Nikki Araguz Loyd Celebration Of Life Service Dates

For those of you who haven't heard the news yet, Nikki Araguz Loyd passed away on November 6 at he suburban Houston home.  William Loyd and the family have announced when the services will happen.

On Wednesday November 13, the public viewing for Nikki Araguz Loyd will be held at Rosewood Funeral Home in Atascocita, TX from 5- 8 PM CST. 

The funeral home is located at 17404 W Lake Houston Pkwy in Atascocita.
The Celebration of Life Ceremony will take place on Thursday November 14 at the Humble Civic Center from 1-4 PM CST.   The Humble Civic Center is located at 8233 Will Clayton Pkwy in Humble, TX, 77338
Since Nikki always loved a good party, after the services there will be a fabulous Nikki style BYOB🍾 PARTY🍾 at Nectar.   There will be an open mic available to speak and allow you to share your best Nikki memories.

Nectar is located at 7560 FM 1960, in Humble, TX 77346

If you are thinking about flying into Houston for the viewing and service, IAH is the closest airport to that side of town where the events will take place, and there are plenty of hotels in the Humble-IAH area .

If you can attend,  please do so and say goodbye to a revered and iconic member of our community.

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

I-71 Interstate Highway Stretch Where Leelah Alcorn Died Named For Her

For those of you that travel on I-71 through Warren County, Ohio, you'll be able to note the signs that the Ohio Department of Transportation erected that named a two mile stretch of it for Leelah Alcorn.

It is the same stretch of interstate near the intersection of I-71 and Ohio Route 48 in which the 17 year old trans teen stepped in the southbound lanes of it in front of an oncoming truck a few hours before her 'fix society' suicide note went viral.

Chris Fortin, who is a 2001 graduate of the same high school Alcorn attended, believed there should be some permanent memorial to Leelah.   Despite now living in Milwaukee, he filed paperwork with ODOT in August to get that section of interstate named for her as part of the state's Adopt-A-Highway program.

He hope to schedule the first cleanup of that stretch of I-71 sometime in January, and says he has far more volunteers than he can count eager to do so.

Nikki's Interesting DC Weekend

Nikki Araguz Loyd is the other H-town based trans woman who has flown more air miles than the Air Marshal this year,.   This time she and her hubby Will caught a flight to Washington DC for the National Fallen Firefighter Foundation memorial service in which her late husband Capt. Thomas Araguz III was being honored.

And this time she would be presented a flag in his honor by President Obama himself.

This is the 34th anniversary edition of the NFFF memorial event, and it is a weekend long one in which firefighters who died in the line of duty the previous year across the US are recognized.   This year 87 fallen firefighters were recognized, and one of the three from Texas recognized this year was Capt. Araguz.

It was also an emotional one for Nikki as well

Nikki, as his widow, would not only be recognized as such, but would be receiving the congressional flag flown over the US Capitol building in his honor  

And getting to meet the best president ever on trans issues on top of that is a bonus.

It has been a tough, nearly six year legal battle to have her marriage to Thomas recognized, and that day thanks to he Oberkfell SCOTUS ruling may be very close at hand. 

The SCOTX is poised to send her case back down to the appellate and district court level for the vindication that she has fought so long for. and in the process eviscerate the odious Littleton v Prange case create a legal precedent that affirmatively recognizes a Texas trans person's ability to get legally married.

Capt. Thomas Araguz III Being Recognized At LGBT Fallen Heroes Ceremony Tomorrow

Tomorrow afternoon there will be a LGBT Fallen Heroes Memorial Service ceremony at the Women In Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery.

The first LGBT Fallen Heroes Memorial Service was held in DC's Dupont Circle on May 13, 2012 during National Police Week. What began as a memorial service to honor LGBT law enforcement officers has grown to encompass all uniformed public servants, EMT's and military personnel. It also inspired the subsequent creation of the LGBT Fallen Heroes Fund.

During the memorial service, the stories of our fallen heroes are read aloud by volunteers and then flags that have been flown over the Capitol building in their honor are presented to the significant other of the fallen hero.  The significant other is also presented with a commemorative portrait that serves as a reminder of their loved one’s faithful service.

Sometimes this LGBT Fallen Heroes memorial service serves as the first time those significant others are recognized for the supportive role they played in their departed loved one’s service to their communities.

Because of our country's problematic at times interpretation of marriage laws as they apply to TBLG people, at times the significant others of these fallen heroes are not given the support and respect they deserve. 

The memorial service is a way for the BTLG community and its allies to be there for the surviving significant others during their time of grieving, thank them for their loved one's service, and remind them they are not alone.

One of the people being recognized this year is Capt. Thomas Araguz III, who was killed during an egg farm fire on July 4, 2010 in Wharton, TX.   

Capt. Araguz was married to Nikki Araguz Loyd at the time, and his untimely death resulted in a now five year trans marriage legal fight percolating at the Texas Supreme Court level. 

Judge Randy Clapp (R) voided her marriage after it came to light she was a transgender female, and she has been battling to have her rights reinstated as a widow and to recognize the marriage.

This memorial service is significant for her is because she is being publicly recognized as Capt. Araguz's widow at a memorial event for the first time.

“I am honored to finally begin to be recognized as the widow of my firefighter, however, the event is bittersweet," says Araguz Loyd. 

"Not only do I remember the day he died like it was yesterday, but also the pain of being treated so horribly in those following weeks and to still have to fight for the same rights every widow of a hero deserves.   I wasn’t able to choose his headstone and I am still arguing in courts to reinstate our marriage. We loved each other and I supported him through schooling to make his dreams come true. We were husband and wife; we even met and married in the church that would later ask me to not return. We as trans people have come a long way in regards to receiving acknowledgment of our existence, however we are still lacking the basic protections and rights every person deserves.”

For those of you in the Washington DC metro area who wish to attend, the service will start at 2 PM EDT at the Women In Military Service for America Memorial.   The memorial is at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA.

Houston MLK Plaza And Statue Unveiling Next Week

This time next week there will be a party going on at MacGregor Park.

The memorial plaza and statue of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that was supposed to be dedicated across from the soon to be opened METRORail Purple Line MacGregor Park-MLK Station back in April . 

The statue was damaged just as it was about to be shipped to Houston for the initial unveiling, and the Black Heritage Society was forced to delay the event as the 8 foot tall statue was repaired.

Well, the repairs have been completed, the statue has arrived in Houston without further mishap and a May 24 date has been set by the BHS for its unveiling. 

The rescheduled events sponsored by the Black Heritage Society include a Victory Parade that kicks off at 9 AM, the statue and plaza dedication from 11 AM-1 PM followed by a Cultural Heritage Festival in MacGregor Park that begins at 1 PM  

When that happens Houston would join Atlanta and Washington D.C. as cities which have statues and memorial plazas dedicated to the memory of Dr. King.

Looking forward to checking out that event, and hope we have the nice weather it deserves for an event that has been 35 years in the making..
  

Houston Britney and Crystal Candelight Vigil Tomorrow

For those of you in the Houston area and can do so, hope you're planning on joining me in the chapel of the AD Bruce Religion Center on the University of Houston main campus tomorrow evening, April 2  for the candlelight vigil honoring our fallen sisters Britney Cosby and Crystal Jackson.

Both died on March 8 and were just 24 years old.

I will be speaking along with Tamira 'Augie' Augustine, Dr. Rachel Afi Quinn and Pastor Ernie Turney from Bering United Methodist Church.

The event starts at 6:30 PM CDT and is being sponsored by the UH Women's Resource Center , UH LGBT Resource Center, Global at UH, NAACP UH Chapter, Equality Texas, Texas Freedom Network, the Student Feminist Organization at UH and  The Montrose Center .

AD Bruce Religion Center is on the Wheeler St/Cullen Blvd side of the campus with the closest entrance to AD Bruce and parking lot being Entrance 13 off of Cullen Blvd.    

Please consider joining us and the Houston community tomorrow  as we remember these young women and begin an open and honest dialogue about violence against the LGBT community.

And since it is being hosted on campus, I hope to see a strong UH Cougar presence at the vigil.

Vandalized UK National Trans Memorial Restored

We have some good news coming from across The Pond concerning the UK's National Transgender Memorial.    

Back during the UK's Sparkle Weekend last year, what is believed to be the world's first memorial built to commemorate the persons lost to anti-trans hate violence was dedicated in Manchester's Sackville Gardens.   But because some idiots didn't want the trans community to have nice things, the memorial was vandalized mere days after its dedication on or around August 6. 

Tony Cooper, Chair of The Friends of Sackville Gardens, said: “We worked closely with the Trans community to create a lasting memorial to those who have died because of prejudice and hate, and to then see that memorial vandalized within days was a true reflection of what many Trans people have to go through in daily life.

The vandals who desecrated the memorial haven't been brought to justice yet, but thanks to a police donation and SOCA funding secured by the City Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT)., the damaged plaques were restored in advance of the 2014 edition of Sparkle Weekend, the national transgender celebration in the UK.  

The nearby Manchester College in addition to the Lesbian and Gay Foundation helped pay for lighting to illuminate the memorial and that section of the park to help reduce crime in the area. 

Glad to hear that the memorial has been restored and will be looking good when Sparkle Weekend happens.  Thanks to all the people who pulled together to make that a reality. 

UK National Transgender Memorial Vandalized

Damn, why is it that some idiots take it upon themselves to destroy or vandalize the nice things we trans people manage to put together as a community? 

The trans community in Manchester, England and their allies are probably asking themselves that question right now.  

They coordinated the Transgender Remembrance Memorial Project spearheaded by Tony Cooper, the chair of the Sackville Park Friends Association to construct what is believed to be the world's first purpose built memorial to remember the victims of anti-trans violence. 

The Manchester community spent hundreds of hours putting together a memorial garden and brick laid path in the park to complement the nine foot tall wooden structure being carved by sculptor Shane Green. 

The dedication of the National Transgender Memorial in Manchester's Sackville Gardens happened during the UK's Sparkle Weekend trans celebration that occurred July 12-14. 

Unfortunately on or around the night of August 6 some wastes of DNA vandalized the memorial and the CCTV surveillance system that is prevalent in many UK cities as bad luck would have it didn't have cameras pointed toward that section of the gardens.  . 

The Greater Manchester Police have opened an investigation of the crime and are solicting information leading to the arrest, trial and conviction of the vandals.  

Here's hoping in the interim the damage done to this first ever memorial will quickly be repaired.

I also hope we see more communities around the world take the initiative to put together their own memorials to honor our fallen transsisters and transbrothers.

Memorial Candlelight Vigil For Brandy Martell Next Week

For those of you in the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area there will be a candlelight vigil next Monday April 29 to commemorate the one year anniversary of Brandy Martell's April 29 death.   It will take place at the Franklin and 13th St. corner in Downtown Oakland where she was fatally shot

The waste of DNA who committed this crime as of yet still hasn't been brought to justice.  If you have information concerning this crime please contact the Oakland Police Department at 510-777-3333.    

The vigil is being organized by Tiffany Woods of the Tri-City Health Center and co sponsored by them and TransVision.   It will run from 7-8:30 PM PDT so if you can, take a moment to attend and remember one of our lost sisters.   If you need further information about it you can e-mail her at twoods@tri-city health.org or call her at 510-456-3521.

Brandy, know that Bay Area trans community won't rest until the person who took you away from us far too soon has been caught and is serving time for it.

MLK Jr Memorial In DC Opens To Public Today

The dedication ceremony for it won't happen until this weekend, but the MLK Jr. National Memorial opened today for public viewing.

There will be events occurring in Washington all week celebrating Dr. King's legacy, his leadership of the Civil Rights Movement and the first memorial ever dedicated to a person of color and a non-president.  

Those events will build up to the August 28 dedication ceremony in which President Obama, 'the Revs' (Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr),  Dr. King's family members and key people in the Civil Rights Movement will attend and say a few remarks. 

August 28 is also the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington and the 'I Have A Dream' speech at the nearby Lincoln Memorial.   The new MLK Jr Memorial is on the Tidal Basin next door to the FDR one.   It's blended in with the cherry blossom trees and is placed in a direct line of sight between the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial on the opposite side of the Tidal Basin.

Looking forward to seeing it on my next visit to Washington DC.

MLK Jr National Memorial To Be Dedicated August 28

We're a month away from American history being made on August 28 when the dedication ceremony  occurs at 11 AM EDT for the new Martin Luther King, Jr National Memorial in Washington D.C.

He will be the first African-American man honored with a memorial in the National Mall area and the third non-resident to be commemorated that way.   

The road to making the construction of the King Memorial a reality got its start in 1996.  A joint Congressional resolution was passed authorizing Dr. King's fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, to establish the memorial honoring the drum major for justice.   He pledged while he was a Boston University doctoral student in the 50's and was active in Alpha Phi Alpha.   He gave the keynote speech during the organization's 50th anniversary banquet in 1956.   . 

When he was assassinated in 1968 Alpha Phi Alpha proposed building a permanent memorial to him in Washington D.C.  Those efforts gained momentum after his January 15 birthday became a federal holiday in 1986 and the joint resolution to build it passed Congress a decade later.  

The resolution gave Alpha Phi Alpha authorization to establish the memorial, give permission to build it on the National Mall and gave the fraternity until November 2003 to raise the $100 million and break ground on its construction.   A foundation was established to manage the memorial's fundraising and design.   In December 1999 the United States Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission approved the site location for the memorial as designs for the memorial poured in from 900 candidates in 52 countries.  

On December 4, 2000 a marble and bronze plaque was laid to dedicate the memorial site by Alpha Phi Alpha as the fundraising and promotion campaign commenced with the ceremonial groundbreaking for the project being held in West Potomac Park on November 13, 2006.  

After the final approvals from the necessary federal agencies came in October 2009, construction finally commenced on the long awaited King Memorial in November 2009. 

The address of the new memorial will be 1964 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC 20024.  The number is a homage and reference to the milestone Civil Rights Act of 1964 that Dr. King played an integral role in helping to get passed.

The location is on the northwest corner of the Tidal Basin in a line of sight between the Jefferson Memorial to the southeast and the Lincoln Memorial on the northwest where he gave the August 28, 1963  'I Have A Dream' speech.   It is next door to the FDR Memorial and intertwined with the famous cherry blossom trees that ring the Tidal Basin.      

The dedication ceremony will be part of a week of events from August 24-28, and I submit there will probably be a large crowd in attendance for the dedication ceremony as we honor Dr. King with a permanent memorial   


Looking forward to seeing it the next time I make it to our nation's capitol to lobby or for once if I get to got to Washington D.C to just play tourist.