Number 15- Rest In Peace Sasha Garden

Sadly I have another trans murder to report.  We head to Orlando, FL for the latest trans person to join the ancestors too soon

The latest person we will be memorializing in November is 27 year old Sasha Garden.   Her Facebook page states that she is from Milwaukee, WI.

And yeah, as you probably guessed, Sasha was deadnamed and horribly disrespected by the local Orlando media and WFTV 9 reporters Ty  Russell and Kevin Williams.   

Read, watch and learn Orlando media, Ty Russell and Kevin Williams, on how to properly and RESPECTFULLY cover a trans person's murder.

We Black trans women are beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of 'being disrespected in life and in death.

Her body was found at approximately 5 AM EDT behind the Reserve at Lake Buchanan Apartments located at Rio Grande and Holden Ave just east of Orange Blossom Trail.  Orange County Sheriff's Department investigators are presuming she didn't live in the complex where her body was found. 

Coroners arrived on the scene at approximately 8:45 AM as Orange County sheriffs began to canvass the area for information.

Garden is the 15th trans person killed in the US this year, and the ninth African American trans and GNC person we have lost to anti-trans violence in 2018. 

I'm going to say it again because I'm really angry about it right now.

Sasha's Black trans life mattered.  I and my Black trans siblings are getting really sick of media disrespect of dead Black trans women.  It pisses me off even more when it comes from my own people

Rant over, back to the post

This is an active investigation, so if you have information that will lead to the arrest, conviction and incarceration of her killer, you are asked to call OCSD at 407- 254-7000

I'll call out the jacked up reporting later.   As of his moment no word from my Orlando area trans family of a vigil or memorial service, but will pass that info along once I receive it.

Rest in power and peace, Sasha.  Your life was taken away from us way too soon.  Your trans family will not rest until the waste of DNA who committed this crime is brought to justice . 

Pulse Terror Attack: One Year Later

This was an attack on the entire TBLG community, and we cannot allow the people killed at Pulse to die in vain.  Far from the entire community cowering in fear, we should be even more determined to openly live our lives and work to ensure that homophobia and transphobia are eradicated from our culture.-TransGriot  June 13, 2016

I definitely remember where I was when I heard about the Pulse nightclub terror attack in Orlando.  I was in Philadelphia staying at Dionne Stallworth's place for the just concluded Philly Trans Health Conference.

I was in the midst of an empowering few days that started with me going to Washington DC and the White House for my first LGBT Pride Reception with Ruby Corado, then immediately leaving with Fiona Dawson to ride up I-95 to Philadelphia for my early Friday morning PTHC media panel moderated by Brynn Tannehill after arriving a little after midnight.

I was in Philadelphia preparing to catch a Megabus to Washington DC for Capital Pride and my flight back to the Houston area when Dionne hit me with the first disturbing early Sunday morning news about the Pulse shooting.

The details were still coming out as I headed to the Megabus pickup stop in Philly for my trip back down I-95 to DC, and I sent out a tweet that incensed the right wing haters when I said "This tragedy is the result of six months of nonstop GOP anti-gay hatred for their political gain."

That started a swarm of GOP leaning Twitter trolls heading to my Twitter feed to swarm attack me.  I spent the entire 139 mile (224 km) bus ride calling out and then blocking them until I hit DC's Union Station.   I spent some time at the nearby Capital Pride, and noticed the increased police presence for the event before heading to BWI airport a few hours later.

49 people died during that terror attack on Latin Night, with another 53 people being wounded.   And yes, I still do blame all the anti-gay and anti-trans Republican rhetoric in being a catalyst for the Pulse attack.

And still haven't forgotten that reprehensible tweet Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick (R) unleashed on the world early that morning.

It also made me think about the fact less than a few hours before I'd been in a predominately trans convention space.  I noted when I entered the convention center for PTHC's Saturday sessions the security level for our event and thinking we needed more than the single unarmed security company person at the doors in light of all the anti-trans rhetoric that had been put out there across the country by the Republicans and other conservative media.

A few months later I got the opportunity to see the Pulse site for myself while attending this year's LGBT Media Journalists Convening in Orlando.  

Earlier that Saturday morning during one of our sessions we'd heard from one of the survivors who urged us to remind people in our upcoming anniversary articles we would soon write that this happened on Latin Night.

I noted when our buses rolled up from the hotel the Puerto Rican flags put up as part of the memorial. I noted the reverent silence at a site that should have had vehicles filling its parking lot and excited anticipation building for another night in which the Orlando TBLGQ community gathered at this location for fun and to meet that special person.

Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old

Amanda Alvear, 25 years old

Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old

Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old

Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old

Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old

Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old

Juan Chavez-Martinez, 25 years old

Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old

Cory James Connell, 21 years old

Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old

Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old

Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old

Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old

Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old

Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old

Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old

Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old

Frank Hernandez, 27 years old

Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old

Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old

Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old

Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old

Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old

Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old

Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old

Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old

Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old

Kimberly Morris, 37 years old

Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old

Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old

Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25 years old

Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old

Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old

Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old

Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old

Jean C. Nieves Rodriguez, 27 years old

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old

Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old

Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 years old

Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old

Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old

Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old

Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old

Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old

Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old

Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old

Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old

Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old

#WeAreOrlando #Pulse #Orlando #Solidarity

Instead, it is now quiet because of a senseless mass shooting that targeted our community and the makeshift memorials that now cover portions of that fenced off parking lot.

The Orlando City soccer club has 49 rainbow flag seats in Section 12 with #OrlandoUnited on them in its new stadium just two miles from the club in honor of the persons we lost that night.  

The Pulse club itself in now a memorial    And sadly, we now have an idiot in the White House who is pandering to the right wing fundamentalists and members of his base who would love for that to happen again.

No, it can't be allowed to happen again.   And we must redouble our efforts as a TBLGQ community to eradicate homophobia and transphobia from our greater societal ranks

Handling Our #LGBTMedia17 Business in Orlando

As you TransGriot readers were aware of, I've spent the last several days in Central Florida getting my learn on at the 8th annual LGBT Media Journalists Convening.

It's one of my fave events, and I get to spend some quality time  with my media fam in addition to get my learn on about the issues impacting our community in different parts of it.

Many of the premiere bloggers and journalists  of our community were in the Rosen Centre Hotel house including four of the five nominees for this year's GLAAD Best Blog Award.  

So yep, that meant that for the first time since the 2012 Netroots Nation me and Alvin McEwen of 'Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters' not only got to see each other, but plot and plan how we were going to piss off the haters next.   I also got to hang out once again with many of our kick butt women bloggers and journalists, but also content owners like the amazing Melanie Davis

The trans media fam was in effect with birthday girl and my suitemate Dawn Ennis, Gwen Smith, my Houston homegirl Cristan Williams, Brynn Tannehill, Meredith Talusan and Lewis Wallace.

I also got to spend quality time with and get to know people like Derrick Clifton, Jahnell La Mara Johnson, and Rosalind Bentley.with the amazing Lizz Winstead, who was our MC for the weekend, and kept the panels running on time.

Thursday night our mixer event was held at Mango's Tropical Cafe where we go to enjoy some great food and even better conversation.  It was nice hanging out with Joe Jervis and Colin Murphy and getting to talk to Andy Humm about community history.

 I also got a chance to hang out with my Orlando via Texas homegirl Melisa Gomez, meet Elixher's Associate Editor Jahnell La Mara, see old friends like new BiNet USA president Lynnette McFadzen, Trish Bendix, Ebone Bell, Fiona Dawson Zack Ford and Mary Emily O'Hara while eating some wonderful food and min lava cakes while seeing their show from a TV screen in our VP area that had a trio of Michael Jackson impersonators.

We also got to see upon our return to the Rosen Center Hotel from our excursion to Mango's the fountain in front of the hotel lit up in the rainbow flag colors in honor of our event being there.

Friday morning came way too early, and our first LGBTMedia17 day got started with breakfast and the morning talks from 9-12 noon

In addition to the extra day of informational panels and talks we were doing this year, there was also a new feature being initiated for this year's event in which we paired at a table with veteran and newbie attendees so the newbies didn't feel left out.

I was part of Trish Bendix's 'Trish's Magnificent Seven' table

The topics covered in those talks were Objectivity Is Dead by Lewis Wallace,  International News Coverage Begins At The Source by Michael Lavers,  Journalist Or Accidental Tourist: Covering International LGBTQ Issues  by Roberta Sklar, Visual Storytelling: A Guide To Showing Not Telling by Steve Johnson, When It Was Made About Me , I Learned It Had Nothing To Do About Me by Jana Shortal and we closed out the morning talks with Beyond Murder: Covering Transgender People Of Color  by Meredith Talusan.

We LGBTMedia attendees were also tweeting the proceeding via the #LGBTMedia17 hashtag, which we were proud to discover within an hour after the morning talks started, was the number one hashtag on Twitter.

We were also happy to discover during lunch that our gender neutral restroom sign was not only well received by other people sharing the hotel with us and being used, it was sparking conversations.

After lunch we had two deep dive sessions scheduled to run from 1-2:45 PM  to choose from that lasted 45 minutes with a 15 minute break to switch between session if you wished.

Steve Johnson moderated the Showing Not Telling session while Roberta Sklar moderated the Practical Considerations For International Coverage  one

After a snack break in the main meeting room from 2:45-3:15 PM  we began the Afternoon talks in which the topics covered were LGBTQ Equality and Religious Freedom: You Can Have Both  by Sally Steenland, #PopCulturePivot by Twanna Hines, Highlighting Experiences of Family Members Of Transgender People by Brynn Tannehill  and to close out the business end of LGBTMedia Day 1 Audience Engagement Is Like Dating by Joy Mayer.

After remarks from our MC Lizz Winstead, we had a break from 5:30-7 PM before we returned to Salon 3 for dinner, drinks and a speech from Atlanta mayoral candidate Cathy Woolard.

But before Cathy was brought on to speak to the LGBTMedia 17 fam by Jen Christensen, we were introduced to the owner of our amazing host venue Harris Rosen, who is also known in the Orlando area for his wonderful philanthropic work

Something I ate at breakfast that morning didn't agree with my stomach, and I left early during Cathy Woolard's speech to retire to my room and purge whatever was upsetting my stomach.  I got over it, but it kept me up most of the night as I made frequent trips to the porcelain throne room.

Yeah I know, TMI.

So after that mostly sleepless night, my phone alarm rang way too early to start Day 2 of LGBTMedia17   After breakfast, we started Day 2 at 9:30 AM by talking about one of the things that was on everyone's mind since we were here in Orlando by discussing the PULSE club mass shooting attack.

The Covering Pulse panel featured Jeff Truesdell, Billy Manes, Erik Sandoval and Meredith Talusan.

It then moved on to introducing Ricardo Negron-Almodovar, who as a survivor of the Pulse attack told his perspective on what the media, and specifically the LGBTQ media got worng about their PULSE coverage and his hope it gets corrected before the looming one year anniversary of it on June 12.

Ricardo was also given extra time to talk because our MC correctly thought it needed to happen.

Andy Humm then took to the podium for his talk entitled There Is No Substitute For Face To Face Interaction, followed by Intersectionality and Storytelling by Derrick Clifton ,

The morning sessions closed out with a Science of Storytelling one by Matt Sheehan and Ann Christiano before we broke for lunch in Salon 3 at 12:30

Intersectionality is s topic that can't be discussed in 5  minutes, and it was something that myself and several people tweeted about in terms of wishing that it was a subject for a deep dive discussion.

Well, you know the old saying about putting something out in the atmosphere with the hope , speaking it into existence and it will happen?  We did so on the intersectionality topic and were rewarded with an intersectionality deep dive discussion moderated by Derrick Clifton.  But it was starting at 1 PM, so i had to finish my lunch a little faster than I would have liked in order to get back down to the Signature 1 main room where Derrick's session was happening.

It was a needed and necessary topic added in addition to the previously scheduled #StoryScience one by Sheehan and Christiano and How To Build Audience By Watching Movies and TV by Twanna Hines.

The 2:45 snack break came way too soon to end it and set us up for the Afternoon talks

Moya Bailey talked about via video Social Media and Social Justice Ethics, and took some questions from us before we moved on to the next topic .Prophecy and Proof: How A Half Century of Medical and Media Narratives Came To Define Transgender People  by Bethany Grace Howe.
Mary Emily O'Hara then took the podium to talk about Creating and Owning A New Beat.

Fiona Dawson then took the podium to discuss Leveraging The Intersection of Advocacy and Journalism.  She laid out in her discussion how her story about Logan and Laila Ireland eventually led to ending the ban on trans military service.

The final afternoon talks of  LGBTMedia17 covered the topics of the Power of A Single Story by Rosalind Bentley and my Texas homeboy David Taffet discussing Covering A Murder When The Story Leads Back To Your Office.   

After filling out some evaluations and some down time taken either in poolside conversations or retreating back to our various rooms to get ready for out on the town forays later that evening, we gathered in the Rosen Center hotel lobby at 6:30 PM to board the buses again.

We were traveling first to the PULSE nightclub to pay our respects to the 49 predominately Latinx people who died there, and then head to dinner in downtown Orlando at Kres Chophouse.

I and my dinner companions after being seated at the chophouse began to have discussion ranging from classic Black movies to neo-soul artist to me doing an impression of Anika Noni Rose's Grace Makutsi character from the short lived HBO cable TV series The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency.

News flash, I do have a sense of humor I unleash upon the world at times.

And yeah, they weren't kidding about those pork chops,.  They were thick, meaty and amazing

While some of us headed back to the hotel, others headed to The Parliament House or Southern Nights for a well deserved night on the town.   When we got back, I satisfied my Slurpee craving since there was a 7 Eleven less than a block from the hotel and paired it up with a slice of the pizza from the deli inside the Rosen Center hotel for a midnight snack.

Then I settled down to do some writing before I flipped the TV to SportsCenter to see how my NCAA men's and women's brackets were doing.  .

Sunday dawned with us gathering near the pool to have brunch and say goodbye to each other until we got the chance to see each other again either at some upcoming conference or next year's #LGBTMedia18 event.

Definitely looking forward to #LGBTMedia18, wherever it happens next year.

Moni's In The Middle Of LGBTMedia17

Had an amazing morning at IAH wandering Terminals C and E before I boarded my United flight to Orlando.  It was nice seeing some of my old co workers, and I see some more when I return on Sunday.

I've arrived in Orlando for what is basically a business trip.  I've been to the Orlando airport before to catch connecting flights, but this is the first time I've visited the city.

I've always wanted to visit Disney World, and when I was working at CAL is was something on my travel bucket list, ,but never got the chance to do so while I was an airline employee and had the ability to fly there.

I'm checked into my 17th floor Rosen Centre hotel room with a nice view of the Orlando Convention Center across the street  and downtown Orlando in the distance.  I also gleefully discovered I have a 7 Eleven less than a block away, so that means Slurpees will be destroyed on this trip

I'm getting ready for the first event of this year's 8th Annual LGBT Media Journalists Convening, which is an icebreaker reception at Mango's Tropical Cafe.

I alway enjoy getting to see and spend quality time with my TBLGQ media colleagues from across the nation.   But this year's edition of LGBTMedia17 is happening at a time in which we have a so-called POTUS who seems to think it is okay to attack the media.

This convening is needed and even more necessary at a time when journalism is under attack.  For those of us in Trans World who are in attedace, we're here at a time when not only our humanity and human rights are under assault, we had our 8th trans woman of 2017 murdered in Baltimore a mere 24 hours ago.

It's going to be an interesting few days as we get our learn on about various issues that impact the TBLGQ community, network and get to see some of Orlando beyond the hotel.

You can check out the action at the #LGBTMedia17 hashtag, our Facebook pages, and our various blogs and media stories.

And so ready to get my media learn on.

Leaving On A Jet Plane- To Orlando

It's time for me to hop on another plane to take me to another community event.  But this time I'm leaving out of as we call it in H-town the Big Airport, or Houston Intercontinental

It's always an emotional trip for me every time I fly out of IAH.   I spent 14 years of my life there working in the airline biz and have some fond memories of it and many of the people I worked with.

Probably going to be even more emotional because I'm getting close to the April 4 anniversary day I clocked in for work as me for the first time.  It would have also been my 30th anniversary year this year.

 I transitioned in the middle of Terminal C, and I still have friends there who haven't retired yet who started at CAL-UA when I did and I run into when I transit it from the ticket counters to the gates to the shoe shine guys.

That means from the moment I arrive in Terminal C,  I'll be running into former coworkers from the time I arrive at IAH until the time I return.

And if it's a Houston based flight crew on either leg to MCO and back, that means I'll also possibly be running into flight attendants or pilots I know either on the plane or in the halls as I'm heading to my departure gate.  It's also a good thing that people still think highly of you, even though I haven't worked a flight in that building since February 2001.

While that a good thing, the bad news is that IAH is on the opposite side of town from where I currently live.

But hey, I get to see some of my IAH peeps, fly on a 737-900 for the first time and if my United flight is on time, in a few hours I get to see my homies and homettes from the LGBT media world

Countdown To LGBTMedia17!

Looking forward in one week to being on a flight to Orlando and joining my media colleagues from around the nation at the 8th annual LGBT Media Journalists Convening

The LGBT Media Journalists Convening is sponsored by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund and the Arcus Foundation of which I am a member..

This year we'll be in Orlando at the Rosen Centre Hotel.   While we'll be in the middle of all the touristy things Orlando has to offer starting next Thursday, this is a business trip that is coming at an unprecedented time in our nation's history.  

It's a gathering of TBLGQ media people at a time in when journalism and the media in the US is under attack by the reprehensible regime of 45.   We're needed now more than ever to fulfill our historic role as the check and balance on the government and ensure that our citizens are informed about what their government is doing..

It is also coming at a time that for the trans media people in attendance, our very human rights and humanity are under attack by GOP controlled state and the federal government..

The LGBT Media Journalists Convening will use an interactive approach to help attendees build their journalism skills, learn more about LGBTQ-centric topics beyond marriage equality and employment law and expand audiences through on-site media training with broadcast experts.
Next week I'll be tweeting the action along with my colleagues at the #LGBTMedia17 hashtag.  And even better for moi, there's a 7 Eleven near the hotel, so Slurpees will be destroyed on this trip.

This is definitely going to be an interesting few days in Orlando, and looking forward to seeing all my media colleagues next week.

Moni's Will Be Headed To LGBTMedia17!

Got the word last month that I've been invited to attend the LGBT Media Convening that will take place in Orlando March 23-26.

It will be the fifth one I've attended since 2013, and I'm looking forward to hanging out with my friends in the LGBT media world.

It's hosted by the National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association with sponsorship from the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund and the Arcus Foundation.

It's an opportunity along with my media colleagues to hone and build on our reporting skills, discuss issues of importance to the TBLGQ community so that we are better versed in covering them, and also network with each other.

In a time in which we have an incoming president that hates the media, it is even more important that we have media willing to speak truth to power and fight back.  We also need media that will fight the lies and falsehoods disseminated about our community

As I get closer to my departure date for the event, I'll be giving y'all more details about #LGBTMedia17 as I get them.

Houston Stands With Orlando

While I was spending Sunday on the East Coast battling  trolls on my Twitter feed who didn't like what I had to say about the Orlando 'terriss' attack, back home in Houston Ashton Woods was busy organizing a vigil at Hermann Park so that the H-town TBLG community and our allies could #StandWithOrlando.

Ashton in addition to being one of our standout community advocates, also happens to be a member of the Houston chapter of Black Lives Matter.  The goal of the event was for the community to speak up, and also declare that we were going to continue to fight against the oppression of BTLG people.

Here's the link to Ashton's post from his Strength In Numbers blog about the Houston vigil and some of the photo's from it.

Ashley Sinclair's Alleged Killer Arrested

The New Year will hopefully see justice for Ashley Sinclair. 

News out of Orlando, FL is that after an eight month investigation, someone has finally been arrested and charged for her April 4 murder.

22 year old Kentz V. Louis has been arrested by Orange County deputies and charged with first degree murder in this case.

Louis and Sinclair were acquaintances according to deputies, but they haven't released at this time a motive for the shooting that happened in a wooded area of Orange County off Nimrod Lane in the early morning hours of April 4.

Let's hope and pray the Orange County detectives got their man.   Let's also hope and pray that for the sake of Ashley, her family and all who loved her that Louis is expeditiously tried, found guilty and be spending a long time locked up in Florida's penal system for this heinous crime.

Will definitely be keeping an eye on this case until justice is served for our departed trans sister. 

Black Trans Woman Killed In Florida And Subsequently Misgendered By The Media

Here we fracking go again.   This time this all too familiar situation shifts to Orlando, FL  

30 year old Ashley Sinclair was found shot to death early this morning in a wooded area on Rio Grande Drive just off S. Orange Blossom Trail in Orange County.   Police responded to neighbors calling 911 at 6 AM EDT reporting shots fired in the 1600 block of Nimrod Lane. 

A neighbor said they saw a black sedan pull up and then heard four shots fired.

“I look out my window. I see black car here. Then I hear ‘boom, boom, boom.’ Four,” said neighbor Ramon.   Deputies searched the woods and knocked on doors to get any information.


“This is an obvious victim of a homicide. They have been out canvassing the area to see if they’ve seen anything. They do have the victim identified, but have not notified the next of kin yet,” said Jeff Williamson with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone with information regarding this homicide investigation that will lead to the capture and conviction of the wastes of DNA who did this is urged to call  CrimeLine at 800-423-TIPS (8477).
Now that we got that business out of the way regarding another fallen trans sister and hopefully gotten the process started toward bringing the people who killed her to justice, let me start calling out the misgendering of another African-American transwoman by the media.  But before I go off, let's review the AP Stylebook guidelines for reporting on trans people shall we?

    

Transgender: Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.   
If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals live publicly.

I can't tell you how many posts I've written on this blog about media outlets all over the country REPEATEDLY failing to grasp what is so simple a concept to follow that even this humble blogger gets something Amanda Evans and the award winning journalists at News13 in the Orlando, FL area didn't   

Take a look at the photo the family provided of Ashley.  She is not a 'transgender man' as you reported, Amanda.  A transgender man is someone who was born in a female body like yours and whose gender identity and gender presentation to the world is male.  

Ashley is a transgender female.   

And I'm pissed off not only because once again another one of my trans sisters is gone from this Earth too soon, I'm pissed off because she was misgendered in this report.    I'm also angry because I've seen this crap happen with African-American (and Latina) girls like us far too often in the media.

Now lets see how long it's going to take for your award winning website to correct this misgendering of Ashley Sinclair.