ConGRADulations UHD Gators!

As many of you long time readers are aware of, ever since I came back home in May 2010, I've been blessed to interact and work with some amazing student leaders at UH, Rice, TSU, HCC-Southeast and UH-Downtown on various projects.

Many of them were freshmen and sophomores at their respective institutions at the time I encountered them or we started talking and staying in contact after I did panel discussions on those respective campuses.

But as y'all are all keenly aware of and was reinforced today, time marches on.  Those collegiate freshmen and sophomores I met have become seniors about to say goodbye to their college years and hello to their post-graduation lives.

So once again I was taking some time out on a Saturday to check out another collegiate graduation.  Today I was at Minute Maid Park to watch four Gator student leaders, Sarah Syed, LaTrina Carter, Tarah Taylor and Kristopher Sharp step across the stage and graduate from UHD with their various degrees.

It started at 9:15 AM with the graduates marching from their staging area down along the left field side stands around home plate to their blocked off area along the right field stands where the stage was set up,  After hanging out near the student seating and waving at Trina and Sarah, I decided to get some seats behind home plate so I could see the massive Jumbotron board which was in operation and get a better view of the ceremony.

It was also amusing to me that while I was there to support these student leaders on their special day, several people and UHD students who walked past my seat in Section 118 recognized and thanked me for coming to UHD to do those various panels.

I also had a fascinating conversation with another woman who was watching the UHD one, and then hit the road at 11 AM to go to the UT-Austin one to see another relative graduate today.

But today was all about the UHD Class of 2015, and I was honored to get an invitation to witness your special day.

ConGRADulations Sarah, Tarah, Kristopher and Trina! You are all amazing young leaders who accomplished much in your time at 1 Main Street.   I salute you for achieving a personal life goal, and I have no doubts that you will continue to do great things for our community, our state and our country.

'Discrimination In Disguise' Event At UHD Tomorrow

With the overwhelmingly negative attention that the Indiana RFRA drew when their GOP dominated state government tried to pass it, this timely panel discussion on the University of Houston Downtown campus brings attention to our GOP dominated state government''s attempts in Texas to pass RFRA bills that are even more odious.

There are currently 20 anti-LGBTQI bills being proposed that disguise themselves as religious freedom restoration acts, and a panel sponsored by the Texas Freedom Network UHD chapter will discuss them.

It will be on the UHD campus at 1 Main Street in Room N1099 starting at 5:30 PM, so come and join the discussion, the free food, and get educated about the attempts of the Texas GOP to legislate discrimination in disguise..

UHD Challenging Intersections Panel Today

Another day, another panel discussion for me as I head this time to the University of Houston Downtown for one entitled 'Challenging Intersections: Exploring the Struggles and Triumphs of African-Americans in the LGBTQ Community(ies)'

The panel sponsored by Stand Out is another Black History Month event that will be a discussion about being Black and TBLGQ.

It will feature Fran Watson, Brandon Mack, Ashton Woods, and some blogger y'all may have heard of.

The panel will start at 3 PM and will be if you can attend it will be in room N420 on the UHD campus.

See y'all in a few hours Gators!

ConGRADulations To My H-town Grads

The University of Houston, University of Houston Downtown, and Texas Southern University all held their commencement ceremonies this weekend on their various campuses.

Since I've come back home I have gotten to interact with in various human rights and other projects and events members of the Class of 2014 at these schools. 

I've had the pleasure of speaking on their campuses (still waiting for the invites from TSU and PV).   It has been a joy watching LaKeia, Yesenia, James, and Atlantis grow as leaders and quality people on and off their various campuses.

I've gotten to meet others like Guillermo in conjunction with the battle to pass the Tittsworth Act at UH, and will be rooting for him and everyone else in the Class of 2014 as they take their first steps into that different off campus world.

These younglings will definitely be alright. 

Congratulations to all my H-town Cougar, Gator and Tiger collegiate grads.  Know that I have much love for all of you. Megaprops to every one of you for accomplishing a major life goal, and hope this is just the first of many outstanding achievements in your lives. 

Open Letter To The UHD Black Student Alliance

As you TransGriot reader are aware of, I was part of a wonderful panel discussion yesterday with Augie Augustine, Dee Dee Watters and Ashton Woods entitled African American Perspective Within The LGBTQ Community.

It was a no holds barred discussion in which we touched on a lot of issues inside and outside the bi, SGL  and trans communities and was enjoyed by the people in attendance.   I thank LaTrina Carter and Safe Zone once again for the opportunity to be a part of it.

One group that was supposed to be a part of it was the UHD Black Student Alliance.  They had agreed to co-host the event with Safe Zone, but I discovered when I arrived on campus that they pulled out with as of this writing no explanation.     .  

That didn't sit well with me, and I decided to write this open letter to express why they should have followed through with their agreed commitment, especially in this case.

***

Dear UHD Black Student Alliance,

As one of the participants in yesterday's panel discussion that you were supposed to co-host with Safe Zone, it bothered me to hear when I arrived on campus that you pulled out of the event at the last moment.

And the salient question I have for you at this moment which compels me to write this open letter is why did y'all pull out of the event with Safe Zone today?

Was it fear of the unknown? You didn't want to be associated with 'those people'? Not willing to step out of your comfort zone and learn something about a group of fellow African-Americans that love being Black as much as you do and also happen to be LGBT? You don't want to walk the walk when it comes to unity in our community?

Or was it a case of unresolved phobias, hate and bias toward the SGL, trans and bi community?

You missed out on an opportunity to not only get your learn on about the Houston Black LGBT community, you also missed an opportunity to ask us questions, learn about how we navigate our lives, and also about the issues we deal with as we interact with the various communities we intersect with as African-American LGBT people. 

But the thing I'm most saddened and concerned about for my Safe Zone fam was that it was a lost opportunity to do some chocolate community building  and jump start an on campus dialogue between that is sorely needed.  

As the passage last week and subsequent veto of SB 1062 in Arizona emphatically proves, all oppressions are linked.   That bill aimed at the GLBT community would have also had deleterious discriminatory impact on you cis Black straight peeps as well.   

You would have also discovered had you shown up in Room N420 today that Black trans issues are Black community issues.   If the NAACP and other legacy organizations in our community understand that, why can't you?  

The voter suppression laws that the state of Texas passed knocked me out of the 2013 election cycle, but because you no-showed, you didn't get to hear me talk about that.  

You would have also been surprised to discover that I and my fellow panelists are just as concerned about other issues that impact the Black community besides TBLG ones.  

You also missed hearing about the other interesting aspects of my life and the lives of Augie, Ashton, Dee Dee, LaTrina and some of the people in the audience who spoke today.

You would  have also discovered that I'm unapologetically Black and a member of the BTLG community like 'errbody' else on that panel and our moderator was yesterday.  We also aware of what we need to do individually and collectively to uplift our people and also own our power in the LGBT community we are an important part of.


That's what you missed by not showing up, and it's your loss.  But you do owe your fellow Gator LaTrina Carter, who worked hard to put the panel together, an honest explanation along with the members of Safe Zone as to why you did so.

The bottom line is that not I nor anyone else on that panel forfeited our Black Cards when we acknowledged we're also members of the trans, bi and SGL communities. 

We were all looking forward to having that dialogue and building that sorely needed community on the UHD campus and within the 600 plus square miles of Texas soil that we call Houston.  We have more that unites us than divides us, including a shared community history and African ancestry and batturd delusional conservafool politicians that have a foaming at the mouth hatred of Blackness.

In closing, I'd like to say this.  If you claim to love Black people, then you must love ALL Black people, including trans, SGL and bi ones, without exception.


Respectfully yours,
Monica Roberts
The TransGriot

UHD Safe Zone Panel Today

Before I jet off to our nation's capital tomorrow for the upcoming 2014 edition of the LGBT Media Journalists Convening, will be hanging out with the UHD Gators this afternoon. to participate in a panel discussion.

It's jointly sponsored by Safe Zone, the UHD LGBT on campus organization and the UHD Black Student Alliance.

The panel is entitled African American Perspective Within The LGBTQ Community.

We want to bond the gap between the movement of racial justice and LGBTQ Equality. We are also trying to take action to eradicate both homophobia and racism in our own community. We are looking for ways to deal with disparities in the African American community concerning social issues (religion, culture, family and occupational issues in the LGBTQ community.

BUT HOW?
With YOUR help!

The panel is running from 2-4 PM CST in Room N420 on the UH-Downtown .campus main building at 1 Main Street.   The UHD campus is easily accessible via the METRORail Red Line if you don't feel like dealing with fighting downtown traffic and trying to find a parking place for your vehicle.

Thanks once again to LaTrina Carter and the gang at Safe Zone for the invitation to participate in this panel and blessing me with the opportunity to be on your campus again.  

All are welcomed to attend, and hope I'll see as many of you as possible in N420 for what I'm sure will be an interesting discussion..   

TransGriot Update: After I arrived on the UHD campus, discovered that the BSA suddenly pulled out of co-sponsorship of the panel with no warning and no explanation.   Their loss.
   

Moni's Hanging With The UHD Gators

The Gators at the University of Houston Downtown, that is.

On this overcast, cold and wet Thursday afternoon I headed over to the UHD campus yesterday to check out their first spring semester Safe Zone meeting for a few reasons.  It was the last one being facilitated by Kristopher Sharp before he resigned the presidency of the group to do his internship in Washington DC.    They were also electing new Safe Zone officers and the UHD SGA was having an open house after that I was invited to.

I was also in the UH-Downtown house to represent the Creating Change Houston Host Committee to talk about the conference starting a few days from now. 

I also had the bonus of seeing our future city councilmember Jenifer Rene Pool ( Jen's going to run again in 2015) speak to the assembled Safe Zone meeting attendees about advocacy and civic engagement.

So yes, it was cool to watch the new student leaders step up and explain in one-two minute speeches why they wanted their various leadership positions and qualifications for doing so, followed by the votes of their peers.

Congratulations to all the new and returning Safe Zone officers.  May your efforts to continue to build the best organization on the UHD campus be wildly successful.

When it was my turn to speak I went into a brief overview of the conference, let the students know about how they could volunteer, some of the seminars and workshops available and why they should consider attending CC14 if possible. 

So after I spoke, Dr Hudson said a few words and we headed across the hall to SGA's offices for pizza, drinks and a tour of their space in which they work hard to make the UHD campus better for all UHD Gators as evidenced by the recent passage of the gender neutral restroom resolution that got major media coverage inside and outside the Houston area  

I also had a wonderful time talking to SGA President Isaac Valdez, Heather, Sarah, Ashton, Marie Angel, and the rest of the assembled UHD students there about everything from the upcoming Super Bowl to politics to the evolution of music portability from 8-tracks to iPods.   

Didn't leave the campus until nearly 6 PM because I was enjoying the time I was spending there.   But with all the stuff Safe Zone is planning this semester along with the UHD SGA, probably won't be long before I'm back at One Main Street reporting on it.

UH-Downtown SGA Unanimously Passes Gender Neutral Restrooms Resolution

Had the opportunity today to observe a little piece of history as UH-Downtown because the second school in the state of Texas and the first college in the Houston metro area to provide gender neutral restrooms on its campus.

Their first general assembly meeting of the 2014 spring semester was no ordinary one.  It had local media, news cameras and a certain blogger present as we watched student leaders debate the merits of Senate Resolution SR2014January10.

It was a proposal to convert six restrooms on the 14,400 student campus as family/gender neutral ones out of the 60 scattered throughout the three buildings that make up the UHD campus.    

It was authored by UHD VP Kristopher Sharp and UHD Senator John Locke (who was also a sponsor).   It had the sponsorship of UHD Senators LaTrina Carter, Michellee Gutierrez, Channalis Chea, Mohammed Mohsin, Kumail Mir, Michelle Gutierrez and Carlos Rodriguez.

It had the support of UHD SGA President Isaac Valdez, student body such as LaKeia Spady and Marie Angel Hernandez, faculty, staff, the administration and the community at large.

Many of the student leaders and student body members who approached the podium spoke in favor of the proposal. 

The authoring of Senate Resolution SR2014January10 was driven by an incident in which a trans student was harassed in a restroom.  In the wake of that incident troubling reports began to emerge that other trans and gender variant UHD students were so uncomfortable using on campus gendered bathrooms they either waited to go home to do so, waited until the restroom in question cleared out so they wouldn't be disturbed, used one at a nearby  area restaurant or didn't drink or eat anything while on campus. 

But it was the moving words of trans student Marie Angel Hernandez after she stepped to the podium that brought the room to its feet with a standing ovation for her when she was done.  
 

The resolution to designate two bathrooms (one male, one female) in each of UHD's three buildings as gender neutral restrooms open to anyone passed unanimously on a 7-0 vote. 

“This is an important step in UHD’s mission to include diversity and inclusion at the cornerstone of everything that we do,” said VP Kristopher Sharp. “With a unanimous passage by our Senate, this truly shows how important this issue is to the UHD community.”

The unanimously passed SGA proposal now goes to the UHD administration, which is expected to approve it.

Congratulations to the student leaders on the UHD campus for showing the community how solving problems is done.  Hopefully other Houston area colleges and our esteemed Houston City Council will follow your sterling example.