International Blog Against Racism Week? Thanks But No Thanks

I recently received an e-mail invitation to participate in International Blog Against Racism Week which will take place July 26 to August 2

While I'm honored and deeply appreciate the invite on one hand, on the other it's mildly insulting.

TransGriot, Womanist Musings, Racialicious, Race Wire and countless other blogs inside and outside the Afrospear deal with the subject of racism and all its ugly permutations and perniciousness in our society 24/7/365 (366 days in a leap year).

So to have a week dedicated to blogging about race tends to make me roll my eyes and say thanks, but no thanks.

I know the hearts of the people who organize this annual blogosphere event are in the right place. Yes, I am cognizant of my role as one of the leading African-American bloggers who also happens to be trans and a womanist.

I catch enough hell during the other 51 weeks when I talk about race issues in conjunction with living my life as an out and proud African descended transperson and nobody wants to hear it.

What makes any post I write during this week any different from the almost 1800 plus ones I've written on TransGriot?

Those of us who blog about race issues for more than a week already know and are painfully aware that racism permeates everything about how this society is organized and how it functions. It's going to take more than just one week of blog posts focused on the issue in order to permanently eradicate 400 plus years of accumulated racist baggage from our society.

If people are serious about eradicating racism and not just dealing with it in half hearted piecemeal fauxgressive measures, then it is going to take consistent, sometimes painful education, lots of work and constant self examination to make eradicating racism in our society a reality.

One week of blog posts may jump start the education, discussion, and some action on the racism eradication front, but it can't stop with just a week of blogging and then go back to 'bidness' as usual.

It is going to require people stepping out of their comfort zones to confront racism as it occurs. It also means that some peeps need to get their 101 on.

And the fundamental piece to begin all of these upcoming Racism 101 discussions is based on this formula you'll need to commit to memory.

Racism=prejudice plus power

If you think otherwise, then this discussion is over before we even get a chance to get it started, and whatever post you compile for this week is a waste of your time and mine.

Why You 'Scurred' Of Me?

One of the things I get mildly irritated about and have been throughout my transition journey is when fellow transpeople either run like Flo Jo away from my presence or consciously avoid interacting with me in public situations.

While I understand that some of my transpeeps can be antisocial at times, and others are so adamant about maintaining their stealth bubble to the point they want zero public interactions with any transpeople, it still wouldn't kill you to say hello and keep steppin'.

If you're 'scurred' because you think that being in proximity to my out and proud of being Black and trans behind will lead to people questioning your gender identity, chill.

The cisgender women friends I have in my life have that same possibility of shade being thrown at them just for the radical act of being proud to have me as their friend and be seen with me in public. If it doesn't deter them from getting to know me, what's your excuse?

If my cisgender girlfriends and cisgender male friends realize it's one of the tradeoffs for having the Phenomenal Transwoman in their lives on an everyday basis and they aren't ashamed or afraid of it, then why should my own transpeeps be?

It's especially galling in light of the slings and arrows I constantly take being the sword and shield for you. I'm fighting for yours and my civil rights that you are too timid to stand up for. I'm dispelling through this blog and other myriad education efforts the falsehoods and race based myths regurgitated about you.

I'm taking the time to 'ejumacate' people about how our transitions are different from vanilla flavored ones. I'm cheerfully and willingly spending my personal time, cash and vacation time in doing that trans education simply so that future generations of transkids can just focus on being the best people they can be.

I'm not asking for a chocolate chip cookie. All I'm asking for is just a simple "Hi, how are you doing?" when I pass you in the 'hood.

If you want to take the conversation beyond that, that's all good as well. The more loyal friends I have in my life, the better.

But I'm not the person you should be 'scurred' of. The peeps you should be keeping a nervous eyeball on are part of the Forces of Intolerance.

I'm the one that's diligently working to make your life better, not harder.

Computing Reeducation

As many of you know the motherboard on my desktop died last Friday. A new replacement one has been ordered and hopefully I'll be back doing my thang on Computer Prime soon.

In the meantime, Polar graciously lent me his Compaq laptop in order to tide me over until I get my beloved desktop up and running.

I have owned a computer since I bought my first HP 2600 series minidesktop back in 1997. I prefer and love desktops probably because the vast majority of my computing time and Web surfing over the last decade has been spent in a desktop environment.

Since I've never owned one, much less played with one for an extended period of time until now, it has taken me a few days to get acclimated to the quirks and idiosyncracies inherent in laptop computing.

It took two days for me to get out of the habit reaching to my right and using my right hand to manipulate a mouse to do whatever I needed to do while typing various posts. My thumb kept brushing the pointer thingy and moving my cursor as I typed, which kept pissing me off while typing the first post I attempted to do.

It also took me far longer time wise to compose that first laptop generated post than it normally does on my desktop system.

I had to adjust some of my computer quirks I feel comfortable doing as well.

I use a technique in which I rapidly move the cursor instead of just highlighting the messed up text and hitting the 'delete' key. I had to not only go back and correct the jacked up text, but figure out how to move the cursor to do it.

I type 55 WPM as well, so it's slowed down my typing speed as I've had to get acclimated to holding my hands up in a much higher position than normal and being cognizant of not trying to inadvertantly hitting combinations of keys that may trigger stuff I don't want or need to happen.

I'm relearning how to cut and paste on this laptop. I'm also trying to figure out what I have to do so I can start putting photos back in my posts to make them look nice and illustrate what my words have to say.

Yeah, I could simply call Polar and ask, but the Taurus in me wants to at least try to do it on my own before punting and dialing up the Bear Cave to ask him.

But now that I've had the opportunity to play with a laptop, I have to admit that I'm beginning to like it enough to the point I may seriously consider buying one in the future as a backup.

The price has come down on them and the computing power is going way up. The portability is also a nice selling point as well.

It would help me in terms of being able to access info during my lobbying trips to DC. If I need to blog while I'm on one of my road trips I won't need to hunt for a desktop so I can do so. It would allow me a more rapid response time as well in those situations.

So yeah, my desktop being down sucks. It puts a crimp in some of the stuff I like to do while composing posts, but I can always go back and paste the photos on them later.

In the meantime, I'm going to start making lemonade out of this lemon situation and get 'ejumacated' on the mysteries of laptop computing.

Saggin' Pants

TransGriot Note: It's time for another one of my song rewrites. This time with the help of TLC, I'm taking dead aim at the (thankfully) diminishing number of peeps who love wearing saggin' pants, an unfortunate relic of prison culture that needs to go the way of the jerri curl and 8 track tapes.

Saggin' Pants'
(sung to the tune of 'Girl Talk' by TLC)

You see I had this brother who was mad at me
Because I dissed his pants that were saggin'
Told the truth so I really don't give a damn
Cause saggin' pants I'm about to slam (oh)
Some of y'all say what's the fuss
Saggin' is prison speak damn
Saying you like being a bottom man
We women wanna know these thangs
If you like to ride the ding a ling

(bridge)
Pull 'em up
If you don't want peeps to talk
And don't want your feelings hurt
Pull 'em up
Cause if you don't
Peeps are gonna tell the world

(chorus)
Peeps talkin' bout your draws being out there
Damn right we're talkin' all about ya
Don't forget about this little mantra
'Cause your pants are saggin'
Your pants are saggin'
Don't wanna see your booty too
You're not walking you're waddling boo
Time to change your jacked up worldview
'Cause your pants are saggin'
Your pants are saggin'

Listen y'all need to know this
You're not welcome in anybody's business
You're gettin' mad because of it
Pull 'em up and there won't be no shyt (oh)
Some of y'all be killin me
Thinkin' you cool
But you're more like a comedy
Dissing you got your pressure going
But we hate seeing your draws showin'

Pull 'em up
If you don't want peeps to talk
And don't want your feelings hurt
Pull 'em up
Cause if you don't
Peeps are gonna tell the world

Peeps talkin' bout your draws being out there
Damn right we're talkin' all about ya
Don't forget about this little mantra
'Cause your pants are saggin'
Your pants are saggin'
Don't wanna see your booty too
You're not walking you're waddling boo
Time to change your jacked up worldview
Cause your pants are saggin'
Your pants are saggin'

What up papi
You think you got game?
(Well holla at me)
Your saggin' pants are really lame
Don't make ya happy
Pull up the Lee's
And you'll get some TLC
You got the pants below your booty
And that ain't me
You be killin' us with the pants that don't fit
And your fashion sense is illegit
Please get a new approach
Your fashion game's a joke
Signallin' prison style you like rear end pokes
I'm bigger than that
Time to face the fact
Saggin' is history
And seriously wacked
If it's the last call for alcohol
You can't meet me at the bar
They won't let you in the club
To meet the superstars (yeah)

Peeps talkin' about your draws being out there
Dann right we're talkin' all about ya
Don't forget about this little mantra
Cause your pants are saggin'
Your pants are saggin'
Don't wanna see your booty too
You're not walking your waddling boo
Time to change your jacked up worldview
Cause your pants are saggin'
Your pants are saggin'

About Damned Time II

While I was channel surfing earlier tonight in search of something to watch other than the brewing political news du jour, I stumbled across another Larry King Show on transgender issues.

When I saw another all white transgender panel, I was about to turn it off CNN until something told me to hang around for a minute.

Listening to my inner voice was rewarded when I was surprised to see something different from all the previous CNN transgender panels:

Somebody who shared my ethnic heritage.

My little sis Isis King popped up for this discussion. I was happy to hear her get to articulate her thoughts on not only her recent experience on America's Next Top Model and her SRS surgery with Dr. Marci Bowers, but get a chance to actually point out that transition issues are different for the African-American community.

Too bad that nugget came at the end of the segment, but maybe it's something that the CNN peeps would like to explore. (hint,hint)

Hopefully this is only the beginning of having the experiences of transpeople of color begin to get injected into these discussions.

More Universal Healthcare Video

I've been talking about the need for the United States to join the rest of the industrialized world and implement universal single payer health care for 'errbody' in our nation.

Best way to do it is pass HR 676, which expands Medicare coverage to all and bans insurance companies from denying peeps coverage due to 'preexisting conditions'.

Since the GOP, the HMO's, and the American Medical Assn. have been spreading lies about the Canadian healthcare system, time to post more video debunking those lies.

Shut Up Fool! Awards-Moni's Computer's Down Edition

As some of you are aware, the motherboard on my computer died last Friday. I've been suffering from computer withdrawal and lack of interconnectedness with the Net.

I've also missed the everyday conversations and interactions I have with various people on the blog, Twitter and friends around the world.

My computer tech Polar is working to get me back online as quickly as possible. In the interim, he's kindly loaned me his laptop so that I can get back to my ongoing TransGriot mission of kicking knowledge to y'all about all things trans and otherwise.

Speaking of kicking knowledge, let's see what fool (or fools) earned our disdain as our fool for the week.

This week's fool is a repeat winner.

GOP spokesnegro Ron Christie gets the nod in the wake of his asinine comments on MSNBC.

Christie was one of the negro sellouts working in the Bush misadministration and now frequently spouts right wing BS on the various talking head shows.

He was peddling the conservative talking points that the prez shouldn't have commented on Skip Gates' recent BS arrest by the Cambridge, MA po-po's.

He also took issue with President Obama calling the situation 'stupid'.

First of all, the case and all charges have been dropped against Professor Gates, so it's NOT an ongoing case as you erroneously stated on MSNBC.

And hello, you Oreo-chomping disgrace to Black America, what the hell do you call it when a cop arrests you for breaking into your own house?

We all know if Professor Gates had been a white male, nothing would have happened once he pulled out his ID and proved he lived there. I doubt he would have had to pull out ID to prove he lived there, the cop would have just probably taken his word for it.

Ron Christie, shut up fool!

Apollo 11 40th Anniversary

Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed.

With those eight words the decade long race to the moon ended and President Kennedy's promise to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade was fulfilled.

It's been a long time since the United States space program has had the kind of support or clear vision since those heady days.



Hopefully they can regain that with increased competition from the Chinese and a new mission to the Moon to establish a permanent base there and a manned mission to Mars.

If the human race is to thrive and survive, we need to begin exploring the final frontier.

That includes establishing off earth colonies for humankind as well.

Computer Down

Hey peeps.
Will be offline for a few days. Motherboard died on my computer yesterday and it will be at least a week before I can get back up on The Net.

I do have some posts on automatic that will come up during my anticipated downtime.

I have to order some parts for it, and that's a pain since I love writing something on an everyday basis.

So as soon as I get my computer technical difficulties settled you'll see me back on my regular posting schedule.

Pat's Ten Minute Hate

Post-racial America my ass.

Ever since Barack Hussein Obama became the Democratic nominee and eventually president of the United States, conservative white males (and females) have been losing their damned minds and letting their inner racists out.

Fear of a Black Planet is driving them crazy.

Exhibit A is last night's rant of conservabigot Pat Buchanan on the Rachel Maddow show.

Who is Pat Buchanan kidding? My ancestors did the yeoman's share of the labor in building this country while you pocketed the money, sipped ice tea on the veranda and raided the slave quarters at night to get some brown sugar when you were horny.

My ancestors built Washington DC, so it was past time we had an African-American family living in that nice white house our labor built. I'll be just as happy to see a Latino or Asian one in it as well or a female POTUS.

Speaking of unpaid labor, you owe me and other African Americans $175,000 each. That's the current value of the 40 acres and a mule reparations settlement that was vetoed by President Andrew Johnson.

News flash Pat, many of the inventions, scientific and technological innovations that make life easy in the USA were created from the genius of African descended people.

To quote NAACP founder W.E.B. DuBois, 'Would America have been America without her Negro people?"

Hell to the no.

But back to focusing on PatricKKK. This 'downtrodden white male' shtick is getting old and needs to be on Faux News, not MSNBC. It's obvious by the policies you and your fellow rich conservative white males espouse you don't care about 'downtrodden white males' until it's election time and you're trolling for GOP votes.

It's obvious Pat is living in the 1950's, but too many people share or enable his fracked up attitudes.

The last president should have proven to you beyond a shadow of a doubt that incompetent white males exist. Even the guy who was your party's 2008 nominee for president graduated 894 out of 898 in his Naval Academy class.

Many times we peeps of color have witnessed white males because of the color of their skin and legacy programs get college admissions slots and executive and other positions they aren't qualified for.

Now we have an unqualified white woman being considered GOP presidential material in 2012.

You know who I'm talking about. The one who has a slight resemblance to Tina Fey.

She just quit her job in Alaska, has a taste for expensive clothes, doesn't know the Constitution, current events, history or geography, hates bloggers and newscasters that ask her softball questions that stump her.

Pat's distorted view of affirmative action and his attack on Judge and future Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor just highlights the moral bankruptcy of conservatism.

Only in Pat and conservative bizarro world is a Phi Beta Kappa summa cum laude Princeton grad, a Yale Law School grad who edited the Yale Law Journal considered lacking in intelligence and unfit to be on the Supreme Court simply because she isn't conservative, white and male.

You already have seven white males on the Supreme Court, oops eight. I almost forgot in your infinite wisdom you declared Clarence Thomas to be an 'honorary white male'. You can have him.

Intelligence and competence is not just concentrated in white males. Affirmative action wouldn't have been necessary if white males like yourself weren't clutching to power like a wino holding his last bottle of MD 20/20.

2050 will be here soon enough, Patrick. You'd better make sure those affirmative action rules and regulations are in place and properly working for your great grandkids instead of trashing them.

DeLee Guilty!

Dwight DeLee has been found guilty of 1st degree manslaughter as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon.

So somebody finally got legally whacked for killing an African-American transperson.

But I can't get too happy. He wasn't found guilty of 1st degree murder. The sentencing phase has yet to be completed. I'm also bothered about the attempts to intimidate witnesses that need to be investigated and prosecuted.

But what I'm upset about is that TruTV didn't bother to cover this trial like they did the Zapata one.

It's not quite over yet, but Dwight DeLee will be getting jail time for kill Lateisha Green. How much of the 10-25 years he's facing is up to Judge Walsh.

TLDEF released a statement following the verdict, and thanks to Andy Marra, Laura Vogel and the TLDEF team who monitored the trial and supported the Green family.

Without them, this trial would have been invisible.

"Today, justice has been delivered for Lateisha Green with DeLee's conviction for committing a hateful act of violence," said TLDEF Executive Director and attorney Michael Silverman. "The jury's verdict provides Teish's family with the closure that they deserve and need, and sends a clear message that hate violence targeted at transgender people will not be tolerated."

Today's verdict is the first hate crime conviction for the slaying of a transgender person in New York State. It is only the second such conviction in the United States.

TLDEF Executive Director Michael Silverman has been working with the family since Lateisha's death in November. Silverman was on the ground in Syracuse, NY throughout this week's court trial working closely with the family. TLDEF collaborated with its sister organizations including the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the Empire State Pride Agenda and the Rainbow Alliance of Central New York.

"Despite this legal victory, transgender New Yorkers still face a serious risk of violence and discrimination," added Silverman. "New York State law does not include gender identity or expression in its hate crime law and that sends a dangerous message that it is acceptable to leave part of our community vulnerable to hateful acts of violence simply because of who they are. We call upon the New York State Senate and the United States Senate to pass transgender-inclusive legislation that will protect everyone regardless of gender identity and gender expression."

TLDEF will also be attending DeLee's sentencing on August 18th at the Onondaga County Courthouse in Syracuse, NY.

Lateisha Green's family released this statement following the verdict:

"Teish, a beautiful girl. A wonderful daughter. A brave soul. Teish was all of these things despite the adversity that regularly tried to weigh her down and overshadow her love of life. She was taken away from us too soon. All it took was one bullet.

"A bullet from a rifle that pierced her lungs and heart. And it took this one mere bullet to end Teish's life because she happened to be a transgender woman. We have spent months waiting for this day to come.

"8 long months that have kept our family captive to our fears, sadness and anger. Afraid to leave our homes, sad to have lost Teish and angry that we couldn't prevent this from happening to our little girl. But today, the jury delivered a verdict that will end most of the horrors experienced by our family and friends.

"The jury convicted Dwight DeLee of killing Teish in cold blood. They found him guilty of targeting Teish simply because of her difference. And the jury has made it clear that any loss of life in our city and county because of anti-gay and anti-transgender bias is unacceptable and wrong. Justice has been done.

"But we will never get to see Teish ever again. She will forever live in our hearts and minds. And it is our duty to share her story so that Teish's memory will be kept alive. We do this so this series of painful events will never happen again to any other person because they are different.

"Our family and friends will continue to talk about Teish so others may know the love and support that every child deserves regardless of their differences. We want to thank everyone who stood behind us and gave our family strength during such difficult times. The overwhelming amount of support has meant so much to us. We want to close by saying life is precious. Teish knew that and that's why she would tell everyone here to be brave. To be authentic and true to yourself. And Teish would give a beautiful and bright smile to everyone here. Thank you."

DeLee Trial-Deliberating

The prosecution and the defense in the DeLee trial, the accused killer of Teish Green, rested their cases Wednesday.

After instructions from the judge they retired to deliberate the case. There have also been disturbing reports of attempts at witness intimidation as well.

You can read TLDEF intern Laura Vogel's blog entry for Thursday here.

As of this writing there was no word of a verdict in this trial, and lets hope and pray that the Green-Cannon family receives justice.

Shut Up Fool! Awards-Apollo 11 Anniversary Edition

This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landings. I remember breathlessly watching the television coverage of the mission from its July 16 blastoff from then Cape Kennedy to the moon landing itself and the subsequent EVA from astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin that occurred after it.

Speaking of watching things, time for me to do what I do on a weekly basis. Find the fools who are on this planet making one small misstep away from man, and one giant leap for foolkind.

There were once again, many worthy candidates this week. Pat BuKKKanan, Jeff Sessions and other GOP senators grilling judge Sonia Sotomayor, Zell Miller, Philly's Valley Swim Club, and the spokeswomyn for the Lu's womyn-born-womyn pharmacy in Vancouver, BC.

Our runaway winners this week were the peeps at Free Republic.

The Freepers went crazy over First Daughter Malia Obama wearing a t-shirt with a peace symbol on it at the recent G-8 summit in Italy and responded with over the top racist psychobabble that was so nasty newspapers in other nations picked it up before the admins climbed out of their white sheets and shut down the disgusting thread.

People, she's 11 years old. Damn.

Free Republic, shut up fools!

Obama Speech To NAACP Centennial Convention

Last year he made history when he spoke to the NAACP convention as the Democratic party nominee for president.

This year he returned to speak in front of the NAACP convention as the president of the United States.

The Rad Fem Ones

TransGriot Note: Since the 25th anniversary of the release of Prince's Purple Rain movie is fast approaching, and I'm more than a little pissed about the latest 'womyn born womyn' shenanigans playing out over the Vancouver pharmacy, thought it was time for another of my infamous song rewrites.

Grab your iPods or your Prince Purple Rain CD and sing along.

The Rad Fem Ones
sung to the tune of 'The Beautiful Ones' by Prince and the Revolution


Rad fems, rad fems, rad fems
Why you hate on me?
Rad fems, rad fems, rad fems
I'm a she don't call me he
U make me waste my time
Your dogma warps your minds, rad fems

Rad fems, rad fems, rad fems
Chill with the trans hate alright?
Oh rad fems, rad fems, rad fems
Don't tread on my civil rights
Transition was a hard grind
The rad fem ones they hurt us everytime

Finished my transition
Brought harmony to my body and my mind
The rad fem ones
Always hate transpeople
Always everytime

If I told u rad fems
That I have rights f u
Oh rad fems, rad fems, rad fems
If I came to The Land
Would that be cool?

No peeps we're not confused
The rad fem ones
We're tired of being abused

Baby, baby,
Baby, baby,
Baby, baby,
Baby,
What's it gonna be rad fems?

I'm not a him
I'm just she
Cause I am boo
Said I am boo
Tell me, rad fems
Do u hate me?
I gotta know, I gotta know
Do u hate me?
Rad fems, rad fems, rad fems
Listen 2 me
I know where I'm going baby)
I said I know what I need
One thing, one thing's 4 certain baby
I know what I want, yeah
and it won't please u baby
please u, baby
I'm not going down on my knees
Not for u
Not me boo
Baby, baby, baby,
Not for u

Not me boo

China's New Red Star- In Space

TransGriot Note: My latest piece for Global Comment.

When I was growing up, the space race between NASA and the Soviet space program was a major topic of conversation.

The race to the moon between the United States and Russia was a major avenue of Cold War competition that NASA lagged in during the early days.

The Russian space program piled up history making achievement after achievement during the late 50's and 60's while the United States struggled just to get a rocket off the launch pad.

From its Baikonur Cosmodrome Russia launched the world's first ICBM, the world's first orbiting satellite in Sputnik 1, the first satellite to reach the moon in Luna 1, the first manned orbital flight in 1961 with Yuri Gagarin, and the 1963 flight of Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space.

Under the Interkosmos program 14 cosmonauts from 13 nations such as Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Cuba and France were paired up with a Russian cosmonaut and blasted into space.

Eventually the United States got its space act together during the 60's, spurred on by President John F. Kennedy bold declaration of putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade. Thanks to NASA's Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs the goal was accomplished when Apollo 11 landed on the moon July 20, 1969.

In the United States we're about to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Our onetime Russian Cold War rivals are one of our major international partners helping to assemble and staff the International Space Station.

Just as our space program has slipped from the heady days of the Apollo era, the Russian one has fallen a bit as well due to tight budgets. The breakup of the Soviet Union also put the Russians in the position of having to lease the historic Baikonur Cosmodrome until 2050 since it now sits in Kazakhstan.

As the Russians upgrade the Plesetsk Cosmodrome and NASA prepares to retire its aging space shuttle fleet in 2010, China has made moves over the last few years to challenge both nations in a bid to become the leading space-farer on earth.

China launched its first satellite in 1970, but didn't conduct a manned space mission until the Shenzhou 5 mission was launched October 15, 2003. Taikonaut Yang Liwei made 15 orbits of the Earth before touching down in Inner Mongolia.

They quickly followed it up with the Shenzhou 6 two-man mission almost two years later. It was launched October 12, 2005 with taikonauts Nie Haisheng and Fei Junlong making 76 earth orbits over nearly five days before touching down.

Read the rest of my post at Global Comment.

DeLee Trial Day 3

Well well, seems like we had some drama outside the courtroom yesterday. It seems there was an altercation outside the courthouse that Judge Walsh had to comment on prior to starting the courtroom proceedings today.

Judge William Walsh stated that he saw the altercation, or “melee,” on film and found it “appalling.” He said that the altercation, which resulted from threats made by friends and members of accused shooter DeLee's family, “disgraced the life and legacy of" the victim and that the case would not be decided on the streets of Syracuse, but in the courtroom. He warned the individuals in the gallery to behave properly and respectfully, and expressed absolutely no tolerance for improper behavior.

In the meantime, the prosecution and the defense both rested today. That means jury deliberations for the panel of six men and six women will start tomorrow after closing arguments from lawyers and legal instructions from Judge Walsh.

TLDEF legal intern Laura Vogel has the 411 about today's events.

How Hard Is It To Transition In Your Hometown?

Back in the day when transpeople were advised to keep their transitions secret and never let anyone know their status, one strategy for doing so was relocating to another city or state far from your birthplace.

Today, many transpeople reject that and are opting to stay right in their hometowns and transition.

What drove me to write this post was an e-mail I received from a young person who is starting the transition journey. In that e-mail she asked me the question that is the title of this post.

Well, it varies depending on where you live.

If you're born and raised in a small, conservative rural community, you may have to move to a larger, more accepting city for your own safety and peace of mind. You also have to bear in mind you may even have to relocate to another state or even emigrate to another country because some cities aren't as tolerant or welcoming as others.

As someone who transitioned in her hometown, it's an interesting and challenging experience at times. For the most part you're going to be around the people and family members that knew the old person. Sometimes it's harder for them to make the mental shift and see you as the person you've evolved to rather than the person they remember.

It leads to the maddening at times tendency to use incorrect pronouns or the old name in your presence. Sometimes when they slip up, they inadvertently out you by doing so in front of people who didn't know your trans business.

Sometimes you'll have your old and new lives clash at inopportune times. You may run into an old coworker or classmate who hasn't seen you in years at a local event or a store.

You'll have the awkward moments of running into an old lover. You'll pass by places and locations that trigger good and bad memories for you. You'll have those moments when you run into somebody from your past, but are unsure whether to reveal how you know them, how much you've changed since your last meeting, and how they'll react to the news.

And you won't have the excuse of distance or finances to prevent you from attending your high school reunion. (Go JJ Falcons!)

But those stress inducing dramas are mitigated by the fact that you are transitioning in familiar and comfortable surroundings. You already know the politics at the local, county and state levels. You are cognizant of the level of organization, support and activism in your local trans community. You're aware of who and where the trans friendly medical/legal/pharmaceutical professionals are and what the local GLB community support level for trans issues is.

Best of all, you don't have any moving expenses unless you're bouncing to another apartment.

So how hard is it to transition in your hometown? Depends on the intestinal fortitude of the person involved. I did so while working for an airline in an international hub airport. But I also realized because I did so back home, I acquired a mental toughness I probably wouldn't have if I'd simply moved and started over.

To transition in your hometown or not is just another thing that you have to factor into your transition related decisions.

But despite the headaches, it has its rewards as well.

EBONY Magazine's It Factor Issue

You knew that EBONY was going to have to drop an issue celebrating the sistahs after their 25 Coolest Brothers issue generated much buzz, conversation in the blogosphere and arguments in beauty and barbershops across America last year.

The July/August 2009 issue of EBONY features 4 separate covers featuring Alicia Keys (the one I currently own) First Lady Michelle Obama, Tina Turner, and Halle Berry.

Of course I'm going to post the list of 25 women who as EBONY put it, made us sit up and take notice.

Alicia Keys
Michelle Obama
Tina Turner
Halle Berry
Naomi Campbell

Jennifer Hudson
Aretha Franklin
Serena Williams
Condoleezza Rice
Oprah Winfrey

Tyra Banks
Angela Davis
Erykah Badu
Jill Scott
Lil' Kim

Whoopi Goldberg
Diahann Carroll
Pam Grier
Patti LaBelle
Mo'Nique

Diana Ross
Rihanna
Grace Jones
Mary J. Blige
Beyonce

Okay, I already have problems with this list. No Lena Horne? No Dorothy Dandridge? No Phyllis Hyman? And you put Lil' Kim and Condoleezza Rice on it? I don't think so.

But let the discussion and cussin' begin.

DeLee Trial Day 2

TLDEF's legal intern Laura Vogel is blogging about the trial developments. Since she's there in the courtroom and can give you a sense of what's happening better than I can from over 800 miles away in Syracuse, I'll send you to her blog post about today's courtroom events.

Video has surfaced as well from the memorial service for Teish that happened last Saturday.



I'm also a little irritated over the fact that TruTV (so far) isn't covering this trial at all. Speaks to the fact that once again, a Black person's life doesn't mean squat and a Black transperson's is even less valued.

Granted, the Sotomayor confirmation hearings are going on, but hell, if you can tear yourself away from the Sotomayor hearing to cover a Girl Scout Murder trial, surely you have hours in your programing day to cover this trial.