And Kandis Makes 15

This is getting out of control now.   This is the third Black trans woman killed or has had her death announced this week

This is 35 year old Kandis Capri of Phoenix, AZ.   She was shot to death on Tuesday and pronounced dead from the four gunshot wound she received at a Phoenix hospital.   Her purse and phone is missing, and her mother was notified by tight lipped Phoenix PD t 5:30 AM local time on Wednesday.

I say tight lipped because they haven't said anything about this case, the Phoenix media has been mute about it, and what I know about it I had to read an article in The Guardian with Kandis' mother Andria Gaines just to get the basics.that I've written here.

As of this writing Phoenix PD hasn't even published a number so that people with potential leads to solve this case an call either Crimestoppers or the detectives working the case.   But with Phoenix having some amazing activists in the area, hope that will change soon..

Kandis Capri makes number 15 in a year that is rapidly becoming a deadly one for US based trans women, and we still have 4r months to go.  far too many of those deaths have been overwhelmingly of Black and Latina trans women, and far too many of them this year have been under 30.

If #BlackTransLivesMatter Black America, prove it to me and your trans kin.  Sign the Fran Watson created White House We The People petition (that I have already signed) that seeks to begin a federal investigation into the anti-trans violence that is snuffing out far too many young Black trans people.

We have talents as trans people we can contribute to the greater African-American community and society.  But we can't do that if we're lying dead in a grave.

Rest in power and peace Kandis.

Netroots Nation 2015 Starts Today!

The 2015 edition of Netroots Nation starts today and it is coming to you from Phoenix, AZ. starting today until July 19.   And nope, I won't be there to cover all the exciting things that are going to transpire at the Phoenix Convention Center and the various hotels.

As badly as I would have liked to have been there, just didn't work out for me to be able to come for the first time since the 2012 event in Providence, RI.

But like every one else that couldn't go for various reasons, I'll check out the #NN15 hashtag on Twitter to see what people are saying about the largest progressive conference in the country. 

There's also the Netroots Nation website in which I and others who couldn't be there in person this year will be able to check out some of the seminars and speeches being webcast.

For those of you who did make it to Phoenix or are headed that way, y'all have fun, get your learn on and I hopefully see y'all at Netroots Nation 2016 in a locale to be determined later.

Phoenix Drops Unjust 'Walking While Trans' Charges Aimed At Monica Jones

More good news coming from Arizona as we get word that the city of Phoenix prosecutors have dropped all charges against activist Monica Jones.

She was convicted in May 2013 of “manifesting prostitution” after she accepted a ride from an undercover police officer  during a Phoenix antiprostitution sting.

The case garnered international attention and support from Laverne Cox and the ACLU when Jones began speaking out against the unjust law resulting in 'walking while trans' profiling of trans women of color.

The ACLU has argued that the Phoenix law is too vague, in that the behaviors it describes are easily misinterpreted. For example, talking to passersby could be an indication that an individual is lost and seeking directions or that they are canvassing for a political cause.

Jones pointed out to Buzzfeed News  the law seems to target specific groups of people.

“I think there is a bigger issue that needs to be addressed,” Jones explained. “This law needs to be thrown out because it unfairly targets women, transgender women, and people of color living in poverty. Police wouldn’t [arrest] a man standing on the corner talking to a passerby.”

While she won an appeal of her conviction in January that granted her a possible retrial, it still left the constitutionality of the law in question

The decision by Phoenix prosecutors to drop charges came only eight days after Jones and her legal team appealed to a higher appellate court to have the law repealed on constitutional grounds.was timing that Jones' attorney Jean-Jacques Cabou notes, “coincidental to say the least.”

Cabou said he hoped city officials would consider repealing the law, but if not, “we’ll blow it up the next time someone brings a case.”

At the very least, for now, Jones can rest easier, says Cabou.

“The case against [Jones] is officially over. Monica never has anything to fear resulting from her arrest that night. We won a total victory on that front.”