Happy 50th Birthday Ruby Corado!

 

Today marks the 50th birthday of one of my DC homegirls in Ruby Corado, the founding ED of Casa Ruby.

I first became aware of her after the 2003 murder of trans Latina Bella Evangelista, and met her during one of my DC lobbying trips.  Our friendship grew to the point that whenever I flew into or out of Washington DC to handle my activist business, she made sure she got her quality time in by either snatching my butt up at the airport when I arrived or picking me up from my hotels as I prepared to head to the airport to return home to Houston.

I remember when she started Casa Ruby in 2012, and I've been proud to see it grow to the level it has;
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Most of my quality time trips with her involved me spending some time with the Casa Ruby clients and peeps there for its programming.

And yeah, there have been some interesting moments we've had at other TBLGQ themed conferences.

It's been a long challenging at times journey for her from leaving El Salvador at age 16 to becoming one of our country's highly respected advocates and founding ED of Casa Ruby. 

She is a role model to Latina trans advocates like Ana Andrea Molina here in Houston and elsewhere, and has much respect in the Washington DC area and the immigrant trans Latina community. .

Happy 50th birthday Ruby!   May you celebrate many more to come.!

Miss and Mr OLTT 2019

I mentioned I had a late Friday night that saw me getting back home at 3:30 AM, only to bounce right back out the door 2.5 hours later to go to Dallas. 

But it was well worth the sleep it cost me to see and talk to Jennicet Gutierrez, Sara Ramirez, Bamby Salcedo and Ruby Corado in one shot here in my hometown along with many of our Houston area advocates and allies.

And oh yeah, a pageant broke out while I was there.

It was the second annual Mr and Miss Trans OLTT pageant at Club Crysta in southwest Houston. It would not only choose the new OLTT royalty was that would represent the organization during their reign, but served as a fundraiser for the organization.  All the tips for the performers were also donated,

As for the pageant business at hand, the new Miss Trans OLTT is Catalina Ramos, with the Mr Trans OLTT crown going to Fabian Echeverria.   

Ramos was the favorite going into the event, and she proved why in dominating fashion, capturing five category awards on her way to the Miss Trans OLTT crown and the $500 first place prize.

Congrats to Catalina and Fabian!   I know we'll be seeing them at many of the Houston area community events representing OLTT and the Latinx trans community.

And congrats to Kassandra and Mo for their trailblazing reigns as the first Mr and Miss Trans OLTT.

   

One Week To San Antonio Municipal Election Early Voting

We're one week away from the start of early voting for San Antonio's municipal election and the possibility of trans history being made.

No out Texas trans person has ever been elected to public office.  While trans masculine and trans feminine people have won Democratic Party primaries, we still are waiting to break through that concrete ceiling and see a trans person win elective office in the Lone Star State. 

Frankie Gonzales Wolfe is running for the District 8 city council seat in northwest San Antonio against an unpopular incumbent.   The significance of this seat is that it not only sits in one of the most diverse areas of San Antonio, it has produced its share of people who have gone to enhanced leadership roles in Texas and the city of San Antonio.

Current mayor Ron Nirenberg once represented the district.   Now Gonzales-Wolfe seeks to do so as her campaign continues to build momentum toward the May 4 election day .

She has my TransGriot endorsement, and hope that you can contribute to her historic campaign.

For those of you in the Alamo City, early voting for the civic elections starts on April 22 and runs until April 30.  May 4 is election day.   Make sure you're registered so you can participate in making your voice heard at the ballot box.

'Trans People Deserve To Live' Banner Displayed During World Series Game

I wasn't watching Game 5 of the 2018 World Series in Los Angeles because I'm still salty about what happened to my Astros.   But when chatter started popping up online about something happening at the game, I took a few moments from the writing assignment I was working on to check it out.

My online social media search was rewarded with the glorious sight of a trans flag themed banner being unfurled in Dodger Stadium with the words 'Trans People Deserve To Live' on it.

The question that crossed my mind when I saw it was,"I wonder if the trans Latinas were behind this?" It didn't take long to have my hunch confirmed that it was indeed the Trans Latina Coalition handling their Dodger Stadium protest business.

Bamby Salcedo and Maria Roman were at the Red Sox- Dodgers game and during the fifth inning, dropped the banner from the left field upper deck seats of the stadium.

Even if I had been watching the game, would have found out about it until later because the banner according to multiple reports, wasn't shown during the FOX broadcast of the game.

It did hang for a few minutes before security personnel intervened, removed the banner and escorted Salcedo and Roman out of the ballpark without incident and without being arrested .

“I felt my heart was dropping along with it,” said Salcedo,  the president of the Trans Latina Coalition in an interview with INTO. “I was kind of exploding because of the adrenaline. You don’t know what’s going to happen with the police and security and all of that.”

Even though the banner drop didn't make it on the FOX broadcast of what turned out to be the final game of the World Series, it is blowing up on social media.

Salcedo is calling for trans people in other communities to take up space in mainstream community events and replicate the action just conducted in Los Angeles as a show of resistance to the anti-trans actions being aimed at us.

“I hope that this action will motivate members of the trans community, our allies and our comrades to really activate and to really understand that we have power,” Salcedo said. “We can demonstrate our power anywhere and everywhere.”

Yes, we can.    What it also demonstrates is that we will not be erased, either. 

Number 21- Rest In Power and Peace Nikki Janelle Enriquez

I was made aware of the latest trans murder victim in large part because she was one of the victims of the US Border Patrol agent who has been arrested for killing four women between September 3-15.

Been aware that we lost a trans woman since Saturday, but took me this long to confirm it because in large part of her being deadnamed and misgendered by Webb County law enforcement officials before they corrected it.

The latest trans person we have lost is 28 year old Nikki Janelle Enriquez.   What we know so far is that she was murdered by accused serial killer Juan David Ortiz around September 14-15, and according to authorities her body was found dumped along I-35 at mile marker 15.

He has now been charged with her murder and the murder of three other cis women.

After Ortiz is tried and hopefully found guilty, may he get the death penalty or rot in jail for life.

Her life and the lives of the other cis feminine people lives he callously took from all who loved them deserve justice     We'll be watching to see if that happens or Webb County falls into the disgusting pattern of not giving people who murder trans folks the sentences they deserve.

Nikki also went by the name Janelle.   No word yet from my trans family in the RGV and south Texas as to a memorial service or memorial vigil.    If I find out, I will pass that information along to you.

She is the second Latina trans Texan we have lost this year, the third trans Latina in the US murdered this year, and the 21st trans person this year violently taken from us.   

And once again, she is the tenth trans person under age 30 we've violently lost in 2018 and the 18th trans person of color.   17 of those trans POC have ben trans women.  We have also had one Black trans man killed this year who also ID as gender non conforming.

#TransLivesMatter   #TransLatinaLivesMatter.  When will the lives of Latinx trans folks become just as valuable to cis Latinx folks?    When will we see an end to the murders of trans people, no matter what their ethnic background?

Rest in power and peace, Nikki   You can begin to rest soundly knowing that the person who killed you is in custody.  Your trans family and all who loved you in the Lone Star State and around the country will be watching and waiting to see if the Webb County DA handles his business and you get justice for the abrupt end of your all too brief life.       

MJ Rodriguez To Receive Trailblazer Hispanic Heritage Award

You know MJ Rodriguez as Blanca Rodriguez Evangelista from the hit FX show POSE that will kick off Season 2 in 2019.   
MJ Rodriguez, the actress who plays Blanca, is poised to make history when the 31st annual Hispanic Heritage Awards take place in Washington DC at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The 27 year old Rodriguez will be honored by the Hispanic Heritage Foundation with the Trailblazer Hispanic Heritage Award. 

It is a prestigious one in the Latinx community that has previously gone to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Gloria Estefan, Rita Moreno, Celia Cruz, America Ferrera, Gael Garcia Bernal, Zoe Saldana, Ricky Martin and Placido Domino just to name some of the recipients of that award. 

Congratulations to MJ as her name joins that distinguished list of honorees.

Rodriguez is being recognized for her “talent, courage and social impact,” according to Jose Antonio Tijerino, President and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. “Her story is a journey of triumph as she leads the way for transgender representation in Hollywood and beyond,” he said in a statement.

Rodriguez will become the first trans feminine woman ever to win this award, and the Hispanic Heritage Awards can be seen on PBS later this month.
 

Feliz Compleanos Ana Andrea!

Couldn't let today pass without giving a TransGriot birthday shoutout to another amazing Houston area trans leader in Ana Andrea Molina, the founding executive director of Organizacion Latina de Trans en Texas (OLTT)

It's also interesting to note that many of the kick butt activists here in the Houston area who get stuff done and have no problem bluntly speaking truth to power are predominately Tauruses.

While the Houston based OLTT is focused primarily on the issues affecting our trans Latinx immigrant population in Texas, OLTT also has Casa Anaandrea, which is a shelter for trans and gender nonconforming person open to all

OLTT also does a wide range of events and programs  immigration help, name changes and the Mr and Miss OLTT Pageant designed to support the trans community

But it could also use some funding, because it does cost money to provide those services.  OLTT is also trying to raise $30,000 to renew the rental agreement for the home Casa Anaandrea is housed in with the goal of eventually owning this place.

Andrea has quickly established herself as one of our major Latina trans leaders in Texas and the United States, and we in Houston are fortunate to have her in our midst.

She also a wonderful friend and I have mad love and respect for her as a leader.

Feliz  Compleanos, Andrea!    May you celebrate many more birthdays to come!

Daniela Vega To Be A 2018 Oscar Awards Presenter

The Oscars happen on March 4 in Hollywood, and the initial group of people tapped to be awards presenters has been announced.  For the first time, one of the twelve instage presenters for this year's 90th edition of the Academy Awards will be an out trans person.

Rge person given the honor of repping the trans community on that Oscar stage will be Chilean actress Daniela Vega.

The 28 year old Vega is the star of the Oscar nominated film A Fantastic Woman in which she plays Marina Vidal, the trans protagonist in this Sebastian Lelio movie.   She loses her life partner Orlando, ,and her trans status makes it difficult for her to mourn Orlando's death.

Hmm, another movie I'll have to check out.

 

A Fantastic Woman was nominated in the Best Foreign Language film category, and after getting award nominations and international acclaim for the role of Marina, there was buzz building that she could possibly be the person that finally made Academy Awards history and become the first out trans person ever nominated for an Oscar. 

While that Best Actress nomination unfortunately didn't happen for Vega this time, she did get the consolation prize of being the first out trans person ever to be named as an Oscar presenter.

Congrats Daniela for making that history, and hopefully one day you'll be back on that Oscar stage to actually claim an Oscar of your own.

Get Well Soon, Arianna!

I first met Arianna Lint during a GLAAD POC Media Training in New York back in September 2012.  I have run into her over the years at many trans conferences across the US including BTAC and from time to time posted her interviews on Spanish language media.

I was horrified, appalled and pissed off  to hear that she was assaulted yesterday at her South Florida area home,  and the attack left her hospitalized with a broken arms that will require surgery.

Arianna is one of the sweetest people you would ever want to meet, and has been putting in the work as a well respected advocate for the trans Latina and HIV+ communities in Florida and nationally with the TransLatina Coalition . 

I'll say it again. Anti-trans hate thoughts + anti-trans hate speech = anti-trans hate violence and murders.   That anti-trans rhetoric you let slide off your lips has real world consequences for transgender people.   The more high profile we are, the bigger the target on our backs.

We advocates are all keenly aware of that point, but we don't let it deter us from doing what needs to be done for our people 

Speaking of things that need to be done,  hopp the waste of DNA who did this is expeditiously caught, punished and does serious jail time.

It is also my hope and prayer that you recover quickly from your injuries, and I get to see you at some event in 2018, or my travels bring me to South Florida.

Get well soon Arianna!

Girl Becomes First Trans Cheerleader At Her School

Was wondering when I would get to post some positive news on TransGriot concerning the trans Class of 2018 and what trails they blaze at their respective schools, and here is a story straight out of California as usual.

When we transfols have the opportunity to become our true selves, once the gender issue is out of the way, we can focus our attention and awesomeness into fulfilling whatever we wish to do.

In Denair High School senior Amy Fuentes' case it was to become the first ever trans cheerleader at her school. 

"When I was first trying out for the cheer squad, it wasn't like I'm going to be the first transgender girl," Fuentes said in a PEOPLE magazine interview.  "I was just trying out because I wanted to be a cheerleader, and I wanted to dance and cheer."

Amy knew coming into high school that she wasn't one of the guys, and first came out as gay during her freshman year.   But after doing more research in her junior year, had the epiphany she was transgender.

While she has been accepted as the girl she is by her classmates and the cheer squad, she had a rougher road to acceptance with her mother.   She ended up moving in with another cheerleader because of that lack of maternal acceptance.

But the good news is that she and her mother have been resolving their differences, and she plans to move back home soon. 

Congrats Amy!   Hope your senior year is one that continues to be blessings filled for you and continued good luck in your life journey. 

Gwen Araujo Murder 15th Anniversary

Today is sadly the 15th anniversary of the day that trans teen Gwen Araujo was murdered in Newark, California by four men, Jason Cazares, Jose Merel, Michael Magidson and Jaron Nabors in the wake of them discovering after she was trans feminine at a party.

The perpetrators then drove four hours to an area in the Sierra Nevada foothills from the East Bay to bury the body, .and said nothing about the crime committed at the party. 

Nabors, after becoming distraught about his role in Araujo's death, confessed to authorities in exchange for his guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter, his testimony against the other three defendants and leading Alameda County Sheriff's Department investigators to the burial site.

It took two trials to convict Merel, Magidson and Cazares, and in the second trial the odious trans panic defense was invoked by Magidson's attorney.

Magidson and Merel were both convicted of second degree murder without the hate crime enhancements and sentenced to 15 year to life in prison.   Two juries deadlocked on Jason Cazares fate, and mistrials were declared.   In a plea deal with the DA, Cazares pleaded no contest to manslaughter and was sentenced to six years in prison.

In the wake of the trial, the Gwen Araujo Justice For Victims Act was passed and signed into law on September 28, 2006 by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that limited the use of the trans and gay panic defense.

On September 27, 2014, Gov Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 2501 into law that banned the trans and gay panic defense outright.

Gwen's story was made into the 2006 Lifetime movie A Girl Like Me :The Gwen Araujo Story, talked about in a 2007 documentary entitled Trained In The Ways Of Men which aimed to debunk the trans panic defense, and on a May 2012 Investigation Discovery episode in the second season entitled 'Murder Among Friends'.

Her mother Sylvia Guerrero posthumously asked a judge legally change Gwen's deadname to Gwen Amber Rose Araujo on June 23, 2004.

Rest in Power and peace Gwen.   Your death wasn't in vain.   Changes were made in california law because it it, and you are still loved and remembered by the local community and all who adored you.

We continue to fight so than no one should die for simply daring to exist.

Honduran Trans Woman Running For Seat In Honduran Congress

Trans women all over the world are stepping up to run for office in their various nations in large part because we recognize that we must be at the table helping to write the laws that govern us.

Running for office is happening even in nations with a history of being violently hostile to our existence.   Rihanna Ferrera is the latest trans Honduran to attempt to get elected to her nation's national legislative body in their upcoming November 26 elections.

Ferrera is running to represent the department of Francisco Morazan which contains the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa as a candidate for the center-left United Social democratic and Innovation (PINU) Party.  Honduran trans women have made two previous attempts in 2012 to get elected to the Honduran Congress.

Ferrera is also the co-founder of the Asociacion Cozumel Trans, a trans advocacy organization based in Tegucigalpa

Claudia Spellman and Victoria Gomez both attempted to do so that year as LIBRE Party candidates, but subsequently had to seek asylum in the US and Spain after receiving death threats. 

28 year old Kendra Stefany Jordany recently became in March the first trans Honduran to win a party primary in the nation, and is trying to get elected as a representative to the Central American Parliament  which is based in Guatemala City, Guatemala

Ferrera, should she be successful, would become not only the first trans Honduran elected to the national congress, she would also become the first trans person in North America. the seventh in the world and only the third in the Western Hemisphere to be elected to her national legislature

Leiomy's Nike 'Be True' Commercial

Was happy to hear about and see the Nike commercial that vogue icon and dancer Leiomy Maldonado recently was featured in

The Bronx native is so well known in the dance world there's a signature dance move she created called the Leiomy Lolly that both Beyonce and Willow Smith have borrowed for their videos.

The 'Wonder Woman of Vogue' has stayed busy since that appearance as the leader of the Vogue Evolution team on the America's Best Dance Crew show back in 2009.

In addition to this Nike commercial, she's was also recently featured in this high energy one for Kimpton Hotels and their 'Let's Never Stop Dancing' campaign.



So I was exceedingly pleased and proud to see her in this Nike commercial to promote their Be True' line in which she was not only recognized as the legendary trailblazing talent she is, but also as an athlete.

Because lets be real, you have to be in serious shape to do the things she does on a dance floor and look good as she does doing it.

I'm also proud of seeing a trans woman of color and trans Latina featured in this Nike commercial, and I'm so looking forward to meeting this legendary woman someday.

Enough jibber jabber from me, here's the ad.

World's Longest Trans Pride Flag Unfurled During LA Resist March

I see my trans Latina sisters in LA have been busy once again with a new project in terms of creating the largest trans pride flag in the world just in time for the LA Pride Resist March that happened on Sunday.

This LA Resist march was attended by tens of thousands of people and many celebrities marching down Hollywood Boulevard

I confirmed with trans flag creator Monica Helms that the LA trans flag is officially the largest trans pride flag created so far in the world.  It is 25 feet 6 inches by 160 feet  (7.8 meters by 48.7 meters). It beats the Palm Springs trans pride flag by 1580 square feet  (146.8 square meters)

The previous largest trans pride flags were for parades in Mexico City and most recently Palm Springs.

The now largest trans pride flag in the world was created by them and unfurled during the LA Resist March that was part of the series of Equality Marches that took place across the country on June 11.,

Congrats LA trans fam for creating the largest trans pride flag in the world.   But have a feeling another group somewhere on this planet is going to try to beat it.

Our First Trans Homecoming Queen Of The 2016-17 School Year Is...

Selena Milian!

I was wondering in the face of all the conservahate being ramped up against the transgender community right now if there would be any trans masculine or trans feminine homecoming kings or queens crowned during this 2016-17 school year.

Well, I'm happy to announce that we have our first that I'm aware of trans feminine homecoming queen that has been crowned in this 2016-17 school year and surprise, surprise it was in North Carolina. .

Yes, the same North Carolina where Hate Bill 2 is still on the books despite the over $400 million (and counting)  in economic damage it has done.

The same North Carolina in which the first trans masculine homecoming king in Blake Brockington committed suicide a year after making that history.

The 18 year old senior came out as trans during her freshman year, and despite all the drama and hardships Milian has faced, was crowned homecoming queen on October 24 after being elected by her classmates at Overhills High School in Spring Lake, NC on October 21.

She is the first out trans feminine homecoming queen in North Carolina.

Besides plans to eventually go on hormones, and go to cosmetology school, what she'd really like to do is become an advocate. "Being crowned homecoming queen was just the first step.  I want to help my community and continue to make a difference."

Congratulations Selena and hope the rest of your senior year is as fabulous and memorable as the start of it.

Rest In Power Trans Pioneer Alina Maria 'Cachita' Hernandez

Another one of our trans trailblazers has joined the ancestors in television actress Alina Maria Hernandez at age 46.   She was found by a friend on October 8 at her home in North Carolina.
The cause of death for Hernandez has not been determined because according to reports her relatives are traveling enroute there from Cuba.

Hernandez was one of the first trans icons on Spanish language television, and was on the popular show El Gordo y El Flaca as 'Cachita' for 10 years.

She got her start as the winner of a singing contest on Don Francisco's longtime hit Univision show Sabado Gigante.  

Despite winning that $500 first prize on that show, Hernandez was a still struggling actress when she got her big break in 1999 replacing host Lili Estefan, who had gone on maternity leave to have her first child.



Hernandez's appearance was so popular that she ended up being part of the El Gordo y El Flaca show cast for another decade.  In addition to dishing gossip on that show, she also worked various Latinx awards shows and wrote a column for TVnotas

After being on the show, she decided to step away from the camera until last year, when she gave an exclusive Univision interview explaining that she was transgender.




Rest in power and peace Cachita.  You will be missed by all who loved you.

Daliah Husu Tells Her Story In Her Book 'I Am Woman'

Over the years I've read and have a few autobiographical books by trans people sitting on my bookshelf telling their stories like Caroline Cossey's My Story, Christine Jorgensen's autobiography, and Janet Mock's Redefining Realness.  I'm looking forward to reading Being Jazz and getting it autographed by her the next time I see her and reading Willy Wilkinson's book Born on the Edge Of Race and Gender. 

Telling our stories in print and book form is also an important way to not only combat the right wing demonization of our trans lives, but point out we are part of the diverse mosaic of human life.

One of the people I've been getting to know is author Daliah Husu.   She was born in the Dominican Republic, moved here to the US at age 8, and in her memoir  I Am Woman, Surviving The Past, The Present & The Future she recounts her bumpy journey to womanhood and coming out still standing.

She's now happily married to her hubby Ruben (happy first anniversary!), and is one of our up and coming advocates.  I'm looking forward to finally meeting her soon.



Her book is available for purchase on Amazon.com or at her daliahhusu.com website, and looking forward to reading it.

Happy 65th Birthday, Sylvia Rivera!

Today would have been the 65th birthday of trans human rights icon Sylvia Rivera had we not lost her to cancer back in 2002.   At the time she died she was in her hospital bed fighting for trans inclusion in a SONDA bill that NY trans people were eventually cut out of, and my New York State trans cousins are still waiting over a decade later for legislative coverage for their human rights.

If Sylvia were alive today (I met her in May 2000), she'd probably not only be marveling at the progress we've made since 2002, she'd still be raising hell about getting cut out of SONDA, and the repeated stalling of the Republican controlled NY Senate to pass GENDA. She'd still have no love for the Human Rights Campaign, anti- trans attitudes in the lesbian and gay community and LBJ because of the Vietnam War.  

We agreed to disagree on that last one..



She'd probably be displeased about the attacks on our humanity by Republican politicians, our youth being bullied and the high suicide rates, and the lack of trans specific services available.

But what Sylvia probably would be happy about is trans people lobbying our government at the local, state and federal level and working to get elected to public office.  She'd be happy about the progress we've made in terms of the 17 states and the District of Columbia that do protect trans rights and President Obama being the most trans rights friendly president of our lifetime to the point trans people are working in his administration..

She'd also be pleased about trans kids being able to transition, having the support of their parents, and in some cases being the frontline human rights warriors fighting for all our rights..

And I know she'd be happy about the increasing diversity of our community and seeing our stories told in documentaries, on television and the silver screen.

Happy 65th birthday Sylvia, you are missed, but we're not quieting down.  We're telling our stories, we're fighting for our rights, and we're not going to stop until human rights for the transgender community is a reality.

Raffi Makes Trans History Again!

Just last August Raffi Freedman-Gurspan made history as the first out trans staffer ever to work at the White House as the Outreach & Recruitment Director in the presidential personnel office and Associate Director for Public Engagement. .

Now the 28 year old trans Latina is set to become the first trans person to be named as the White House LGBT Liaison in the 21 year history of the position. President Obama appointed her to replace Aditi Hardikar, who left the post in January to join Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

I'd met both previous occupants of the LGBT Liaison position, and met Raffi last year during the Trans WOC White House panel event I attended last March.  

Raffi will not only take on the LGBT Liaison job duties, she will continue in her role as Outreach & Recruitment Director

This appointment is a big deal.   It's fantastic to witness a trans person finally being appointed as the initial point of WH contact for LGBT groups on all issues, and continues to illustrate that President Obama has been the best president ever when it comes to not only advancing trans human rights issues, but actually entrusting us with key positions in his administration..

Congratulations Raffi!  

Fed Up With Trans Latina Erasure

TransGriot note: Several of the 22 trans feminine lives we lost in 2015 were trans Latinas, but like their trans African American sisters, are not heavily represented in the leadership ranks of our trans human rights movement.  That's a problem,  especially since there are some issues trans Latinas face that disproportionately affect them.

Looks like 2016 is going to be the year trans Latinas are going to make moves to address it.   Here's a guest post from Elizabeth Rivera discussing it.

So I woke up with a lot on my mind today. Thought about keeping it to myself but I'm not biting my tongue anymore! Slept on it. And I'm done!!!!
I'm fed up with the attempted erasure of Trans Latin@s within the Transgender Social Justice Movement! This is problematic!!!! We can do better than this!!! There are specific individuals (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! YEAH, YOU!!!) within the movement who refuse (blatantly) to acknowledge that Trans Latin@s are just as affected. As if we don't struggle with discrimination!!!!! As if we are not being murdered too!!! Y'all know exactly what I'm talking about. To deny this is an act of violence!

I'm going to need for the REAL AUTHENTIC LEADERS in this movement to step up and start holding those in sheep's clothing accountable NOW!!!!! I'm going to need those who are attempting to steal the limelight for their own personal gain to have a long overdue seat!!!! I am officially done with blatantly biased representation from members in our community who are only about their own personal agendas.

I am sick and tired of feeling invalidated within this movement. I am and will always be a transgender woman of color who has been a sex worker and homeless. I know my authentic truth! I have not been doing this work for the last 20+ years to start feeling this way now. ‪#‎LatinaTransLivesMatterToo‬