Will The Washington NFL Team's October 16 Win Translate To A Clinton One?

One of the interesting election bellwethers in American politics involves our national passion of NFL football and the Washington NFL franchise.  I'm refusing to use the racist nickname of the team in this post and per TransGriot policy out of respect to my Native American friends.

Since the team moved to DC from Boston in 1937, when the Washington NFL franchise wins their last home game before the presidential election, the incumbent party stays in the Oval Office.  If they lose their last home game, according to the rule, the party out of power wins the subsequent national presidential election.

The Washington Rule has been remarkably consistent, and only been wrong once.

In 2012, the Washington NFL team lost to the Carolina Panthers 21-13, but incumbent President Barack Obama won in an electoral landslide over Mitt Romney.

If you count the presidential elections of 1932 and 1936 before the team relocated to Washington DC, it's twice.

In 1932, they beat the Staten Island Stapletons in their last home game before the election 19-6 but Democratic nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated incumbent Republican president Herbert Hoover for the first of his four terms.

In 1936, the first year they competed under their racist nickname, they beat the Chicago Cardinals 13-10 in their last home game before the election, and FDR was reelected in a landslide.

The Washington NFL franchise is playing across The Pond at Wembley Stadium today against the Cincinnati Bengals and because of their subsequent bye week, won't be playing their next home game against the Minnesota Vikings until after the election on November 13.

So what was the result of their last home game?   The Washington NFL team's last home game was on October 16 against the Philadelphia Eagles, who they defeated 27-20.  According to the rule, that means the incumbent party (the Democrats) will keep the White House and Hillary Clinton will become our next POTUS..

Will that result on October 16 be backed up by the election on November 8?   We'll find out in a few days.

TransGriot Update : Nope 

Naw Conservafools, Clarence Thomas Doesn't Belong In The NMAAHC

The newly opened National Museum of African American History and Culture has over 350,000 square feet of exhibit space in the beautifully designed building that resembles an Egyptian pyramid that is ten stories tall, five of them below ground.

It has a collection of over 33,000 objects, with 3,500 of them on display in the museum including the Parliament-Funkadelic Mothership.  Tickets to enter the NMAAHC are sold out for the remainder of the year and through March 2017.

But one of the things that is pissing conservatives off is there is no mention of Supreme Court (in)Justice Clarence Thomas except for his contentious SCOTUS confirmation hearing.

They want Thomas included in the NMAAHC, and have launched a petition campaign to make that happen.

Aww, poor conservababies. It's amusingly ironic they are pissed off about Thomas not being included in a national African American history museum they fought tooth and nail for decades to ensure would never open.

I say not only no, but hell no to Uncle Thomas' inclusion in the NMAAHC.

Selling out your people has a cost, and one of those is being considered a pariah amongst your people and going down in Black history as the man who was the antithesis of the towering legal legacy of Justice Thurgood Marshall.

Thomas was on the wrong side of far too many cases that involved or negatively affected our people including being the deciding vote in the Shelby case that eviscerated Section 4 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Citizens United, Voter ID laws and voting rights, and affirmative action just to name a few.

And no amount of whining from you conservatives or attempts to sanitize that odious anti-Black legacy will change the decades of disgust we African-Americans feel and have for him whenever we hear Clarence Thomas' name mentioned.

So nope, the only way Clarence Thomas should get into the NMAAHC is to buy a ticket.

Election Registration Deadlines Today In TX And Several States

If after watching (or not watching) the second debate and you are sufficiently motivated enough to vote on November 8, then you better bust a move because today is the deadline day to get registered.

Texas is one of those states in which today is the deadline to get registered to vote along with georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

Just a reminder, here's the rest of the voter registration deadlines for October.

In the District of Columbia today is also the deadline to register in advance of the election, but you can do same day registration there. I'd suggest you do it now DC if possible.

Florida's deadline was originally today, and Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) refused to extend the deadline despite the fact that county offices in much of the state were closed because of Hurricane Matthew.  
Thanks to a successful voting rights lawsuit filed by the Florida Democratic Party, the voter registration deadline was extended by US District court Judge Mark E. Walker (Obama appointee) by one day, with another hearing coming later today to determine whether to extend it beyond Wednesday.


Once again, presidential elections matter, and if you wish you exercise that right to vote on November 8 or during early voting if your part of the country offers it like Texas does (October 24-November 4), you must handle the first step of it and register to vote.

The clock's ticking.    You can check your registration status or register to vote via this link.

If you believe your voting rights are being messed with, call the ACLU Voter Protection Hotline at 877-523-2792

National Museum of African American History and Culture Opens Today

It was an event 100 years in the making, but how apropos that when the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) was opened, the first African American president of the United States was there.

The effort dates back to 1915, when Black Civil War veterans pushed for a memorial to recognize he role they played in fighting for and winning their own emancipation.   Of course, their pleas were ignored and funding never came for that memorial.

After the success of the African American civil rights movement several decades later,  there was renewed interest in our history and recognizing it with a museum.

Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) introduced 13 different bills to make that happen, which drew opposition from everyone from Sen Jesse Helms (R-NC) to federal land use watchdog groups that objected to the site of the museum on the National Mall.

The museum bill finally passed in 2003 and was signed into law by President GW Bush.

The work then began to raise the $270 million dollars in private donations and get the thousands of artifacts needed to fill the cavernous museum building's exhibit space.

Construction finally started on the NMAAHC in 2012 and was completed in November 2015,  The Smithsonian's newest museum that tells the story of African Americans is now open for all of us to enjoy.  

Here's President Obama's speech at today's NMAAHC museum grand opening ceremony.



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President Obama's 2016 CBC Speech

Last night President Barack Obama spoke to the 48th annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Phoenix Awards Dinner for the last time as POTUS, and here is his speech.

 

Arrest Made In Deneequia Dodds Case

I have some good news to report in that an arrest has been made in the Deenequia Dodds case.

You'll recall that Dodds was found by a pedestrian shot in the neck in the early morning hours of July 4 in the 200 block of Division Ave NE just a few blocks from her home/  She succumbed July 13 from her gunshot wound after nine days on life support at Prince George's Hospital Center.

There were unfortunately no witnesses at the time to what happened to Dee Dee, and MPD detectives suspected it was a robbery and a $25,000 reward was offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer.

Looks like the reward worked in getting the necessary information.

22 year old Shareem Hall of District Heights, MD was arrested yesterday morning and charged with murder while armed.   Hate crime charge enhancements are a serious consideration in this case according to Interim MPD Police Chief Peter Newsham.

Know that I and my DC trans family will be keeping an eye on this case to ensure that justice is served.
 

NBJC OUT On The Hill 2016 Starts Wednesday!

Unfortunately I won't be there in DC because of other commitments, but had to let you TransGriot readers know that the National Black Justice Coalition's (NBJC) OUT on the Hill Black LGBT Leadership Summit is one of my favorite events.

The 2016 edition of OUT on the Hill will be taking place September 14-17, with the theme of The Post-Obama Era: What's Next?   Since this also takes place at the roughly the same time as the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference,

OUT on the Hill has always had some collaborative panels with the CBC-ALC event and provided opportunities for OUT on the Hill attendees to access the CBC-ALC event taking place over at the DC Convention Center.



OUT on the Hill kicks off with an Issues Advocacy Day at the US Capitol on September 14, a welcome reception on Thursday sponsored by HRC, the OOTH 2016 one on Friday  and the closing State of the Black LGBTQ/SGL Community brunch on Saturday.

While I won't be in the OUT on the Hill house this year, as always I hope this event is megasuccessful, and hope my schedule will allow me to attend it in 2017.

And if your schedule allows you do do so, here's the link to register for the OOTH2016 conference.

Directive Requires Bathroom Access In Federal Buildings For Trans Citizens

'Federal agencies occupying space under the jurisdiction, custody or control of the GSA must allow individuals to use restroom facilities and related areas consistent with their gender identity'
The Federal Register, August 2016

More trams positive news is coming from inside the beltway   Reporting comes via BuzzFeed and the Washington Blade  concerning a new directive in the Federal Register that states trans people in federal facilities across the US, whether they are employees or visitors to those facilities, must be granted access to those facilities based on their gender presentation.

This directive is building on the increasing body of case law, regulatory agency rulings, EEOC cases and Obama Administration interpretations finding that transgender people are covered under the sex discrimination bans ensconced under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

Trans people do not have to complete any medical procedure to qualify to use the facilities that correspond with their gender presentation, are not required to show proof of genital or other trans related surgical procedures, or cannot be restricted to a single occupancy restroom because of their trans status.

There are over 9,200 federal properties from federal buildings to Social Security offices covered by this new directive.

Unfortunately the GSA properties that aren't covered by this upcoming regulation are the White House, the US Capitol Building and national parks.

But this new directive send the unmistakable message and makes it clear that we trans folks can access the facilities that match our gender presentations.  We trans Americans and visitors also have backup on that from the Obama Administration, the Department of Justice, and an increasing body of supportive court cases and administrative rulings.  

Lavender Law 2016

While I was across town handling my media business as part of the over 4000 Black and Latinx media people attending the joint #NABJNAHJ16 conference, over at the Renaissance Washington Hotel, the LGBT Bar Association was hosting its 25th  Lavender Law Conference and Career Fair at the same August 4-6 time.

The LGBT Bar Association is headquartered in Washington DC, and that Lav Law gathering of our community finest LGBTQ legal minds started on August 4 and was scheduled to conclude today.

Lavender Law was first held in San Francisco in 1988, and started out being held in even numbered years for the first five Lav Law events.
Starting with the 1997 Lavender Law Conference held in West Hollywood, CA it became an annual event.

Unfortunately didn't get a chance to bounce over there and hang out with some of our trans legal peeps like my activist mentor Phyllis Frye, Dry Levasseur, Kylar Broadus and Jennifer Levi, but they probably were handling their business and networking with their friends and colleagues in the LGBTQ legal world like I was busy doing.

Hope y'all had a productive several days, and when you return to your locales you are armed with the information, strategies and tactics necessary to help advance TBLGQ rights in courtrooms at the local, state and federal level.

TransGriotNote: Photo by JasonSmith.com

Moni's In The NABJ-NAHJ Convention House!

Well people, I'm at this moment sitting in the Washington Marriott Wardman Park hotel. I'm registered and ready to get my learn on for this joint NABJ-NAHJ conference.  Got up early this morning so I could beat the rush and get registered for it.

Looking forward to seeing the speech that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will be delivering to this conference of 4000 African American and Latinx journalists tomorrow.   Donald Trump was invited, but doubt he is going to want to appear at not only a media conference, but one chock full of media people who are members of two of the ethnic groups he has demonized during his train wreck of a campaign.

And I'm pleased and honored to have gotten an opportunity to be here, meet some people in the various seminars and watch the plenary sessions.  

This is one in which I get to wander around and just soak in the atmosphere instead of being one of the headlining participants as I'm used to being.  

It was also cool after four years of conversing with him on Facebook, I FINALLY get to meet Alberto Mendoza, who is now the head of the National Assn of Hispanic Journalists and a busy man around here working to keep the convention trains running on time.

Well, time to check out some of the interesting panels, represent our community and wander this historic hotel.

Moni's Headed To The NABJ-NAHJ Joint Convention

About to head to Washington DC for my second media conference o 2016, and it's a big one.

The National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists re joining forces to host a joint media convention in our nation's capital  starting today and running until August 7 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park.

How apropos they are holding it at a hotel where poet Langston Hughes once worked.  Too bad the new African American history museum won't be open until next month.  

Maybe I can finally do that stop at the Newseum as a substitute for it  

I'm looking forward to being in the house for it, and spending time discussing the issues we trans peeps face with NABJ-NAHJ journalists and members.while i'm there.

Clinton To Speak At Joint NABJ-NAHJ Convention

Looks like I'll definitely need to get to the hotel early to get a seat for this event on Friday.

I'm leaving Houston on Wednesday morning to attend the joint convention of the National Assn of Black Journalists (NABJ) and National Assn of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) that is taking place August 3-7 in Washington DC..

I was happy to hear that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has accepted an invitation to speak at the convention this Friday that will have 4000 Latinx and Black media professionals on hand to hear her speech.

As you probably guessed,  no word on whether Donald Trump has accepted his invitation to speak to the joint convention.   I presume he is going to turn down that invite, especially since he has demonized Black and Latinx people throughout his campaign and is probably terrified of the prospect and the optics of a convention full of members of the ethnic groups he demonized professionally calling his butt on the carpet for it as the nation gleefully watches it happen on the news.

Should be fun to see Sec. Clinton's speech, and I'll be blessed to be in the house for it.

RIP Deneequia Dodds

Once again we have lost another of our young trans people to senseless violence.

22 year old Dennequia 'Dee Dee' Dodds was shot in the early morning hours on July 4 in a northeast DC alley just a few blocks from her home in the 200 block of Division Ave NE.  After police were flagged down to reach her at 3 AM EDT, she was taken to an area hospital with a gunshot wound to her neck, and was on life support for nine days before she was taken off of it and died July 13

"Her death reminds us all how often the transgender community is targeted for violence in our society," said longtime DC based trans advocate Earline Budd, who is acting as a spokesperson for the family.

Casa Ruby founding executive director Rudy Corado said in a statement, "Deneequia was part of the Casa Ruby family, and she is gone but not forgotten.  Her death will not be in vain."

"Casa Ruby denounces the genocide of young transgender women of color. People in leadership need to address the employment barriers that keeps trans women of color from accessing the resources they need to grow healthy and thrive," Corado added.

She would have celebrated her 23rd birthday this month.   Instead her family is planning her funeral instead of a birthday party. . A vigil was held in the courtyard of her home  at 5255 Clay Terrace NE on Saturday, with Dodds' funeral scheduled to take place July 25.

Deneequia Dodds has become the 15th trans person to die this year, and fits the ongoing pattern of anti-trans violence of  being a trans woman of color and under age 30.

DC Metropolitan Police has not released any information about a suspect, nor are they investigating Dodds' murder as a hate crime.  But with her death, when they do catch the perpetrator of this crime, that waste of DNA will be facing homicide charges.

MPD is also looking for information that will help solve this crime and bring Deneequia's killer to justice    You can call 202-727-9099 if you have information about this case.  You can also text 50411 to anonymously submit you information about this case.

There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this  case, and I hope our sister receives justice soon.  The Washington DC trans community and our allies will be making sure that happens.

Clinton Wins DC Primary

As expected Sec. Hillary Clinton closed out the 2016 Democratic nomination contests with another victory as she clobbered Sen. Bernie Sanders in the DC primary.
 
The huge win once again fit the pattern that has been established since March in Clinton taking diverse primary electorates, and solidifies her status as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.

And which DC having a large African-American population, the group of Democratic voters that has overwhelmingly supported her in this primary season, basically made the point that in Democratic Party politics, Black voters matter.

As she was capturing this last primary, she and Sanders were meeting at the Capital Hilton to sort out the terms of his exit from the presidential race so she can pivot to attacking Donald Trump full time.

And we need her to start clobbering Trump sooner and not later.

Moni's In The Middle Of The White House LGBT Pride Reception

After a emotional United flight up here to BWI in which for once I didn't get jacked up in TSA security, interesting Uber rides on the H-town and BWI ends in which I discussed politics and life in Houston for my BWI Uber driver who is ironically moving to Houston next week with his family , having dinner and drinks with Hayden Mora, Angelica Ross and Ruby Corado, it's now hitting me that I'm finally going to be in the White House for my first LGBT Pride Reception.

It will be the last one that President Obama will host of his administration (sniff, sniff) and looking forward to just soaking it in, tweeting it, taking photos, seeing who is there and taking as many photos as possible.

So far I'm not the only Houstonian up here for it.  Ashton Woods has already let me  know that he'll be there, and I'm anxious to see how much of my trans fam will be in that nice white mansion my ancestors built with their free labor..

I have to be in line at the White House southeast entrance at 2;30 PM EDT to clear security, and y'all know I made damned sure I made sure I put my ID back in my wallet after I cleared TSA security at IAH.

If it's anything like previous White House LGBT Pride Reception events, you might be able to see it on C-SPAN starting around 4 PM EDT.

Interesting East Coast Trip For The Air Marshal

After scrambling for the last few days to make the logistics of this trip work, my departure day has finally arrived.  I'm at my old Houston Intercontinental stomping grounds for the first time in two years to take a flight once again on United to the East Coast.

But this one will be a little more emotional for me.  In addition to getting to see some of the CAL airline peeps who haven't retired yet that I used to work with, Terminal C is where my very public physical transition began back in 1994.

I then add to that emotion by traveling to Washington DC for tomorrow's White House LGBT Pride Reception and the first time ever I get to attend..

After seven years of frustratingly not being invited to it, I finally got the nod, and most importantly to me is I got to go when President Obama is still in office.  This will be the last LGBT Pride Reception he will host, and I'm so looking forward to being at the White House, seeing who else got invited to attend, and trying not to cry as I observe the event.

Then it's heading up I-95 when that event concludes for the drive up to the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection for the 15th annual Philadelphia Trans Health Conference.

I have a panel discussion on June 10 I'll be participating in with Mari Brighe, Joanna Cifredo and Brynn Tannehill.   Should be an interesting one and i hope those of you in attendance at PTHC come check it out.

It's the second one for me, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone once I get to DC and Philly..

This will be an interesting trip in which I get to fly to one city and drive to another one.

Been Invited To The 2016 White House LGBT Pride Month Reception!

It has been an event that I have been wanting to attend ever since it started seven years ago.  It had heightened importance for me because of the African-American president we have in the White House right now.and was more disappointing when I didn't get an invitation to it.

Yesterday that invitation that I have been hoping for finally happened.

I've been invited to next week's  LGBT Pride Month Reception!.   I cried when I saw the e-mail, and now I'm scrambling to do my best to get to Washington DC so I can attend it.  

It's going to be the last one of President Obama's administration, and I want to be there for that history and most of all, to record it for my TransGriot readers.

Now it's just a matter of doing what I can to make it happen and be in the room when it kicks off..

DC Security Guard Charged With Assault After Playing Potty Police

I've been expressing my concerns that all this negative anti-trans hatred being put in the atmosphere by the Republican Party and the conservafool movement would eventually start having negative consequences for cis and trans women.

Yesterday that played out in Washington DC when a security guard took it upon herself to play potty police and forced trans woman Ebony Belcher out of the restroom of a Giant Foods store in NE DC.

The 32 year old Belcher was at the store on 3rd and H Streets to pick up a Western Union delivery with a friend and asked a store employee to point her to the restroom.  She passed the security guard while en route to it, and said the security guard entered the restroom making derogatory comments while telling her to get out.

The security officer then grabbed her by the shoulder and arm and shoved her out of the store.. Belcher alleges the guard said, "You guys cannot keep coming in here to use our women's restroom.  They did not pass the law yet."

Wrong, boo boo kitty. The human rights of trans people in the District of Columbia have been covered and protected under the DC Human Rights Law since 2006.

Giant has issued a press statement:

"As this matter involves a third party that provides security services for Giant and there's an ongoing criminal investigation, all inquiries related to the incident at the H Street Giant should be directed to the local police for a comment at this time."

The unidentified guard in question was arrested and charged with simple assault.  We'll see how this plays out in court..  

TransGriot Update:  The security guard busted for her transphobic crime is 45 year old Francine Bernice Jones according to a Washington Blade report by Lou Chibbaro,Jr.  After spending the night in jail was released by Superior Court Judge Renee Raymond on personal recognizance pending a July 21 status hearing. 

Two Arrests Made In Keyonna Blakeney Case

Good news to report in the case concerning our departed sister Keyonna Blakeney, who was found on April 16 beaten and stabbed to death in a Rockville, MD hotel room days after celebrating her birthday.  

 Two arrests have been made in the case.  Montgomery County. MD police with the assistance of US Marshals have arrested 21 year old Keith Christopher Renier and 17 year old juvenile Arbra Arnie Bethea in SE Washington DC yesterday and charged both of them with first degree murder..  

Bethea has been charged (and rightly so) as an adult in this case, but because he is a juvenile, a photo of him was not released to the media.  Renier and Bethea are also facing charges of armed robbery, conspiracy to commit first degree murder and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Both are being held in the custody of the district of Columbia Department of Corrections and are both awaiting extradition to Montgomery County, MD.

Stay tuned to these TransGriot electronic pages to get more information about this ongoing Blakeney case as I receive it.  Let's also hope and pray that justice is properly served.

Laila Ireland Wins AMPA Military Spouse Leadership Award

May 6 was Military Spouse Appreciation Day, and how apropos was it that on Saturday night in our nation's capital the third annual American Military Partner Association's (AMPA) national gala was held in our nation's capital at the Hyatt Regency Washington Capitol Hill.

So what's the American Military Partner Association?  It  is a 501(c)(3)  organization founded in 2009 by the same gender loving partners of active duty service members that has grown to 45,000 members.

AMPA's mission is connecting, supporting, honoring, and serving the partners and spouses of America’s LGBT service members.   Since its founding, AMPA has become the nation's largest resource and support network for the partners, spouses, families and allies of America's trans, bi, lesbian and gay service members.

Ever since last year's LGBT Pride Reception, Army Cpl Laila and her Air Force Senor Airman spouse Logan Ireland have been getting increasing visibility and attention as just two representatives of the over 15,000 trans Americans who are serving in the US Armed Forces.

And what's ever cooler about Laila and Logan is they are a married trans military couple featured in the documentary Transgender, At War and In Love.

We hope that later this month open trans military service will finally become a reality for the Irelands and our trans siblings proudly serving in our nation's military.

At Saturday's AMPA Gala, Laila received the American Military Partner Association's Military Spouse Leadership Award.

Here's video of Laila's AMPA Military Spouse Leadership Award acceptance speech at the AMPA Gala.



Congratulations Laila!  It was well deserved,.and thank you, Logan and all our trans siblings for your service for us and our country.