TBLG Youth Of Color Survey About LGBT Movement

The negative way some of my haters bump their gums about the subject, it's only Moni talking about and calling out the lack of intersectionality and diversity in the LGBT movement. 

Y'all can keep hatin' because I'm not going to stop talking about the subject until something is done to fix the problem.  

Besides I'm not the only person in Black trans, bi and SGL World complaining about the issue.  Other peeps who look like me inside and outside our community are talking about it, and you ignore this discussion at your political peril.

There was an interesting NewsOne discussion I was sent a link to by one of my regular readers about a recently compiled report by the Black Youth Project entitled  Moving Beyond Marriage: What LGBT Youth Of Color Think About The LGBT Movement

A survey of 1500 youth between the ages 18-30 was recently conducted during June 2014.  The BYP's main findings in the report are as follows:

• More Black (80.2%) and Latino (74.9%) youth believe the marriage equality movement has taken too much attention  away from other important LGBT issues compared to white youth (64.0%).

• More Black youth (58.0%) believe that LGBT issues in communities of color are not well-represented by mainstream LGBT organizations than Latino (45.9%) and white youth (42.7%).

• More than a third (35.0%) of Black youth reported that HIV/AIDS is the single most important issue for LGBT organizations to address. Latino youth reported that bullying (20.1%) is the most important issue, while white youth (21.3%) reported that same-sex marriage is the most important issue.

• Young people of color are more supportive of policies that would provide sensitivity training for police around transgender issues (77.8% and 73.2%, respectively) and require health insurers to provide coverage for transgender health issues (64.5% and 65.8%, respectively) than white youth (66.2% and 56.3%, respectively).

The NewsOne discussion about it facilitated by Roland S. Martin featured Jasmyne Cannick, Cleo Manago, and Terrance Laney of BlackYouth Project





This survey documents that Black and Latino LGBT youth have a very different perspective about what issues this LGBT movement should be focusing on. 

We'll see if anyone's paying attention  

Malala's Triumphant Year

One year ago today a gun toting Taliban thug boarded a school bus and shot Malala Yousafzai in the head for daring to speak up and criticize their efforts to turn Pakistan's Swat Valley back to the Middle Ages. 

Girls' education was banned, women were beaten for leaving their homes without a male relative escorting them, and her hometown of Mingora featured floggings and executions in its central square

She was airlifted to Britain as the world prayed for her survival, and spent three months in a Birmingham hospital recovering from her grave injuries.

She not only survived, but the voice the Taliban thought they silenced forever on that October day has grown louder and has an even bigger international platform. 

Yousafzai celebrated her 16th birthday by speaking to a July 12 United Nations youth conference .   In that memorable speech in front of the nearly 1200 participants and assembled dignitaries, she declared  "Let us pick up our books and our pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One teacher, one book, one pen, can change the world."

When Birmingham opened their massive new public librarly last month, she again proclaimed that education is "the only weapon that can defeat terrorism.”

And she says that the West needs to engage the Taliban in peace talks if the social and political conflict in South Asia is ever to be resolved.  "The best way to solve problems and to fight against war is through dialogue," she said.

In the run up to this bittersweet anniversary the wise beyond her years teen has been interviewed by the BBC.  She was named Time Magazine's Most Influential Person for 2013, is already the youngest person ever nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and is considered the frontrunner to receive it when the winner is announced October 11 in Oslo, Norway.  If that happens Friday, she would become the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Malala's message is being heard globally as she works to complete her own education while traveling the world speaking about the equal rights for girls and education for all.issues that are near and dear to her heart.

The nonprofit Malala Fund advocates for girls' education and raises money for schools and tuition in her native Pakistan.
 
A lot has changed for her since that horrific day, but she still has dreams of going back home, getting into politics and changing Pakistan for the better.  "I will be a politician in my future," she said, vowing to make education compulsory.

"I hope that a day will come when the people of Pakistan will be free, they will have their rights, there will be peace, and every girl and every boy will be going to school."

People around the world hope that you get the opportunity to make that dream for your homeland a reality.  

The 4 Year Old African-American Genius

Anala Beevers of New Orleans is just a precocious four years old, but at just 4 months of age she was learning the alphabet, counting in Spanish at eighteen months, knows the location and capital of all 50 US states and many of the world's nations and can identify the planets and dinosaurs.

Hmm, that makes her way smarter than 47 US senators, 234 US congressmen, 4 US Supreme Court justices and her state's current governor.

Anala also has an invitation to join MENSA, the international organization for super smart individuals that requires a comprehensive standardized Q test and a 130 or better IQ to get in.  .

MENSA menbership is much older than Anala and claims people with intelligence that are in the top 2% of the world's population.  Anala is in the top 1% with a 145 IQ.   I'm a slacker compared to her, because the last time I took one a few years ago I tested out at a mere 118. 

But raising an exceptionally smart child can be a challenge.  Her mom Sabrina says that Anala is 'always correcting their grammar' and dad Landon says 'she keeps us on our toes'.

At a time when African-Americans are once again getting bashed in the conservamedia, this child genius is a breath of fresh air in a stale racist conversation of negativity about us as African-descended people.

And sadly, note in the various articles about her on the Net the racist comments in the threads . 
. 
She's aware of her intellectual gifts and when you ask her she wants to be when she grows up, her answer is a nurse.  While the nursing profession may be happy to hear that, I think as she gets older that career choice might be subject to amendment.

Malala's Very Happy Birthday

Malala Yousafzai's 16th birthday was on July 12 and it was one the Taliban tried to prevent her from seeing.

Thankfully for her family and the world they failed.

They attempted to assassinate the award winning Pakistani teen activist who advocates for children's education and women's rights on October 9, 2012.  

But she survived it, is now living in the UK with her family and has become an even bigger and well respected voice for those issues and women's rights and is now the youngest person to ever be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

In honor of Malala, her 16th birthday was designated by the United Nations and UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon as Malala Day. as she celebrated it with her first public speech since the cowardly Taliban terrorist tried to kill her on her way to school in Pakistan's troubled Swat valley.

She spoke in front of a UN Youth Assembly in New York in an impassioned speech in which she invoked the names of non-violence advocates Mahatma Gandhi, the Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. and the late Benazir Bhutto and called on the world's government to provide free education to every child among other issues.





"Let us pick up our books and our pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One teacher, one book, one pen, can change the world," Malala said to the nearly 1000 young leaders from around the world..

"The terrorists thought that they would change our aims and stop our ambitions but nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage were born. I am the same Malala. My ambitions are the same. My hopes are the same. My dreams are the same," the rights activist said.

Telling the UN Youth Assembly that she was focusing on women's rights and girls' education because they were suffering the most, she called upon world leaders to change their strategic policies in favor of peace and prosperity.

"We call upon all governments to ensure free compulsory education for every child all over the world," she said, also calling on governments to fight against terrorism and violence, to protect children from brutality and harm.

Happy birthday Malala.  May you have many more.

Transgender Youth Support Groups

The signs that you have a trans child on your hands show up as early as age 3 in some cases.    With more parent opting to let their kids transition earlier or determine their gender identity, the need for support serives and organizations for trans youth and their parents has grown exponentially over the last decade.

If you are looking for some sites and organizations who provide information and support for the parents and loved ones of a trans child, here are some links.    This will be a ongoing project

Trans Youth Family Allies

Trans Kids Purple Rainbow Foundation

Camp Aranu'tiq

Camp Aranu'tiq-A Summer Camp Of Our Own

Schools are letting kids out for the summer, and many of those kids are either heading to, in or soon will be attending a summer camp. For one to two weeks they get to engage in various activities, meet new friends and spend some time away from home at the same time.

With transpeople now beginning to transition as early as ages five and six, they now face the same 'where do they fit in' issues as we late teen and adult transitioners in addition to having some unique to childhood.

For parents of transkids who would like their children to have that classic summer camp experience, that becomes problematic when trying to find one that will not only accept their transchild, but provide a relatively drama free environment as well.

Introducing Camp Aranu'tiq. It's a weeklong, tuition-free, overnight summer camp for transgender and gender-variant youth ages 8 through 15 located in Southern New England.

For obvious reasons I and the staff will not reveal the actual location so that it stays a safe place from the conservafools and idiots like the Phred Phelpses of the world.

As for how it got its name, Aranu'tiq is a Chugach word for a person who was thought to embody both the male and female spirit. The Chugach are an indigenous people who live in Alaska. Aranu'tiq people were often revered and thought to be very lucky because their existence transcended traditional gender boundaries.

Camp Aranu'tiq has a traditional summer camp program that includes arts and crafts, dance, drama, swimming, music, canoeing, creative writing, and land sports such as basketball, soccer, dodgeball, kickball, and beach volleyball. The week will also include campfires (with s'mores!), a talent show, an all-camp capture the flag game, and other special activities in age appropriate groups.

There are also a few professional therapists at camp for campers who may want to talk about various issues, but the main focus of the week, just like it is for any summer camp is on having fun.

This year's dates for Camp Aranu'tiq calls fir the campers to arrive on Sunday, August 22 and depart Saturday, August 28, 2010.

The camp is full for this inaugural season, but you may want to check with the camp staff and get on the wait list.

You can contact them with this link or contact the camp office.

Camp Aranu'tiq
P.O. Box 620141
Newton Lower Falls, MA 02462

It is a 501c3 organization founded in 2009, and you can give them a tax deductible donation on their website.

According to their website, Camp Aranu'tiq will have kids from all over the United States and Canada, and will provide transportation from the New York and Boston areas to their facility which is a 2 hour drive from those cities.

Have fun kids in the camp's inaugural session, and may Camp Aranu'tiq live long, prosper and serve the trans and gender variant community well.

Transkid Jazz Singing

Remember Jazz, the young transkid from Barbara Walters 20/20 report on transgender children? Well, here's another example of a kid, once their trans issue is dealt with developing to be a happy and well adjusted human being.

Peep this video of Jazz singing.

Transgender Children's Bill Of Human Rights

TransGriot Note: While doing research for another post, I stumbled across a site with this Draft Transgendered Children’s Bill of Human Rights. It was penned by Natacha Kennedy, who got the inspiration for it from an original idea by Trans Youth Family Allies.


Transgendered children have the right;

· to be called by a name they recognise as their own and to have the personal pronoun (he/she) which they prefer used to describe them,


· to be accepted by everyone as the gender they prefer,

· to appear on the outside the way they feel on the inside,

· to live with their parents, not be taken away because of their gender identities and to have their parents informed about gender identity issues

· to know that they are transgendered, even if they decide to conceal their gender identities from adults, and to know that they are not weird, deviant, unacceptable or evil.

· not to be abused, teased or bullied by other children or adults for being transgendered,

· to be supported by all adults working with them in school and other support services,

· to be taught by teachers who understand the nature of gender identity in transgendered children, and to be given the language with which to talk about themselves.

· to be in a school where other pupils have been taught about gender identity and where they can feel safe,

· to wear whatever clothes make them feel comfortable,

· to decide which toilet to use and which clubs or sports teams to join,

· to learn about other people whose gender identities are different from the majority of people,

· to go through puberty in a way which is acceptable to them,

· to be given the same opportunities to succeed in their education as all other children,

· to self-determination, dignity, respect, non-interference, to make informed personal decisions,

· to a voice in any situations where decisions are being made about their future.

KRXQ-FM Jocks Hatin' On Omaha Trans Child

Ignorance abounds about transgender people and their lives, and it's a never ending struggle to get the correct information out there about our lives.

That struggle is only complicated by media people who spew disinformation and transphobic hatred on the public airwaves.

GLAAD contacted me about a problematic May 28 broadcast of the Rob, Arnie & Dawn in the Morning radio show. It's heard in Sacramento, California on KRXQ 98.5 FM and Reno, Nevada on KDOT 104.5 FM, and featured this transphobic tirade against transgender children by hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States.

They were discussing the recent story of Kate in Omaha, NE and her parents’ decision to support her transition. The two haters spent more than 30 minutes explicitly making cruel, dehumanizing and defamatory comments toward transgender children.

Among the comments made by the hosts:

ROB WILLIAMS [11:12]: This is a weird person who is demanding attention. And when it’s a child, all it takes is a hug, maybe some tough love or anything in between. When your little boy said, ‘Mommy, I want to walk around in a dress.’ You tell them no cause that’s not what boys do. But that’s not what we’re doing in this culture.

ARNIE STATES [13:27]: If my son, God forbid, if my son put on a pair of high heels, I would probably hit him with one of my shoes. I would throw a shoe at him. Because you know what? Boys don’t wear high heels. And in my house, they definitely don’t wear high heels.

ROB WILLIAMS [17:45]: Dawn, they are freaks. They are abnormal. Not because they’re girls trapped in boys bodies but because they have a mental disorder that needs to be somehow gotten out of them. That’s where therapy could help them.

ROB WILLIAMS [18:15]: Or because they were molested. You know a lot of times these transgenders were molested. And you need to work with them on that. The point is you don’t allow the behavior. You cure the cause!

ARNIE STATES [21:30]: You got a boy saying, ‘I wanna wear dresses.’ I’m going to look at him and go, ‘You know what? You’re a little idiot! You little dumbass! Look, you are a boy! Boys don’t wear dresses.’

ARNIE STATES [29:22]: You know, my favorite part about hearing these stories about the kids in high school, who the entire high school caters around, lets the boy wear the dress. I look forward to when they go out into society and society beats them down. And they end up in therapy.

Thanks to co-host Dawn Rossi who stood up to Williams and States during the segment despite her lack of familiarity with transgender issues.

She repeatedly defended transgender people and made an on-air apology for her colleagues’ defamatory remarks.

Okay people, y'all know what to do. Let the transbigots Rob and Arnie and their management know that attacking a trans child ain't cool and thank Dawn Rossi for standing up for us.

Please contact KRXQ management in Sacramento, CA where the show is produced and respectfully demand that radio show hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States publicly apologize.

Call on KRXQ to hold Williams and States accountable for their remarks and establish clear standards to ensure their media platform will not be used to condone or promote violence against any parts of the communities they serve.

And if that doesn't get their attention, for those of you in the Sacramento, CA metro area, you can lodge protests when their FCC broadcast license comes up for renewal.


John Geary
Vice President & General Manager
KRXQ-FM
(916) 339-4209
jgeary@entercom.com

Arnie States
On Air Personality
KRXQ-FM
(916) 334-7777
rad@robarnieanddawn.com

Rob Williams
On Air Personality
KRXQ-FM
(916) 334-7777
rwilliams@entercom.com

Transkid In Omaha, NE Begins Living Her Life

As much as I loved growing up in the 60's and 70's, I would have loved even more to have been given an opportunity to grow up as a female during my school years.

I think about that every time I see the stories of the brave parents of transgender kids who allow them to transition early in life so that when they get to adulthood won't have as much baggage to carry into it.

I've been following the story about the Omaha, NE parents who are allowing their 8 year old child Kate to begin living full time as a girl in the fall.



“It was not a decision that was made rashly at all. It was a decision to protect her psyche and her self-esteem,” the mother said. “She’s been a girl since the beginning, everything about her, the way she dances and skips around and the things she’s attracted to. It’s more than toys and clothes.”

The mother said Kate has consistently asked to be called a girl since she was 4 years old and even said something that's all to familiar to many of us in the transgender community, what we call the 'Transgender Child's Prayer'.

“One night, she said ‘Every night when I go to bed, I pray my inside will match my outside. But it never happens,'" the mother said, recalling the words of her middle child.

Kate said about her situation, “It’s kind of like you’re trapped somewhere and you can’t get out.”

Here's where the anti-transgender chickens that Dr. Paul McHugh spread at the Vatican have roosted in someone's life. The mother is a lifelong Catholic and wanted to continue her child's education at a local Catholic school, but the archdiocese of Omaha, following the transhating policies of the Roman Catholic Church, refused to allow Kate to begin third grade as a female.

So Kate will begin third grade not in the school she's been at since kindergarten, but in a public school this fall.

When her mother announced that Kate would be allowed to pierce her ears next week, the girl screeched and had a huge smile on her face.

“You’ve waited long enough to live as a girl,” the mother said.

Kate's mother is on a mission to educate the community and encourage churches to open a dialog about diversity and acceptance of all people.

“Just take the time to listen. It is different. It’s something most people have never heard of, but it doesn’t make it scary or pathological,” she said.

Hello Catholic Church, Religious Reich, and transhaters, are you listening?

Just Because You're Younger Doesn't Mean I Can't Learn Something From You

One lesson I was taught by my parents growing up was even though I possessed off the charts intelligence, in order to keep me from developing the arrogance that can sometimes accompany that level of intelligence, I was told and have observed that there's always someone on the planet who is smarter than you.

I like surrounding myself in my circle of friends with people of not only diverse backgrounds that I can have intelligent, thought provoking conversations with, but of different ages who can teach me something as well.

Sometimes those people are younger than me.

Just because I've lived longer on Planet Earth doesn't necessarily mean I'm automatically more intelligent than a twenty or thirtysomething. I have a life experience advantage on them, but if I sit down and have a conversation with a young brother or sister who has some profound insightful knowledge to impart to me, I'm in shut up and listen mode.

We must remember that the twenty and thirtysomethings grew up being immersed in information and are far more tech savvy than those of us whose first computer was a Radio Shack TRS-80.

I take time to listen to the younglings. They may have a fresh way of looking at a problem or have come up with new tactics to achieve an old goal.

If you're too busy dismissing their idea simply because the person proposing it doesn't have more birthdays under their belt, then you run the risk of driving them away and you and the cause you're championing never having the benefit of their wisdom again.

One of my goals has always been that I want to continue to grow and evolve as a person throughout my lifespan. Sometimes the people that will help you achieve that goal happen to be part of Generations X, Y and Z and not the Pepsi or Greatest Generation.

When they wish to speak to me, they'll have my undivided attention.

Kim Petras Video

Congrats to German transteen Kim Petras, who recently had her SRS and is happily embarking on her new life. She has a blog called Kimperium (written in German and English) and a recording contract. Girlfriend's future is so bright she needs shades to walk down the street.

Here's the latest entry from her YouTube video blog.




And a September 21, 2008 entry

The BBC Teen Transsexuals Documentary

Y'all knew that I was going to find that video of the BBC documentary if it was uploaded to the Net and post it here. The first attempt to do so got derailed when the first place I found it on YouTube deleted it, but I quickly found another person who'd uploaded it, and this time I got all six parts of it.

So now, here's the documentary.



Part 2



Part 3



Part 4



Part 5



Part 6

Rochelle Evans Video

Back in May I posted the Dallas Voice story that answered the question of how transteen Rochelle Evans was doing since winning her battle to be herself.

Hopefully things have gotten better for her and her mother since that story was published and I hope Rochelle realizes her dream of attending college at TCU.

In the meantime, here's the video of Rochelle telling her story. Merry Christmas sis and good luck in your quest to get the diploma and the TCU degree.

Lucy Parker Stirkes Back

The BBC recently broadcast a documentary called Teen Transsexual that featured then 17 year old Lucy Parker. She was awaiting her 18th birthday so that she could undergo SRS. A subsequent BBC documentary followed her to Thailand chronicled her surgery.

Well, Lucy has released a YouTube video that hits back at the folks that posted the hateful comments to the BBC Teen Transsexuals video uploaded to YouTube.

Here's Lucy looking lovely and speaking her mind about her life and the recent changes in it.

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

Out of the mouths of babes, the old saying goes, comes pearls of wisdom. This wise youngling is Jazz, who we were first introduced to during Barbara Walters' 20/20 documentary report last year on transkids called 'My Secret Self'.

Found this YouTube video of a now 7 year old Jazz talking about being a transkid.



There's also an organization called the TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation that seeks to fund research and education on transgender issues and work to create a better future for all transkids.

That's definitely something I can get behind.

Zapata Remembered At Funeral As Courageous Friend

TransGriot Note: I'm happy to see that Angie's finally getting the respectful coverage that she deserved.

It's bad enough her life was tragically cut short. But she didn't deserve to be disrespected on top of that in print by using a birth gender role and a birth name that's widely at variance with the way she lived her life up until she was taken away from us. I pray that the people who did this are found and eventually brought to justice.

Thanks to everyone who called, wrote and complained to the Greeley Tribune to ensure this article became a reality.

by Jakob Rodgers
Greeley Tribune

Senior pastor Joe Sanchez solemnly stepped up to the front of the congregation, greeted those in attendance, and with a strong and commanding voice, offered his deep condolences.

"We are here to celebrate the life of a person, the life of a person cut down in the prime of their life. What can I tell you in this situation, it never feels good to come before a congregation like yourself to express what we feel about a young person that is taken from in the prime of their life."

Yet, with words of encouragement and of hope, nearly 200 friends and family of Angie Zapata wept in silence, smiled in memory and cried in remorse Wednesday night as they remembered the lively 18-year-old at the aptly-named Healing Place, 17801 E. 160th Ave. in Brighton.

"Death is always an interruption," said Sanchez, concerning a passage in the Bible, before speaking in Spanish as he did often during the service. "It never comes at a convenient time, and I believe that we know it is inevitable -- just not now, just not now Lord, I have so much to do. I have so much to say. I have so many relationships" to enrich.

Instead of focusing on the tragedy that took Zapata from their lives, those in attendance decided to remember her simple and unique qualities.

The way she would spoil her niece and nephew, even quitting a job to take care of them, as two friends reminisced during the service. The way she loved roses, the colors red and black, and way she always made sure her makeup was good -- even simply when taking a trip to Wal-Mart.

Perhaps, most of all, however, was the way she never backed down from who she was, instead saving the energy to care for her friends and family.

"She was always happy," said Alicia Portillo, one of Angie's friends. "She loved music. She didn't care what people thought of her. She always just wanted to be who she was and that was female and to be loved."

Portillo even said Zapata's courage helped her with her own identity as a lesbian.

"Angie gave me the power to not care what people thought of me."

Zapata was born male, but identified herself as a woman, and lived her life as such. Zapata was found dead on July 17 in her apartment on the 2000 block of 4th Street in Greeley, and her car -- a green 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser, with the Colorado license plate number of 441ORN -- is still missing. Police have not said yet if her identity played a part in the homicide.

Kelly Costello, of the Colorado Anti-Violence Program, said the group thought it might be a hate crime, and that such incidences usually do not end with one act of violence. In 2007, he said, there were 19 deaths nationwide that were linked to either homophobic or transphobic violence.

"We often find that hate crimes have a ripple effect they effect every one that identifies in that community," said Costello. "So it's no longer about the individual, but there's an increased vulnerability and fear among the community."

After Zapata's body was carried from the church, Sanchez talked with friends and family, and recalled a message he tried shared with the family before the service.

"Give them hope," said Sanchez, who continuously remarked how happy he was Zapata began attending the church a month before her death. "And give them a desire to go on and to know that this isn't good-bye, but this is see you in the morning. It's not an end, it's not an end. It's a message of hope for eternity."

Another Transwoman Murdered, Another Media Diss

Umm, this is getting ridiculous on a lot of levels. It's my sad duty to report that another transgender teen has lost her life. This time it happened in Greeley, CO to 18 year old Latina Angie Zapata.

Her family was supportive of her transition, but you wouldn't know it based on once again, a reporter (Mike Peters) not cracking open the AP Stylebook and failing to follow the guidelines in it for reporting on transgender people.

I ask once again, how fracking hard is it to follow this?

transgender-Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.

If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals live publicly.

Well, at least the media is consistent. We've seen numerous examples of media reports, no matter where the story is written that utterly failed to respect African-American transwomen.

Now it's a Latina.

Once again, if the media won't do it and respect our fallen transpeople, then I'm gonna do it my damned self on TransGriot. I'm rewriting Mike Peters July 17 story from the Greeley Tribune to show you what a properly written story on a transgender person following the AP Stylebook guidelines should look like.

****

In a quiet neighborhood in southeast Greeley, police Thursday were investigating the death of a victim they identified only as "a young woman."

Police were called to the apartment house in the 2000 block of 4th Avenue at about 3 p.m. Thursday when the body of an 18-year-old transgender woman was found in an upstairs apartment. Police at the scene said it appeared the young woman may have been dead for several hours before she was found.

The neighborhood is one-half block south of the University of Northern Colorado Transportation office. It's also about two blocks southeast of the Jackson Field Sports Complex.

Neighbors gathered on front lawns and in the streets as police officers arrived at the scene to begin the investigation. Yellow crime tape sealed off the upper floors of the two-story apartment complex. The apartment house is probably the newest building in the neighborhood, a large brick building with eight apartments and parking in the back.

A large group of children gathered across the street in the parking lot of a mobile home court, watching from their bicycles as the family grieved and the victim's body was removed.

The young woman's mother was outside the apartment, crying and screaming at police that she wanted to see her daughter. After police told her several times that they were keeping people out of the apartment to preserve the evidence, she left with friends and family.

Neighbors in the area all said they didn't know the people who lived in the apartment building.

The identity of the young woman was not released by Thursday night, nor was the cause of death.

Weld County Coroner Maria Vincent said the death appears to be a homicide, so she could not give any details. Sgt. Adam Turn said Greeley Police were waiting to officially rule the death as a homicide until the autopsy is conducted at 10 a.m. today.

****

Of course, local transgender peeps and our allies are outraged by the disrespectful way Angie's murder was written up in the paper. Here's a press release from Kelly Costello of the Colorado Anti-Violence Project.

On Thursday, July 17, Angie Zapata, an 18-year old Latina transwoman was murdered in her home in Greeley, CO. She suffered two severe fractures in her skull. Her family believes that she was murdered by her boyfriend or members of her boyfriend's gang because of her gender identity.

The Greeley Tribune, a local newspaper reporting on this case, continues to use an incorrect name and pronouns for Angie. Her family has been very supportive of her and are both angry and upset at this lack of accuracy and sensi tivity in reporting. Please let the Greeley Tribune know that this is not acceptable and their lack of appropriate reporting is contributing to an environment where violence against transgender people is continuing. Contact information for the newspaper, editor and reporter is below.

The perpetrator has stolen Angie's sister's car, a very dark forest green 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser with the Colorado license plate number 441ORN. There is a hubcap missing on the front passenger-side tire and there is paint missing on the front bumper on the driver-side, under the headlight.

Anyone with information about the car is asked to call the Greeley police through the communications center, 970-350-9600. In addition, Angie's cell phone and wallet were also stolen.

All media contacts should be directed to Kelly Costello, Director of Victim Services at the Colorado Anti-Violence Program (CAVP) at either kelly@coavp.org or 303-839-5204. CAVP works to eliminate violence within and against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities in Colorado.

Kelly Costello
Director of Victim Services
Colorado Anti-Violence Program
P.O. Box 181085
Denver, CO 80218
www.coavp.org

(303)839-5204
(888)557-4441 toll-free

Greeley Tribune

Write a letter to the editor
http://apps.greeleytribune.com/utils/forms/lettertoeditor/

Randy Bangert, Editor
Phone Number: (970) 392-4435
E-Mail: rbangert@greeleytribune.com

Mike Peters, Reporter
Phone Number: (970) 392-4433
E-Mail: mpeters@greeleytribune.com

Transteen Documentaries

Here are two more documentaries on transteens that I found on YouTube. Enjoy.


The MSNBC story on Angelika Torres




Julie Joyce's story 'I'm Not A Boy'

Rochelle's Tough Year

TransGriot Note: Remember Rochelle Evans, who last year fought the Fort Worth Independent School District for the right to be herself? Well, that was the easy part. This Dallas Voice story updates us on what's transpired in her life since.

Fort Worth Transgender Teen Trying To Put Life Back Together

by Ben Briscoe
Dallas Voice
photos by Ben Briscoe

It’s been just more than a year since local transgender teen Rochelle Evans made headlines by fighting her school district for the right to be called “she” and to be herself.

Now Evans says this year was even harder than the last.

It all started when Evans’ mom and dad got divorced after her father couldn’t handle the transition from Rodney to Rochelle.

“That was really hard,” Evans said. “But it quickly got worse.”

Evans’s mom, Lenora, lost her job and the family had to move into a one-bedroom apartment because that’s all they could afford. Evans went to live with her mom’s aunt, but there was a catch: She had to come as a male not a female.

“It just felt like I had been teased. As if you know, as if the world had teased me about what I could be,” she said. “I could be this beautiful woman. Stand up on my own. Be who I wanted to be. I could fight my school district with my mom’s support. And to have that ripped away from you hurt a lot.”

Evans and her aunt and uncle struggled over her identity. The conflict got so great that Evans moved two more times and was in and out of school so much that she racked up four months of absences.

When she tried to re-enroll in a Fort Worth Independent School District she couldn’t because she had missed too much school.

But Evans recovered. She’s living with her best friend’s family and is in an academy now and doing well.

“It’s been going great. No bullying from kids. I get along with all the teachers, all the staff. So as far as now, I’m just worried about getting my education,” Evans said.

In fact, education is so important to her that she wakes up every day while it’s still dark outside to ride the bus to school. Having just turned 16, Evans could get a license and drive, but she chooses not to because she wants to have her name legally changed to Rochelle before getting any form of identification.

"I’ve talked to a lot of older transgender men and women, and they all say until you get your name changed and your F for female put on your driver’s license, life is going to be hard,” Evans said. “And with my mom going through her financial hardships, I just haven’t been able to pursue that yet.”

Like any other teen, Evans is obsessed with text messaging her friends and trying to find a job for some extra spending money. But unlike others, employers are turning her down for being transgender.

She’s had several prospective bosses tell her so in a roundabout way and one at a restaurant chain that just bluntly said it.

“That was really like a punch to the face. Like, oh, that hurt,” she said. “But I can move on. It will heal.”

Evans considered legal action but says she wants to put any more lawsuits on hold, at least until summer. That’s because her primary goal right now is doing well enough in school to get a scholarship to Texas Christian University where she wants to major in psychology.

Another hardship this year has been learning how to date as a transgender teenage girl. A situation can get sticky when Evans has to tell guys she’s interested in that she is biologically male.

“Normally they are, ‘Click.’ You know, [they] hang up in [my] face and [I] never hear from them again,” Evans said. “And you know, I can’t really blame them for it. But it still hurts.”

Plus, she always wonders in the back of her head why those who don’t hang up stay on the line.

“It’s just hard too because I feel like a lot of times, I’m a fetish. Men think, ‘Oh, I haven’t tried that before,’” Evans said. “But I’ll get through it. I’ll find that one person. I’m only 16. I’ve got some time.”

For now, Evans is just taking everything day by day.

“Rochelle, she is just having to do a whole lot, just growing up a whole lot by herself,” Lenora said as tears ran down her cheeks. “I’m just proud of her because as always she just succeeds by herself.”