Activists Need To Get Paid,Too

There's an interesting thread and discussion going on at Pam's House Blend which was triggered by a letter Texas Tech student Nonnie Ouch wrote to the Dallas Voice complaining about Lt. Dan Choi's speaking fees and agent.

So what does the TransGriot have to say on the subject?

Activists need to get paid, too. Even Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. got paid for his speeches and essays.

It's hard to do activism if you're worried about keeping a job, a roof over your head, clothes on your back and food in your cupboard.

Add to that in my case the expenses for a gender transition. While most of the heavy lifting in my case has been done, I still have to get hormones and do femme maintenance.

Bear in mind also that if you're holding a job in corporate America, the wingers aren't above fracking with our employment to disrupt our lives if they get the opportunity to do so as I found out the hard way.

It costs money to travel, do conferences, get passports for international conference travel or international speaking engagements, eat, or stay in your state capital or DC hotels to lobby.

Hotel rates get raised in your state capital when the legislature is in session. DC definitely isn't cheap, even if you chop expenses by staying in a budget motel near a METRO line in Maryland or Virginia and ride the subway into DC to the Capitol South Station. METRO passes still cost money.

Money is one of the issues related to why you don't see many POC's speaking at conferences or involved in GLBT activism. Bigotry, transphobia and class privilege is another. The big white dominated inside I-495 orgs don't hire us, and that's especially true for transpeople.

But that's another post.

We TBLG people of color don't get called or asked very often to speak at various events, be it on college campuses, LGBT conventions or just to speak to a college class on GLBT issues.

In my case, I'm a Trinity Award winning activist who has been active since 1998. I can not only authoritatively talk about the intersection of trans issues with the African American community,I can discuss trans history and current events easily as well amongst many others. I've had an announcement on this blog's sidebar for two years about my willingness to speak at those events inside and outside the TBLG community as well, and my phone or e-mail doesn't get blown up as much as I would like it to.

I don't ask for much. I don't mind traveling in coach, staying in budget motels, on campus or even people's homes to help cut costs. If it's for certain trans events such as a TDOR, I don't ask for my speaking fee.

But if you feel like what I have to say is important enough for Moni to be there live and in living color, then respect me and my time by paying for it.

Because if you don't or won't, somebody else will.

But don't think because I have this blog I'm making tons of money. I wish that were the case.

This is a social justice, educational and political commentary blog. In the blogosphere those types of blogs don't make the kind of money a pop culture one does. I get almost 2500 readers a day, many of them repeat readers, and not enough love in the TransGriot tip jar button in the left hand sidebar.

If just 1/10 of the daily readers that visit here left me as little as $5 on a consistent basis it would give me and other social justice bloggers and activists some regular income to do some things,

I'm just getting to the point where I have built up a body of work to where I get honoraria. I'm not anywhere near Dan Choi or Sarah Palin levels, but it's deeply appreciated when it's offered and I receive it. I plow it back into living my life and keeping TransGriot alive.

But if you want your activists front and center out there doing the work to combat the Forces of Intolerance and create a better liberal-progressive world, the reality is we need to get paid so we can comfortably live our lives and fight for you full time.

I'd love to be able to hone my skills at a Creating Change or lobby in Austin or Washington when needed. But to do that, the GLBT community and the progressive movement in general is going to have to get out of this mindset that activism requires a vow of poverty.

Because right now, we're facing an uphill battle fighting a war against enemies who are fully funded. Their only job is to spend their workdays thinking of creative ways to deny you your civil rights,  lie on the network talking head shows and get paid handsomely for doing so.

Still Working On My 'A' Game

No matter how good they say you are, always keep working on your game.

That's a quote from Michael Jordan's 1999 NAACP Image Award acceptance speech, and it segues nicely into the topic of this post.

I have people in the community who think I'm all that and three bags of chips. Some consider me as one of the better activists on the national scene. Some international trans activists I admire have shocked me by saying to me that I'm their role model.

I have people who believe TransGriot is worthy of being considered an 'A' list blog, tell me I'm an excellent writer and a role model to many people inside and outside the TBLG community.

When I hear all those accolades, it would be easy for me to get 'big head syndrome' and start believing the hype.

Fortunately I have a saber wielding friend along with Ursa Maritimus Louisvillius and a host of other people in my friendship and sistahfriend circles who ensure I don't.

I also keep Michael Jordan's quote in mind to keep working on my 'A' game.

I am and continue to work towards being the best sister I can be. I'm constantly assessing my femme presentation, know what works for me hair, clothing, makeup and color wise and what doesn't. I'm looking for clothes and shoes that stylishly fit the image I wish to project to the world. I observe, watch and emulate the positive women I admire and take note of how they interact with the world around them.

Besides, the Phenomenal Transwoman ain't coming out of the house looking tore up from the floor up.

I'm constantly working on perfecting my writing skills. While I've become known for my non-fiction writing, I'm not too bad at fiction writing either. My dream is to publish one of my novel manuscripts one day.

As educator Marva Collins once stated, 'Readers are leaders'. So I do spend time on and off line reading as much current events material I can get my hands on, and perusing stuff that piques my intellectual curiosity.

I am a Trinity Award winner. That is the second highest honor that the United States trans community gives to a member of it or an ally. I see it as meaning that I have to step it up another level since I received that award for things I'd done prior to 2006.

I not only expect a higher standard of excellence for myself, I carry the perception sometimes that people expect greater things from me than the average trans activist starting out.

But I welcome that challenge.

If I say or commit to doing something, it's done. I'm doing a speech, it's going to be on point, well written and fitting to the occasion. When I do a presentation, I come armed with the most up to date information on the topic I can find prior to my on campus arrival and my PowerPoint presentations are regularly updated.

I am going to be in professional diva mode when I get there because I may be the lone African-American in the room or the first professional African descended trans person that particular individual, the group or the organization I'm speaking in front of has encountered.

Because the numbers of out African American trans activists are few in number, we have the additional considerations of having to represent our people and conduct ourselves in a morally upright and highly ethical manner.

Translation: I have to represent. Those may be 'old school' values to some people, but it's the way I strive to conduct my life.

So yes, in order to continue evolving into the finer specimen of womanhood that trans author Sharon Davis talked about, I definitely have to keep working on my 'A' game.

And by continuing to do so, in the long run it makes me a better person as well.

Canadian Action Alert: Bill C-389 Needs Your Help

TransGriot Note: Forwarded to me by Mercedes Allen. TransGriot Canadian readers, time for y'all to get busy calling, e-mailing and writing your MP's.

Call for Action

I’m very pleased to inform you that my Private Member’s Bill (C-389), which would ensure explicit human rights protections for transgender and transsexual people will be debated for a second hour in Parliament on Tuesday, June 8th, 2010 at 5:30 pm. The vote on Second Reading will be on June 9th. If passed, the bill will go to committee for consideration.

Bill C-389 would update the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) to include gender identity and gender expression as prohibited grounds of discrimination, and update the Criminal Code of Canada to include gender identity and gender expression in the hate crime and sentencing provisions.

Transsexual and transgender people are often victims of discrimination, harassment, and violence because of their gender identity and gender expression. They often experience injustices such as denial of employment, housing, access to trans-sensitive health care, and face difficulties obtaining identification documents. Because there are so many barriers for transsexual and transgender Canadians, explicit rights and protections must be added to the CHRA and the Criminal Code.

Here’s what you can do to move this forward and help get this important legislation passed in Parliament:

• Call, write, or email your Member of Parliament and Party Leaders, and let him or her know that you support my bill. If you don’t know who your MP is, you can find out here:
• Call, write, or email the Minister of Justice, The Hon. Rob Nicholson, P.C., M.P.
• Call, write or email the Prime Minister, The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P.

Letters to all MPs and Party Leaders can be sent postage free to:

House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

• Join my Facebook group
• Gather signatures for my petition

Click here to view a sample letter.

Please let us know about your contacts.

Thank you,
Bill Siksay, MP

Why Do I Continue To Be A Trans Activist?

There are times when I sort through the hate mail, the negative comments from other trans people and other assorted fools and question why I continue to speak up for people who don't appreciate it.

Then I'll check my e-mail and see one from a transwoman thanking me for writing a post about not having anything to be ashamed about for being trans, and then confiding in me that reading the post dissuaded her from committing suicide.

I'll get another e-mail from someone who tells me they love my blog and thank me for telling the story of African descended trans people and talking about our issues.

I'll have a college kid and school administrators who sit in on my lectures tell me how much they appreciated me coming to their school.

I'll get e-mail on my Facebook page from people who not only consider me a role model, they tell me I inspired to fight for GLBT rights after reading one of my speeches or blog posts.

It's the knowledge that your peers around the world have much love and respect for you, the work you do and having someone to chat with from time to time that feels your pain when you're feeling down.

There are a lot of reasons people become activists. But one common thread amongst all of us is that we are justice seeking individuals that want a world better than the one we arrived in.

I hate injustice. I hate the erasure of African descended trans people from our history and the leadership ranks of this community. I want to see lasting legislation passed for all of us that will help us to lead better lives. I want to see better cooperation and a sense of interconnectedness and pride exponentially expand amongst transpeople of color. I want to see a world that's fairer and safer for transpeople to live their lives.

But accomplishing those lofty goals ain't easy and it's hard work.

They are goals that may not even come to pass in my lifetime or be accomplished a a future point in time in which I don't get a chance to enjoy them. But if it means the next generation of transkids don't have to deal with a tenth of the drama we had to, then it's worth fighting for and whatever crap I have to deal with to make it happen.

And that's why I continue to be a trans activist.

Canadian Trans Rights Bill C-389 Moving Towards Debate

I talked a few months ago about Canadian MP Bill Siksay filing a private member's bill May 15 that would add “gender identity” and “gender expression” to the list of protected classes in the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code of Canada.

Well, thanks to the action alert from Mercedes Allen, it looks like the legislative process is finally beginning to percolate around MP Siksay's Bill C-389 and it is about to come up for debate.

NDP Party critic on Canadian Heritage, housing and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Transsexual issues Bill Siksay is one of the few openly gay members of the Canadian Parliament and has represented the diverse Burnaby-Douglas riding in the Vancouver, BC area since 2004.

This is also the third attempt he's made to get Bill C-389 passed.

If C-389 passes, this would be a groundbreaking legislative win for our north of the border trans cousins.

As MP Siksay stated during the first reading of Bill C-389:

The bill will add gender identity and gender expression to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act and to the Criminal Code sections regarding hate crimes and sentencing provisions, providing explicit protection for transgender and transsexual Canadians from discrimination in all areas of federal jurisdiction.

Transsexual and transgender Canadians face significant prejudice in their daily lives. Whether it is job discrimination, access to housing and public services, especially health care, problems with identity documents, difficulties with law enforcement officials, a high suicide rate, or the increased likelihood that they will be victims of violence, the situation of transsexual and transgender people demands our attention.

The bill would give transsexual and transgender Canadians direct access to the protections provided for in the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code of Canada that they so urgently need.

I look forward to seeing the bill debated this fall in the next round of private members' business. Given that transgender and transsexual folks are members of our families, our friends, our co-workers, and our neighbours, I hope this measure will find support in all corners of the House.

If you live in the 'Great White North', time to get busy writing, e-mailing or calling your MP and respectfully asking them to support C-389. This is an 'all hands on deck' project that the entire Canadian TBLG community and their allies can and should enthusiastically get behind as well.

And don't stop with just the MP's. Write the party leaders as well such as the Liberals Michael Ignatieff, the NDP's Jack Layton, Gilles Duceppe of the Bloc Quebecois and Elizabeth May of the Green Party.

And if you happen to be a Conservative with progressive leanings, write the 'Sweater Vest' as well. After all, he is the Prime Minister.

Mercedes also noted that since Prime Minister Stephen Harper and much of the leadership ranks hail from conservative Alberta, it will be critically important for GLBT Albertans to make sure they make their voices heard with their MP's about their support for the passage of C-389.

Here's a link to the NDP Party website to get you started. If you don't know who your MP is, here's the link to the Canadian Parliament website in which all you'll have to do is type in your postal code to discover who your MP is.

As I continue to point out, the fight for transgender rights is a worldwide struggle. Any positive success anywhere on the planet helps me and my peeps in the States and other locales. It's why I'm very interested in what transpires in Canada with Bill C-389.

While we transgender Americans and our allies will pretty much be on the sidelines in cheerleader mode for this one, in light of the fact that ENDA is still awaiting action on this side of the border, we'll be extremely interested observers as the potentially historic C-389 bill makes its way through Parliament.

We'll also be praying that the third time is indeed the charm in terms of this bill becoming law in the Great White North.

Why You 'Scurred' Of Me?

One of the things I get mildly irritated about and have been throughout my transition journey is when fellow transpeople either run like Flo Jo away from my presence or consciously avoid interacting with me in public situations.

While I understand that some of my transpeeps can be antisocial at times, and others are so adamant about maintaining their stealth bubble to the point they want zero public interactions with any transpeople, it still wouldn't kill you to say hello and keep steppin'.

If you're 'scurred' because you think that being in proximity to my out and proud of being Black and trans behind will lead to people questioning your gender identity, chill.

The cisgender women friends I have in my life have that same possibility of shade being thrown at them just for the radical act of being proud to have me as their friend and be seen with me in public. If it doesn't deter them from getting to know me, what's your excuse?

If my cisgender girlfriends and cisgender male friends realize it's one of the tradeoffs for having the Phenomenal Transwoman in their lives on an everyday basis and they aren't ashamed or afraid of it, then why should my own transpeeps be?

It's especially galling in light of the slings and arrows I constantly take being the sword and shield for you. I'm fighting for yours and my civil rights that you are too timid to stand up for. I'm dispelling through this blog and other myriad education efforts the falsehoods and race based myths regurgitated about you.

I'm taking the time to 'ejumacate' people about how our transitions are different from vanilla flavored ones. I'm cheerfully and willingly spending my personal time, cash and vacation time in doing that trans education simply so that future generations of transkids can just focus on being the best people they can be.

I'm not asking for a chocolate chip cookie. All I'm asking for is just a simple "Hi, how are you doing?" when I pass you in the 'hood.

If you want to take the conversation beyond that, that's all good as well. The more loyal friends I have in my life, the better.

But I'm not the person you should be 'scurred' of. The peeps you should be keeping a nervous eyeball on are part of the Forces of Intolerance.

I'm the one that's diligently working to make your life better, not harder.