Pink Crayons

This is an amazing spoken word poem courtesy of the Asia Project.

The poet is talking about his transgender sister living her truth in a world that wants to deny she exists and hate on her for doing so.

Enjoy

Positively Trans Survey Launched

Thanks to the Transgender Law Center, a groundbreaking survey was launched today that has the goal of assessing the needs of our trans community members living with HIV.

It is a first-of-its-kind community-led needs assessment to examine the legal and policy landscape as experienced by transgender women, men, and gender non-conforming people living with HIV/AIDS across the country. The survey is open for responses in English and in Spanish.

“As transgender people living with HIV/AIDS, we are capable of forming our own network, telling our own stories, and developing our own strategies for advocacy,” said Cecilia Chung, Senior Strategist at Transgender Law Center and project lead for Positively Trans. “This survey is a groundbreaking opportunity to not only highlight our needs, but also our resilience when there are few resources available. We are ready to offer policy makers, providers and legislators our own solutions.”

The survey was developed in partnership with the project’s nine National Advisory Board members from across the country — Arianna Lint, Channing-Celeste Wayne, Dee Dee Chamblee, Milan Sherry, Octavia Lewis, Ruby Corado, Tela Love, Teo Drake, and Tommi J. Luckett — the majority of whom are trans women of color living with HIV.

“This survey is for us and will not be done without us,” said T+ National Advisory Board member Tiommi P. Luckett of Arkansas. “Every trans woman and man living with HIV should fill out this survey because we need people to know that we’re here, and that we can develop our own solutions and strategies to take care of ourselves.”

So if you are a trans person living with HIV, this survey is for you.   Please take a moment to fill it out and let your voice be heard.   We advocates and allies need to have solid data and statistics on trans people living with HIV that we can take to federal, state and local governmental officials, provider organizations and policy makers to help make a reality the solutions and strategies you come up with.

Here's the Positively Trans survey link, available in English and Spanish.   


TransGriot Update: Participants in the Positively Trans Survey have an opportunity to enter a drawing in which 8 people will receive a Visa Gift card worth either $250, $100, or $50.

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Interns Come To Casa Ruby

You longtime readers of this blog know I have much love and admiration for Roby Corado-Walker and the fantastic job she has done over the last few years in building Casa Ruby into the go to TBLGQ focused social services center in the Washington DC area.

It's being noticed, and she's starting to get the funding attention she so richly deserves.

The latest project that Casa Ruby has taken on is opening a transitional housing unit that will house 10-12 TBLGQ youth. 

The property that will house the transitional housing facility has been purchased and undergone renovation for its soon to be intended use.

It was recently visited by a group Congressional Hispanic Caucus 2015 spring interns on a chilly DC day to help clean, fix and prep the house so it can get closer to the day it becomes a home for the young people who are ready willing and able with Casa Ruby's help to take control of their lives.

It was wonderful to see the Congressional Hispanic Caucus interns take on Casa Ruby as a project.  It is the type of cooperation and community building I want to see happen more often between the African-American trans community, our people and our legacy organizations.

Megacongratulations to Casa Ruby for all the work it has been doing in the Washington DC area, for the staff and volunteers that keep it running, and for its founding director for continuing to breathe life into her vision of a community center that is a home for everyone.

Two Trans POC Involved Events This Weekend

As I've stated more than a few times on this blog, intersectionality is an important value for trans people of color.   We are keenly aware of the fact that our skin color makes our transitions different from our white trans counterparts and we can't (nor do we wish to) separate our ethnicity from our trans status. 

We are also quite aware of the fact that issues that affect our Black and Latino communities also affect us.as trans people who also are members of those communities.    

There are two events happening on different coasts that involve elements of our diverse trans community. 

Here in H-town members of the Trans Latin@ coalition will be in full effect at the FLAS 20th Anniversary Gala that will take place tonight starting at 6 PM CDT at the Hilton Southwest Hotel. 

FLAS stands for Fundacion Latinamericano de Accion Social, a Houston based organization that provides health services and social programs for the Latin American community.

FLAS has provided education, HIV counseling and testing and treatment referrals for Latinos affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as STD referrals. Throughout the community, we host education seminars and health fairs at a variety of locations, including churches, civic organizations, consulates and even on-street corners
 
For those of you in the Houston area that may wish to join the TransLatin@ coalition and attend this event, the hotel is located at 6780 Southwest Fwy.  If you need more information call Elia Chino at 713-772-2366.

In Boston, the transbrothers are there and in full effect for the LGBTQ Health and Wellness Weekend that is running through tomorrow.  It started last night with a dinner in honor of birthday boy Rev. Louis Mitchell.

The event is sponsored by Body Image 4 Justice, TPOCC and long list of orgs.  It will feature a keynote speech from Fallon Fox, our fave MMA fighter and trans human rights warrior in keeping with this year's theme of LGBTQ Athletes And Sports.

The Health And Wellness Weekend features seminars, panel discussions, live demos and more at two venues.  Emerson College's Max Mutchnick Campus Center will host Saturday events, and the Holmes Sports Center on the Simmons College Residential Campus will be the venue hosting Sunday events. .

For those of you in those areas, hope you can attend and support these events orgs that are also supporting our community.

TPOCC, BTMI and BTWI Handling Their Capitol Hill Business

The Trans Persons of Color Coalition (TPOCC) , Black Transmen Inc (BTMI) and Black Transwomen Inc (BTWI) are part of the coalition of groups that are walking the House and Senate office buildings right now handling their Capitol Hill lobbying business on behalf of our community.

It's been past time that we New Black Transmen and New Black Transwomen handle our legislative business.  It's also been past time to let the Congressional Black Caucus and other congressional leaders know that trans people of color exist and are more than capable of speaking for ourselves, owning our power and talking about the issues that affect our community.

It's also time as grown ass POC trans people we determine who we will and will not ally ourselves with politically.   Far too many of the national LGBT orgs that allegedly represent us have NONE of us siting at their policy tables or in their workforces getting paid to advocate for us.

That needs to end now. 

Yeah, wish I was up on Capitol Hill with you, but I have every confidence those of you who are there inside I-495 will do an excellent job handling your citizen lobbying duties on behalf of our community.  

Next time I damned sure want to be there doing my part.  I want to help conduct training sessions, do briefings, give a little motivational speech, and pass on my accumulated knowledge to the current and next generation of trans leaders.

We'll see if that happens.

Chicago TransLife Center Trans Respect Billboard Campaign Launched

I believe we have been given another opportunity to attack and destroy another meme deployed against us that feeds into the unjust treatment being aimed at us.

It's the 'all transwomen are sex workers' meme.

TransGriot, April 15, 2014, 'Attacking The All Trans Women Are Sex Workers' Meme  


Nice to see someone was paying attention to that post.

One of the things that is a microaggressive (and sometimes macroaggressive) irritant in the life of a trans woman of color is some idiot assuming that we are all turning tricks. 

It's an assumption that plays into triggering much of the anti-trans animus aimed at us and I suspect can be one of the precursors that leads to the anti-trans violence aimed at us.

That tired meme has also led to po-po's behaving badly when it comes to encountering us as the Kenneth Furr case in DC was an egregious example of, along with the Monica Jones 'Walking While Black Trans' case  in Phoenix.    That meme was why stop and frisk police stops were aimed at non-white transwomen simply minding their own damned business.  

So it was nice to hear about a billboard campaign TransLife Chicago launched July 2 with the simple but powerful message "She’s just walking, not working. Respect Transgender Women.”

It was needed especially in the wake of the Chicago Sun Times republishing the foul June article attacking the femininity of Laverne Cox they later apologized for.   There are also several transfeminine murder cases in the Windy City that have yet to be solved, much less see the perpetrators of them be arrested.   

TransLife Center Care Coordinator Channyn Parker said in a Windy City Times interview concerning the billboard launch, “Transgender people constantly live under the cloud of an assumption that us taking a simple walk down the street means that we’re actually out doing solicitation or prostitution.”


She said: “[It] couldn’t be further from the truth. I sincerely hope this message gets down at the base level that trans people are human.”

Ten of these billboards are being deployed on Chicago's South and West sides and like Channyn, I hope they convey the message to the rest of cis society what transwomen already know.  Transwomen are human.

We're also just trying to live our daily lives without added drama or BS.

Ines Rau Becomes The First Openly Trans POC Playboy Model

For the first time since Caroline Cossey accomplished it in 1991, we will have an openly trans model doing a Playboy spread.  

We saw Ines Rau raise more than a few eyebrows with the steamy photo shoot she did back in November with model Tyson Beckford.   Now she's appearing in the May 2014 issue of the US version of Playboy.

In case you're wondering who is Ines Rau, she's a 24 year old Parisian born model based in New York who transitioned at age 16 and was discovered by modelling scouts in Paris.

Her career has been exploding lately and after reading Caroline 'Tula' Cossey's book I Am Woman twice decided to come out as trans.   Now she's following in Caroline's pumps and posing for Playboy.  
 
Playboy actively looked for several months to find a trans model to fit the parameters they were looking for before they found Ines.

That May issue is on your local newsstand now

When Are Transbrothers of Color Going To Get Their TV Closeups?

While I'm very happy that my transsisters like Laverne Cox, Janet Mock, Arianna Inurritegui Lint on the Spanish language side and Carmen Carrera are getting their television time and long overdue closeups, I'll have to admit one thing that is bothering me as I observe this positive trans media pattern in the first full week of 2014.

In the six decades since Christine Jorgensen stepped off her SAS flight in New York on February 13, 1953, when the media has deigned to turn the discussion of transsexuality towards transmasculine issues, far too often that discussion has centered on white transmen. 

That has been majorly frustrating to me as a Black trans woman and also Black and Latino transmen.   They don't get enough television time as is to discuss transmasculine issues, and what little there is has yet to realize they exist, ignores them altogether and the issues unique to being transmen of color. 

And frankly, transwomen of color for balance purposes in our communities need to have those stories told.

Our ethnicity trumps our transitions, and those transitions are affected by race, class and economic issues. That dynamic is no different in the transmasculine community.   We have yet to hear a discussion on how Black transmen have to deal with being considered suspects and hated for EWB (existing while Black).  

Latinos are the fastest growing minority group in this country.   It would nice to have Latino trans men talking about the cultural issues inside and outside the Latino community that affect their transitions.

To make you go hmm even more, how about Asian transmen?   What are the issues that affect them?   

It's not like it's hard to find transmen of color who are willing to chat about those issues all over the country.   Carter Brown, Dr Kortney Ryan Ziegler, Tiq Milan, Kye Allums and Kylar Broadus for starters can easily and eloquently hold it down on the Black trans masculine end of things.  

Mark Angelo Cummings, Diego Sanchez, Ignacio Rivera, Yosenio Lewis can do the same on the Latino transmasculine side.  Yosenio can also bring another dynamic into the trans Latino conversation by discussing those issues from the perspective of being a dark skinned Latino.     

So yeah media peeps, how about trying harder in the 2K14 to broaden the transmasculine discussion to include transmen of color?    

You'll not only broaden and bring about a long needed diversification of the transmasculine conversation, but get some fascinating and compelling stories out of it as well.

Strange Fruit-Janet Mock Interview

I've talked about the WFPL-FM radio show that Niece and Nephew (Dr Kaila Story and Jaison Gardner to y'all) do in Louisville entitled Strange Fruit: Musings on Politics, Pop Culture and Black Gay Life that is produced by Laura Ellis and has been on 89.3 FM for a year now.

And yes, I've been on it twice.  By the way, congratulations and Happy 1st Anniversary for the show Niece and Nephew!  

They have had some interesting guests and discussed some thought provoking topics in the year they have graced the radio waves of Da Ville and I expect there will more of the same to come in Year Two of Strange Fruit.

For those of you who don't live in the Louisville metro area, Strange Fruit is also available via podcast. 

Speaking of interesting guests, last Saturday's Strange Fruit broadcast featured Janet Mock, who was on her way to Louisville as a keynote speaker for U of L's annual on campus Pride Festival event.

Janet's keynote speech happened Thursday night, and I heard from my friends in the area she rocked it per usual.  Heard there were some cheers for yours truly who was part of Janet's presentation when I popped up in it.

Aww, miss y'all too Louisville.  If there's video of Janet's keynote floating around I'll put it up in a future post.   

Here's Janet's Strange Fruit interview with Kaila and Jaison. 

.

Trans POC Speakers Need To Be Seen, Heard And Paid At TBLG Events

Had an enjoyable two hour conversation with Tona Brown late Sunday afternoon.   It eventually turned to discussing the appalling and frustrating to us topic of lack of opportunities to do keynote speeches on college campuses, at TDOR's, trans and SGL conventions, seminars, community dinners, awards shows, rallies,  marches or LGBT pride events.

I've been blessed to have the opportunity to do a few trans conference keynote speeches along with three TDOR keynotes, some collegiate ones and participate in major conferences such as the 2012 Netroots Nation and two NBJC OUT on the Hill events.  I enjoy doing them and I and my trans POC colleagues would respectfully like the opportunity to do more of them.

As I mentioned before, the trans narrative in this country for the last six decades has been told from an overwhelmingly white trans feminine perspective with slightly more ink in the last few years for the white trans masculine one.   Our Black, Asian and Latino trans brothers get little if no media love period.

But yet, it is our POC trans world stories that need the most telling   From CeCe McDonald to the 1965 Dewey's Lunch Counter Sit-In and Protest to present day trans leaders and icons simply expounding on our transmasculine and transfeminine journeys, the stories of trans people of color need to be added to this overwhelmingly monoracial conversation about trans issues that could stand after 60 years to have some fresh perspectives injected into it.

There is the need for views on various trans and non trans issues with flavor it to be expressed by trans POC's in order to break down the trans ignorance that still persist in gay and straight elements of our own communities of color.  Just as you get to do, we want the ability to tell our own histories and discuss how the issues of the day impact us.  

We trans people of color deserve the opportunity to point out to all the communities we intersect and interact with we exist, are intertwined with and part of the diverse mosaic of human life.

We also wish to point out that as people of color of trans experience, we are concerned about the success of the greater communities we intersect and interact with.  We strive to and want to be the role models and thought leaders providing the visionary leadership to inspire others to do just that.

Even when we do get the e-mail or the phone call, when we tell you what our fees are, it's upsetting to us to note that you balk at paying us what we're worth, but will pay the Dan Choi's and white trans women of the world large fees to do so without blinking.  

Black trans musicians and performers are also upset about Pride events that won't hesitate about paying the $50-60K it takes on average to get a well known cis female musician to perform at their event but haven't (or won't) consider having a trans musician or keynote speaker or color in order to keep that GLB cash or T-bills circulating in our own community.   

Black Pride orgs not only do the same thing, but infuriatingly will claim poverty or attempt to play the Black solidarity card when they call us to possibly perform and we ask for fair compensation of our time and the work we put in on our ends to make their event a successful one.  

They'll also claim poverty when they want trans activists to speak but we know and see it on their Pride promotion websites are charging covers of $15 a head or more to get into many Black Pride events.

That lack of trans POC speaker diversity is at its most infuriating best when it comes to Transgender Day of Remembrance Events.  The overwhelming number of people dying are Black and Latina transpeople, but when it comes time to have the events, you walk into a TDOR memorial venue and see an event that because of its glaring lack of diversity frustratingly reminds you of a Republican Party convention. 

And naw, it's not just Moni noticing that.  Our SGL and African-American cis allies are noticing it, too.

I don't know how others feel about TDOR's, but I'm willing for that event to forgo my speaking fee if you cover my transportation to get me there and back to H-town and I get a place to stay.  I am that serious about being willing to lead by example and have people from trans communities of color being part of the TDOR's helping memorialize our fallen sisters. 

Frankly it's past time we had more non-white transpeople participating in TDOR events and talking about the people we've lost.

Of course, if you slide me a down low check for that TDOR speech I'm not going to turn it down either.  Like I said, I have bills to pay and a blog y'all like to read to maintain.


As I said in a previous post on this subject and that point still remains true a year later, non-white transpeeps have bills to pay and need to replenish our bank accounts like just like our white trans community counterparts do.  

So for those of you in decision making positions, don't forget there exists a vast qualified pool of non-white trans and SGL people who can confidently and competently speak or perform at your various events.

You just need to take the initiative to call them and once you do, pay them for their time.

Carmen And Koko Xtravaganza's Fascinating Lives

The cool thing about being the TransGriot is I do from time to time get to meet, talk to and even become friends with some of the peeps that I look up to and idolize.  

And some of them feel the same way about moi.  

When the Transsistahs-Transbrothas Yahoo group I started in 2004 was in its pre-Facebook prime, one of the people I met as a result of it was Koko Xtravaganza.  

Koko in addition to being a professional musician and choreographer is a member of New York's legendary house of Xtravaganza.

Koko also has a fascinating girls like us life story that I need to sit us both down for trans historical purposes and do a TransGriot Ten Questions interview about.    


Koko has recently started a blog to do just that in terms of documenting that life history for future generations.  She tells me at times how much she has admired me for standing up for our community's human rights for 15 years, and the feeling is mutual how much I admire her..  I'm just as impressed about her musical talents and when Koko talks about some of the tours she's done with groups like the Gap Band and The Isley Brothers.

You long time TransGriot readers know I how much love I've had for over two decades for Carmen Xtravaganza.  I first learned about her courtesy of a 1988 Village Voice article I stumbled across at a Houston newsstand.  

The legendary house mother of the House of Xtravaganza was one of my trans feminine role models when I was in info gathering mode, frustrated about my pre-transition 1980's life and pondering when to pull the trigger on my transition I was increasing cognizant of it needing to happen for my own peace of mind and happiness.

I recently hooked up with her via Facebook a few months ago and from time to time when neither of us are busy doing our own things we are chatting and getting to know each other.  I was also happy to discover she's launched a website in which she discusses some of her groundbreaking life as an actress, model and historical icon in the ballroom community. 

And yeah, speaking of that groundbreaking life, while she's discussing that book, I need to sit Carmen down and have her as the subject for a TransGriot Ten Questions interview.

Koko and Carmen have been friends for nearly 25 years and are jointly putting together a presentation that discusses both their unique girl like us lives in addition to having performance elements highlighting their talents.  Their target audience will be colleges and CBO's in the United States and around the world.  It will be comprised of both women speaking, videos and musical/theatrical performances by them.

Looking forward to seeing it when it finally happens for my sisters and also looking forward to finally meeting both of you and giving you one of my famous TransGriot hugs when our paths finally do cross.  

African, Trans* And Proud

As I keep repeating on this blog, being trans is part of the diverse mosaic of human life.   Trans people exist on every continent that humans inhabit, and that is also true of the second largest continent on planet Earth in Africa.   

A Transgender and Intersex Africa video project initiative is cranking up which backs up what I'm talking about. 

Transgender and Intersex Africa is a group for transgender people who are proud to be both African and Trans*.

They also emphatically point out to their detractors that being trans or Transgenderism is not a Western concept.


As they point out, they are not copying the West.   They are proud transpeople who know who they are!
As a matter of fact, some of the early pioneering European trans women such as Great Britain's April Ashley and France's Jacqueline-Charlotte Dufresnoy (AKA Coccinelle) went to Casablanca to have their surgeries done by Georges Bourou.  

Enjoy the first video in the series. 

Monica Beverly Hillz Comes Out As Trans

I thought I had it tough when I came out as trans nearly 19 years ago and transitioned in the middle of an international airline terminal.   But to do so in front of a national television audience is infinitely tougher.

My homegirl Isis King can talk about the experience of competing on a reality show while trans along with Laverne Cox and Jaila Simms.

That small sorority is about to get a new member in Monica Beverly Hillz..

The RuPaul's Drag Race contestant came out as a trans woman during the February 4 episode of the show I refuse to support.

While there have been two other contestants in the history of that show, Sonique and Carmen Carrera who have come out as trans, they did so after they completed their competitive runs  Monica is the first to do it while competing.on the show..

It also adds an exclamation point to something I've been saying on this blog for years and the pseudo cisprivilege chasing TS seps claim is a lie or impossible.  There is movement in the trans umbrella amongst the gender variant categories.  I also pointed out in a post that some peeps use the drag and pageant world as a way to facilitate their transitions.

And it looks like this is exactly what it happening in Monica's case.

Hmm.  I may have to reconsider watching this show to support my trans sister.

A Trans Radio Show In DC-InsighT

Thanks to Consuella Lopez I was advised about another radio show you folks may wish to listen to.

If you're wondering where you've heard that name before, she's the same girl like us whose lovely visage is on one of the Washington DC Office of Human Rights anti trans discrimination campaign posters 

Consuella is now part of the broadcast team bringing you InsighT,  Washington DC's transgender talk radio show.

Consuella is joined by Wesley Garson, Kisha De'javu Allure and Sami Haidar on their show which is broadcast at 6 PM EST Sundays on WLVS Radio.

You can check InsighT out via this link at www.listenvisionlive.com
Best of luck and much success for the show.



   

TPOCC 2013 New Year's Message

And we're off!!! Just weeks ago we stood with LGBT leaders at the White House and vowed to make 2012 the last year in U.S. history where our Trans & Gender Non-Conforming brothers and sisters would be treated like second class citizens. We meant it! This year, with your help we plan to continue our fight for justice in every area disproportionately affecting our black and brown people. Now, we can't do it alone. Just as I testified before the Senate & asked for the passing of ENDA, I'm asking you for your continued support and donations to the Trans People of Color Coalition. You can stand in solidarity with us today by pledging a monthly donation of either $20.13 or $13 to ring in the new year. And of course, if you can give more, we appreciate every penny. Warmest Regards, Kylar W. Broadus, Esq. Executive Director Trans People of Color Coalition

©2013 Trans People Of Color Coalition | National Headquarters, Washington, DC 20012

TransGriot Note: Photo is of TPOCC Executive Director Kylar Broadus and Steering Committee member Cecilia Chung attending the 2012  LGBT Reception at the White House. (Courtesy Photo) TPOCC wishes you unity & prosperity & look forward to working with you in this new year!

New York Times Meeting With GLAAD About Trans Media Coverage

After some problematic stories in the New York Times that drew the ire of the trans community, a meeting has been arranged to take place today between GLAAD, representatives of the local trans community and the Times to discuss their coverage of trans people.

The New York trans community was already upset about the exploitative piece on Lorena Escalera's death and the stubborn refusal to retract or correct it.   Now they just poured gasoline on that smoldering controversy with the latest scribblings about the Christopher Street trans youth culture.

Janet Mock said about the Christopher Street piece, “My problem with this piece is that trans women, specifically those of color in this gentrified environment of New York City, are under layers and layers of oppression – none of which are examined and or mentioned in this paper of record.”

GLAAD stated on their blog about this meeting: "Our meeting with the Times will explore those layers, and encourage the paper to consider telling these stories - as well as explain exactly how these stories could cause harm to trans people, youth in particular.

As the paper of record that people and politicians on both sides of the aisle read, it's vitally important that the New York Times get it right the first time when they comment or write stories about the trans community and the issues that impact it.  

Let's hope that message is received by the Times and we see a corresponding major improvement in trans community stories and coverage of our community as a result of today's meeting.

Also wouldn't hurt New York Times if you actually hired trans people as reporters to cover that community  

NY Trans Community Speaking Out Against Stop And Frisk

The NAACP is planning a silent march tomorrow against the odious racial profiling  stop and frisk policy that the New York po-po's are using in a way to disproportionate manner against now white people in the Big Apple.

87% of the people being stopped and frisked are non-white, with a large chunk of those non whites being  stopped and frisked are you guessed it, non-white trans people.

Check out Agnes Chung's report about transpeople in the Jackson Heights area calling out the NYPD stop and frisk policy and how it is deleteriously affecting them.

There was also a meeting at the historic Stonewall Inn involving Rev Al Sharpton and Benjamin Jealous of the NAACP.discussing this issue as well that reported in the Village Voice.

I'm Sorry For Killing Your Daughter

Better grab some tissues before hitting play on this video.

This is an emotional, heartstring tugging video featuring a transman explaining his feelings to his minister father and why he transitioned.




H/T Abitchforjustice

TPOCC's In The House At The PHTC

I won't be in Philadelphia for the Trans Health Conference mainly because of my impending trip to Netroots Nation, but TPOCC, the Trans People Of Color Coalition will be there in full effect.

The PHTC got the convention party started yesterday with a keynote speech by Minister Louis Mitchell and TPOCC will be having two events during the 2012 run of the world's largest trans event that ends June 2.

So what's TPOCC?   It's the now two year old organization founded by Kylar Broadus in 2010 that advocates for the rights of trans persons of color.  

So for those of you at the PTHC, you may wish to check out those TPOCC sponsored events and show the organization some love.   If I were there in Philly, I'd damned sure be standing in solidarity with them. 

In addition to that, I'd be asking what I can do to help build them up and letting them know what they can do to be an effective voice for our POC trans community .

Alrashim Chambers Trial-WTF? Chambers Acquitted

Well, we just found out what a Black transwoman's life is worth in Essex County, New Jersey. 

Not a damned thing.

After a trial that started on April 30, included the testimony of the cousin of the victim and Marquise Foster and two days of five hour deliberation sessions, the jury in the Alrashim Chambers trial returned their verdict at 11 AM EDT this morning.

It acquitted the 25 year old Chambers of all counts in the September 12, 2010 slaying of 28 year old Victoria Carmen White.

WTF?

The jury found Newark resident Chambers not guilty of murder, bias intimidation and two weapons offenses. Chambers took the stand in his own defense, maintained he was innocent in the years leading up to the trial and faced up to life in prison if he had been convicted of murder.

I repeat, WTF?

"Obviously, we and the victim’s family are very disappointed in the verdict," said Essex County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Eileen O’Connor, who spoke with White’s relatives after the verdict. "But we put forth all the evidence in the case and did the best we could under the circumstances."

What the hell were you thinking Chambers jury?   You just set a murderer free to walk the streets of Newark.  In the process you just announced to the world that it's open season on transwomen in the area.

Once again, for a Black transwoman, the justice system failed us, Victoria Carmen White, her family and all the people who loved her..