Moni's In The CC20 House!

After rolling up I-45 yesterday, I'm back in Dallas again, but this time it's for my sixth  Creating Change Conference and my first since the 2017 one in Philadelphia.

So what's Creating Change?  It's one of the largest political conferences in the TBLGQ movement ranks.  It has been around since 1988, and my first one was the 1999 event in Oakland

Creating Change is back in Texas for the first time since 2014, but not on my end of I-45 this time and we Houston peeps are still a little salty about that.   Houston has only hosted Creating Change once, while this is now the third time Dallas has hosted it.

Dallas previously hosted Creating Change in 1994 and 2010.

When H-Town had our chance to do so in 2014, we  handled our business and raised the bar for hosting it.  We set new Creating Change records across the board, including the current CC attendance record of over 4000 attendees that as of yet still hasn't been broken.

This time, unlike my last Creating Change event in Philly in 2017,  I'm staying in the conference hotel for the first time since #CC15 in Denver. 

I'm going to be receiving the Hyde Longevity in the Movement award while I'm here at the opening plenary session on Thursday.

I'm also participating in two panels on Thursday at 10 AM as part of the Trans Institute and Friday at 3 PM before I head back down I-45 south to home on Sunday.. 

I was already aware of thanks to my previous Dallas trips there's a downtown 7 Eleven store near the St Paul DART Rail station.

That St Paul DART Rail station is in easy walking distance of the conference hotel  and since I'm only two away from a free one on my app, Slurpees will be demolished while I'm in Dallas at an unprecedented rate.   

As always peeps, if you see me wandering the CC20 halls and I'm not running my mouth with somebody, don't be shy, say hi!   Looking forward to seeing and reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones.

Moni's In The Excellence In Journalism Conference House

It's been a few weeks since my last instate road trip to Dallas, and I've hit the road again for an unprecedented for me third trip to San Antonio in the same calendar year.

Unlike my birthday trip to the Alamo City back in May, this one is business. 

I'm here to attend the Excellence In Journalism Conference  that started yesterday and is being held through September 7 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in downtown San Antonio on the Riverwalk

This 2019 edition of the conference is jointly sponsored by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ).

The Excellence In Journalism Conference was started in 2011 by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) and the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) to provide an industry event that would provide the best training and networking opportunities. 

The NAHJ had previously been a partner for this conference in 2013, 2015 and 2017, and is now in the house again this year. 

Like the other media Conferences I have attended such as the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), NLGJA, the Unity Conference held every four years in Washington DC jointly sponsored by the NABJ and NAHJ, and the LGBT Media Journalists Convening, it's an opportunity to not only get more training to get better at what I do, but also give me an opportunity to network with other media professionals.

It also goes without saying I get an opportunity to rep the trans community at the same time in those media conference spaces.

Major thanks to NAHJ for the invitation to be here, and I'm looking forward to spending a few days in San Antonio getting my learn on and networking with the people in attendance here.
 

Hopefully since the Alamo is not far from the conference hotel, I'll finally get to do more than just drive by it before they do the renovation and redesign of the area in front of that historical landmark and site of a crucial 1836 Texas Revolution battle.

I also hope I get some time to actually check out the Riverwalk for the first time ever.   I have been coming to San Antonio since 1981.   Because many of my San Antonio trips have either been day trips or I had other business when I came here and a too tight schedule that had no room for a trip to the Riverwalk, I have yet to spend any time exploring it.

And yes, y'all already know I'm not leaving the 210 without making another tasty stop by Wayne's Wings.

Back In NOLA For The NLGJA Convention

It was touch and go in terms of whether or not I'd actually get here, but thanks to a major assist from BTAC, I'm here for #NLGJA18!

After missing out on the NABJ one in Miami, I was determined to at least make this one since it was this close (385 miles) to my Houston stomping grounds. 

My Megabus trip from Houston started out on a less than promising note, with us having to swap the bus out before we could start our eastward trek down I-10.  But better to have them handle that problem in Houston than having us break down along the route. 

I-10 in Louisiana includes major stretches of it going through swamp in the Atchafalaya Basin west of Baton Rouge and in St Charles, St John and St Martin Parishes as you approach New Orleans..

Still ended up getting to New Orleans an hour late, but in one piece with my luggage.

It's ironic to me that after not having visited New Orleans since the 1990 Mardi Gras, since then I have been to a 2018 BTAC Leadership Institute here, the 2018 Netroots Nation, and now this NLGJA conference.in the span of 14 months.   

I have a Saturday panel I'm on, so looking forward to not only handling my business on it, but also getting my learn on.  And yes, looking forward to seeing a few friends and some of the NLGJA leadership team while I;m wandering the convention hotel.

I also want to catch up with my NOLA trans fam before I have to hit I-10 west on Sunday

I still have to get registered before that happens, but will deal with it in a few hours.

I'll also be tweeting and posting to my Facebook while I'm here, and you can also check out the #NLGJA19 hashtag for the latest news.

WPATH Conference Starts Today

The 25th biennial World Professional Association for Transgender Health Conference (WPATH) is starting today in Buenos Aires, Argentina and running through November 6.

So what is WPATH?   It is a professional association headquartered in the United States devoted to the study and treatment of gender dysphoria, that was formerly known as the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association. 

 

Its mission is to promote evidence based care, education, research, advocacy, public policy, and respect in transgender health.  In addition to medical professionals and trans activists, other attendees include people working in the fields of psychology, law, social work, counseling, psychotherapy, family studies, sociology, anthropology, speech and voice therapy and sexology.

Non professionals in those fields are also welcome to join WPATH, but don't have voting privileges in the organization.

With trans communities in the US, Great Britain and elsewhere facing unprecedented facts free attacks on their humanity and human rights, this conference is happening in Argentina at a crucial time in our community's history.

Argentina has also been a leader in the last few years in passing trans supportive human rights policies and laws.

Good luck to everyone traveling to Buenos Aires for this conference, and may they all return to their home nations better informed on trans medical issues and the issues of importance to trans communities around the world.

Moni's Netroots Nation 2018 Diary

This was my fourth Netroots Nation event, and the third consecutive one I have attended. 

One of the things I was doing besides the eventual three panels and two radio interviews while I was in New Orleans was a daily recap about my NN18 experience for the Houston based OutSmart magazine. 

There's a lot going on at a conference like this, and I wanted you to see them as you can see through my eyes as a participant with some movement gravitas

So here are the NN 18 recaps I wrote while I was here in NOLA

The Pre Conference - August 1 

I  awoke to a sunny New Orleans day basically ready to handle my business and check out some of the pre conference events taking place here at Netroots Nation 2018.

But first, Moni was getting and destroying those beignets.  The Hilton New Orleans Riverside hotel is our official #NN18 hotel.  The best part is that particular hotel is connected to the Riverwalk Mall and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, where the #NN18 panels and keynotes will take place.

One of the things I like to do is get a feel for the convention venue and know exactly where the rooms are located for my panels.  The Cafe Du Monde in the Riverwalk opened at 8:30 AM, and the plan was to stop, get my six beignets to go (they come in sets of three), and keep stepping all the way to the EMCC.   The journey through the Riverwalk also allowed me to burn off the calories from those beignets.

My next task after I arrived at the cavernous EMCC was to find out what room the LGBT pre conference event was taking place in since it started at 8:30 AM.

I eventually discovered that the pre conference events, like all the panels, would be taking place on the second floor of the EMCC.  After another few minutes of walking, riding up escalators to that floor, and passing the Emily’s List sponsored Women’s Caucus, I finally arrived at the already in progress LGBT one.

My arrival was a surprise to my LGBT Media homies and homettes facilitating this event, Zack Ford, Liz Owen, Dana Rudolph, Daniel Villareal and Mike Rogers. They all gave me big hugs before they returned back to conducting their daylong event that started at the same time I was purchasing those beignets and ended at 5:00 PM.

After talking to Sunnivie Brydum and a few other attendees of the LGBT pre conference event during the break, I left at noon to handle some other pressing off campus business with the BiNet crew at their Airbnb in the French Quarter. I also needed to move out of my 19th floor room to a suite a few doors away on the same floor for the rest of the conference.  

The 19th floor room I was already in wasn’t bad. It had a view of the Mississippi River and I loved watching the paddle boats, barges and ships cruise by as I was writing.  The suite I’m now in has a much better view of downtown New Orleans and the Mississippi River bridges to the Westbank where I once lived.

After hanging out at the BiNet Airbnb for a few hours to work on our Friday presentation, we headed back to the EMCC at 4:30 PM to pick up our #NN18 programs and badges.  

I also found out while I was hanging out in the Quarter with my BiNet fam that I now have a 9:00 AM panel to participate in..   I received a call from the Trans United Fund Operations Manager Daye Pope that our TUF Executive Director Hayden Mora had a family emergency in New York that required his immediate attention.  She asked if I could cover for him in the reproductive justice panel he was scheduled to be on..

The MomsRising panel I’m scheduled to participate in on Thursday was taking place at 10:30 AM, so I agreed to do it.  That means I won’t be staying up late tonight. I'll have to get up a little earlier to make that happen.

We entered the Hall B part of the EMCC that will serve as the Netroots Nation Town Square, AKA the vendor area. . I noticed that Radio Row was being set up on that side of the building we were entering as well.

Egberto Willies and the KPFT-FM crew were setting up, and after talking to him for a few minutes to coordinate a radio interview for his show during the afternoon, I headed to the registration desk to pick up my #NN18 badge.  

After talking to a few longtime friends, we headed back to the hotel via the Riverwalk route so I could get busy writing about and recapping what happened on the #NN18 pre conference day
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Well, must get my beauty sleep on this end of I-10.  Have a long first day of Netroots Nation 2018 ahead of me in the morning.          

Day 1-August 2

The first full day of the 2018 edition of Netroots Nation was a full one for me.  It started with back to back panels before lunchtime, followed by two radio interviews.  

The first panel I was a participant in started at 9:00 AM and was entitled Igniting The Lit in Litmus Test: How Leading With Repro Justice Helps Us Win

It was a discussion moderated by Heidi Sieck with my fellow panelists Alison Dreith and Atima Omara.  It was focused on the how and why Democrats and progressives need to become more literate on reproductive justice issues and no be shy about it. because they are a winning one for our side.  

This is an issue I haven’t explored as much, so I was in active listening mode for the first 15 minutes of it.  But once I started to feel comfortable around the topic, I had no problem pointing out how transgender people fit into the reproductive justice framework.

Then I headed across the hall to the 10:30 panel I was scheduled to do with Moms Rising entitled Keep Marching 2018: Connect Locally, Build Power and Win..

Our panel moderator was MomsRising CEO Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, who I have known since the 2016 Netroots event in St Louis when she interviewed me in the semifinals of the Pundit Cup competition I won.

It was a reunion of sorts with her, myself, and my fellow panelists Almas Sayeed and Monifa Bandele.  I was also happy to see my Texas activist homettes Fran Watson and Sissi Yado in the room as we talked about how critical this election happening in 96 days is, and how local action can bring about positive change and wins for our side.
We went over the scheduled 11:45 AM end time of the panel by 10 minutes, but it was lunchtime so that was okay.   I then headed downstairs to the Town Square part of the EMCC to check out Radio Row and look for Egberto and do the interview I’d promised him.   

While I was there I ran into Michaelangelo Signorile, who I hadn’t seen since the 2012 NN event in Providence.  He was busy at that moment interviewing VA Delegate Danica Roem, who when she was done, I talked to for a few minutes before heading a few spots down Radio Row to do my interview on Kristin’s show.    Alicia Garza of BLM showed up when I finished, and we chatted for a few minutes before I settled into my KPFT-FM interview with Egberto for his Politics Done Right show

Sunnivie spotted me, introduced me to her boss at Free Speech TV, and set up an interview for Saturday.   

After lunch back in the Riverwalk, headed back to the EMCC and tried to figure out what panels I wanted to watch, but  didn’t see anything that appealed to me on the conference matrix, so I just wandered the NN Town Square to talk to old and new friends.   Was also stopped more than a few times by people who had either attended the pre conference event or the panels and liked what I had to say.   

It was also a bittersweet first NN 18 day because of the death that morning of a longtime friend of Netroots Nation and the progressive political world in Joel Silberman. He’s the media trainer extraordinaire for Democratic candidates, and II met him when I did the GLAAD POC Media training in New York back in 2012.   

We also found out at the afternoon plenary session that this NOLA Netroots Nation event is the best attended one ever.  Detroit used to hold the record, and New Orleans will probably add to it before the event ends on August 4 because people are still arriving.

And if they ever bring Netroots Nation to Houston, we’ll probably shatter NOLA’s record   

But back to the story.   New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was just one of the speakers firing up the crowd along with Texan Gina Ortiz Jones  before I called it a day and headed back to the hotel to chill and do some writing.

Ready to see what August 3 brings.  

Day 2- August 3

NN18 Day 2 was one in which I did not have a scheduled panel until 4:15 PM. That meant I got the opportunity to sit back and actually enjoy a few presentations from the audience.

One of those presentations was a 9 AM one featuring four elected Black women legislators entitled Black Women Teach : Perspectives from Black Women Legislators.   It featured Reps Park Cannon and Renitta Shannon from Georgia, Rep Leslie Herod from Colorado, and Rep Emilia Sykes of Ohio.

They not only talked about some of the issues they were passionate about and why,  they also discussed some of the challenges of being Black female legislators.

I then moved on to watch the LGBTQ Women Out To Win panel moderated by our Houston homegirl and my former mayor Annise Parker. It featured Rep. Leslie Herod in her second consecutive one of the day, Del. Danica Roem of Virginia, and Sen. Pat Spearman of Nevada.

This discussion was similar to the Black female legislative one I’d just attended, but also focused on the challenges and advantages of running as a LGBTQ person    It also mic dropped the amazing stat that an out LGBTQ candidate is 67% more likely to win a race because they are seen as more authentic in the eyes of the voting public.

Sen Spearamn also shared lessons from her recent unsuccessful campaign for a congressional seat.   

And yes peeps, after the panel I got a chance to chat with Rep. Herod, who I have known for several years, Delegate Roem and Sen. Spearman.

At lunch we were treated to the keynote speech that Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) was supposed to have delivered Thursday but couldn’t because of bad weather in the DC area that delayed his NOLA arrival

There was also the show tunes singing in the NN18 Town Square in memory of Joel Silberman, who will be missed by his Netroots Nation family and all  who loved and admired him in progressive political circles.

I also bumped into my friend and Daily Kos writer Denise Oliver-Velez, Ambalika Williams and other old and new friends as I wandered the cavernous Morial Convention Center halls

Other NN18 attendees stopped me in the halls of the EMCC and even the Riverwalk to tell me how much they enjoyed what I had to say on the Thursday panels I participated in the day before.

4:15 PM arrived quickly, and that meant it was time to do my final panel for NN18.  It was entitled Don’t Fear The Black Activist: How To Communicate Without Anti-Blackness and was moderated by Faith Cheltenham and Ashton Woods.  

The panel discussed anti-Black attitudes within progressive organizing spaces,  why eradication of anti-Black attitudes needs to become a priority in the progressive movement if we are to be successful, and how we can get busy doing that.

I also had fun watching the younglings at an after party sponsored by Democracy For America  until they chased up out at 7 PM.

Aslo got to enjoy dinner with several friends at Drago’s, a NOLA seafood place well known for its charbroiled oysters (yes, they were delicious).

Have one more full day of Netroots Nation 2018 before we have to say goodbye to NOLA and focus on the 94 days of a midterm election that will determine whether we still have a democracy after November 6

Those of us gathered here in New Orleans are determined to do our part to make sure that we do

Day 3-+August 4  

The final day of Netroots Nation in NOLA.   Even though there were a few panels that piqued my interest as I perused the Saturday schedule matrix, I decided to focus on hitting the caucuses.

One of the panels I was interested in was the Disaster Capitalism: New Orleans and Puerto Rico in Dialogue one featuring San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz.

We would also find out on this final NN18 day where and when Netroots Nation 2019 would take place.   That will be in Philadelphia July 11-13 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

The LGBTQ Caucus, The LGBTQ POC Caucus  and Black Women Caucuses wee definitely must attend for me.   They were well attended, ranging from 20-30 people in each one of them hem

The highlight for me on this day was the Black Women’s one.  I got to finally meet one of my sheroes in Melissa Harris-Perry, and discover o my delight she was a fan and avid reader of TransGriot.   We had a chance to talk politics and a few other subjects during and after the caucus.

There was also another caucus that organically popped up organized by NN18 African American attendees entitled the BlackA** Caucus.

In that caucus discussions were held about the problematic scheduling of panels oriented toward discussing issues affecting our community against each other, microaggressive and anti-Black behavior encountered during the event, NN18 touting the fact 67% of the presenters were people of color, but we weren’t being paid for our intellectual labor among other issues.

The issue was also discussed in the caucus of being your authentic Black self in a convention space that is overwhelmingly white.  

Those Black A** caucus conversations led to the planning of a takeover of the NN18 stage during the closing plenary that was executed later that evening.   Demands were articulated from the plenary stage in the EMCC Great Hall that Black attendees want to see implemented in time for NN19 and beyond.

What were those demands?    Hiring of Black Netroots Nation staff, inclusion of Black members on the NN board and oversight of a team of Black activists over Netroots programming submitted by Black people to ensure they aren’t scheduled against each other  

Time and their actions will tell if the Netroots Nation Board of Directors was listening.    

The bottom line is that if you want to win, Black progressives MUST be at the table.  Black progressives are the key to consistently winning against conservatives, and you ignore African American voices at your electoral and movement peril .   

Black women are the base of the Democratic Party, and will be the voting bloc that powers the expected blue wave happening in 93 days

Netroots Nation 2018 is now one for the history books, and the hosting torch has been passed to Philadelphia.   Will be interesting to see when NN19 opens what the country’s political landscape looks like when it takes place.  

Netroots Nation 2018- Day 1

Looks like I'll now be doing three panels when this conference starts in a few hours at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center . Two of the three panels are on this first full day of it. 

Fortunately for me they are across the hall from each other. 

At 9:00 AM in RM 215/216 I'll be taking part in a panel entitled Igniting The Lit in Litmus Test How Leading With Repro Justice Helps Us Win.   

At 10:30 AM  my second panel starts in Room 214 that is sponsored by Moms Rising entitled Keep Marching 2018: Connect Locally, Build Power and Win.   

Kristin Rowe Finkbeiner will be moderating this panel that I'm on with my fellow panelists Monifa Bandele and Almas Sayeed.

After lunch, I'll be figuring out what panel i want to attend next.   I also have a possible radio interview scheduled with Egberto Willies on my hometown Pacifica station KPFT-FM.

Now, I need to get some sleep.  Don't want to be doing those panels with bags under my eyes.

NABJ and Philly Trans Wellness Conference Also Meeting This Week

There are two other conventions important to my life as an unapologetically Black  trans feminine writer and journalist that are happening as I sit here in New Orleans awaiting the start of Netroots Nation

And noting when I looked at the calendar that three events I wanted to attend were happening in different parts of the country at literally the same time meant I had to make a hard call on which one I would attend 

Being asked to do the panels at Netroots Nation and it occurring in NOLA made that hard call easier,  but it still isn't going to be easy to miss my trans fam or my NABJ family, much less the convos taking place at both conferences.

In the Motor City, the National Association of Black Journalists are gathering starting today and running through August 5  at the Detroit Marriott at Renaissance Center.

I've always wanted to attend an NABJ event, and the first time I got to do so came when it was held in Boston in 2014.    I was there to participate in a panel with Kellee Terrell and Kenyon Farrow on the topic of properly reporting about transgender people moderated by Tiq Milan.

Two years late I received the amazing experience of attending the joint NABJ-NAHJ Unity event in Washington DC at the historic Wardman park Hotel.

During a presidential election year, both the NABJ and the National Assn of Hispanic Journalists organizations hold their conventions there.  It is an amazing opportunity to network with members of both organizations    In addition to meeting my journalistic heroes and sheroes in the African American and Latinx journalism worlds , I also got to witness the panels and the press conference with Hillary Clinton

Starting at the same time as #NN18 is one of the largest trans conference s in the United States in the now Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference at the Philadelphia Convention Center.

Probably because of its location in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, it draws up to 3000 people for its panel discussions and professional medical tracks.

It's the event where I also met Jazz Jennings and her amazing family, and met Nicole Maines and her family in addition to having the opportunity to participate in some panels. 

I have been attending the now PTWC since 2012, and the last time I was there for it was in 2016 for not only the conference, but a Trans United Fund board meeting.

That 2016 one I got there after a fun ride up I-95 with Fiona Dawson after we'd been to the White house for the LGBT Pride Reception.  I got to spend some quality time with not only the TUF board and my friends in the community, but my homegirl Dionne Stallworth

That 2016 event is also memorable for me because the morning I was preparing to leave the city to go back to Washington DC, I began hearing the news about the horrific Pulse mass shooting in Orlando.

To my friends attending the NABJ and PTWC, sorry I can't be there because I'm in NOLA, but definitely will be thinking about y'all as I'm scarfing down my beignets.

Back In NOLA For Netroots Nation 2018!

Hi NOLA, I'm back!    As you TransGriot readers know I was recently here after a nearly three decade absence for a BTAC Leadership Training Institute.

This time I'm here for the 2018 edition of Netroots Nation.   Some of the 3500 people coming to the Crescent City for this event are US House candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

So what is Netroots Nation?  It is one of the largest progressive political conferences in the United States that grew out of the YearlyKos conference organized in 2006 by the readers and writers of the Daily Kos blog . 

From that initial event in Las Vegas that got major mainstream news coverage, it has grown not only in importance in Democratic and liberal progressive circles, it  also travels to different parts of the country.   Still wondering when I will get to see Netroots Nation happen in Houston    Austin so far has been the only Texas city to host it, having done son in 2008 .

This is my fourth Netroots Nation conference. and my third consecutive one since 2016    The first one I ever attended was in Providence, RI in 2012 to take part in that historic trans panel during that event. 

That Providence NN12 event unexpectedly became the one where my national activist profile got raised.   Two radio interviews by Elon James White and Michelangelo Signorile combined with that panel and and vocal participation in the LGBT and Black Caucuses tend to do that

I didn't return to Netroots Nation until the 2016 event in St Louis, where as y'all know I walked away with the Pundit Cup title after being urged to do so by John Gorczynski . 

I was in the Netroots Nations house when it was held in Atlanta last year.  In addition to taking part in two panel discussions during NN17, I was also a judge for the semifinals and finals of the 2017 Pundit Cup competition eventually won by Tenaja Jordan

I also stepped away from the host hotel to join the ATL trans community and attend the memorial vigil for Tee Tee Daingerfield 

Now it's in New Orleans.  I'm looking forward to being at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center not only the political happenings that will tranpire here, and taking part in two panels, but do so in a city in which I have a deep personal connection to.

As the 2016 Pundit Cup Champion, I'll be interested in checking out this year's competition and see who emerges as the 2018 title holder. 

The last three Pundit Cup champs, FYI  have been women, and the last two (2016-17) Black women, so don't bet against that pattern continuing.

But first things first, NN18 officially starts on Thursday and runs until August 4.   One of the panels I'm taking part in is sponsored by Moms Rising, and happens at 10:30 AM on August 2

The panel is called Keep Marching 2018: Connect Locally Build Power and Win.  It will be moderated by Kristin Rowe- Finkbeiner and will have Monifa Bandele and Almas Sayeed scheduled to be on it with me.

It will be in Room 214, and hope to see you there.

30th Annual Creating Change Happening In DC

The 30th annual edition of the LGBTQ Task Force's Creating Change Conference is happening right  now until January 28 at one of my fave Washington DC hotels,  the historic Marriott Wardman Park.

This northwest DC  hotel is also celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2018.  The reason I wrote the  historic Marriott Wardman Park is because since 1984 the hotel has been on the National Register of Historic Places, and has had many historic figures either stay there, work there or hosted historic events inside its walls. 

In addition to Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Herbert Hoover staying there along with a lengthy list of political figures, poet Langston Hughes worked at the hotel as a busboy. 

 In 1925 he handed three of his poems to noted critic to Vachel Lindsay who was dining there that evening.  Lindsay read them, was impressed by his work and then launched Hughes'  literary career by announcing he'd discovered the 'busboy poet'

There's a gold plaque in the hotel marking the spot where Hughes handed his poems to Lindsay that i discovered during my 2012 visit because my room was in that part of the hotel. 

In 1954 Thurgood Marshall and his legal team spent several days staying at the Wardman Park to prep for and watch Marshall successfully argue before the Supreme Court the landmark Brown v Board of Education case 

I stayed there for the 2012 NBJC OUT on the Hill conference I was a participant in, and was back four years later for the joint NABJ-NAHJ media conference.

Now the Marriott Wardman Park is hosting the 30th annual Creating Change conference, and for the first time since 2014 I won't be in attendance at Creating Change after being at the last four in Houston, Denver, Chicago and in Philadelphia last year. .   Just couldn't make it happen this year .

I'm even more bummed about it because Miss Major is being honored with an award during this event, and I'm missing getting reconnected with all my movement homies and homettes.

For those of you who are in DC for #CC18, the daylong institutes are happening today as you read this.  they started at 9 AM EST and run until 6 PM.  The first plenary session will take place at 8 PM  EST tonight. 

Starting tomorrow are the  seminars in which #CC18 attendees can get their learn on about different topics that will continue through Sunday.


That's before I even start talking about the various organizations there at #CC18 who will have conversations and strategy meetings that won't be talked about,

But my favorite part of Creating Change it is not only reconnecting and talking to everyone from around the country, it's also having those conversations while hanging out in the various hospitality suites.   The suites allow you to get a complimentary bite to eat, have those moments to talk to people away from the hustle and bustle of the convention, the restaurants or the bar area. 

I also like to take time to step away from the conference hotel and see some of the host city, and DC has plenty for people to see and experience

Just upset that this year, I won't  be there to experience it with you. 

Oh well, I'll just have to catch y'all in Detroit for #CC19