Destruction Of The Black Transwoman Image

One of the things that I and my transsisters have in common with our biosisters besides our shared cultural heritage is defending the images of Black women from constant assault inside and outside the community.

Ever since the advent of the slave trade, the Black female image has been subjected to a wide array of slights, outrageous comments, and bigoted or racist behavior.

Black women have dealt with everything from being sexually assaulted by slave masters who considered them less than human to being toured as carnival exhibits as Saartjie Baartman was in the early 19th century as the Hottentot Venus. We also have our wide-ranging skin tone palettes, full lips, curvaceous bodies and ample butts constantly derided as either 'exotic' or 'ugly' vis-a-vis the Eurocentric standard of beauty.



We African-American transwomen share like our biosisters the same problems in addition to others brought on by our transgender status. At least my biosisters don't have to contend with being disrespectfully called 'sir' or called a man.

Oops, check that. Any sistah who's 5'8" or taller, has short cropped hair, is an athlete, or full figured and tall with broad shoulders has had that shade thrown at them. I just remembered the Khadijah Farmer case now currently in litigation.

But I'm digressing. The transwomen division part of the Black female image destruction is in large part courtesy of the escort and porn worlds. We didn't start out with negative images. Over the latter half of the 20th century as coverage of transgender issues became more frequent on local, national, and international newscasts, there was a corresponding explosion in transgender themed adult material. One major irritant to me and many African-American transwomen (and the irritation is shared by our Latina and Asian transsisters as well) is that the images are predominately women of color.

While there are also white transwomen involved in those worlds, they have balance because John and Jane Q. Public have also seen news stories in which white transwomen are seen as businesspeople, politicians elected to office, et cetera. Since the stories are either ignored or aren't being told that transwomen of color are doing mainstream and remarkable things, the negatives get disproportionately shunted to and pile up for African-American transwomen.

Many of us take our transitions seriously. We are talented, intelligent, accomplished women in our own rights. But you wouldn't know that (and probably don't) know that based on the disproportionate attention focused on the subset of our transsistahs involved in the escort and adult entertainment world.

Unfortunately the tendency to judge African-Americans by the worst we produce, combined with our near invisibility in terms of the 55 year history of positive media coverage of transgender people vis-a-vis our white sisters have been devastating to our efforts to educate our fellow African-Americans on transgender issues. It's probably one of the factors in why we initially lost eight CBC votes in the ENDA debate last fall.

We also haven't been helped by Hollywood movie or television portrayals or fictional accounts that perpetuate the 'Black transwomen are hookers' myth. You only need look at two television characters to see what we African-American transwomen have to contend with.

On one hand, you have Rebecca Romijn's Ugly Betty character Alexis Meade, who plays a major role in running a magazine empire. Jazzmun gets to play Dontrelle, who is guess what?

What is a prostitute, Alex?



I'm a big fan of actress Kerry Washington, but in the upcoming movie Life Is Hot In Cracktown based on the novel of the same name, she gets to play a transwoman. While I'm not thrilled that she's playing a character who once again feeds into that 'Black transwomen are hookers' stereotype, I know based on her past work that she's a stickler for authenticity.

She hired Valerie Spencer as her advisor and had Valerie on set to ensure that her character was on point in terms of the emotions and drama that we deal with. I'd just like to see Kerry Washington, any sistah actress or Jazzmun one day get to play an African-American transgender character like Alexis Meade or the Edith Stokes character Veronica Redd played back in the 70's.

Unfortunately, the stereotype is overpowering whatever positive things we try to do as African-American transwomen. When the members of TSTB were in the process of organizing the first Transsistahs-Transbrothas Conference in 2005, the white transgender community was fearful we'd take that moment to permanently separate ourselves from them. I took pains as one of the organizers to write an open letter in February 2005 explaining why we were doing it and posted it to a few transgender oriented lists.

One of the responses that came back on the tgusarights list was from a person calling herself Brenda Jean, who stated that our conference 'would make it easier for us to service our tricks'. That negative image was revealed during the wrongful death trial of Tyra Hunter to have partly played a role in her untimely death from an auto accident. She was not only disrespected at the accident scene by the EMT, but was ignored after she arrived at DC General Hospital and administered a drug that they give to emergency patients they presume to be drug addicts.

There was one night back home when I was watching my friend Sivi Ross do a drag show in a predominately white GLBT club called Cousins. I ended up reading a patron the riot act after he disrespectfully propositioned yours truly by saying the words "How much?" to me.

We also have to contend with as African-American transwomen when we enter relationships with us being lumped on the 'exotic' end of the scale. In some men's minds, what could be more 'exotic' than a beautiful African-American woman with (or who used to have) daddy's equipment? (And you know the stereotype about African-American men)



Just as our biosisters have to constantly fight a never ending battle to debunk these stereotypes, African-American transwomen will be in the same fight on a different flank to combat the stereotypes unique to us.

Beautiful Daughters

If you've ever seen The Vagina Monologues, some of you may be aware that there was an all transgender version of it done in Los Angeles back in 2004. That production was videotaped in a documentary called Beautiful Daughters that's been repeatedly broadcast on LOGO (which my cable system doesn't carry yet no thanks to the local fundamentalist idiots).

During that February 2 performance, Eve Ensler, the creator of The Vagina Monologues wrote and debuted a transgender-themed monologue entitled 'They Beat The Girl Out Of My Boy..Or So They Tried. It's a monologue that my homegirl Lexi has performed in a local production of the play as well.



One of the people in the all-transgender production was transsister Valerie Spencer, who I've been pleased to get to know thanks to the Transsistahs-Transbrothas Yahoo Group I founded in 2004. In addition to doing some marvelous work out in the LA area as a social worker and activist, Valerie has been exploring the artistic side of her personality as well. (Hmm, sounds familiar)

I was also delighted to learn that Valerie was actress Kerry Washington's advisor for the soon to be released film Life Is Hot In Cracktown, based on Buddy Giovinazzo's 1993 novel of the same name. In the film Kerry will play a transgender character.

The V-Day show raised a lot of money and was an emotional experience for all involved. It's cool that transgender women's voices are now incorporated into this fabulous play as well.

Tired Of The 'F' Word

The 'F' word I'm talking about in this case is Minister Louis Farrakhan.

It never fails that when an African-American candidate is running in a political race in which they have to appeal to a broad sector of the electorate, are sucessfully doing so, and winning (see Barack Obama a few months ago) the 'F' word comes out to 'scurr' white voters. It's why many African-Americans were more than angry with Chris Matthews when he brought up Minister Farrakhan in the MSGOP debate a few months ago.

I have mixed emotions about Louis Farrakhan personally like many African-Americans do. Hu-ell naw I don't like some of his negative comments about our Jewish friends and some of the other over the top statements over the years. But you have to admire somebody who can get formerly incarcerated men and other assorted knuckleheads to not only turn their lives around, but become responsible citizens who do their fair share to live up to our community's historic uplift the race mission.

You also have to admire someone who can inspire a million African-American men from all sectors of the community and across the country to organize, plan and gather together for a peaceful day on the Washington Mall.

For those of you who were focused more on Rev. Jeremiah Wright's antics and the subsequent MSM spin intended to damage Sen. Obama's march to the Democratic nomination, you missed out on the nuggets of truth that were interspersed during that infamous National Press Club speech.

While it is uncomfortable for White America to hear, Rev. Wright wasn't kidding when he stated that when Minister Farrakhan speaks, Black America listens. Many of us listen, analyze what he has to say, sift out the truth and dismiss what we don't like.

Even Tavis Smiley has gotten criticism for having him on the stage during several State of the Black Union events, but Tavis realizes what I know as well. There are folks in the African-American community to whom Minister Farrakhan appeals to, and an honest dialogue on our issues in the Black community can't take place if all parties aren't represented.

But I'm sick of African-American candidates getting whacked with decades old statements, video and five second snippets of Farrakhan soundbites in an obvious attempt to paint an African-American candidate with broad based white electorate appeal as 'racist'.

If some of y'all wanna fall for that okey-doke, that's on you. But if you let the bogus fear mongering from Faux News and the Right-Wing Noise Machine deter you from electing the best presidential candidate we've had since Bobby Kennedy for superficial reasons, that's a tragedy for the nation.

Belly of the Beast-The Atlanta HRC Dinner

TransGriot Note: The transgender community's protests of HRC dinners continue. Last weekend was the Atlanta HRC dinner, and Monica Helms in a post from her Trans Universe Blog tells us what went down in the ATL.

The "Belly of the Beast" – The Atlanta HRC Dinner
By Monica F. Helms


At the last minute, I didn’t know if I could attend the Atlanta HRC Dinner protest in front of the Hyatt Regency, May 3, 2008. Work had me signed up to do 2 hours of overtime right in the middle of when the protest was scheduled. Luckily, I was able to trade the hours to a co-worker.

On Saturday, I had to formulate a plan to talk with the most people I could at the dinner. But in order to do that, I needed to go inside the “Belly of the Beast.” Being a former submariner, I was familiar with submarine war tactics, which have helped me as an activist in the past. You sneak into an enemy’s port, lay a few torpedoes in the sides of their ships, then slip silently away. They never know what hit them.

For this dinner, I needed a disguise, in other words, a “duck blind.” When hunting ducks, the hunters have to blend into the environment, so they build a camouflage enclosure where they can see the ducks, but the ducks cannot see them. For this, I would wear my long evening gown that had no back. It’s also how spies blend into a fancy party. “My name is Bond. Jane Bond.” I was ready to do some shaking AND stirring. Of course, I probably blew my cover when I wore my “Trans and Proud” and “TAVA” buttons.

I knew that I would not get into the dinner without a ticket and I had no intention of buying one. However, they always had their Silent Auction before the dinner and you didn’t have to have a dinner ticket to go in there.

When I arrived at the Hyatt, two people were already handing out flyers and holding signs. Sir Jesse was outside and Anneliese was just inside the hotel door, handing out flyers as people came in. Others who arrived later were Jamie, Jae, Marisa, Dante, Betty and a friend of hers, Ghetto Gospel.

I heard earlier from Betty that on Thursday, May 1st, Joe Solmonese had a meeting with a half dozen transgender people here in Georgia . I wasn’t invited, nor was a few other transgender people who have worked at the national level, such as Dana Owings, Kristin Reichman and Cole Thaler from Lambda Legal. I’m willing to bet it was not accidental.

I was told that Joe “. . . apologized for misspeaking at Southern Comfort . . .” and that “. . . had he known what was going to have happen, he wouldn’t have said what he had said.” To me that translates to “HRC has no integrity when it comes to speaking to transgender people and I have the backbone of a jelly fish.” George Orwell would be so proud.

Once inside, I strolled into the Silent Auction like I belonged there. In reality, if HRC was more supportive of transgender people and their needs, then I would have indeed belonged there. But, I was nothing more than an interloper in the game of intrigue. Okay, so I’m getting a bit melodramatic.

The first thing that I noticed was that in a city that has a large population of African Americans, the crowd looked distinctly white and distinctly male. There were some attendees who were People of Color and there were attendees who were female, but where I saw the most diversity was with the “hired help” and the volunteers. Interesting enough, one of the dinner’s co-chairs (Ebonee Bradford) was an African American woman.

The theme for the evening was a Las Vegas casino, complete with the bright lights, Vegas showgirls and an Elvis impersonator. I mingled with the crowd, talking to various people there, some who openly admitted they were part of HRC’s organization. I spoke with one woman who touted HRC’s “wonderful” Corporate Equality Index, having no idea I would be the wrong person to try and convince their CEI was so “perfect.” I proceeded to point out that my 100% company screwed me over simply because I’m trans when I needed a medically necessary operation that others in the company can get.

I told the woman the bar for transgender medical issues was set so low that an ant could jump over it. HRC does that to falsely inflate the numbers on the 100% list and to placate the corporations by allowing them to medically mistreat their transgender employees, just as long as their gay and lesbian employees are treated fairly. Transgender people don’t need to be treated fairly, by HRC’s standards.

During my journey through “ Never-Never Land ,” I had a chance to speak to the Beast Master himself, Joe Solmonese. I was nice and I complimented him on how appropriate the casino theme for the dinner was. “This is such a perfect theme you have here, Joe. It’s all about gambling . . . and you’re gambling with people’s lives.” I suspect he didn’t appreciate that.

Of course, I wasn’t going to stop there. I informed him about the Transgender Veterans Survey, conducted by TAVA that had just ended and it had 827 responses to it. Besides the military and VA-related questions in the survey, we had a great deal of general questions. I said he needs to see how many of our transgender veterans were unemployed and under-employed, and how many have been discriminated on the job. It didn’t seem to faze him. Ask me if I’m surprised.

Interesting, the number of transgender veterans who took our survey far surpasses the number of responses on the questionable survey HRC conducted to see if transgender people should be in ENDA. Also, you have to factor in the small population our respondents came from to really get the impact.

Then I asked Solmonese why I didn’t get an E-mail inviting me to the meeting on Thursday. He said, “I don’t know who put that together.” Ah, really? Does he expect me to believe he’s that clueless on something as important as a meeting? He then asked me, “What did you hear of the meeting?” I responded by saying, “That it took place and I wasn’t invited.” Also, the media wasn’t invited. I guess he doesn’t want to take a chance of going on record with what he says to transgender people. I wonder why.

The one thing that really set me off was when I had a chance to speak with a person I thought was a friend. He is an effeminate gay man who is the partner of a lawyer who I know through SLDN and the American Veterans for Equal Rights. He proceeded to tell me about his four-hour session at the spa to get ready for the event. I told him I was there to educate people on the need for a fully inclusive ENDA.

He said, “Oh, I don’t support that at all. They said there aren’t enough votes with transgender people in the bill. Besides, we need a win.”

I was pissed. “So, you want a win on the backs of millions of transgender people?” He tried to say something, but I continued. “You are an effeminate gay man and without Gender Identity and Gender Expression in ENDA, you’re just as fucked as transgender people. You and butch lesbians will be screwed, just like me.” He didn’t respond to that. Besides, he had his sugar daddy, so to hell with everyone else. I walked away.

The best thing I found out was when I went back outside to join the protest. Betty, a member of the Atlanta Pride Committee, informed me that they just had a vote that day to turn down HRC’s offer to be a sponsor for this year’s Pride. In a year where the expenses have increased in putting on Atlanta Pride, they turned down $5000 from HRC because of their stance on ENDA. I always knew I loved the people on the Atlanta Pride Committee, but this made me love them even more. I hope others will take that stance with HRC at their pride events. Betty also informed me that a trans man will be the Grand Marshall for the Pride Parade.

So much for the Atlanta HRC Dinner. I may not have made an impact on many people, but a friend reminded me that every little bit helps. I want to express my appreciation to Jamie Roberts and Sir Jesse McNulty for putting this together. It’s people like them and the Atlanta Pride Committee who make me proud to live in Georgia.

Today Was A Good B-Day

I still have a few minutes left in another Cuatro De Mayo celebration, AKA my birthday. As usual its been an interesting weekend.

I was born during the Kennedy Administration at 10:45 PM CDT on this day in H-town's Third Ward. At this point in my life I look at every birthday I reach as the blessing that it is, especially when you factor in that it took me awhile to evolve (and I'm STILL evolving) into the person I am today.

One of the neat things about living in Da Ville is that my birthday falls either just before, on or just after Derby Day. The two week period leading up to the Kentucky Derby is a smorgasbord of events, parties and festivals all leading up to the Derby and Kentucky Oaks. The Oaks is held the day before at Churchill Downs and the races that day including the Oaks have fillies running in them.

When I first moved up here in 2001, my big 4-0 birthday actually fell during Derby 128 in 2002. I still have memorabilia stashed from that one..

Of course, the GLBT community gets in on the fun as well. One of the parties I attended last night was sponsored by our local GLBT civil rights organization, the Fairness Campaign. It's a fundraiser for Fairness and an opportunity for our community to show some love to all the local, state and national political peeps and others who support us. It's also a chance for GLBT friendly celebs who are attending other Derby events around town to interface with their local GLBT fans. And hey, i get to dress up for it as well.

But that party made for a short night. I'd already agreed to roll up to Columbus this morning with Dawn to catch another fencing tournament with her, and we shoved off bright and early up I-71 north at 10 AM EDT to do so. A few hours later we were in Columbus, but not after a little Mapquest drama.

For those of you who Mapquest trips, you're probably aware of the quirks that sometimes pop up that have you taking counterintuitive routes to your destination point. Nine times out of ten it's on target, but every now and then you get one of those head scratching routings

Well, our target destination was a high school in Dublin, OH where the Great Lakes Regional Tournament was being held. We should have been routed off I-71 WESTWARD onto I-270. Instead, it gave us directions a few minutes into it I realized had us going EASTWARD away from Dublin. I ended up catching I-70 west, cutting through downtown Columbus and intersecting I-270 a few moments later and getting Dawn there 35 minutes before check in time at 3 PM EDT.

Well, despite that glitch, I did enjoy the tournament, have a pleasant trip up and back on a beautiful spring day through the Kentucky and Ohio countryside while blasting Janet Jackson's new CD and a host of old school R&B favorites on my system.

I also had the opportunity at various moments during that drive to reflect on some of the blessings I've received this year. Being invited to become a contributing writer to the Project. Speaking at the upcoming inaugural New England Transgender Pride March on June 7. Having people in my life who love and care about me in addition to the calls, e-mails, e-cards and well wishes I received from people who consider me an important part of their lives. I deeply appreciate all the love you've showered on me today.

When I blew out the candles on the cake, one of the things I wished for will hopefully take place on May 20, November 4 and January 20, 2009.

So yeah, today was a good day. And I hope to be blessed with another similar one like it or better 365 days from now.

My Birthday Horoscope

TransGriot Note: Just for fun I decided to pull this up and see how accurate it was: hmmmm....

May 4 Birthday Astrology
by Jill M. Phillips

A Taurus born on May 4 seeks to distill from life its purest essence. Where most people have a tendency to complicate events, these men and women want to enjoy life in a simple and unadorned fashion. Spiritually, these individuals set high standards for themselves.

Friends and Lovers

People born on May 4 have a charismatic personality that sets them apart. Because of this it is sometimes hard for May 4 people to know why people are drawn to them as friends. Love and romance bring a similar dilemma. They are easily swayed by flattery. May 4 men and women should use a great deal of discretion when choosing a life-mate.

Children and Family

The deep spiritual values possessed by May 4 people are generally the result of some profound experience during their childhood years. Their upbringing is likely to have been unusual or offbeat. They love children, and whether or not they have any of their own, they'll continually concern themselves with children's issues.

Health

May 4 people take an active interest in keeping themselves healthy. They eat well, exercise regularly, and rarely if ever have to worry about putting on excess weight. Frequent check-ups and the use of alternate remedies in addition to conventional ones can help ensure good health.

Career and Finances

With their dynamic personality and devotion to social causes, May 4 individuals prefer careers where they can make a difference in the world. They often choose politics, the law, social work, or family counseling. If they have considerable financial power they may use it to garner support for worthy causes. These people have simple tastes and seldom make a show of what they possess.

Dreams and Goals

May 4 individuals are philosophical types who ask "why not?" when contemplating a life change. They have a wildly optimistic view of life, believing that they can make the world a better place through their own efforts. No matter what kind of career they decide upon, these individuals are sure to favor humanitarian concerns.

Taurus Information for May 4

You should embrace: Interesting projects, joy, changes of venue
You should avoid: Anxiety, insecurity, drawing conclusions

May 4 Stuff

Today is my favorite day on the calendar next to payday and Christmas because at 10:45 PM in Houston's Third Ward yours truly was born. ;)

So in honor of my favorite day I'm posting all the events and peeps who share my birthday.

Events

1256 - Augustinian monastic order constituted at Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae
1415 - Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus were condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance.
1471 - Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Tewkesbury – Edward IV defeats a Lancastrian Army and kills Edward, Prince of Wales.
1493 - Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Demarcation Line.
1494 - Christopher Columbus lands in Jamaica.
1626 - Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present day Manhattan Island) aboard the See Meeuw.
1675 - King Charles II of England orders the construction of the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
1686 - Municipality of Ilagan was founded in the Philippines.
1799 - Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: The Battle of Seringapatam – The siege of Seringapatam ends when the city is assaulted and the Tipu Sultan killed by the besieging British army, under the command of General George Harris.
1814 - Emperor Napoleon I of France arrives at Portoferraio on the island of Elba to begin his exile.
1814 - King Ferdinand VII of Spain signs the Decrete of the 4th of May, returning Spain to absolutism.
1855 - American adventurer William Walker departs from San Francisco with about 60 men to conquer Nicaragua.
1859 - Cornwall Railway opened across the Royal Albert Bridge linking the counties of Devon and Cornwall in England.
1863 - American Civil War: Battle of Chancellorsville – The battle ends with a Union retreat.
1869 - The Naval Battle of Hakodate takes place in Japan.
1871 - The National Association, the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
1886 - Haymarket Square Riot: A bomb is thrown at policemen trying to break up a labor rally in Chicago, Illinois, United States, killing eight and wounding 60. The police fire into the crowd.
1904 - Construction begins by the United States on the Panama Canal.
1904 - German football club FC Schalke 04 was founded
1904 - Charles Stewart Rolls met Frederick Henry Royce at the Midland Hotel in Manchester England.
1910 - The Royal Canadian Navy is created.
1912 - Italy occupies the Greek island of Rhodes.
1919 - May Fourth Movement: Student demonstrations take place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, protesting the Treaty of Versailles, which transferred Chinese territory to Japan.
1924 - The 1924 Summer Olympics open in Paris, France.
1930 - British police arrest Mahatma Gandhi and place him in Yeravda Central Prison.
1932 - In Atlanta, Georgia, mobster Al Capone begins serving an eleven-year prison sentence for tax evasion.
1942 - World War II: Battle of the Coral Sea – The battle begins with an attack by aircraft from the United States aircraft carrier Yorktown on Japanese naval forces at Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese forces had invaded Tulagi the day before.
1945 - World War II: Liberation of the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg by the British Army.
1945 - World War II: Surrender of the North Germany Army to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.
1946 - In San Francisco Bay, US Marines from the Treasure Island Marine Barracks stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz federal prison. Five people are killed in the riot.
1949 - The entire Torino football (soccer) team (except for one player who did not take the trip due to an injury) is killed in a plane crash at the Superga hill at the edge of Turin, Italy.
1953 - Ernest Hemingway is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.
1961 - American civil rights movement: The "Freedom Riders" begin a bus trip through the South.
1970 - Vietnam War: Kent State shootings – The Ohio National Guard, sent to Kent State University after the ROTC building was burnt down, opens fire killing four students and wounding nine others. The students were protesting the United States' invasion of Cambodia.
1972 - The Don't Make A Wave Committee, a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to "Greenpeace Foundation".
1974 - An all-female Japanese team reaches the summit of Manaslu, becoming the first women to climb an 8,000-meter peak.
1979 - Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1980 - President Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia dies in Ljubljana at the age of 87.
1982 - 20 sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield (D80) is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War.
1988 - The PEPCON disaster rocked Henderson, Nevada, as tons of space shuttle fuel detonated during a fire.
1989 - Iran-Contra Affair: Former White House aide Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and was acquitted of nine other charges. The convictions, however, are later overturned on appeal.
1990 - Latvia proclaims renewal of its independence after the Soviet occupation.
1994 - Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord regarding Palestinian autonomy granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
1998 - A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepted a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
2000 - Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London.
2001 - Pope John Paul II follows Saint Paul's footsteps across the Mediterranean, from Greece to Syria to Malta.
2001 - The Milwaukee Art Museum addition, the first Santiago Calatrava-designed structure in the United States, opens to the public.
2002 - An EAS Airlines BAC 1-11-500 crashes in a suburb of Kano, Nigeria shortly after takeoff killing more than 148 people.

Births

1008 - Khajeh Abdollah Ansari, The Persian Sufi (d. 1088)
1008 - King Henry I of France (d. 1060)
1654 - Kangxi Emperor of China (d. 1722)
1655 - Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian maker of musical instruments (d. 1731)
1715 - Richard Graves, English writer (d. 1804)
1733 - Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, political scientist, and sailor (d. 1799)
1752 - John Brooks, 11th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1825)
1767 - Tyagaraja, Composer of Indian classical Carnatic music (d. 1847)
1772 - Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus, German publisher (d. 1823)
1781 - Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher (d. 1832)
1796 - Horace Mann, American educator (d. 1859)
1796 - William H. Prescott, American historian (d. 1859)
1820 - Julia Tyler, First Lady of the United States (d. 1889)
1822 - Charles Boucher de Boucherville, Quebec politician (d. 1915)
1825 - Thomas Henry Huxley, English scientist (d. 1895)
1825 - Augustus Le Plongeon, French antiquitarian (d. 1908)
1826 - Frederic Edwin Church, American painter (d. 1900)
1827 - John Hanning Speke, British explorer (d. 1864)
1852 - Alice Pleasance Liddell, English schoolgirl model for Alice in Wonderland (d. 1934)
1864 - Marie Booth, the third daughter of William and Catherine Booth (d. 1937)
1870 - Alexandre Benois, Russian artist (d. 1960)
1873 - Joe De Grasse, Canadian film director (d. 1940)
1889 - Francis Cardinal Spellman, American religious leader (d. 1967)
1903 - Luther Adler, American stage actor (d. 1984)
1904 - Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer (official Date of Birth) (d. 1975)
1908 - Giovannino Guareschi, Italian journalist (d. 1968)
1913 - Lady Katherine Brandram, née Princess of Greece and Denmark
1916 - Jane Jacobs, Canadian author and activist (d. 2006)
1918 - Tanaka Kakuei, Japanese political leader (d. 1993)
1918 - Thomas Mead, Australian politician and journalist (d. 2004)
1919 - Dory Funk, Professional wrestler (d. 1973)
1921 - Edo Murtić, Croatian painter (d. 2005)
1923 - Ed Cassidy, American musician (Spirit)
1923 - Eric Sykes, British actor and comedian
1923 - Godfrey Quigley, British actor (d. 1994)
1923 - Assi Rahbani, Lebanese composer and author
1925 - Maurice R. Greenberg, American businessman
1928 - Maynard Ferguson, Canadian musician (d. 2006)
1928 - Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt
1928 - Wolfgang von Trips, German racing driver (d. 1961)
1929 - Audrey Hepburn, Anglo-Dutch actress (d. 1993)
1929 - Sidney Lamb, American linguist
1930 - Roberta Peters, American soprano
1931 - Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Russian conductor
1931 - Thomas Stuttaford, British doctor and writer
1933 - J. Fred Duckett, Texan sports announcer and teacher
1936 - El Cordobés, Spanish matador
1937 - Ron Carter, American jazz bassist
1937 - Dick Dale, American guitarist
1937 - Mr. Fuji, Former professional wrestler
1938 - Tyrone Davis, American soul singer (d. 2005)
1938 - Carlos Monsiváis, Mexican writer
1939 - Paul Gleason, American actor (d. 2006)
1939 - Amos Oz, Israeli writer, novelist, and journalist
1939 - Léon Rochefort, Quebec ice hockey player
1940 - Robin Cook, American novelist
1941 - George Will, American writer
1942 - Nickolas Ashford, American record producer, songwriter, and musician (Ashford and Simpson)
1943 - Mikhail Chemiakin, Russian painter
1944 - Roger Rees, British-born actor
1945 - Narasimhan Ram, Indian journalist
1946 - John Watson, Northern Irish racecar driver
1948 - Hurley Haywood, American race car driver, and three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
1949 - John Force, American race car driver
1949 - Stella Parton, American country music singer
1949 - Graham Swift, British author
1950 - Darryl Hunt, English musician (The Pogues)
1951 - Colin Bass, British bassist (Camel)
1951 - Jackie Jackson, American singer and musician (The Jackson 5)
1951 - Gérard Jugnot, French actor, film director, screenwriter and producer
1951 - Mick Mars, American guitarist (Mötley Crüe)
1952 - Michael Barrymore, English comedian, actor, quiz master and entertainer
1954 - Pia Zadora, American actress
1955 - Robert Ellis Orrall, American singer
1956 - David Guterson, American author
1956 - Ulrike Meyfarth, German athlete
1956 - Ken Oberkfell, American baseball player
1958 - Delbert Fowler, American and Canadian professional football player
1958 - Keith Haring, American graphical artist (d. 1990)
1959 - Scott Armstrong, American professional wrestling referee
1959 - Randy Travis, American musician
1961 - Luis Herrera, Colombian cyclist
1961 - Ishita Bhaduri, Indian (Bengali) Poet
1962 - Oleta Adams, American singer
1964 - Mónica Bardem, Spanish actress
1964 - Zsuzsa Mathe, Hungarian painter and visual artist, founder of transrealism
1964 - Rocco Siffredi, Italian porn actor
1967 - Ana Gasteyer, American actress
1968 - Julian Barratt, English comedian and musician, one half of The Mighty Boosh
1968 - Kate Garraway, English GMTV Presenter
1969 - Micah Aivazoff, Canadian ice hockey player
1969 - Ryan Shamrock, American wrestling valet
1970 - Gregg Alexander, American musician (New Radicals)
1971 - Joe Borowski, American baseball player
1971 - Luiz Garcia, Jr., Brazilian racing driver
1972 - Manny Aybar, Dominican baseball player
1972 - Mike Dirnt, American musician (Green Day)
1973 - Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Argentine footballer
1973 - John Madden, Canadian ice hockey player
1974 - Miguel Cairo, Venezuelan baseball player
1975 - Laci Peterson, American murder victim (d. 2002)
1976 - Ben Grieve, American baseball player
1976 - Jason Michaels, American baseball player
1977 - Emily Perkins, Canadian actress
1977 - Mariano Pernía, Argentine-Spanish footballer
1979 - Lance Bass, American singer (*NSYNC)
1979 - Wes Butters, British broadcaster
1979 - Lesley Vainikolo, Tongan born rugby union and rugby league player
1980 - Andrew Raycroft, NHL goalie
1981 - Eric Djemba-Djemba, Cameroon footballer
1982 - Kleopas Giannou, Greek footballer
1982 - Hector King, Mexican singer-songwriter
1982 - Markus Rogan, Austrian swimmer
1982 - Rasheeda,American hiphop singer
1983 - Trisha Krishnan, Indian actress
1983 - Derek Roy, Canadian ice hockey player
1984 - Manjural Islam, Bangladeshi test cricket player (d. 2007)
1984 - Kevin Slowey, American baseball player
1984 - Montell Owens, American football player
1985 - Anthony Fedorov, American singer
1985 - Ravinder Bopara, English cricketer
1987 - Cesc Fàbregas, Spanish footballer
1987 - Jorge Lorenzo, Spanish motorcycle racer
1987 - Anjeza Shahini, Albanian singer
1994 - Pauline Ducruet, daughter of HSH Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
1994 - Alexander Gould, American actor

Deaths

1975 - Moe Howard, American actor and comedian (b. 1897)
1980 - Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia (b. 1892)

Nothin' But A Derby Party

photos-Louisville Courier-Journal 'The Buzz' columnist Angie Fenton wearing a derby hat, Gabrielle Union and Shaun Robinson at the Derby, the Lady Chablis

One of the interesting things about life in Louisville is the two week period that this town throws itself a party in advance of its signature event, the Kentucky Derby. During that two weeks, Da Ville gets celebrities winging in on private jets from all over the planet to attend the numerous derby parties being thrown all over the area. It's also fun for me since Derby always falls either on or around my May 4 birthday.


We rush all over town trying to find that perfect hat or dress for Derby, getting hair done, and spend the day in the nail shop getting manicured and pedicured. If we're not checking out the various events connected with the Kentucky Derby Festival, or standing outside the Barstable house along with the paparazzi trying to get a glimpse of the celebs arriving for the Barnstable-Brown party, or feel like shelling out the big bucks for the African-American community's signature event the Grand Gala, we're watching the all day coverage of the Kentucky Oaks or Derby or making sure we've got other things to do.

The Louisville GLBT community gets in on the fun as well. If we're not attending the parties at a gay-centric nightclub or at a friend's place, we're getting ready for the Derby party that serves as a fundraiser for the Fairness Campaign along with our GLBT friends from Lexington and the rest of the state.


It hasn'r been around as long as the others, but it's one in which GLBT celebs or GLBT friendly ones pop in and show some love to our community. One that's definitely gonna be missed this year is Anna Nicole Smith, who made it a point to stop in and treat us to her over the top wild and crazy personality. She was arriving just as I was leaving the 2003 event. At that same 2003 one I ended up talking to the Lady Chablis, and made her night when I pulled out my copy of her autobiography for her petite self to autograph. Speaking of cute, petite women, Angie was sporting a pink derby hat to go with the pink suit she was rocking while reporting on the party for the C-J.

That one sticks in my memory for another reason besides the Lady Chablis. I got into a fascinating conversation with Tammy Faye about faith, and she told me something that has stuck with me ever since: Never let anyone tell you that God doesn't love you.

Damn, gotta go make a run to Walgreen's and pick up a disposable camera and another pair of hose for the party tonight.

Shame and Guilt

One of the things we transpeople fight a neverending battle with is shame and guilt issues. They are the result of the accumulation of things and events that we experienced growing up in mismatched bodies.

For example, if we held our schoolbooks the 'wrong' way, flopped around in mom's heels as a toddler or wanted to play with dolls instead of army men and trucks, we were quickly and firmly told that we couldn't do that because we were 'boys' and those were 'girls' things.

As you grow older and the defined gender roles become more rigid and the peer pressure to conform becomes more intense, you look for any outlet to relieve the growing pressure to release the girl inside and discover crossdressing as an outlet to do just that.

But as you do that you're bombarded by the negative cultural message that 'it's wrong' for boys to wear 'girls' clothes, but note the contradiction that girls not only can wear 'boys clothes' it's celebrated as a fashion statement. You're more troubled when you sit in your church on Sunday and hear your pastor spew forth an anti-gay sermon. Heaven help you if you get caught while in cross-dressed mode and get the beatdown of your life.

That forces you to retreat deep inside, resolve not to tell anyone about your issues out of fear, and you begin to feel guilt for not standing up and being honest about who and what you really are.

You struggle to do what your heart and your brain are telling you, but because you're in the opposite body are being slowly pushed to conform to the gender norms and expectations of being an inhabitant in that body.

If you're a person who thinks and plans long term, you end up not making those plans because you have a transgender issue that's the wild card in the deck of life that will upset whatever hopes and dreams you dare to have.

Relationships? If you're honest with yourself, you back out or sabotage them because you don't want to hurt the bioperson that is falling in love with you. You dread telling your parents and family members because you're afraid of not only being tossed out of the house, but being cut off from their love and affection forever.

And you're miserable because of it.

One of the first keys to beating shame and guilt is dealing with all those issues. You also must realize that it's not a crime to be transgender and live your life. You had no more control over being transgender than you have over your sexual orientation or other immutable characteristics.

What you do have control over is how you intelligently deal with the issues that resulted from the body-mind mismatch.

Tellin' Our Stories

One of the things that is desperately needed in the wake of the repeated attempts by the HRC-Frank neo-Mattachine cabal to cut transpeople out of ENDA is African-American transpeople willing to tell our stories to not only our community, but our legislative representatives as well.

Thanks to the Democrats regaining control of congress in the 2006 midterm elections and the addition of members, the Congressional Black caucus is not only larger than its ever been in its history, it is now wielding historic levels of power with several members chairing committees, Rep. Clyburn being majority whip and a certain senator from Illinois running for president.

That fact hasn't been lost on our white fundamentalist enemies in the Traditional Values Coalition and the Religious Reich. They have sent their faith-based flunkies in the Hi Impact Leadership Coalition to do their browbeating for them. They know from historical trends that any progressive legislation doesn't pass the House without the support of 'The Conscience of the Congress'.

While I don't mind telling our stories to our congressmembers, I can't be the only one. Our enemies are damnded sure firing up the buses full of faith-based sheeple to spread lies about us and rolling them to Washington. The Lo Impact 'ministers' are using their TVC provided talking points to convince them NOT to include us. But all their talking points with their carefully selected negative scriptures can't compare to a transgender constituent telling their story of how a lack of employment protections led to them losing a job.

Yes, now is not the time to burrow deeper into the closet, but to take bold, decisive action like our brothers and sisters did back in 1965. If you want an inclusive ENDA and Hhte crimes law passed and signed next year, then we're gonna have to fight tooth and nail for it.

Hey, we come from people who are used to fighting against long odds with the deck and the power structure stacked against them and prevailing. This battle is nothing different. The HRC-Frank 'incremental progress' cabal that opposes our inclusion or hollers 'wait your turn' is similar to Rev J.H. Jackson and his supporters.

We have the moral high ground on our side. For all the bluster coming from the sacreligious right, they are the ideological and spiritual heirs of the same anti-progressive forces of Intolerance that Dr. King an his contemporaries faced 40 years ago.

But we can't sit idly by and twiddle our thumbs, then gripe that our concerns aren't being addressed. We have to speak truth to power, talk to our legislators and tell them our stories.

Happy 75th Birthday James Brown

Today would have been the 75th birthday for the 'Godfather of Soul'. He unfortunately left us on Christmas Day 2006, but he's left behind a groundbreaking and colorful legacy of music and show stopping performances that will never be forgotten.

Soul Brother Number One on Soul Train singing my fave James Brown song Say It Loud (I'm Black And I'm Proud)




James at the Apollo in 1968 singing It's A Man's World medley



Get Up Offa That Thing




I Feel Good

Three More Superdelegates For Obama

To paraphrase my fellow Texan H. Ross Perot's famous line, that 'giant sucking sound' you hear is Hillary Clinton's superdelegate lead wasting away.

Many Dems like myself have been increasingly concerned about the nasty tone this race is taking while John McCain gets a free ride from the MSM and aren't happy about Hillary's nattering negative attacks of Sen. Obama. She's also been pissing people off in the party left, right and center and her once large lead in superdelegates has dwindled to just 18 with these key endorsements.

Rep. Baron Hill, who represents Indiana's 9th Congressional District across the river from me (and includes Bloomington and Indiana University) announced his support yesterday in advance of the May 6 primary. He joins Rep. Andre Carson of Indianapolis, the grandson of the late Rep. Julia Carson in endorsing Sen Obama.

"We cannot continue to pursue the same politics of personal destruction we have engaged in for a generation," Hill said. "I believe Senator Obama has the capability to change the tone and tenor of politics in Washington. I believe that he can and will work with both parties and elevate the level of public discourse."

On my side of the Ohio River, Rep. Ben Chandler, who represents Kentucky's 6th District (Lexington and the area around it) also announced his support for Sen. Obama at a press conference here in Da Ville. My congressman, 3rd District Rep. John Yarmuth has already announced he's supporting Sen. Obama and introduced Rep Chandler at the press conference.

"I've listened to the man. I have met with him and, like many of you, I am excited by his message of change for the future."

Rep. Chandler did catch some flak from some constituents for committing before the May 20 primary here in the Bluegrass state. He's the grandson of former Kentucky governor, US senator and baseball commissioner A.B.'Happy' Chandler and ran for governor himself in 2003.

He praised Obama as "a man of great integrity and intellect" and of "quiet strength."

In another blow to Hillary, Joe Andrew, who led the Democratic Party during the Clinton administration from 1999-2001 has switched his allegiance to Barack Obama and is encouraging fellow Democrats to "heal the rift in our party" and unite behind the Illinois senator.

He's planning a news conference later today in Indianapolis to urge other Hoosiers to support Obama in Tuesday's May 6 primary and has written a lengthy letter explaining his decision that he plans to send to other superdelegates.

I'm Going To Denver!

To be precise, I'm going to Boulder, CO and the University of Colorado campus.

This has been an interesting year for me so far, and this morning I received an early birthday present. (BTW, TransGriot readers, my birthday is Sunday)

I received word from the wonderful folks who put on the TRANSforming Gender conference on the CU Boulder campus that yours truly has not only been invited to participate in the 2008 edition of this conference, I'll be the keynote speaker!

The speakers at the two previous conferences CU's GLBT Resource Center and other campus organizations host have included people such as my 2006 Trinity classmate Gordene MacKenzie, Pauline Park, Andrea James, Calpernia Addams, Thea Hillman, Jamison Green, Dean Spade, Anderson Toone, Diane Tor, Avy Skolnick, Helen Boyd, Julia Serano, Matt Kailey and Dylan Scholinski.

The third annual edition of this event will be taking place October 17-19, and as I get more details about it I'll be passing that info on to you. It'll give you peeps who live in the Denver metro area who wish to attend an opportunity to meet the TransGriot. It's been twenty years since I spent July 1988 in the Denver area taking a training class when I worked for CAL, and now it looks like thanks to the Project and CU I'll be back twice in the span of a few weeks.

I'm really excited to be participating in this conference and I'm looking forward to seeing some of you on the CU Boulder campus in October.

Don't Be Shy...Ask Me Questions

This morning I had the pleasure of corresponding with a young college student about a transgender related relationship issue. I hope that I was successful in resolving to her satisfaction and clearing up some questions in her mind. She was a little nervous at first, but as one of my college professors and my parents once told me, the only dumb question is the one that's never asked.

I presume that like the person I'm talking about in the previous paragraph, some of you may have stumbled upon TransGriot while web surfing, Googling a question or for myriad other reasons.

One of the reasons I blog is to kick knowledge out about transgender issues, with an emphasis on African-Americans and what we deal with when we transition. Some issues are similar to my transsisters ad transbrothers in general, while others are unique to the African-American experience.

So if you have some burning questions on something I may not have touched on in the 700 plus posts I have here, feel free to leave a comment in this thread or hit me at transgriot@yahoo.com. If it doesn't get too personal, I'll answer it.

It doesn't even have to be transgender related. ;)

If y'all hit me with some good ones, they may even show up in a future TransGriot post.

Rev. Jeremiah Wright Defending Himself, But Is He Hurting Barack Obama in the Process?

Monday, April 28, 2008
By: Jackie Jones, BlackAmericaWeb.com

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s recent schedule of public appearances, including a prime-time television interview with Bill Moyers Friday, either threaten to pose a major problem for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign or is absolutely meaningless in the grand scheme of things, depending on to whom you talk.

“I don’t think it’s helpful for Obama at all,” said radio host, columnist and CNN contributor Roland Martin. “The story was dying down. Now, all of a sudden, with two critical primaries two weeks away, that could have an impact.”

Wright, former pastor at Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, Obama's church home, said that publicizing sound bites of sermons from several years ago in which he condemned U.S. policies was “unfair” and “devious,” and done by people who know nothing about his ministry, he told "Bill Moyers’ Journal" in a PBS interview.

As an activist, he is accustomed to being “at odds with the establishment,” but the response to the sermons has been “very, very unsettling,” Wright said.

In a major address on race on March 18 in Philadelphia, Obama described the history of injustice that fueled Wright's comments, acknowledged white resentment of being portrayed as privileged and/or bigoted and denounced his former pastor's remarks.

The interview broadcast Friday was the first Wright has given since video featuring brief, fiery excerpts of his preaching hit the national scene last month and forced Obama to defend his own spiritual and political views. Wright is scheduled to speak Monday at the National Press Club in Washington.

Sunday night, Wright told an audience of 10,000 at an NAACP dinner that despite what his critics say, he is descriptive, not divisive, when he speaks about racial injustices.

"I describe the conditions in this country," Wright said during the 53rd annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner held by the Detroit chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

"I'm not here for political reasons," Wright said. "I'm not a politician. I know that fact will surprise many of you because many in the corporate-owned media made it seem like I am running for the Oval Office. I am not running for the Oval Office. I've been running for Jesus a long, long time, and I'm not tired yet."

By speaking at the event, Wright was following in the footsteps of Obama and the senator's rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, as well as former President Bill Clinton. It's a $150-a-plate fundraiser billed as America's largest sit-down dinner.

"I am not one of the most divisive" black spiritual leaders, he said. "I'm one of the most descriptive."

Wright received a long, loud standing ovation.

“Rev. Wright has already been framed. Some people may get a greater understanding of him from what he has to say,” but a lot of people have already made up their minds about him, Martin told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

“Politically, you take the hit; you learn from it and move on,” Martin said, but for Obama, that has become more difficult because the issue, which took up most of March, has come back in April and threatens to roll into May.

Martin said the Obama campaign, however, has decided not to further engage the issue.

“They’re not going to comment on it because they don’t have to; (Obama has) already addressed it,” Martin said.

But Rev. Wright, lapel pins, “bitter” working-class white folks all mean bumpkiss to the average voter, said David Bositis, senior analyst for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a black think tank.

Bositis told BlackAmericaWeb.com he didn’t believe that Wright’s interview with Moyers really won’t have much of an impact.

“By and large, no, I don’t because there are real problems” that Americans are contending with, he said.

From Bositis' research, casual conversations and even listening to a recent radio talk show, he said, it is apparent voters “are tired of hearing about lapel pins and Rev. Wright," he said, "and what they are talking about is rice and Costco, how much gasoline costs, how much health care costs, the recession the country is in, people losing their homes and being in neighborhoods where lots of other people are losing their homes, increasing the risk of crime when you have abandoned homes. All this other stuff is a useless distraction to what other people are worried about.”

And while the issue may be framed in terms of how Obama may fare against McCain in November, it is nothing more than a smokescreen to suggest that these issues could cost Obama the Democratic nomination, Bositis said.

“Obama has more delegates, and when everything is done, he’s going to have more delegates, who are going to decide whether to seat Michigan and Florida, and it’s their decision. It’s not the party’s decision; it’s up to the delegation at the Democratic convention. And as long as Obama is in control of the delegation to the convention, he will tell the delegates how to vote, and this is one of the things that Clinton has been sick over,” Bositis said.

The argument that pledged delegates don’t have to vote for the candidate to whom they are pledged is technically true, but virtually impossible to have happen, he said.

“It’s typical of Clinton that she wants to break the rules. Those delegates are not picked at random. They pick the most loyal people to be delegates, and it’s Obama loyalists” who are chosen, Bositis said. “She can make up all the fantasies she wants.”

Bositis said although Clinton won the Pennsylvania primary last Tuesday, she cut Obama’s lead by just three delegates. Superdelegates, he said, are still migrating to Obama’s side.

“She hasn’t gained any ground,” said Bositis.

Bositis and Martin also took political pundits and journalists to task for lazy reporting that has only served to confuse and misinform voters.

Martin, who said he viewed Wright’s sermon in its entirety and pointed out in several interviews that excerpts of Wright’s comments were taken out of context, said few in the media have sought to correct the record, but several commentators have accused him of being an apologist for the minister or a partisan player for Obama.

“I represent fact, I don’t represent factions,” Martin said. “So when somebody says that Wright called for God to damn America, I’ve got to correct them immediately, whether it’s on my radio show or on CNN. Nearly every one of these people coming on the air, none of them has heard the sermon in question. The question is have you heard it? Have you heard it? Have you heard it? And when they say no, you have to say ‘How can you speak with authority on the sermon that you have not heard? You can’t extrapolate.’”

Bositis said he has stopped watching television political pundits because their information is not reliable.

“I can get data on the Web without listening to a bunch of fools. If I want news, I get news from printed sources -- although there are plenty of print sources that are bull -- or on the Web,” he said. “It’s not even informed speculation. Those people are selling themselves. They’re playing roles. They haven’t been hired for analysis. Like local newscasters, (stations) always look for people who are attractive, who come across as trustworthy, who people like. Well, these people are hired to rant and rave.”

---

Associated Press contributed to this story.

'Tipping' Affects More Than Just Housing Markets

When I talk about 'tipping', I'm not talking about trying to figure out how much cash you give your server after you chow down at your local restaurant.

In the real estate world, 'tipping' refers to the point of no return in which 'white flight' is triggered from a neighborhood because of the perception that it's 'too Black' or 'too ethnic'

What is that point? According to some studies, white flight from some neighborhoods can be triggered if just 8% of the homes are bought by Black owners. Translation, in a 100 home subdivision, if just eight African-American families move in, the mass exodus begins. Other studies say if the percentage of white residents dips below 50%, 'white flight' begins.

I believe it's the 8% figure, and I remember a vivid example of it.

My friend Leighton Lindsey and his family moved from my neighborhood to their Hiram Clarke area neighborhood in 1976. That area and their block was majority white at the time and their new home was just two blocks up the street from Madison High School in southwest Houston.

Two months later when they got settled into their new home, my brother and I were invited to spend the weekend with him and his brother Todd. I noted when we got dropped off at his house that not only did the next door neighbors have a 'For Sale' sign on their home, but four other houses on that same block had them as well.

I'm bringing up this childhood memory in the wake of the comments of a Projector on Bilerico where I'm a contributing writer. This person complained that Bilerico was becoming 'too black', a comment in which I and Bil Browning went off on.

I'm also seeing and hearing the same whispers on other GLBT oriented lists that I peruse that Bilerico is 'too Black' or 'too transgender'. Is that your code word or whatever the frack excuse you're using for not only not wanting to read the posts of people that don't look like you, but don't want to engage in the frank discussions we have on various issues on the Project?

If that's your opinion, you're entitled to it. But basing those comments on a small portion of the generated comment of the Project being authored by African-American GLBT people is bigoted and asinine.

As I have repeatedly stated, I see things through an African-American prism. The way I look at and analyze issues does not always neatly line up with a predominately white GLBT community's views. There are some issues I will agree with you with on that put me at odds with the African-American community. There are others that I'll have a radically different point of view on that will have me standing in solidarity with my people.

When I'm commenting on issues, it's primarily based on what's right and wrong along with the moral and ethical implications. I'm also blunt about tellin' it like it T-I-S is as the late Jack 'The Rapper' Gibson would say.

So if you can't handle what I have to say and try to dismiss it as a 'transgender conspiracy theory' or 'rubbing my blackness in your face', you do so at your own intellectual peril.

HRC's Overdrawn At The Bank Of Trust

by Vanessa Edwards Foster
http://www.transpolitical.blogspot.com/


"You say it's fine -- keep your place in line
Keep biding your time but you talk in a vacuum.
Because you've been bought
I don't know what I want
But I know I don't want to be anything like you." — Interference, Cop Shoot Cop

While I watch the returns coming in from Pennsylvania’s primary, I’m going to keep things short. It appears Hillary’s found a way to keep her campaign alive and a lot of it is dependent upon keeping the gay and lesbian vote in tact and activated.

Regardless of how little I care for her candidacy, sending Chelsea out was a good strategy and well-played: use your strength to cover the one area you might be weakest in to neutralize your opponent’s strength – in this case, Obama’s dominance of the urban centers. A little master-stroke for Harold Ickes. However, I still plan on making his and his candidate’s life hell for their taking for granted our community. Just the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) repudiation factor in Trans America alone will play well with our base and those who still support full equality rather than the watered-down imitation.

While on the subject of HRC, a rumor came a few weeks back from a prominent activist in the community with ties to HRC that another of our community leaders was meeting with Joe Solmonese. I just took it with a grain of salt to see if another shoe dropped.

Well, the other shoe did drop. This time it came from a surprise return of one of my old contacts on the Hill who noted HRC’s reporting to him of a lunch meeting between Joe himself and the “transgender community’s leader” to smooth things out. Initially he thought that was me! He’s been off the hill since about 2002 and I assured him it was no one from NTAC (barely able to contain my laugh). I can also say it was not Donna Rose either, something I confirmed.

For now we’ll just narrow it down and leave it at that point. Until then, it’s “Mystery Trans” ….

But it does beg one question from either party: what the hell are they thinking?!?

No matter how stupid HRC presumes trans folks are how do they calculate that we haven’t figured out their notably consistent behavior patterns yet? Even dumb animals pick up on patterns after so many replays. Speaking for myself, I’m no worse than a dumb animal and I’ll wager that the trans community isn’t either. (For the record, I was onto them in the late 90’s). Yeah, most all have figured out the cheap trick.

We in the transgender community have never been afforded credibility in gay and lesbian America even when we were fully honest. After HRC’s record of trust betrayal, and further the manipulation afterwards for political cover, how do they feel they’ll warrant any trust? As the saying goes “there’s no fool like an old fool.” Well, we’re done with this. Stick a fork in it. They’re inexpiable.

As for this “transgender community leader,” if you think you’re being seen as doing anything beyond self-serving motivations by playing into HRC’s hands and helping fracture our already-fractured community even further, dream on! Waking up to reality will be exceedingly tough.

Truly we’re a cash-poor community. HRC’s ability to flash a little green and put stars in peoples’ eyes and attract the occasional myopically self-ambitious tranny to help them sink us from inside is well established. But if HRC is thinking they’re going to have us following these Manchurian trannies now or in the future, they’re out of their overconfident minds. It’s this combination of temerity and arrogance that’s going to smash them and their historical legacy, along with any Transidict Arnold they get to cling to their back like a baby possum while mama possum crosses the ten-lane midtown interstate during rush hour.

Their history is etched in stone, never to be revised away. Forgiveness is easy – forgetting is not. They already know that. They’ve never forgotten us and what umbrage they took from us – and we’ve never taken money from or opportunized upon their issues nor urged gay-exclusive legislation. Yet they’re still vindictive. All things considered, what do they realistically expect from us?

As in banking, trust is doled out on their history. Debts can be forgiven, but future loans are only given again once they’ve demonstrated enough to make those they’ve burned previously sufficiently overlook those old burn scars. In the bank and trust of queer equality, HRC is the most severely and consistently overdrawn.

If HRC really thinks solutions are as simple as finding or creating their new tranny shill to assist in the obfuscation and deceit, they’ll learn in short order that we’re no longer playing those games. And it will be yet one more brick in the wall between us.

“I don't need no walls around me.
And I don't need no drugs to calm me.
I have seen the writing on the wall.
Don't think I need any thing at all.
All in all it was all just the bricks in the wall.” — Another Brick In The Wall - Part III, Pink Floyd

“You're a total blank and you're as funny as a bank.” — Interference, Cop Shoot Cop