Rev. Dr Cameron Partridge Preaching At Historic National Cathedral TBLG Service Today

More trans history will be made in Washington DC today as the Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge is set to become the first out trans pastor to preach from the  National Cathedral's Canterbury Pulpit.

It will be part of a service in which the cathedral celebrates TBLG Pride Month, and it will be officiated by the Right Rev. Gene Robinson  

In addition to the historic participation of Rev. Partridge, who is the Episcopal chaplain at Boston University, the service will also include readings and prayers from members of the BTLG community. 

The Very Rev. Gary Hall, dean of the cathedral, says he hopes Partridge's appearance "will send a symbolic message in support of greater equality for the transgender community."

That message of support from a religious community is definitely needed in the wake of the Southern Baptists passing their anti-trans resolution on June 10.

Congratulations Rev. Partridge on this historic occasion, and hope you get pack the pews attendance levels for this LGBT service.

Happy Second Anniversary Casa Ruby!

Y'all know I have much love for my DC hermana Ruby Corado, the founding executive director of the Casa Ruby LGBT Community Center in the District. 

Casa Ruby is celebrating its second anniversary later tonight with an awards reception, and I couldn't be happier for her and the bilingual organization and community center that serves 160 clients each week from its Georgia Avenue location with a variety of services.

During my last Washington DC visit I got to spend some quality time there hanging out for a few hours at their Friday group meeting
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“Our anniversary reception is a way to acknowledge and celebrate those individuals and organizations who have helped us service the neediest members of our community,” Corado said in a statement. “By working together, we can pull resources together and continue to provide essential services.”

The reception will take place at the PEPCO Edison Place Gallery at 702 8th St NW starting at 6:30 PM.  Six people and organizations with be awarded for their contributions or volunteer service on behalf of the local DC community.

Ted Eytan will receive the Massey Ally Award; Georgetown Law will be presented with the Community Justice Project Civic Leadership Award; Consuela Lopez and Kaprice Williams will be honored with the Distinguished Service Award; and Lakeisha Washington and Gessel Rodriguez will receive the Ruby Corado Perseverance Award.   

Hope it's a megasuccessful event.  May Casa Ruby continue to thrive and provide those much needed services to all who enter its doors.  

White House Correspondents Dinner 2014

I was having so much fun with my Black Trans fam during my long birthday weekend and distracted wondering about what was transpiring at the GLAAD Media Awards that I forgot the White House Correspondents Dinner was also taking place on that event filled Saturday night.

So for those of you who missed it like I did, here's the POTUS.

Deoni Jones Update-Postponed Trial Set To Start October 6

It has been over two years since girl like us Deoni Jones was killed back in February 2, 2012 as she sat at a bus stop in NE Washington DC.  Her alleged killer Gary Niles Montgomery was arrested on February 10 and charged with first degree murder.

But the wheels of justice have moved at a glacial pace since that February 2012 day to the frustration of Jones' family.   That frustration over the fact it has been two years since Deoni was killed with no resolution of the case spilled out during another mental competency hearing on February 8 to determine if Montgomery was fit to stand trial.   

Montgomery was initially found competent to stand trial in March 2012, but the case was not allowed to proceed due to the failure of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia to obtain an indictment until November 2012.   Montgomery switched defense lawyers, further delaying the court proceedings set to begin July 10, 2013 as the new attorney aggressively contested the results of the March 2012 competency hearing.   The 30 day mental competency observation didn't take place until October, and Judge Robert Morin after receiving the report in November 2013 found Montgomery not fit to stand trial.

Another mental competency observation was set for January 2014 with the hearing set for February 8, pushing the tentative trial date back to April 14, 2014.   

Jones’s father Alvin Bethea, stood up and interrupted the February hearing to express his discontent with the prosecution.  "There has been a great deal of disrespect and lack of sympathy and empathy,” said Mr. Bethea of the prosecutors’ treatment of him and his wife, “We are suffering more than enough.”

Montgomery was found competent to stand trial, with the scheduled date of the trial set for October 6. 

Let's hope and pray for the sake of Deoni's family, friends and all who loved her this date finally sticks and the far too long delayed trial of Gary Niles Montgomery finally happens.

  

Congrats Consuella!

Needed to congratulate my DC homegirl Consuella Lopez for her recent appointment to the Mayor's Advisory Committee to the Office of GLBT Affairs in the District

She was appointed by Mayor Vincent Gray to joins the committee along with Damien Frierson for a term that expires in June 2015.

If her name is vaguely familiar to you, it's because she was one of the people who was featured in the anti-trans discrimination poster campaign launched by the Dc office of Human Rights back in 2012.


Congratulations Consuella! 

I know she is excited about this appointment and looking forward to doing the best job humanly possible to represent the interests of the trans community of Washington DC.  

Safe Bathrooms DC To Launch Today

As you've noticed, with all the 'bathroom predator' lies and shade throw by TERF and our right wing opponents in their morally bankrupt attempts to stop trans inclusive laws and hate on us, it has had the result of causing more drama for trans people of color when we simply go to the bathroom to relieve ourselves as the Andraya Williams case is the most recent example of.

Later this evening at Casa Ruby LGBT Community will be launching in conjunction with the DC Office of Human Rights the Safe Bathrooms DC campaign in order to remind everyone in the District that single stall restrooms must be gender neutral by law.

Public bathrooms are never enjoyable, but for transgender people and many others, using a public bathroom can be a highly stressful and even dangerous experience. In the District of Columbia, we are attempting to reduce that stress by making every single-stall public bathroom in the District gender-neutral. It’s the law, but currently many businesses are unaware of the requirement, and we need your help to let them know. Join us on Thursday, April 3, 2014 to find out what you can do, and to see the unveiling of our new ads.

For those of you who live in the District and wish to attend, the kickoff event with free food starts at 5:30 PM EDT at Casa Ruby, located at 2822 Georgia Av, NW.   RSVP isn't required but would be appreciated and I know they will be happy to see you there for the launch of the #safebathroomsDC campaign..
 

Tona Brown To Sing In DC Area Opera Friday

Too bad I won't be able to be there to see it, but for those of you in the Washington DC metro area, you'll get an opportunity to enjoy hearing Tona Brown sing this Friday.

My mezzo-soprano singing sis, who has not only performed for audiences around the world and has the distinction of being the first trans person to perform for a sitting president, will be performing in the role of Principessa in the Puccini one act opera Suor Angelica being presented by the Singers' Theater of Washington. .

“I am honored to be part of this production,” says Brown, “I love doing opera, and working with such amazing people. - See more at: http://ikonsmagazine.com/2014/03/tona-brown-perform-dc-area-opera/#sthash.4CzNJE3X.dpuf

"I am honored to be part of this production", says Brown.  "I love doing opera and I love working with such amazing people."

You'll get the opportunity to see her on Friday and Saturday March 14 and 15 starting at 7:30 PM EDT at Convergence in Alexandria,VA.

The tickets are $20, and $15 for students and seniors.and can be purchased here if you're interested in attending and supporting our sis and checking her out..

Chief Lanier, Looks Like You DO Have An MPD Transphobia Problem

While I was in DC for the LGBT Media Journalists Convening last week,  I was having such a good time with the ladies of Casa Ruby Friday night I almost blew off the reception and stayed for the group meeting they were having there.  

Had I done so, I would have had a ringside seat for the latest incident of transphobia breaking out in the Washington Metropolitan Police Department

Seems like one of those officers racistly thought that Casa Ruby shouldn't have a blue BMW Z3 to take their clients home in, much less that vehicle was too good for transpeople in a service organization to be in.

For those of you not inside the Beltway, last Friday night after I got dropped off near the Capital Hilton by her executive assistant Caprice Williams, around 10 PM EST she was driving Ruby Corado and some of the attendees of their group meeting home that night.   They were followed for ten blocks after leaving Casa Ruby's Georgia Avenue location  by an MPD unit and pulled over by the Washington po-po's. ostensibly because the vehicle was overcrowded.  

The traffic stop quickly devolved into an ugly incident in which Williams was yanked from the car, the other traumatized passengers were ordered out of the car and made to stand outside in below freezing temperatures, transphobic and homophobic slurs were uttered by the gaggle of officers gathered there, and Williams was arrested and taken to jail and held there until 4:30 AM 

The incident comes on the heels of a recently released 41 page report in which an independent task force created by the Anti-Defamation League of Washington found shortcomings in the way that Metro PD interacts with the DC transgender community. 

It also fits into a pattern of previous incidents involving transpeople of color and MPD on and off duty officers.

From Chloe Moore to Patti Shaw to the carload of transwomen fired upon by drunken off duty MPD officer Kenneth Furr, trans women, and especially transwomen of color in the District find themselves not feeling protected and served by the police officers in the city they live in.

In fact, the incident Shaw endured made it into the Amnesty International 'Stonewalled' report that details abuses of TBLG people aimed at them by the police. 

It also led Shaw in July 2012 to file a lawsuit against MPD and the US Marshal's Service. 


According to the Hate Crimes Assessment Report, it stated there is a belief in the Washington DC LGBT community that “homophobia and transphobia are widespread within MPD, with several describing it as rampant.”   That community mistrust was also reflected in MPD oversight hearings testimony  on February 27, 2013.

Interviews with members of the DC community for the Hate Crimes Assessment Report revealed that the hostility toward transgender people, especially transgender women of color, is common among many MPD officers.

“Virtually every transgender person who spoke to us at the four community meetings reported that they had been harassed or mistreated because of their gender identity or expression, ranging from acts of ignorance and insensitivity to outright hostility and overt expressions of bigotry and harassment,” the HCA report says.

And you'd be hard pressed to believe with all the transphobic incidents currently plaguing MPD that I've talked about on this blog since 2010, that once upon a time, Officer Bonnie N.Davenport was the MPD's first trans cop in 1979.

I repeat what I said in the post discussing the Kenneth Furr incident in August 2011. 

Something transphobic has been brewing in the MPD police culture for some time and Chief Cathy Lanier needs to get to the bottom of it. 

If she can't or she's getting resistance, then maybe the Department of Justice needs to get busy taking a look at what's going on in MPD and start cleaning out the transphobic rotten apples.

Transphobia is bad enough in the general population.   It's even worse and can have potentially fatal consequences when it's hiding behind a badge.


So yes Chief Lanier, you not only have a transphobia problem in MPD, it's past time to acknowledge you do and root it out.  I think the best way to start besides admitting you have a problem is to actually have some trans police officers on the MPD force again for the first time since Bonnie Davenport retired in 1991. 

The LGBT Media Journalists Convening-The Big Day

I'm in the Capital Hilton house for the big (and long day) ahead of me for this 2014 edition of the LGBT Media Journalists Convening.  

Last night we had the reception in which MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell was our keynote speaker.

And while you're reading this, I should be getting my beauty sleep  

I'll be up early so I can bounce from the hotel at 7 AM ET to do the White House tour, then head back here to start the first of several sessions of this business trip.

You can keep up with our impressions concerning what's happening by checking our Facebook page for the convening or checking #LGBTMedia14 on Twitter.

Besides the White House tour, we have media training covering topics such as countering the lies of our anti-LGBT opponents, technology, immigration reform, diversity in TBLG media, and best practices for writing about touchy subjects.

Told y'all this was a business trip.

Enroute To DC Again

Moni's once again enroute to DC via a jet plane from Houston.   Seems like that's been a recurring theme in my life over the last 20 years.   

But this time it's for my second trip to participate in the LGBT Media Journalists Convening and in addition to hanging out with my fellow bloggers and journalists, I'll be armed with my Christmas present from my homegirl Samantha Master, my new laptop.

I'm still a novice in the world of laptop computing and far more skilled with a desktop than a laptop.  If I can figure out how to get my new laptop online, I'll be tweeting and discussing the happenings as they occur. 

If I can't, I'll do what I usually do.  Take notes and post the stories in a diary I'll put up on the blog later. 

If my flight leaves on time at 11:45 AM, I'll be arriving at DCA at 3:35 PM ET, then will head off to my NW DC hotel.  

In addition to a welcoming reception later tonight that starts at 7 PM which will have MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell doing a keynote speech at it, we'll have a packed Saturday of events and seminars that starts with breakfast and a White House tour.

We'll also be living up to this year’s #LGBTMedia14 theme of ‘Honing Our Game’, because this year's event will be focused on journalistic skill building.

For those of you wishing to keep up with what we're up during the LGBT Media Journalists Convening, you can check out our Facebook page for the event, and follow people tweeting at #LGBTMedia14.  

There will also be a fan meetup event tomorrow at the Green Lantern (1335 Green Court NW in Thomas Circle) that starts at 9:30 PM and is open to all our fans and readers to attend.    We hope you take advantage of the opportunity to meet many of your favorite TBLG bloggers and reporters in one spot.

And yeah, it goes without saying I'm looking forward to hanging out with my blogging and journalistic colleagues again. 
     

Honing My Game At The 2014 LGBT Media Journalists Convening

I'm leaving the 70 degree warmth of H-town on Friday to head to a much colder Washington DC and hone my game this weekend at the fifth annual LGBT Media Journalists Convening.

It's my second consecutive time attending this invitation only event which was previously held in New York, San Francisco, Houston and Philadelphia.   

And yeah, still mildly pissed off about missing the one that took place in my Houston backyard.

The theme for the 2014 edition of the LGBT Media Journalists Convening is 'Honing Our Game', so yes, this a basically a business trip for me. 

I will get to have some fun, reunite with my fellow TBLG journalists and bloggers from around the nation and meet others who are here for the first time or couldn't make it last year.  And if I'm lucky, may actually get a chance to spend some quality time with some of my friends who live in DC.   

At the last two Convenings in Houston and Philadelphia we've had the honor and pleasure of having Mayor Annise Parker and Mayor Michael Nutter come and speak to us for a few moments.  Wonder if the trend will continue and we'll see Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray?  

The Convening is sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association (NGLJA) and the Haas, Jr Fund.   Many of us will be tweeting what's going on this weekend via the #LGBTMedia14 hashtag and have already started the Twitter party in advance of the weekend.  


There is also an LGBT Media14 Facebook page that you can peruse to that will have event news post from many of the journalists and bloggers in attendance.   And just like in Phlly, there will be trans masculine and transfeminine representation in the #LGBTMedia14 house.     

The whirlwind weekend starts off with a Friday reception in which MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell is slated to be our keynote speaker.   Then after a Saturday morning tour of the White House, we dive into our all day seminars and training sessions.

There's also a meet up event scheduled at the Green Lantern on Saturday night March 1 starting at 9:30 PM in which the public and our fans and supporters are encouraged to hang out with us . The Green Lantern is located at 1335 Green Court NW, Washington, D.C. 20005. 
 
The event concludes with a Sunday morning bus tour of Washington DC's monuments.  I've been to DC a few times on other trips and have seen some of those monuments including the MLK Jr one, but I'm looking forward to that tour as well before heading back home to Houston.

I'm making sure I'm getting my beauty sleep, because I have a feeling I won't be doing much of that this weekend except on the plane rides up and back.  

Moni's Going To DC In February

A month from today it'll be my turn to hop on an airplane and jet off somewhere for a conference.

On February 28 I get to chill out in DC (and I hope chill out isn't the operative weather word that weekend) and take part in the 2014 edition of the LGBT Media Journalists Convening

It'll be the second one I've been blessed to take part in, and the theme for this edition of it is "Honing Our Game," and I'll get to be inside the Beltway from Friday, February 28 to Sunday, March 2, 2014. 

The goal of this fifth annual LGBT forum is to strengthen the capacity of TBLG  members of the media and blogosphere to more deeply understand and more effectively communicate critical issues facing the BTLG community, as well as assist in increasing the presence and diversity of GLBT bloggers in the national blogging community.

I'm looking forward to taking my first road trip of 2014 back to DC again, and I hope to see many of my blogging and media peers on what should be a n informative and fun weekend.

Michael McBride Going To Jail For DC Attack

The New Year for transpeople is definitely getting started on the right foot.   CeCe is freed from unjust incarceration, and now comes word from Washington DC that the waste of DNA who brutally attacked one of our POC transsisters is about to spend time in jail for it.

Michael McBride back on October 25 had already pled guilty to a charge of aggravated assault while armed in the heinous June 21 attack in SE DC on one of our transsisters that left her hospitalized after being stabbed up to 40 times.  She suffered significant blood loss and if it hadn't been for timely medial intervention would have died as a result of it.  

On Friday January 10 the 23 year old McBride faced the judicial music in the Honorable Judge Patricia A Broderick's courtroom.   He was sentenced to ten years in jail and once he gets out, another five years of supervised release and mental health services.

Is the sentence enough?   That's debatable.  But hopfully what is does do is send the message in the Distrcit and elsewhere that it's no longer open season on trans women.   I hope it also sends the message that if you attack us, you will get extensive jail time for it and not a slap on the wrist.
    

Michael McBride Pleads Guilty In Wallace Case

There's more good legal news for the trans community is the wake of the horrific Washington DC case in which one of our transsisters was lured to an abandoned building in the 3500 block of Stanton Rd. SE and stabbed up to 40 times back on June 21.

Michael McBride, the perpetrator and defendant in this case, acording to statements made by friends of the victim, McBride and the woman had previously known each other, but McBride only attacked her after a passerby asked him what he was doing with a ''faggy.''

McBride pleaded guilty according to a MetroWeekly report back on October 25 to a charge of aggravated assault while armed and a charge unrelated to the Wallace attack of assault with a dangerous weapon. 

McBride remains in jail without bond as he awaits sentencing.  His next DC Superior Court appearance is scheduled for January 2014.

Under the D.C. Criminal Code, McBride could be fined up to $10,000 and sentenced for up to 10 years, in addition to a term of up to life imprisonment with a mandatory prison term of five, 10 or 15 years, based on his prior criminal record, for the charge of aggravated assault while armed.  The maximum sentence for the assault with the deadly weapon charge is 10 years.

Will be anxious to see how this case plays out as well and how much time he gets for the attack on our trans sister.
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Happy Milestone Birthday Bree!

My birthday is tomorrow not excited but grateful to see another year....My Lord is awesome......
--Bree Wallace, December 1, 2013

If the waste of DNA Michael McBride had gotten his way in the early morning hours of June 21, then 29 year old Bree Wallace's name would have been one of the 238 names we read at the 2013 Transgender Day of Remembrance memorials back on November 20. 

But instead the 23 year old McBride is in custody for attempting to stab her multiple times and is facing assault with intent to kill charges. 

After being hospitalized for and recovering from her over 30 stab wounds, Bree is celebrating her milestone 30th birthday today.

It is a birthday she is obviously grateful to have reached.   All her friends and family and the people who love and care about her in the Washington DC area and beyond feel the same way about it as she does.

Bree, Happy Milestone Birthday!   So happy you have reached the Big 3-0 one and I pray this is a birthday that will be filled with smiles as wide as Texas, lots of hugs, lots of love, and a launching pad for better birthdays to come. 

I hope that somebody at least hooks you up with a birthday mani and pedicure, dinner or whatever you wish to have happen on your special day. 

May you also be blessed to know what it's like to be as old as I am . 

One thing I hope Bree receives as a late birthday present is McBride being convicted and spending much time in jail for trying to take her life.  But that's me being angry, frustrated and sick and tired of being sick and tired of my transsisters being targeted and killed for just living their lives.    

Again, happy milestone birthday Bree!   May you not only have many more birthdays to come, but God bless you to reach more of your milestone birthdays as well. 

Bonnie N. Davenport DC's First Trans Cop

This post is probably going to come as a surprise to some people who have seen the long history of transphobic shenanigans emanating from DC Metro Police officers, but once upon a time the DC Metro Police Department had on its force a trans police officer by the name of Bonnie Nora Davenport.

She was born in Buffalo, NY. in 1943, was an Air Force veteran and studied at American University and George Washington University ,  

Bonnie was an eight year veteran of the DC police force when she made the trip to Trinidad, CO and had her SRS performed by Dr. Stanley Biber.   In 1979 she became the first and so far only trans cop on the Metro DC force when she was certified to return to duty.

Bonnie eventually served for 20 years on the DC Metro Police until she retired in 1991.  She got married to Earl O'Neal who preceded her in death..

This trailblazing police officer passed away at her home in Fredonia, NY on the morning of November 17, 2009.  

Hopefully there will be another transperson who joins the DC Metro Police force and carries on her legacy because frankly, they could use some trans police officers now on their force.

ENDA Passes Key Senate Cloture Vote

By a 61-30 margin, the US Senate passed a procedural cloture vote on the trans inclusive Employment and Non Discrimination Act (ENDA) that shuts off the chances of a Republican filibuster and allows debate on the legislation to begin on the Senate floor.

It also increases the changes that ENDA will pass when it comes up for its final vote sometime on Wednesday.

Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) was one of the first people to speak on behalf of this legislation. 




As soon as I get the list of who voted YEA and NAY, I'll add that to this post.   I already know my Texas Senate idiots both voted NAY.

Jeri Hughes Running For Gertrude Stein Club Presidency

I've mentioned a few times in my posts about my trips to Washington DC longtime trans activist Jeri Hughes.  When I'm inside I-495 and chilling at her I get the opportunity to have some long and thoughtful conversations about the state of the trans community and countless other subjects with her every time I'm in her presence.

I also know she's proud of living in the District, and I was happy to discover courtesy of an October 31  Washington Blade article that she is running for the presidency of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club when the group holds its officer elections on November 18.   

The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club was founded in 1976 and is the voice for TBLG Democrats in Washington DC.  It is also the founding chapter of the National Stonewall Democrats and according to their website one of the oldest Democratic Clubs inside I-495.

If she is successful, Hughes would become the first trans person to serve as the Gertrude Stein club’s president but wouldn't be the first elected to a leadership position in that organization.   Transgender and Democratic Party activist Julius Agers served as the club’s vice president two years ago.

Best of luck Jeri and hope I have some wonderful history to report on come November 18.

DC's Jones Birth Certificate Bill Signed Into Law

The JaParker Deoni Jones Birth Certificate Equality Amendment Act of 2013, that seeks to modernize DC's laws and make it easier for trans and intersex residents of the District to request a birth certificate that reflects their current personal information, has been signed into law by Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray (D).

The bill was amended after its initial committee approval and the initial council vote on June 29 to explicitly include intersex people to it.  It also allows physicians and any medical professional to sign off on changing gender markers. 

The bill received final council approval in July and was signed by Mayor Gray into law August 6.  It will become law after the mandatory 30 day Congressional review.

With Mayor Gray's signature the District of Columbia now joins the federal government and 23 states in protecting trans identities and allowing birth certificate changes without surgical intervention.  The Jones Birth Certificate Bill is according to DC Trans Coalition social policy organizer Andy Bowen, who spearheaded passage of the bill the strongest in the United States.

And it's also a fitting memorial to Deoni Jones.      

August 7, 1995

An auto accident happened on this date 18 years ago at the corner of 50th and C Streets in southeast Washington DC that would eventually get the attention of the nation and the world. 

It involved a 24 year old girl like us named Tyra Hunter who was headed to work at the time as a passenger in one of the vehicles.

She and the driver were pulled from the smoldering ruins of the car and a DC paramedic named Adrian Williams began to work on her until he cut her pants leg open to reveal a penis.

He stood up, backed away, made dehumanizing transphobic remarks and cracked transphobic jokes for five to seven critical minutes until an EMS supervisor arrived on the scene to resume her treatment.

She was taken to the now closed DC General Hospital where she died of blunt force trauma at 5:20 PM EDT.
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Transphobia killed Tyra Hunter.   Medical transphobia..

At the time this happened I was 16 months into my own transition.  I was horrified, shocked and angered by what happened to her.  Tyra's unnecessary death still bothers me to this day.

I think about Tyra often, especially on this day.   She would have been 42 this year had she not encountered an EMT who forgot that serving all the citizens of The District includes transgender ones, too and wonder how her would have evolved from that point had Adrian Williams done his duty.  . 

But the person I feel the most sorrow for today is Tyra's mother Margie Hunter.  She lost her child who should still be standing on this planet.   That 50th and C street corner would claim two more young Black trans lives seven years later on the date of Tyra's funeral.  

And sadly, on this date in 2013 we are still losing young Black transwomen to anti-trans hate and violence.

And I want it to stop.