In The U.S., When Will An Open Trans Person Get Elected To Congress?

TransGriot Note: My latest post for Global Comment

I was celebrating with every trans person around the world in November 1999, when I heard the news that New Zealand’s Georgina Beyer became the first open trans person elected to a national legislative body. She served as a Labour Party MP from November 27, 1999 until February 14, 2007.

In 2003, Aya Kamikawa became the first trans sperson elected to public office in Japan when she won a place on the local assembly for Setagaya, one of Tokyo’s biggest local government areas. She was reelected in 2008

That groundbreaking achievement was followed up by Italy’s Vladimir Luxuria, who, in the Italian General Elections of April 2006, became the first open transgender MP elected to a European parliament. The Communist Refoundation Party member was defeated in an April 2008 reelection bid and has stated that she has no desire to reenter politics at this time.

The success of Beyer, Luxuria and Kamikawa caught the attention of trans people in the United States and elsewhere in the world – people who, like myself, have contemplated running for political office. It gave us evidence that the psychological barriers to voters putting a qualified trans person in office may be coming down. It also gives us hope that some of us can personally run, and win.

For now, Karen Kerin attempted to make history by running for Vermont’s sole US House seat in 2000 as a Republican, but lost to independent Bernie Sanders. Transgender people in the United States have models in not only openly gay US representatives such as Barney Frank (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin, (D-WI) and Jared Polis (D-CO), but have the history of African American Congressional representation to serve as a guide.

Only five years after emancipation from slavery, on January 20, 1870, educator and minister Hiram Rhodes Revels (R-MS) became the first African American to serve in the US Senate when he was appointed by the Mississippi Legislature to fill the unexpired term of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis during the 41st Congress. Also joining Revels in the 41st Congress was the first African-American US representative, Joseph H Rainey (R-SC) who served from 1869-1878.

While trans people such as Michelle Bruce, the first open transgender elected official in Georgia, have been successful in getting elected to small town city councils, success in cities over 250,000 in population and in statewide legislative races has eluded us. That’s important, because getting elected to large city councils and statewide legislative races is generally the springboard to building the name recognition you’ll need to become a viable and successful candidate for a US congressional race.


It’s not like we haven’t tried. Monica Barros-Greene lost a runoff election for an open seat on the Dallas, TX city council. Two years later, Pamela Bennett narrowly missed getting elected to the Aurora, CO city council and is making another run at it this year.

In 2005, Arizona’s Amanda Simpson became the first trans person to be nominated by a major party for a state legislative seat and win a primary election, though that success didn’t carry over to the general election. In 2006, Dr. Dana Beyer ran for an open seat in the Maryland state legislature but was denied as well. Dr. Beyer is making another run for office in 2010.

Read the rest of the post here.

Coogs Climb To Number 13

It was a Halloween weekend full of treats for the University of Houston.

In addition to outlasting a tough Southern Miss team, they are tied with SMU for the C-USA West Division lead after losses by Tulsa and UTEP. The Coogs hold the tiebreaker over SMU thanks to their 38-15 win over the Mustangs.

The polls are out, and the 50-43 win helped the 7-1 Cougars climb to Number 13 in the AP poll and Number 15 in the USA Today and BCS rankings.

But you better believe they are kicking themselves over that meltdown loss to UTEP. They would probably be in the BCS championship chatter if they had handled their business in El Paso.

Oh, what might have been.

But they can take a giant step toward winning the C-USA West Title and the C-USA Championship game by handling their business against Tulsa on Saturday.

Ai Haruna Wins 2009 Miss International Queen

The 5th Annual Miss International Queen pageant came to a successful conclusion Halloween night after a one year hiatus due to last year's Thai political crisis.

The title however, will be leaving the Land of Smiles.

Japan's Ai Haruna beat out 24 contestants from several nations competing for the coveted 2009 Miss International Queen title. The host Thais had to settle for homegirl Kangsadal Wongdusadeekul being the first runner up. Brazil's Daniela Marques was second runner up.

The 37 year old Haruna is a television personality in her homeland and also captured the Angel of Talent competition contested on October 28. Another Japanese contestant, Beni Tukishima took second place while Thai homegirl Sorawee Nattee grabbed the third place spot in the pre-pageant talent competition.

Transwomen from twelve nations and Puerto Rico took part in this year's pageant which not only garners international attention, but is treated by the Thai with the respect and seriousness they give a pageant involving ciswomen.



Congratulations to Ai Haruna, Miss International Queen 2009

Serena Caps Year With WTA Championships Win

It's becoming a recurring theme lately for the Williams sisters. Little Sis beats Big Sis.

This time it was for the WTA Championship in Doha, Qatar.

Serena met her older sister for the second time in this tournament and won in straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the season-ending WTA Championship final.

"It feels great," said Serena, "I totally didn't expect to come here and win."

Both sisters were nursing injuries while getting to the final in different ways. Serena went unbeaten in the tournament and only dropped one set while doing so to Big Sis.

Despite losing two round robin matches and being extended to three sets in all of them, defending champ Venus still made it to the final of this tournament.

"It was the end of the season, so I have no complaints," Venus said when questioned about her fitness level. "You have to show up and play no matter what. So that had nothing to do with it."

It was Serena's fourth straight victory over Venus and pushed her all time record in their head yo head matchups to 13-10. It was also not only Serena's first win in a non-Grand Slam tournament this season, it was her first win in the WTA Championships since 2001.

"I haven't won a tournament that wasn't a Grand Slam in a while, so that was even more exciting," she said. "My losing streak in (other) tournaments in over."

That's bad news for the rest of the women's tennis playing world. But y'all have two months to rest up before the 2010 Australian Open starts Down Under.

And so do the Williams sisters.

Jones Falcons Threepeat in 22-4A

My 2009 Falcon footballers have accomplished something no Jesse H. Jones football team ever has in my school's 50 year history.

The 1985 Falcon footballers advanced all the way to the Region III-5A title game before losing a 21-15 Astrodome showdown with our arch rival and eventual 5A state champion Jack Yates.

Yates would go on to beat down San Antonio Holmes 34-7 and legendary Texas high school football powerhouse Odessa Permian 37-0 in the Class 5A title game at Texas Stadium.

But the 1985 Falcon team made that remarkable playoff run as a district runner-up. The 2009 Falcons have won three consecutive district football titles.

“The reason I love three district championships in a row is because that’s the first time Jones has ever done it,” said Jones' senior quarterback Aaron Taylor

The Falcons have already clinched a playoff spot, and with last nights hard fought 35-28 victory over Booker T. Washington Jones has clinched at least a share of a third consecutive district title.

This game wasn't easy as our all-everythang quarterback Aaron Taylor fumbled twice in the first half. The Booker T. Washington Eagles quickly converted those early Halloween treats into two touchdowns and a 21-14 halftime lead.

But the Falcons struck back for 21 third quarter points and sealed the win with a late 4th quarter interception by Aaron Taylor, who was playing safety.

Taylor in addition to having the game saving interception, threw for 222 yards and four touchdowns in addition to rushing for 92 yards.

Jones coach Ronald Booker said in a Houston Chronicle interview, “It wasn’t easy at all. Our defense is really giving up too many points, but Aaron Taylor...words cannot explain. He had four touchdowns and a crucial interception at the end of the game. It’s just unbelievable how much we depend on him.”

With a win over my parents and other sister's alma mater Worthing on Saturday, my 6-2 (6-0) Falcons will clinch back to back undefeated district seasons.

If they do it, I'll have family bragging rights for the second straight year as I get to rub in Falcon victories over the Ross S. Sterling Raiders and the Evan E. Worthing Colts.

But my cousins Shondrel and Ivory will probably bring up that butt kicking we took early in the season at the hands of Alief Taylor.

Congrats JJ footballers for a milestone achievement. Know that we Falcon alums are extremely proud of you. May you gentlemen continue to go where no Jones Falcon football team has gone before.

Lambda Legal Files Complaint For Trans Teen Discriminated Against By Philly DHS

Lambda Legal on October 27 filed a complaint with the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR) against the City of Philadelphia and the Youth Study Center (YSC) on behalf of a now 17 year old trans girl who was physically attacked by other residents and verbally abused by staff every day for almost a year and a half.

The then 16-year-old teen was placed in the now torn down Youth Study Center's boys' unit, where, she said, staff and residents harassed her despite a judge's order that she be addressed by her preferred female name and female pronouns.

The transteen has asked to be unnamed for safety reasons and has been in the foster care system since she was eleven.

In February 2008, Common Pleas Court Judge Abram Frank Reynolds ordered Department of Human Services to provide her with all appropriate medical treatment for Gender Identity Disorder (GID), including hormone therapy and mandated that her female gender identity be respected.

However, YSC staff and administrators failed to treat her in accordance with her female gender identity. They refused to refer to her by her preferred female name and to use female pronouns. YSC staff also refused her access to clothing and grooming options that matched her gender identity and reprimanded her for acting in a feminine manner. When she asked to be referred to by her preferred female name, YSC staff told her: "You ain’t no fucking female, you are a dude. . . Till you get your dick cut off, I’m not going to call you [by your preferred female name.]"

In addition, YSC staff subjected Lambda Legal's client to ridicule and cruel and degrading treatment and allowed abuse by residents on a daily basis. She endured verbal harassment, including slurs such as: "You're a faggot," "Wanna-be-girl," "You are not a girl," and "You will never be a girl." On several occasions, the verbal harassment escalated to physical attacks.

The complaint filed by Lambda Legal to the PCHR claims that the YSC, operated by DHS, violated the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance because she was harassed and discriminated against on the basis of her actual and/or perceived gender identity, sexual orientation, sex, and disability.

"Even though I asked the administration and staff at the Youth Study Center on multiple occasions to stop the harassment, to call me by the right name, to let me wear clothes that match who I am, and to allow me to sleep in a unit where I would feel safe, I continued to be degraded by staff and residents," said the 17-year-old girl. "Nobody, including sexual minorities, should have to experience the physical and emotional abuse that I encountered there."

The case is being handled for Lambda Legal by Flor Bermudez, Youth in Out-of-Home Care Staff Attorney with Miriam S. Edelstein from Reed Smith LLP will serve as co-counsel.

TransGriot Note: This case is another concrete example of why trans people's civil rights need to be immediately encoded into federal law. Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Sam Wood also wrote an article about this story.

Sister-Sister Duel In Doha

This time it's for the title.

The top eight women's tennis players in the world have been in Doha, Qatar this week playing in the WTA Championships.

The format of this tournament split the eight women into two groups, with everyone in the Maroon and White groups playing each other in a round robin format. Top two in each group met in the Saturday semis to determine who played in the championship match today.

When all was said and done, my favorite tennis playing sisters were the last ones standing and will face off for the WTA Championship.

The Williams sisters were placed in the same Maroon group and faced each other in round robin play Wednesday. Little Sis had to work to beat Big Sis, 5-7 6-4 7-6(4) and raise her all time record against Venus to 12-10.

In the semis Serena needed only 45 minutes in her semifinal as she took the first set from Caroline Wozniacki before she retired due to abdominal strain two games into the second set.

Venus on the other hand outlasted Jelena Jankovic 5-7 6-3 6-4 in her semifinal match which took 2 hours and 34 minutes to play.

So once again the Williams sisters are playing each other in the championship match of a tournament. What's also cool is that no matter what happens today, Serena will finish the year ranked Number one in the world.

So my prediction for today's match? Someone with the last name of Williams will win it.

Lighting A Candle

Today is November 1, and the solemn countdown has begun towards our observance of the 11th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.

In twenty days in locations all over the world, transpeople and our family members, friends and allies will stand in solidarity with us and help is mourn the people who tragically fell victim to trans hate violence.

We will read their names, light candles for them, shed some tears, pray for them, and resolve to make sure that what happened to them and their lives will never be forgotten.

This is not a happy-happy joy-joy event, nor should it be. It is a memorial.

But after we are done memorializing our fallen transpeeps, we need to be doing some hard, solid thinking about what we can do in our various locales to stem the tide of violence. We need to cooperatively work together with each other and our allies to stop the madness.

The candle is a symbol. When lit, it brings immediate light to a darkened room. When we began to draw attention to the horrific levels of violence visited upon our community, we shed light on that problem and sparked the national and eventual worldwide discussion and effort to combat the problem.

While it doesn't bring back the people we've already lost, what the TDOR does do is far more important. It gets the greater society to think about and focus needed attention on our community and realize we are human beings, too.

It hopefully will also move them to act in concert with us to end the scourge of anti-transgender violence that plagues it.

Hail JJ!

Had to show my high school alma mater back home some love as well. My Jesse Jones Falcons have been playing some serious light-out football back home. They have dominated District 22-4A for the last two years and the Falcons are the two time defending district champs.

Last year JJ went undefeated in District 22-4A play, but they have that same maddening tendency that the school had when I was walking the halls there of falling in the playoffs.

Aaron Taylor, our senior quarterback is starting to heat it up and the Falcon offense has responded. He's also determined to make this year's playoff sojourn a more extended stay.

They beat down our old rival Phillis Wheatley on and off the football field. There was a little rumble after the game as the frustrated Wildcat team turned the ball over four times and watched a 14-7 Wheatley lead turn into a 41-22 Falcon romp.

JJ ran their season record to 6-2 and a spotless 5-0 record in district play.

The Falcons have already clinched a playoff spot and can clinch the district title tonight for the third straight year with a win over Booker T. Washington.

So here's hoping my good day continues tonight with my alma maters winning football games.

What Are You Wearing For Halloween?

It's open thread time!

For those of you who are going to Halloween parties tonight or are thinking about it, what are you wearing?

What were your fave costumes of all time? What's your fave Halloween memory?

The comment thread is yours as I take a moment to scarf up some candy corn.

Coogs Treated To Shootout Win Over Southern Miss

My Number 15 ranked University of Houston Cougars won their matchup against the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles, but it wasn't easy. Both teams combined for 93 points and 1,358 yards in a defense optional shootout.

At one point during this wild game UH held a commanding 40-22 lead with 12:25 left, but two Southern Miss touchdown passes from Martevious Young to wide receiver Gerald Baptiste in a span of 5:25 tied the game with 57 seconds left.

It took Heisman Trophy candidate Case Keenum throwing for a personal best 559 yards and five TD's, a 48 yard touchdown throw to Patrick Edwards with 21 seconds remaining to break the tie, and the defense swatting down a Southern Mississippi Hail Mary pass in the end zone to preserve the 50-43 win over one of the C-USA East Division co-leaders.

The win was a Halloween treat for Cougar fans at the Rob as they witnessed the Cougars 13th straight home win.

In addition to the offensive fireworks Keenum provided, the Cougars racked up a season-high 750 yards of total offense as they bumped their season record to 7-1 for the year and 3-1 in C-USA West play.

Next up are road games versus Tulsa and UCF before they return to Robertson Stadium and finish the season at home against Memphis and Rice.

Pat Robertson And CBN Friends Are Tripping Again

Happy Halloween Peeps!

Too bad I'd already selected my Shut Up Fool! award winner for this week or televangelist Pat Robertson and CBN contributor Kimberly Daniels would have snatched the prize.

Pat posted an unhinged commentary by Daniels on his Christian Broadcast Network website as part of his anti-Halloween crusade.

His Hateraid for Halloween goes back to 1982. Back in the day he called it a “Satanic ritual” and said on his 700 Club TV show, “I think we ought to close Halloween down.”

On Oct. 29, 2007, Robertson called Halloween a “festival of the devil” and added that celebrating the holiday is “a mistake for Christians.”

Kimberly Daniels took it a step further by stating in the piece that has subsequently been taken down from the CBN website, “[M]ost of the candy sold during this season has been dedicated and prayed over by witches,” Daniels wrote. “I do not buy candy during the Halloween season. Curses are sent through the tricks and treats of the innocent whether they get it by going door to door or by purchasing it from the local grocery store. The demons cannot tell the difference.”

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, urged Robertson and Daniels to lighten up.

“I’ve heard of the devil being in the details, but to think he’s lurking inside a Snickers bar is a little too much,” Lynn quipped. “Pat Robertson has always peddled some scary stuff, but this is over the top.”

Added Lynn, “I hate to see all of that candy go to waste. I wish Robertson would send it to me, because I’m throwing a Halloween party and could use it.”

I agree, Rev. Lynn. A chocolate bar is a terrible thing to waste. That's why I eat as much chocolate as I can stand and revel in every delicious minute of it.

It would also be a travesty to let those gummi bears, gumballs, malted milk balls and other delectable confections that hardworking people created go to waste as well.

“I think Pat has been watching too many scary movies. Still, if he doesn’t want to celebrate Halloween, that’s fine with me, but he should quit trying to spoil everyone else’s fun.”

No kidding, Rev. Lynn.

Yo Pat and Kim, if you have any candy corn, send it my way. I'll be glad to scarf it up for you or any candy you're not using tonight.

But seriously, y'all need to stop tripping over there at CBN.

Airline Manager Game On Facebook

Many of you loyal TransGriot readers know that I'm on Twitter and Facebook, and yes you can find me on both social networking sites.

Facebook does have some cool games and apps that are addicting. Every now and then my homegirl Melinda challenges me to a game that tests your geography knowledge.

The first time I played it I busted her high score. She has subsequently beaten that high score I posted and I haven't gone back to it yet.

My friend Chandler introduced me to a Facebook game that grabbed my interest. It's turning into a lot of fun and somewhat of a mini labor of love called Airline Manager.

Your challenge is to take the one airplane they start you off with (a Boeing 737-800) some start up capital and build an airline. You select the routes it flies, make the ad buys, employment payroll decisions, purchase fuel and investing in the stock in the other virtual air carriers in the game.

You also have all the drama of labor unrest, random events like bird strikes, potential fines, volatile fuel prices, C-checks and all the other joys and pains real life airline execs grapple with including the possibility of a crash.

Of course this appeals to the airline junkie in me, so I have been busy in between posts, work and speech writing building up TransTexas Airlines.

Of course you know I have my virtual airline hub in Houston, and I'm having fun recalling the 14 years of accumulated airline knowledge and making all the decisions that can make or break an airline.

Some of my old CAL co-workers are playing this game as well and I've invested in their airlines and Chandler's Happy Nappy Airlines.

Over time you want to build your airline into a powerhouse that gets cargo runs and make money so that you can buy bigger airplanes. You also get passenger bonuses that you can spend on items like 100,000 pounds of fuel, et cetera.

It's also real time based in terms of the flights. For example if you have a plane on the Houston-Nashville fight it actually takes 4 hours to complete a roundtrip. The Houston-London takes 16 hours. So you learn early you want a mix of short hauls and long routes that keep the cash flowing.

And just like with a real airline, your virtual planes can't make you any virtual cash if they're sitting on the ground.

Well, now that I'm hooked on the game, we'll see if I can build TransTexas Airlines into a powerhouse or bankrupt it. I was at CAL long enough to see it done both way, and have a head start in avoiding the mistakes that lead to bankruptcy.

But we'll see.

Not Feeling The New SCLC President

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference has a historic and symbiotic connection to the African- American civil rights movement.

It was founded to coordinate and support nonviolent protests of segregation and played a key role in many of the most famous demonstration of the civil rights movement. Its history is so intertwined with that history the SCLC's website can rightfully say 'Welcome To The Home of The Movement'.

One of the SCLC co-founders and its first president was none other than the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He ran the organization from its founding in 1957 until his 1968 assassination. His son Martin Luther King III led the SCLC from 1997 to 2004.

Can you guess who was one of the other co-founders of the SCLC?

If you said Bayard Rustin, congratulations and go to the head of the class.

This morning the SCLC announced the results of their October 29 presidential election. For the first time in SCLC history they will be led by a woman and she has accepted the position.

Interim SCLC president Rev. Byron Clay told reporters about their new leader, "She is excited. I am excited. The nation will be excited."

The TransGriot, much of the African-American GLBT community and our supporters aren't giddy about this news. It's because of who the SCLC selected as their first female president.

It's none other than Dr. King and Coretta Scott King's baby girl, the Rev. Dr. Bernice King.

Even though she'll be the third King to lead the organization and she's more than qualified to do it, I'm not feeling her in that post.

So why is Moni not feeling her? Glad you asked that question, TransGriot readers.

For starters, she's a minister and elder at New Birth Baptist Church in Lithonia, GA, the 25,000 member predominately African-American megachurch run by Bishop Eddie Long.

He spent most of the 2K's kissing up to the GOP, the Bush misadministration and the conservative movement's behind shilling for faith-based bucks.

New Birth Baptist Church was the outfit that sponsored an anti-marriage equality "Reigniting the Legacy" march in 2004 that started at the foot of Dr. King's tomb in the ATL and ended at Turner Field.

There's also this problematic statement she made as well.

“I know deep down in my sanctified soul that my father (Dr. King) did not take a bullet for same-sex marriage.”

Never mind the fact that King's late mother Coretta and her late older sister Yolanda had other ideas. Her mother was a long-time supporter of GLBT rights.

For too long, our nation has tolerated the insidious form of discrimination against this group of Americans, who have worked as hard as any other group, paid their taxes like everyone else, and yet have been denied equal protection under the law.... I believe that freedom and justice cannot be parceled out in pieces to suit political convenience.


My husband, Martin Luther King, Jr. said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' On another occasion he said, 'I have worked too long and hard against segregated public accommodations to end up segregating my moral concern. Justice is indivisible.' Like Martin, I don’t believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others. The great promise of American democracy is that no group of people will be forced to suffer discrimination and injustice."

Yolanda King was an outspoken advocate for GLBT rights as well.

Coretta Scott King has stated she believed her husband would have supported the quest for equality by gays and reminded her critics that the 1963 March on Washington was organized by Bayard Rustin, an openly gay man.

The Rev. Eric Lee, the Los Angeles SCLC chapter president that the previous leadership tried to force out because of his support for marriage equality in California, said in a statement that he hopes King will follow her parents' example with respect to the rights of lesbians, gays and transgender people.

"We know that her mother, Coretta Scott King, was supportive of LGBT equality, and we believe that Dr. King would have been as well," Lee said. "My hope is that her election is a sign that SCLC is returning to its spirit of equality for all people."

I'm with Rev. Lee. Even after expressing my reservations about the latest Rev. Dr. King to helm the SCLC, I'm going to take the advice I give to the white GLBT community or a regular basis about President Obama and give her time to prove me wrong.

I want to see if the Rev Dr. Bernice King is going to live up to her father and mother's legacy and take the SCLC in a different, more positive direction for the 21st century.

A direction that recognizes Black GLBT people are part of the African American community and a stakeholder in the civil rights legacy that SCLC brought about.

If she doesn't after a reasonable amount of time has elapsed, well, you know the TransGriot and other Black GLBT bloggers definitely won't be shy about calling her out about it and reminding her that we are.

Trans People Are Part Of The Diverse Mosaic Of Life 2

I compiled a post which has photos of transpeople from various parts of our planet just living their lives.

Since our haters want to continue to deny our humanity, we exist and pimp other lies and falsehoods about us, here's some more photographic evidence that transpeople are part of the diverse mosaic of human life.





Harisu kisses her hubby on her wedding day in South Korea.


Iran's Maryam Khatoon Molkara getting ready


Bulent Ersoy during her successful free speech trial in Turkey.


German pole vaulter Balian Buschbaum


Director Linda Wachowski at a Hollywood event


Britain's April Ashley back in the day

Rabbi Elliott Kukla


Coccinelle in 1963 at the Olympia Revue in Paris

Uganda's Victor Juliet Mukasa after winning a court judgment.


Hawaii State Board of Education member Kim Coco Iwamoto speaking during a legislative hearing.

Former New Zealand MP Georgina Beyer, the first transwoman in the world elected to a national legislative body.

A group meeting of Cuban transwomen

The mother of the US transgender rights movement, Sylvia Rivera

Indian TV talk show host Rose

A Charles 'Teenie' Harris back in the day photo of Pittsburgh transwoman at a club