Moni's Talking Trans Issues At TSU

So how did I spend my Valentine's Day afternoon and early evening?  Discussing transgender issues to a class at Texas Southern University.

One of the things I've wanted to do for years is have more conversations about trans issues on HBCU campuses.  I was thrilled to get an invite from Dr Rockell Burton to do just that for her graduate level Gender and Communications class.   

It's just ironic it happened on Valentine's Day.

Three graduate level classes were combined to hear yours truly talk about trans issues from a Black perspective, and thanks to Dr Burton for the invitation so I could be on The Yard for it

One of the points I wanted to leave with the students in that class was that Black trans issues are Black community issues.   I also wanted to make the point that trans men are men, trans women are women, and our Black trans lives need to matter to the cis Black community because we are an intertwined part of the community..

Looking forward to the next time and next conversation we have

Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Happens To Trans People, Too

I've been checking out the messages across social media in the #MeToo campaign in which people have been talking about their experiences with sexual assault and sexual harassment.

This campaign has revealed just how huge the problem is in the United States.  It shouldn't be a surprise when you have someone who admitted they did so on tape and he still becomes president.

Because as a media person I know there are times I need to keep stuff quiet until it's ready to be released, and my elder status in this community, I have had people come to me and tell me some of their most intimate secrets.

Some of those intimate secrets have been sexual assaults and sexual harassment related . And yes, some of the people telling me about those incidents have been trans masculine and trans feminine people

So for those of you who believed Dan Patrick's and Lois Kolkhorst' lies in this recently concluded Texas legislative session, news flash for you, trans people are far more likely to be the people preyed upon.   Of the 1,490 Texas trans folks who responded to the 2015 US Trans Survey, 1% of them reported being sexually assaulted or physically attacked while in a restroom.

In other revealing information points from the 2015 US Trans Survey, nearly half of the respondents to it (47%) reported being sexually assaulted at some point in their lifetime, and (10%) reported they had been sexually assaulted in the previous year (2014) .

The trans respondents who have done sex work (72%) who were experiencing homelessness (65%) or who had disabilities (61%) were more likely to have experienced sexual assaults in their lifetime.

That's before I start talking about the far too numerous stories about my trans family who were sexually harassed or assaulted by law enforcement personnel, or while they were incarcerated in prisons or ICE facilities by guards and other inmates.

And yes, can't forget the Crocodile Dundee movie in which a trans woman was sexually assaulted when her crotch was grabbed in a NYC bar by Dundee and that scene was played for laughs.

Sexual assault isn't a joke, and I'm not laughing about it.   Because scenes like that can escalate quickly into anti-trans hate violence,  and murders

It is a serious issue that happens to far too many of our people, and even happened to yours truly on a METRO bus.

So yes, sexual assault and sexual assault happens to  trans people, too

Spelman Will Finally Admit Trans Women!

In the wake of what happened to Calliope Wong at Smith College when she attempted to enroll at that school, I asked the question back in 2013 on the blog when Spelman would admit trans women, and if they did, how would they handle the situation Smith fumbled badly at the time if a qualified Black trans feminine identified student wished to enroll there?

Now I have a definitive answer to that question.  Spelman would enroll that trans feminine student, and they will start doing so during the fall semester of the 2018-19 school year.

Spelman is the elite women's college in HBCU academia, and I believed back in 2013 it would inevitably come to the decision to open their doors to trans women who in the words of President Mary Schmidt Campbell, 'consistently live and self-identify as women, regardless of their gender assignment at birth.'

So what that means is if my trans nieces Trinity and Ellie wish to consider attending Spelman, they have the option when it's time to choose a college and have the grades to do so, can add that school to their collegiate wish list.

According to a letter from President Campbell released to Spelman students, Spelman has had a task force composed of students, faculty, staff, trustees and alumnae have been discussing the issue since last semester.

As for those of you asking how this policy impacts trans men, as a women's college dedicated to serving high-achieving Black women,  it doesn't not admit folks who consistently live and self identify as male as Spelman students.

The exception to this is if a trans masculine person transitions AFTER they have been accepted and enrolled at Spelman as a female student.  They will be allowed to continue pursuing their degree on campus and graduate from Spelman.

President Campbell in the letter also called for an implementation committee to be empaneled to consider how the new admissions policy will affect the Spelman campus community.

As you probably guessed, the transphobic Hateraid already started flowing from the ignorant corners of the Black gossip blogosphere, but the decision is being met elsewhere with generally positive commentary.

And so happy that Spelman has joined Bennett College, the other HBCU dedicated to educating Black women,  in opening their doors to qualified trans feminine students.

'Stacey's Not A Girl' Book Launch Event

While I'm here in Nacogdoches, my heart will also be with Dr. Colt Keo-Meier as he finally launches his trans themed children's book Stacey's Not A Girl.

It is a compilation of stories from not only Colt's childhood, but the childhood of several trans masculine persons.  An Indiegogo campaign raised the over $9,000 to get it published,

I got to read an advance copy of it and loved the book.  I also thought about the trans kids who will enjoy reading something that has a character in it like them

The book is now available for purchase, and you can check out the book launch event for it at The Montrose Center from 2-4 PM.

Good luck, hope it's successful and you sell out all the available copies of it.

Gov. Abbott's Press Conference Today

Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has called for a press conference to take place in Austin at 2:30 PM CDT that will be watched from both sides of the political aisle in Texas and probably have the nation's attention.

It is assumed that at this press conference, Gov Abbott will announce his decision on whether or not to call a special session, and if he does, what issues the special session call will entail.
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Ever since the Memorial Day sine die date of a contentious 85th Texas Legislative session, rumors have been flying even that day under the Pink Dome that we were cruising toward a special session.

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick (R) has been loudly pushing for a special session in large part because he's pissed off his unjust SB 6 that he got Sen Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) to push died in the Texas House.

Abbott is in a no win situation.  Only he under the Texas Constitution has the power to call a special session.  He also decides what bills to bring up during that special session that can last up to a maximum of 30 days.

During a special session, Texas lawmakers can only consider legislation that fits into the governor's 'call', or the issue that the governor specifies in the special session proclamation that will be read during the upcoming press conference,  

The governor also because of Texas Constitution Article 3, Section 40 faces no limitation of the number of issues that can be designated for consideration in the special session proclamation.

The governor can also call as many special sessions as he wishes. Back in 2003, then Governor Rick Perry (R) called the Lege into special session three consecutive times in order to execute the infamous partisan Delaymandering of Texas congressional districts.

And don't think that 2018 Texas GOP primary politics aren't entering into the political calculus of this. The governor and lieutenant governor are up for re-election next year, and it's been rumored that Patrick is angling to go after Abbott despite previous declarations that he is running for reelection as the lieutenant governor. .

If Abbott calls a special session to attack Texas trans people, he'll not only look like he's Dan Patrick's puppet and not his own man, he'll piss Texas trans people and our allies off if he adds the anti-trans BS to the call. .

Abbott will also piss off Texas taxpayers who have to foot the $800,000 bill for this 30 day exercise in Texas Republican legislative oppression.

If he doesn't call the special session, then Dan Patrick will probably use his decision not to do so as an attack weapon in a potential Republican gubernatorial primary (assuming he runs for governor next year) by claiming that Abbott is not a 'real conservative' and doesn't want to stand up for your 'Texas Values'

FYI Lt Dan, if you think that attacking trans people is good for your political prospects, ask ex Texas state reps Debbie Riddle (R-Tomball) and Gilbert Pena (R-Pasadena), former South Carolina state senator Lee Bright, and former North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory.

Transphobia is increasingly becoming,even in GOP leaning Texas, a losing political strategy, and you keep attacking Texas trans kids at your political peril.

So in a few hours I and a lot of people in the Lone Star State will be watching to see if we'll have to make another trip to Austin to fight Republican legislative tyranny aimed at the Texas trans community for cynical GOP political primary gain.      

TSA Still Has A Problem With Trans Travelers

Those assurances ring hollow when I continue to be told disturbing reports from a diverse group of trans people about incidents ranging from snide transphobic comments by TSA agents as people are clearing security to inappropriate questioning about our transitions and genital area searches by TSA personnel who obviously don't have a clear understanding of the protocols supposedly put in place to protect the dignity and human rights of trans travelers. 
-TransGriot  March 6, 2016  

As many of you TransGriot readers know, one of my nicknames in the community is the Air Marshal because I used to work in the airline business for over a decade, and ir was also to separate me from the other Monica in the trans activist community at the time, Monica Helms.

I have an ambivalent relationship with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), because as someone who used to do the security checkpoint tests as part of my job duties on our IAH private security peeps, I learned things that had me concerned before the 9-11 terror attacks happened.

So I understand why TSA exists.  The private security companies failed on September 11, 2001 and had been having problems prior to that date, so in order to ensure uniform airport checkpoint security standards in all US airports it required the federal government to step in and do the job.

But what I have been concerned about for several years now as a frequent flyer and advocate is the ongoing pattern of TSA harassment of trans travelers that I hear about so often that one of my sarcastic comments about it is that TSA stands for Transsexuals Searched Always 

And now, with anti-trans rhetoric and bigotry being ramped up by the Republican Party for their nefarious 2018 political gains, and a Trump Administration rolling back the trans human rights protections put in place by the Obama Administration, it seems that once again the TSA transphobes are taking their cue to ruin the travel days of transpeople across the country.

That transphobia within TSA even extends as we discovered in 2011 to its own employees as was demonstrated by Ashley Yang's terminated tenure with LAX TSA,

I'm hearing and seeing on social media increasing complaints from trans frequent travelers about harassment by TSA agents, problematic searches and disrespectful treatment   And it is not just centered at particular airports, it's happening all over the country despite TSA's claims that they have policies and training in place for trans travelers.

In the wake of the complaints the trans community lodged about air travel while trans then, on October 8, 2015 a letter signed by 32 congressmembers was sent to then TSA administrator Peter Neffenger urging him to to review the transgender travel protocols.

Obviously there is some disconnect between the TSA trans traveler policies being filtered down from management to the airport level and what's actually happening at the airports, and it needs to be dealt with soon.    It doesn't help that TSA now has an acting director in Huban A. Gowadia.  Even if she's empathetic to what's going on, will she get the 'acting' part removed from her title?

Because from where we trans Americans sit, the perception increasingly backed up by our travel experiences is that the TSA still has a problem with transgender travelers and is only flapping their gums about solving it.

Maybe it's time that the Trans Traveler 101 training needs to be done by trans folks to your TSA agents, and it needs to be shared and backed up with terminations if necessary that the TSA will not tolerate transphobia in the ranks that metastasizes into harassment of trans air travelers.

Trans folks travel by air, we're not going away, and we deserve the same level of dignity and respect that you give the cisgender peeps transiting your security checkpoints on the way to our flights.

We get enough crap from the rest of the world.  The last thing we need is another layer of disrespect dished out by people our taxes pay their salary  when we board flights for business or pleasure. ,

Faith and Family Dynamics Panel at Resurrection MCC Today

If you're looking for something to do on this Saturday afternoon, how about joining me and a few Houston community friends for a trans panel focusing on the intersection of faith and family and its impact on the lives of TBLGQ people.

This event will be focused on lifting up the lives and voices of the Black trans community and will include a panel discussion and a memorial to the ten people we've lost in 2017 to anti-trans violence.

The Faith and Family Dynamics event will take place at Resurrection MCC from 1-4 PM,     The church is located at 2025 W. 11th Street in Houston and hope you can join us for it.
 

Have No Problem With Peeps Detransitioning - Until They Start Attacking The Trans Community

It's why detransition is such a contentious topic in the transgender community.  We get prickly about it not only because of our own personal psychic and sweat equity investments in perfecting our gender presentations and gender identities to the world, but by the awareness that far too often some of the people who do detransition become the trans equivalent of 'Ex Gays'. 
-TransGriot August 15, 2013 

One of the things I haven't talked about much on this blog is the subject of detransition, because frankly, when 95% of the people who transition are leading happier lives despite some of the challenges and that satisfaction percentage shoots up to 98% if that person has gender confirmation surgery. it allows me to focus bandwith on discussing more high priority conversations that people in Trans World and beyond need to hear. ,

I've also don't focus on the miniscule numbers of people who for whatever reason detransition because they get disproportionate levels of media attention for doing so, especially from right wing orgs and outlets.

People transition for many reasons, and as we know, it is not an easy path.  In many cases much hard solid thinking and prayerful consideration went into making the call to boldly live our lives as our true selves and taking the steps to make it happen.

But at the time I transitioned in the early 90's you were required under WPATH Standards of Care in place then to go through counseling to ensure that you weren't making this life changing move in a cavalier fashion.  The counseling with a certified gender therapist also ensured that you could discuss some of the issues that crop up and if you were ready to move forward with a transition, or have more time to consider it if you weren't sure.  

And I've seen and heard it talked about far too often in this community of trans feminine people who tried to suppress their feminine side for decades by going into the military or deeply into regimented religious life, and it becoming intolerable to the point that they eventually come out anyway and transition.

One of the concerns I have along with my trans elders is that we have elements of Trans World who transitioned for the wrong reasons.  They may have loved doing drag and thought their lives would be as fab if they were under the drag spotlight if they became women full time.

Some who transitioned may have lived miserable lives as men and believed that if they became women it would improve them.  They may have thought because of the positive media attention we trans people have been getting lately. it is cool and trendy to be a trans a genderfluid person but didn't think about the short and long term ramifications of it.  

Or they simply did so and didn't consider the fact that being a woman in a male dominated society steeped in sexism and misogyny ain't easy.  The issues are magnified when you are a woman of color and you can multiply them when you are a trans woman of color.

One of the reasons I'm commenting about it right now is because the latest person to start the process of detransition is one I have a personal connection with in Pretty Paris.  

She sought me out a few years ago for advice when she started transition, and when she asked me to do so, I gave her advice when she hit bumps in the road as she lived her trans life.

But now that Paris has become a born again Christian, for whatever reason he has started the process of detransition.  

So yes, I can empathize with those persons who make the call after whatever amount of time they live in Trans World to make the even more difficult call to detransition.  But my empathy has its limits.

One of them is when you detransitioning folks start attacking transpeople as RiRi Nicole and another one who partnered with PFOX did.

The problem I have with that particular group of detransitioned people is that after they do so, elements of them start sounding like right wing christians as they spout their harmful;anti-trans rhetoric. that makes Republican politicians, the TERF's, professional hate groups and the faux faith based transphobic ignorati smile. 

I also can't stand those detranisioners who allow themselves to be played by conservative churches anti-trans hate groups, and allow themselves to be the faces of efforts to attack other trans people for Republican political gain. 

And I really have a problem with it when you detransitioned peeps start attacking trans kids and their amazing parents.

News flash to you detransitioning trans folks before you start quoting Scripture out of context and Bible belting folks.  It is not wrong and never has been wrong to be trans.  Even Scripture is on our side on that point in the Old and New Testaments, and gender variant peeps have been on the planet on every continent except Antarctica (and may even be there in some research facility) since humans started walking the Earth.

God made us just like he did you detransitioning peeps . If you choose to detransition, that's a personal decision that's on you, and I wish you the best of luck in your life moving forward.  
But don't you dare demonize those of us in Trans World for who transitioning not only was the correct decision but a lifesaving one that allowed us to be out best selves and live happier lives .

I and other trans people are living our lives, not a lifestyle.  Using that word while wrapping yourself in Scripture to describe being trans IS and will be seen as an insulting attack on us that will get you swiftly and deservedly called out.

My Birmingham Trans Fam Weren't Shown Any Love By TSA At Love Field

I've made the sarcastic comment more than a few times that the Transportation Security Administration's TSA initials stand for 'Transsexuals Searched (Scrutinized) Always '.

I've had my own run-ins as a frequent flyer with TSA like many trans folks have, and it gets old.

The TSA claims they are working to better train their personnel about the realities that trans travelers exist and how to treat us with the same dignity and respect you treat other airline passengers while dealing with our trans specific travel challenges.

Bu far too often, the TSA fails at that minimum level expectation of treating trans travelers with respect, and I expect it to get worse during 45's administration.

I was not happy to hear in the wake of our BTAC conference that Daroneshia Duncan, the founding executive director of the Birmingham based (TAKE)  Transgender Advocates Knowledgeable and Empowering organization and our Birmingham trans fam received less than friendly treatment at TSA's Love Field security checkpoint.

The group of seven people, six trans women and one trans man, didn't have any issues with TSA in Birmingham enroute to BTAC, but the drama started on their way back home   Three of the women had temporary ID cards issued to them by the Alabama DMV, which are legal for travel purposes because they do contain a photograph

The TSA peeps at Love Field didn't seem to know that, and harassed the TAKE group, causing them to miss their flight back home.  After sorting out the ID issues, they eventually had to go to DFW and catch a flight home on Delta and told their story on their local TV station WIAT-TV.


 
Here's hoping that we get the TSA peeps at Love Field some Trans 101 training to ensure that this travel mess doesn't happen again.

And news flash to the TSA peeps at Love Field.  Trans people exist, some of us are Black, and we do travel by air.   We deserve and expect to be treated with the same dignity and respect that you extend to other cisgender air travelers transiting your airport.

'Great Day Houston' Transgender Issues Show

While I was traveling to Dallas, the Great Day Houston show on KHOU-TV focused on transgender issues happened.  I knew it was going to talk place today and was asked to be there for it, but I'd already committed to traveling that day, and my bus was scheduled to leave an hour before I was supposed to be at the KHOU-TV studios.

Those studios are also just west of downtown.  

Oh well, can't be at everything.  But the cool thing about being an advocate during this time period i that we have more people stepping up to be voices for our community.  


Here's the video of the segment of Michael Hughes and Jessica Zyrie discussing the bathroom issue.  



A Test of Faith segment with Kimberly Shappley




Parenting Transgender Children with Dr. Joanna Smith



Transgender Rights with Dr. Colt Keo-Meier, Dr. Joanna Smith and Mitchell Katine



Transgender Q&A



Final Thoughts

Payless Filing For Bankruptcy

One of the things I inherited from my mom was a love of fashionable shoes, and while you petite divas would love to be my supermodel level height, it comes with the problem of trying to find those fashion forward shoes in a double digit shoe size.

I wear a size 12, but sometimes I'll go up one size when it's available for comfort.  Many department store shoe departments stop at size 10, or have very few shoes in sizes 11, 12 or 13 where many women are increasingly having to shop as the average women's shoe size gets larger.

Nordstroms is one of those that does carry a nice variety in sizes 11 or 12.   Some brands like Nine West  have them up to size 12, but once again, you have to order them online.   The same is true for DSW and Rack Room that only carry up to size 11, and you have to special order other styles that they carry in a size 12.   Shoe Carnival stores only carry them up to a size 10 or 11.

There are other online outlets like Zappos.com, shoes.com or Long Tall Sally for example, but it's always preferable to see and be able to try a pair of shoes first before you buy them.  Sometimes that shoe color looks great online but when you actually get it may not be exactly be the shade that you're looking for to go with an outfit and sometimes you can't return them if you bought them on sale..

And then there's the cost.   $75 and up, which is another problem when you're low income or on a budget.

Payless has long had the reputation in Trans World of being the 'Trans Woman's best friend' when it comes to finding fashionable shoes, bags and accessories at an easy on our wallet price.  

Its 4400 stores and 22,000 employees in the US and Puerto Rico have been a lifeline for many trans women trying find those nice shoes, flats, boots and pumps to go with a work or dressy outfit or simply for everyday wear.

And when it's BOGO time, I'm going to be buying those shoes I've had my eye on.  One of my current fave pair of Christian Siriano black pointed toe heels I bought during a BOGO sale for $10 and get a lot of compliments when I wear them.

Was saddened to hear that Payless filed yesterday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and will be closing 400 stores immediately, with another 500 possible.

I have already lost one of my fave Payless locations in downtown Houston right on the METRORail Red Line at the Main Street Square Station when it closed in February.  I noticed that when I went to Louisville on vacation last summer, the downtown Payless on 4th Street I used to find shoes in up to size 13 when I lived there had closed.

So it will be interesting to note which Payless stores in Houston will be shuttered, and I hope they aren't the few locations where I can get my shoes in a 13.

The Terrific Ten TX Dem Senators Oppose SB 6

For those of you who were wondering where were the Texas Senate Democrats in opposition to SB 6 and its 21-10 passage in the Texas Senate on Tuesday and Wednesday to sen it to the Texas House, they were live and in full effect in opposing this bill.  Unfortunately we hand one DINO in Sen.  Eddie Lucio, Jr who joined the Texas GOP trans oppressors

But elections matter, and the GOP has a 20-11 edge in the Texas Senate.   You don't like that, vote the GOP oppressors out starting in 2018.   That DINO Lucio needs to primary challenged.

Ten senators rose in opposition to the Texas Transgender Oppression Act that Houston GLBT Caucus president Fran Watson has dubbed 'The Terrific Ten'

Here are their words in opposition to the unjust bill.


Sen. Sylvia Garcia



Sen. Judith Zaffirini 



Sen. Jose Menendez 




Sen Chuy Hinojosa 



Sen John Whitmire 

Does My Black Trans Life Matter, Pageant and Ballroom Community?

TransGriot Note: The deaths of five Black trans women during the month of February and three during the weekend without  much outcry or chatter from many of the organizations that we intersect and interact with has many of us in Black Trans World doing some hard solid thinking about our place in Black TBLGQ World.

This is a guest commentary from Erica Christian articulating her thoughts about the silence of the pageant and ballroom community about the sisters we've lost and how it's making her feel as a trans woman who has been in and repeatedly shown up for that community

It was originally on her Facebook page, but needed to be signal boosted as a example of the across the board sentiment in Black Trans Feminine World that no one gives a rat's anus about us being slaughtered.

And now,  here's our guest commentator Erica Christian
***

I have decided to be silent and see exactly what my so called LGBTQ national pageantry systems, and ball systems community are going to decide to do about our trans women of color being killed in numbers within a matter of days.

I guess we are nothing to you but a show queen for entertaining you.  An extra letter in the community acronym.  A soft skinned, natural, unclockable piece of fishy/cunty/pussy/woman

What was l thinking?   I'm so f***ing stupid for thinking my life matters in this LGB Community.
At this point, at this very moment, l'm mad as hell and l can't stop crying.  I get up every morning and report to work, advocating, outreaching, connecting, supporting and giving everything of myself to take care of and make a difference in my community that's stricken with poverty, homelessness, HIV/STD infections, without any biases or regret because l love you, and it will always be my purpose in my lifetime.

Yet still l don't matter, nor do the rest of my beautiful transgender sisters of color matter..

How am l supposed to feel? .We are being slaughtered and this is okay for you?

I guess l will continue to do what l have had to do for the past 50 years  Survive the best way possible and continue to live with no expectations, no disappointments.

If you are offended by my statements, please unfriend me.  Oh wait, like it even matters that I'm still alive for now.   Does my Black trans life even matter to you, pageant and ballroom community?
I wonder, would it matter if l was killed or slaughtered because l am a trans woman of color?

God, l ask for guidance on dealing with this pain and sadness.

***

Yes Erica, it does matter.   Your life matters to me, your trans siblings, and all who love you.  But I am interested in hearing and seeing the answer to the question you posed.  

I Repeat. NAACP, Where You At?

Their new ad slogan is 'The NAACP Is Today', but I don't see you addressing the very real issues that transgender people of African descent face today here in the States. If the NAACP is claiming to represent African-Americans, then I respectfully submit that it includes me as a transgender African-American as well. -TransGriot,  June 21, 2008

I wrote these words in 2008, and sadly, I'm still having to ask the same damned question nine years and dozens more deaths of Black trans women later

Yo NAACP, where you at?

We have had seven trans women killed in the opening two months of 2017, with six of them being African American.  The silence coming from the NAACP is not only deafening, but increasingly irritating to the Black trans community.

But if it had been cis Black men being killed at this rate by the po-po's, y'all would be making a beeline for the National Press Club, various media outlets, having town halls across the country to generate nonstop conversation about it, and standing arm in arm with Congressional Black Caucus legislators demanding that Congress act to stem the tide of the violence.

Instead, what we have here when it comes to Black trans women being murdered is cricket chirping silence from the oldest civil rights organization in our community, and that needs to stop.

Where are you NAACP when Black transpeople need you in this time of challenge and controversy to stand up for us?   Are we not Black enough for y'all?  Do our Black trans lives that are being savagely taken matter to you?   Does the fact that many of these trans women being killed are under age 40 even move you to act on our behalf?

So what's up NAACP?  Inquiring minds wanna know, especially in Black Trans World.

Black trans people are Black people.  We are also the Black men and Black women we say we are.  In many cases we fight for our very existence in the same neighborhoods cis Black people live in and we grew up as part of.  We Black trans people are also there when it comes to fighting for the causes that are important to the Black community as a whole,

Now it's past time, NAACP for you to stand with us.

We Black trans folks not only want the NAACP to talk about it, but consistently be about standing up for the humanity and human rights of Black trans folks.  We need y'all as the oldest civil rights organization repping our people being a committed partner at the table doing so like white orgs are starting to do and the National Black Justice Coalition and Transgender Law Center have been.

And if you need info, how about chatting with Black Transwomen, Inc or the Trans Persons of Color Coalition to help start your Black Trans 101 'ejumacation' to craft that message, or even better, hire some Black trans folks to handle that job?

With a hostile administration now assuming power in Washington DC and GOP controlled state legislatures aiming anti-trans legislation at us that will disproportionately harm Black trans folks, the time is now NAACP for you to step up your leadership game on behalf of Black trans people.

So I will ask again the question that many of us in Black Trans World are anxiously awaiting the answer to

When will we see the NAACP step up to the plate and call out the scourge of anti-trans violence aimed at Black trans women in the same way that we see you fearlessly speak truth to power on other issues of importance to the Black community?   .

Do Our Black Trans Lives Matter?

In the wake of the senseless murders of our trans sisters Chyna Gibson, Ciara McElveen and Jaquarrius Holland, Diamond, Dee Dee and I put on our hats as Black Transwomen, Inc board members and got together on Monday night to record a video of us discussing the question do our Black trans lives matter?  .

Yes, they most certainly do,.  Our #BlackTransLivesMatter, and here's what we all had to say about it .

 

Own Your Power - Get Out Of The House

We've lost three trans women in the span of a week and five this month and I can understand why people would feel anxious, scared and reluctant to be out in public. But what can you do short term to push back against the anti-trans violence being aimed at us?

Be visible.

Step outside your homes.  Be visible.  Even if you are just stepping outside for 30 minutes to go to a local store or the mall, taking a short walk in your neighborhood, hanging out with your home girls at some restaurant or coffee shop and go back home after you do so.

Being visible in this case is a trans revolutionary act.   Our opponents and haters want us to be scared to go out and be in public spaces that we have a constitutional and human right to be in.

Don't give in to that fear.  Defy it.

Coming up with the long range strategies, tactics and policies that we'll need to implement to reduce anti-trans violence will be something that we can't do overnight, and falls in the category of a long term project.

We must be cognizant of the reality as trans women that walking around in a female body on Planet Earth will always have issues attached to it and adjust accordingly.  We also have to deal with the reality that because of systemic anti-Blackness, Black womanhood has always been demonized and under attack.

Those are issues that we'll have to work on along with our cis Black feminine counterparts and our allies.  But we can do something right now to take back our power to deal with the anxiety that we feel in the wake of these latest trans murders and it's deceptively simple.

Be out and visible   Be your unapologetically trans self in public, and bump the haters.
 .
This is the best way in the short term you can honor the people we've lost to anti-trans violence.  

We Black Trans Women Stand Up For Everyone - When Will People Stand Up For Us?

One of the things that was said during the emotional memorial service we held in Houston for Chyna Gibson Sunday was a comment that had some profound truth backing it.

Diamond Stylz in her comment to the assembled Montrose Center crowd was this: "We Black trans women are there for everyone's movements.  We're there for gay people.  We're there for the women's march.   We're there for Black Lives Matter.   When will people be there for us?"

Indeed, that is the question for these Trumpian times.  We Black trans women stand up for everyone and their human rights.  When will you begin to consistently stand up for ours?  When will people consistently be there for us?

We Black trans women are walking examples of intersectionality. We are an undeniable part of the Black community.  We are part of the TBLGQ one. We are part of the Black SGL community We are trailblazing women doing our part to uplift all the communities we intersect and interact with.

If there is a human rights cause or struggle out there, you can count on Black trans women to practice what we preach about intersectionality and be on the front lines with you.

Whether it's at Ferguson, MO and elsewhere with Black Lives Matter, speaking from the women's march stages in DC and elsewhere. march for a woman's right to choose, at a anti-police violence rally, speaking at a memorial service, or any cause that requires us to be there in solidarity with our people, we're there to not only lend our voices to it, but in some case we will step up to lead or organize it.

But when we Black trans women need you to stand with us on issues important to our community, far too often many of you are MIA.

Black trans women are catching hell from multiple angles.  We have people hating on us because we are transgender . We have people hating on us for having the audacity to exist.  We have people hating on us because we are unapologetically Black.  We have people hating on us because of our #BlackTGirlMagic.  We have people hating on us because we are walking this planet in feminine bodies.

But despite that, we rise, survive and thrive as proud Black trans women.   But we're not superhuman. We're facing near genocidal levels of anti-trans violence aimed at us, and it is going to take a village to help us stem the tide and stop it.   Four of the five trans women killed due to anti-trans hate violence in 2017 have been African American, and three of the four murdered this year have been under age 40.

That's unacceptable to us.  It should be just as important to the cis Black community and all the communities we intersect and interact with that Black trans women get to live long, healthy and productive lives as it is a Prime Directive imperative for us.

So where y'all at Black community?  When will elements of you peeps in the faith community stop cooning it up with right wing politicians and white fundamentalist Christians gleefully using the Bible to attack our humanity?

When will you, NAACP, Urban League, and other traditional Black civil rights orgs step up and loudly and consistently call out the injustice aimed at Black trans women?

When will you cis Black trans attracted men get over your shame and guilt issues, stand up, and boldly proclaim to the world you love and stand with trans women?  

Cis Black women, when will you call out the unacceptable level of violence aimed at us and help us do the ongoing work of building sisterhood in our ranks that will be required to stem the tide of it?

Black politicians at all levels of government, when will you step up to the plate to use your political influence and bully pulpits as President Obama and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch did while in office to call out unjust legislation aimed at us and author just legislation and policies that will help us?

Black SGL community, when will you call out your fellow peeps in LGBTQ World and let them know that shadily attacking trans people is unacceptable, and diligently work to eradicate transphobia in our community ranks?

When will you Black community, make it clear that demonization of Black trans people will not be tolerated inside or outside our community?

We're anxiously awaiting in Black trans feminine world your answer to all those questions.