A Wonderful Discussion At U of L's Ali Institute

It's Pride Week on the U of L campus and I spent a wonderful few hours this afternoon leading a brown bag panel discussion of the subject of gender neutral bathrooms.

It was sponsored by the Muhammad Ali Institute For Peace and Justice, which is located on the second floor of U of L's Ekstrom Library.

As I like to do with any speaking engagement, even though it was a noon start, I like getting there early. I enjoy walking around on college campuses, talking to staff and students and observing what's going on.

I had a chance to chat with Ali Institute staff members Stacy Bailey-Ndiaye, Erika R. Stith, and Mikal Forbush and two Ali Scholar students who dropped in before we got started with the panel discussion.

I also discovered that two of the students attending read TransGriot on a regular basis.

We ended up covering issues beyond just gender neutral bathroom ones. We discussed a wide variety of topics such as intersex issues, Caster Semenya, trans ID issues and race and gender in the hour and ten minutes I was there.

I was also surprised and pleased to get the neat U of L Ali Institute note pad I received as a token of the staff's appreciation when it ended. It's definitely going to be put to good use.

Before I left the U of L campus I paid a courtesy call to Brian Buford and the gang at the Office of LGBT Services. We had a brief discussion about how the event was going as he gave me a quick tour of the place.

Just an FYI, the 2009 edition of U of L Pride Week will continue until September 29.

On my way to the Red Barn where it's located, passed by a fundie preacher spouting the usual anti GLBT hate screed. After I grabbed something to eat I was going to go mess with his head a bit but he'd ended his christodiatribe by the time I exited the Student Center.

So as you can tell, I had a wonderful time on campus. I deeply appreciate the gracious invitation the Muhammad Ali Institute staff extended to me and the warm welcome I received from them and the students attending today.

I'm looking forward to helping them with another event in the near future.

Tavis Smiley's 10th Anniversary State Of The Black Union Symposium in LA Saturday

Tavis Smiley's annual State of the Black Union Symposium is celebrating its 10th anniversary on Saturday, February 28, and this year's event will take place in the place where it was born in Los Angeles.

The SOBU will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center and will be televised on C-SPAN with the theme of Making America As Good As Its Promise. There will also be conversations about issues important to high school and college students taking place on Friday, February 27 at the University of Southern California and several high schools in the Los Angeles area.

The conversations will be moderated by attorney Raymond Brown and Tavis Smiley with the first session kicking off from 8 AM-11 AM PST (11 AM-2 PM EST). The second session will run from 1 PM PST-4 PM PST (4 PM-7 PM EST).

This 2009 SOBU will bring back panelists from the first conversation held on the USC campus such as Danny Glover, Nikki Giovanni, Lani Guinier, Na'im Akbar, Michael Eric Dyson, Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., Danny Bakewell, Sr., Jawanza Kunjufu, Les Brown, Charles Ogletree, Randall Robinson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Iyanla Vanzant, Dr. Julianna Malveaux, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Earvin 'Magic' Johnson and Cornel West.

Other participants in this year's SOBU conversation are Arlene Holt Baker, CA Rep. Karen Bass, Peter Harvey, Van Jones, Erica Williams, Emile Townes and Marc Morial.

For those of you in the Los Angeles area who wish to attend, the symposium is free but online registration is required at www.tavistalks.com

Monica's TRANScending Gender Keynote Speech-Part II

TransGriot Note: This is Part II of the original text of my keynote speech that I gave on November 7, 2008 to the TRANScending Gender conference at CU-Boulder. For Part I click this link.

So now that I've touched upon a little of the backstory, let's pull out the virtual crystal ball and try to forecast the future of the transgender rights movement.

As far as our legislative crown jewels of ENDA and hate crimes go, they will pass, but probably not until a second Obama term seeing that President Bush has so jacked up the economy that it will probably take most of this first term to clean up the economic mess.

President-elect Obama will need to focus this term predominately on straightening out economic issues before he can even attempt to spend his considerable political capital on social issues.

We transpeople will need to ensure that whatever form Obamacare takes. we are included from the outset and our health issues and concerns are covered. If we aren't, to paraphrase the late consumer reporter Marvin Zindler from my hometown, it'll be hell for us to get amended and added into it once the basic framework of the universal healthcare system is set in concrete. The other headache we'll face is battling virulent opposition from religious conservatives as we try to do so.

We are also going to have to ratchet up our participation in the political process. We can't depend on others to speak for us, no matter how well intentioned. We have to do it our damned selves.

If the ENDA betrayal last year taught us anything, we need to have our own people representing us in state legislatures and at the federal level with intimate knowledge of our issues and concerns just as gays and lesbians have Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin and now Jared Polis.

We not only must start donating to political campaigns, similar to the community effort we had on the Act Blue page that raised $16,000 for the Obama campaign, we need to use the Obama campaign fundraising model for our purposes.

The average Obama campaign contribution was around $15. We spend that much or more going to a club or attending a gender convention. How about taking some of that money and pooling it for the purposes of electing transpeople to state and federal offices?

That's a nice segue into what needs to happen next, getting transpeople elected to state legislatures, Congress, and over time governorships and the White House.

While we've had some success getting transpeople elected to small city councils and mayor's offices, we have yet to translate that to electing people to large city councils. Monica Barros-Greene in Dallas has come closest to doing so, but so far the highest ranking US based transperson holding elective office is Hawaii state board of education member Kim Coco Iwamoto.

We must not only develop leaders out of the African-American, Latino/a, and Asian-Pacific Islander communities, they must be given the elbow room to develop cohesive communities that act as a complement to the transgender community at large.

The white transgender community must realize they can't be everywhere and do everything and it's past time to share the power. There are outreach and issues specific to minority communities that minority transpeople are better suited to solve.

We must also develop our future transgender leaders, then set them free to do the work. The young people now matriculating through this college and others are the most intelligent, most information savvy generation ever produced, and it's past time to let the younglings handle things. They not only provide fresh ideas and energy to the movement, they can probably teach us grizzled veterans a few things in the process as well that will make the movement infinitely better in the long run.

If we pass ENDA and hate crimes, then as our friends in Cali painfully found out, you better be prepared to defend your hard won rights from determined right wing attack. The Forces of Intolerance will not stop until they've killed all GLBT protective legislation, and we can expect the same frontal assault on any transgender rights measures passed as well.

For example, even though a transgender rights law passed in Montgomery County, MD on an 8-0 vote last year, they filed lawsuits and used underhanded tactics in order to get enough signatures for a petition drive to force a referendum on the issue that we barely defeated in court.

Finally, being transgender is a worldwide issue. We have brothers and sisters all over the planet with varying degree of civil protection. We need to do a better job of information sharing, tactics and strategy session information sharing and general support of each other.

Malcolm X once said in a February 1965 speech at the London School of Economics,

"If something is yours by right, then fight for it or shut up. If you don't fight for it, then forget it.

We transpeople have the right by dint of birth in this section of planet Earth we call the United States of America to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

That right is too precious to forget and is worth fighting for. Neither will I and my fellow transpeople shut up talking about it until we too are included in the 'We The People' preamble to the Constitution.

I thank you once again for this opportunity to address you this evening, and may you have a wonderful, informative and successful conference weekend.

Monica's TRANScending Gender Keynote Speech

TransGriot Note: This is Part I of the original text of the speech I delivered at the TRANScending Gender Symposium at CU-Boulder on November 7, 2008. Link to Part II

To the organizers, conference attendees, students, allies and friends, I bring you greetings from the Bluegrass State and my birth state of Texas.

And no, I'm not a Texas Longhorn fan. I'm a proud University of Houston alumnus who despises the color burnt orange.

I sincerely thank the organizers for the opportunity to address you today in the wake of a historic presidential race. I'm also tickled to death to be as my shero Rep. Barbara Jordan stated over twenty years ago during the Democratic Convention in New York, your keynote speaker. (imitated Barbara Jordan at that point)

As I shared with Angela, Andee, Stephanie and others during our numerous e-mail exchanges prior to my appearance here today, this isn't my first trip to the Denver metro area. Twenty years ago when I was a Continental Airlines employee I hopped a flight for the day to attend a company picnic at the Adams County Fairgrounds.

Two months later I found myself spending the month of July 1988 living in a hotel on Denver's east side in a training class. And at that time I looked a lot different than the Phenomenal Transwoman you see standing before you today.

So yeah, a lot of things have changed since my last visit, including me.

Twenty years ago, DIA didn't exist, Federico Pena was Denver's mayor, Roy Romer was governor, Colorado was a red state gearing up for a legal battle over the odious Amendment 2, the Broncos played at Mile High Stadium, the Buffs played in the Big 8 Conference, the GLBTRC on campus was a few years from being born and transgender people were speeding south down I-25 to Trinidad to get SRS from Dr. Stanley Biber.

Today you have a wonderful governor in Bill Ritter, Colorado is unquestionably a blue state with statewide GLBT protections, the Buffs now play in the Big 12 Conference, the Broncos have a new mile High Stadium to play in and transpeople are still speeding south down I-25 to get SRS from Dr. Marci Bowers.

By the way, on behalf of your GLBT brothers and sisters nationwide, congratulations on not only electing Jared Polis to Congress, but we profusely thank you for getting Marilyn Musgrave out of Washington.

One other thing that's consistent over the last 20 years is that transpeople flip Rev. James Dobson and Unfocused on the Family the finger as they pass through Colorado Springs on their way to Trinidad.

This is an interesting time to have a conference. We are now roughly 72 hours past a historic election in which an African-American will be occupying the Oval Office on January 20.

The Democrats have expanded their House majority and picked up seats in the Senate with three races outstanding in Minnesota, Alaska and Georgia. The best part is that Barack Hussein Obama will be picking the Supreme Court justices when the next opening on the court happen.

And yes my friends, there will be openings- Antonin Scalia is 70, Clarence Thomas is 60, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is in her 60's, David Souter is hinting at retirement and John Paul Stevens is in his 80's.

So let's segue into the theme of our conference, 'The Future of Transgender Activism'. But before I can talk about the future of transgender activism, I'll have to take you back to the past so that you'll know where we came from and how we arrived at this point. I've personally been involved since the mid-90's, but transgender activism predates Stonewall and San Francisco's Compton Cafeteria riots of 1966.

Let me stop the way back machine in Philadelphia, PA in April 1965 outside a diner frequented by GLBT peeps of African descent called Dewey's Lunch Counter.

Many of the people who frequented this diner were transgender. One day the management got tired of all the GLBT people hanging around their establishment and decreed that they would no longer serve people wearing 'gender variant clothing'.

When the owners backed up their rhetoric by refusing to serve transgender people, this being the 60's and the Civil Rights Movement being in full effect at the time, it was on like Donkey Kong. They borrowed the tactics of the movement and organized a sit it and informational picket campaign that after a few arrests, eventually forced the owners of Dewey's to rescind their odious policy.

The best part about it for me was that this was an all African-American GLBT production. It's gratifying to know that the work that I and other people of color do is rooted in this event, and makes me feel connected to a part of my history.

A year later came the Compton's riot followed by the more famous Stonewall Riot in New York in 1969, of which we'll celebrate the 40th anniversary of its occurrence next year.

But as the 70's dawned transpeople found themselves being rudely shoved out of the movement they had major roles in kick starting to life. We also found ourselves under attack by radical feminists such as Janice Raymond and Germaine Greer.

By the time I got yanked out of the closet in 1993, our long isolation was beginning to end. Transpeople began to stand up for themselves, form organizations such as ICTLEP and GenderPac and demand our rights. We began to lobby Congress in 1994 and push for inclusion in hate crimes and ENDA. We began to get involved in politics and do what I'm doing right now, speak to college students, professional organizations and others about our issues.

Coloradans such as Dainna Ciccotello also had major national leadership roles during that formative period as well. One of the first self-help books on transsexuality I read was written by the late JoAnn Altman Stringer. Other Coloradans were working diligently to get GLBT inclusive rights passed in boulder, Denver and eventually the rest of the state as well.

And we can't forget the country doctor doing state of the art SRS down in Trinidad.

2008 Louisville TDOR Events

The 10th Anniversary of the Transgender Day Of Remembrance is rapidly approaching, and once again our sponsor for the local TDOR events held at the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary will be the Women's Center at LPTS and More Light.

For the second time since the local events began to be hosted by the LPTS in 2002, there will be a heightened level of sadness for us in Da Ville this year. One of the names we'll read will be one of our own, Nakhia Williams.

The week of events leading up to the November 20 service will kick off tomorrow with a Transgender 101 Workshop from 12:30-1;30 PM in the Winn Center's McAtee Dining Room.

On November 19 there will be a 6:30 PM screening of the film Soldier's Girl followed by a discussion at the Caldwell Chapel's Fellowship Hall. Doors open at 6 PM for that event.

On November 20 there will be another panel discussion from 12:30-1:30 PM on Transgender Experience of Faith Communities in the Winn Center's McAtee Dining Rooms with the Memorial Service happening at 7:00 PM in the Caldwell Chapel.

As part of the service we have someone from the local transgender community as the featured speaker, and this year it will be Beth Harrison-Prado. (Just as an FYI, I was given that honor in 2002-2003)

Following the service will be a reception and the presentation of the 2008 Butterfly Award, which honors a person whose done outstanding service for the transgender community.

As of yet haven't heard if the GLBT group on the University of Louisville campus is planning anything for the TDOR, but if they are I'll post it to the blog.

For further info on the 2008 TDOR events at the LPTS, click on this link to the Wimminwise Blog. Hope to see you peeps there.

Bye CU, Hello Louisville

I'm back in Da Ville after a wonderful weekend in Boulder taking part in this weekend's Transforming Gender Symposium. Thanks to Stephanie, Andee and Angela for the invitation and all the volunteers and panelists who helped make this weekend a well run and informative one.

It was also an honor to finally meet and talk to Katastrophe, Ryka, Krista, and Michelle and to continue the conversations we started during this weekend. It was also neat to have a Canadian perspective on some of these issues courtesy of Krista and Michelle.

I was also surprised and pleased to receive a visit from Liz, one of my TSTB sisters. We spent a few hours laughing and talking about a few issues until we both started dozing on each other around 11 PM MST.

But unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and I had to reluctantly hug and say goodbye to Liz since I had to get some sleep and get up at 3 AM for my shuttle which was picking me up at 3:30 AM. I had a 6 AM MST flight out of Denver International to Chicago-O'Hare and my connecting flight to Louisville.

After two uneventful flights, I ended up at home about 2:30 PM EST. Dawn caught me up with local events before I trudged up to my room and opened my bag to see if my CU coffee mug survived the trip.

It did, and I drifted off to some well deserved rest after a long but satisfying weekend in Boulder.

Thanks for the invite CU GLBT Resource Center. I hope it doesn't take me twenty more years to return to the Denver area next time.

Still In Colorado

Hey people. Still in Boulder checking out the conference and will be heading back to the Bluegrass State tomorrow. I almost don't want to leave, it's so beautiful out here and on the CU campus.

Got a chance to walk around it yesterday. It is so close to the mountains. Was a little windy yesterday, but has calmed down today.

My keynote speech was last night and I'll post the full text of it later. I ended up having to cut a few pages. I always worry about not having enough speech to cover my allotted time, but it turns out I tend to have far more speech than time to deliver it.

Still getting compliments for it, so as long as the people attending it and the wonderful people who brought me out here liked it, then it's a success. I've also had fun meeting some of the CU students who read TransGriot and getting to know some of my fellow panelists.

Still tripping about how fast the fallout over the Prop 8 loss turned racist and ugly, spurred on and stirred up by Rush and his conservafriends. I wrote a post about it on Bilerico called 'Fallin' For The Okey-Doke' that I haven't checked for nasty grams yet.

While I'm saddened and disgusted about the Prop 8 loss, instead of getting pissed off at African-Americans in general, the GLB community needs to remember who the real culprits are: the folks who put this up to a vote in the first place.

Hope the GLB community remembers this and how they felt the next time they hear one of their own suggest that transpeople need to be cut out of ENDA.

On my lunch break before my 4 PM MST panel discussion, so I'm gonna rustle up some food. The hosts were feeding me, but its vegan fare and y'all know I like my beef.

Live From Boulder, It's Moni!

Finally made it to Boulder, CO after flying since 12:45 PM EST from Da Ville. Weather was beautiful for most of the trip down to DFW and up to DEN with very little chop. I was also pleased to discover that this hotel, the Boulder Outlook not only is within rock throwing distance of the CU campus, it has complementary Internet access.

As I mentioned in some earlier posts this is my first trip back to the area in 20 years. This town has definitely changed and Boulder is more beautiful than I remember it.

Only drama I had was when I was trying to make my connection out of DFW to my Denver flight and the gate info I was given turned out to be incorrect. I ended up in Terminal B instead of next door in Terminal C where my bird was departing from, but fortunately I got there early, and thanks to the efficient Skylink trains I got there in enough time to grab a barbecue sandwich before boarding my flight.

I'm revising the speech as I write this. A lot of what I'll be talking about hinged on Tuesday's election results, so although I usually like having these speeches done with plenty of time to revise and polish them, I'll have until 6:30 PM MST tomorrow to get it as close to perfect as I'd like it.

Speaking of working on speeches, guess I better get back to the room and handle my business. I've been operating on three hours of sleep and if the Phenomenal Transwoman is going to look her best, she needs to crash.

Headed To Boulder, CO!

Hey peeps!
Headed to Boulder CO to be the keynote speaker for the TRANScending Gender Conference kicking off tomorrow on the CU Boulder campus.

Will tell y'all about it either when I get back or if I manage to get computer access sometime during my stay there.

2009 IFGE Conference Call for Presenters

The International Foundation for Gender Education is requesting presentation and workshop proposals for its upcoming 2009 IFGE Conference. The event will be held February 4-7, 2009 at the Alexandria Hilton at Mark Center, in Alexandria VA, and is being hosted by the Transgender Education Association (TGEA) of Washington DC, in coalition with other groups in the mid Atlantic region. The theme for this year's gathering is: "Working Together for Change."

This year are giving priority to presentations on the following themes:

* Issues impacting Transgender Youth, and Children of Trans Parents
* Issues impacting Transgender Elders
* Issues and concerns of FTMs (We are reserving a full track for FTMs)
* Issues and concerns of Crossdressers
* Transgender Health, Medicine and Legal Concerns
* TGs in Relationships - for Significant Others, Couples & Individuals
with or without partners
* Changing the perception of Transgender People through Education.
* Creating unity in the Transgender Community

New ideas, new topics and new faces are also of strong interest. We will be holding special panel discussions for the benefit of students, researchers and educators to learn more about the trans community.

(Student registrations rates will be available.)

Presenters and panel moderators will receive a $100 discount on any conference registration package. Registration information is available online at http://www.ifge.org/register/

If you are interested in presenting, please submit your proposal as soon as possible to insure space and schedule availability, but no later than September 30, 2008. Use the online Program Proposal Form on our web site http://www.ifge.org/conference or fill out the attached form and mail it to us.

Your proposal must include a short biography and any A/V needs. If it is for a panel, the moderator should submit the proposal and list the names and pertinent information (as to addresses, etc.), and provide bios for the other panel members. If this panel information is omitted from this initial proposal it may not be included in the program book.

If you have additional questions regarding your proposal, please contact Alison Laing by email at programs@ifge.org, or by writing:

IFGE Programs
P.O. Box 540229
Waltham MA 02454-0229

I'm Going To Denver!

To be precise, I'm going to Boulder, CO and the University of Colorado campus.

This has been an interesting year for me so far, and this morning I received an early birthday present. (BTW, TransGriot readers, my birthday is Sunday)

I received word from the wonderful folks who put on the TRANSforming Gender conference on the CU Boulder campus that yours truly has not only been invited to participate in the 2008 edition of this conference, I'll be the keynote speaker!

The speakers at the two previous conferences CU's GLBT Resource Center and other campus organizations host have included people such as my 2006 Trinity classmate Gordene MacKenzie, Pauline Park, Andrea James, Calpernia Addams, Thea Hillman, Jamison Green, Dean Spade, Anderson Toone, Diane Tor, Avy Skolnick, Helen Boyd, Julia Serano, Matt Kailey and Dylan Scholinski.

The third annual edition of this event will be taking place October 17-19, and as I get more details about it I'll be passing that info on to you. It'll give you peeps who live in the Denver metro area who wish to attend an opportunity to meet the TransGriot. It's been twenty years since I spent July 1988 in the Denver area taking a training class when I worked for CAL, and now it looks like thanks to the Project and CU I'll be back twice in the span of a few weeks.

I'm really excited to be participating in this conference and I'm looking forward to seeing some of you on the CU Boulder campus in October.