal franchise may not be as filled with drama and moral clarity as those that came before, but they are no less important.  For around the world today, we still see children suffering from hunger, and disease; run-down schools, and few prospects for the future.  Around the world today, men and women are still imprisoned for their political beliefs; and are still persecuted for what they look like, or how they worship, or who they love.
We, too, must act on behalf of justice.  We, too, must act on behalf of peace.  There are too many of us who happily embrace Madiba’s legacy of racial reconciliation, but passionately resist even modest reforms that would challenge chronic poverty and growing inequality.  There are too many leaders who claim solidarity with Madiba’s struggle for freedom, but do not tolerate dissent from their own people.  And there are too many of us who stand on the sidelines, comfortable in complacency or cynicism when our voices must be heard.

The questions we face today - how to promote equality and justice; to uphold freedom and human rights; to end conflict and sectarian war - do not have easy answers.  But there were no easy answers in front of that child in Qunu.  Nelson Mandela reminds us that it always seems impossible until it is done.  South Africa shows us that is true.  South Africa shows us we can change.  We can choose to live in a world defined not by our differences, but by our common hopes.  We can choose a world defined not by conflict, but by peace and justice and opportunity.

We will never see the likes of Nelson Mandela again.  But let me say to the young people of Africa, and young people around the world - you can make his life’s work your own.  Over thirty years ago, while still a student, I learned of Mandela and the struggles in this land.  It stirred something in me.  It woke me up to my responsibilities - to others, and to myself - and set me on an improbable journey that finds me here today.  And while I will always fall short of Madiba’s example, he makes me want to be better.  He speaks to what is best inside us.  After this great liberator is laid to rest; when we have returned to our cities and villages, and rejoined our daily routines, let us search then for his strength - for his largeness of spirit - somewhere inside ourselves.  And when the night grows dark, when injustice weighs heavy on our hearts, or our best laid plans seem beyond our reach - think of Madiba, and the words that brought him comfort within the four walls of a cell:

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

What a great soul it was.  We will miss him deeply.  May God bless the memory of Nelson Mandela.  May God bless the people of South Africa.

Happy 52nd Birthday Mr. President!

Today is the 52nd birthday of President Barack Hussein Obama II who reality based peeps know was born on this date in Honolulu, HI back in 1961 

This birthday is one his legions of haters in the conservafool movement spent billions in a failed attempt to ensure he would be celebrating it in Chicago but the American people said otherwise.

Yep, he'll be in office from now until January 20, 2017 so he'll have three more he'll be celebrating as a resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue until that date.  

So hate on haters.

Happy birthday Mr. President.  You'll have to wait until next November before we can give you the birthday present I'm sure you'd like for this weekend.

A Democratically controlled House and Senate so you can get thing done on behalf of this country.

POTUS Remarks At 2013 WH Correspondents Dinner

The 2013 edition of what's called 'Nerd Prom' in Washington DC, the White House Correspondents Dinner.

Barack-etology 2013

Well, you've seen my NCAA brackets for the 2013 men's and women's tournaments which have already taken a hit on the men's side with New Mexico being upset by Harvard (score one for Eli Blake) and Georgetown's shocking loss.  

But my Final Four teams on my men's and women's brackets are still alive for now.

Here's what President Obama had to say about the 2013 NCAA men's and women's tournaments.

The NCAA women's tournament

 

The NCAA men's tournament

POTUS 2013 State Of The Union Speech

The first State of the Union speech for President Obama's second term.  Enjoy!




The SOTU Transcript.

1-20-13: First Day Of The Obama Second Term!

Told y'all GOP haters back in April 2009 it was going to happen.

If he keeps it up, 1-20-13 will dawn with his November 2012 reelection to the office and President Obama prepping for his second inauguration.

Yeah, y'all printed the bumper stickers and t-shirts, engaged in Massive Resistance 2.0 and racist hatred of President Obama, had the minority leader of the Senate openly say that the GOP's top political priority should be to deny the POTUS a second term, gloated when y'all got control of the House in 2010, and tried every dirty trick possible to keep me and other non-white Americans from voting in advance of the 2012 presidential election. 

And you lost big.   Yep, you lost 332-206 electoral votes big.   You lost seats in the House and the Senate and the way you fools are acting in the first month the 113th Congress has been in business Speaker John Boehner will have something to really cry about on November 4, 2014 .    

But back to gloating about the presidential election.  65,889,660 Americans returned President Obama back to that nice White House on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue my ancestors built with their unpaid labor while only 47% of the country voted for Mittens.

And how apropos is it that President Obama's second inauguration ceremony will take place on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day?

So noon EST on January 20, 2013 won't be the last day of the Obama presidency, it will be the first day of his second term.  The last day of the Obama presidency if you haters really wanna know will be at noon EST on January 20, 2017 

The first day of the second term of the Obama presidency started at noon EST.   You conservafools may hate that, but 65.9 million Americans and billions around the world don't and are celebrating his win. 

Happy 49th Birthday Madame First Lady!

Today is the 49th birthday of First Lady Michelle L. Obama, who I am deliriously happy to say will be living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue until January 20, 2017.

Looking forward to seeing he discuss her various policy initiatives and representing our country now and throughout her husband's second term.   It will also be interesting to see what she does after she leaves the White House as well. 

So happy birthday Madame First Lady!    May it be a day as beautiful as you are filled with blessings, and may you have many more of them.

POTUS Comments On CT Mass Shooting

President Obama's remarks yesterday concerning the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT..

What Obama Being President STILL Means To Me

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.    

TransGriot, 'Why Barack Obama Will be A Great President'  February 28, 2009

Four years ago I wrote a blog post that not only that laid out what President Obama's historic run for president meant to me at that time, I also wrote that February 2009 one explaining why I confidently felt he would be an outstanding Oval Office occupant.for the next four to eight years.


He hasn't disappointed me.   President Obama took over during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, stopped the Dow from freefalling and stopped our nation's slide into a second one.

This man saved the American automotive industry, has had 33 consecutive months of job growth, appointed our first Latina Supreme Court justice in Sonia Sotomayor, passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act,  the Affordable Care Act, repealed DADT, ended the Iraq War, has us on track to get out of Afghanistan by 2014, undid the damage the GW Bush administration had done to our international image and reputation. .

In addition his aggressive persecution of anti-terrorism efforts has decimated the leadership of al-Qaeda, disrupted their operations and has Osama bin Laden resting at the bottom of the Arabian Sea.


Oh yeah, did I mention that he has been the best president ever as far as trans people like myself are concerned on issues of importance to our community such as getting the Byrd-Shepard hate crimes bill passed, appointing Amanda Simpson to an important job in his administration and his administrative heads issuing trans friendly directives and changes that have benefited our community?

And all of this was done while facing Massive Resistance 2.0 by the Republicans hellbent on making him a one-term president.

So yes, with us being two days from a critical election, I know this is the best man for the job of leading this country.  he has been tested, has grown in the job and deserves a second term to clean up the steaming pile of Bushit that was left on his Oval Office doorstep.
  
But I also knew that President Obama getting that second term was going to be harder than his winning the initial one on that historic night four years ago.

So have I had moments during this presidency when I've been upset that he hasn't gone far enough in terms of moving this country forward?   I certainly have.  I still believe this country needs universal single payer health care and also subsidized day care.  I believe DADT should have also addressed the issues of transpeople in the military

Am I still as proud of him and the First Family occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as I was four years ago?  You damned skippy I am.   I also see the importance to our next generations of kids in seeing someone who looks like them in that office who didn't have everything handed to him on a silver platter like Mitt Romney did and knowing if they bust their butts in school, they could one day be taking the oath of office themselves even if they are in a single parent home or a home with two mommies and two daddies.

It has also been important for me as a trans person to know that I have a president who values me, my fellow transpeople, the trans community and our untapped potential to help it move forward.

But it has been a life changing experience to see someone of my ethnic background in the Oval office and representing me and our nation on the international stage.

It has been depressing to see exactly where the United States is in terms of getting to Dr. King's dream of a color blind nation.  I see the white sheet wearing racism come roaring out of elements of white America who still have the misguided notion that this country belongs exclusively to them.  They have directed unprecedented levels of animus, disrespect and racist negativity at this president.    

It's also the major reason many of those whit voters are reverting to the same self destructive tendency they have had for over 150 years of voting against their own economic and political interests by casting ballots for an incompetent white man who repeatedly lies to them on November 6. 

I've done my part to move this country forward by early voting back on October 22.  Others are doing so as I write this post and both candidates criss cross the battleground states trying to get those last minute votes as other Americans who haven't had the chance to early vote get to weigh in on Tuesday.

but yes, I'm definitely hoping and praying that by 11 PM CST Tuesday the networks will have called this election for President Obama and I can go to sleep knowing that he and the First family won't be leaving Washington DC until January 21, 2017.

POTUS Makes Fun Of Trump

On his Tonight Show appearance last night, President Barack Obama basically let the world know what he thinks about Romney surrogate Donald Chump Trump and his latest attention seeking antics.

Barack Obama Laughs Off Feud With Donald Trump On 'The Tonight Show'

This Is What A Commander In Chief Looks Like

And there's a certain slice of the US electorate that has a major problem with the fact that the President of the United States of America and the Commander in Chief of our armed forces is African-American.

Frack 'em.  They are also the same Fox addled low education idiots who think in their bigoted minds that in his fours year on the job he hasn't done jack and is the 'worst president ever'.

yeah, all the presidential brother did was stop our country's slide into a second Great Depression, save the US auto industry from collapse, pass comprehensive health care, repeal DADT, pass the Byrd-Shepard hate crimes Bill, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, repair our diplomatic relationships with the world Junion and friends messed up, end the Iraq war, and get Osama bin Laden and 30 of his top al-Qaeda lieutenants..

And yeah, he knows more about foreign affairs than the shape shifting Republican nominee that changes his policy positions faster than his underwear and has the respect and admiration of the planet.

So keep on hatin'.   This is what our commander in chief looks like .

Third 2012 Presidential Debate Wrap Up

While the Chicago Bears were dominating the Detroit Lions during their 13-7 victory at Soldier Field last night, in the other big Chicago vs Detroit matchup on the political stage President Obama also won big in his final debate with challenger Mitt Romney.

Hey, that's not just my chococentric assessment of this debate.   Three snap post debate polls show that the POTUS won.  The loud conservafool whining  already commencing on the Net about the moderator, speaking time and other issues tells me all I need to know about who won in addition to what I watched transpire over those 90 minutes. 

The 'Big Chief' as Tom Joyner calls him showed up at this debate, but he was confronted with another version of Moderate Mitt.   This time Mitt was in 'me, too' mode repudiating stances he took during the Republican primary and over the six years he's run for POTUS and President Obama called him on it.

And note to Mitt Romney, check a map the next time you try to go into a foreign policy debate because it's obvious you are woefully lacking in that aspect of the POTUS job and having the GW Bush foreign policy peeps sniffing around you doesn't help..     .  

First you tried to claim the AFRICAN country of Mali is in the Middle East, and then later you tried to claim that Syria was Iran's path to the sea.   Um dude, ever heard of two bodies of water called the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz?

There was also that devastating counter to Mittens talking point that the US Navy has less ships than it did in 1916 and the President swiftly and snarkily whacking him with the point that the US military has fewer horses and bayonets.

“You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets … because the nature of our military's changed," the president taunted. "We have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines.”

The Commander in Chief was in command of the facts, knew his stuff foreign policy wise while Mitt was sweating, saying the POTUS has done a great job, and regurgitating his loud and wrong foreign policy campaign talking points President Obama ripped to shreds. 

That's why President Obama whupped that Mitt again when this evening at Lynn University was over.   Now with 14 days left until Election Day we'll see if the voting public sees it that way as well. 

TBLG Americans For Obama Video

This video features rainbow community peeps such as Jane Lynch, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Billie Jean King, George Takei, Wanda Sykes, Zachary Quinto, and Chaz Bono discussing why they're supporting  President Obama and why Mitt Romney isn't the choice for them.

Happy 20th Anniversary To The POTUS And FLOTUS

Today is the 20th wedding anniversary of President Barack H. Obama and First Lady Michelle L. Obama, who were married on this date in Chicago weeks before the 1992 presidential election. 

It's ironic that as the POTUS and FLOTUS are celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary, our nation is once again in the homestretch of a critical and contentious reelection campaign for an incumbent president .

It's also ironic that the first debate of the 2012 presidential campaign is also taking place later this evening on this date

Well, hope y'all get to spend some quality time with each other celebrating your special day.  May you both be celebrating your wedding anniversaries as residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue through 2016.

The First 2012 Presidential Debate In One Week

On October 3 the first of three presidential debates will take place on the University of Denver's campus between President Obama and his challenger Mitt Romney 

The debate will focus on domestic policy and be divided into six time segments of approximately 15 minutes each on topics to be selected by the moderator and announced several weeks before the debate.  The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a discussion of the topic.

This University of Denver debate will be moderated by Jim Lehrer (and I already vented along with the National Association Of Black Journalists and Univision about the lack of melanin in the Commission on Presidential Debates choices for those moderators and their weak azzed defense of it). 

Yeah, still pissed about the fact there are no POC moderators for these debates and there hasn't been one since Carole Simpson did so 20 years ago.   But even she has commented about how little things have changed in 20 years.

But the best part is that in this UD debate or the two remaining ones Mitt won't be able to lie unchallenged.  This debate will also be occurring on the 20th anniversary of the marriage of the POTUS and FLOTUS (how cool is that?)

Also looking forward to the vice presidential one on October 11 between Vice President Joe Biden and Paul Ryan.

Already stocking up on the popcorn because this is going to be a make or break moment for the floundering Romney-Ryan campaign.  Either he steps it up or the Obama team can start planning their second inauguration ceremony on January 20 after the national handles its electoral business on November 6 and puts Romney out of his political misery.

POTUS Comments On Health Care Reform SCOTUS Win

The first president to push and get passed health care reform in US history.   It's spike the political football time and work like hell to get this man reelected on November 6 along with a Congress that can help a presidential brother out.

And I'll bet Teddy is smiling today. 

Trans United For Obama Launched

As I've stated more than a few times on TransGriot, while elements of the GL community have sniped at President Obama and in some cases delusionally called him 'the worst president ever on gay issues', as far as the trans community is concerned, he's been the best president ever on trans issues in US history.

A national volunteer organization was recently formed called Trans United for Obama (TU4O) that is designed to rally transgender people, supporters, allies, and families to re-elect President Barack Obama and ensure he is taking the oath of office on January 20, 2013 for his second term.

Here's the TU4O announcement post courtesy of Meghan Stabler, elected Texas delegate for the upcoming 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC.

***

President Obama has led so many historic positive policy changes for transgender equality--- more than any elected official in history! We are involved on all levels, from door-knocking, doing data entry, fundraising, registering voters, and getting the message out that President Obama must be re-elected... all the things a victorious campaign and our community needs.

I am personally inviting you to be a part of this community.

We are trans leaders, advocates, educators, bloggers, authors, and allies out to educate people about the historic accomplishments that the Obama Administration has made in the past four years to secure equal rights and protections for transgender, transsexual and intersex identified, and for for all LGBT Americans.

Did you know that more has been accomplished by the Obama administration for trans rights equality than all 43 other presidents combined? For example:

• Ended the Social Security Administration’s gender “no-match” letters and allowed for true gender passports
• Ensured that transgender Americans can receive true gender passports without surgery
• Established guidelines to help protect transgender federal employees from discrimination in the workplace
• Made sure transgender veterans receive respectful care according to their true gender through the Veterans Health Administration

You can read additional accomplishments here

This is where you play a part. We are standing with our President and ask that you join us, and help build TU4O!

• We will hold frequent conference calls with you and with the campaign where you will be invited to participate.
• We will work with the campaign to make sure that all of the campaign offices are ready for and respectful of trans volunteers. 
• We will work with the campaign to register trans voters and make sure trans people aren’t denied the right to vote because of the recent new voter ID laws in certain states.

So join us! Together we can re-elect President Obama for another 4 years of solid progress, legislation and policy for the trans community.

Sign up now to join Trans United for Obama.

Donate to the campaign

Click for more information on Trans United for Obama and follow us on Facebook.

Don't forget to donate whatever you can to get President Obama re-elected; $25, $50, $100 can go a long way to help protect our community!

2012 African-American Music Appreciation Month Proclamation

AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSIC APPRECIATION MONTH, 2012
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

As a long-cherished piece of American culture, music offers a vibrant soundtrack to the story of our people and our Union. At times when words alone could not bring us together, we have found in melodies and choruses the universal truths of our shared humanity. African-American musicians have left an indelible mark on this tradition, and during African-American Music Appreciation Month, we pay special tribute to their extraordinary contributions.

Generations of African Americans have used music to share joy and pain, triumph and sorrow. Spiritual hymns gave hope to those laboring under the unrelenting cruelty of slavery, while gospel-inspired freedom songs sustained a movement for justice and equality for all. The smooth sounds of jazz and the soulful strain of the blues fed a renaissance in art and prose. The rhythm and blues that began in a basement in Detroit brought people together when laws would have kept them apart, while the urban beats and young wordsmiths from cities coast-to-coast gave voice to a new generation. And on stages and in concert halls around the world, African-American singers and composers have enhanced opera, symphony, and classical music by bringing energy and creativity to traditional genres.

At its core, African-American music mirrors the narrative of its original creators -- born of humble beginnings and raised to refuse the limitations and circumstances of its birth. This month, we honor the African-American musicians, composers, singers, and songwriters who have forever shaped our musical heritage, and celebrate those who carry this rich legacy forward.

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 June 2012 as African-American Music Appreciation Month. I call upon public officials, educators, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate activities and programs that raise awareness and foster appreciation of music that is composed, arranged, or performed by African Americans.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth
.

BARACK OBAMA