Boston LGBTQ Activists Of Color Protest Holds Up Pride Parade

Been talking about the fact that far too often, the LGBTQ community in its public face and in the folks that get paychecks to be 'professionally gay' as demonstrated in the HRC internal report, are overwhelmingly white gay male  with an occasional white lesbian thrown in.

Bi and trans people?  Even rarer, and rarer still in those ranks are LGBTQ people of color.

In Boston, LGBTQ people of color got #WickedPissed about it and decided to do something to highlight and draw attention to the problem.

A dozen TBLGQ activists and our allies sat down at the corner of Boylston and Charles Streets in Downtown Boston yesterday and halted the 45th Boston Gay Pride Parade for 11 minutes.

The 11 minutes they chose to delay the parade was for the eleven trans people that have been murdered in the US in 2015.  A statement was also released prior to the sit in that noted the success of bringing same sex marriage to Massachusetts while failing to respond affirmatively to the murders of trans women of color.

Some of the early trans murders that got attention, like the Chanelle Pickett and Rita Hester cases, happened in the Boston area and involved trans women of color.  Hester's 1998 murder, which is still unsolved, was the catalyst for the Transgender Day of Remembrance.

"We are a group of Black, Latin@, Asian, and white people, queer and trans allies who are interrupting this annual party to declare that all our struggles are interconnected. We won’t wait for the advances of the most privileged of our community to trickle down to the rest of us. We live in a society that has declared war on Black people, women, immigrants, trans people, poor people, and—at the intersection of all that—trans women of color. It is the duty of the entire LGBTQ community to stand united and prove that all of our lives matter,” read part of the statement.

The statement also made demands of Boston Pride to diversify its all white board (gee, that sounds familiar) adjust the parade route to include communities of color, adjust fees so smaller non-profits can march in the parade, and stop prioritizing corporations with a record of bringing harm to communities of color

Demands were also made of the Boston LGBTQ community that called in the statement for more LGBTQ leaders of Color (including Transgender individuals of Color) in senior management positions at LGBTQ organizations, more resources to support LGBTQ organizations of Color, inclusion of transgender specific medical care in MassHealth and asked for an intentional efforts by the larger Boston community to acknowledge and do more to respond to racism in the city.

Will there be progress in Boston as a result of this protest?   That remains to be seen, given the historical anti-trans attitudes that arre embedded in elements of the local LGBT community.  

Some of the most notorious TERF's in Janice Raymond and Elizabeth Hungerford call Massachusetts home, and a bill to fix the unjust trans rights law that didn't include public accommodations when it passed in July 2012 is mired in the state legislature.

So it remains to be seen if the protest manifests itself into real gains for the trans community of color in Massachusetts.

HERO Civil Rights Strategy Meeting Thursday

On Thursday July 24 there will be a HERO Civil Rights Strategy Meeting held at Resurrection MCC Church starting at 7 PM.

One of the things i and many other people in Houston trans and SGL world have been pissed off about are not only the cadre of sellout ministers bearing false witness against the trans community, but the erasure of Black LGBT people from the HERO conversation as if we don't exist. 


Some of the topics that will be discussed is the history behind the HERO, the 15 classes the nearly two month old ordinance covers, what we need to do to counter the lies of Max Miller and his sellout ministers, blowing up the anti-transgender lies,  and coalition building and coming to the table in a community with a leadership diversity issue.

We'll also be discussing the upcoming August 4 Forward Times HERO forum.

This is just the first of many strategy meetings the Houston SGL and trans community will schedule, and it would be nice if people do show up for it. 

Reconciling Ministries ChurchQuake Scholarships For LGBTQ Kids Of Color

One of the wonderful people I got to meet during last year's GLAAD National POC Media training event last summer was Dr. Pamela Lightsey.

She is one impressive woman on many levels.  She is the Associate Dean of Community Life and Lifelong Learning and Clinical Assistant Professor of Contextual Theology & Practice at Boston University.  In addition, she is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and is the Co-Chair of the American Academy of Religion's Womanist Approaches to Religion & Society Group. 

The UMC's Reconciling Ministries seeks to 'mobilize United Methodists of all sexual orientations and gender identities to transform the Church and the world into the full expression of Christ's inclusive love'. 

I'm definitely down with that program as a 'Big C' Christian, and Pamela sent me this information about their upcoming 'ChurchQuake' national convocation taking place the weekend of August 30-September 2 in Chevy Chase, MD.    

Reconciling Ministries is offering 4 full scholarships for "ChurchQuake" to LGBTQ young adults who identify as persons of color and wish to participate in this event.  United Methodist affiliation is not a prerequisite though UMC members will be given primary consideration for the four available scholarships .

If you wish further information about the Church Quake scholarship opportunity, you can phone Dr Lightsey at 617-353-3051 or fax her at 617-353-3061.

I Believe There's An LGBT Community, But...

One of the ongoing arguments I hear and I reject whether it comes from the LGB end of the spectrum or the trans end of it is that 'there is no LGBT community'. Granted I've railed more than a few times on this blog about some of the contentious history that has occurred between elements of it, but the evidence is overwhelming that an LGBT community exists.

While I believe there is an LGBT community, at the same time I as a person of color have seen, heard and experienced enough negativity to give me pause.enough to seek to emulate what my people have done in interacting with a predominately vanillacentric privileged parent society.

The BTLG community as a microcosm of the society at large has the same drama, race, class and inequality issues that permeate the parent society and just because we fly rainbow or pink, white and blue striped flags it didn't change that dynamic one bit.

Black trans and same gender loving (SGL) peeps still get called the n-word just as quickly by people inside this community as they do by knuckle-dragging idiots outside of it.  So to combat that, for our own sanity and well-being we POC members of this contentious group we interact with have to do our parts to ensure we have vibrant trans and same gender loving communities of our own across the nation..

It's why during this Black History Month I'm making sure that trans history makers get highlighted on my  blog and my Facebook page.  It's why the National Black Justice Coalition got founded ten years ago and the Trans Persons of Color Coalition got founded in 2010.  I don't doubt because of that same dynamic you will soon (if it hasn't happened already) trans and SGL organizations that cater to the issues unique to the Latin@ community. 

We aren't doing it just to separate from predominately white TBLG groups as we've been accused of doing, but to strengthen our own voices.   We're owning our power and pointing out to the members of the ethnic groups we belong to that yes, we exist and being a person of color and trans, gay, bi or lesbian is not an oxymoron.   We're addressing in our ranks the shame, guilt and fear issues by building pride in being same gender loving and trans people of color.  That's needed so that we can be better, more powerful allies in our common human rights struggle.
We're also calling attention to the fact that we're feeling marginalized, invisible and ignored in the greater GLBT community and that policy issues need addressing besides 'all marriage all the time'.
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This LGBT community is a diverse group we are a part of, and we all agree that our human rights as BTLG citizens of our nation must be respected and protected under the laws of our land and the 'We the People' in the United States Constitution also applies to trans and same gender loving citizens of this nation 

I believe there is an LGBT community.  But because we are a diverse bunch, much work has to be constantly done to ensure we are all on the same human rights page and keep moving forward to accomplish our human rights goals.

GLAAD National POC Media Institute Compilation Post

I got back into Hobby around 7:30 PM CDT last night after my weekend business trip in New York and thought I should for the benefit of you TransGriot readers stick the links to the posts I wrote about the GLAAD POC Media Institute in one convenient post for you to peruse.

And yeah, the TransGriot needed to do her job of chronicling this event for future generations. 

So let's get into the POC Media Institute realness.    Click on the various links to my posts discussing what transpired during the New York edition of the 2012 edition of the GLAAD National POC Media Institute.

Looking forward to hearing from you LA bound GLAAD National POC Media Institute participants what went on during your upcoming sessions on September 7-9


Moni's Going To The 2012 GLAAD POC Media Institute

Eagerly Awaiting The GLAAD National POC Media Institute

I'm In NY (Finally)

GLAAD National POC Media Institute-Day 1

GLAAD National POC Media Institute-Day 2

Leaving New York   

Womanists Haven't Disrespected My Humanity

One of the questions that I get asked from time to time is why I am a womanist as opposed to being a Black feminist or a trans feminist?

It's a fairly simple answer for me as to why.  I don't see womanists engaging in the nekulturny behavior aimed at transwomen that has angered and turned me off for a long time.   It's led me to reach the same epiphany that my African-descended cis sisters and other POC women have that feminism in the 2K10's or in whatever wave it's in at this point in time is of, about, by and for white women only and not only maintaining their privilege, but expanding it so they have the same equality, status and privileges as white males. 

It also seems like elements of them want the ability to oppress others, then cry white women's tears when you call them on their crap.  Many white feminists also continue to ignore the fact that race and class intersections impact how women of color live their lives vis a vis theirs. 

Don't even get me started about the issues of transwomen of color. 
 

Think that's over the top or harsh?  Look no further than the behavior of radical lesbian feminists and the continued ongoing exercises in spewing disco era hate at transwomen and transmen, their hate screeds in their blogosphere and their attempts to codify it into law at the local, national and now international level.. 

I can also point to the fact that as I write this no womanist, unlike a depressingly long list of radical lesbian feminists such as Julie Bindel have repeatedly erased my womanhood, made disparaging remarks in print or online about us or openly and are actively opposing my transsisters march to human rights coverage.

From the time I made the declaration that I was a womanist, I have been welcomed with open arms and treated with respect by other womanists as they broke it down what they envisioned womanism to be, what it meant to them personally and shared their individual journeys with me in arriving at that point.

I'm more of an Africana womanist, which means I'm not only concerned about women of color here at home and the issues that affect them but across the African Diaspora.

Note I said women of color. Africana womanists take a more inclusive view of it.
They believe that no matter whether you came out of the womb with a feminine body at birth or you morphed into it as I did later in life, you're a woman and you are our sister   The advancement of our human rights and tackling the issues that impact our lives is most important
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It's that element of it and that kind of inclusive thinking I most appreciate about womanism as a proud African descended transwoman.  I want to not only uplift my race and my African descended transpeople, but do my part along with my African descended transsisters of being compliments to Black womanhood, not caricatures or impediments to it. 

But like any movement it isn't perfect and it also has some schools of thought emerging in it since the initial break with feminism in the 90's.  I'm concerned about a small cadre of faith-based womanists who are spouting anti-trans rhetoric that would make radfems smile and are hiding behind their religious beliefs, cisgender privilege and Bibles as justification for their transphobia. 

I'm happy to note the faith based ones are called out on a regular basis in internal FUBU womanist discussions.and as a trans womanist who is also a Christian I don't want that kind of faith-based trans ignorance gaining a foothold and fouling mainstream womanism.  You only need look at feminism to see what kind of toxic damage virulent transphobia has caused over three decades in that movement. 

I have enough issues on my plate fighting anti-trans bigotry and for trans human rights inside and outside the trans community.  I don't want or need that drama erupting in womanist circles and the faith based womanists need to buy a vowel and get a clue that transwomen exist and aren't going anywhere.  

As Alice Walker said, "It's so clear that you have to cherish everyone. I think that's what I get from these older black women, that every soul is to be cherished, that every flower is to bloom." 

It's an opportunity to cherish transwomen and let our flowers bloom. We  transwomen wish to continue dispelling the myths, misperceptions and outright lies routinely propagated about us by others .  

At the same time we need clarification on what we African descended transwomen can do to help womanism seize on its golden opportunity to embrace their trans sisters, continue building on the inclusive principles that attract us to it in the first place and shape its growth and forward momentum in a positive direction.   

Since my 'I am a womanist' declaration, I have yet to run into a womanist who disrespected my evolving feminine journey or has actively worked to deny me human rights coverage like people who call themselves feminists repeatedly do.  I want to continue to be able to say that for the rest of the 2K10's and beyond.