PTHC 2014-Day 3 Preview

The final day of the Philly Trans Health Conference is another one jam packed full of seminars. 

As to which ones I'll attend today?   Depends on what piques my interest since I'll be in reporter mode today.

Then again, I presumed I'd be in reporter mode yesterday, too but fate had other ideas.

That's also a nice segue into my reminder for you TransGriot readers that if you wish to keep up with the PTHC on Twitter, the hashtag is #TransHealth2014

There's a free legal clinic sponsored by the Mazzoni Center Legal department starting at 8:45 AM.

And it'll also be WWMS time:    WWMS= Who Will Moni See in the PTHC convention halls today as this conference winds down and we prepare to head back home to use what we learned at this event.

As you probably guessed, you know I'll be breaking it down later as to what transpired on this last day of the 2014 Philly Trans Health Conference and all the activity surrounding it. 

PTHC 2014 Diary-Day Two Recap

It's the middle day of the 2014 Philadelphia Trans Health Conference.  After a nap I arose at 4 AM to do some writing, get breakfast when the hotel started serving it at 6 AM and take a nap before heading over to the convention center for another day of PTHC seminars and fun.

The seminar action started at 8 AM, so I didn't get there until after 9:30 AM after receiving a call from Koko Jones, who was prepping to leave for the drive down to Philly for a concert that she, KOKUMO and Liz Clair were going to perform later in the afternoon .

One of the first people I ran into was the lovely Geena Rocero, whose regal supermodel presence and bubbly personality lit up the hallway.  As we chatted people began to recognize her and started asking to take pictures.   One of the people doing so was another one of my longtime Facebook friends in Karen Kendra Holmes.   I also got to see Fredrikka Maxwell again, and finally got to meet Nadia Belinda Roberts. 

Not sure if were related yet.  That's a discussion we'll have to have at some point for today.

Moments later I ran into my homegirl Samantha Master as I was standing by the check-in desk entrance so that I could see who was coming and going.  We also saw something for the first time we hadn't seen over the last two days: the sun.

PTHC Conference Coordinator Samantha Jo Dato joined me and Samantha Prime for a moment as Sammi Jo contined to do her job of making sure things ran smoothly.  She had us cracking up laughing about some of the humorous things that had occurred so far and how she was handling the challenge of making the country's largest trans confrence run smoothly while looking flawless.

This is the first year this #girllikeus has coordinated the massive undertaking the PTHC is and she and the volunteers have done a wonderful job along with the friendly staffers of the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

I left to check out some of the other PTHC vendors and organizational info tables on the other side of the massive section of the Pennsylvania Convention Center housing our conference.

I stopped at the Lambda Legal one to talk the the folks manning it and Dru Levasseur stepped up.  We caught up on old business as he congratulated me for helping get the HERO passed.  I told him some of the funny things that happened during that HERO fight as I gave him the update on how the Decline to Sign campaign in defense of our hard won May 28 Houston human rightts victory was transpiring.

I chatted with Sue Fulton, and one of our topics was about the effort to get open trans military service done.   Since it was approaching noon and lunchtime, I headed back to the entrance.

I was surprised by my elegantly dressed homegirl Dr. Ayana Elliott, who advised me about an upcoming event she is planning.   I will keep you TransGriot readers in the loop about when it happens once I receive the details from her.   I ran into Sean Coleman, who came down from NYC and told me he owes me a spades butt kicking  (yeah, right)

You have my cell number, so let the games begin. 

I went to Reading Market to fulfill my mission of destroying a cheesesteak, and after consulting with my Philly peeps, settled on grabbing it from Carmen's.  And yes, it was worth it.   But because I was waiting so long to get that cheesesteak, I missed Harper Jean's keynote.

So I decided to take that time to peruse the afternoon session schedule and decide which one of them I would grace with my presence.  I ran into my homegirl Denise Norris, and that jumpstarted a nice sidebar conversation about messaging that Lourdes Hunter joined before I headed to Room 107B to check out a 2:20 PM seminar entitled 'Translatinas. Are We There Yet?' presented by Cristina Herrera and Rachel Mark.

It chronicled the issues that trans Latinas deal with in their transitions and some of the work the NY based Gender Identity Project has done to help people overcome some of those obstacles.  It was a fascinating discussion that was eventually opened up to the audience for Q&A before time ran out.

When the 4:05 PM seminar slot arrived I had a dilemma.  I wanted to see the performance of KOKOMO, Liz and Koko, but there was also a seminar called 'Transmen and Transwomen of Color Come Together' that I also wanted to be in Room 106A for.  

So after chatting with Martina Downey, I decided to exit room 103C, head to the other seminar, watch half of it, then depart to come back to the room to watch the conclusion of 'KOKUMO and Friends In Concert.'

But fate had other plans for me.   I thought my 2014 PTHC presenting days were done after yesterday's Trans Pioneers panel.   When I arrived in Room 106A it was a full house with no presenter in sight.   The volunteer in charge of monitoring the room asked me to pinch hit.  

So after waiting another five minutes for that person to arrive, I facilitated the conversation in that room that touched on issues of relationships between transmen and transwomen, visibility of transmen, the 'T-Word', race relations, and disclosure. 

I had fun doing it, and got thank you's from the participants and the grateful room monitor when it was over.   But because I was occupied with my unexpected facilitator duties, I missed the concert.

Unfortunately so did Koko.   Her car broke down enroute to Philly from her northern New Jersey home base.  She's okay, but she was upset and disappointed she missed the PTHC jam session.

There will be another day.  What's more important is that you're safe and we will meet each other soon.

The final panel of the day was a 5:40 PM Kylar Broadus moderated one sponsored by TPOCC that was focused on Intergenerational POC Work.

After an icebreaker in which the capacity room was asked what is their favorite guilty pleasure (mine Blue Bell homemade vanilla ice cream and giving right wingers hell), panelists BT, Milan, Lourdes and Kim answered questions from Kylar before the floor was opened to powerful testimonies from Tela Love, Precious Davis and others before we ran out of time at 7:00 PM to close Day 2 of the conference.

I headed back to the hotel after taking more photos with my girls, telling Katrina Goodlett some of my humorous airline stories (and yeah, y'all need to check out her Kitty Bella radio podcast on Tuesdays) and heading downstairs to the annual Transkids pool party Jeanette was throwing for all the transkids and parents.

I got as chance to meet more of the parents with trans kids and have conversations with them before i stepped out for a few moments to attend a SPART*A reception that started in the hotel pub area at 8:30 PM.  

At that reception I had the chance to chat with Brynn Tannehill and friends about some community issues and other news of the day before I retreated to attempt to compose some posts and check on e-mail.

But the combination of quiet, a full stomach and a day that started at 4 AM had me nodding off and surrendering to my body telling me it was time to crash and conclude Day 2 of my PTHC 2014 experience.
    

PTHC 2014-Day 2 Preview

It's Day 2 of the Philly Trans Health Conference, and in addition to more exciting seminars, we have another keynote speech today being delivered at 1 PM by Harper Jean Tobin.

Remember #TransHealth2014 is the Twitter hashtag if you wish to keep up with what's happening at PTHC.

And contrary to what my haters say, I don't bite.  Hugs cheerfully accepted except from TERF's.   If  I have time in my day and I'm not headed to a panel or seminar I'll be happy to sit down somewhere in the halls of the convention center and chat with you.  

And yeah, definitely planning to destroy a cheesesteak today.   Any recommendations Philly folks on the best place in the area to do that?

PTHC 2014 Diary-Busy First Day

The first day of the 2014 edition of the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference dawned overcast and cool,  but it didn't dampen my excitement over this being a first time attendee of the event.

I knew I was going to see a lot of people here, but even I was surprised at just how many people showed up and are showing out in the halls of the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

I walked into the massive building and less than 30 seconds into my PTHC day ran in Jazz, who pointed me in the right direction toward the registration desk with all its helpful volunteers.   Neither did it take me long to start running into the long list of friends in the community and peeps I've known for years on Facebook but were finally seeing in the flesh.  

I started seeing people like Sharron Cooks, Simaya Fogle, Katrina Goodlett, Precious Davis, Geena Rocero, Christian Axavier Lovehall, Jevon Martin, Jabriel Williamson, Martina Downey, Nika Jewell, Kristen Parker, Sirena Rivera and Maria Roman.    Ran into Dr Bambi Lobdell, who I last saw when she was my gracious host at SUNY-Onenonta.     
 
Ran in Jos Truitt, who is looking good and sporting a new blonde haircolor since the last time I saw her in DC.  We took a few moments to talk about current events community wise before I started running into other people who wanted to say hi to me.  

I started running into my Philly based activist friends like Dionne Stallworth, Sade Ali and Charlene Arcila.  

The last time I'd seen Toni-Michelle Williams as at the 2011 OUT on the Hill event when she was a student at Norfolk State.   Now my collegiate homegirl is looking fabulous and in the PTHC house.

You know a conference is a good one when you have a multitude of seminars that you can attend but can only choose one or have to split time in order to support someone.

When the 10:20 AM block started I settled on attending the one featuring Jazz and Jeanette and transteen Jessica an her mother  It was a fast paced multimedia presentation in which Jessica and Jazz discussed their very different transition experiences, discussed medical opitions, their lives and future plans. 

Jazz continues to amaze me as someone who is wise beyond her 13 years and is an icon to many trans youth.  Her mother is also looked to as a leader in the trans parenting ranks.

We had a scheduled lunch break before we moved into the highly anticipated keynote speech of Janet Mock.  After what happened to me at CC14 in which I was standing for much of Laverne's Creating Change keynote, I made sure to get my behind to the rooms where the speech was scheduled to take place because it was going to be standing room only.

I ran into Ruby Corado and her man enroute to 108A/B and I sat next to them and Lourdes Hunter for Janet's Mock's riveting speech.   One of the lines I loved from it among many of them was "We are our own saviors."  Janet quoted Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston during the speech before closing with a reading from Redefining Realness and answering a few questions from the audience.

After that concluded, I gave her a quick hug before I left her to her task of signing autographs for the long line of people eagerly waiting for her to sign their copies of her book and me Ruby and her boyfreind grabbing lunch at Reading Market across the street.  .  .

As I exited the room ran into L'lerret Ailith and some of the trans sisters to take a few photos, converse with Geena and Bianca who I met at the hotel yesterday.  

After lunch ran into Elizabeth Clair, who arrived from Denver after enduring the cross country bus trip from Hades.  I was seeing for the first time since 2008 and she is part of an music event featuring herself, KOKUMO and Koko Jones.

I continued to run into Facebook friends, people and fans of the blog as the clocked ticked down to my panel discussion which I discovered after perusing the scheduling grid was Thursday evening and NOT today.

The Trans Pioneers of Color one at 5:40 PM led to me finally meeting my longtime friend BT, who was part of the panel with myself, Christine, Dionne, Janis, and Kim Watson moderated by Leo Watts.

The panel in room 104B was to an overflow crowd.  It also ran over due to all of us having a lot to say about what it was like back in the day for us trans elders on a range of subjects from lack of trans POC visibility to race and class differences in a transition.  We asnwered questions from the audience before ending it

That also closed out Day One of the Thursday seminars.

After going back to the hotel, chilled out with roomie Jennifer and Liz, grabbed some dinner and happily destroyed another Slurpee.  Cheesesteak is on the agenda for today.

I found myself on the patio having a long conversation until 2 AM with Lourdes and several transwomen of color in which we talked about a wide variety of issues.  Some of them fall under the Trans Revolution Will Not Be Televised territory, while others ranged from talking about our personal lives to discussing trans politics.   The t-word controversy came up and had us discussing the latest white transwoman gay males have trotted out to justify their continued use of a word we've told them and the world is offensive in Candis Cayne.

You know I'm going to comment on that later, but the bed is calling me right now.

Don't need bags under my eyes for all the photos I'll be taking in a few hours .

PTHC 2014-Day 1 Preview

It's the first day of the 13th annual Philadelphia Trans Health Conference.   It's my first ever one, and I'm excited and feeling blessed to be here after so many failed attempts to be here for this conference  day of school

Megathanks to my roomie for this event, my fellow Texan Jennifer Michelle Gellar

The action at the Pennsylvania Convention Center kicks off at 10:20 AM EDT with the first day of seminars and programming that will include Janet Mock's opening keynote address at 12:45 PM.

And who will I run into today?   Well, if I don't get too busy, will tell y'all about it later.

To  check out what's happening during the conference, the Twitter hashtag is #TransHealth2014

PTHC 2014 Diary-Oh, The People You Will Meet

One of the wonderful things about events like the Philly Trans Health Conference is that for one of the few times in our lives, trans people and our allies are in relatively safe spaces in which we are the majority, and we meet others like ourselves.

And yes, as I mentioned in a previous post, there are people in this community I'm just as anxious and exited to meet as they are to meet me.

That fun started for me even before I walked into my Center City area hotel that will be my PTHC home base through Sunday.

When I arrived at the airport, I was mentally prepared to catch the SEPTA train as I usually do to downtown Philly.  While I was on the sky bridge to the train station Leo Watts called and let me know he was there to pick up some other peeps who had arrived.

Took me a few minutes to get scooped up because I ended back up on the departure side of the ring road, but that started a fun filled van ride to the hotel.

That ride from the airport got me to the hotel faster, but it also meant that I'd be burning time in the lobby area waiting for Jennifer to get here from DFW, and her flight, like everyone's flying into PHL yesterday suffered ATC delays.

So I amused myself by checking my Facebook page, prepping some blog posts and trying to whittle down what fool or fools get tomorrow's Shut Up Fool Award.

While I was doing that, thought my mind was playing tricks on me when I saw Jazz and her sister Ari walk by and head downstairs to the pool area.    Turned out it was not a mirage because I saw their mother Jeanettte five minutes later. 

As I've mentioned before, just as there are people who are majorly excited to meet legendary me, there are people in this community I fangirl over as well.   Jazz is one of those people,

So the mutual lovefest between me and Jeanette started.   She comes in the category of people I've gotten to know and have talked to for years on Facebook but hadn't officially met until yesterday.   I got to meet her parents, and since Jeanette is also one of the leaders in the trans parent and trans youth community, I began to meet some of the mothers of trans kids as Jeanette talked up my blog.

I also began to meet trans fathers.   I got to meet Wayne and his daughter Nicole, and it wasn't long before Wayne and I were having substantive conversations about much of the advocacy work he was doing and other issues.   I also began to learn that dads of trans kids are also beginning to get vocal and organized just like the trans moms have had to do for their trans younglings for years

And yes, the highlight of that day was beginning to meet the trans kid themselves and get those hugs from them.  Because the bottom line of my advocacy has always been to leave a better world for them. It's nice to see firsthand the fruits of that longtime advocacy as you watch them network and bond with each other.

And as I said before I arrived, hugs are always appreciated.

I've Finally Arrived In Philly!

After traveling through the ATL to get here from Houston and ducking a few storm clouds on both flights, the Air Marshal has finally made it to my hotel and I'm in Philadelphia for my first ever Philly Trans Health Conference. 

Looking forward to seeing all my trans fam I didn't get to see at Creating Change and getting reunited with the people I did in H-town.   I'm also excited to be able to finally get the opportunity to meet some people for the first time like Jazz, Geena Rocero, L'lerret Ailith, and Koko Jones just to name a few.


As I mentioned in a previous post, this is my first ever Philadelphia Trans Health Conference and I'm excited to be here.   So excited I didn't get much sleep despite taking my behind to bed earlier than normal.   

Loving the fact my hotel is literally right across the street from the Philadelphia Convention Center where all the PTHC fun will be taking place. 

So yes, I will be in reporter mode fo this event in addition to handling my seminar business on Friday.

And remember #TransHealth 2014 is the Twitter hashtag to keep up with everything being tweeted and talked about during the next three days.

BTAC 2014-Day 5

It's Saturday May 3, Day 5 of the Black Trans Advocacy Conference and we get to leave the hotel for a few hours for Family Health and Fun Day.  

Bus will be rolling away from the Doubletree Campbell Center property at 10 AM and the first annual Kye Allums 3 on 3 basketball tournament.    After returning at 4, the evening's events will be a screening of the movie Shirts on Skins,  BTMI's Club Harlem theme party in which the requested attire is 1920 Harlem Renaissance era costumes, Trans Manifest and  the Black Diamond Ball.

Lots of fun things to do today. 
   

BTAC 2014-Day 4

Moni's FINALLY in the Black Trans Advocacy Convention house to handle her BTAC business, see her peeps, and do a little reporting about what's happening at this third annual convention. 

We start off Day 4 with more seminars running from 9:15 AM -2:30 PM    I not only get to do mine with Espy Brown from 1:15-2:30, after the break I head into the Tiq Milan moderated  Black Trans Community Summit in which I'm one of the participants along with Louis Mitchell, Kim Watson, Carmarion Anderson, Jonathan Thunderword, Justice William Millhouse, and Dee Dee Watters.

Then after the conclusion of the Summit, we move into the Black Trans Advocacy Awards gala in which KOKUMO is scheduled to be performing.

 

BTAC 2014-Day 3

Day 3 of the Black Trans Advocacy Conference at the Doubletree Campbell Center dawns with more workshops on the schedule starting once again at 9:15 AM and running until 2:30 PM 

And if you're asking Where's Moni?', assuming no complications, I'll be in the BTAC house later tonight.  

Today will also feature the highly anticipated keynote addresses of Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler, Arianna Lint and Ignacio Rivera that are set to start at 2:45 PM

Once those keynotes have been completed, starting at 7 PM will be the Mr and Miss Black Trans International pageant to close out BTAC's third day.

BTAC 2014- Day 2

It's Day 2 of the Black Trans Advocacy Conference in Dallas, and on the schedule for today is the first day of  workshops that commence at 9:15 AM. and run with breaks until 4 PM

The first full day of the conference is one packed full of interesting and informative seminar topics that will be capped off by the Imagine One Humanity - Interfaith spiritual revival service.

The people conducting that interfaith service will be Pastor Deneen Robinson, Min. Carmarion Anderson, Rev. Alex Byrd, Min Kaleb Elijah and Auset O'Neal.

And yeah people, I'll be on your end of I-45 tomorrow night.  

BTAC 2014-Day One

I'll be heading up I-45 to it on Thursday, but today was also the first day of the Black Trans Advocacy Conference in Dallas running through May 4.   That means I'll actually get to do something on my birthday weekend besides sitting at the house

And it's still not too late for you peeps in easy driving range of Dallas to come join us at the Doubletree Campbell Center.

Yep, I'll be hangin' with my transpeeps starting late Thursday night.   But while I'm handling some business and tying up loose ends here in Houston so I can take off for the weekend,  the Grand Akanni led by BTAC founding co-chairs chairs Carter and Espy Brown will happen followed by the BTAC Family Social.

Darn, I hate I'm missing that. 


I'm also missing Day 2 and the first day of workshops that commence at 9:15 AM tomorrow.  

The April 30 day's events will be capped off by the Imagine One Humanity - Interfaith spiritual revival service led by Pastor Deneen Robinson, Min. Carmarian Anderson, Rev. Alex Byrd, Min Kaleb Elijah and Auset O'Neal    

Day 3 will bring us into May and more thought provoking seminars.  It will also feature the keynote speeches of Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler, Arianna Lint, and Ignacio Rivera.   That evening's event will be the Mr. and Miss Black Trans International Pageant.

Day 4 on May 2 is why I'll be there in full effect.   I have a Black Sisterhood panel I'm doing with Espy Brown and the Black Trans Community Summit before we move into the Black Trans Advocacy Awards Gala. 


Day 5 (May 3) is Family Health and Fun Day featuring the first annual Kye Allums 3 on 3 basketball tournament and BTMI Club Harlem.   

BTAC 2014 closes on my Cuatro de Mayo birthday with an interfaith service and closing ceremony and a luncheon before we all head back to our lives.  

I'll just be a year older than when I arrived in Dallas.

 

Trans*forming Communities Conference At CSU-Chico

Another day, another opportunity for those of you on the Left Coast to attend a trans conference

This one is taking place on the California State University-Chico campus and is sponsored by the Associated Students Gender and Sexuality Equity Center of CSU-Chico.

It is their first annual one, entitled TRANS*forming Communities and will be taking place on Saturday, March 29, 2014 from 12-5 PM PDT at the Bell Memorial Union Auditorium.   The conference will include a keynote address by Eli Erlick (Executive Director and founder of Trans Student Equality Resources), workshops by Lexi Adsit, Lynn Breedlove, Isa Noyola, and Marisa Boyce, and everything else they can pack into a single Friday. 

TRANS*forming Communities will consist of speakers, workshops, and panels dedicated to celebrating and honoring the diverse identities and experiences of trans* people. It will be a safe place for trans* people and allies to come together, share resources and knowledge, and create a community where people can flourish and live authentically. Anyone with a desire to learn and better our communities is welcome.

It's their first one, so show them some love if your schedule is free, you're in the Chico, CA and can attend and get your learn on.  Won't cost you anything since it's gratis and they're even feeding you lunch if you make the effort to show up and support the hardworking students who put this together. 

You can register for this free conference at this link: www.transformingcommunities.eventbrite.com

 

If you need any further information about the inaugural TRANS*forming Communities Conference, you can check out the blog or give Sarena Kirk a call at (530)-898-5724 

BTAC Needs Support, Too

We are rapidly closing on the April 29-May 4 dates for the third annual Black Trans Advocacy Conference in Dallas, and I'm looking forward to seeing my trans peeps and our allies there at the Doubletree Campbell Center.    But I was bothered by this e-mail that was shared on the BTAC page.

Email response to invitation to BTA Awards.
_______________________
"I don't know why I am receiving these e-mails. I am a transwoman, but I am white. I am sure that I wouldn't be welcome at you Gala in May." ________________________

You Are Sure of it?????My friends, racism exist. We are here to help end it! We get so much of this but on this one, we are sharing it so that we can grow from it together.

It is not racist to affirm black and trans identity. IT IS racist if you don't support it and exclude yourself from programming based on the affirmation of race. Please know that Affirming Black and Trans Identity, Black Trans Community Organizing, Black Trans Advocacy is a GREAT thing and takes us all to support for full equality to exist. Our goal is to obtain full equality and to become instruments of social change. If you support equality, make it a priority to get involved. It is counterproductive of our cause if you exclude yourself from our programming. All are invited, welcomed, needed and loved. One Earth. One People. One Love. #btac2014  

The point I'm going to make in this post is that the Black Trans Advocacy Conference needs support, too.  

Just as you would like for me and the rest of the non-white trans community to support events like Southern Comfort, First Event, and countless other regional conferences and panel discussions that you organize that don't reflect our culture or at times the issues of importance in our communities, we expect reciprocal treatment when we organize or host events such as BTAC that may not reflect yours. 

If we don't see your face in the Doubletree Campbell Center place because you incorrectly assumed as a white trans person you're not wanted at BTAC,  how else are you going to learn about the issues that affect my community, meet some of the people who are working to tackle and solve those problems, and have substantive conversations with the people who are our Black trans leaders? 

You're going to miss this year's keynote speeches from Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler and Cheryl Courtney Evans.  You'll miss the Black Diamond Ball in which awards to our community's heroes and sheroes will be handed out.  You'll miss the tell it like it T-I-S is commentary in our town halls and panel discussions.

And you'll miss a golden opportunity to network with not only people in our community, but our allies who do show up to support the BTAC and help us get our learn on.  

And you'll miss your chance to settle what is sure to be one of the big BTAC conference debates.  Which burger is better, In-N-Out or Whataburger? 

FYI, there's an In-N-Out burger location just up the North Central Expressway feeder from the hotel.    

I said in this post and will repeat and remix this salient point for your reading pleasure:  Having strong, confident, politically aware and vibrant Black, Latin@, Asian-Pacific trans communities telling our stories strengthens the entire pink, white and blue flag waving trans community as a whole.  It also strengthens our various non-white cis and SGL communities and any other one we choose to ally with. 

We trans people of color would rather work together to build community with our white trans brothers and sisters and our cis, bi  and SGL allies to advance our common goal of human rights for all.  But we are no longer doing so as disrespected, enfeebled junior partners   

It has become necessary for us in the second decade of the 21st century to have conferences like BTAC in order to discuss the issues that ail our community, learn, network, reconnect with each other, come up with solutions, and own our power so that we can permanently solve those problems.   

We're just doing the same thing the white trans community has done since the late 80's-early 90's.   The Black trans community didn't say you COULDN'T come, and neither did the BTAC organizers.   We want as many peeps at BTAC as possible because we are exceedingly proud of this now three year old conference, want it to grow and want to show it off to the world. 

The fact it's in a blue oasis in my red soon to be purple home state with a rich trans history makes it even more important it survive and thrive . So assuming you wouldn't be welcome at BTAC is not only asinine, but problematic.       

The bottom line is that stronger non-white trans communities benefit the ENTIRE pink, white and blue flag waving trans community.   The sooner you get that point, the sooner we can move trans human rights forward in our nation and around the world  

See you at the Doubletree Campbell Center next month.  

BTAC 2014 Registration And Call For Proposals

The 2014 Black Trans Advocacy Conference in Dallas from April 29-May 4 at the Hilton DoubleTree Campbell Center is rapidly approaching.   It's time for you trans and gender non-conforming individuals, family, friends and community allies to accept the BTAC conference invitation to gather, educate, learn, build and grow together in unity.  

The clock is ticking, so it's time to get busy and get registered for this third annual conference that is free for all registered guests to attend as long as you do so before April 1, 2014.   After that date all registrations will be processed onsite at the conference hotel and carry a $10 processing fee.

The BTAC 2014 theme is "One Earth. One People. One Love."  BTAC is inviting trans and gender non-conforming individuals and our family, friends and community allies to gather, educate, learn, build and grow together in unity.

BTAC 2014 has also issued a Call for Proposals with proposals due on January 5, 2014.   So if you have an idea for a conference proposal, need to get it in by clicking this link before this deadline.   

If you're looking for more information or an opportunity to sponsor this conference, you can inquire about how to do so by emailing btac@blacktrans.org 

Black Trans Advocacy
3530 Forest Lane Suite 312C
Dallas, TX 75234
(855) 255-8636

And yes, if you have some spare change like $5's, $10's, $20's (or more if you're feeling generous)  burning a hole in your pocket, you can make a tax deductible donation since it is a 501c3 organization.
   

BTAC 2014 Call For Workshop Proposals

"If you want to learn or impact our Black Trans Community, you need to be at events where we gather and talk about our issues" (Monica Roberts).

The Black Trans Advocacy Conference 2014 (BTAC) is one of those rapidly growing and becoming eagerly anticipated events that is extending an invitation for trans and gender non-conforming individuals and our family, friends and community allies to gather, educate, learn, build and grow together in unity.
The BTAC conference theme this year is 'One Earth. One People. One Love.' and will take place from April 29-May 4 in Dallas at the Doubletree Campbell Center. 

The call is now going out for workshop proposals for this 3rd Annual Black Trans Advocacy Conference.
The conference mission is to provide thought-provoking and stimulating forum opportunities for educators of all disciplines and experience levels.  BTAC also seeks to share practical ideas and best practices that advance the Black Trans Advocacy Mission of equality, advocacy, empowerment and love that are particularly focused on ending discrimination in education, employment, housing, health care, religion and legal justice faced by trans people in African American communities.

If you'd like to be in Dallas for BTAC 2014 and think you have a workshop proposal that will fit this conference and the audiences it is targeting, submit it as soon as possible.  

Hope to see you in the Lone Star State in April.  

BTAC 2014 Call For Proposals

I had such a wonderful time at the second annual BTMI 2013 conference in addition to delivering a keynote speech for it. 

Now that I know the date and location for it, I'm making plans to attend the renamed Black Trans Advocacy Conference 2014 in Dallas, TX from April 30-May 4. 

The third annual event will be at the Doubletree-Campbell Center once again which is on the North Central Expressway near North Park Mall, the DART Orange and Red light rail lines and has shuttle bus service to and from the nearby Park Lane DART light rail station to the hotel.

And oh yeah, did I mention there's an In-N-Out Burger location two blocks south from the hotel on the North Central Expressway feeder?  And yeah Sean, I owe you a reciprocal spades butt licking and will be bringing my dominoes and backgammon case with me, too

I'm mentioning all this stuff because the date for BTAC 2014 is rapidly approaching and the call for proposals is being made for this rapidly growing and eagerly anticipated event taking place in Dallas. 

I'm also curious to see who gets the award named for me after I teach a seminar at BTAC 2014. 

Nice segue into what this post is about, an announcement for you peeps who wish to attend BTAC 2014 can start thinking about your possible seminar presentations when the submissions page goes online.

And yeah, goes without saying the BTAC organizers would like a diverse crowd in attendance, too.  If you want to learn about my Black trans community, need to be at events where we gather and talk about our issues, especially since the 2014 BTAC conference theme is One Earth. One People. One Love     

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BTAC 2014 Conference Info, Registration, Sponsorship Package & Call for Proposals will be available online October 2013!

Conference Theme:
One Earth. One People. One Love
2014 Workshop Dates: April 30/ May 1/ May 2 / May 3

We are looking for creative and engaging workshop proposals that will help to educate an audience inclusive of the LGBT community about gender, sex, sexuality and social change to help reinforce our BTMI mission of equality, advocacy & empowerment.

We are interested in proposals that are aligned with our conference theme and may cover topics included in our BTMI program areas: Identity, Culture, Religion, Family, Health, Wealth, Careers, Education, Business, Legal, Community and Youth Services.

AUDIENCE

Transmen
Transwomen
Trans Spouse
Trans Aging Adults
Trans & HIV Positive
Trans Masculine (Stud/Butch)
Youth & Family
Trans Ally
Trans*Umbrella

2013 Philadelphia Trans Health Conference

The 12th annual Philadelphia Trans Health Conference kicked off yesterday and runs through Saturday, June 15.

It is the largest trans themed conference in the United States (yep it's bigger than Southern Comfort in the ATL) with up to 2,500 attendees, and I'd hoped to finally get this off my conference bucket list this year.   I was scheduled to take part in a panel discussion, but once again my buzzard's luck with this conference continues. 

Unfortunately I'm not going to be at the Pennsylvania Convention Center to meet and greet you peeps or on that 5:40 PM Saturday panel I was scheduled for due to circumstances beyond my control. 

Yeah, I'm disappointed I'm not there.   But as much as I'd like to be at every major conference this community holds, sometimes the stars don't align for you to be able to attend it.

I can tell you one conference I will be there in full effect for in 2014, and it happens from January 29-February 2 in Houston at the Hilton Americas hotel.   

I'm really bummed about missing this edition of the PTHC because not only were Audrey Mbugua, Liesl Theron and Victor Mukasa scheduled to be there, so was Jazz and a long list of other people in the community I've been wanting to meet.   There were also a lot of my friends in the community I wanted to see who were attending the PTHC as well.  

I was also looking forward to destroying a few cheesesteaks and Slurpees while I was there.

But for those of you who are in Philly for this event, I hope you're having a wonderful time, you're getting your learn on with all the wonderful seminars and panel discussions that are part of this event, and you'll get the opportunity to check out the meet and greet event happening later tonight at the William Way Community Center at 1315 Spruce Street from 8-10 PM EDT sponsored by the Task Force, TPOCC, NBJC, NCLR  and The Transgender Law Center.  

Oh well, here's hoping I can make the 2014 PTHC. 

BTMI 2013-The End And The Beginning Of Something Special

When I stepped into the Doubletree Campbell Centre Wednesday afternoon, I had a deja vu flashback to the 2005 Transsistahs-Transbrothas event that a group of us put together at the Galt House in Louisville, KY.

It was part of a vision I'd had of being able to have national level FUBU conventions and conferences in which we could learn, build family bonds and working relationships with each other and allies while throwing some fun into this equation as well.  

While TSTB wasn't as successful as I would have liked it to be, the idea was never far from my mind, and I knew it was something the African-American trans community needed.

Carter and Esperanza Brown have taken that trans conference idea to the next level and given it the fierce urgency of a movement.   The Black Transmen, Inc Conference and Retreat started last year in Dallas, was wildly successful and this year moved to a larger hotel where the conference can grow and evolve.

When I walked in, I had the feeling of a family reunion.  There were my old friends in the transmasculine community like Louis Mitchell and Kylar Broadus.   There were some I'd met at previous events like Kye Allums.  There were others that I've known for years online like Kortney Ryan Ziegler and Carter Brown that I was getting a chance to meet for the first time and people who I would meet at this event like Sean Coleman, Jevon Martin, Rev. Lawrence Richardson and a long, growing list of transbrothers I'd need a separate post to properly acknowledge.

I even got a chance to see my trans homegirls Carmarion Anderson, Arianna Inurritegui Lint and Diamond Stylz.  Still a trip that I get to only spend quality time with Diamond at a conference and we live 8 miles from each other.

It was also a pleasure to meet and talk to allies, spouses and SO's of our transguys in attendance and take part in some thought provoking seminars and discussions.

Lakewood Church down here in Houston in the commercials it used to promote themselves back in the day used the tagline the 'Oasis of Love'.

That's what I genuinely felt the moment I stepped off the Megabus in Dallas, was picked up by Espy and whisked to our convention hotel to the moment I departed for H-town with the BTMI Advocacy Award packed in my suitcase.   

There have been times as recently as the last TDOR in Houston in which I despite being one of four Texans to hold an IFGE Trinity award, I felt less than appreciated, invisible and sometimes disrespected here in Houston and the state for the activist work I do on behalf of the trans community  

But that wasn't the case at this BTMI conference.

I felt like was around family and enveloped in an oasis of unconditional love for the entire run of the conference.  I was repeatedly told and shown how much I was loved, appreciated and respected in spite of the fact this was the BTMI show and predominately transmasculine space.

My role as I saw it before I arrived was to respect this transmasculine convention space, deliver my keynote, participate in the Saturday community summit, support the various seminars I did attend by dropping a comment here and there, and listen to the voices of the people attending.  

And oh yeah, have a little fun while I was in the BTMI house.

But in the process of doing that, I kept getting the feeling that something truly amazing was going on.  This was a well organized, well run conference and the Friday health fair was a great idea.  I kept hearing about people driving in from as far away as Tampa, northern Virginia, Jackson MS and Minneapolis-St Paul or flying in from Seattle, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area, LA, Philly, the New York-New Jersey area and Madison, WI to be here in the BTMI 2013 house.   

In addition to talking to the brothers, I got to talk to their SO's, spouses and even their kids.  Many of the brothers told me how much help to them in their own journeys reading various TransGriot posts were and relayed how some of those posts touched them or even saved their lives.

BTMI is dedicated toward the goals of not only dispelling myths and lies about the Black trans masculine community, but building better Black men period.   I also left Dallas with a much better understanding of the challenges our trans brothers have to navigate and their issue concerns.

Some of those are similar to what Black trans women have to deal with in terms of accessing medical care while trans while others are unique to the trans masculine community.  I got to simply listen to the brothers talk about those issues and their concerns in the seminars and watch them over the past few days build a community. 

The brothers are stepping up their leadership game.  You will see some amazing things involving the Black trans masculine community happen over the next few years.  They are determined to live up to the BTMI motto of being the change you want to see in the world.   One thing they let me know they were concerned about is the off the charts violence we trans women are experiencing and they wanted to do a better job of standing up and raising their collective voices against it.      

I was honored to be in the house to witness this second BTMI conference, and was sad when the time came for me to head back to my life in Houston.  The closing faith service punctuated that four marvelous days had passed. 

I loved the ball, the pageant, and playing cards and dominoes during the Wednesday night meet and greet.  I even got the opportunity to read one of my poems I have posted on TransGriot during the Thursday night Transmanifest LIVE! event. 

BTMI 2013 has ended as all conferences must, but I hope and pray that the friendships made there last a lifetime.  There were working partnerships started with allied groups.  Issues were discussed in a tell it like it T-I-S is manner and possible solutions to those problems discussed.  

And yes, we disussed the fact that we need to support BTMI and thi conference with our t-bills.  Slide them a $5, $10 a $20 or whatever you can afford on a regular basis so that this organization can continue to put on this high quality conference and expand programming.

BTMI 2013 is over and headed to our history books.  For those who wanted to be here but couldn't for various reasons, when the save the date post goes out on this blog and other electronic venues, I hope you folks who couldn't be here for the second edition of this conference will make it your business to be with your brothers for the third edition in 2014. 

And you may see the TransGriot teaching a seminar or two there as well