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

Donahue Show: Trans People and Their Families

Another Donahue trans show, circa 1987 in which he interviews a trans woman and her supportive sister.

Enjoy the video

WH Trans Petition Is Going To Fail

We are hours away from the September 10 deadline to gather 100,000 signatures for a petition calling for the federal government to formally investigate the cause of the violence leading to trans murders

And I'm sad to say it's not going to even get 10,000 signatures before midnight approaches.  As of this moment it is just over 6,000 signatures.

Thanks to those of you who did take the time to sign it over the last month.

Guess you've shown us in POC Trans World that the only trans lives that matter are white ones, and that's a problematic message that you've just sent to the trans communities of color.

Happy Milestone Birthday Cecilia!

Today is the milestone 50th birthday of San Francisco based trans advocate and pioneer Cecilia Chung!

Before I had the pleasure of spending some quality time with this smart and beautiful lady from Hong Kong with a wicked sense of humor and getting to know her, I'd been a long time admirer of her and her trailblazing advocacy work on behalf of our community.

In addition to being a senior strategist at the Transgender Law Center, serving on the President's Council on HIV and AIDS, and being the first openly trans person and person living with HIV on the San Francisco Human Rights Commission of which she served as its chair.   She was one of the founders of San Francisco's Trans March and works tirelessly n the local, national and international levels to improve access to medical treatment for transgender people and people living with HIV, and to erase stigma and discrimination through education, policy, advocacy, and visibility

Happy milestone birthday Cecilia!  looking forward to the next time that we get to spend some quality time together and hope your birthday is as fabulous as you are!.

BTAC 2015-Day 2

Still in Dallas at the Doubletree Campbell Center for the Black Trans Advocacy Conference for my second full day here.



The highlights today will be the keynote speeches by Tiq Milan and Miss major Griffin Gracy.
|The Black Trans Interrnational Pageants will happen later tonight, and many of the seminaras have a health and wellness theme such as Healthcare Hallelujah Trans* Health And The Affordable Care Act  to 'Exploring HIV Health Risks Among Transmen'


I'm also having a blast getting to spend quality time with the trans brothers and the trans sisters I know and geeting acquainted with the trans brothers and trans sisters I'm just meeting for the first time


And love seeing my Dallas fam in Rafael McDonnell and Nell Gaither.
  

I still find it ironic that Diamond Stylz and I live less than 5 miles from each other in Houston, buit i have to bring my butt to BTAC or some other conference to spend quality time with her.


But she knows I love her to death.   And if you feeling down, you won't be after getting hugged by our BTAC First Lady Espy Brown.


There were some amazing conversations taking place here yesterday in our seminars, at dinner and in the hotel lobby.  


And definitely need to step away from the front desk and those sinfully delicious cookies.

Janet To Be Interviewed By Oprah May 3

One of the things I've asked for on this blog in two open letters in 2007 and 2010 was for Oprah to interview a Black trans person on her show.  

Her talk show ended before that happened, but now it looks like that is finally going to happen.

Janet Mock will be on the May 3 episode of Oprah's Super Soul Sunday being interviewed about her New York Times best selling book Redefining Realness.

Better late than never, but so happy for my sis Janet.   It's also interesting the timing of this broadcast, since it comes a week after the Jenner interview that drew 19 million people to view it.

Super Soul Sunday is broadcast on OWN  at 11 AM, and I'll be tuned in for it.

Historic Day For Trans WOC At The White House

I've been coming to Washington DC since 1998 to lobby for trans human rights issues, policy meetings, board meetings, retreats, and panel discussions.  I've even been to the White House four times.

But this fifth trip to the White House was special and historic, because for the first time trans women of color, fittingly on the Transgender Day of Visibility, were gathering from around the country for the inaugural White House Trans Women Of Color Women's History Month Briefing.

It was organized by the National LGBTQ Task Force's Kylar Broadus and kicked off at 9:00 AM in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building's South Auditorium with opening remarks from Aditi Hardikar from the White House Office of Public Engagement.

She was quickly followed by Tina Tchen from the White House Council For Women and Girls and Stacey Long Simmons from the Task Force before we dove into the policy remarks part of the program.

Cecilia Chung started the policy portion of it with some framing remarks before yielding the platform to my fellow TPOCC board member Mattee Jim and LaLa Zannell from the National Anti Violence Project.

Mattee's commentary focused on the issues that Native American and rural trans women face, while LaLa focused on discussing how many of the women we have lost to anti-trans violence were actually intimate partner violence (IPV) cases.

Zannell also pointed out that trans women are less likely to be protected from IPV and some recommendations to change that negative paradigm.

When those ladies were done with their presentations, Ruby Corado of Casa Ruby and Bamby Salcedo of the Trans Latina Coalition were up next.

Corado's presentation concentrated on HIV status, how it affects trans women and the issues that revolve around that but reminded us that 'action solves problems.' 

Salcedo talked about our trans Latina sisters an the issues they face in ICE detention including sexual assault and HIV infection and pointed out "It's important for us to understand how structural violence plays into us getting killed.".

Tracee McDaniel from the Juxtaposed Center for Transformation, Inc in Atlanta and Kylar Broadus from the National LGBTQ Task Force talked about the employment discrimination that trans women of color face on the micro and macro levels..

The final two person info panelists were Dr. Ayana Elliott, FNP and Raffi Friedman-Gurspan from the National Center for Transgender Equality.  Dr Elliott got our attention by stating 'Transgender women are an endangered species," then broke down the statistics across various health categories to back that sobering statement up.   

Raffi's presentation also contained some suggested policy recommendations for the assembled White House staffers and trans women of color from across the country nodding their heads in agreement.

When their panel was finished, Roy Austin, the Deputy Assistant to the President for the Office of Urban Affairs  Justice and Opportunity, took a few moments in his remarks to update us on where things stood on trans issues inside the Obama Administration.

In addition to informing us that Title VII the Civil Rights Act of 1964 covers  transpeople, Austin also discussed a Task Force on 21st Century Policing report that urged in its recommendations that police departments and law enforcement personnel across the US improve their relations with their local trans communities (which probably explains the invite I got from Harris County DA Devon Anderson last week to talk about issues of importance to the Houston trans community).

He opened it up for questions, and I asked about the possibility of getting mandated national standards for ID.  I pointed out that much of the discrimination we face is triggered by mismatched identification that in many cases the states throw up multiple barriers for us to correct.

After taking a few questions, Mr Austin departed, and a super info panel was convened in which audience members received a few moments of the remaining time left in the event to ask the info panelists questions.

After remarks from Aditi, Kylar and Stacey and a poem from Cherno Biko, the briefing ended at 12 noon EDT.

We then headed to the National LGBTQ Task Force headquarters on Massachusetts Ave for lunch and remarks from Stacey Long Simmons, outgoing deputy director Darlene Nipper, and incoming deputy director Russell Roybal.. 

It was my first visit to Task Force headquarters since the 2000 National Transgender Policy Meeting they facilitated at their old NE Washington DC digs.  It was fun reconnecting with all my friends in the Task Force from the Creating Change team (and yes H-town, I let them know we want to host it again), and was happy to see Kathleen Campisano and Sarah Reece from my days of causing angelic trouble in Louisville with both of them.

We also were in the building on Nipper's last official day as deputy director, and we gave her a standing ovation when she was finished.

Major thanks to Kylar and Stacey for the invitation to be there for this historic briefing, lunch, and to super intern Dominique Chamely who did a wonderful job on the logistical end getting me and my trans sisters to DC from our various spots around the country.

And thanks to all my transsisters who made this historic day at the White House and this 6th annual Trans Day of Visibility a memorable one for me.

Told Y'all Papi Edwards Was A #GirlLikeUs

"In my two decades of lived experience as a Black trans woman, I have seen more than a few young gay males who liked doing drag, claimed it was 'a hobby', only did it for pageants or gay nightclub talent nights and swore up and down they were gay men and had no intention to transition.

But a year or two later after having that gender epiphany, those same gay males were declaring they were trans, swallowing hormones, answering to feminine names and transitioning to live full time as female."
-TransGriot, February 2, 2015,, The Case For Edwards Being A Trans Murder Victim"

Well, as this Dominic Holden March 6 BuzzFeed article points out, Moni was right.

A trans woman who knew Ms. Edwards and was also at the January 9 murder scene named Tiffany, came forward and publicly confirmed what I was hearing from multiple Louisville contacts.

“Papi got shot because she was a transgender female,” Tiffany told BuzzFeed News in a phone interview this month. “That is exactly why she was killed — because of gender identity.”

The photo in this post is a surveillance camera still shot of Ms. Edwards moments before she was killed.  And she is clearly presenting as female moments before she was killed. 

Henry Gleaves, the alleged shooter who prematurely ended Papi's young life, just had another court hearing March 26, with the trial due to start in Da Ville on October 27.

We have had eight trans women killed this year.  I expect there will be more before the calendar turns to January 1, 2016.   This Edwards case underscores the importance of police departments when they encounter trans murder victims, ACCURATELY identifying and publicizing the fact they are dealing with a trans murder case.

Because the sooner the trans community knows we are dealing with a trans murder case, the sooner we can spring into action to help you peeps in law enforcement solve them.

What I'd Like For Transitioning Trans WOC

Yesterday I got an opportunity to participate in a Twitter discussion on the topic of stopping anti-trans violence disproportionately aimed at trans women of color moderated by Kylar Broadus. 

It took place for an hour starting at 2 PM EDT, and if you wish to check out the Twitter chat thread, you can search the ‪#‎StopTransMurders‬ thread to read mine and the comments of others on that topic.   

When Katrina Goodlett pointed out she was about to reach her 35th birthday in two weeks, it was a sad reminder that is the average life expectancy for TWOC's because of anti-trans violence aimed at trans women of color, and it drove me to write this comment in response:

I would like for a transitioning TWOC to expect to live her life past her 35th birthday ‪#‎StopTransMurders‬

I didn't stop there.  I posted on my Facebook page I would like for that transitioning TWOC to have a roof over her head, a job at a living wage, food in her pantry, medical care and clothes in her closet.

And that resulted in the thinking that resulted in what else I'd like to see for transitioning trans women of color.

I'd like for a transitioning TWOC to have caring, loyal and supportive family and friends enveloping her in love and support so she can concentrate on being the best person she can be.

I'd like for a transitioning TWOC to have her life respected and protected.  

I'd like for a transitioning TWOC to not have to deal with negative law enforcement attitudes that manifest themselves into when they see her walking down the street, she's a target for harassment, she gets stopped and frisked for Walking While Trans, or worse.

I'd like a transitioning TWOC to recognize she is part of a long line of fabulous women with a proud heritage, has sisters cis and trans, and she is not alone. 
I'd like for a transitioning TWOC to have pride in herself, know her history, and be proud of being a trans woman of color.

I'd like for a transitioning TWOC to be able to get her name and identity document changes without drama or hassle from bureaucrats.

I'd like for a transitioning TWOC to be able to love and marry the person of whatever gender that loves them, be they cis or trans without stigma. 

I'd like for a transitioning TWOC to see the day that people who love them and desire them as life partners aren't ashamed of them.

I'd like for a transitioning TWOC to see the day that cis women recognize that trans women are women, and we are your allies and sisters in the struggle.

I like for a transitioning TWOC to see the day that the Transgender Day Of Remembrance becomes obsolete.  

But that is a long way from happening until the lives of trans women of color, and especially Black trans women matter not only to ourselves, but our own people.

But a sistah can dream can't she?   This is one dream I'd definitely like to make a reality.

Moni's In The Middle Of The WH LGBT Innovation Summit

It's been an amazing year so far for me and it still has five more months left in it before we flip the calendar page to 2015.

Another blessing came my way with an invitation courtesy of Dr Kortney Ryan Ziegler and Trans*H4CK to attend the first ever White House LGBT Innovation Summit.   You know as a history buff I love being at groundbreaking events, and definitely wanted to be in DC for this inaugural July 7 one.

So once again I found myself on a jet plane winging my way to DC via the ATL to be there.  

Since it was post-4th of July weekend, it was an interesting route to get there.  Normally I like going in and out of DCA (I refuse to call it Reagan National) because it's on the WMATA Metrorail Yellow and Blue lines.   But on this trip I was routed to go into BWI on Sunday and leave out of DCA on Tuesday.  In addition I had 3 hour layovers in Atlanta on both legs.  But hey, I'm still getting my frequent flyer miles.    

I got up at 4 AM CDT to head over to Hobby for my 7 AM departure to the ATL.  After Dee Dee Watters dropped me off, I'm thinking "Who is going to be traveling at 6 AM on Sunday to go somewhere?" as I entered the airport terminal..  But after I picked up my boarding passes in front of the Delta ticket counter and saw the line at TSA security I was jarred back into the reality I was traveling on the back side of the holiday weekend, as my 15 minute wait to clear security attested to. For once I didn't get some hands on attention from our TSA friends after I went through the body scanner .

It's a gorgeous flying weather day and I get to the ATL with no issues.  I've already eaten breakfast, I'm chilling at my BWI gate with my laptop playing my fave tunes from the 70s-90's on my Spotify account as I settle in to kill my three hours of Hartsfield-Jackson airport sit time.  I'm watching the world and the Delta flight personnel walk by and thinking about how much I miss the airline biz when I heard the announcement that my flight has gate changed due to a mechanical problem with my just arrived inbound aircraft.

We ended up leaving 20 minutes late on the ATL-BWI leg but my captain made up the time and we pulled into my BWI gate at 3:47 PM EDT, three minutes earlier than scheduled.    Samantha Master grabbed me a few minutes later and off we went in the direction of Washington DC and my Dupont Circle area hotel.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, because I know so many people in the DC area who would love to spend quality time with me (and it's a nice problem to have), they know to get it they have to grab me either when I land inside I-495 or on my way out of town back to DCA.  

So Samantha made sure she got first dibs on me before Ruby Corado did.
     
After taking me to lunch, doing a little shopping and discussing the current state of the movement, we eventually ended up at the Carlyle Suites hotel on New Hampshire Ave NW.   I noticed along with Samantha the Delta Sigma Theta Way sign underneath it as we turned onto New Hampshire Ave.  I discovered I would be staying less that two doors down from DST national headquarters which made me chuckle as a child of a proud AKA. 

That area also has many embassies, and the Grenadian embassy was on the corner of New Hampshire Ave and R St.  I also noticed something else in addition to the embassies sprinkled throughout the tree shaded neighborhood, a 7-Eleven.   That meant I was going to be able to destroy some Slurpees on this trip.    

I checked into my 7th floor art-deco style suite, made some calls, walked around the corner to that 7-Eleven to get my first Slurpee (lemonade) since my PTHC trip and after returning to the hotel settled in to get some rest for the big day.

Monday July 7 was another warm but beautiful clear weather day in which I debated when I woke up at 8 AM whether to go to Capitol Hill and see Yesenia Chavez or just head to the White House area for the Summit which was starting at 1 PM. 

I was anxious to see who was going to be in attendance for the Summit, and started walking toward the Dupont Circle Metro station.   I discovered during that walk the embassies of Nicaragua, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Argentina were also in the vicinity along with the headquarters of the American Library Association.   That made me smile and think about my homegirl BiblioDiva, AKA Melissa Meadows as I made the turn onto Q St. near the Argentinian embassy and headed toward the station.  

When I arrived there I got my first pleasant surprise of the day when I tapped my WMATA SmarTrip card and discovered I had $9.60 on it.  That was more than enough to get me down there and back from Dupont Circle, so I added another $7 to it to cover any other Metrorail trips I would possibly do here before jumping onto my Red Line train to head to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House grounds.        
.            
After changing to a Orange Line train at Metro Center Station I get off at Farragut West and realize I didn't burn as much time as I thought I would and I'm way early.   Fortunately I spot a Mickey D's and decided to burn up an hour and grab lunch there before heading to the designated WH security gate since I knew it was going to be at least 4 hours before I'd get an opportunity to eat something.

I arrive at the security checkpoint outside of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at 11:40 AM and I'm met by a female intern ironically from Dallas who is waiting to escort another party into the WH complex.   After we exchanged Lone Star pleasantries a few minutes later I start seeing the peeps arriving for the Summit.   Michael David Battle arrives with his mom, then Geena Rocero, and Krys and Kin Folkz from Oakland who I'd met during the first Trans*H4CK 

We all start catching up on what has been transpiring in our lives as the clock ticks toward 12 noon and the point that security personnel are ready to begin checking our ID for the first stage of clearing the WH security gauntlet

After arriving in the auditorium I begin to see more familiar people like Kimberley McLeod from Elixher, Angelica Ross, Lourdes Hunter, Katrina Goodlett, and the man of the hour in Dr. KRZ complete with his patriotic flag pattern tie.  Introductions are coming fast and furiously, business cards are being exchanged and pictures and selfies are being snapped as the time ticks down toward the 1 PM start of the event. 

I even got an opportunity to talk to Tim Gill about politics and a few issues.    

One of the biggest questions I got asked once I revealed I'd come to the event from Houston is 'What's happening with the HERO?'   So yeah peeps, the world is watching H-town. 

Finally the program starts with the SRO crowd settling in for the welcome from WH Office of Public Engagement advisor Gautam Raghavan.

Following his remarks, the first armchair conversation with Google [x] VP Megan Smith moderated by Lesbians Who Tech founder Leanne Pittsford to start the four hour program begins.   

That conversation focused on women in the tech field and dropped the interesting historical note that the Duchess of Cambridge's (AKA Kate Middleton)  grandmother was one of the Bletchley Park duty officers that helped decode German military messages encrypted on the German Enigma coding machine for Allied use.  It moved to discussing other diversity issues before that conversation concluded with audience Q&A.

Before the next segment of the program happened, we were given the opportunity to line up at the two mikes on either side of the room and give a 30 second elevator  pitch discussing our innovative work on behalf of the community, ask for help or resources, or share your Big Idea.

Once the time allotted for the first round of elevator pitches expired, we moved to a panel discussion entitled Challenges And Opportunities Facing LGBT Communities.   The panel was comprised of USDA Special Assistant Ashlee Davis, WH National AIDS policy Director Douglas Brooks, Out2Enroll's Katie Keith and UCLA Williams Institute Senior Counsel Adam Romero.

After discussing HIV/AIDS and the problematic inclusion of transpeople in the MSM category, the problems of rural LGBT people, and the lack of inclusion of transpeople and especially transpeople of color in Gay Inc leadership ranks and organizations with the Black transfolks in attendance leading much of the conversation in that auditorium on many of those issues, it was time for the next round of elevator pitches.

When those concluded it was time for our sis Geena Rocero to take the stage. 

Taryn Miller-Stevens introduced her and Geena gracefully strode to the podium to talk about how the power of stories fused with technology is empowering trans people, helping us change lives and influencing public policy changes.  She also talked about the motivating reason why she founded GenderProud. 

I received an unexpected shoutout during her speech, along with Dr Z and some of the other trans POC leaders who have been pushing for systemic human rights change on behalf of our community.  

When she concluded her speech to a standing ovation, she and Taryn had an armchair conversation to answer more audience questions driven by her remarks before they stepped aside to make way for the next portion of the program. 

The Presidential Innovation section of the program was an interview conducted by Senior Advisor to the US Chief Technology Officer Erie Meyer with 18F Creative Director Hillary Hartley.

After their interview and Q&A, we took a short break before we heard Tim Gill's Call to Action speech to conclude the LGBT Innovation Summit. 

After some closing thoughts and next steps from Gautam, we moved to the Indian Treaty Room on the 4th floor for a Gill Foundation hosted reception that concluded a little after 6:30 PM to end our day on the White House grounds.

Some of us decided to continue the conversations at the nearby W Hotel and its patio bar with a gorgeous view of  the White House complex, the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the Washington Monument and The Mall.   We were joined there by Kylar Broadus, Ruby Corado and Joanna Cifredo and engaged in debriefing conversations about what had just transpired on this historic day and discussed the lobby day taking place next week.  

We then took those conversations from that spot to another locale that lasted well into the wee hours of the morning before I had to bounce to my hotel and pack for my departure in a few hours.   

I woke up at 8 AM to another gorgeous but hot DC summer day.   Since my flight to Houston via Atlanta wasn't leaving until 3 PM, I decided before I had to check out of my room at 12 noon and because I didn't want to be schlepping my laptop and bag through Capitol Hill security, to bounce to Capitol Hill and attempt to keep my promise of seeing Yesenia before I left the Washington DC area.  

When I got to Rep Raul Grijalva's (D-AZ) office on the fifth floor of the Longworth Building a little before 10 AM, one of her coworkers advised me she'd just left for a training session and wasn't due back in until after 11 AM.  I decided after a few minutes of enjoying their hospitality to kill time by going to see my own congressmember. 

After accomplishing that mission, I headed back to Longworth to see if Yesenia was back. She wasn't and because it was now 11:10 AM I had to head back to the Capitol South station to begin my journey back to the Dupont Circle area and check out of the hotel.   I discovered later when I checked my phone at DCA after I cleared TSA security and arrived at my departure gate I just missed Yesenia by five minutes. 

Oh well, I'll catch her next time. 

Ruby showed up a little after 12 to pick me up from the Carlyle Suites and hang out at Casa Ruby for a moment before we headed off in the direction of DCA to drop me off to start my return trip home. 

So once again I got to spend a little time inside the beltway, see some old friends, meet some new ones, talk about the Trans Revolution Will Not Be Televised business with my trans peeps and get my learn on at the same time.

The evaluation for this inaugural White House LGBT Innovation Summit should be hitting my e-mail soon, but so glad I had an opportunity to be in the house for the inaugural event.   

Hope next year's is even better.   

And for those of you who missed me on this latest trip inside I-495, I'll probably be back before the year is out, so just get ready to try to get me at DCA before Ruby or Samantha do.

Kortney's Going To The White House!

I have yet to have this happen for me, but so happy to hear that it has for someone I know.   Dr. Kortney Ziegler is headed to DC for the LGBT Pride Reception at the White House in June 30.

Congratulations Kortney!  Well deserved honor after all your efforts to see Trans*H4CK grow and become a national and one day international event and movement. 

And yes bro, deeply appreciate you being a strong, unapologetic voice for the Black trans community.

We can always use more people willing to stand on truth, tell it like it T-I-S is and ensure our voices are heard.  

NY Islan Nettles Case Meeting

TransGriot Note:  From the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP)

On December 20 trans community leaders Laverne Cox and Brooke Cerda Guzman, along with representatives from the Audre Lorde Project’s Trans Justice and the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP) met with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office regarding the Islan Nettles investigation after misdemeanor charges were dropped against Paris Wilson on November 19, 2013. 

Islan Nettles was attacked on August 17 in Harlem by an individual or group of individuals shouting anti-transgender slurs.  Ms. Nettles was taken to Harlem Hospital for her injuries and on Thursday August 22, was taken off of life support and died.

At the meeting, community leaders spoke about their concerns about the real danger that transgender women of color face in New York City and the need for the District Attorney’s Office to prioritize violence against transgender women of color.  The District Attorney’s Office assured community leaders that the Islan Nettles case remains a top priority and that they were doing everything in their power to move the investigation forward.  The group also spoke about ways in which the District Attorney’s Office and transgender women of color could work together to create safety and highlight the disproportionate impact of violence in transgender and gender non-conforming communities.

The Anti Violence Project (AVP) will continue to work with transgender community leaders and the District Attorney’s Office on the Islan Nettles case and on issues of safety for all transgender women of color in New York City.

AVP stands with transgender women of color, our allies, community members and community leaders in saying we will not be silent about the violence faced by transgender women and transgender women of color in our city.  In September 2013, at AVP’s Courage Awards, Laverne Cox called the violence against transgender women of color “a state of emergency,” and it is exactly that, both here in New York City and across the nation.  The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) most recent report, Hate Violence Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV-Affected Communities in the United States in 2012, documented 25 anti-LGBTQ murders.  73.1% of all anti-LGBTQ homicide victims in 2012 were people of color and 53.8% were transgender women.

So far this year we know of 14 transgender women nationally who have been victims of homicide.  In many of these cases, no motive is known, and we are concerned about the pace of investigations, the serial misgendering of the victims by police and media, and by a lack of public awareness about these tragic deaths.

 REPORTING VIOLENCE HELPS TO END VIOLENCE
AVP encourages you to report violence you experience or witness to our free and confidential 24-hour bilingual (English/Spanish) hotline at 212-714-1141 where you can speak with a trained counselor and seek support, or you can report violence anonymously online at http://avp.org/get-help/report-violence.

Brandi's In The News Again!

Back in May I talked about a JET magazine story that was brought to my attention by ELIXHER magazine and Janet Mock featuring Washington DC girl like us Brandi Ahzionae.

It contained a quote from Brandi that dovetailed nicely with my sentiments about the piece that I hoped it was the beginning of more positive coverage of trans women and transpeople in general.

It's two months later and Brandi's in the news again thanks to a recent Washington Blade article featuring her and Washington DC anti-trans discrimination campaign poster girl Consuella Lopez.

In addition to being one of the people featured in the DC Office of Human Rights ad campaign Lopez is a licensed hairstylist. She owns a salon in the suburban DC metro area and has worked with celebrity clients such as Mila Kunis, Tracey Edmonds and Patricia Arquette.  

She met Ahzionae at the September 2012 kickoff event for that campaign and was producing a trans calendar for Casa Ruby at the time. She extended Ahzionae an invitation to model for it which she declined, but Ahzionae did accept Lopez's subsequent invitation to take her on as a hairdressing apprentice. 

Brandi also produces a newsletter called the DMV Trans Circulator that seeks to create what the site describes as a “trans community inside and outside the prison walls in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia” that is “free from imprisonment, police violence, racism and poverty.” and is taking classes at the Aesthetics Institute of Cosmetology in Gaithersburg, MD.

When her apprenticeship ends in May 2015 she can receive her own stylists license once she passes the test.

This article is a concrete example of what I've talked about that needs to happen more often in our community in which transpeople support each other, reach back and lift someone else up so they can be in a position to lift up others behind them.

But nice to read this story about Brandi and I hope we continue to see more positive ones similar to it about trans people in TBLG and other media. 

Upon Further Review, The 2013 Honor 41 List...

Has FIVE trams people on it..    There are four trans Latinas and trans man Isaac Gomez on the 2013 edition of the Honor 41 List. 

To explain the significance of the Honor 41 list and how it became a reality, here's the creator of the list Alberto Mendoza to discuss it. 

The Honor 41 List highlights and shines a much needed media spotlight on the contributions of LGBT Latino/a people.

I knew about three of the women who were honored when I composed my initial post about it and have had the pleasure of meeting two of them personally over the last several months in Arianna and Bamby. 

The videos for numbers 31-41 weren't up yet at the time i compiled the initial post, and I wanted to share that good news with the rest of our community and congratulate the women I knew who had been given the honor of being on the inaugural list..

Speaking of honors, the other trans Latina besides the lovely trio of Bamby Salcedo, Maria Roman and Arianna Inurritegui Lint who is on the initial list is Danielle Castro. 

Maria, Danielle and Isaac I am so looking forward to meeting you one day.  I wish you continued success in being outstanding role models for not only the trans Latina/o community and the TBLG Latina/o one, but your local, state and the national LGBT community as a whole.

Damian's Graduation Ceremony At UNM

Despite the efforts of thousands of people around the world who attempted to get transphobic Archbishop Michael Sheehan to defer to common sense and allow Damian Garcia to walk with his Albuquerque St Pius X HS classmates in a black gown, it unfortunately didn't happen and Damian skipped the ceremony.

On May 30 the University of New Mexico welcomed their newest Lobo to the fold by hosting a special graduation event for him at the UNM LGBT Resource Center attended by several dozen people in which Damian was the keynote speaker and got to wear his black graduation robe.

One of the people in attendance was Hawaii Human Rights Commissioner and recent Harvey Milk Champion of Change honoree Kim Coco Iwamoto, who received her law degree from the University of New Mexico's law school

“For me it’s amazing for young people like Damien take a stand for him being his authentic self,” she said.

Damien was emotional as he spoke about seeing a community come together on his behalf. "“I’ve seen a community, the LGBT community come to the rescue, so to speak, of a fellow member,” Garcia said. “Because of this and all the support, I’ve grown as a person as well as the community growing as a whole.”

He starts school at UNM in the fall and plans to become an attorney.

Still Miss You, Tracy

June 28 will mark the second anniversary since those of us who know Tracy Bumphus were stunned to hear the news about her untimely passing.

She's hanging out with the angels now, but that still doesn't keep those of us who knew and loved her from missing her and thinking about the ways she touched our lives be it in a small or quite significant way.

I not only stumbled across this guest post in my TransGriot archives that she'd written and I posted when the TS ubermenschen separatists were running wild back in 2010, had declared me as their number two enemy (a fact I'm still chuckling about to this day) and tred to drag her name into their mess. 

Another reason Tracy is on my mind besides the upcoming anniversary of her death is because I was sent a link to a HIV/AIDS testing video that she'd done in her capacity as a program assistant at the AIDS Project of East Bay

Even though it's two years old the message is still relevant and needs to be heard.  Even better, we get to see Tracy in action doing what she always did, educating people

And yeah, this is also a reminder for you TransGriot readers to take a moment to tell the people that you love and care about in your life how much you love and care about them.  Once you or they have left this plane of existence, it's too late to do so.

Damian Skips His HS Graduation

In case you're wondering how the situation with Albuquerque transteen Damian Garcia played out, when the ceremony kicked off at 10 AM MDT yesterday the Class of 2013 of St Pius X HS was one member short.  

While his classmates left a seat open for him in protest,  Damian decided to skip his graduation after the archdiocese of Santa Fe and the school refused to budge on letting him wear a black gown to the ceremony.

“I’m fully respecting this and myself by not walking and/or attending the ceremony at all,” he said on his Facebook page.

Meanwhile at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, NM where the ceremony was held, Michael J. Sheehan, the archbishop of Santa Fe, tried to make it sound like he was being persecuted as the Roman Catholic Church tends to do when they get caught in their public displays of transphobia. 

In his address to the nearly 200 graduates Sheehan talked about discrimination and standing up for what’s right, warning students that sometimes in life they will be persecuted for standing up for their Christian values.

Archbishop Sheehan, discrimination against and persecuting trans people is not a Christian value.  You know you were wrong on the issue, especially when you wouldn't show your cowardly face to the local media to defend your bigotry.   

Damian probably won't be the last trans student to go through St Pius X High, so you may as well get ready to have this conversation again.

Damian has been accepted to the University of New Mexico, and they along with the University of New Mexico's LGBT Resource Center will welcome their newest Lobo to the fold by holding a graduation ceremony for him on May 30 from 5 to 7 PM MDT  in a courtyard next to Scholes Hall on their main campus.

Washington DC Shelter Drops Trans Ban

Lakiesha Washington was homeless and needed help when she showed up April 3 at the John L. Young Shelter for Women.  But instead of help, because she is a girl like us she got denied entry.

An unidentified female employee at the shelter located three blocks from the US Capitol building asked Washington, “Are you a woman or a man,” the lawsuit says. “Ms. Washington replied, ‘I’m a transgender woman.’ The employee then asked Ms. Washington if she had any documentation, to which Ms. Washington replied that she did not.”

The lawsuit says the employee then told Ms. Washington, “We don’t do transgenders here. You have to leave.”

Never mind the fact this is a violation of the DC Human Rights Act that since 2005 prohibits discrimination against people based on gender identity or expression.  The John L. Young Center was dealing with a previous Office of Human Rights complaint of anti-trans discrimination filed back in February by the DC Trans Coalition's Andy Bowen that had reached the investigation and mediation stage.  

New Hope Ministries executive director John Shetterly was advised of that on March 18 by Sterling Washington, the director of the DC Office of Human Affairs according to a story in the Washington Blade and still took no action to bring the center into compliance with the DC Human Rights Act. 

The center is run by Woodbridge, VA based New Hope Ministries, but because it is receiving funding by the DC government, that makes it subject to the Act. 


The DC Trans Coalition along with Ms.Washington filed a lawsuit against the center April 5 and negotiated a temporary restraining order that allows her and future transwomen into the shelter. 

In addition, the staff of the John L. Young Center will undergo trans sensitivity training conducted by Earline Budd's organization Trans Health Empowerment and the Mayor's Office of GLBT Affairs.   Ms. Bowen will withdraw her complaint as part of the agreement and the John L. Young Center will improve the privacy of its bathrooms and showers so no one gets outed on the basis of their genitalia.

“This is a great day for all transgender people,” said Washington. “Nobody should have to face discrimination and humiliation, and thanks to this case, homeless transgender people will be now be safer.”


“DC has great nondiscrimination laws, but good laws do not equal adequate enforcement,” said Bowen. “This case showed the need for more vigilant enforcement, and if DC Trans Coalition has anything to do with it, enforcement’s gonna happen.”

And it's nice to see the arc of the moral universe quickly bending toward justice for Ms. Washingon and all trans people in the District of Colombia. 

What Would 50 Days Of Nonviolence Look Like For A Trans Person?

Was happy to note that on the 45th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr a campaign is being launched to tackle youth violence in the ATL.  

The '50 Days Of Nonviolence' program being sponsored by the King Center is challenging the youth of Atlanta to abstain from violence for the remainder of the school year.  Bernice King, the daughter of Dr. King and CEO of the King Center echoed her father's words by stating  "As my father said, 'The choice is no longer between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence.'"  

She also said, "We believe young people have a leadership role to play in creating a nonviolent society." .

I would add to Ms. King's words it's not just young people who have a role to play in creating a nonviolent society.  Adults have a major role to play in it as well because they are the ones sitting on the school boards, the city councils, the county governments, the state legislatures and in Congress who have the power to enact legislation that will help shape society toward that lofty goal.

Noting there is a sizable cluster of transpeople in the Atlanta metro area, transpeople in the ATL and around our nation would definitely like to see that 50 days of nonviolence spread beyond the younglings.  We'd like to see adults in the ATL and beyond step up to the plate and role model it as well being that we have unacceptably high levels of violence aimed at us.

So what would 50 days of nonviolence look like for the trans community?   That's seven weeks plus one day.   It's 50 days of experiencing people not trying to kill, physically or sexually assault girls like us.  It's 50 days of not hearing or having provocative hate speech aimed at us.

It's 50 days of transpeople taking coordinated, peaceful action to push toward making trans human rights a reality in our country.  It's 50 days of  us using nonviolent methodology, tactics combined with Kingian love to fight back against unjust laws like Arizona's 'No Loo For You' SB 1045 Bill and other unjust laws aimed at trans people.   

It's 50 days of us in the trans community doing what we can to make it more unified and cohesive.  It's 50 days of us loving ourselves, our allies and here's the hard part, even our enemies.

And if we can consistently do that for 50 days, why not 50 weeks?  50 months?  50 years? 

So let's do this.

Janet Mock Appearing On Sunday's Melissa Harris Perry Show!

So when will trans persons of color be invited to participate in a Melissa Harris Perry show discussion?  Will that happen sometime before this decade is over? 

TransGriot February 13, 2013 'When Will POC Transpeople Be Invited To MHP?' 

As you TransGriot readers are aware of I've been quite vocal about the lack of trans POC people appearing on this GLAAD award nominated show (and countless others) to talk about trans issues (and other issues of the day including LGBT community ones) from our perspective.

So I was beyond happy to read that Janet Mock will be in the #nerdland studios tomorrow morning taking part in the discussion on what lies beyond the marriage equality fight.

Alright Janet!   So deliriously happy that you'll be our POC trans community's first representative on the Melissa Harris Perry show   I know you'll do a wonderful job.  

Now MHP show, was that so hard?    All us trans POC folks were asking for is the visibility and the opportunity to show that trans persons of color are more than just 'tragic transsexuals'.

Trans masculine and trans feminine POC peeps are more than capable of holding our own in a policy discussion.    We trans persons of color not only needed to see ourselves represented on the MHP set and television screens across America, so did our LGBT peers and the cis people inside and outside our communities who don't believe that thoughtful, intelligent talking head trans persons of color exist..

Looking forward to tuning in tomorrow with the rest of America to check out the latest edition of #nerdland and see a beautiful and talented girl like me as part of the panel.  I also hope that we see more trans POC's on future #nerdland shows as well