The Canadians Have A Point-Hate Speech Should Be Regulated

You know, I'm beginning to agree with the Canadians on the point they make about regulating hate speech, especially in light of the unprecedented racist abuse that President Obama is taking.

Many of us progressive Americans are fearing that some fool will go to the next level and attempt to do with a bullet what they couldn't do at the ballot box.

The Canadians use the standard under their Charter of a 'reasonable person'. Any speech that would be considered racist and offensive by that person is subject to regulation.

Yes, as a blogger and civil rights advocate I'm a staunch defender of the First Amendment. I have a copy of the US Constitution right next to my computer that I read on a regular basis. I'm quite aware it guarantees your right to free speech and dissent. But at the same time it guarantees my right as a person with contrary views to yours to have my say as well.

But with free speech comes consequences. I not only have an equal right to challenge you on it, but sue the crap out of you if your hate speech results in physical harm to my person.

When it comes to hate speech, while you have the right to say it, it doesn't add anything positive to the political discourse of the nation. All it does is fuel animosity and hatred. As a person of African descent I know all too well that unchecked hate speech far too often leads to escalating violence which can ultimately lead to death or genocide.

Too many times in this country's history we have seen hate speech used by vanilla flavored people to incite discourse and fan the flames of dissent in order to exploit the fears of people for their narrow political and economic interests.

Over the last fifty years, particularly during Democratic administrations we have seen a ratcheting up of hate speech by the conservative opposition to demonize politicians and people they don't agree with.

That has unfortunately led to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the murders of many others working for progressive causes or social change.

We have seen this play out ever since President Obama was elected on November 4. The 'white' wing has been uttering increasingly nastier, false and devoid of logic rhetoric by the day. When you call them on it, you're accused of being 'politically correct' or 'stifling their constitutional First Amendment rights.'

And as a transperson, I see with grim regularity the hate of the 'christian' right, the Roman Catholic Church, radio shock jocks and transphobic bigots manifest itself into murdered transpeople that we end up memorializing every November 20.

Don't even get me started about the 'Kill him' cries that rang out during McCain-Palin rallies last year. Many of us are fearful that the unprecedented unhinged rhetoric being disgustingly spat by 'white' wing conservafools and pimped for ratings by Fox News at President Obama will lead to another tragedy.

So based on this backdrop of history, is it any wonder why I would be in favor of hate speech being closely monitored?

Shut Up Fool! Awards-Halloween Weekend Edition

Happy Halloween Weekend peeps!
Wow this year is definitely moving along. Only eight more weeks left until New year's day and the dawning of a new decade.

Not only are we getting ready to move into November, Daylight Savings Time ends at 2 AM. It's fall back time, so you'll get that hour of sleep back you lost in March.

Getting prepared for the invasion of ghosts. goblins, ghouls and other costumed creatures begging for treats Saturday night.

Speaking of goblins and ghouls, it's time to see if scary creatures like Ann Coultergeist or Rush Limbaugh made us scream about their stupidity or if we have some other fool that distinguished themselves this week.

As always, there were many worthy fools to choose from, but my winner this week was brought to my attention courtesy of Renee and a post she read at Feministing.

It talks about a USA Today article about conscience clause legislation. The right wingers have been pushing these bills which would allow pharmacists and health care workers to deny women access to birth control pills if it goes against the pharmacist's religion. These laws are also of concern to transpeople because we can be put in the situation in which a Bible thumping pharmacist could deny us access to our hormones and other medication we need for transition.

But our winner of this week's Shut Up Fool! Award is Dr. Michele Phillips from San Antonio, TX.

She had this to say in the opening paragraph of the USA Today article.

She had a request to give an unmarried female patient a prescription for birth control pills and refused to do so. She then resigned her position and does contract work at a 'faith-based' practice that permits her to "prescribe according to my ethical values. "Her reason?

"I'm not going to give any kind of medication I see as harmful. The drugs would not protect her patient from "emotional trauma from multiple partners," Phillips reasoned, or sexually transmitted diseases. "I could not ethically give that type of medication to a single woman."

Can you say 'evangelical christian'? Thought you could.

Michele, you're an embarrassment to the home state. To think my tax dollars paid for the med schools where you got that medical education.

You need to focus more on the Hippocratic Oath and less on injecting your personal religious beliefs into people's medical needs.

Dr. Michele Phillips, shut up fool!

Catholic Priest In Italy Given Involuntary Vacation After Marrying Transperson

For those people who continue to waste their time trying to argue with me that the Catholic Church doesn't have open hostility for transpeople, here's more evidence they have lost their damned minds.

According to an Agency France Press story, an Italian priest who blessed the marriage of a 64-year-old transsexual to her 58-year-old male partner was suspended, the Archbishop of Florence said in a statement on Monday.

Father Alessandro Santoro, a priest based in Piagge, an industrial suburb of Florence, married postoperative transwoman Sandra Alvino and Fortunato Talotta in a religious ceremony on Sunday.

Florence archbishop Giuseppe Betori said he had invited Santoro to take time off for "reflection and prayer" after he ignored protests from the Catholic Church not to go ahead with the union.

Betori described the couple's wedding as "devoid of value because of the absence of the necessary components of a religious marriage".

Excuse me?

"The act is particularly serious because it is misleading for the two people concerned," he added.

Betori claimed the ceremony had sparked "confusion" amongst Christians and the general public.

"They could think the essential conditions for a religious marriage have changed," he said.

The only 'confusion' here is how and why you clowns continue to call yourselves 'christians'.

Santoro defended his decision, stating it was "not an act of rebellion," but rather "an act of loyalty to my congregation, to the church and to the people that I love... It was my duty".

Cardinal Renato Martino, a senior Vatican official, had strongly criticized the decision to wed the couple.

"I do not understand how something like that can be done. It's against nature and it does not bring anything to the church," which does not recognize same-sex partnerships.

"Biology, that God made man and woman, cannot be changed by trickery," he said.

No, Cardinal Martino, you and your Vatican adviser Paul McHugh are the clueless idiots who refuse to deal with the reality that transpeople are part of the the God given diversity of human life.

Ms. Alvaro had SRS 20 years ago. It is an opposite gender marriage and it's time for y'all to wake up and smell the cappuccino on that.

But then again, why am I expecting rapid change from an institution that still won't admit it made an error when it persecuted Galileo and Copernicus for daring to suggest several centuries ago the Earth revolves around the Sun?

Little Sis Will End Year Atop World Tennis Rankings

For the first time since 2002 the final world tennis rankings will reflect what the whole planet already knows:

Serena Williams is the best women's tennis player in the world.

This elite tournament in Doha, Qatar matches up the top eight players in the world. Little Sis entered this $4.5 million season ending WTA Championships event trailing Safina by 155 ratings points.

The players are divided into two groups, the Maroon and White ones, with the top two from each group advancing to the semifinals after playing a round robin schedule. In addition, each victory in this tournament is worth 230 points.

After Serena dispatched Svetlana Kuznetsova in her opening Maroon Group match 7-6, 7-5, Safina entered her White Group match against Jelena Jankovic trailing by 75 points. After stepping onto the court and earning 70 ranking points for doing so, Safina was forced to retire two games into the mach due to a back injury.

Unfortunately defending champ Big Sis lost her Maroon group match to Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-7, 2-6. The win gives Dementieva a share of the Maroon Group lead with Little Sis.

Even if Serena doesn't win any more matches, she will finish the year ranked Number one. Then she and Big Sis will get a well deserved break until January 18-31, 2010.

What are those dates, you ask? The scheduled dates for the first Grand Slam event of the 2010 tennis season, the Australian Open.

Trans Peeps In NY State No Longer Need Doctor's Note To Change Name

The good news just keeps on coming for the transgender community. A New York State appellate court on October 21 struck down a lower court requirement that transgender people seeking to change their names provide medical evidence of their need for the name change.

The case concerned Olin Winn-Ritzenberg, a 23 year old trans man who attempted to change his name earlier this year.

His name change petition was denied by the lower court because he had failed to provide a letter from a doctor, therapist or social worker establishing his need to change his name.

When he was told by a New York court clerk he had to show a note from his doctor detailing his "need" to change his name, he contacted the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund for help.

The appellate court wrote,

"[t]here is no sound basis in law or policy to engraft upon the statutory provisions an additional requirement that a transgendered-petitioner present medical substantiation for the desired name change." The court's decision sends a powerful message that transgender people must be treated equally and that they cannot be subjected to different legal requirements than everyone else. People’s names are fundamental to their identities. This decision confirms that each one of us has the right to be known by a name we choose. That decision can’t be second-guessed by doctors, therapists or anyone else simply because someone is transgender.

Upon learning of the ruling, Olin said in a statement, "This means that I can finally change my name and move forward with my life. My gender transition has been a very personal journey, and no one is in a better position to decide that I need to change my name than I am."

Thanks once again to TLDEF for being fierce advocates for our legal rights.

Former Senator Edward Brooke Gets Congressional Gold Medal

Former Senator Edward Brooke (R-MA), the first African American senator elected by popular vote in 1966 was honored with the Congressional Gold Medal yesterday in a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda.

The honor is Congress' highest form of appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions to society. The legislation to honor Brooke was sponsored by the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) the Massachusetts Congressional delegation, and U.S. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, (D-DC) and passed in March 2007. President Barack Obama presented the medal to Brooke.

He grew up in a segregated Washington DC before heading north to Massachusetts after graduating from Howard University.

The now 90 year old former senator served for two terms from 1967-1979, and was the first Black person elected to become the Attorney General of any state when in 1962 he became the Attorney General of Massachusetts. He was reelected to that position in 1964.

“Today Massachusetts Sen. Edward Brooke was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, a great tradition of our Congress that is awarded sparingly in recognition of tremendous accomplishments,” Jennifer Nassour, Massachusetts Republican Party Chairman, said in a press release. “Sen. Brooke served Massachusetts as a Republican in the United States Senate from 1967 to 1979, and his story is one that shows how much one person can make a difference in America.”

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) said, “I proudly sit in the Senate seat once occupied by Ed Brooke. And in 2005, I had the privilege of writing the Senate resolution awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Jackie Robinson, himself a trailblazer who once said that “a life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”



Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) campaigned for Brooke's honor on the House side, lauding the former senator for his work on behalf of full voting rights for District of Columbia residents.

The ceremony "will help drive home the disempowerment of DC residents as Congress gives its highest honor to our native son, who left his hometown, unable to vote for president, mayor, House representative, or senator, and became our nation;s first popularly-elected African-American senator,'' Holmes Norton said in a statement.

President Obama noted in his remarks that he and many others followed the trail that Edward Brooke blazed.

"He didn't care whether a bill was popular or politically expedient, Democratic or Republican -- he cared about whether it helped people, whether it made a difference in their daily lives. That's why he fought so hard for Medicare, for mass transit and the minimum wage, for civil rights and women's rights. It's why he became a lifelong advocate for affordable housing, establishing protections that are the standard to this day."

"So it's a record that defies the labels and categories for which he had little use and even less patience. When pressed to define himself, he'd offer phrases like 'creative moderate,' or 'a liberal with a conservative bent.' But in truth, Ed Brooke's career was animated not by a faith in any particular party or ideology, but rather, by a faith in the people he served."

Too bad more of his former colleagues on both sides of the aisle don't keep that in mind when they are on Capitol Hill, a fact noted in Sen. Brooke's remarks

He chided his former colleagues about working together across the partisan divide. He said there are issues more important than partisan politics: the hungry, the homeless, and diplomacy, among them.

Continuing his advocacy for the District of Columbia, he said he'd trade his medal if it meant voting rights to district residents, who are now represented by a non-voting delegate.

Congratulations to a trailblazing hero who Black Republicans should be emulating and imitating, not the 'white' wing conservafools.

President Obama Signs Byrd-Shepard Hate Crimes Law

This is a day I've been waiting, working, agitating for, and praying would happen for over eleven years.

The beautiful thing is that an African-American president is the one signing it.

Not Feeling Halloween

The peeps on Hillcrest Ave here in Da Ville are once again living up to an over twenty year tradition and going all out to outdo their neighbors and spooktacularly decorate their houses for Halloween.

They are expecting more than the 20,000 kids they had last year traipsing up and down the street between Frankfort Ave. and Brownsboro Rd.

Since it falls on a Saturday this year, the goblins and ghouls get an extra hour of sleep since Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend.

It's also considered by some people the Transgender National Holiday, but I'm definitely not feeling the festive spirit of it at the moment.

Probably some of what I'm feeling is related to my childhood in H-town, the cloudy weather we're having today in Da Ville and thinking about the 1974 Ronald Clark O'Bryan case.

Because his business was failing, O'Bryan took out large insurance policies on his children one month before the date. On Halloween night he gave his kids and in order to cover his tracks, five other neighborhood kids cyanide laced Giant Pixy Sticks.

It's a powered candy that comes in a straw. You can also get (and still can) an almost two foot long one for you to eat to your heart's content.

Unfortunately his 8 year old son Timothy tore into his and later died a painful death. His daughter and the other kids he handed the poisoned treats to fortunately didn't eat them. One of those jacked up Pixy Sticks became the evidence they used to convict him of murder and later execute O'Bryan on May 31, 1984.

He was actually sentenced to die on Halloween 1983, but since state law required at the time you give the condemned 180 days to appeal the decision, the execution date was pushed back.

Pixy Sticks were one of my fave candy treats at the time, but after that night I stopped eating them for almost two years. Even when I spot the giant ones on display I get a twinge of sadness when I see them.

It also put a permanent crimp in Halloween for me and every kid in Houston after that. No more could I freely range in two or three neighborhoods and get enough candy to last until Thanksgiving Day. After that I was limited to my neighborhood and the neighbors we knew for years. We also ended up with more church and other youth group sponsored events like costume contests.

Over time Halloween just became an adult costume dress up day. It was also the one day on the calendar next to Mardi Gras in New Orleans in which we transpeeps knew we could dress up and not be called derogatory names.

But I'll just have to shake it off, put a smile on my face for the kids and yell "Happy Halloween" as I pass out the candy to the kids who show up on our doorstep Saturday night.

If I'm lucky, maybe I'll shake off the blahs I'm feeling long enough to get into costume myself and find a party in the gayborhood.

Black Trans-Activist Lectures at Bryn Mawr

TransGriot Note: This is the article that appeared in today's Bi-College News, the student newspaper for Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges.

I had a great time talking to Kaori, who is an exchange student at Bryn Mawr from Japan majoring in journalism. We had an interesting discussion pre-interview about the developments for transpeople in Japan. Once again, deep appreciation for the invite and all the hard work that went toward making my visit as smooth as possible. I'm glad to hear that the students on campus enjoyed the speech and the discussion afterward.

Bi-College News (Bryn Mawr & Haverford Colleges), PA, USA
By Kaori Hatama

Monica Roberts, writer of the blog TransGriot, gave a lecture at Bryn Mawr Tuesday about transgender issues from an African-American perspective.

Roberts, 47, was the third African-American transperson to receive International Foundation for Gender Education Trinity Award in 2006, the "second highest honor” award in the transgender community.

“I’m not just any old blogger,” Roberts said. “I have been a witness to and a chronicler of transgender history.”

Roberts’ blog, TransGriot, contains “news, opinion, commentary [and] history” about the world from her point of view.

“Trans people of color do face higher violence than the Caucasian trans people," said Nicole Matos ‘10, head of the Women’s Center and the organizer of this lecture. "[It] has not been spoken [about] a lot on this campus, so I thought it great to invite a trans activist of color on to campus. I first thought of Monica Roberts because I am a big fan of her blog TransGriot.”

Roberts talked about the history and the people that had not been discussed in GLBT circles—mainly black trans people.

She said the attention to black trans people has been ignored by the mainstream media until recently and explained how hard it was for her to find a role model as an African-American trans person in the 1970s.

“Our problems as African-American trans people mirror those of our parent society," she said. "The only thing tougher than being a black man or black women in this society is being a black man or a black woman in this society with a mismatched body.”

“It was interesting that there is a microcosm of U.S. society in this trans gender community,” said Michelle Smith ’12 who attended because she is part of The Women’s Center and a columnist on gender and sexuality for the college news.

“Like in the gay community, the figurehead [in the trans community] is white, upper middle class, male cisgendered but gay,” she commented.

However, Roberts also pointed out recent positive developments in the black trans community.

“We’re finding more acceptance among our families, ciswomen and fellow
African-descended people,” she said.

She thinks her TransGriot blog and other blogs like hers have been succeeding in revealing the myths and lies that had been prevailing wisdom.

“I really enjoyed it," said Christine Head ‘11. "It was refreshing to hear that perspective and I liked the fact that she was really earnest about everything.”

Head, who is a CDA, attended the lecture because she felt minority issues such as differences in race, socioeconomic status or gender identity are forgotten in general Bryn Mawr dialogue.

“Basically, we are human beings too. That is the major lesson that I wanted to impart. Not just for them [students], but to everybody they come [in] contact with. For instance, when they are in a one-on-one conversation with someone who is making derogatory comments, hopefully they would take some of what I pointed out in the lecture and go ‘Hey that’s not the case,’” Roberts said.

After her lecture, there were some time for questions.

“There are some brilliant young minds that are matriculating on this campus that [they] are going to do some great things,” Roberts said.
“The fact that they are broadening their minds by taking the time out of their busy schedules to listen to our stories and listen to our issues really gives me great hope for the future.”


Copyright © 2008 The Bi-College News Online. All rights reserved.

http://www.biconews.com/?p=20351
Posted By eheld On October 28, 2009 @ 12:29 am In News

Bigot Harry Jackson Gets Smacked Down By DC Council

It's hard out there for conservapimps. Bigot Harry Jackson slithered in from suburban Maryland to lead the anti-marriage equality peeps and got smacked down.

Enjoy.

Dr. Dana Beyer Running For Maryland House Seat

It seems as though the 2010 election cycle is shaping up to be a potentially historic one for the transgender community.

Kim Coco Iwamoto's first term on the Hawaii State Board of Education is coming to a close and she has yet to declare whether she will run again or seek higher office.

Brittany Novotny's a candidate for the Oklahoma legislature, Pam Bennett's making another run for the Aurora, CO city council after nearly winning in 2007, and Dr. Dana Beyer has decided to make another run for the Maryland State Legislature.

Dr. Beyer currently serves as the senior adviser to Montgomery County MD council member Duchy Trachtenberg and sits on the board of Equality Maryland.

“People should vote for me because they want someone looking out for them, not just taking orders from the antiquated leadership,” Dr. Beyer said. “We need a new approach to very serious economic difficulties if we are to reset our economy and move forward, building a better world for all.”

She's running for Maryland House Seat 18, but will have to get through the primary which takes place September 14, 2010. If she successfully does that and wins in the general election, either she or Brittany Novotny would become the first United States based trans people to win election to a state legislative body.

She's already been endorsed by the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.

I wish Dr. Dana the best of luck and hope that this run for the Maryland state house ends in a more satisfying conclusion for her than it did in 2006.

Pam Bennett In The Homestretch For Her Aurora, CO City Council Race

After nearly winning in her first attempt in 2007 running for an at large seat on the Aurora. CO city council, Pam Bennett is making her second run for public office.

She's part of a six candidate field trying to convince the voters of Denver's neighboring city they are the best candidate to garner their votes on November 3.

They are vying to be the at-large member of City Council for the suburban city of 297,835 that lies just east of Denver. Pam's a US Air Force veteran who currently serves as a commissioner for the City of Aurora Veterans Affairs Commission, but wants to do more for the city of Aurora.

Bennett stated on her campaign website:

I am running for Aurora City Council because I want to help Aurora achieve its full potential as a world class city. I am a veteran and a Commissioner on the City of Aurora Veterans Affairs Commission. I have worked in businesses large and small. I volunteer in our community to help others.

I have a diverse background and can bring many resources to the challenges ahead. I will use the strength and experience that I have gained to help the City of Aurora address its variety of challenges during the next four years.

Aurora is emerging as a major U.S. city and a city with a great future. Our city needs a leader ready to work hard for that future. We find ourselves at a time where we must find the path to economic growth and quality of life. Our working men and women and our neighbors need the economic security of a strong working city. Bringing jobs to Aurora is important for our future.

Aurora needs a leader during these difficult economic times; a leader working to bring jobs for our working men and women. Aurora has the start of our future as a healthcare city with medical care and research at Fitzsimmons and the world class healthcare facilities throughout our great city. This is an opportunity few cities ever have. These jobs and jobs created by new businesses will be the new Aurora.

If she wins on November 3, Pam would become the first open transgender politician elected in the state of Colorado, and nationally the first one elected to the city council of a municipality with a population of over 250,000.

Good luck, Pam on election day, and may you have better results than you did in 2007.

The 2009 Amazing Philippines Beauty Winner Is....

Bem Bem May Razada!




The 5th annual Miss International Queen pageant is currently being contested at Tiffany's in Pattaya, Thailand as I write this with 24 contestants from around the globe vying for that increasingly prestigious crown in the trans pageant world.

But the other trans pageant that garners international attention, Amazing Philippine Beauties held its finals in Manila on October 23.







There are transgender pageants like the Queen Of Cebu one PinayTG mentioned on her blog across the Philippines. Miss Amazing Philippines in six years has become the most coveted title of them all.

It not only carries a large cash prize to the winner but a contract to work in the Amazing Philippines Show, a cabaret show similar to the trans ones done in Thailand.

Congratulations to the new Amazing Philippines Queen for 2009 and may she have an enjoyable reign.

Tom Joyner Gets Uncles Posthumously Cleared For Crime They Didn't Commit

Many of you long time readers know how much I love the Tom Joyner Morning Show. 'The Fly Jock' and co host Sybil Wilkes and J. Anthony Brown have the ears of 11 million predominately African American listeners with their syndicated radio show based in Dallas.

If you want to get an idea what Black America is thinking about and what we're saying about the issues of the day, this is one place you tune in.

This story begins in 2008, when Joyner was one of the subjects for Henry Louis 'Skip' Gates latest installment of his PBS series African American Lives II. Genealogical research on Joyner's family uncovered the story of his great-uncles Thomas and Meeks Griffin who on September 29, 1915 were executed for a crime they didn’t commit.



It was one a shocked Joyner didn't know about, and nether did his father Hercules.

The Griffin brothers along with Nelson Brice and John Crosby were executed for the April 24, 1913 shooting death in his home of 73 year old John Q. Lewis, a wealthy Confederate veteran living in a town 40 miles north of Columbia, SC.

Lewis was apparently having an intimate relationship with a married 22-year-old Black woman named Anna Davis. Suspicion initially turned to her and her husband after the murder.

"It is plausible to believe that the sheriff did not want to pursue Mr. and Mrs. Davis because if they were tried, it would have led to a scandalous discussion in open court," Finkelman wrote to the South Carolina pardon board on October 2, 2008.

The Griffins were framed by Monk Stevenson, who received a life sentence for doing so. Stevenson later said to a fellow inmate he did it because he knew the Griffin family was wealthy enough to hire a lawyer and felt they would be acquitted.

The Griffin brothers were indicted in July 1913 and given just two days to prepare the case. The family was forced to sell 130 acres of land to finance the defense as their lawyer sought a delay.

The request was denied and it left them just one day to get ready for a capital murder trial that would eventually last four days.

“I don’t care if you had Thurgood Marshall defending you; nobody could prepare for a murder trial in a day,” Joyner said in an interview with BlackAmericaWeb.com.

Of course it doesn't take an MIT grad to figure out what the results of a court case will be in early 20th century Jim Crow South Carolina when the murder victim is white and the accused are Black.

Can you say, "unanimous guilty verdict?" Thought you could.

The case was appealed to the South Carolina Supreme Court, but they upheld the verdict, saying the denial was insignificant to the outcome of the case.

There were people who saw the monumental injustice of the case. The Griffin brothers were well-liked in the community and more than 150 citizens of Blackstock, SC. asked the governor at the time for their sentences to be commuted. Many prominent whites in the community, including the mayor and former sheriff of Chester County, came to the defense of the Griffin brothers.

"I heard this case, and I don't think I could have given a verdict of guilty," one magistrate wrote.

Professor Gates noted that “White people petitioned the governor to exonerate them,” but to no avail.

Joyner's quest to clear his uncles’ names took him, his sons, Gates, legal historian Paul Finkelman and South Carolina attorney Stephen E. Benjamin to the South Carolina Board of Paroles and Pardons earlier this month.

They presented their case to the seven member board for the state to exonerate his maternal great-uncles, which the board unanimously granted.

Dwayne Green, an African-American member of the pardon board, said he admired Joyner for seeking the pardon. "He's not only done his family a service, but also the people of South Carolina."

"There's no statute of limitations on doing the right thing," Green said. "There's so much good that can come out of this public show of mercy."

The unanimous vote, he said, was heartwarming and satisfying. "It's a great opportunity to show how much South Carolina has changed," he said. "While change comes slow, outcomes like this are a positive sign."

It marked the first time in South Carolina's history that a posthumous pardon was issued in a capital murder case.

Joyner immediately relayed the news to his listening audience moments later.

Joyner told CNN's Don Lemon in an interview the ruling won't bring back his great-uncles, who were electrocuted in 1915. But it does provide closure to his family. "I hope now they rest in peace."

Gates said, “It’s just a great day. Justice was served for the Joyner family. I’m sad that it happened to the Joyner family, but I’m glad justice was served….We can’t change the past, but we can change how the past is remembered.”

And in this case, the Griffin brothers, after almost a century, have finally received justice thanks to their great nephew and a host of people working diligently to clear their name.

Happy Birthday Jayne Kennedy Overton!

I have much love for this statuesque trailblazing sister who was born on this date in Washington, DC.

Jayne Harrison grew up in the Cleveland area suburb of Wickliffe, OH, and began a string of trailblazing firsts. She was a member of the National Honor Society in high school and was her high school class president three consecutive years. In 1969 she became the first African American vice president of Girls State.

Just a year later, she became the first African American to win the Miss Ohio USA pageant and finished fourth runner up in the 1970 Miss USA Pageant.

She did a USO tour with Bob Hope at the close of the Vietnam War, was a dancer on the Dean Martin Show, and thanks to stints in television, movies, advertising contracts for Jovan and the Tab diet soft drink and numerous Ebony/Jet covers she was one of the more recognizable faces of the 70's.

In 1978 she became the first African-American network female sportscaster when she joined the anchor desk for 'The NFL Today' pregame show on CBS for two years. That CBS stint paved the way for the current wave of Black female sportscasters you see on the airwaves now.

She got remarried in 1985 to current husband Bill Overton and is the mother of three daughters. While she isn't in the limelight as much as she was during the 70's and 80's, I still love me some Jayne Kennedy Overton.

Happy birthday, Jayne. May you have many more.

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One Speech Down, Another To Go

Now that a week has passed since I visited the Bryn Mawr campus, my attention is now focused on the speech I'm presently compiling. I've been graciously invited to deliver remarks for a Transgender Day of Remembrance event on Long Island.

This will be the third speech I've given at a TDOR event and as of yet haven't been invited to give one back home or in the birth state (hint, hint).

But when I do get those opportunities, one of the things I take into account when I'm compiling these speeches is why we're gathered there in the first place.

The Byrd-Shepard Hate Crimes bill will have been on the books for a few weeks by the time I stand up at the podium to deliver this next speech, but our work toward achieving full equality for transgender Americans will not be complete.

That sadly will be an ongoing but necessary project.

Looking forward to seeing you folks in Long Island on November 22.

I Love This Afrocentric Barbie!

This is the 50th anniversary year of the birth of Mattel's iconic Barbie doll.

Barbie has had a somewhat interesting relationship with Black women and the Black community. The first Black Barbie dolls weren't created until 1980, although Christie dolls were available starting in 1968. The Oreo Barbie was a PR disaster, but the AKA Barbie they created for the sorority's Centennial celebration last year was a big success commercially and PR wise.

However, the reviews inside and outside the Afrosphere about Mattel's announced intention to make their iconic doll more Afrocentric have been mixed as well.

I own nine Barbies of various shades, but they still have the same Eurocentric Barbie nose and lips. In addition, the dolls have substituted light brown, brown and green eyes for blue.

Well, if they want a better idea how to do it besides take their stock Eurocentric doll with straight hair and make it slightly darker, they need to surf on over to Tabloach Productions and peep the retooled custom Barbies Loanne Hizo Ostlie does.

It may seem insignificant to some of you reading this post, but when you are a minority, you have to constantly be on guard against the negative messages that the dominant culture constantly and insidiously bombards at us and our children.

So yeah, I'm definitely loving and feeling these Afrocentric Barbies.

H/T Womanist Musings

Long Time Coming

I've been taking time to sort out my feelings after hearing the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Bill finally passed Congress on Thursday and is awaiting the president's signature on Wednesday.

The act expands federal hate crime laws to include crimes where the victims were targeted on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender and disability.

This passage of one of the transgender community's legislative crown jewels has been a long time coming. I've personally done my part by making four trips to Washington DC since 1998 to lobby for both hate crimes and ENDA. There have been legions of trans activists living and deceased that lobbied, wrote letters, faxes and e-mails, told their stories to congress members and staffers, and prayed for this day to finally happen.

I heard about the news from Dawn after returning home from work. As I absorbed the news that it passed, I couldn't help but think about what happened to Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, who the bill was named after.

It also brought up the bitter memories of transpeople in Texas being cut out of a state hate crime bill named for James Byrd, Jr in 1999 and 2001 thanks to the efforts of the Lesbian Gay Rights Lobby (the predecessors to Equality Texas) and its then director Dianne Hardy-Garcia.

She said in a January 1999 Texas Monthly interview, “People from different walks of life come to the Texas Capitol to compromise and try to make it so that all of us can live together. Being part of that is a beautiful thing.”

Yeah, Texas transpeople got compromised right out of that bill twice.

I thought about the 1964 Civil Rights Act when it finally passed and was signed on July 2, 1964 by President Johnson. Yes, the law was forever changed on that day as well, but the violence against my people continued for three more years.

And yes, this passage of this bill also comes when we are about to embark next month on another year of TDOR ceremonies. I'm writing a speech right now I'll be delivering for a Long Island, NY event on November 22.

Make no mistake about it, the folks that hate us won't care that a hate crimes law has been passed and signed. As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once stated, "It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important

But the message it does send is that transgender people ARE American citizens who have been violently attacked and murdered just for having the temerity to live their lives and be who they are, and that needs to stop.

It has been a major concern of mine because far too many of the transgender victims of these crimes have been either African descended, Latino/a people or other POC.

Our government said in a 68-29 vote in the Senate and a October 8 281-146 House vote that the federal definition of "hate crimes" needed to be expanded to include us.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said, "The answer to hate and bigotry has to be ultimately found in increased respect and tolerance for all our citizens. In the meantime, strengthening our hate crimes legislation to give law enforcement the tools they need is a necessary step."

That necessary step is better late than never.

While this historic change comes too late for the people who have already succumbed to hate violence, this law once it's signed by President Obama will give the Justice Department some new tools to combat it.

This new law will not make the transphobes stop hating us, but what it will do over time is send the message that it's no longer open season on transgender people.

I am a transgender citizen of the United States. It is NOT okay for you to kill me because you hate me, and if you do so, you will get punished for it.

It puts us one step closer to the full citizenship we deserve and is our birthright as Americans.

It also puts us one step closer to being included in the 'We The People' preamble to the United States Constitution.