50th Anniversary of Loving v. Virginia SCOTUS Case

Today is the 50th anniversary of the US Supreme Court dropping the landmark Loving v Virginia case decision which killed the laws prohibiting interracial marriage in this county.

The case was brought by an interracial couple, Mildred and Richard Loving, who had gotten married in Washington DC in 1958 and returned to Virginia to live.   They were arrested, tried and convicted in the town of Bowling Green, VA for violating the white supremacist 1924 Racial Integrity Act.

They were sentenced to a year in jail, but the sentence was suspended under the condition that the Lovings leave Virginia and not return for 30 years not even to visit family.  

The Lovings moved to Washington DC, and Mildred Loving wrote a letter to then Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy appealing for help in their case.

That letter was forwarded to the ACLU,  whose lawyers subsequently filed the legal case that went to the Supreme Court.   On June 12, 1967 the SCOTUS unanimously ruled that Virginia's laws against interracial marriage violated the 14th Amendment and were unconstitutional.  

That ruling overturned similar laws still on the books in 16 states, and led to a surge of interracial marriages.  In addition, the precedent set in the Loving v Virginia case was cited in several cases holding that restrictions on same sex marriage in the United States was unconstitutional, including the 2015 Obergefell v Hodges SCOTUS decision.

In fact, Mildred Loving on the 40th anniversary of the case commented about the then same sex marriage battle that was raging and winding its way through the courts.

"I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people’s civil rights."

Richard Loving died in 1975 and Mildred Loving died in 2008, so they didn't get to see that legal precedent they set by standing up against injustice being used to strike down injustice against another group of marginalized Americans.

And in the United States today, one in every six married couples is an interracial one and I know more than a few of those couples in my own life.

So while this case wasn't exclusively about love conquering all as the movie Loving would have you believe, this case at its core was about striking down white supremacist oppression and an unjust law.

At the same time, to borrow a line from Battlestar Galactica, you cannot declare war on love.

Pulse Terror Attack: One Year Later

This was an attack on the entire TBLG community, and we cannot allow the people killed at Pulse to die in vain.  Far from the entire community cowering in fear, we should be even more determined to openly live our lives and work to ensure that homophobia and transphobia are eradicated from our culture.-TransGriot  June 13, 2016

I definitely remember where I was when I heard about the Pulse nightclub terror attack in Orlando.  I was in Philadelphia staying at Dionne Stallworth's place for the just concluded Philly Trans Health Conference.

I was in the midst of an empowering few days that started with me going to Washington DC and the White House for my first LGBT Pride Reception with Ruby Corado, then immediately leaving with Fiona Dawson to ride up I-95 to Philadelphia for my early Friday morning PTHC media panel moderated by Brynn Tannehill after arriving a little after midnight.

I was in Philadelphia preparing to catch a Megabus to Washington DC for Capital Pride and my flight back to the Houston area when Dionne hit me with the first disturbing early Sunday morning news about the Pulse shooting.

The details were still coming out as I headed to the Megabus pickup stop in Philly for my trip back down I-95 to DC, and I sent out a tweet that incensed the right wing haters when I said "This tragedy is the result of six months of nonstop GOP anti-gay hatred for their political gain."

That started a swarm of GOP leaning Twitter trolls heading to my Twitter feed to swarm attack me.  I spent the entire 139 mile (224 km) bus ride calling out and then blocking them until I hit DC's Union Station.   I spent some time at the nearby Capital Pride, and noticed the increased police presence for the event before heading to BWI airport a few hours later.

49 people died during that terror attack on Latin Night, with another 53 people being wounded.   And yes, I still do blame all the anti-gay and anti-trans Republican rhetoric in being a catalyst for the Pulse attack.

And still haven't forgotten that reprehensible tweet Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick (R) unleashed on the world early that morning.

It also made me think about the fact less than a few hours before I'd been in a predominately trans convention space.  I noted when I entered the convention center for PTHC's Saturday sessions the security level for our event and thinking we needed more than the single unarmed security company person at the doors in light of all the anti-trans rhetoric that had been put out there across the country by the Republicans and other conservative media.

A few months later I got the opportunity to see the Pulse site for myself while attending this year's LGBT Media Journalists Convening in Orlando.  

Earlier that Saturday morning during one of our sessions we'd heard from one of the survivors who urged us to remind people in our upcoming anniversary articles we would soon write that this happened on Latin Night.

I noted when our buses rolled up from the hotel the Puerto Rican flags put up as part of the memorial. I noted the reverent silence at a site that should have had vehicles filling its parking lot and excited anticipation building for another night in which the Orlando TBLGQ community gathered at this location for fun and to meet that special person.

Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old

Amanda Alvear, 25 years old

Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old

Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old

Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old

Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old

Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old

Juan Chavez-Martinez, 25 years old

Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old

Cory James Connell, 21 years old

Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old

Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old

Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old

Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old

Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old

Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old

Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old

Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old

Frank Hernandez, 27 years old

Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old

Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old

Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old

Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old

Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old

Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old

Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old

Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old

Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old

Kimberly Morris, 37 years old

Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old

Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old

Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25 years old

Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old

Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old

Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old

Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old

Jean C. Nieves Rodriguez, 27 years old

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old

Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old

Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 years old

Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old

Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old

Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old

Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old

Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old

Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old

Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old

Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old

Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old

#WeAreOrlando #Pulse #Orlando #Solidarity

Instead, it is now quiet because of a senseless mass shooting that targeted our community and the makeshift memorials that now cover portions of that fenced off parking lot.

The Orlando City soccer club has 49 rainbow flag seats in Section 12 with #OrlandoUnited on them in its new stadium just two miles from the club in honor of the persons we lost that night.  

The Pulse club itself in now a memorial    And sadly, we now have an idiot in the White House who is pandering to the right wing fundamentalists and members of his base who would love for that to happen again.

No, it can't be allowed to happen again.   And we must redouble our efforts as a TBLGQ community to eradicate homophobia and transphobia from our greater societal ranks

Never Again

Seventy five years ago today President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 that resulted in the internment of Japanese-American citizens and resident aliens who lived in the west coast states of California, Oregon and Washington and the seizing of their property  

Next to the turning away of the MS St Louis, it was another fail in FDR's otherwise remarkable presidency, and has has lasting negative effects in the japanese American community.

This day is necessary to remember in light of the fact that Trump wishes to do the same to Muslim Americans.   To this all of us who love this country, the Constitution and our human rights must stand up and say in a loud collective voice, "Never Again!".

Happy 41st Wedding Anniversary Mr.President and Madame Secretary!

October 11 also happens to be the 41st wedding anniversary of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

And hopefully soon to be the next president of the United States

They were married on this date in their Fayetteville, AR home in 1974, and unlike Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani who have nine wives total but are hypocritically all up in the Clinton's martial business, are still together.

This is the message he sent out on his Twitter feed to mark their 41st anniversary.

41 years ago I married my best friend and the finest changemaker I’ve ever known. And yes, I’m still in awe of her!

— Bill Clinton (@billclinton) October 11, 2016

She hasn't responded with her own Twitter message yet, because she is a little busy at the moment running to become our next POTUS, but will be fun to she what she posts in response to Bill's message.

Happy 41st anniversary Mr. President and Madame Secretary!  May you celebrate your 42nd, 43rd, 44th and 45th wedding anniversaries at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave like you did your 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, and 25th anniversaries.

15th Anniversary of The 9-11 Terror Attacks

September 11, 2001 is one of those dates etched into American history as one you remember what you were doing and where your were when the event happened.

15 years ago today an Al Qaeda terror attack that used hijacked planes to slam into the World Trade Center towers in New York, the Pentagon in Washington DC and another that was planned to either slam into the White House or the US capitol building.

That attack was thwarted when the passengers of United Flight 93 overpowered the hijackers and the plane crashed near Shanksville, PA,

The shock and horror of that day was amplified when the twin World Trade Center towers both came crashing down

The 9-11 attacks shocked the world and killed over 3000 people   Our airspace was closed for two weeks in response to the attack, and Canada in Operation Yellow Ribbon opened their airports, hearts and homes to international flights and travelers forced to land there because of the closure of US airspace.

While a new World Trade Center building rises 1776 feet into the New York skyline at the spot where the former towers stood, the gaping hole in the Pentagon has been repaired, and Osama Bin Laden long ago was killed in a SEAL raid, for many of the people who lost loved ones or who survived the attacks, the infamy of that day hasn't subsided..

Here are President Obama's remarks at the memorial service remembering the attack on the Pentagon.

Remembering The Harris County Impact Of The Obergefell SCOTUS Ruling

One year ago the landmark Obergefell v Hodges case ruling was issued by the Supreme Court that made marriage equality legal in all 50 states despite the best efforts of right wing haters to enact marriage bans in many state constitutions.

It was a amazing day last year watching that history unfold as Nikki Araguz Loyd, Will Loyd, Ashton Woods, Brandon Mack, Ray Hill, Alene Levy and I sat in the office of attorney John Nechman and Mitchell Katine munching on Shipley's donuts, kolaches and sipping orange juice while await the landmark ruling that was about to drop at 9 AM our time.

When it did, I remember John looking stunned for a moment, and a wide smile subsequently breaking over his face as he announced to us that the SCOTUS had sided with Obergefell.

Since the Araguz v Delgado trans marriage case was at the Texas Supreme Court level at the time, Nikki asked what that meant for her case, and was told that it meant that she was going to win it since the opposition had based their entire case on being a replay of Littleton v Prange.

That's when I realized that the Obergefell ruling was also going to positively affect the ability of trans people to get married.   I heard a few hours later about other cis-trans couples also getting married either on that day or getting their licenses so they could do so later.

After celebrating at Nechman's office, Nikki, Will and I decided to head over to the Harris County Courthouse to see if our Republican county clerk Stan Stanart was going to  let the marriages happen or would they would try some last ditch massive resistance to delay things.


Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) was already trying to lay the groundwork for him and other oppressive county clerks to do just that.  As we arrived at the Harris County Courthouse at 12:30 PM there were already six people in line waiting to get their marriage licenses and get married.

As Nikki and Will got in line to get their marriage license, I kicked into reporter mode and started tweeting and posting Facebook statuses on the drama that was beginning to unfold at the Harris County Courthouse as Stanart tried stalling tactic after stalling tactic designed to not issue marriage licenses to same gender couples.

The legal hammers started coming down around 1 PM from Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan (D) and one representing a couple who was at the head of the line waiting to get their license.

As we watched and waited for that legal drama to play out, Judge Kyle Carter (D) announced to the folks waiting in line that he would waive the usual 72 hour waiting period and marry coupes in his chambers.

At 2 PM Stanart capitulated and started issuing marriage licenses to the growing line of couples, and Nikki and Will got their license and renewed their vows in Judge Carter's chambers    I also got to witness a few friends in the community like Daniel Williams and his spouse Jason do the same thing before departing for home.

That June 26 day was not only one for the history books, it was one in which I found myself in the interesting position of being able to watch how it unfolded in Harris County.

HERO Passage 2nd Anniversary

It may have been one small step in the human rights evolution for many cis and straight Houstonians, but for those of us in LGBT Houston, it was a giant leap in our human rights 30 years in the making.
-TransGriot, May 28, 2014 'Houston, We Have HERO Passage'

Today is going to be a bittersweet day for me and everyone in Houston who busted our behinds, sat through three contentious marathon city council meetings and a contentious committee hearing to pass the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.(HERO)

On that May 28 evening, I was so proud of my hometown and being part of the team that had helped passed this human rights law that covered 15 categories for our community.  That night I'd also accomplished a longtime personal activism dream of ensuring that we not only passed HERO, but it was trans inclusive.   .

At the time we passed it on that 11-6 council vote, I and everyone who fought tooth and nail for HERO's passage knew that night was the easy part.   Keeping it would be our task from that moment on.

But I and my fellow Houstonians who helped passed this much needed ordinance were bursting at the seams proud to have sent the message to the city, Texas, the nation and the world that discrimination's time in Houston had expired.

But as we celebrated the hard fought win, the Axis of Intolerance, led by the Harris County and Texas Republicans Party, longtime gaybaiters Steven Hotze, Dave Wilson and Dave Welch, and a cadre of sellout Houston ministers led by Rev. Max Miller were plotting to kill HERO..

They tied up its implementation in court as they collected petition signatures for a recall vote.  The rife with fraud petitions were found not valid in August 2014, and that set up another lawsuit that the HERO haters lost in January 2015 that led to it immediately being implemented..

HERO was still in effect at the time we celebrated its first birthday, but the haters had appealed to the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court, who unjustly forced it onto the ballot in an August 2015 ruling and set up the now infamous repeal campaign in which the HERO haters successfully deployed the anti-trans bathroom meme to kill it in November 2015.

We have a new mayor in Sylvester Turner and several new council members sitting around 'The Horseshoe' in those nice leather chairs.

Even more crucial to our efforts to pass a new H-town human rights ordinance, we still maintain a liberal-progressive majority on council.  

But with Mayor Turner early in his first term, not likely he'll be pushing to spend his hard won political capital on passing HERO 2.0 right now even though it is needed and necessary.  Mayor Turner is going to focus on getting his agenda he ran on passed, and can't blame him for that.  He got his first budget passed (which did on a unanimous 17-0 vote), he's dealing with infrastructure issues, and working on solving the city retirement pension funding crisis..

That meas that we are unfortunately we are back to where we started human rights wise in my hometown as this second anniversary of HERO's passage is upon us.  The positive PR we gained from passing HERO took a hit as we frustratingly watched the Republican Party and conservative anti-human rights activists replicate the tactics they used to kill HERO to either kill attempts to pass trans inclusive rights laws in other cities or enact unjust statewide laws like North Carolina's HB2 as Jared Woodfill and his merry band of GOP haters mugged for the cameras and bragged about doing so..

Are we upset about that in Houston?  Yeah, we are upset not only about losing a crucial human rights battle, but how it happened, and no one is taking that loss harder than me and my Houston trans siblings. 

We aren't giving up on the fight to ensure that the human rights of all Houstonians are respected and protected.  It's just unfortunately delayed for now as we absorb the lessons on what went wrong, what we did right and come up with strategies to ensure our success when we finally attempt to push for HERO 2.0 or whatever the new ordinance will be called. 

But we will do our utmost to win the fight to get an inclusive human rights law with public accommodations protections passed in my hometown. And you can be damned sure I'm going to be doing my part to ensure it not only passes, but watching to ensure that trans Houstonians aren't cut out of it.

But here's hoping that within the next few years, we will have another trans inclusive human rights law added to the Houston Code of Ordinances and that we finally get to proudly send the message once again that discrimination's time in Houston has expired. .

50th Anniversary Of The Final Four Game That Changed History

The NCAA Men's Final Four comes to my hometown this weekend.  How apropos is it that we're hosting the game at NRG Stadium at a time in which we also are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1966 Final Four title game between Texas Western (now UTEP) and number one ranked Kentucky that changed not only history, but had a major impact of how NCAA men's basketball is played today.

The story is also depicted in the 2006 movie Glory Road.

That Final Four game played on March 19, 1966 pitted the number four ranked Miners against the Adolph Rupp coached Wildcat team that had NBA legends Pat Riley and Louie Dampier in their lineup.

It's also a point of pride for us in Houston because David Lattin, one of the starters in that historic NCAA title game is from here.  That game also marked the first time that five African-Americans started in an NCAA title game,and they were playing against a one loss Kentucky team with an all white lineup.  

While that is something we don't even think about in 2016, because the SEC and the now disbanded Texas-Arkansas based Southwest Conference were segregated and refused to recruit Black players, this was a big deal in 1966.  It was also a big deal because in addition to this seminal title game being played with the African-American Civil Rights Movement as a backdrop, there were less than complimentary stereotypes about Black basketball players at the time as well.   The Texas Western players also faced in their 27-1 title run racism from fans, other players and referees as they marched toward their date with destiny.

David Lattin, Bobby Joe Hill, Orsten Artis, Harry Flournoy and Willie Worsley shocked the world by upsetting the heavily favored Wildcats 72-65  It's also cool to note that David Lattin's grandson, Khadeem Lattin ( and whose mother BTW is WNBA Houston Comets legend Monica Lamb) playing for the Oklahoma Sooners, one of the four teams competing for the NCAA title here in Houston this weekend

 It is also fitting that during this weekend in which the Final Four returns to the Lone Star State, the 1966 NCAA championship team will be honored at halftime.on Saturday.

As I said in my 45th anniversary TransGriot post concerning that historic game, the Texas Western players that night in Cole Field House on the University of Maryland campus were playing not only for a title, they were playing for the dignity of a people.

They also ended up with their win,.changing NCAA college basketball forever.

Happy Anniversary, 'So POPular!'

Looks like TransGriot isn't the only media platform celebrating an anniversary in 2016.

Janet Mock's MSNBCshift show So POPular turned one this year as well.  Every Friday at 10 AM Central time Janet and her guests discuss pop culture and the issues of the day and do it in a informative, fun and lively way.   Just wish they would dump the prison shows and put this one on the regular MSNBC lineup.

If you're interested in catching up on past episodes of So POPular, here's the link to it.

Congrats Janet!   Here's hoping for another successful season of shows for you  

Happy 10th Blogiversary TransGriot!

It is finally New Year's Day in the US central time zone, and the first day of 2016 is not the only thing we are celebrating today.

January 1 also happens to be the day in 2006 that I started TransGriot the blog with this post.

I only wrote 124 posts in that inaugural yer because I still had at the time a monthly newspaper column I was focused on in addition of trying to figure out what direction I wanted to take the blog in, but eventually did so.

So after over 9000 posts, a GLAAD Media Awards nomination, winning a 2013 Esteem Award, a 2010 Black Weblog Award and 2011 finalist nomination along with a 2008 Weblog Award finalist nomination. TransGriot has grown beyond my wildest dreams and expectations.

I hope you'll also hit that TransGriot Tip Jar in the upper left hand corner and donate what you can to keep it going and ad free.

In this 10th anniversary year, which also happens to be one in which we will be choosing the next president, I suspect I'll be doing a lot of political posts this year along with whatever else needs to be discussed inside and outside of Trans World.

And if I'm blessed to do so, I will be covering a few conferences and events that I get the opportunity to attend.  So far I'm looking at possibly attending Creating Change 2016 in Chicago, the 2016 LGBT Media Journalists Convening in Baltimore, and the joint NABJ/NAHJ Conference in Washington DC.

And I can't wait for it to get started.

Happy blogiversary!

   

Leelah Alcorn One Year Anniversary

Today is the sad day one year ago that 17 year old Leelah Alcorn stepped in front of an 18 wheeler truck near the South Lebanon, OH exit of I-71.  Two hours later her suicide note popped up on her Tumblr blog urging those of us who fight for the human rights of trans people to 'fix society'.

She wanted her death to mean something for trans civil rights movements.   While we have much work to do to get to that point where society will be safe for trans kind to navigate, the hard work is already being done to make that a reality.

So that we don't forget what happened on this day, here's the text of the note she posted on her blog a year ago.

***

SUICIDE NOTE
If you are reading this, it means that I have committed suicide and obviously failed to delete this post from my queue.

Please don’t be sad, it’s for the better. The life I would’ve lived isn’t worth living in… because I’m transgender. I could go into detail explaining why I feel that way, but this note is probably going to be lengthy enough as it is. To put it simply, I feel like a girl trapped in a boy’s body, and I’ve felt that way ever since I was 4. I never knew there was a word for that feeling, nor was it possible for a boy to become a girl, so I never told anyone and I just continued to do traditionally “boyish” things to try to fit in.

When I was 14, I learned what transgender meant and cried of happiness. After 10 years of confusion I finally understood who I was. I immediately told my mom, and she reacted extremely negatively, telling me that it was a phase, that I would never truly be a girl, that God doesn’t make mistakes, that I am wrong. If you are reading this, parents, please don’t tell this to your kids. Even if you are Christian or are against transgender people don’t ever say that to someone, especially your kid. That won’t do anything but make them hate them self. That’s exactly what it did to me.

My mom started taking me to a therapist, but would only take me to christian therapists, (who were all very biased) so I never actually got the therapy I needed to cure me of my depression. I only got more christians telling me that I was selfish and wrong and that I should look to God for help.

When I was 16 I realized that my parents would never come around, and that I would have to wait until I was 18 to start any sort of transitioning treatment, which absolutely broke my heart. The longer you wait, the harder it is to transition. I felt hopeless, that I was just going to look like a man in drag for the rest of my life. On my 16th birthday, when I didn’t receive consent from my parents to start transitioning, I cried myself to sleep.

I formed a sort of a “fuck you” attitude towards my parents and came out as gay at school, thinking that maybe if I eased into coming out as trans it would be less of a shock. Although the reaction from my friends was positive, my parents were pissed. They felt like I was attacking their image, and that I was an embarrassment to them. They wanted me to be their perfect little straight christian boy, and that’s obviously not what I wanted.

So they took me out of public school, took away my laptop and phone, and forbid me of getting on any sort of social media, completely isolating me from my friends. This was probably the part of my life when I was the most depressed, and I’m surprised I didn’t kill myself. I was completely alone for 5 months. No friends, no support, no love. Just my parent’s disappointment and the cruelty of loneliness.

At the end of the school year, my parents finally came around and gave me my phone and let me back on social media. I was excited, I finally had my friends back. They were extremely excited to see me and talk to me, but only at first. Eventually they realized they didn’t actually give a shit about me, and I felt even lonelier than I did before. The only friends I thought I had only liked me because they saw me five times a week.

After a summer of having almost no friends plus the weight of having to think about college, save money for moving out, keep my grades up, go to church each week and feel like shit because everyone there is against everything I live for, I have decided I’ve had enough. I’m never going to transition successfully, even when I move out. I’m never going to be happy with the way I look or sound. I’m never going to have enough friends to satisfy me. I’m never going to have enough love to satisfy me. I’m never going to find a man who loves me. I’m never going to be happy. Either I live the rest of my life as a lonely man who wishes he were a woman or I live my life as a lonelier woman who hates herself. There’s no winning. There’s no way out. I’m sad enough already, I don’t need my life to get any worse. People say “it gets better” but that isn’t true in my case. It gets worse. Each day I get worse.

That’s the gist of it, that’s why I feel like killing myself. Sorry if that’s not a good enough reason for you, it’s good enough for me. As for my will, I want 100% of the things that I legally own to be sold and the money (plus my money in the bank) to be given to trans civil rights movements and support groups, I don’t give a shit which one. The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren’t treated the way I was, they’re treated like humans, with valid feelings and human rights. Gender needs to be taught about in schools, the earlier the better. My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say “that’s fucked up” and fix it. Fix society. Please.

Goodbye,

(Leelah) Josh Alcorn

How Has TransGriot's Ten Years Of Existence Affected You?

It was about this time ten years ago that I was in conversations with my sister from another mother Jordana LeSesne who was staying on my azz about me starting the blog that became TransGriot.

She pushed me into setting a hard date for starting it, which became January 1, and at 12;01 AM EST on New Year's Day 2006  my first post went live on this blog.

Now it's nearly ten years, over 9000 posts, 6.1 million hits and several awards later, and TransGriot is approaching its tenth anniversary as the longest daily continuously published blog devoted to covering and talking about trans issues from an Afrocentric perspective.

And since its 2006 start, I've branched out to write about whatever subject appeals to me while staying true to the original mission

The TransGriot blog's mission is to become the griot of our community. I will introduce you to and talk about your African descended transbrothers and transsisters across the Diaspora, reclaim and document our chocolate flavored trans history, speak truth to power, comment on the things that impact our trans community from an Afrocentric perspective and enlighten you about the general things that go on around me and in the communities that I am a member of.

I didn't get around to actually compiling the mission statement until January 2, 2011, but by that time I'd figured out what direction I wanted to take the blog.
Anyway, before I digress, let me get to the reason why I'm writing this post.   Since the TransGriot tenth anniversary is rapidly approaching, I wanted to know what impact the TransGriot blog has had on my readers?

What I'd like is statements from you by December 25 so moved to do so that express how TransGriot's existence has touched your lives.  I know that five trans people have already told me privately that reading posts on the blog dissuaded them from committing suicide, and others have told me at different times that they read it daily including members of Congress and their staffs.

I want to start posting them during the first week of January 2016.  
 

55th Anniversary of JFK's Church And State Speech

On September 12, 1960 during the heat of a close presidential race between himself and Vice President Richard Nixon, and because of concerns and skepticism that as a Roman Catholic, his religion would allow him to make important national decisions independently of the Vatican,  then Senator John F Kennedy delivered a speech to a skeptical Greater Houston Ministerial Association.

Here is the transcript an the video of that speech that was one of the events that helped him win the presidency by a razor thin margin over Nixon..

14th Anniversary of 9-11 Terror Attacks

Today is the 14th anniversary of the 2001 coordinated  terror attacks launched by 19 al-Qaeda operatives predominately from Saudi Arabia against the World Trade Center Towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington DC, and the crash of United Flight 93 that was destined for another target suspected to be the US Capitol building but crashed in southeastern Pennsylvania as the passengers on that airplane attempted to overpower the attackers.

3000 people were killed in the attackers including the al-Qaeda operatives.   I was awake on that fateful morning and saw the second plane hit the south tower on live TV along with their collapse nearly two hours later.

On that site in New York is not only a memorial to those attacks, but a new World Trade Center building that  rises 1776 feet about the city.

There were also ceremonies in New York an Washington DC marking the 14th anniversary of those attacks.




Remembering and honoring all the lives that were lost on that day and may they rest in power.

Katrina 10th Anniversary

Today is the tenth anniversary of the devastating 2005 landfall of Hurricane Katrina in the New Orleans area.   It would turn out to be the fifth deadliest storm to ever hit the United States and caused the reported deaths of 1,833 people   It also resulted in once the levees failed in 80% of New Orleans being flooded and major damage to the roof of the Superdome.

It also had far reaching effects post landfall in forcing the largest movement of African-Americans since The Great Migration of the early 20th century and affecting the politics of the states of Texas, Louisiana and Georgia.

Because of Katrina evacuees, the population of Houston grew by 35,000 people, and enough stayed to where we ended up expanding City Council after the 2010 census. Georgia picked up a congressional seat and Texas picked up four congressional seats.

Conversely, New Orleans lost half its pre-storm population and the state of Louisiana lost 4.8% of its pre-Katrina population and a congressional seat. Louisiana also went from being a swing state to a reliably Republican voting one.

And yes, Katrina also affected the lives of our trans family who lived there.

The badly botched government response by the Bush Administration was probably a factor in the Democrats getting control of the US House and the Senate in the 2006 midterms the next year.

New Orleans and the area has bounced back ten years later,  Many of the people who left the city in the wake of Katrina have returned.   The Superdome reopened, and the levees and highways damaged by the storm have been rebuilt.  President Obama visited the city earlier this week, spoke with residents and Mayor Mitch Landrieu and gave this speech.



There will also be commemorative events across the area today as people remember the folks that were lost in that devastating storm.