Moni's Headed To The ATX For Educate Out Loud!

As a proud teacher's kid, education issues are a part of my activist portfolio, and I am an unabashed supporter of public education. 

It's why I was pleased to accept the invitation of the organizers of this event to be the keynote speaker for Educate Out Loud!

It's a research and practice symposium that is dedicated to exploring and discussing issues related to TBLGQ+ people in  teacher preparation, higher education and in the field of education.

I can definitely talk about those issues with no problem. 

My keynote happens tomorrow at the Joe C. Thompson Conference Center on the University of Texas campus, so I'm headed to the ATX in a few hours so I can be there when it starts .

Hopefully I will see as many of you ATX peeps and conference attendees I know while I'm in Travis County. 

Forgotten Women Panel Happening April 16

I have another panel I've been asked to participate in as I pass the time before I head to Dallas for BTAC 2019. 

This one will take place on April 16 on the Lone Star College North Harris County campus, and is entitled Forgotten Women:  Sexual Assault and Violence Against Women of Color.

I'm joining three amazing women in Dee Dee Watters, Audia Jones, and Mya Carroll as we discuss this topic.  This also gives you folks who live in the Houston 'burbs a chance to see all of us in your neck of the woods.

The panel will start at 2:30 PM at the Lone Star College North Harris campus, located at 2700 WW Thorne Dr not far from Bush IAH.

Hope I see al lot of my far northside friends there for this event..   

Thank You Minneapolis and U of M!

I had an unexpected additional day in the Twin Cities after the event because of a massive spring storm that slammed the state with several inches of snow combined with sustained 25 mph high winds that cancelled flights at MSP.

That storm also resulted in the cancellation of my return flight home to Texas, but I wasn't too pressed about it.  I needed the additional day of rest because I know when I get back home I'll be going back to Austin to deal with our TXGOP legislative craziness.

I had a wonderful first visit to the Twin Cities and the state of Minnesota to participate in the second annual Andrea Jenkins Lecture Series.   While I was disappointed I didn't get to see more of my Minneapolis trans family because of the approaching storm, there were 100 souls who braved the weather to see Dr C Riley Snorton and myself.

In addition to Andrea dropping some of her poetry on us, Dr Snorton and I took to the Mayo Auditorium stage to discuss Black trans history and other subjects over the next two hours.

And yes, it was wonderful to see Rev Lawrence T. Richardson and Councilmember Andrea Jenkins again and meet Dr. Saby Labor , the director of UM-Twin Cities Gender and Sexuality Center for Queer and Trans Life. 

It was also a pleasure, honor and privilege to reconnect with Dr Snorton, and I'm going to enjoy reading his latest book on the plane ride home.   I also discovered Dr Snorton and I have a mutual acquaintance in his University of Chicago colleague Dr Kristen Schilt.

I also got to do some touristy things before the snowstorm hit like see the world famous First Avenue nightclub where Prince, The Time and countless other music legends have performed.   I visited the Mall of America  and went to Nicollet Mall downtown to see the Mary Tyler Moore statue.

Did I visit Paisley Park?  Not this time.   It's in the 'burbs and off the beaten public transit path, so I'll save it for a future trip.

But what I do wish to say is thank you Minneapolis for a wonderful first visit, and hope I can return to the Twin Cities soon.

Texas, I'm headed back home. 

'The State Of Black Women In America' Discussion At TSU Tonight

Looking forward to this conversation on the Texas Southern Campus tonight organized by Dr Carla Brailey and Dr Kimberly Brown Pellum.

It's a discussion entitled The State Of Black Women In America, it has on the panel attorney Cha' mira Keener, Tomiko Meeks, psychologist Dr. Alauna Curry,  Dr Michon Benson, TSU assistant professor of English, Kandice Webber, who organized the recent March of Black Women, and Tiffany Thomas, former board trustee from Alief ISD.

I am concerned that we're having a discussion about Black women in America on an HBCU campus without including the voices of Black trans feminine people, and it's a major reason why I'm attending this event tonight.

Kandice Webber is a ride or die accomplice for Black trans women, so I have no doubts at some point during the two hours scheduled for this conversation we will get to talk about the issues of Black trans women one way or the other

In case you live in the Houston area and wish to attend this event, it's happening from 7-9 PM in the Barbara Jordan - Mickey Leland Public Affairs Building in Room 114 on the Cleburne St. side of the TSU campus . 

Hope you'll consider attending this what is sure to be a thought provoking panel discussion 

'No Letter Left Behind' Conversation Tonight At Obsidian Theater

One of the things I've been saying for a while is that we need to have ongoing conversations and information dissemination events in Houston concerning TBLGQ issues.

Later today the group A Conversation For Colored Girls is sponsoring this event at the Obsidian Theater that seeks to jumpstart a dialogue about the lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer/questioning , intersex and asexual+ community.

So what's A Conversation for Colored Girls?  It's a community nonprofit that meets once a month to present invigorating conversation that aims to create a safe space for all of those who identify as women, and women of color, to come together for transformative conversation.

It also asks the very valid question how can we move forward as a people if we leave so many people, and specifically people in the TBLGQIA community behind?

This month's 'No Letter Left Behind' conversation hopes to dive into the semantics behind the LQBTQIA+ community and seeks to understand the significance of every letter representing the community and the people those letters represent

I agree with A Conversation For Colored Girls in the expressed sentiment that a lack of knowledge will never be an excuse for cruelty. As we explore each letter we gain a better understanding of everyone who lies on the spectrum. Opening our minds to appreciate the distinct people within the TBLGQIA+ community while showing the respect that is so seldom given, but always deserved.

This is your chance to ask questions and gain knowledge!

A Conversation For Colored Girls provides a safe space for such conversations as these. Come, share, and learn.  The doors open for the Obsidian Theater and this AC4CG sponsored conversation start at 6:30 PM.

If you can, bring a friend.  because this is a conversation that has needed to happen since the passage of HERO in May 2014 and its repeal with the help of sellout Black pastors colluding with white fundamentalists and Republicans in November 2015.

The Obsidian Theater is located at 3522 White Oak Dr, and hope to see you there.

2017 Transgender Day Of Resources and Healthy Living

Hanging out at the Montrose Center checking out the 2017 edition of the Transgender Day of Resources and Healthy Living.

Dee Dee Watters organizes this event  which merges seminars with vendors providing healthcare related services, representatives of various Houston orgs like Organization Latina de Trans in Texas, Save our Sisters United, Inc, Lesbian Health Initiative, Kinship Care, Baylor College of Medicine, the Gender Infinity Conference, the Houston Intersex Society, PRIDE Portraits and Rice University to the Houston Trans community and our allies.

One of the reasons I'm writing about it is because the inaugural event in 2014 probably saved my life.  I hadn't been to the doctor in a while, and there were some TSU medical students there looking to do some testing on people.   I let them run some tests on me, and they determined that my blood pressure was elevated to the point that had it not been addressed. it could have led to me having a stroke.

Some of the workshops are covering topics like self defense< media training and voice training just to name a few.

This years event is running from 10-2 PM at the Montrose Center and hope you can come and check it out.

Moni And Janet On The Chautauqua Amphitheater Stage

Woke up to both of us being the front page featured story in the Chautauquan Daily (and a picture of me I despise), but at this moment Janet Mock and I are having a conversation on the historic Amphitheater that presidents, Supreme Court justices, ambassadors, congress members, authors and Nobel laureates have graced with their presence.

And I will be enjoying every nanosecond of it.

We'll be discussing trans issues for a learned audience that wishes to be educated on these issues, and hoping we have a full house or close to it for this featured conversation.

We are scheduled to go for about 40 minutes, with questions and answers from the audience once we've completed the discussion part.   I don't fly back home until tomorrow, so there's a brief meet and greet after the event concludes

Moni's At Chautauqua

After my flight from Hobby through Baltimore to Buffalo and my ride down I-90 through western New York wine country and the Seneca Nation to Chautauqua, I've been since yesterday afternoon chilling in my nice digs here on this picturesque campus that since 1874 has been dedicated to ongoing education and learning.

Only glitch I had was my 737-500 on the HOU-BWI leg had no wifi..

Just great.  The 3 hour flight leg has no wifi, but the short hop from BWI-BUF did.   Go figure the logic in that one.  Oh well, still getting my frequent flyer miles for it.

I'm in the Hagen-Wensley House, just across the street from the Athenaeum Hotel and down the hill from the open air auditorium when Janet Mock and I will be the featured talk tomorrow.  It's the place where performers and speakers stay then they are on the 750 acre Chautauqua Institute campus next to the lake bearing the same name.

Speaking of Janet, she's on her way here, and I'm looking forward to being in the same space with her for the first time in several years..

Chautauqua Institute is a place for ongoing education and learning about not only the current issues of the day, but subjects that include science, technology and the arts.

That point was driven home when I got a chance last night to have dinner on the Athenaeum's patio overlooking Lake Chautauqua with today's featured speaker in Dr. Randy Schekman, a Nobel prize winning molecular and cellular biologist

The conversation was even better than the meal, which was quite tasty

One of the subjects that Chautauqua Institution wishes to discuss and learn more about is trans issues, which is why Janet and I are here.

The Hagen-Wensley House has the feel of home, and I'm on the third floor of it.  I along with the other guests have snacks, drinks and munchies we can nibble on until we get our breakfast, lunch and dinner, and there's other spots in the town square just a short walk away

I said walk because you get around by walking or biking here, and there's not much vehicle traffic on the streets except for the Chautauqua Institution vehicles, carts and scooters.   Hey, not complaining because I am getting my exercise.

Got up early to do a 9 AM EDT radio interview this morning on WJTN-AM about the upcoming chat with Janet, and may do another one before I leave for Houston.   It has been nice chatting with Rachel, our hostess here at Hagen-Wesley House, the staff and getting to meet various members of the Chautauqua education department who are sponsoring this event.

Well, later peeps.  Need to take a walk along this lakefront and enjoy the cooler summer temperatures in comparison to the triple digit heat I left back in Houston Tuesday,.

Moni's Going To Chautauqua Institute!

I've had the blessings of being able to do some groundbreaking, amazing and historic things since my 1994 transition, but what is going to take place next month is mind blowing even by those standards.

On August 11 I'll be at the historic Chautauqua Institution as part of their Pushing Our Bodies' Limits Chautauqua Lecture Series interviewing Janet Mock at 10:45 AM EDT from their Amphitheater stage.

So what's the Chautauqua Institution?  It's a nonprofit 750 acre education center and summer community on Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York state 17 miles north of Jamestown that draws over 100,000 people for its wide range of events every summer.

It was originally founded in 1874 as a training camp for Sunday School teachers but broadened its offerings in 1878 with the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (CLSC) and mission to provide those who didn't have the time or money to acquire the skills and essential knowledge of a public education.

By 1880 it had acquired the reputation of being a national forum for discussion of public issues, international relations, science and literature where the leading thinkers of that time came to discuss the issues and concerns of the day.

Some of the long list of people who have graced the Chautauqua Institution grounds have been people such as Susan B. Anthony, who argued for women's suffrage from there in 1892.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his 'I Hate War' speech from here in 1936.  Margaret Mead, Amelia Earhart, Thurgood Marshall, Jane Goodall, Sandra Day O'Connor, and Kurt Vonnegut are some of the people who have spoken there.

The Chautauqua Institute tradition of timely conversations by thought leaders discussing the issues and concerns of the day continues with a timely discussion on race relations and Black Lives Matter this week with Deray Mckesson.

It also is a place where dance, music,opera, theater and the visual arts also reign along with an Abrahamic Program that seeks to build positive relationships among Jews, Christians and Muslims complete with services for those faiths.

In a month, I'll get to experience that.

Even more wonderful is that on August 11, Janet Mock and I will be joining that long distinguished list of people speaking from the historic Chautauqua Institute Amphitheater stage,

And I'm so looking forward to it.  

November Trans* Formations: Activists & Allies & Community Making Series

You know it has to be important for me to miss Scandal (that's what DVR is for anyway), but tonight along with Cristan Williams and Katy Stewart I'll be discussing Trans History in a conversation facilitated by Lou Weaver at Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church.  

It starts at 7 PM CST and Resurrection MCC is located at 2025 West 11th Street in Houston.

It is part of a series of Thursday night discussions organized and facilitated by Lou as part of Trans* Awareness and Ally Month and the upcoming Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Thursday, November 7
Gender Talk 101: Our Stories
Thursday, November 14
A Short History of the Alphabet: Our Diversity Journey
Thursday, November 21
The A-List: Ally-Advocate-Activist Training
Thursday, December 5
Community-Making for All: Moving Forward

The trans movement and transpeople didn't just materialize in the late 20th-early 21st century.  We have a proud history that I and my fellow panelists will be discussing and hope you can join us.

If you can't make it tonight, hope you can make the ret of the scheduled topics and discussions in this series.

What's Transgender Awareness Week?

Because the November 20 Transgender Day Of Remembrance is designed as a commemorative memorial service to remember and recognize the people we lost due to anti-trans violence during that calendar year, there have been calls to do an event that celebrates being us or sheds light on the issues relevant to being trans.

In Louisville, we would create a series of trans educational events to take place during the week leading up to our TDOR memorial service at the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary's Caldwell Chapel. 

Some of those events would take place on the LPTS campus while others would be scheduled during the week at other venues like the University of Louisville or MCC and other open and affirming churches.     

That idea seems to have spread to other parts of the country to do the same, and it now has a formalized name in Transgender Awareness Week  

The dates are varying across the country for group that are organizing activities but it's generally falling in the period from November 13-22 this year with the TDOR occurring on a Wednesday.

The good thing about Transgender Awareness Week is its flexibility in how you can structure and format it. 

While it isn't and never will be appropriate to throw a party during that week, you can during the Transgender Awareness Week do things like have panel discussions on various trans themed topics, bring in trans guest speakers, have lectures, Safe Zone trainings, community town hall discussions, and viewings of trans themed documentaries and movies.

You could also use Transgender Awareness Week as an opportunity to partner with local law enforcement to discuss safety issues and help break down the mistrust and sometime animus that exists between the trans community and law enforcement.

It's an opportunity during that week while we have the media spotlight on trans people in some areas of the country for TDOR to partner with our cis allies.  We can use the runup to that day for discussing issues that are the underlying causes for the near-genocidal levels of anti-trans violence and come up with ways to fix the problem.

It's something to think about for next year if it's too late for you to organize a series of Transgender Awareness Week events for 2013.   

Moni's Heading Downtown On Wednesday

To UH-Downtown that is.

I get to spend a little time on the UHD campus April 17 as part of a panel discussion after a viewing of the documentary film Trans.

The screening is taking place on the 4th floor of the North side of the UHD campus main building starting at 2:00 PM CDT. The UH-Downtown METRORail station provides easy access to it.





After the 90 minute screening the panel discussion will take place.    Should be an interesting event so if you want to see me and my fellow panelists, UHD is the place to be on Wednesday.

2012 TTNS At UH-Clear Lake Approaching

Just another reminder that we are exactly four weeks from the start of the 2012 edition of the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit that will take place on the picturesque UH-Clear Lake campus July 20-21

The TTNS will start at 9 AM CDT and the University of Houston-Clear Lake campus is located at 2700 Bay Area Blvd in Clear Lake, near NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.

The keynote speakers for TTNS 2012 will be on July 20; Dr. Jean Latting, author of Reframing Change and on July 21 Dr. Genny Beemyn, Director Stonewall Center, University of Massachusetts.

Registration is $10 for students and $20 for all other attendees.

As you TransGriot readers know, I covered the 2010 TTNS event and the 2011 TTNS event and plan to do the same for this one.  

I enjoy reporting on the proceedings and being with folks from the activist, professional and academic worlds around the Houston area and the state to talk about the best practices for making trans human rights and equality happen in the educational setting in Texas.

And yes, I do actually get my learn on at the same time.

This is the 4th annual edition of the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit.   It is a joint effort of the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit (TTNS) and the Transgender Foundation of America (TFA) that will have as its gracious hosts the UHCL International Intercultural Student Services (IISS)-Women’s and GLBT Resource Center at the University Of Houston-Clear Lake.

If you wish to attend, time is passing quickly.  The deadlines to lock in you meal choices (yes, they feed you) and get you info in are approaching.  You can E-mail txtgsummit@gmail.com or call 832-409-3363 for info and registration information.  .  

Their snail mail correspondence address is.

TTNS
P. O. Box 1095
Baytown, Texas 77522

Looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible there at UH-Clear Lake July 20-21

Moni's At Aggieland Tonight

Moni's on her way to Bryan-College Station at this moment to do her first Trans 101 presentation since she returned to the Lone Star State, and it's happening on the Texas A&M campus in College Station.

Thank you Lowell Kane and the Texas A&M LGBT Center for the invite, and it's an honor and pleasure for me to walk the same campus my activist mentors once trod.

If you want the TransGriot to speak on your campus about trans issues, GLBT politics, history et cetera, shoot me an e-mail with proposed dates for when you'd like me to do so.