Will There Be Transgender Athletes In Beijing?

Standing on the top step of the Olympic medal platform with a gold medal around your neck while hearing your country's national anthem being played is a universal dream for all people who participate in sports.

Transgender athletes share that dream as well, and as we rapidly approach the August 8 start of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, we're aware that since the 2004 Athens Games transpeople have been eligible to compete thanks to rules changes enacted by the International Olympic Committee.

The new IOC rules were enacted too late for many transgender athletes to compete in Athens. The hopes of transgender people all over the world shifted to the 2006 Torino Winter Games or the upcoming Summer Games in Beijing. We were anxious to find out if some transperson somewhere had the athletic talent to make an Olympic team. There's no doubt about the intestinal fortitude part, we have that down cold. To transition takes guts period, so making an Olympic team is a doable challenge.

Many US transpeople were looking north of the border and keeping a close eye on Canadian cyclist Kristen Worley and Canadian BMX biker Michelle Dumaresq. They had the best shots on this side of the world of making their national teams and being the first openly transgender athletes to compete in the Games.

Note I said openly compete. Olympian Stella Walsh won gold in the 100m at the 1932 Games in Los Angeles and the silver in the same event at the 1936 Games in Berlin. She is considered one of the greatest track and field athletes of all time. But it took her untimely death in 1980 from a stray bullet hitting her during a robbery attempt for the world to discover from her autopsy results she was probably intersex. Not only did she have male genitalia, but XY chromosomes as well. It was Stella's case that motivated some IOC members to look into the transgender athletes issue and proactively deal with it.

I checked out the Canadian Olympic website and it seems that neither Kristen or Michelle made the Canadian teams in their respective bike disciplines. In fact, there was a dispute between Kristen and the Canadian Cycling Association about whether she'd qualified or not.

I'm a little disappointed because as I mentioned in a post a while back, whether we live in the States, Canada, Thailand, South Africa, Australia, Great Britain, Brazil or wherever we are on the planet, transgender issues are international ones. Any breakthrough we make anywhere positively affects our brothers and sisters on the rest of the planet. So yeah, I was rooting for Kristin and Michelle to make the Canadian team and would have been cheering for them to win even if they were opposed by US cyclists.

So unless there's a transgender athlete qualified for their national team somewhere else in the world, it's unlikely we'll see it happen in 2008.

But it will happen. Transgender kids growing up now will ensure that one day, a transgender athlete will be standing at the top step of an Olympic podium having a medal placed around their neck. Some of the high school athletic governing bodies in the United Ststes are beginning to take a look at these issues and the NCAA is considering proactively drafting policies that cover transgender athletes as well.

We have transgender athletes competing in various sports at high levels such as golfer Mianne Bagger, and it's not too farfetched to think that one day, they will make a national team or qualify for an Olympic Games.

As for the detractors who claim transwomen have an advantage competitively over biowomen, the only sport so far that the charge may possibly be true is swimming. We transwomen carry extra body fat from our time in male bodies. However, whatever buoyancy advantage that gives you is negated by the fact that we're still lugging around a masculine weight skeleton and have less strength to do it because of our feminine muscle tone. So in short, transwomen swimmers would be competing under a handicap.

I noted that when I got on the tennis court a few years after I started transition. It took me a while to get adjusted to the fact that I'm a little slower because I have to run around for two plus hours on a tennis court lugging a 6'2" frame with femme muscle tone. The fact I wasn't in tennis playing shape at the time made it more difficult.

What I noted anecdotally will get a major scientific test. Sport Canada along with various partners has begun a first of its kind in the world major research project on transitioned athletes. The goal is to provide sports governing bodies with the data they need to ensure fair competition and balance our desires as transgender people to participate fully in all that life has to offer.

As an African-American, I am fully aware of the power that sports, especially at the Olympic level has to break stereotypes, educate and bring people together. It's one of the reasons I love the Olympic Games so much. I was hoping to see Kristen or Michelle either carrying the Canadian flag or proudly marching into the Olympic Stadium in Beijing next month.

But if it doesn't happen in this Olympiad, I'm comforted in the knowledge of knowing that someday and somewhere it will.

2008 NAACP Convention

The AKA's aren't the only historic African-American organization holding a convention this week. The 99th NAACP Convention is being held up I-71 from me in Cincinnati. It started on the 12th and is running until Thursday.

The NAACP will celebrate its centennial on February 12 next year and this convention will kick off a series of events leading up to that date.

The theme for this year's convention is "Power, Justice, Freedom, Vote,” and this year’s annual gathering of more than 8,000 NAACP members, delegates and visitors will be held at the Duke Energy Center. Presumptive Democratic nominee for president Sen. Barack Obama delivered remarks last night, and since it's an election year, the GOP preumptive nominee won't be ignoring or dissing the NAACP by not showing up. Sen. John McCain will also be here in Cincy to speak on Wednesday night.

The National Black Justice Coalition will be on the scene as well for the fourth consecutive year. In addition to having a booth at the convention, America's only nationwide LGBT civil rights organization will have a visible presence at the annual NAACP conference.

-NBJC will host a reception honoring 4 people whose work in civil rights has greatly benefited black LGBT communities. The event is free and open to the public.

-NBJC's CEO, H. Alexander Robinson will address the NAACP Board of Directors and Trustees at their annual Luncheon. The event is closed to the public.

-NBJC will distribute its Black LGBT focused publications at its tradeshow booth during the convention being at the Duke Energy Center. The event is free and open to the public.

-NBJC will co-sponsor the Eyes Open Festival, a Black LGBT Film and Arts event leading up to the convention There is an admission fee.

If you live in the Cincinnati area, you may want to check it out.

Michelle Obama To Become An AKA

The oldest African-American sorority is about to gain a new member.

In an announcement made Monday during this week's Boule running through this Friday that's sure to thrill Alpha Kappa Alpha's over 200,000 members, Michelle Obama will reportedly accept an invitation to join the sorority. At the time she was matriculating on the Princeton campus, an AKA chapter didn't exist and wasn't founded there until 1985.

Ever since it became known that Mrs. Obama wasn't a member of a Divine Nine organization, the jockeying for the honor of inducting her into their ranks has been fierce. But some people felt Alpha Kappa Alpha had the advantage because of the sorority's corporate headquarters being located in Chicago and large AKA alumni groups located there and in Washington DC, where the sorority was founded 100 years ago.

If Senator Obama becomes our next president, she wouldn't be the first AKA First Lady. The late Eleanor Roosevelt holds that distinction, but she joins a long list of prominent members of the sorority that includes astronaut Mae Jemison, Alicia Keys, Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, Jada Pinkett Smith and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Also being honored with induction into AKA is Rutgers women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer and Kenyan environmental and political activist Wangari Muta Maathai, the first continental African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

So don't be surprised if you see Michelle Obama sporting salmon pink and apple green at an event near you.

GOP Golddigger

TransGriot Note: it's been a while since I composed a song rewrite for your pleasure. There was also a neat picture I found of an elderly McCain and his wife that I wanted to go with this post, but for some strange reason every time I tried to upload either that picture, one of McCain, or of Cindy, it returned a mysterious 'internal server error' response. Even changing the name of the photo file didn't allow it to be uploaded. Interestingly enough, I don't get that same 'internal server error' response when it comes to pictures of Barack and Michelle Obama. What's up with that?



Sung to the tune of Kanye West's 'Gold Digger'

He takes my money when I'm in need
Yea he's a trifflin' husband indeed
Oh he's a gold digga way over town
That digs on me

Chorus
(He did me wrong)
McCain's a GOP gold digger (When I'm Need)
Cindy made his bank account bigger(He did me wrong)
McCain's a GOP gold digger (When I'm need)
Cindy made his bank account bigger
get down boy go head get down (I gotta leave)
get down boy go head get down (I gotta leave)
get down boy go head get down (I gotta leave)
get down boy go head get down

After Vietnam
Cheerleader had it going on
With truckloads of cash
Under her underarm
Cindy said "John, you rock!"
As she fell for his charm
His wife Carol prayed for his safety
From the Viet Cong
Dumped his first wife for Cindy
Yo homes, have you seen her?
Because Cindy's cash can help in the political arena
Cindy adopts a Bangladeshi kid
Bush used to ruin the 2K presidential bid
Ok you got ya kid I have to bring around my friends
I sold out to the Bushies for my career to extend
But I won the nomination, that's the bed I made
If I'm messing with this girl then I gotta get paid
You know why
It take too much to touch her
Cindy's makeup comes off in huge clusters
But without her my career would be lackluster
Don't care what y'all say yeah, I still love her


(He did me wrong)
McCain's a GOP gold digger (When I'm Need)
Cindy made his bank account bigger(He did me wrong)
McCain's a GOP gold digger (When I'm need)
Cindy made his bank account bigger
get down boy go head get down (I gotta leave)
get down boy go head get down (I gotta leave)
get down boy go head get down (I gotta leave)
get down boy go head get down


14 years, 14 years Carol had your kids
Cindy's also got you for 18 years
John's payin' alimony for dissing her, dig?
His baby momma's car and crib ain't bigger than his
You see McCain on Meet the Press almost every Sunday
But he won't be driving off in a Hyundai
He was supposed to buy the presidency with her money
He went to the doctor and got a facelift with his honey
He walkin' around with a grin so sunny
Barack gonna wipe it off your face in November, sonny
If you're so in love why'd she get a prenup? Say it
SHE GOT A PRENUP, Yeaah
It's something that she felt she needed to have
Cause if you leave her dude she ain't gonna give you half
14 years, 14 years
Cindy didn't tell him she was adopting a kid.

He did me wrong)
McCain's a GOP gold digger (When I'm Need)
Cindy made his bank account bigger(He did me wrong)
McCain's a GOP gold digger (When I'm need)
Cindy made his bank account bigger
get down boy go head get down (I gotta leave)
get down boy go head get down (I gotta leave)
get down boy go head get down (I gotta leave)
get down boy go head get down

You're a GOP gold digger and you got needs
McCain said she wears too much makeup and insulted her weave
Bailed out your broke campaign in your time of need
You publicly called her the C-word, damn homes she's peeved
But you peeps outside the beltway need to watch him
While half your check ends up putting gas in your Datsun
McCain got that presidential ambition look in his eyes
In November it'll be Obama taking the prize
With Michelle his only wife standing by his side
McCain's trying to win but his heart ain't right
How you dissed Carol, keep spinning, awight?
McCain you really make me hurl
Dumping your wife for a younger white girl

Get down boy go head get down
Get down boy go head get down
get down boy go head get down
get down boy go head
(can you play that back)


Cross posted to The Bilerico Project

Race Baiting-New Yorker Style

As if Faux News putrid crap, the Tennessee GOP and various right-wing sites hatin' on the Obamas wasn't bad enough, now comes word of this New Yorker magazine cover hitting the newsstands today that's supposed to be satirical, but ain't.

"The New Yorker may think, as one of their staff explained to us, that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Senator Obama's right-wing critics have tried to create," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton. "But most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree."

The magazine tried to CTA and said in a statement the cover "combines a number of fantastical images about the Obamas and shows them for the obvious distortions they are."

"The burning flag, the nationalist-radical and Islamic outfits, the fist-bump, the portrait on the wall? All of them echo one attack or another. Satire is part of what we do, and it is meant to bring things out into the open, to hold up a mirror to prejudice, the hateful, and the absurd. And that's the spirit of this cover."

Whether it was or not, the GOP is thanking you for giving them the image they'll ride from now until November 4. Satire is one thing. I get satire. I love it and read Mad Magazine as a kid for years. But good satire has an element of truth to it and frankly, the New Yorker Obama cover doesn't pass that test.

That New Yorker cover is every spin line, smear and regurgitated lie that the GOP and their Faux News propaganda arm have come up with to denigrate the Obamas. The fact that they took the unprecedented step and added his wife to the image just adds to the pissivity that I and many African-Americans feel about this cover.

It's also a fact that some of the GOP sheeple out there actually believe in their hive minds the bull that was depicted in this cartoon and will take it as 'evidence' that it's the 'truth'. Shouldn't the CNN debunking of the 'madrassa' lies back in January told you people that your favorite so-called 'news' outlet peddles in propaganda?



But I live in a reality based world with reason, knowledge and double checked facts as one cornerstone of it, not rumor or innuendo that allegedly passes as news. And unlike fundies, I don't turn off my brain when I go to church, either.

In the context of a racially polarized electorate contemplating putting an African-American in the highest political office in the land for the first time in our country's history, and the historical course-changing stakes of this election, the cover was irresponsible as well. One of my fears is that this cover has the potential to possibly do damage to the Obama campaign because it comes from a so-called liberal magazine.

It doesn't matter if the New Yorker wrote a serious article about Senator Obama on the inside of the magazine. The problem is the cover you produced to sell that magazine.

Deja Vu At Miss Universe 2008

Four Latinas made the five finalists at Miss Universe 2008 along with Miss Russia. Miss Venezuela, Dayana Mendoza was crowned Miss Universe 2008.

So what happened to my Houston homegirl? Unbelievably, for the second year in a row, the Miss USA rep trips during the evening gown competition.

Probably the thought going through Miss USA's Crystle Stewart's mind and all the contestants in this year's Miss Universe pageant in Nha Trang, Vietnam was 'don't fall'.

I'm referring to the image of Miss USA 2007 Rachel Smith falling during the evening gown portion of last year's event in Mexico City and still managing to score high enough to squeak into the five finalists to the disgust of the hometown Mexican crowd. She eventually finished fourth in last year's pageant and 'The Fall' is one of the more popular clips on YouTube.



Just before it happened, host Jerry Springer even alluded to last year's mishap in his banter with co-host Mel B.

Well, it happened again.



Miss USA 2008 Crystle Stewart was probably on track to at least make the five finalists, but had to get past the evening gown competition. This year the Latinas were bringing it. Miss Venezeula, Miss Colombia, Miss Dominican Republic, and Miss Mexico were serving it and scoring high with the international panel of judges. I felt if Crystle could get to the finals and get a decent question that showcased her intelligence and public speaking skills, she'd have a good chance to win.

But that slip cost her big time. Although like Rachel did last year, she got up as if nothing had happened, she only scored an 8.0. I knew that wasn't going to cut it with the Latinas scoring in the low to high 9's and after what happened last year, there was no way she'd be allowed near the five finalists.

The one thing that's already irritating me is the hateraid and snide racist comments that are already coming her way that I've peeped on the Net.

So we'll have to wait another year to see if a Miss USA can finally break the dry spell that we've had at this pageant. The last Miss USA rep to win it was in 1997

Miss USA Endorses Sen. Obama

When my Houston homegirl became the sixth sistah to win Miss USA back in April, and she was a Cougar alum to boot, I already liked 26 year old Crystle Stewart.

On the eve of the 2008 Miss Universe pageant that's currently taking place in the Vietnamese resort town of Nha Trang, Miss USA endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president.

She said while she admired both candidates, she was more drawn to the Democratic hopeful.

"I like Barack Obama -- just his poise and the way he motivates people -- and that's something that draws me," said the Texan beauty, who works as a motivational speaker and is writing a book called "Waiting to Win."

Asked if she would vote for Obama, she said: "That's a secret, but yes!"

She also threw McCain supporters a bone as well. "John McCain is an American hero," she said of the Republican Party hopeful. "I'm actually kind of torn because I think he's a great person, he's older and he might be a little bit wiser," she told AFP on the eve of the Miss Universe contest, to be broadcast Sunday evening US time.

"But Obama's on the higher end of the list," she added.

Because the event is being held in Nha Trang, which during the Vietnam War was a major US naval base, she was also asked a question by the AFP reporter about that period.

Stewart said she was proud to represent the United States in an event held in Vietnam, once America's battlefield enemy, because the show could act as a bridge between the countries and help post-war reconciliation.

"That was 30 years ago, and we had a terrible conflict, but now we're working together, and I think this will show everyone that USA and Vietnam can be very friendly and cordial to each other," she said.

"Hopefully we can be role models to other countries, to work in cooperation and peace together... It's bringing the countries closer together."

The finals are being televised at 9 PM EST tonight, and I hope that Crystle continues to make history.

My Podcast With Ethan Is Online

Last Sunday I sat down with Ethan St. Pierre and talked about a few issues in the transgender community on his podcast. He shot me an e-mail Friday informing me that the podcast is now online and up at TransFM and podomatic.com

If you wish to hear the TransGriot pontificating on a few issues, click on this link to listen to the show.

It can also be accessed by going to the TransFM website, click on my name and hear the show that way as well.

But since I already did the heavy Net lifting for you, just check it out.

Louis Coleman: 'A First Responder To Injustice'

TransGriot note: Rev. Louis Coleman passed away on July 4. He was as Betty Baye's column mentioned, a first responder to injustice here in Da Ville and across the state.

He's also a polarizing figure here as well. One day I overheard a white co-worker of mine when I worked at Macy's griping about him and a recent LG&E price hike in the breakroom. I pointed out that if it hadn't been for Rev. Coleman protesting it and chewing on them in the media the price hike would have been even higher.

I and more than a few people in GLBT Louisville were pissed at him for two months (some are still pissed) because he sided with the bigots during the bruising JCPS policy fight a few months ago. He will be missed.

By Betty Baye
Louisville Courier-Journal
July 10, 2008

I took for granted that the Rev. Louis Coleman would always be around Kentucky, speaking truth to power as he saw it.

But the long July 4 holiday was rudely interrupted while I was out to dinner with friends. News arrived that Louis had died.

My immediate thought was that now Louis can lay down the cross that he carried for so many and let somebody take care of him.

Louis Coleman befriended me when I was a reporter back in the mid-'80s. He kicked open doors in this city and this state through which a lot a people waltzed, including some who, once seated at tables of power, denied Coleman just as Judas denied the Jesus that Louis served so faithfully for 64 years.

We've all probably heard Louis' critics; they said that his tactics were unorthodox and that he wasn't always careful about marshalling all the facts before lacing up his marching shoes and grabbing his bullhorn and picket signs.

Fact is that Louis Coleman was just too "grassroots" for some people.

He wasn't an oratorical wonder like Frederick Douglass, Mary McCloud Bethune, Malcolm X or Martin Luther King Jr. He wasn't erudite like W.E.B. DuBois. And when he mounted the pulpit of the First Congregational Church, where he was pastor for many years, he wasn't a poetic preacher like the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Louis wasn't a natty dresser like Minister Louis Farrakhan, and he couldn't turn a phrase on paper like James Baldwin or his old friend, the late Anne Braden.

No, Louis Coleman was just Louis.

He wasn't a duplicate of anyone. He had his own style, and if you know anything about the civil rights movement, and human rights struggles in general, you know that it takes all kinds.

King, for example, self-identified as a drum major for justice. When I think of Louis Coleman, I imagine a foot soldier, bringing up the rear, as someone more comfortable in a T-shirt and jeans and in the trenches rather than in board rooms -- though Louis slipped in and out of more board rooms than some might imagine.

I'll always remember Louis as a first responder to injustice; he was an accessible leader.

Louis was hard-headed, too. He didn't readily take to the advice of those who urged him to take better care of himself or to slow down. For example, he called himself retired once, but that that didn't last long. Louis ran himself ragged holding press conferences about one issue or another, leading daily vigils outside crack houses and picketing City Hall, police headquarters and job sites, where he didn't believe that minorities were getting their fair share of the work or the contracts.

Not everybody was always happy to see Louis Coleman coming.

But those unhappy folks weren't the poor kids who lined up for the school-supplies giveaway that Louis held every year. Those unhappy with him weren't the people who applauded Louis' efforts to cut down on the violence by buying back guns off the streets.

And contrary to many of his detractors, who obviously had no personal contact, Louis was no racist. He didn't discriminate among his friends or those who sought his aid.

Though Louis did generate a lot of press over the last 30 or so years, he did some of his best work behind the scenes, and he never seemed to mind, as some close to him clearly did, when he wasn't given credit for the work that he had done. And it also didn't seem to matter to Louis that when the money that came as result of something that Louis first agitated for, it didn't flow into the coffers of the Justice Resource Center, but instead went to more mainstream groups.

It's not that Louis Coleman never got angry or didn't have an ego; we all do. But what I and many others who knew this kind, wonderful human being will cherish as his legacy is that Louis was more about getting the job done than simply being famous or being loved.

Louis Coleman was one of God's originals, and I'm going to miss his face around this place. I'll miss, too, those phone calls when I'd pick up and hear his raspy voice on the end of the line saying ever so respectfully, "Sister Betty, I've written something. Do you think you can get it in The Courier?"

Betty Winston Bayé's column appears Thursdays; her e-mail address is bbaye@courier-journal.com.

It's Centennial Boule Time!

Beginning yesterday and continuing through next Friday, the predominant fashion color for more than 20,000 sisters around Washington DC will be salmon pink and apple green.

Those 20,000 women I'm talking about are the sorors of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. the first and the oldest African-American sorority. They will be returning to the city where the organization was born for the Centennial Boule.

AKA was founded on the Howard University campus one hundred years ago on January 15, 1908.

I come from a long line of AKA's. My mom, sister and several cousins are members and may be walking around DC as I write this. When I lived at home, I used to read my mom's Ivy Leaf magazines when she and my sis were done with them. I drove Mom to more than a few of her grad chapter meetings after I acquired my license and even DJed a few of her chapter's Christmas parties before I transitioned. I lived next door to one of the founding members and basileus of my mom's grad chapter and grew up in a neighborhood full of AKA's. The sorority has touched my life and the lives of many people in many ways even if I was the wrong gender at the time for membership.

The Boule is AKA's biennial national convention that moves around so that the nine US AKA regions (the tenth is the international one) get the opportunity to host it. In milestone years such as this one, they return to Washington DC, which hosted the 25th, 50th, and 75th anniversary Boules as well.

In addition to staying true to its mission of service to all mankind, empowering women and uplifting our people, AKA has stood tall for justice as well. AKA members were not only involved in the civil rights movement, but are making trailblazing strides in all areas of our society uncluding the frontiers of space.

Centennial Supreme Basileus Barbara A. McKinzie has not only focused on a economic empowerment message during her tenure, she has spoken out against the disrespectful comments of Don Imus directed at the Rutgers University women's basketball team and the recent racist flavored ads the Tennessee GOP was running against Michelle Obama.

One hundred years later, Alpha Kappa Alpha has grown from its humble beginnings at Miner Hall to an international women's organization with over 200,000 members in various fields.

Mattel has even created an AKA Barbie in honor of the centennial, the first doll its ever done based on any sorority, much less an African-American organization.

Skee-wee and have a memorable week in Washington DC, ladies.

Jesse Sr., What Were You Thinking?

I have much love and respect for Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. I was an alternate Jackson delegate for my precinct during his 1984 run for president. I have defended him in countless Internet debates, arguments and dust ups over the last two decades with people inside and outside the African-American community. I even wrote a post slamming his and Rev. Al Sharpton's critics.

I've heard rumors coming from Chicagoland that there was a little animosity Rev. Jesse Sr. was harboring for Sen. Barack Obama not only because of his meteoric rise in Chicago politics and quick ascension on the national stage, but he's accomplishing what Jackson couldn't do in two attempts in 1984 and 1988.

Rev. Jackson denied that, and although he has endorsed Sen Obama, the rumors persist. On CNN's American Morning Wednesday he stated, referring to the modern civil rights struggle, "That's kind of ridiculous. He's running the last lap of a 54-year marathon. He is running that race. I am a part of that race."

Yeah, but your derogatory remarks on Faux News make any positive comments you make about Sen Obama seem hollow and poured gasoline on the fire that you have hateraid for Obama.

Speaking of those remarks, what in Hades prompted you to not only go on FOX, which has much hateraid for you personally, but whisper those remarks while in the confines of their studio?

You had to be cognizant of the fact that you were in enemy territory. This is a network which since its start up strives to show African-Americans in a negative light. These conservapeeps would be looking for anything to use to attack either you personally or Barack Obama. If you didn't consider that possibility, then you sadly underestimated the depth of their dislike for you and the lengths they will go to accomplish both missions.

You just gave your conservahaters a two-for-one deal on that, and put your own son in the embarrassing position as the co-chair of the Obama presidential campaign of having to publicly criticize his own father.



Rev. Jesse, stop drinking the jealously green flavor Hateraid. I know you wanted to have your name go down in the history books as our first African-American president or become a US senator. There are others who will accomplish that goal. Your son, Jesse Jackson, Jr. may be one of those people. He is a multi-term US representative ably representing his Chicago area district and has a bright future in Democratic party politics.

I thank you for all the work you've done for our community and being our sword and shield when we needed it, but it's time for you to step back and look at the big picture. Get with the reality that Barack Obama may be on the verge of accomplishing what our people have dreamed about for generations.

And stay away from the Faux News studios while you're at it.

President Palmer=President Obama?

If Sen. Barack Obama eventually becomes our president, if I were his campaign staff, one of the people I'd definitely be express mailing invites for the inauguration, the parades and the galas to would be actor Dennis Haysbert.

As you fans of the Fox show 24 already know, Haysbert played President David Palmer on the show before his character was assassinated. He currently stars as Major Jonas Blaine on the CBS show The Unit and was quoted in a recent interview as saying, "If anything, my portrayal of David Palmer, I think, may have helped open the eyes of the American people."

Before some of you start laughing about that assertion, let me school y'all for a minute about the power of television.

It was a TV show called Star Trek that inspired a Chicago schoolgirl named Mae Jemison to become the first African-American female astronaut launched into space. In addition to that, it was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself who urged actress Nichelle Nichols not to quit her role as Lt. Uhura when she met him at a NAACP event.

The 1963 televising of firehoses and dogs being loosed on nonviolent protesters in Birmingham and 'Bloody Sunday' at Selma in 1965 not only helped sway public support for civil rights, and end overt Jim Crow racism in the South, but probably paved the way for the 1964-65 Civil Rights Acts to pass as well.

The television show A Different World during its broadcast run from 1987-1993, in conjunction with the Spike Lee movie School Daze helped cause an estimated 25% spike in admissions applications to HBCU's all over the country.

I credit Rebecca Romijn's role as transwoman Alexis Meade on Ugly Betty combined with Barbara Walters 20/20 show on transgender children among other factors with the increased success we're having in terms of getting transgender civil rights codified into law. Those shows helped create more awareness and more positive perceptions about transgender people. My own peeps have a little catching up to do, and Hollywood has yet to create positive transgender characters of color similar to an Alexis Meade, but that's another post.

Haysbert's comments are interesting in the context of this historic campaign. They are definitely food for thought and I'm not dismissing them outright. Haysbert also put his money where his mouth is by donating $2,300 to the Obama campaign.

What we know is that Barack Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. He beat Sen. Hillary Clinton for that nomination, who had a historic campaign in her own right possibly aided in the same manner by the 2005-2006 ABC show Commander In Chief, in which Geena Davis plays the first female president, Mackenzie Allen.

If Dennis Haysbert's role helped open some minds to the possibility that an African-American could not only win the presidency but competently do the job, and it results in a historic inauguration for Sen. Obama on January 20, 2009, then it's all good.

From An E To A C

TransGriot Note: I mentioned that Dawn spent the last few days of her vacation in San Jose, CA fencing in the US Summer Nationals tourney there. She said she was ready, so did Maestro Stawicki. I'll let her tell you in her own words how things transpired.

Guest post by Dawn Wilson

When I was growing up I had the distinct pleasure of hearing how athletic and competitive my family was. For example my uncle "Sweet" Lou Johnson hit two home runs, including the game winner while clinching Game Seven of the 1965 World Series for the LA Dodgers. My first cousin Jack "Goose" Givens scored 41 points to win the 1978 NCAA championship for UK. That competiive drive also extends to other sporting arenas as well. My whole family are equestrians and my aunt Mary Evelyn in Lexington, KY coached her junior high school football team to 11 straight championships.

You get the point.

When I started fencing, I was slow and uncoordinated. Four years later I am coordinated, fast and now a national medallist. It has not been an easy road. I did a lot of this while dealing with difficult people, but I did it.

When I arrived Monday I was a little upset because my United flight was late. (I'm sticking with Southwest from now on.) I got checked into my hotel, grabbed something to eat with a team mate and squeezed in some work out time before heading to bed to be rested and prepared for Tuesday.

Despite feeling like I lacked proper preparation time in San Jose because of my late arrival the day before, I started the day off winning the first two bouts rather easily. I then had to face Liz Enochs who had been the NAC champ and point leader this year. I beat her 5-2 and went on to win the pool 6-0!

By the DE Mary Wilkerson was ranked 1st and I was ranked 2nd. Liz was ranked 4th. Thanks to my sweep of my pool I had a first round DE bye. Then I faced Cat Randall and Anne Galliano beating them by 10-6 and 10-5 scores. In the semis I faced Katherine Bowden-Scherer and Mary faced Liz. Both Mary and I were knocked out and had to fence for 3rd. Liz went on to become the 2008 Women's Veteran's 40 Champion and I beat Mary for the bronze medal. In the process, I earned a new rating: C08.

What that means is that I not only jumped up two spots ranking wise thanks to my performance in this tournament, I will fence in Division 1 in Decemeber and in January 2009 at home here in Louisville.

I wish to thank everyone in LFC for all the support I have received over the years. It was you guys who helped make this possible! I would especially like to thank the following people for going the extra mile: Maestro, Michael Gauss, Lou Felty, Will Garner and Kate(who was one of the few people who stayed late to practice with me from the saber class), Michelle Reese and Orion Bazzell.

I guess I am the family championship athlete now!

2008 Women's Olympic B-Ball Groups Set

I mentioned in a post back in May that the 2008 Olympic draw to set the pools for the upcoming Olympic basketball competition were held by FIBA on April 26.

The FIBA Men's World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Athens, Greece is fast approaching to fill the remaining spots. The FIBA Women's World Olympic Qualifying Tournament was held last month from June 9-15 in Madrid, Spain and we now know who the final five women's b-ball qualifying nations are.

The final five are Latvia, Belarus, Czech Republic, Spain, and the Brazilians, who knocked off Cuba 72-67 in an elimination game to punch their ticket to Beijing.

So now that we know who the final five squads are, we can now fill in the group blanks.

Group A is now comprised of 2004 silver medallist and current FIBA world women's champ Australia, Korea, the 2004 Olympic bronze medallist Russia, Brazil, Latvia and Belarus.

The three time defending Olympic champion Team USA will be playing in Group B with the host Chinese, Mali, New Zealand, Czech Republic and Spain. They'll open group play on August 9 against the Czech Republic.

The members of the 2008 version of Team USA aiming toward a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal are three-time Olympic gold medalist Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks, two-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Smith of the Detroit Shock, 2004 Olympic gold medalists Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm, Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury and Tina Thompson of the Houston Comets.

Tina...Tina...Tina... Oops, had a Sea of Red flashback for a moment.

First time Olympians (and it probably won't be their last US women's team are Seimone Augustus of the Minnesota Lynx, Sylvia Fowles of the Chicago Sky, Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks and Cappie Pondexter of the Phoenix Mercury.

The final three players selected for Team USA were announced today. They are 2000 Olympic gold medallist DeLisha Milton-Jones of the Los Angeles Sparks, 2004 Olympic gold medallist Tamika Catchings of the Indiana Fever and first time Olympian Kara Lawson of the Sacramento Monarchs

The US women ballers are being coached by Anne Donovan. Her assistant coaches are Mike Thibault, the head coach of the WNBA's Connecticut Sun and collegiate head coaches Gail Goestenkors of the University of Texas and the University of South Carolina’s Dawn Staley.

Since women's basketball was first staged as a medal event at the 1976 Montreal Games, Team USA has won five golds, one silver, one bronze and compiled in Olympic play a 42-3 (.933) overall record in seven Olympic appearances. (We didn't go to the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow due to the boycott over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.)

Let the games begin, and hopefully we'll see a sixth gold medal being placed around the necks of our women b-ballers.

How The Heck Did I Forget This One?

I did a post in honor of the Fourth of July called National Anthems with Soul. I put together a short list of great African-American performances of the national anthem.

Well, that list wouldn't be complete without this one. The late great Jimi Hendrix playing the national anthem on his guitar 40 years ago at Woodstock.



Enjoy

Why Do Black Folks Celebrate The Fourth Anyway?

This started out as a journal entry and morphed into a prayerful reflection on why it is that some black people celebrate the Fourth of July anyway. This is the shape of one woman's opinion looking through the lens of her trans experience.

Guest Post by Fredrikka Maxwell
July 7, 2008

Yesterday was the Fourth of July, America's 232nd birthday. I spent that day in Clarksville, TN with my mother, my sister, and briefly visited with one of my brothers.

At nine that evening I tuned to Nashville's channel Five for a broadcast of the fireworks display at Nashville's Riverfront Park. I kept watching the crowd to see if I could spot a black face. Not a particular black face, but any black face. Surely in a crowd that Nashville officials estimated to be around 100,000 there'd be some black folks, right?

Well in all the quick shots of the crowd I only caught a glimpse of one black face. And it suddenly made me feel sad. And I asked myself why do blacks celebrate the Fourth anyway?

One of the three commentators from the news team, urging the audience to enjoy the display, said: "It's yours. It's your America."

Perhaps that may be why black folks celebrate the Fourth. Maybe many of us recognize that although America has been unkind to the children of its former slaves, those same children somehow managed to help build this country anyway with our own blood, sweat, toil, and tears.

Perhaps many of us recognized that, although many of our soldiers could not sit down at a downtown lunch counter over a cup of coffee after the long train ride home, they were still American soldiers who have blessed the soil of every place American soldiers have ever marched going back to the American Revolution, with their blood.

Perhaps some of those soldiers dreamed, hoped, and prayed that some of their children would go to school and graduate from college and become supreme court justices and maybe, just maybe, on a long, long, shot, President of the United States. (That's right, I'm betting on young Mr. Obama!)

Maybe, despite the oppression we have borne, we are still in there hoping, praying, dreaming, and working, striving so that we shall overcome, and placing our claim before America and God so that one day, America will indeed be the great nation it can be.

If America is to be that great nation then things will have to change and we need the kind of change we can believe in. And that is especially true for us black trans men and women.

Go down to Memphis, Lord! And deal with those violent men who are sworn to uphold the law, and to protect and serve.

Go down to Memphis where our sisters end up near abandoned buildings and end up dead.

Go down to Philly, Lord, and find out what happened to sister Nizah way back in 2002.

Go down to DC, the nation's capital, Lord, and deal with those who execute our brothers and sisters on street corners in a furious hail of bullets, executed only for the crime of being trans.

And go down to Nashville, where the story of Nakia Baker broke and was written in disrespectful terminology.

Even our lawmakers sometimes seem a law unto themselves and their lobbyist friends. Witness how we've been sliced out of federal employment nondiscrimination legislation by a group that called themselves our allies, Lord! With allies like that who needs enemies?

These are not marks of a great nation. Perhaps they are the marks of a nation still trying, after nearly 230 years to come to grips with the claim of black America on our national charter and its founding document which declares for all the world to know that we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all are created equal and are endowed by the Creator with the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

And that includes trans people.

When America comes to grips with our claim upon its charter, then can God make of us a great nation. And maybe it is that hope, that prayer, that dream, that keeps us going and why some black folks celebrate the Fourth of July anyway.

EBONY Magazine's 25 Coolest Brothers of All Time

While on a Blue Bell ice cream run I happened to see at the checkout counter the August 2008 issue of EBONY magazine. The EBONY editors decided to do a story identifying the 25 coolest brothers of all time (and no, Morris Day didn't make the list).

The copy I bought has Prince on the cover. There are seven other collectors editions of this issue of the magazine that feature Muhammad Ali, Marvin Gaye, Samuel L. Jackson, Jay Z, Denzel Washington, Billy Dee Williams and the potential next president of the United States on the cover.

So since I spilled a few of the names that EBONY finally came up with, here's the full list.


Barack Obama
Don Cheadle
Billy Dee Williams
Sidney Poitier
Quincy Jones

Lenny Kravitz
Jimi Hendrix
Richard Roundtree
Denzel Washington
Sammy Davis, Jr.

Bob Marley
Ed Bradley
Tupac Shakur
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
Gordon Parks

Muhammad Ali
Miles Davis
Walt Frazier
Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter
Samuel L. Jackson

Malcolm X
Snoop Dogg
Prince
Michael Jordan
Marvin Gaye

Girl, Interrupted

One of the things that bothers me from time to time is the fact that I didn't get to experience growing up female.

Sometimes it's triggered when I see a little girl walking hand in hand with her mother. Other times it may be a group of teenage girls walking through the mall laughing, giggling and talking as they wear their tight jeans and discreetly ogle the boys walking by. Sometimes it's seeing as prom season approaches girls with their dates or getting made up for the first time at the department store makeup counter. Sometimes it's a reaction to the depressing news of another transwoman found dead or the madness of ignorant people who haven't picked up science textbooks or read the Constitution in a while.

To paraphrase Houston's legendary crusading consumer affairs reporter, the late Marvin Zindler, 'It's hell to be transgender.'

Well, sometimes it is, depending on what part of the planet you live in.

But from time to time I wonder what my life would have been like if I'd come out of the womb with female genitalia. And yeah, sometimes I honestly do feel cheated that I didn't get to experience life growing up as a young African-American woman inside and outside.

I'll never know what it was like to run for prom or homecoming queen, be a cheerleader, have mom and my grandmother run a hot comb through my hair, do a pajama party/sleepover, pick out a prom dress, have 'The Talk' from the feminine side or all the other assorted myriad experiences that mark a young girl's maturation into womanhood. I can imagine the tug-of war that would have happened between my godmother and my mom both subtly (and not so subtly) lobbying teen Monica to join their respective Divine Nine sororities once I hit college.

But at the same time, I have to consider the fact that spending 20 plus years on the male side of the gender fence has not only been an education into the drama that Black men face on an everyday basis, but for me led to a greater appreciation of my femininity. I had to go through so much time, work, money, prayerful contemplation and drama just to become the Phenomenal Transwoman proudly standing before you.

As my biosisters and sistafriends constantly remind me, they consider me the lucky one because I don't have periods. But ladies, I have a doubled risk for breast cancer now and have to do mammograms.

Had I been born a biowoman, would I be the passionate advocate I am today if I personally hadn't gone through so much just to get to this point? Would I have the deep appreciation of all things feminine and the sensitivity to women's issues and causes if I myself hadn't felt frustrated growing up that I was on the wrong team and on the outside looking in? Would I have the same level of compassion for the drama Black men go through, the transgender community and other oppressed peoples?

In some cases certain things about my personality wouldn't change. I'm a fashionista thanks to mom. I'd still be political, curious about what's going on in the broader world and down with my people's history thanks to my parents and my extended family.

As the child and godchild of historians, there was no way I was going to be allowed to grow up without knowing it, especially in the context of me growing up in the 60's and 70's. I'd still have my crazy sense of humor, my love of R&B and jazz music and the faith that has kept me grounded and centered throughout this long gender journey. Having gay and transgender cousins in my family would have ensured that I not only stayed sensitive to their plight, but the desire I have to see GLBT rights codified into civil rights law wouldn't have lessened one bit.

What has led me to a gradual acceptance of the hand I was dealt since I transitioned is the knowledge that femininity is a constantly evolving, spiritual process. A genetic female doesn't know everything there is to womanhood seconds after she emerges from the birth canal either. I get reminded of that when I'm pulled aside for private chats by various biowomen and I'm asked if I can teach them how to do makeup, walk in heels, decipher the male mind or be more assertive in asking for what they want.

I am also cognizant of the fact that for every biowoman I admire or I'm slightly jealous of for various reasons, she still has her own drama and issues that she's dealing with. Those issues sometimes pale in comparison to my grousing about not being born with the genitalia that matches my gender identity or having to spend $6K and lie down for several hours with my legs spread on a surgical table to get it.

The advantage a biowoman has over a transwoman in terms of travelling the road to womanhood in addition to the body, is that she has a head start and time on her side in learning it. If she doesn't stray too far from the 'traditional' feminine path, she doesn't have religious, societal and familial forces opposing her as she evolves as a woman in our society.

The biowoman also doesn't have the task of negotiating a femininity learning curve that jumps from zero to twentysomething, thirtysomething, fortysomething or fiftysomething woman in a year while going through body morphing and seismic emotional changes in her life.

But in the end, I'm a blend of masculine and feminine qualities as all human beings are. Being transgender gives me expanded insights into male-female situations that a person that's only lived in one gender role since birth can only guess at. As a transwoman I have to fight to have my femininity acknowledged and validated and don't take it for granted. I look at it as the blessing that it is.

But it still doesn't keep me from wondering what it would be like if my body and brain gender ID were congruent at birth.

TransGriot Is An AfroSpear Member Blog!

I received word that TransGriot is now officially a member of the AfroSpear!

What's the AfroSpear you ask? As Electronic Villager wrote in his post, theres the blogosphere, and the Blackosphere.. which is a growing, ever expanding place as evidenced by The Villager's Black Blag Rankings.

The 166 African-American blogs (and growing) that make up the AfroSpear not only aspire to use the Net to inform, but also use the blogosphere to educate and uplift our people, and by brainstorming and seeking out concrete solutions and compiling action plans for various issues.

TransGriot has come to the attention of some members of the AfroSpear who link here. The group shares some of the same goals that I do in terms of using blogging as a catalyst for positive change.

The AfroSpear bloggers spearheaded the charge that got the Jena 6 case on the MSM radar screen. They are blogging about diverse issues such as Darfur, missing African-American women and the lack of media attention it receives, politics, and cleaning up gangsta rap just for starters.

The AfroSpear is "setting Black agendas and shaping public opinion." -- Los Angeles Times, 10/18/2007

This is what I wrote for my application as to why I wanted to become a member of the AfroSpear:

"I believe the Afrospear's purpose is to not only inform our people, but to correct disinformation about African Americans and find common ground in which we can begin to solve the problems that retard our progress as a people.

As a African American progressive blogger who is transgender as well, I have another perspective to bring to the table of issues that affect our African American family. I lecture and do seminars about transgender issues as well in addition to on TransGriot make the connections between our history and current events. I also want to show through my blog that African American transpeople like myself have much to offer our community and are as concerned about uplifting the race as anyone else. I'd consider it a great honor to become part of this AfroSpear."

So for those members of the AfroSpear that may be visiting TransGriot for the first time, thanks for stopping by, and thanks for honoring me and this blog by extending an invitation to join. This post will serve as a central place in which you can leave your 'welcome to the AfroSpear comments' on this thread. Of course, if you wish to check out some of my past, present and future posts, please do so as well.

Dawn Knows The Way To San Jose

In a few hours I'll have to get up early and take a vacationing Dawn to the airport. She's catching an 8 AM EDT flight to San Jose, CA for the United States Fencing Association Summer Nationals tournament that started July 1 and is running through July 10 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.

She's been looking forward to this for months and I'm so proud of my homegirl. She's been fencing for four years now, has an E08 rating, and for this tournament she's competing in Veterans 40 and Division 1. She's also ranked number 6 nationally in Women's Saber and in the Veterans Combined rankings she's Number 11 nationally.

She's also living the USA Veterans fencing motto of 'we have fun -- but we keep score!'

She and the rest of the 'Baby Vets' and 'Senior Mama's' will once again be slashing, parrying, trash talking and point attacking each other on the fencing strips in pursuit of medals and glory, then partying or reaching for the heating pads and ice packs when they're done.

Hey, I'm not being shady, I'm being real with y'all. You should see some of those bruises that sabers leave after you been hit with them.

Speaking of trash talking, the 'Baby Vets' have taken that originally derisive nickname bestowed upon them by the 'Senior Mama's and run with it. They now have their own theme song sung to the tune of the Supremes 'Baby Love' and I heard they may even unveil some special t-shirts for this events as well.

There's been talk in veteran's fencing circles since the Chicago NAC tournament in March about a possible Vet 40 world championship tournament in 2009. The rumored venue for it is Sydney if FIE (the world fencing governing body) gives its blessing to proceed with it. Where Dawn is ranked right now, she'd qualify for Team USA and that trip Down Under.

She not only wants to win this tournament, but a trip to Australia is even more incentive for her to do well and maintain her ranking. She's been training hard over the last few weeks since that birthday trip I took with her to Columbus for the Great Lakes Sectional Tournament. Dawn feels she's ready to take on her fellow Vet 40 saberists and the peeps in Division I and so does Maestro Stawicki, her LFC coach.

Well, you know I'll be telling y'all what transpired when she gets back.