Teish Trial Updates, Notes And Thoughts

Looks like there's been some positive developments in the wake of my post on the lack of coverage of the DeLee trial vis-a-vis the Zapata one.

Cara posted on Feministe, and hopefully we'll see other commentary elsewhere in the blogosphere. If Teish is going to receive justice, we have to relentlessly remind people now that transpeople are human beings, too.

The trial of Teish's alleged murderer has been pushed back to a Monday, July 13 start, assuming it doesn't get delayed again.

I'm hoping that Black transpeople actually get some media face time in terms of being spokespersons about this case.

Thanks to TransGriot regular reader Gina, a Facebook group has bee started as an info clearinghouse for the upcoming case.

The Syracuse media's terminology is still problematic, so GLAAD needs to be called in to work with them and make them aware of the AP Stylebook standards for covering trans people. GLAAD also has on their website a media press kit as well with downloadable PDF documents

Oh yeah, once again, here's what the AP Stylebook has to say about covering transgender people:

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

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

So Syracuse media, no more using the old name in your newscasts and newspaper/print/Internet articles. Teish Cannon lived 24-7-365 as a woman, so the SHE pronoun is appropriate to use to respectfully discuss her and the case.

What's not cool is using the word 'lifestyle'. That's a right-wing tactic and problematic terminology which is seen by TBLG community as disrespectful.

Homo Harlem Film Retrospective

TransGriot Note: Received this interesting e-mail from the Maysles Institute in NYC about a TBLG film retrospective slated to kick off on Juneteenth (June 19) at the Maysles Cinema.

With arguments often eerily reminiscent of old rationales for black oppression, gays and lesbians remain openly, legally and even, 'righteously', discriminated against.

For LGBT people of all races, knowing ourselves, making our extraordinary history known to others, much as with blacks, becomes a key component to liberation. If LGBT heritage remains often obscured and belittled, achievements of African American lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, are less well known still.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, the film festival, Homo-Harlem: A Film Retrospective, Friday, June 19th-Saturday, June 27th, cosponsored by the Maysles Cinema at 343 Malcolm X Boulevard with Men of All Colors Together, seeks to help to remedy this lack of recognition.

Through a series of coordinated screenings, critical discussions and walking tours, Homo-Harlem for the first time officially brings Stonewall observations uptown to focus on and honor, figures as diverse as poets Audre Lorde and Langston Hughes, social justice activist Bayard Rustin, composer Billy Strayhorn, photographer Marvin Smith and living legend Storme DeLarverie, whose courageous stand at the Stonewall Bar, 40 years ago, literally helped set in motion the entire Gay Pride Movement.

We LGBT people have always been busy making Harlem better, as one resident reported in 1928, "Never no wells of loneliness in Harlem..." Space is limited for this exhilarating experience, so be sure to make a reservation in advance and get ready to be enlightened, to be amazed and to party hard!

Homo-Harlem Curator and Author Michael Henry Adams

Please direct all press and requests for reservations to cinema@mayslesinstitute.org
Homo Harlem: A Film Retrospective

$10 Suggested Donation For All Screenings

Friday, June 19th
Opening Night at the Museum of the City of New York
(1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd St, Enter at 104th St)

6:00pm Cocktail Reception

7:00pm Discussion: Kirk Shannon-Butts, Michael Henry Adams

7:30pm Screening
Blueprint (Short Preview)
Kirk Shannon-Butts, 2008
Harlem shot and set, Blueprint is the story of Keith and Nathan - two New York City college freshmen trying to make a connection.

Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life
Robert Levi,1999, 83 min.
Today, historians and scholars agree that Billy Strayhorn remains one of the most under-recognized American composers in history. Born in 1915, Strayhorn chose to live openly as a gay black man. It was perhaps this decision-and his lifelong devotion to Duke Ellington-which contributed to his near anonymity as a major American composer. While Ellington is arguably the most influential and celebrated jazz composer of the 20th century, Strayhorn is unrecognized. Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life poses answers to the question of who was Billy Strayhorn, and why is he still relatively unknown?

(Maysles Cinema, 343 Lenox Ave. between 127th & 128th Street, June 20th-27th)

Saturday, June 20th
2:00pm
The Edge of Each Other's Battles: The Vision of Audre Lorde
Jennifer Abod, 2002, 59 min.
This powerful documentary is a moving tribute to legendary black lesbian feminist poet Audre Lorde (1934-1992). One of the most celebrated icons of feminism's second wave, Lorde inspired several generations of activists with her riveting poetry, serving as a catalyst for change and uniting the communities of which she was a part: black arts and black liberation, women's liberation and lesbian and gay liberation.

Litany For Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde
Ada Griffin and Michelle Parkerson, 1995, 60 min.
From Lorde's childhood roots in Harlem to her battle with breast cancer, this moving film explores a life and a body of work and makes connections between the civil rights movement, the women's movement and the struggle for lesbian and gay rights.

Greetings from Africa
Cheryl Dunye, 1994, 8 min.
In this highly entertaining short, Cheryl Dunye uses her dry wit to ruminate on lesbian dating '90s style. Cheryl (playing herself) is searching for someone to date. Unfortunately, most of her friends are still stuck in those long-term "relationships from the '80s". Just when she thinks all is lost, she meets L, a beautiful, mysterious and captivating woman. Cheryl gets caught up in the chase and L leads her in and out of hot water.

Sunday, June 21
2:00pm
Prepare for Saints: The Making of a Modern Opera
Steven Watson, 1999, 27 mins
A chronicle of the making of the Modernist 1934 Virgil Thomson/Gertrude Stein opera, Four Saints in Three Acts, (which included an all-black cast from Harlem church choirs and nightclubs.)
Q&A with Director Steve Watson

Portrait of Jason
Shirley Clarke, 1967, 105 min.
Interview with Jason Holliday aka Aaron Payne, house boy, would be cabaret performer, and self proclaimed hustler giving one man's gin-soaked pill-popped, view of what it was like to be black and gay in 1960's America.

Monday, June 22
7:00pm
Storme: Lady of the Jewel Box
Dir. Michelle Parkerson, 1987. 21 min.
"It ain't easy...being green" is the favorite expression of Storme DeLarverie, a woman whose life flouted prescriptions of gender and race. During the 1950's and 60's she toured the black theatre circuit as a mistress of ceremonies and the sole male impersonator of the legendary Jewel Box Revue, America's first integrated female impersonation show and forerunner of La Cage aux Folles. Storme herself emerges as a remarkable woman, who came up during hard times but always "kept a touch of class." Storme was also a witness to the Stonewall Rebellion 40 years ago and is a founding member of the Stonewall Veterans Association.

How Do I Look
Wolfgang Busch, 2007, 48 min.
How Do I Look captures the Harlem "Ball" traditions that originated in the 70s, which was historically an off shot from the Harlem "Drag" Balls from the 20s. Because of the loss of hundreds of members and leaders of the "Ball" community due to the HIV epidemic, this film recorded an important aspect of history while it was still available.

Panel TBA

Tuesday, June 23
7:00pm
Brother to Brother
Rodney Evans, 2004, 87 min.
Winner of numerous awards including the 2004 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize and the Gordon Parks Screenwriting Award, Brother to Brother follows the emotional and psychological journey of a young black gay artist as he discovers the hidden legacies of the gay and lesbian subcultures within the Harlem Renaissance.
(with a short clip of an interview with Bruce Nugent on Gay life in the 20s.)

Q&A with Tom Wirth, Literary Executor for Bruce Nugent

Wednesday, June 24
7:00pm
Brother Outsider, The Life of Bayard Rustin
Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer, 2002, 83 min.
This meditation on the parallels between racism and homophobia illuminates the life and work of Bayard Rustin, a visionary activist and strategist who has been called the "unknown hero" of the civil rights movement. Daring to live as an openly gay man during the fiercely homophobic 1940s, 50s and 60s, Brother Outsider reveals the price that Rustin paid for his openness, chronicling both the triumphs and setback of his remarkable 60-year career.

Panel:
Dir. Bennett Singer
Walter Naegle, Rustin's partner until his passing in 1987 at 75
Ernest Green, The Little Rock Nine
Adam Green, Historian, Author of "Selling the Race: Culture, Community, and Black Chicago, 1940-1955"
Moderator: Michael Henry Adams

Thursday, June 25
5:30pm
Walking Tour*

7:30pm
Paris is Burning
Jennie Livingston, 1990, 78 min.
Many consider Paris Is Burning to be an invaluable document of the end of the "Golden Age" of New York City drag balls, as well as a thoughtful exploration of race, class, and gender in America.

9:30pm
Dinner & Afterparty at Billie's Black*

*Complete package (walking tour, screening and after party) cost is $50.00
Contact- homoharlemtour@aol.com
60 person limit on tickets so get them while you can!
Tickets for the screening only can be purchased at the Maysles Cinema the night of.

Friday, June 26
5:30pm
Walking Tour*

7:30pm
Looking for Langston
Isaac Julien, 1988, 45 min.
A black and white, fantasy-like recreation of high-society gay men during the Harlem Renaissance, with archival footage and photographs intercut with a story. The text is rarely explicit, but the freedom of gay Black men in the 1920s in Harlem is suggested and celebrated visually.

James Baldwin: Witness
Angie Corcetti, 2003, 60 min.
A minister's son from Harlem, James Baldwin moved to Greenwich Village and began writing essays for left-wing journals. With the success of his first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, and dozens of non-fiction works, Baldwin became an international voice on American Black life in the 1950s and 60s. A look at this Black American Gay icon's life.

9:30pm
Dinner at Miss Maude's Spoonbread Too*

*Complete package (walking tour, screening and dinner) cost is $50.00
Contact- homoharlemtour@aol.com

Saturday, June 27
11:30am Brunch at Chez Lucien*

1:00pm
Walking Tour*

3:00pm
M&M SMITH: For Posterity's Sake
Heather Lyons, 1996, 57 min
Morgan and Marvin Smith, twin brothers and prolific African American artists, boldly moved from Kentucky to New York in 1933 to pursue artistic careers. By 1937 they had opened a photo studio next door to Harlem's renowned Apollo Theatre. Thus began 50-year-long careers as still and motion picture photographers, painters and sound recordists. This story is richly visualized through the Smiths' photos, films and paintings and poignantly told by Morgan and Marvin Smith and friends such as Eartha Kitt.

Clip of Short Conversation with Marvin Smith
40 min.

*Complete package (walking tour, screening and brunch) cost is $45.00
Contact- homoharlemtour@aol.com

Shut Up Fool! Awards-Lateisha Green Memorial Edition

Well, the trial of Lateisha Green's alleged killer Dwight DeLee is due to start July 13 in Syracuse, NY. You wouldn't know it based on the deafening silence that's coming from New York state. Even the news cycle ain't helping in terms of the multiple events going on.

Well, Teish, even if I'm the only one covering it or even mentioning your trial from now until the end, I'll proudly do so. Hopefully you and your family will receive justice despite the almost nonexistent news coverage.

We dedicate this week's edition of skewering fools to your memory.

Now let's move on from the trial to convicting and sentencing fools in the Court of Public Opinion.

There were many worthy fools who committed crimes against common sense and decency this week. But this week it goes to Neal Boortz, another right wing radio hater bucking to get banned in Britain as well.

He's had his hate on for New Orleans peeps in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastating 2005 landfall there. Instead of calling out the incompetence of the Bush administration, the beyond piss poor crisis management, and the seizure of this disaster to do some partisan political machinations of the recovery in order to turn Louisiana red, he attacks the residents of New Orleans instead.



Neal Boortz, shut up, fool!

What If There Was A Trans Trial And Nobody Cared?

The trial of the alleged killer of Lateisha Green, Dwight DeLee was supposed to start yesterday in Syracuse.

You wouldn't know that because if you Google it, check the local Syracuse media, the website of the Onondaga County DA's office, and even the websites of GLBT groups in the area, you won't find anything on the DeLee trial except old stories and link backs to TransGriot.

I guess if the victim is a Black transwoman, nobody gives a shit, especially if the trial is falling just before the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion that peeps who share Lateisha's ethnic heritage helped jump off.

I would love to be able to tell you what the prosecution's opening statement was, whether the defense is using the trans panic defense, or even what the Cannon family's reactions are.

But I'm not in Syracuse right now, so that makes it difficult if not impossible to do so because unlike the Zapata trial, there isn't a Crystal Ann Gray or an Autumn Sandeen on site to cover it. There's no legal analysis from Banfield and Ford being broadcast on cable TV for people to watch.

So as usual in American society. the unspoken message is being sent that a Black life, especially a Black transperson's life doesn't mean jack, even in the TBLG community.

And we Black transpeople are hearing that message loud and clear.


TransGriot Note: Cara from Feministe sent me a link to another story that states the trial has been moved to mid July.

The post has been modified to reflect the new info.

While that explains why I didn't see any news about it anywhere yesterday and spent several hours searching before I wrote the post, I'm still not happy about the lack of coverage, and the piss-poor reporting this story has received vis-a-vis the Zapata trial.

Introducing Transman Chaz Bono

Chaz Bono came out two decades ago and has been a visible spokesperson and activist for the LGBT community.

I'd been hearing rumors for several months that Chaz Bono was either about to transition or had done so, but could never find the evidence to either confirm or deny it.

Well, as many of you know by now, it's official. Chaz is beginning the transition process according to his spokesperson Howard Bragman.

"Yes, it's true -- Chaz, after many years of consideration, has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity. He is proud of his decision and grateful for the support and respect that has already been shown by his loved ones.

It is Chaz's hope that his choice to transition will open the hearts and minds of the public regarding this issue, just as his 'coming out' did nearly 20 years ago. We ask that the media respect Chaz's privacy during this long process as he will not be doing any interviews at this time."

Chaz once worked for GLAAD as its Entertainment and Media Director, and GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano had this to say about the news.

“Chaz Bono's decision to live his life authentically represents an important step forward, both for him personally and for all who are committed to advancing discussions about fairness and equality for transgender people.

"Coming out as transgender is an extremely personal decision and one that is never made lightly. We look forward to hearing Chaz's story in his own words in the future."

“GLAAD encourages media outlets to cover this story accurately, and to avoid speculation about the details of Chaz’s story before he is ready to tell it in his own words.”

I look forward to hearing Chaz tell his story as well when he's ready to do so, along with the rest of his transgender brothers and sisters.

40 Trans Heroes? You're Kidding, Right?

One of the reasons I became a trans activist a decade ago was because of my pissivity over a relatively melanin free IFGE list of out and proud transpeople.

To pour gasoline on it, they not only neglected two future IFGE Trinity winners in Dr. Marisa Richmond and Dawn Wilson who were doing thangs at the time, the only two African descended people on it were RuPaul and Dennis Rodman, who have publicly stated they aren't and didn't want to be.

Well, history repeats itself.

The International Court System in conjunction with The Task Force put together a list of 40 Trans Heroes to in their words, 'highlight the importance of the transgender and gender-nonconforming community as an equal and important part of the broader LGBT community.'

The “40 Trans Heroes” were solicited and selected from hundreds of nominations by a special committee of the International Court Council.

And this is the final list they came up with.




Sylvia Rivera
Shannon Price Minter
Mara Keisling
Jose Julio Sarria
Ru Paul
Marsha Botzer
Nicole Murray-Ramirez
Norma Kristie
Masen Davis
Melissa Sklarz

Lady Bunny
Leslie Feinberg
Gunner Scott
Lynn Conway
Chi Chi LaRue
Marsha P. Johnson
Riki Wilchins
Barbra Casbar Siperstein
Yosenio Lewis
Robin Tyler

Coco LaChine
Valerie Spencer
Jim Flynn
Nancy Nangeroni
Lady Chablis
Rosalinda dela Luna
Cecilia Chung
Loren Cameron
Maria Roman
Theresa Sparks

Karina Samala
Grace Sterling Stowell
Donna Sachet
Shirley Bushnell
Cole Thaler
Darcell
Jamison Green
Sister Roma
Billy deFrank
Frank Marino

"This is by no means a complete list or a ‘best of’ or ‘top 10’ list. It is merely a beginning tribute to the thousands of transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals that have made our modern-day movement possible," says Thom Hansen, president of the International Court Council.

“This momentous tribute to the transgender community is a long time coming. The International Court System is honored to partner with the Task Force. Together, we pay tribute to those whose lives and works have impacted each and every one of us."

“On the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, let's remember the legacy of those who started our struggle for equality and liberation," says Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

"Recognizing 40 of the many transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals who have worked tirelessly and passionately in favor of full LGBT equality throughout these four decades is a reminder of the determination and persistence of the transgender community and of the human spirit. Let's continue to honor these important contributions toward a more just and equal society for all of us.”

The International Court System will present a commemorative plaque inscribed with the names of these outstanding individuals on June 25 to be placed at the Stonewall Inn.

If the joint Task Force-International Court compiled list was intended to honor transpeople, it is not having the desired effect.

Transgender historian, scholar and attorney Kat Rose minced no words after seeing the list.

"Did NGLTF actually have anything to do with this list? Or is it a counterfeit list made up by that Stampp Corbin guy to make his claim on Bilerico the other day (that HRC 'put the T in LGBT') seem believable?

"Darcell? No offense, but who or what is a Darcell? Chi Chi LaRue? I guess I should have gone to porn school instead of law school. And Robin Tyler? Based on her stance on ENDA in 2007, she should be on John Aravosis's top-40 list instead of this one.

On a personal level, I have no love lost for Phyllis (Frye) - but in objective terms, I would have to say she rates higher than most of these people, and significantly higher than some.

And Cole Thaler, eh? Easy to make it onto the list when you get to be in the position to be on the list because you're a young FTM and the organization you work for won't hire 40 year old MTFs.

Oh well - I'm off to read some more imaginary history books written by that imaginary transsexual woman, Susan Stryker.

2005 IFGE Trinity Award winner, NTAC founder and Trans Political blog author Vanessa Edwards Foster stated:

"RuPaul? As one of the 40 top trans people? And Robin Tyler (if it's the lesbian activist) has never to my knowledge voiced that she's trans (and used to have some less-than-inclusive thoughts on us to boot!) Well, being from the Imperial Court ... I can believe it. Way to endorse, NGLTF!

There's a bunch of folks on here I've never heard of ... and note the pro-NCTE slant of their choices! No NTAC folks (besides Yo), no Phyllis Frye, no Alyson Meiselman, no Kat, no Randi Barnabee, no Ethan or anyone from IFGE (or other competing orgs), no Jessi Xavier or Joanna Keatley, no Andre Wilson or Dawn Wilson, no Julie Johnson, no Calpernia (Addams) (strangely enough for them!) and on and on! Ca-LUE-less!

Then again, maybe they meant the 40 top Drag heroes!"

I'm channeling my inner Maya Wilkes and saying a hearty, "Oh, Hell No!" to this list.

First, the list doesn't have the 'Godmother of the Transgender Rights Movement' in Phyllis Frye. No Vanessa Edwards Foster, no Kat Rose, no Dr. Susan Stryker, no Monica Helms, a 2003 IFGE Trinity Award winner who co-founded with Angela Brightfeather the Transgender American Veterans Association.

It's predominately East and West Coast centric. It ignores the major contributions to the transgender movement of people who live in 'flyover country'.

And as usual, out of the four African-Americans on this list, two are entertainers. I like the Lady Chablis, own an autographed copy of her Hiding My Candy autobiography and have met her, but I haven't seen her lobbying on Capitol Hill.

Get this through your heads gay people. RuPaul has stated he isn't and doesn't want to be trans. I'm beyond sick and tired of vanilla flavored privileged people holding him up as an example of an African-American transperson.

How the hell did you forget (or conveniently did so) the only three African-American IFGE Trinity Award winners in Dawn Wilson, Dr. Marisa Richmond and some award winning blogger who happens to be one of the founding members of NTAC, helped create the first standalone African-American oriented transgender conventions in 2005-06 and oh by the way, won the 2006 IFGE Trinity Award in the process?

Dr. Richmond in addition to winning the 2002 Trinity Award, was the first African-American transgender delegate to a major political convention and runs the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition.

Dawn helped pass transgender rights bills in Louisville and Lexington, KY in 1998 and was the first African-American Trinity winner in 2000.

Hell, at least they did recognize Marsha P. Johnson and Valerie Spencer, but you left off Lorrainne Sade Baskerville, who happens to be a 2000 inductee of the Chicago GLBT Hall of Fame. Dionne Stallworth is not on this list, who is a founder of GenderPac, and neither is Cydne Kimbrough.

But Robin Tyler? Please, she's regarded by some peeps in the trans community with the same distaste I have for Ward Connerly, Michael Steele, Clarence Thomas and Condoleezza Rice.

Don't even get me started ranting about the long list of trans leaders around the planet who aren't US based.

But this speaks once again to an issue that I constantly harp on, along with Kat and Dr, Stryker. Know your history, claim it, own it and zealously defend it from all attempts at whitewashing it.

Because if you don't, others will write it for you, and you may not like the resulting portrait they paint of you when they're finished.

Here We Go Again- Chill With The 'It's Black People's Fault Prop 8 Passed' Meme

Since the 6-1 California Supreme Court decision upholding Prop 8 went down, in the midst of the resurgence of gay community anger over the decision the tired 'Blacks are more homophobic' and 'Blacks are to blame for Prop 8 passage' memes have resurfaced in the discussion threads on some gay blogs.

It has also led to attacks on anyone, especially persons of color such as Yasmin Nair who advocates that TBLG community orgs renew their focus on passing ENDA and hate crimes legislation and fighting HIV/AIDS. Those three things alone will provide more bang for the civil rights buck and benefit all members of the GLBT rainbow besides the single minded focus of GLBT resources on marriage equality.

People For The American Way's Kathryn Kolbert had this to say in a November 7, 2008 memo debunking that tired meme.

Angrily blaming African Americans for the passage of Prop 8 is not going to help open doors for the kind of long-term conversations we need to have about homophobia and discrimination. It will, instead, further isolate and undermine courageous African American leaders who have taken a firm stand for equality.

Alice Huffman, president of the state (California) NAACP, has been an outspoken champion on equality and on Prop 8, and right-wing leaders are fomenting attacks on her from within the organization. People like Alice Huffman need our support and strategic thinking, not complaints or condemnation.

Broad-brush denunciation of African Americans by white gay leaders also fosters the incredibly damaging perception that the LGBT and African American communities are two separate, rather than overlapping entities, and undermines the work of African American LGBT leaders.

For many Black GLBT/SGL peeps, our ethnicity trumps our sexual orientation or gender identity because people see that first before they see anything else. The more you denigrate our people, the deeper the wedge you drive between African-Americans and the gay community.

We also get put in the uncomfortable position of having to choose between the GLBT community and our people. Nine times out of ten, if we're forced to do so, thanks to our shared history with our people and all the indignities heaped upon Black SGL peeps at the hands of white gays prior to and after the Prop 8 fight, you will lose in that exchange.

And that makes the Religious Right smile.

The point is that for too long you've ignored the warnings SGL peeps have sounded about the racism in the community. You have ignored our warnings and concerns about our megachurch ministers being courted or bought off by white fundies. Our complaints and concerns about the 'just like you' portrayal of the gay community as being white, wealthy and homogeneous were ignored, as was the lack of GLBT/SGL leaders in the large predominately white gay orgs.

Those rainbow chickens have now come home to roost. Now you come running after major losses to the realization despite loud, angry and sometimes racist protestations to the contrary that you didn't need the Black community's help to achieve your marriage equality goals.

Black people didn't organize the Yes on Prop 8 campaign or provide the armies of foot soldiers to get the petitions signed to put it on the ballot.

Black folks didn't orchestrate the failed opposition to Prop 8. Black organizations or churches didn't bankroll the campaign in seven figure amounts like the Mormon Church and Knights of Columbus did. And since we're only 9% of Ca-lee-for-nia's population, that means the majority peeps who voted for it predominately share your ethnic heritage.

So instead of throwing shade, you need to rethink your strategies for dealing with the situation you find yourself in. That means talking to your critics such as Jasmyne Cannick, not hatin' on them.

It would also behoove you to work with the organization the SGL community set up to help promote TBLG rights in the African-American community, the National Black Justice Coalition.

Lani Guinier once stated, 'No movement committed to long term transformation and justice can afford to become overly dependent on any single strategy.'

One critical component of crafting that winning strategy is coming up with a message that resonates in the African-American community. It's not smart politics to piss off the people that know the community better than you, but could help you turn the tide toward marriage equality in the process.

About Damned Time

TransGriot Note: Better late than never. The apology from the hate jocks at KRXQ-FM. Kudos and thanks to all of you who called, complained and raised holy hell.


TO OUR LOYAL ROB, ARNIE AND DAWN FOLLOWERS,

WE HAVE FAILED YOU. AS A SHOW, AS PEOPLE, AS BROADCASTERS, WE HAVE SIMPLY FAILED ON ALMOST EVERY LEVEL.

WE PRESENTED OUR OPINIONS ON A VERY SENSITIVE SUBJECT IN A HATEFUL, CHILDISH AND CRUDE FASHION; AND THEN, GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO RETRACT THOSE REMARKS, WE DEFENDED THEM.

SINCE THEN, YOU, OUR LOYAL LISTENERS, HAVE MADE IT CLEAR TO US THAT WE WENT TOO FAR. THE RESPONSE HAS BEEN OVERWHELMING. NONE OF YOU SAID THAT WE COULDN'T HAVE OPINIONS, YET SO MANY OF YOU SAID THAT THE WAY WE GAVE THEM CROSSED THE LINE. FURTHER, YOU SAID THAT OUR ATTEMPT TO MASK OUR COMMENTS AS "JOKES THAT WOULD BE UNDERSTOOD BY OUR AUDIENCE," WAS UNACCEPTABLE. I WOULD SAY NOW THAT IT WAS WORSE THAN THAT, IT WAS COWARDLY. YOU HAVE MADE THAT CLEAR.

WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO VARIOUS GROUPS AND ASKED FOR A CHANCE TO MAKE THIS RIGHT; TO RESPOND, WITH THEIR PARTICIPATION, TO THE EDUCATION THAT OUR AUDIENCE HAS PROVIDED US. THAT OPPORTUNITY HAS BEEN GRACIOUSLY GRANTED THIS THURSDAY MORNING, JUNE 11TH. AT 7:30 A.M.
THE WORD APOLOGY APPEARS NO WHERE IN THIS LETTER FOR A REASON. WE ALREADY HID FROM DOING THE RIGHT THING ONCE AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN. APOLOGIZING IN A WRITTEN, POSTED STATEMENT IS A FORM OF COWARDICE. WE WILL SAY WHAT NEEDS TO BE SAID THIS THURSDAY.

ON A FINAL, PERSONAL NOTE, AS THE LEADER AND OWNER OF THE SHOW, I HAVE MADE THE DECISION THAT WE NEED TO REFRAIN FROM BROADCASTING NEW EPISODES UNTIL WE CAN ADDRESS THIS ON THURSDAY . WE WILL RETURN TO THE AIR AT 7:30 A.M. JUNE 11TH.

ROB WILLIAMS
ROB, ARNIE AND DAWN

Villager's June 2009 Black Blog Rankings

The first day of summer is fast approaching and we are halfway through 2009. We're also approaching the 40th anniversary this month of the Stonewall Rebellion. It's also time for another edition of the Afrosphere's highly anticipated Villager's Black Blog Rankings.

This month the Villager and his team ranked 1704 blogs, an increase of 45 blogs from last month.

The runaway Number One BBR ranked blog is still Pam's House Blend, which is approaching a year in the top spot. Congrats to my homegirl Renee's Womanist Musings for finally reaching the BBR Top 10!

For the other nine members of the BBR Top Ten you can check out the Villager's post.

Villager and I noted that the Technorati ranking scores of Black owned and operated blogs have been declining. Since the Technorati rankings count links on a rolling six month calendar, the drops in rankings are probably related to the increased traffic we garnered from the historic 2008 presidential election and reflect those links now dropping off the rolling calendar.

I think it's time that we tackle this problem by immediately beginning to cross promote other Black blogs.

While I'm proud that I have a diverse readership, I'm always looking for new readers who haven't perused TransGriot. I don't think we do a good enough job across the Afrosphere of promoting each other's blogs.

It would also be nice if I had my own people linking to this blog as well.

Just as Villager created the BBR's as a measuring metric to track our progress and a tool to aid us in goal setting, it's time to apply the same FUBU principles to promoting the Afrosphere and our blogs.

Since no one else is going to do it, we'll have to do it for ourselves.

Read Black Blogs, Promote Black Blogs!

On that note, time to get off the soapbox and find out what my TransGriot BBR ranking is this month?

In the May BBR rankings TransGriot had a BBR of 37 with a Technorati ranking of 159.

As of the June 8 compilation date, TransGriot is now number 34 on the BBR rankings with a 138 Technorati ranking. I lost 21 points on my Technorati ranking but gained three spots in the BBR rankings.

I'm also just nine tantalizing spots away from my goal of cracking the BBR Top 25.

I have much work to do if I'm going to reach my goals of the BBR Top 25 and a 200 Technorati ranking by Labor Day.

Cloudy Day

You loyal TransGriot readers probably noticed that I didn't post anything on Saturday and most of the day Sunday.

Ever since my grandmother Tama died in February 2002, her June 4 birthday is a tough day for me. Add to the fact that I had a friend who also shared my grandmother's birthday who passed away far too soon, it only adds to the depressed state of mind and the sorrow that I feel in terms of missing these two wonderful people.

The fact that we had a cloudy, depressingly rainy weather day in Da Ville didn't help my overall mood either, and my attempts to focus on something else to keep my mind off of it, including the blog, failed miserably.

So after wallowing in bed most of the day, I ended up doing what I do to get out of a depressed mood, and headed to my neighborhood Walgreen's to get my favorite taste of home.

I'm happily gorging myself on Blue Bell chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and rededicating myself to becoming even half the woman that my mom and my sister are, and that my grandmother and Dr. Monica Holloway-Barrett were.

But the moral of this post is that contrary to what the haters say, I'm human. I have my good days and bad, my highs and lows, my joys and sorrows and my triumphs and travails.

June 4, 2009 happened to be one of those days.

I'm still focused on becoming the best human being I can be with the time on Planet Earth I have left. I'm cognizant of my status as a role model for many transgender people and our allies, and aware that the fight for first class citizenship status for transgender people is not over by a long shot.

I'm also blessed with the God-given ability to articulate my thoughts on paper, be it wood-based or electronic.

Now if I could only get to a point where I get paid so I can write full time, I'd definitely be a happy camper.

Dear Haters II

Dear Haters,
If you were expecting your transphobic laced commentary on the Pink Sheep Of The Family post to be approved, you are part of the moronic sheeple who watch too much Fox News and are divorced from reality.

This is my cyberhome, and only rational commentary gets posted on the blog. The best part about it is I get to define rational.

Obviously you have personal insecurity and self-esteem issues about your gender identity on a deep level. Cisgender people who are secure in their gender identity and sexual orientation aren't bothered by the presence of transpeople on this planet.

If you pick up a science magazine every now and then, you'll soon discover that gender in the animal kingdom isn't as immutable as you haters think it is.

The only people who would actually sit down at their computer and leave a despicable comment like you did are people whose comfort in their personal sense of manhood or womanhood is shaky at best.

Maybe you didn't read the post, so I'll skip to the heart of it since you and your ilk seem to have the brain and penis size of an atom.

The bottom line is that transpeople exist. The moral arc of history in terms of transpeople gaining first class citizenship in our various countries is inexorably on our side. You and your ilk are on the same side of the legions of groups like the Ku Klux Klan and other proud conservatives throughout world history who opposed the march of humanity, social and societal progress, and common sense.

I suggest you peeps get some therapy to deal with those lingering self esteem issues that are keeping you from having regular dates and intimacy with anyone other than plastic dolls.

And as for your ludicrous assertion that no one will ever accept us as the women and men transpeople were born to be but unfortunately were stuck in the wrong bodies, you are about as off base as Rush Limbaugh and the rest of the people you get your tired talking points from.

Maybe no one who's a white male conservative 'christian' will accept me and my trans brothers and sisters, but Real Christians, real people of other faiths and a vast majority of compassionate thinking people do.

My own story and the stories of countless others blow your diatribe to smithereens.

For every person who doesn't accept me, I have ten who do. I have the respect of my employers. I have sistahfriends and friends across the spectrum who see me as nothing but the tall proud sistah I am and was born to be.

So get thee behind me cyber Satan. You've built a Berlin Wall around your heart and mind that renders you incapable of expressing compassion, love and human decency to another human being.

But just like the actual Berlin Wall fell, the one around your mind and heart will fall as well.

Pink Sheep Of The Family

One of the things that's a major concern for a transperson is their relationship with their family after you drop the bomb about your transition.

You are aware before you swallow your first hormone or inject yourself that the familial reaction can run the gamut from total acceptance to never being invited to a family reunion for the rest of your life.

It's a little more painful for an African-American transperson because we tend to place heightened cultural importance on familial relationships.

I talk to my mom and sister on a weekly basis and the relatives that do love and care about me from time to time. The reactions in my family to my transition ranged from relatives who don't want anything to do with me to outright acceptance by others.

While family ties are important, it was more important that I be my authentic self. In order to be the best person I could be and live an honest, happy and productive life it became imperative for me to transition.

I just reached a point in my life where I wasn't going to be stuck any longer in a gender role that didn't fit me and made me miserable just to make other peeps comfortable.

The way I see it, if your blood family is tripping, make your own. I'm also fond of saying that a transperson's family expands after transition, not contracts.

I'm blessed to have a diverse, international group of people I call my brothers and sisters and friends as well. If some peeps in my family see my being a transperson as a reason not to talk to me any more, or hide behind the Bible as an excuse to cut familial ties with me, then it's their loss.

So if that makes me the pink sheep in the family, then so be it.

Hate Crime Charges Upheld By Judge in Lateisha Green Case

With the Lateisha Green murder case scheduled to start in Syracuse, NY on June 11, an attempt made yesterday by Dwight DeLee defense attorney Clarence Johnson to wipe out the hate crimes charge against his client was struck down by Onondaga County Judge William Welsh.

Johnson had asked Walsh to find the hate crime law unconstitutionally vague and general. He also asserted that the law was unconstitutional in its specific application to DeLee.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Matthew Doran of course has the opposite opinion and defended the statute and the prosecution of DeLee in court.

After listening to the legal arguments, Judge Walsh sided with the prosecution and upheld the constitutionality of the state's hate crime law in the murder prosecution of Dwight DeLee.

The case will be allowed to go forward as a hate crime murder prosecution.

DeLee is charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime in the November 14, 2008 shooting death of transwoman Lateisha 'Teish' Green, born with the last name of Cannon, who the prosecution contends the victim was targeted because of her gender identity.

TransGriot Note: The Syracuse area papers are STILL having problems with applying the AP Stylebook, so I cleaned up and rewrote the article my damned self as per TransGriot policy when I run across piss poor reporting on transgender issues.

Shut Up Fool! Award-Tianamen Square Edition

Yesterday was the 20th Anniversary of the brutal June 4 Chinese government crackdown on peaceful demonstrators in Tianamen Square. This award is in the memory of the folks who died there and who still labor to bring democracy there.

One of the cornerstone of democracy is free speech, so let's see who engaged in stupid jibber-jabber instead of reasoned discourse.

While several Republicans made strong bids (as usual) to win this week's Shut Up Fool! Award, it has to go to the duo of Rob Williams and Arnie States of KRXQ-FM in Sacramento, CA. First you go off the deep end attacking a trans child on air May 28, then issue a non-apology June 3 for it.



By the way, calling for child abuse and the beat down of a transchild is not a joke. It may be to white males wallowing in vanilla flavored cisgender privilege, but it's a life and death matter to the peeps you attacked with your words.

Oh yeah boys, don't try to hide behind the skirts of the First Amendment because you got called on your BS by GLAAD, me and others in the blogosphere and the people who are sending you e-mail at a prodigious rate as I compose this.

In addition, if you were so proud of your commentary, why did you hurry up and scrub the show you're so proud of off your site?

Rob Williams and Arnie States, shut up fools!

President Obama Cairo Speech

The prez kept another campaign promise earlier this morning US time by making a speech to the Muslim world from an Arab capital.

Here's the YouTube video of the full speech in case you missed it.

Update on KRXQ-FM Hate Jocks

The KRXQ-FM transhaters are feeling the heat from calls and e-mail coming from around the world. Major advertisers are yanking commercials from the show as well.

After a weak azz non-apology for their hateful transphobic comments, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Chipotle Mexican Restaurants and Sonic Corp. Inc have pulled their advertising from KRXQ-FM.

And note to KRXQ-FM fans of the show. You cannot hide behind the First Amendment and advocate violence against transpeople or ANY ethnic minority. As I can painfully tell you from my people's history, when you are part of a minority group, people who advocate violence against you cannot be brushed off with a 'I was making a joke'.

Words even up hurting and killing people. Hateful words unchecked can eventually lead to the genocide of a minority group by the tyrannical majority.

So keep up the pressure. The haters must know that attacking transkids is not going to be tolerated by this community, much less attacks on us.

If you wanna claim the vanilla-flavored cisprivileged right to say whatever you want about transpeople, don't get mad when we exercise the same rights to call your behinds out about it.

Canada MP Siksay Tables Motion Calling For Coverage Of SRS

New Democratic Party MP Bill Siksay (Burnaby-Douglas) not only talks the talk as an ally to Canada's trans community, he walks the walk.

Last month he introduced Bill C-389, a private member bill that would amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and Criminal Code to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression.

Siksay is the NDP critic for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues, and yesterday tabled a motion in the House of Commons which calls on the Canadian federal government to take action to ensure that sex reassignment surgery is covered by Canada’s health system.

The motion reads: “That, in the opinion of the House, the de-listing of medicare coverage for medically necessary sex reassignment surgery (SRS), and related therapies, violates the accessibility and comprehensiveness criteria of the Canada Health Act, and the government should take immediate steps to ensure appropriate health care is accessible across Canada to transsexual and transgender persons.”

Siksay stated in a press released dated June 3, “Sex Reassignment Surgery is a medically necessary procedure that must be available to members of the transgender and transsexual community. “SRS is not a frill nor is it an elective process but rather it’s a necessity for the health, happiness and well-being of some Canadians. As a medically necessary procedure, it and its related therapies must be fully covered under the provisions of the Canada Health Act.”

June 4, 1989

Today is the 20th anniversary of the Chinese government crushing the student led pro democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.

Student demonstrators calling for government reform and an end to corruption occupied Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing for five weeks in the spring of 1989.

Those demonstrations captured the world's attention, but unfortunately between the late evening of June 3 and the early morning hours of June 4, the plug was pulled on the foreign networks such as CNN broadcasting the event and soldiers backed by tanks opened fire on civilians in and around the square. Casualties were estimated between 200-1000 dead.

It also produced the iconic photo in this post of a lone citizen stopping an armored column. The fate of that brave citizen is unknown to this day.

The Chinese government can try to censor it all they want, but no one will forget what happened 20 years ago and the remarkable five weeks preceding it. Keep those that died on June 4, 1989 in your thoughts and prayers.

It's a reminder to those of us who live in democracies that as much as we gripe about the imperfect nature of the governments we live under, these freedoms are hard won and require eternal vigilance to keep.

It is also a reminder that there are people who put their lives on the line in other parts of the world to obtain the freedoms that too many of us take for granted.

3rd Annual Transgender Health Fair In NYC Today

Reminding you TransGriot readers in the New York City metro area that the 3rd annual Transgender Health Fair is kicking off today at 5:30 PM.

The Transgender Health Fair brings together hundreds of community members who are seeking health care information and connections with providers who are experienced in working with the transgender community.

There will be free health screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, mental health and more. Transgender-specific health information will be available, as will information on smoking cessation, nutrition, health insurance and more. We'll also be featuring Medicaid enrollment.

Transphobia in healthcare is unhealthy, and the Transgender Health Fair is the place to find the competent, sensitive health care information and services you've been looking for!

The health fair will be taking place at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, 208 West 13th Street, New York City and will run until 7:30 PM.

The Story of Carlett Brown

One of the cool benefits of the recent Johnson Publishing Company deal with Google that allows digitizing of the iconic African-American magazines JET and EBONY is that it not only provides a record of Black history as it happened, it also is a cultural time capsule as well.

One of the things I've always pondered is African American transgender people and our history. I know I and other African-American transpeeps didn't just pop up out of thin air. We have a long fascinating history that just begs to be told.

One of those fascinating stories starts unfolding across several JET issues during 1953. Coincidentally it starts around the time Christine Jorgensen had become a household name after the December 1, 1952 news story broke about her surgery and just before her February 13, 1953 return to the United States from Denmark.

It centers on a 26 year old professional female illusionist and shake dancer from Pittsburgh whose birth name was Charles Robert Brown but later changed it to Carlett Angianlee Brown.

Carlett was in a relationship with a 24 year old US Army sergeant stationed in Germany named Eugene Martin. She'd served in the Navy, and during her service time was checked out for an issue with recurring monthly bleeding through her rectal area.

The medical exam revealed that she was intersex and had some feminine plumbing. The surgeons wanted to remove it, but she declined to have that done and opted for SRS instead.

In the process of weighing her SRS options with three surgeons in various countries, she discovered that the laws of those countries at the time didn't allow foreign nationals to obtain SRS.

Dr. Christian Hamburger, the endocrinologist who supervised Christine Jorgensen's transition, advised Carlett that if she gave up her US citizenship she could have it done in Denmark. Germany's then justice minister advised Brown that if became a German resident and took the steps to become a German citizen, she could have it performed there as well.

So Carlett decided to do just that. She applied for her US passport and made arrangements to travel to Bonn, Germany in August 1953 and meet Dr. Hamburger there for her initial checkup before having SRS.

Carlett's game plan once she completed SRS was to get married to Sgt. Eugene Martin

"I just want to become a woman as quickly as possible, that's all. I'll become a citizen of any country that will allow me the treatment that I need and be operated on," she said at the time.

Fast forward to June 25 issue. Carlett has now traveled to Boston and signed papers at the Danish consulate renouncing her US citizenship. She's doing some bookings in the area to help pay for her looming August 2 overseas trip and even hit Filene's to shop for her wedding dress.

She now has her US passport with her new name of Carlett Angianlee on it and all systems are go to become the 'First Negro Sex Change'.

Then fate intervened. Crossdressing back in the 50's could earn you a trip to jail, and the Boston po-po's promptly arrested and jailed her overnight for doing so as the July 9 issue reported. Carlett was still undeterred and was still planning to leave for Denmark and her date with history.

She then postponed her departure in order to get a feminizing face lift in New York with Dr. George J.B. Weiss, as the August 6 issue reported. It even mentioned that Carlett's face lift was going to cost $500 dollars.


Then she was hit with the news that she was ordered not to leave the United States until $1200 in back taxes were paid. The October 15th issue reported that she ended up taking a $60 a week cook's job at Iowa State's Pi Kappa frat house that a friend helped her get in order to earn the money to pay off those back taxes.

At that point the trail through those back issues of JET in terms of Carlett's fascinating story starts turning cold. As of yet I haven't found out if she ever did earn the money to pay off the back taxes, make that trip to Europe, have SRS, get married or even how the rest of her life turned out. If Carlett is still alive she'd be well into her 70's.

But thanks to JET, mine and future generations will get to read it.