Countdown To GLAAD Gala SF 2016

I've gone through my noon PDT rehearsal for my GLAAD Gala speech tonight., know where I'm sitting (will be close to the stage of course) figuring out what I want to wear tonight, and I'm ready as I'll ever be for this event that is starting at 5:30 PM PDT..

And I've even gotten a free Slurpee, so today is definitely a good day despite not being able to find the BART pass I just picked up at the airport yesterday..

The Gala at the Metreon is sold out, and thanks to everyone in the community who continue to honor me with your well wishes.for receiving this award.  

Means a lot to me.

If you want to follow the action, check out GLAAD's Twitter page at @GLAAD and the hashtag #glaadgala

I'll also post the text of the speech in  a few hours.

Busy H-Town Saturday

Saturday was a busy one for me as I attended two events that were fortunately happening only a mile apart.

I was asked by Rhys Caraway to present an award that went to Phoebe Van Cleefe at the #BlackQueerMagic Empowerment Brunch that was held in the shadow of downtown Houston at St, John's UNC.and sponsored by Young Black Voices.

That even started at 12:30 PM, and after we got our grub on, the awards presentation started with much of activist Houston in the room for this event..

Awards were also presented to Jason Black, Mike Webb, Aurora Gray and Fran Watson in addition to two Bayard Rustin Scholarships that was emceed by Harrison Gray.

After spending an enjoyable two hours there Dee Dee Watters and I headed over to the HSPVA campus that's still in Montrose for now for a 30th anniversary celebration for Bering Omega House.

What many people don't realize is that Houston was one of the early Ground Zero's for the HIV epidemic that broke out in 1981 with the nastier HTLV-1 virus

Indigent terminally ill AIDS patients were finding themselves once they were discharged from the various Houston hospitals with no place to go.  Omega House was founded by then 76 year old retired Montessori teacher Eleanor Munger in 1986 to fill that critical care gap and give indigent people suffering with AIDS die with dignity.  

With $10,000 in seed money from Christ Church Cathedral, Munger opened the four bed all volunteer run facility with the mission to compassionately care for terminally ill AIDS patients in their final stages that could no longer be cared for by the traditional medical establishment.

It was the first residential hospice in Texas, and it recently merged with Houston Area Community Services.  Bering Omega House and celebrated its 30th year of existence with a short program in HSPVA's Denny Theater in which longtime workers there recalled the early days of its existence.

Munger passed away in 2004 at age 92, but the residential hospice she founded is still very much a part of the community.  Some of the peeps who were at the Empowerment Brunch with us also took time like Dee Dee and I did to spend a few moment at that ceremony that began at 4 PM, and also included a tour of the facility.

It was a long day, but it's always good to see my Houston community peeps.and spend some quality time with them, especially since I've  piled up a lot of frequent flier miles this year.

And I couldn't think of a better way to spend my day than to celebrate the achievements of some of our young activists and the 30th anniversary of a critical institution in our community.

#Black Queer Magic Empowerment Brunch Tomorrow

Tomorrow afternoon the Young Black Voices group will present their Empowerment Brunch that serves to honor Houston area Black LGBTQ community leaders that are empowering at the intersections of their identities.

They are also honoring the 2016 Bayard Rustin Scholars during this complimentary brunch that is being held at St. John's United Methodist Church.  

I've been asked to present an award to one of the honorees, and I'm looking forward to seeing this person again and meeting all of the 2016 award winners.

If you wish to attend, St John's UMC is located at 2019 Crawford St in the heart of downtown Houston, and will start at 12:30 PM

Looking forward to seeing everyone there.

LGBT Health Summit At U of L Med School Coming Soon!

One of the issues that continues to plague our LGBTQ community across the country is finding culturally competent health care in our various locales we reside in..

In my old stomping grounds of Louisville, which unfortunately has the LGBTQ hatemongering Southern Baptist Theological Seminary inside the city limits, it's probably a factor in why the University of Louisville's LGBT Center is fielding calls from LGBTQ Louisvillians and residents all over the Kentuckiana area on a daily basis who are searching for doctors and health care providers willing to respectfully treat LGBTQ patients.


To address these issues, the University of Louisville  as part of their eQuality Project will host a LGBTQ Health Summit on September 12 at the UofL School of Medicine.  

It's sponsored by the U of L School of Medicine Office of Undergraduate Medical Education, Office for Community Engagement and Diversity, and the U of L LGBT Center

"Historically, LGBTQ health has not been part of any health care or medical school curriculum," said Suzanne Kingery  MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at UofL. "It is only recently that a handful of medical schools, with UofL at the forefront, have started to do this kind of training. This health summit is a wonderful opportunity for health care providers to learn about LGBTQ care so they can provide affirming care for their patients and follow best practices."

The LGBTQ Health Summit will begin at 8:30 AM EDT on that September 12 date at the School of Medicine , and early registration is encouraged for those of you health care providers wishing to attend..

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 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.  

Moni's Raising Hell At City Hall Again

As you read this, I'm awaiting my turn to speak during this Houston city council comment session.

It will be the first time I've spoken to Houston City Council since our new Mayor Sylvester Turner took office along with new council members Karla Cisneros, Amanda Edwards, Steve Le, Greg Travis and Mike Knox.

The reason I'm there is to support folks in our community pissed off about problematic transphobic comments made by Position 1 at large Councilmember Knox and the Islamophobic comments of his chief of staff Trebor Gordon.

He showed up with the haters at a May 2 Target protest, and helped spread anti-HERO and anti-trans talking points.

So that we can handle our business without right wing idiocy interfering with our reads, I was asked along with the Houston LGBT community to keep this organized effort a secret until the 2 PM CDT start time of the council comment session meeting.

No CM Knox, it isn't about my sexuality when I or any trans woman in the Houston area and beyond goes to the bathroom, it's about me pooping and peeing, and washing my hands when I'm done.

And Houston trans people are tired of you conservative Republicans demonizing our humanity.

Yep, and since I've been in a combative mood since Sunday over the Pulse mass shooting, am looking forward to calling out some inside the Houston city limit transphobia and Islamophobia along with other community members scheduled to attend.

Houston Stands With Orlando

While I was spending Sunday on the East Coast battling  trolls on my Twitter feed who didn't like what I had to say about the Orlando 'terriss' attack, back home in Houston Ashton Woods was busy organizing a vigil at Hermann Park so that the H-town TBLG community and our allies could #StandWithOrlando.

Ashton in addition to being one of our standout community advocates, also happens to be a member of the Houston chapter of Black Lives Matter.  The goal of the event was for the community to speak up, and also declare that we were going to continue to fight against the oppression of BTLG people.

Here's the link to Ashton's post from his Strength In Numbers blog about the Houston vigil and some of the photo's from it.

The 15th Annual Philadelphia Trans Health Conference Starts Today

Something else that is taking place a little over 100 miles from me is the opening day of the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference.  It is arguably the largest attended trans themed event in the world, and will draw close to 3000 attendees to the Pennsylvania Convention Center. .

Looking forward to being there for the morning panel I'll be taking part in on June 10 with Mari Brighe, Joanna Cifredo and Brynn Tannehill, and looking forward to seeing everyone who is in attendance.

So don'tr be shy, say hi to moi if you spot me walking the halls of that ginormous convention center.  I'll probably be in conversations with a lot of people while I'm  there, and would love to do the same with those of you in attendance from the nation and around the world.

See y'all tomorrow at #PTHC2016 after I handle my DC business.

2016 Transgender Day Of Resources & Healthy Living This Saturday

One of the things that is a problem for many trans folks is not only getting affordable regular medical care, but medical care that is culturally competent.


It was a void that Dee Dee Watters and Transgender Women of Color United for Change (TWCUC) sought to address with the inaugural event in November 2014 that not only was a success with over 100 attendees, it probably saved my life.

While killing time waiting for a panel to start, I decided since I'd been through some extremely stressful drama with a family member to give the TSU medical students a little practice in checking blood pressure.  I hadn't been to the doctor on a regular basis in several years, and when those smiling students put the cuff on me, I discovered that my blood pressure was highly elevated enough to where if it had gone unchecked, it could have produced a stroke.

Stroke is what killed my father in 2013, and it alarmed me to the point that I started making arrangements over the next few weeks to go back to the doctor on a regular basis, get back on my hormones, and drop some weight since I was tipping the scales at 275 pounds at the time and unhappy about it.   I was also close to being in Type II diabetes territory, and wanted no part of that either. .

I've dropped 40 pounds since then, clear of the Type II diabetic zone, and shooting to drop another 20 pounds and keep it off.  I'm also happier since I'm back on my hormones now.

It's why I'm enthusiastically supporting the 2016 edition of the Transgender Day Of Resources & Healthy Living which is geared specifically for the Houston area transgender and gender nonconforming community.

This is a free event for all who identify as transgender or gender nonconforming people and those who love them.

The purpose of this event is to provide a safe space where those who identify as transgender or gender nonconforming can gain access to knowledge for healthier living and much needed resources and workshops geared to assist people to navigate their transition journey in a safe and healthy way.
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Some of the workshops that will be available during this event running from 10 AM-3 PM will cover name and gender marker changes and plastic surgery.

TDORHL2016 will take place this Saturday as I mentioned from 10-3 PM at the Montrose Center, so come check it out Houston area trans fam and allies.   It could save your life like it did mine and put you on the path to healthier living.   

Keyonna Blakeney Vigil On Friday

I have been advised by Ruby Corado and Lourdes Hunter there will be a vigil held for our departed sis Keyonna Blakeney on Friday in Rockville, MD.

The same issues we dealt with in Houston last week in terms of misgendering, deadnaming and disrespectful reporting from local media outlets also played out in DC, and the local trans community is not happy about what they see as blatant disrespect.

The vigil will take place of the Montgomery County Council Building g  in Rockville, MD starting at 6 PM.EDT   The address is 100 Maryland Ave in the city of Rockville, and hope that people will come to either or both events

Today Is National Trans HIV Testing Day

As part of my medical procedures when I restarted my HRT last year, one of the things I had to do was take test for not only Hepatitis B and C exposure, but HIV.  It was a relief to know that the results of those tests all came back negative.

I mention this because today is the inaugural National Trans HIV Testing Day.   Trans people in the US are unfortunately among one of the groups at highest risk for HIV infections.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, trans women of color, and especially trans African-Americans and trans Latinas experience disproportionately high rates of HIV infections.

To add an exclamation point to the issue of trans HIV infections, the Transgender Law Center last month released the initial reports from their groundbreaking Positively Trans Survey with the support of the Elton John AIDS Foundation that focuses on the lives of trans Americans trans living with HIV/AIDS.

The CDC points out certain risk factors directly tied to transphobia and the marginalization that transgender people face that may contribute to the high transgender HIV infection rates.

Those risk factors include:  higher rates of drug and alcohol abuse, sex work, incarceration, homelessness, attempted suicide, unemployment, lack of familial support, violence, stigma and discrimination, limited health care access, and negative health care encounters.

The National Trans HIV Testing Day was conceived in order to promote and recognize the importance of routine HIV testing, status awareness, and ongoing focus of HIV prevention and treatment efforts among transgender people.

It encourages participation by local community based organizations, health jurisdictions, and HIV prevention programs by hosting local trans community specific HIV testing events and forums.  They are also encouraging on this day the development of trans specific HIV campaign materials and resources to tackle the ongoing health crisis in our trans ranks.

Here's hoping that this inaugural National Trans HIV Testing Day is just the first step in a series of coordinated moves that will help us in Trans World get down to zero new infections in our ranks.

Houston City Hall Vigil For Shante & Willie

As many of you TransGriot readers are aware of, a certain blogger y'all know along with many of my Houston area trans family, allies, and supporters gathered at the steps of City Hall to remember the people we just lost Sunday night in Shante Thompson and Willie Sims.

The vigil in addition to honoring Shante and Willie, also honored the Texas trans people we have lost in 2016.  It also called attention to the jacked up transphobic media coverage of the Thompson-Sims murders by ABC 13 and KPRC 2 in addition to issuing a call for Houston media to do better when it comes to respectfully covering trans issues.

Let me emphasize respectfully, since it seems that respect for trans Houstonians has been sorely  lacking in our local media ranks since HERO was first proposed back in April 2014.

And it's too bad my comments about the piss poor coverage got cut and didn't make the 10 PM news,  But hope those stations got the message I was happy to deliver that the Houston trans community is tired of their failure to adhere to the 2001 AP Stylebook guidelines for covering trans people.

We're also beyond sick and tired of trans Houstonians getting demonized by Houston media without a chance to properly respond to their problematic coverage.

That also extends to the men like Willie Sims who love us.  It's past time that the men who openly love us and don't give a rat's anus what you think are recognized inside and outside the trans community for having the courage to live in that truth.    We also need the men and women who love trans people to also be unapologetic in expressing their love and support of their trans partners, and with our human rights under attack, we need that to happen ASAP...

We were also pleased and proud to have Mayor Sylvester Turner say a few words before the vigil started to drive home the point that the lives of all Houstonians matter in the H-town he wishes to lead.

It was also nice to have members of Shante's family, HPD's assistant chief, Pastor Freedom Gulley, Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen, Harris County DA candidate Kim Ogg (D), Caucus president Fran Watson and other clergy and organizations there.      

The ceremony lasted just under an hour, and in addition to short speeches by Reagan White, myself and a family friend of Shante's, Pastor Gulley read a resolution on behalf of the TransSaints ministry calling for love and acceptance of trans people, along with a spoken.word dramatic performance by Dee Dee Watters, and a lantern release by Nikki Araguz Loyd and William Loyd to close out the vigil.  

Thanks not only to the organizers of this vigil, but I thank you for the opportunity to be a part of another opportunity to spend some quality time with my Houston trans family and the allies who love and support us.

I just wish it had happened under different circumstances.

Rest in power and peace Shante and Willie.  We will not rest until the perpetrators of this heinous crime are brought to justice.