Texas Progressive Faith Leaders Hit The ATX

The hate pastors are desecrating the Texas Capitol today trying to browbeat the Texas House and more specifically, the House State Affairs Committee into allowing those legislative abominations SB 3, HB 46 and HB50 have hearings and go to the House floor for a vote.

Um, no.  Dignity and diversity over discrimination.

On Tuesday August 1 an event happened that I have wanted and we have needed to see for years happen in terms of progressive faith leaders showing up and rebuking their loud and wrong pastors.


It was sponsored by Texas Impact, a statewide interfaith advocacy network that was founded in 1973.   The real Christians and progressive faith leaders were at the Capitol to express their opposition to the GOP hate slate and push back against the false Texas Values narrative that all Texas faith leaders support discrimination..

Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders during this Texas Interfaith Lobby Day gathered for a day of events that included a prayer service on the floor of the Texas House, visits to legislators, advocacy training sessions and called for an end to attempts to pass the unjust anti-trans HB 46, HB 50 and SB 3 bills.

They spent this day driving home the message they were #MianstreamNotExtreme.

"Mainstream faith communities affirm the shared values of respect, dignity and welcome for every person,"said Texas Impact Executive Director Bee Morehead.

"Discriminatory legislation that targets individuals based on sex, sexual orientation or gender identity runs counter to Texas values."

Trying to pass that unjust legislation has already cost Texas $66 million in convention business with more in jeopardy as an ever lengthening list of corporate leaders urges the Texas House to just say no to discrimination.

So glad that Texas progressive faith leaders are part of that chorus of righteousness

Here To Slay Capitol Takeover On Friday

Been a busy week of events at our state capitol now that we're deep into the Special Oppression Session that is slated to end on August 18.    Yesterday the progressive pastors held a lobby day, press conference and rally on the South Capitol steps, and the hate ministers will be desecrating the capitol tomorrow.

But on Friday, Texas TBLGQ people of color will be headed to Austin to show our legislators that we're here and aren't going away.

The Here to Slay event is sponsored by Aqui Estamos RGV, other Texas based orgs, Familia, the Trans Queer Liberation Movement and the Transgender Law Center and will run from 10-3 PM CDT.

The Here To Slay Capitol takeover will feature music, performers, food, community and speakers who will have a strong message to send to Gov. Abbott, Lt Gov Dan 'Potty Man' Patrick, and our Texas GOP oppressors and their DINO enablers.  

And as you probably guessed, I've been asked to be one of the speakers.

So looking forward to getting a Slurpee and seeing as many of you peeps in the ATX area as I can.on Friday August 4.for the Here to Slay Capitol Takeover.  

Minha Filha! A Black Trans Daughterhood - Coming Soon In The ATX

I get to enjoy the brilliance of my homegirl Dora Silva Santana on a regular basis when I pop up to Austin, see her at BTAC or chat with her on the phone from time to time..

Now you peeps in the ATX have a chance to witness it when her performance piece Minha Filha! A Black Trans Daughterhood happens this month.

Minha filha! A Black Trans Daughterhood

What happens when the work of love comes through navigating precarity? My daughterhood was learning and trusting a mothering style that filled with meanings the absence, the landscape, the struggle. I couldn’t be mothered-protected from history, but I could learn to see my daughterhood in the seek-and-hiding from it. My girlhood was an imaginative-embodied space where running my little legs on the mud of northern Brazil without being caught in my girly motion was my favorite freedom game. At times, I drudged in the muddiness of daughterhood-motherhood. Allowing oneself to be the daughter of your own so that you can mother yourself, blurring boundaries, daughterring in order to open space for mothering. This is part of the story I want to share with you as we engage in this journey of remembering and living. Every time I would have hungry little eyes in the middle of the struggle, my mother would say “de mais longe a gente já veio” (from further we’ve come). Every time we stumble, it is healing to look back.

The event is free, and is being sponsored by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin's Economic Development Department, the Trans Justice Funding Project and allgo.

It will be held on August 13 at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center,  600 River Street in Austin from 3-5 PM.

Hope you peeps in the ATX area check it out, and I get a chance to roll up from Houston to see it as well

Sen Garcia Takes On A Legislative Trans Oppressor

Texas state Senator Sylvia Garcia (D-Houston) has been a stand up ally and champion for the Texas trans community as we have fought SB 6 and now SB 3.   She's not a member of the Senate State affairs Committee, but she sat in the hearing room through the 10+ hours of testimony back in March and during last Friday's hearing.

Yesterday she took part in a conversation hosted by the Texas Tribune in Austin yesterday concerning the anti-trans HB 46 and HB 50 bills with their sponsor Rep. Ron Simmons (R-Carrollton)

All that came out during this conversation is just how awesome Sen. Garcia is about the subject and how clueless Rep. Simmons is when it comes to trans issues.

And Sen Garcia is right when she starts that 'Dignity and Diversity over Discrimination' is more important.



You can check it out for yourself.

'Stacey's Not A Girl' Book Launch Event

While I'm here in Nacogdoches, my heart will also be with Dr. Colt Keo-Meier as he finally launches his trans themed children's book Stacey's Not A Girl.

It is a compilation of stories from not only Colt's childhood, but the childhood of several trans masculine persons.  An Indiegogo campaign raised the over $9,000 to get it published,

I got to read an advance copy of it and loved the book.  I also thought about the trans kids who will enjoy reading something that has a character in it like them

The book is now available for purchase, and you can check out the book launch event for it at The Montrose Center from 2-4 PM.

Good luck, hope it's successful and you sell out all the available copies of it.

TTNS 2017- Day1

I'm here on the Stephen F Austin State University campus in their Baker Patillo Student Center to check out the happenings for this year's 9th edition of the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit

Our first day of action kicks off with the TNNS opening from Josephine Tittsworth, our emcee Jenifer Rene Pool and welcome from Dr. Adam Peck the Associate VP of University Affairs.  

Our keynote speaker will be Babs Siperstein, and after lunch, the concurrent sessions start and run until  4 PM , then we close out TTNS Day 1 with a reception at the Cole, Art Center from 5:30 -7 PM.

And we also hit Nacogdoches the same weekend as their annual Texas Blueberry Festival is hitting historic downtown Nacogdoches , so this should be an interesting time here on the SFA campus.
.  

First LGBT Pride Month Display Up At Houston City Hall

On my birthday, as their way to get me out of the house and to a known location so they could surprise me, I ended up at Eric Edward Schell's studio to take a P.R.I.D.E, Portrait.

I was happy to discover that it is one of the photos that went up today along with a placard explaining the project;

The P.R.I.D.E Portraits project was created by Schell, and the acronym stands for Photographs Representing Individuals Deserving Equality.   As Schell said in an OuTSmart interview this campaign is about visibility.

"Visibility is key to promoting the humanization of a group that faces dehumanization every day," said Schell.

It's also vital it happen when the Texas TBLGQ community is under sustained legislative attack.

As far as we;re aware of , this is the first time that the city of Houston has displayed an LGBTQ-specific project at City Hall, and it couldn't have come at a more opportune time.   .

Upcoming 'Our History, Our Future A Multigenerational Conference on Human Rights' In Boston

Heading back to Boston this weekend to participate in a conference that is going to happen on the Boston University campus.

The ' event will be taking place on April 8 in the George Sherman Union Ballroom on the BU campus jointly sponsored by the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground and the Boston Theological Center.

Join us on April 8 for a public conference titled entitled, "Our History, Our Future: a Multigenerational Conference on Human Rights."

The schedule includes two plenary sessions, two panel sessions and a workshop offering participants nonviolent direct action training. This is a continuing education event; CEUs will be provided upon request. Registration is free but you MUST register to attend.

Speakers include persons known for human rights activism during the 60s civil rights movement, the crisis in Ferguson and Baltimore, the movement for Black Lives, LGBTQ activism, scholars of the movement and serving as consultants to the White House under the Obama administration. They are gifted in ministry, music and the arts, shaping public policy, writing, peace negotiation and nonviolent direct action.

I'm excited because I get to see and hear the amazing Bishop Yvette Flunder speak again during the morning plenary session immediately before my panel with Ahman Green-Hayes and Karlene Griffiths-Sekou scheduled to start at 11 AM EST.

The conference is free, but you will need to register for it at this link 

 Conference Schedule

9-10am Breakfast, Welcome and Introduction10-11am Plenary One (Bishop Yvette Flunder)11-12pm Panel (Monica Roberts, Ahmad Greene-Hayes, Karlene Griffiths-Sekou)12-1pm Lunch1-2:30pm Nonviolent Direct Action Workshop (Rev. Osagyefo Sekou)2:30-3:30pm Panel (Ruby Sales, Kevin Rigby, Darnell Moore, Tef Poe)3:30-5pm Plenary Two (Rev. Michael McBride)

Address is 775 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, 02215. and I'm hoping to see some of my trans family who can attend be there.

TransFORM Our Hearts Event

Our Republican controlled Texas legislature is still in session, and in addition to watching the Texas Transgender Oppression Act (SB 6), we are watching other unjust bills like SB 4.

Because the Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) is happening tomorrow, an event is happening starting at 6 PM.

***

In light of the continued violence exacted upon our Black sisters, the atrocity that is S.B. 6 that continues to demonize trans women, and the silence about the loss of Black lives coming from Washington    In light of the interdependent systems of disadvantage that affect the Latina trans community, the atrocity that is S.B. 4, and the anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from Washington.

Women and Allies and Pantsuit Republic Houston are hosting this fundraiser mixer at Dan Electros on Thursday, March 30 (on the eve of the day for trans visibility, March 31).

The purpose of this event will be continued education and awareness of the struggles of the Trans community in Houston.

It will be a great opportunity for all of us who do not know members of the Trans community to mingle and get to know more of our family in the fight against injustice.

Let's join them and other progressive organizations around town in support of a group that is continually marginalized! RSVP now! And invite all your friends!

***

The address of Dan Electro's Guitar Bar  is 1031 E. 24th Street in Houston.   Looking forward to seeing you there. 

Moni's In The Middle Of LGBTMedia17

Had an amazing morning at IAH wandering Terminals C and E before I boarded my United flight to Orlando.  It was nice seeing some of my old co workers, and I see some more when I return on Sunday.

I've arrived in Orlando for what is basically a business trip.  I've been to the Orlando airport before to catch connecting flights, but this is the first time I've visited the city.

I've always wanted to visit Disney World, and when I was working at CAL is was something on my travel bucket list, ,but never got the chance to do so while I was an airline employee and had the ability to fly there.

I'm checked into my 17th floor Rosen Centre hotel room with a nice view of the Orlando Convention Center across the street  and downtown Orlando in the distance.  I also gleefully discovered I have a 7 Eleven less than a block away, so that means Slurpees will be destroyed on this trip

I'm getting ready for the first event of this year's 8th Annual LGBT Media Journalists Convening, which is an icebreaker reception at Mango's Tropical Cafe.

I alway enjoy getting to see and spend quality time with my TBLGQ media colleagues from across the nation.   But this year's edition of LGBTMedia17 is happening at a time in which we have a so-called POTUS who seems to think it is okay to attack the media.

This convening is needed and even more necessary at a time when journalism is under attack.  For those of us in Trans World who are in attedace, we're here at a time when not only our humanity and human rights are under assault, we had our 8th trans woman of 2017 murdered in Baltimore a mere 24 hours ago.

It's going to be an interesting few days as we get our learn on about various issues that impact the TBLGQ community, network and get to see some of Orlando beyond the hotel.

You can check out the action at the #LGBTMedia17 hashtag, our Facebook pages, and our various blogs and media stories.

And so ready to get my media learn on.

Roller Rink Opening At Discovery Green

One of the things that people don't know about me is I know how to ice skate and occasionally hit the ice  rink at the Galleria when my schedule allows me to do so.

During what passes for winter here in Houston, Kinder Lake in Discovery Green, the park that we have in the middle of our downtown Convention Center district has an ice rink set up for operation from Thanksgiving until late January.

While I can and love ice skating, roller skating has been more of a challenge for me.  My first foray at a now closed roller skating rink at Scott and OST in the 'hood back during my teen years in 1976 ended with the embarrassing spectacle of me at the end of a long frustrating day at a rink splitting the seat of my pants after a fall.

Fortunately I had a jacket to cover up the gaping split in the seat of my pants, but that incident is probably why I don't do much roller skating.  But even with my personal aversion to roller skating, I can get excited about this news.    

Thanks to Avenida Houston, the first ever outdoor roller skating rink in H-town will occupy that space starting today

The Rink  Rolling At Discovery Green opens today and will be in operation through the summer.  

It'll be open from 5-10 PM  Mondays-Thursdays, 5-11 PM  on Fridays, 11 AM-11 Pm on Saturdays and school holidays and 11 AM to 9 PM on Sundays.  Tickets are $12 per person onsite and $14 online.   The Cheap Skate night tickets are $6, aren't available online and are scheduled for March  6 and March 20

You can bring your own skates, either the four wheel kind or inline skates if you don't wish to rent them,  Bringing your own safety gear is encouraged.  

And because this is an outdoor rink, weather can and will affect its operations when lightning, rain or excessive heat happens

It will also be available for school and church groups, scout troop outings, daycare groups, company parties and birthdays.  There will be an event sponsored by the Houston LGBTQ Advisory Board on March 17 from 6-10 PM called Rainbow and Roll which will be a TBLGQ themed night..

And yeah, I'm going to attempt to get on roller skates again on that night.   Maybe if I do the inline ones/ roller blades, it'll be more familiar to what I'm used to and will have better results.

We'll see...

A Busy H-town Day For Me

This Sunday finds me doing multiple events in my hometown

There's a rally at Houston City Hall organized by a coalition of groups taking place at 3 PM that myself and a long list of Houston area advocates and leaders will be speaking.

Some of the organizations that are part of this 'We The People Connect The Dots' event and march. are Fiel Houston . National Organization for Women (NOW) - Houston Area , Houston LGBT Caucus, Texas Coalition of Black Democrats Harris County, Black Lives Matter: Houston, Muslim Society of Houston, International Center for Spiritual and Social Activism, SEIU, Pantsuit Republic, Harris County Democratic Party, Women & Allies, and KPFT-FM's'The Prison Show 

After my turn at the mic, I leave downtown and head over to the nearby Guava Lamp club for a Pride Houston Grand Marshal Nominees Meet and Greet.  It's not an official Pride Houston event, but it gives people a chance to meet us and put faces to the names on the ballot. 

Voting has already started for who will be the 2017 Pride Houston Parade Grand Marshals and run through April 9.  That event starts at 5 PM and runs until 8 PM

Going to be a busy day, but when it comes to repping my community, don't have a problem taking the time to do so

So How Did You Spend Your Friday?

My Friday turned out to be a busy one.  

Dee Dee and I joined a group of our fellow Houstonians at 2 PM CST who protested Lt. Governor Dan Patrick when he was invited by Houston Crime Stoppers to their dedication and ribbon cutting for their new headquarters building named for longtime Houston TV news anchor Dave Ward.

While we were respectful to other speakers including Dave Ward, who all of us grew up watching and is a beloved media icon here, we had no such love for our oppressive lieutenant governor, and we let him have it when he stepped to the mic.

He was visibly disturbed when we booed him and yelled 'Flush SB6' and 'No hate in the Lone Star State" among the other slogans we yelled at him while he was at the podium.

We obviously got on the nerves of someone besides Dan Patrick,   A white male attendee walked over to our protest group standing on the sidewalk off the property to complain we were 'ruining the occasion'.   I said in response "The time is always right to talk about human rights" while others in our group pointed out before HPD pulled him way from us that if Crime Stoppers wanted a drama free ribbon cutting, they shouldn't have invited the polarizing lieutenant governor of this state to speak.

Once that event was over, I went a few blocks north up San Jacinto Street downtown to the Harris County civil courts building on Caroline Street to watch the investiture ceremony in the packed ceremonial courtroom on the 17th floor of my good friend Ursula Hall, who is now judge of the 165th Civil Court.

She was elected in the wave of Democratic judges we swept into power when we flipped Harris County blue on November 8.   Many of those newly elected judges were in attendance at her investiture ceremony that started at 4 PM.

The Hall family in Houston is well respected in Black Houston.   Her father Anthony Hall, Jr, was a Houston city councilmember who ran and narrowly lost a 1978 US Congressional race to succeed Barbara Jordan to Mickey Leland.  

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis were just two of the local political luminaries who spoke at her investiture ceremony.

The ceremony had me in tears at one point, and Judge Halls' speech had a line in it that I have been pondering ever since I left it and returned home.:  '

"To whom much is given, much is required."

It was a joy to watch someone I have known for years and has served as a Houston municipal judge finally get elected to a state bench and I was happy to be there to witness it.

That's how i spent my Friday.   What did you do on yours?

United, Undaunted, Unstoppable Trans United Fund #CC17 Event

For those of you attending #CC17 in Philadelphia next week and looking for things to do and check out that are away from the host hotel, here's something for you too put on your #CC17 event calendar.

The Trans United Fund is hosting an event at Philadelphia City Hall on January 19 that is a fundraiser with the goal of raising money to build the political strength of the trans community.

The United, Undaunted Unstoppable event will feature the Trans United Fund team, Minneapolis City Council candidate Andrea Jenkins and Danni Askini,  the Executive Director of the Washington state based organization Gender Justice League.  Washington is facing another potential anti-trans statewide referendum this November if the transphobes gather enough signatures (259,622) by July to put it on the ballot. .

The goal of the event is to raise $5,000 to help support these efforts to build trans community political power.  If you can't be at the event or aren't going to be in Philadelphia for Creating Change, you can still support it by clicking on this link to donate to the cause.   Even $1 will help  

If you can attend, suggested donation is $10, and it will take place in Room 201 at Philadelphia City Hall starting at 6:30 PM.   Address is 1 Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA 19107.

Upcoming 2017 Rainbow On Ice At Discovery Green

One of the things that i love to do is ice skate, and since I moved back home I haven't had the chance to hit the ice rink at either the Galleria or Discovery Green.

Yes people, it does get cold enough down here to have an outdoor ice rink, although it does lead to the interesting sight at times of people skating in shorts because out roller coaster temps around here.

Rainbow on Ice returns to ICE at Discovery Green on January 20 from 7-10 PM and will be sponsored by the Mayor's LGBT Advisory Board.

 Crawford Nation will be there as the entertainment, and it is shaping up to be the ultimate dance party.



Hope you peeps who live in the Houston area come check it out

5th Annual F.A.C.E. Awards Tonight

I get to pull out the nice clothes tonight as I head to the gayborhood and check out the 5th annual F.A.C.E. Awards.   Been nominated a few times since 2014 for them but as of yet haven't won one.    

The F.A.C.E acronym stands for First Achievers in Community Excellence, and it is a rapidly growing event which celebrates the best of TBLGQ Houston.   This year I'm nominated in two F.A.C.E award categories with tight competition in both of them./

Today has also been declared in a proclamation signed by Mayor Sylvester Turner as 'FACE Awards Day' in Houston

Looking forward to checking out the event at South Beach that starts at 8:30 PM CST, with the red carpet arrivals and pre-award show starting at 7:00 PM

Congratulations and good luck to everyone who was nominated this year.  Even if I don't win in my categories, I'll at least get another opportunity to spend some quality time with my H-town peeps

Houston LGBT Legislative Community Forum On December 14

In the 2015 Texas Legislative session we faced 24 anti-TBLGQ bills, with four of them specifically targeting the Texas trans community.   People outside our state thought we had zero chance of stopping those bills but we proved them wrong.  

We rolled up our sleeves, got to work and thanks to a collaborative community effort all those unjust bills failed to pass.

In a few weeks the Texas Legislature will be gaveled into session in Austin, and we will once again face a renewed anti-TBLGQ legislative assault from January until June from our Texas Republican majority seeking to pass unjust bills aimed at our community into oppressive laws.

That's why on December 14 the Houston LGBT Caucus and Legacy Health Services are cosponsoring a LGBT Legislative Community Forum.

The forum will feature our state legislators discussing their thoughts about the issues that affect out TBLGQ community, discuss what we can do as a community and at the grassroots level in terms of fighting this unjust hate legislation, and discuss what you can do to help kill the bad bills and advance the positive legislation.

The LGBT Legislative Community Forum will take place from 6:30- 8:30 PM and will take place at the Council on Recovery-Houston building.  The address is 303 Jackson Hill St in Houston, and the zip is 77007.

If you have questions about what needs to happen in Austin starting in January to protect our human rights, this is the forum you need to attend to ask those questions.

Hope to see you at this important community event.

Transgender Day Of Remembrance Event At HCC Southeast Tuesday

Trans Awareness Week in the runup to the November 20 TDOR tends to get busy for me as we take time to not only educate others in our community about our lives, but memorialize the people we have lost due to anti-trans violence.

I also enjoy speaking and doing events at our various Houston area colleges and universities..

Thanks to Prof. Antrece Baggett, I've been invited to participate in their upcoming Transgender Day of Remembrance event at the HCC-Southeast Campus along with Dr. Ilija Immanuel Gallego.

It's also a timely one in the wake of our disastrous election a week ago.

The HCC-Southeast College TDOR event is sponsored by the SE College Black Student Association, Women and Gender Studies Program, Counseling Center, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the History Department.,

The HCC Southeast campus is located at 6815 Rustic St just off I-45 near Gulfgate Mall.   The TDOR event on the HCC-SE campus will start at 6 PM in the Angela Morales Building in Lecture Hall A.

The event is open to students, faculty, staff and the community, so hope to see my Houston trans fam and allies there if you can attend.    

20th Annual OutSmart Gayest and Greatest Awards Presentation Tonight

Tonight starting at 5 PM will be the live presentation of OutSmart Magazine's Gayest and Greatest Readers Choice Awards.

OutSmart is our local LGBTQ magazine here in Houston, and this is the 20th year they have presented these awards honoring our local heroes, sheroes and community organizations

The live awards will be presented in the People categories for the Best Male and Female LGBT Business Persons, Favorite Male and Female Commercial Radio Personality,  Favorite Male and Female Community Radio Personality,  Favorite Male and Female Community Hero, Favorite Male and Female Community Photographer, Favorite Male and Female Local Politician, Favorite Male and Female TV Personality, Leading Male and Female Fundraiser, Most Prominent Male and Female LGBT Activist, Most Valuable Male and Female volunteer and Favorite LGBT Philanthropic Organization..

While I was nominated in three categories this year, unfortunately I didn't get enough votes to make the finals.   Maybe next year.

Congratulations to all the people who are finalists for these awards, those who won in other categories this year and good luck this evening.

The live presentation will take place at Rich's Houston, located at 2401 San Jacinto St. near downtown from 5 PM -9 PM.

Moni's At The Equality Brunch 2016

I know I wrote about it on Sunday, but wanted to post more pics from the 8th annual Equality Brunch.  And yes, I was still shaking off the jet lag when I walked into the venue.

In addition to this being a fundraising event for the Houston LGBT Caucus, I was one of several people being honored with awards.  It gave me an opportunity to break bread with and spend some quality time hanging out with my Houston liberal-progressive community family.

We had a few of our Houston political peeps there like CM Robert Gallegos and CM Mike Laster, TX state Senator Sylvia Garcia, Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen, Judge Maria T. Jackson, former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia and candidates for various offices in the room like Harris County DA candidate Kim Ogg, Harris County Sheriff candidate and former CM Ed Gonzales, judicial candidate Ramona Franklin and Harris County Commissioner's Court candidate Jenifer Rene Pool.

This year I became the second out trans person to receive the John Paul Barnich Award, and I thank the Caucus for honoring me with this award named for a trailblazing member of our Houston LGBT community.

The other awards presented on Sunday and the deserving folks who received them were:

Eleanor Tinsley Award
Erika Richie

Don Hrachovy Award
Maria Gonzalez

President's Award
Melanie Espinosa Pang

Tim Brookover Award
Greg Jeu

The Tony and Bruce Award
Bruce Smith

The 2016 class of Equality Brunch honorees were also surprised by a presentation from Audrey Natividad with Congressional Recognition Certificates signed by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee  (D-TX).

It was a wonderful event across the board.  Capacity crowd, amazing venue, delicious food, and most importantly, the fundraising target of $10,000 was hit.   That money will help get those Caucus endorsement cards out in time for early voting that's starting on October 24.

This year's edition of the Equality Brunch set the bar high for future ones, and enjoyed being there for it.