A Transsistah's Secret-Observation and Practice

When I'm out and about in the world doing my thang as the Phenomenal Transwoman, people will often ask me various questions about different aspects of my transition.

They'll ask how did I learn how to do my makeup? They'll compliment me on my fashion sense and style. People will ask me how I and other transwomen are able to effortlessly blend into various social situations and look fly doing it.

So how do we become the women we desire to project to the world? There are two key words that basically explain how we're able to do so; observation and practice.

I have learned my femininity (and still do) the same way any cis woman does.

I observe the world and the various women around me whose style and demeanor I admire, pick out the various elements and qualities I like, and then spend time practicing and perfecting what I learn.

Whether it's trying different combinations and colors of makeup, trying various hairstyles, discerning the lengths of hair and colors that complement our facial structures and skin tones, what clothing colors and styles work best for us, and even learning how to effortless walk in heels, we expend a lot of effort in perfecting our feminine presentations.

We do so because we had to overcome obstacles in our path to get to where we needed to be to project to the world on the outside the women we are on the inside. The trials and tribulations we go though as transwomen put us in the position where we don't take femininity for granted.

And a little does of reality here, the observation and practice we put in toward perfecting our feminine presentation can not only possible save our lives, but get us through our days without unnecessary drama.

Because we chocolate transwomen have had decades worth of fashion forward examples to observe and admire from Diahann Carroll to First Lady Michelle Obama, in order for us to blend in with our cissisters, we're willing to spend the time to make sure that we are projecting the same air of elegance, class and innovative fashion forward style while wishing to be seen as compliments to Black womanhood, not detriments to it.

That desire is even more acute amongst Black people of my generation. We were raised to never being seen as 'embarrassing the race'.

So me and my transsisters will continue to do our parts to look our gender best by observing our cissisters, practicing what we see, and coming up with our own signature style.

Children Of Light, The Children of Darkness Are Winning

'It is still one of the tragedies of human history that the 'children of darkness are frequently more determined and zealous than the children of light' Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I look at that MLK quote juxtaposed against our own early 21st century time frame and right now it's clear the children of darkness, who I interpret as anti-human rights forces, are on the march.

They seem to be more determined and more willing to do what it takes (legally and illegally) to get their agenda passed than we children of light are.

Our job as the 'children of light' isn't easy. We have to build consensus amongst a vast, ethnically diverse coalition with multiple interests, but educate, cajole, lobby, and describe a vision of the world as we wish and need it to be.

While we're trying to accomplish that task, we shout to be heard above the Conservative Noise Machine and their reams of rapid fire propaganda from Faux News u.

All the children of darkness have to do as defenders of the jacked up status quo is lie, cheat, obfuscate and bamboozle good people into working against their own economic and political interests.

You know, like the teabaggers.

But if we children of light wish to see a country and a world that reflects our values instead of one of fear, anger and hate, then we need to get busy making it happen.

And the first step to it is going to the ballot box and making sure we elect candidates who are committed to making that type of positive world a reality.

While we're organizing to win elections for the next thirty to forty years it's going to take to erase all the conservacrap set in motion by Saint Ronald of Reagan's election and 30 years of mean spirited godless conservatism, we also need to be building our coalitions and doing a much better job of articulating our message.

Because the only way the children of light are going to overcome the children of darkness is to become more tough minded and determined than them to fight for our vision of America and save the conservasheeple from themselves.

Tracee McDaniel Interview

Here's an interview with Atlanta transwoman Tracee McDaniel on 3LW TV

Elizabeth's MAGNET Rally Testimony

If you want to know why many transpeople are ticked off about TOTWK, check out this video of Elizabeth Marie Rivera-Valentine's testimony at the MAGNET protest rally held Friday outside the Tribeca theater in which the movie was playing.

What Else Is New?- Black Transpeople Getting Harassed By New Orleans Po-Po's

TransGriot Note: Black transpeople getting harassed by the po-po's is nothing new as witnessed by the lawsuit recently filed by the ACLU against the Newark Police department and the late Duanna Johnson's beatdown in Memphis.

Here's a truthout story forwarded by Stephanie Stevens about my New Orleans transsisters complaints of NOPD harassment.

***

Transgender Community in New Orleans Claims Police Harassment

Saturday 24 April 2010

by: Jordan Flaherty, t r u t h o u t | Report


New Orleans' black and transgender community members and advocates complain of rampant and systemic harassment and discrimination from the city's police force, including sexual violence and arrest without cause. Activists hope that public outrage at recent revelations of widespread police violence and corruption offer an opportunity to make changes in police behavior and practice.

On a recent weekday evening, a group of transgender women met in the Midcity offices of Brotherhood Incorporated, an organization that provides health care and fights the spread of HIV and AIDS in low-income black communities. When the conversation turned to the police, the mood in the room turned to outrage as each woman had a story of harassment and abuse. Tyra Fields, a health worker who facilitated the meeting, told a story of being arrested without cause one night as she walked into a gay bar. "They never give us a reason they are arresting us," she said, explaining that being black and transgendered is often enough reason for arrest, generally on prostitution-related charges.

A young and soft-spoken transgendered woman named Keyasia told a story of being persecuted by police who followed her as she walked down the street, rushed into her apartment and arrested her in her own home. "Within the last four or five months, I've been to jail eight or nine times," said Keyasia. "All for something I didn't do. Because I'm a homosexual, that means I'm a prostitute in their eyes." Expressing the frustration in the room, she added, "I want to go to the French Quarter and hang out and have cocktails just like everyone else. Why can't I?"

Diamond Morgan, another of the women, said she has faced a pattern of harassment from police that begins, she said, "Once they discover my transgender status." She said she has been arrested and sexually assaulted by police and by employees of Orleans Parish Prison, who are part of New Orleans Office of Criminal Sheriff. She details her own personal experience of assault and those of friends, adding that Orleans Parish Prison is a site that many women she knows speaks of as especially abusive. She said that sexual assault of transgender women is common at the jail and other women in the room agree.

Tracy Brassfield, a transgender sex worker activist also attending the meeting, has dedicated herself to fighting against discrimination. Originally from Florida, Brassfield moved to New Orleans because she fell in love with the city. "But when I got here," she said, "I started running into problems with the police." These problems included what Brassfield calls deliberate harassment from officers who she said are targeting black transgender women not because of any crime they've committed, but just because of who they are. "They say, you're transgendered, you're a fag, you're a punk, you're going to jail," she said.

Brassfield decided to fight back and organize: "I was raised in an activist family," she said. "I know my civil rights." She has contacted local social justice and legal advocacy organizations such as Women With A Vision, Critical Resistance, the ACLU of Louisiana and the Orleans Public Defenders, seeking allies in her struggle. She has also reached out in the community of transgender women. "My thing is put it out there, get it exposed," she explained. "This is not just about me, this is about everyone."

Patterns of Violence

Both local and national attention is currently being directed on the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD). In recent months, the city has been rocked by revelations of police murder and cover-ups, with the justice department and FBI investigating at least eight separate cases, and signs that the federal government is headed toward a takeover of the department. Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu is engaged in a national search for a new police chief, telling reporters that the department needs "a complete culture change."

Although the current federal investigations have not looked into police treatment of the black and transgender community, advocates hope that the justice department will also look into these complaints.

Members of the city's larger gay community complain about unwarranted arrests and a criminalization of sexuality, with police specifically targeting bars in the gay community. "If a gay man wants consensual sex, the undercover officer lies and said money was offered," said John Rawls, a gay civil rights attorney who has spent decades in New Orleans fighting on these issues.

Advocates and community members also said that once gay men and transgender women are arrested for offering sex, they are more likely than others arrested in similar circumstances to be charged with a "crime against nature," a felony charge. The law, which dates back to 1805, makes it a crime against nature to engage in "unnatural copulation" - a term New Orleans police and the district attorney's office have interpreted to mean soliciting for anal or oral sex. Those who are convicted under this law are issued longer jail sentences and forced to register as sex offenders. They must also carry a driver's license with the label "sex offender" printed on it. The women's health care organization Women With A Vision has recently formed a coalition with several advocacy and legal organizations to attempt to fight this use of the sex offender law.

Stories of Abuse

Wendi Cooper, a black and transgender health care worker, was charged under the law almost ten years ago. Although Cooper only tried prostitution very briefly and has not tried it again since her arrest, she still faces harassment from the police. She is frequently stopped, and when they run her ID through the system and find out about the prostitution charge, they threaten to arrest her again, or, sometimes, she alleged, they demand sex.

"Police will see that I been to jail for the charge," she said. "And then they'll try to have me, forcefully, sexually ... One I had sex with, because I didn't want to go to jail."

Thinking about her experiences with police over the years, Cooper got quiet. "Sometimes I just wanna do something out the ordinary and just expose it, you know?" She sighed. "They hurt me, you know? And I just hope they do something about it."

In response to the allegations of abuse, NOPD spokesman Bob Young responded, "Persons are charged according to the crime they commit." He encouraged anyone with complaints to come file them with the department, adding, "the NOPD has not received any complaints against plain clothes officers assigned to the vice squad."

The New Orleans Office of Criminal Sheriff did not respond to requests for comment. However, a September 2009 report from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) found that, "conditions at OPP violate the constitutional rights of inmates." The DOJ went on to report; "Inmates confined at OPP are not adequately protected from harm, including physical harm from excessive use of force by staff." And documented "a pattern and practice of unnecessary and inappropriate use of force by OPP correctional officers." This included "several examples where OPP officers openly engaged in abusive and retaliatory conduct, which resulted in serious injuries to prisoners. In some instances, the investigation found, the officers' conduct was so flagrant it clearly constituted calculated abuse."

Abuse Starts at a Young Age

Wesley Ware, a youth advocate at Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, said that harassment against those who are perceived as gay or gender noncomforming begins at a young age and can include hostility from their parents, fellow students and often from school staff. According to Ware, this leads many of these youths to bring weapons to school to defend themselves. "Gay and bisexual boys and young men are four times more likely to carry a weapon to school," he said. "Of homeless youth, 50 percent identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Of kids in youth detention, 13 percent are LGBT." Ware adds that many of these youth face an unsympathetic court, including judges who think that they will help "cure" gay youth by sending them to juvenile detention. "Ninety-nine percent of the kids in youth detention in New Orleans are black," added Ware. "So obviously what we're talking about is youth of color."

"This community is facing systemic discrimination in pretty much every system they deal with," said Emily Nepon, a staff member of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, a legal organization that fights for transgender racial and economic justice. According to Nepon, women in this community deal with intersecting forms of oppression. "High levels of employment discrimination, housing discrimination, overpolicing, profiling that leads to higher incarceration rates and higher levels of abuse within prisons."

Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu calls criminal justice one of his signature issues. But will he be willing or able to try to change the culture of the New Orleans police? Advocates say change will not come easy. "You can do a million police trainings," added Nepon. "But in general, that doesn't have an impact on rampant police homophobia."

Many advocates believe federal oversight can make a difference in these patterns of police abuse. They are also pressing for an end to the use of the crime against nature statute, as well as a general shift from charging people with nonviolent offenses. Attorney John Rawls, who is generally supportive of current Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, believes the DA understands that the current use of the sex offender statute invites discrimination.

However, added Rawls, it will be hard to get his office to stop charging people under the statute. "People who hold powerful offices have many motives and one of them is they love being powerful," he said. "Prosecutors get their power from criminal statutes. The more statutes they have, the more ways they can prosecute someone, the more power they have." If activists are going to challenge this power, they will need to utilize the current public outrage for far-reaching reforms, said Rawls.

Back at the meeting at the Brotherhood Incorporated offices, Brassfield urged women to stand up and fight back. "We need to document," she said. "What you want to do is illustrate a pattern of harassment and abuse." She handed out fliers and phone numbers for Women With A Vision, Critical Resistance and a sympathetic lawyer. "We have to look out for each other," she said. "I want to organize, just what we're doing now. The girls got to stick together."


© 2010 truthout

Hubble Space Telescope Launch 20th Anniversary

Today is the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, named for renowned astronomer Edwin Hubble.

On April 24, 1990 the Hubble Space telescope was launched on the STS-31 mission. It was the culmination of the dreams of many astronomers and astrophysicists to have a telescope in low Earth orbit free of the distortion of our atmosphere.

It was designed to be serviced in space, and that part of its design turned out to be fortuitous.

Not long after its deployment in space, it was discovered that one of the mirrors had a flaw that caused fuzzy images instead of the promised clear ones.

But after five repair missions starting in 1993, the Hubble was repaired, and we Earthlings began to be treated to some spectacular photos.

It also provided scientists with answers to some questions about our universe, debunked others and created new ones.

The Hubble 20 years later has exceeded expectations. Its lifespan has been extended until a new and improved space telescope can be deployed in 2014.

So happy launch anniversary Hubble. And keep those beautiful photos coming.

Arizona's Unjust Law

Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust?

A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
Letter From A Birmingham Jail, 16 April 1963.

I guess Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer wasn't paying attention when Arizona suffered the boycott during the 80's and 90's for being a state vehemently opposed to a King holiday.

Brewer signed that abomination of an anti-immigration law Friday that was denounced as 'misguided' by President Obama.

Despite your long winded speech Friday trying to defend it, while I was watching it you morphed in my mind into anti civil rights governors such as Orville Faubus, George Wallace, and Ross Barnett.

I don't want to hear any more of that 'there's no difference between Democrats and Republicans' from people on the left. The previous Democratic governor, Janet Napolitano vetoed similar legislation.

And if any liberal-progressive is considering sitting out the election November 2, I'm questioning your sanity and your dedication to the advancement of progressive civil rights in this country.

And if you thought the Latino/a community was pissed after last summer's confirmation hearing of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor...



You ain't seen nothing yet. You may have just jumped off a shift of Latino/a's to the Democratic party column for at least a decade.

Not good when your share of the Klan hood wearing vote is shrinking and 2050 will be here before you know it.

Arizona, say goodbye to your chances of landing:

The Super Bowl
Any future NCAA men's or women's Final Four or NCAA regional
Major conventions or conferences
Relocations of corporate HQ's with international divisions
International sporting events.
Concerts from major music artists opposed to this unjust law
Tourists for your centennial celebration in 2012 and in general.

There's a cost for passing unjust laws.

If you think I'm kidding, Cincinnati lost an estimated $600 million dollars, two corporate headquarters relocations, numerous conventions and the opportunity to become the US bid city for the 2012 Summer Games because of the anti gay measure they passed in the early 90's that they didn't repeal until 2004.

So how long, Arizona will you keep an unjust law on the books?

How much are you willing to lose to do so?

Amen, Roland!

I love my Houston homeboy, CNN and TJMS commentator Roland S. Martin.

This Aggie (yes, he's a Texas A&M alum) kicks butt and takes names when it comes to ignorance and stupidity, like he did recently when he took on Confederate history revisionists earlier this month in the wake of Virginia governor Bob McDonnell's Confederate History Month proclamation.

And I will never, under any circumstances, cast Confederates as heroic figures who should be honored and revered. No, they have been, and forever will be, domestic terrorists. Roland S. Martin CNN

Keep speaking truth to power, Roland!

Archie Dates A Sistah

So what does the Archie comics team do for an encore after a six comic dream sequence storyline in which Archie gets married to both Betty and Veronica?

That storyline also garnered increased sales and media attention for the iconic comic franchise and rekindled a lot of Archie comic book fans like myself interest in the hijinks and goings on in Riverdale.

Can you say 'interracial relationship' TransGriot boys and girls?

And no, Archie isn't dating Nancy Woods either.

In the soon to be released Archie Comics 608 and 609 Betty and Veronica will have a little competition for Archie's affections from an unexpected direction.

Her name is Valerie Brown, and you've seen her before. She's the lead songwriter and bassist for Josie And the Pussycats.

I used to read those comics on the regular as well and get up on Saturday mornings to watch the cartoon version.



What sets up the story entitled 'It Starts With a Kiss' is the Archies do a joint musical tour with Josie and the Pussycats. Of course Alexander Cabot as the Pussycats manager sets up some shady stuff unbeknownst to either band which results in Josie and the Pussycats getting top billing instead of co-equal status.

That gets unraveled by Veronica's cousin Marcy, who is acting as the Archies agent.

During this tour a romance gets kindled between Valerie and Archie, and you'll have to get Issues 608 and 609 to find out how.

Yep, will have to head back to my fave comic shop to pick these issue up. I'm just as curious to see how this is going to play out as well.

Shut Up Fool! Awards-Countdown To Derby Week Edition

Thunder Over Louisville last weekend began the countdown to the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 1. In the interim, we have the Kentucky Derby Festival happening in Da Ville.

The festival is chock full of events ranging from star-studded parties, parades, the marathon, a balloon race, and various other events and concerts from now until the 136th Kentucky Oaks on April 30 and the Run For the Roses..

It's Friday, and y'all know what that means. It's time to see what fool or fools will win, place or show themselves to be the fools we know they are or reveal themselves to be this week.

As always there were too many fools and not enough room in this post to chronicle all of them. There';s the usual suspects of Beck, Hannity, Palin and Steele along with various people in the GOP.

But we're going to stay local this week. Just across the Sherman Minton Bridge in New Albany, IN to be precise.

Our award winner this week is New Albany, IN police officer Jack Messer. He stated after a NAPD roll call on January 22 that 'giving civil rights to African-Americans was “the worst thing they ever did.”

So what, you say as you shrug you shoulders? Messer also happens to sit on the New Albany city council.

If you were walking in my chocolate pumps, would you want or trust a cop with those attitudes? To add to my community's concerns, this person is also in a position to make public policy.

It's why the New Albany chapter of the NAACP is going batshit crazy over it, as well they should. Of course Messer is now doing the tried and true spin tactic of peeps when backlash develops over something they said by claiming he 'misspoke'.

He now says that he believes blacks "should have every right everyone else has."

Yeah, right. That's not what you were thinking on January 22 when you expressed yourself to your fellow New Albany police officers.

Jack Messer, shut up fool!

And Then There Were Four

Ten years ago in Alexandria, VA Dawn Wilson became the first African-American transperson to win the IFGE Trinity Award.

Today in that same hotel and locale, longtime Washington, DC activist Earline Budd along with Laura Calvo and Jennifer Barge received their 2010 IFGE Trinity Awards at the IFGE 2010 Capital Conference awards luncheon.

In picking up her award, Earline Budd made a little history. She became the fourth African-American transperson and the first since 2006 to win the US transgender community's second highest service award.

Dr. Marisa Richmond won it in 2002, and yours truly in 2006.

Congratulations 'Number Four'. You definitely deserved it after all the years of work you have put in on behalf of the trans community in Washington DC.

Know that your sisters and brothers outside the beltway deeply appreciate it.

Here's hoping that we see more deserving trans people of color picking up a Trinity and that we get to see a trans brother win one as well.

What Does 'Winning Our Equality' Mean To You?

There was a Project post thread I commented on in which reader KevinChi asked one person the question, what does 'winning our equality' mean to you?

It was a great question, so I posted a response to it. I took a look at it when I was done and decided it would be a great base for a post on the issue.

So here goes. What does 'winning our equality' mean to me?

To me 'winning our equality' means GLBT rights that are codified into federal law with severe financial penalties or jail time for violations of them.

It means to me full integration of TBLG peeps into society with a constitutional ban on using referendums to take away people's civil rights.

It means to me the senseless murders of trans people being prosecuted to the full extent of the law. If hate crimes statutes are applicable, then prosecutors do so without hesitation.

It means our police departments realize that 'protect and serve the public' includes transpeople as well.

It means GLBT people being able to serve in our nation's military without fear of being discharged because someone discovers they have a same gender lover or they are trans.

It means to me that people are able to marry (or divorce) the person they love without drama or restrictions.

It means me and my transpeeps having a fair shot at getting and keeping good jobs that we are qualified for, and that any employment decisions made are based on performance criteria.

It means that I get non-judgmental medical care with health care personnel living up to the Hippocratic Oath they took.

It means that politicians listen to my concerns as a taxpaying citizen, act upon them, and quit using transpeople as a political football or a bogeyman to scare up campaign contributions for the conservative movement.

It means me having the same opportunity to pursue the life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness the Declaration of Independence promised to all American citizens.

And finally it means the fundies keep their false conservareligious doctrine out of my life, national, state and local politics, and the lives of GLBT people.

Such a simple concept, but maddeningly hard to achieve.

Um People, I'm NOT Evangelist Denise K. Matthews

On the occasion of her 50th birthday last year, being a big fan of hers back in the day (and still am), I wrote a post wishing Evangelist Denise K. Matthews a happy birthday and much success in her life. She's overcome a lot of relationship drama, recovered from serious medical issues, drug addiction and along the journey rediscovered her spiritual roots.

She now tours the country in her Fremont. CA based ministry as an evangelist preaching the Word, and I have much love and respect for her doing so.

But ever since I wrote that milestone birthday post for and about her I have had some people for whatever reason think this is Denise's blog and sending yours truly comments meant for Ms. Matthews.

Exhibit A from ineedjesus

HI MS Matthews i read your story it make me want to flow Jesus i wish i can meet you do u have a site i can go to hear he preach the word of God if this is ready you can u reply back

News flash to you peeps...this is TransGriot, not the Evangelist Denise K. Matthews site. I discuss a wide range of things here including religion, but first and foremost it is a blog focused on African descended transgender issues.

I'm mystified as to why people keep sending me comments clearly intended for Ms. Matthews. I have a sympathetic ear, I am a Christian, I look good, but I definitely don't resemble her in any way.

If the medical technology were available for me to look like her, I definitely wouldn't mind, because she is a stunningly beautiful sister both inside and out.

But just an FYI. If you have any questions, comments or concerns that you wish to direct to her, hit Ms. Matthews up on her website to do so.

TransGriot is designed to be a site for peeps who wish to learn more about trans issues from an African flavored perspective.

If you or even Evangelist Matthews wish to stop by for a while, peruse the blog and leave comments, then that's all good as well.

NY LGBT Center Replaces Torched Rainbow Flag

On the morning of April 14, 2010 New York's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center staff arrived to find a torched rainbow flag draped on the front of their building.

They responded to the ignorance by unfurling an even larger rainbow flag during a 5 PM EDT ceremony yesterday.

This is a statement about the incident from their website:

Acts of hate must not be tolerated! Actions like this are menacing to our community and, if not addressed, can lead to an environment that allows more heinous acts, such as verbal attacks, property damage and physical violence. Showing our solidarity now will empower our community and send a message to the public that we will not be intimidated or threatened.

The Center is a beacon of safety and hope for LGBT New Yorkers and our building stands as an emblem of our community's presence in the city. The Center is visited over 300,000 times every year by people in search of support, safety and transformation. More than 1,000 young people come through our doors annually searching for acceptance and a place where they feel comfortable expressing their true selves.

Cowardly acts of hateful speech must be responded to with acts of courage and unity.


This is the desperate, and despicable act of people who know they are on the wrong side of the moral arc of the universe and history. It is beginning to bend toward justice for GLBT people.

It's our job to make sure its momentum doesn't get blunted by the Forces of Intolerance.

IFGE 2010 Capital Conference Starts Today

It's too bad I'm not there, but the 2010 IFGE Capital Conference is kicking off today across the Potomac from our nation's capital in Alexandria, VA. and will run through the 25th.

This year's conference theme is Education For Action, and we in this community can always use that in the fight to have our constitutional rights respected and codified into federal law.

If you're in the Washington DC metro area, you may want to check out the IFGE Capital Conference. It will have some great presenters and our allies are always welcome.

If you're interested in attending some of the seminars or seeing my fave part of it, the Trinity Awards luncheon, it will take place at the Alexandria Hilton at Mark Center in Alexandria, VA.

Hmm, come to think of it, the last IFGE Conference I attended was in 2006. Will have to rectify that next year.

Why I Can't Stand The NRA-Part II

I don't call the National Rifle Association the 'Neocon Racist Assciation' or other less flattering names for nothing. But at the same time, I admire their ability to 'scurr' congresscritters into backing off on or efficiently killing any gun legislation they don't like

While I don't have a problem with people exercising their Second Amendment rights to own guns, I draw the line at assault rifles that only have the purpose of killing mass quantities of human beings in a short amount of time.

I also don't see the harm in requiring background checks and short waiting periods for people that wish to purchase guns o ensure they are mentally stable enough to do so or aren't convicted felons.

But you can count on the NRA gun fetishists to do something extremist and racist in their zeal to pimp for the firearms industry, scare 'real Americans' and put more guns in their hands.

Another exhibit of their racism just happened the other day in relation to the District of Columbia's long time efforts to get a voting representative in Congress.

The District of Columbia has not had representation in Congress since it was established in 1801. At the time of its creation, leaders were concerned that the nation's capital not be located in any one state.

DC residents can vote in presidential elections, serve in the military, and pay taxes but don't get the opportunity to vote for a congressional representative to help determine how those dollars are spent.


In 1978 a constitutional amendment was passed by Congress that would have granted the city a House vote, but it died because was not ratified by a sufficient number of states in the allotted time.

If the District of Columbia were majority white, the Republican Party, the conservative movement and Fox News long ago would have been championing the cause of DC voting rights and screaming bloody murder about the 'unfair and unconstitutional' disenfranchisement of large numbers of 'Real Americans.' But since it's majority African-American, they don't care.

To add insult to injury, the NRA and their GOP acolytes couldn't resist whipping out their white privilege card and using this an an opportunity to jack with DC's strict gun laws.

As a condition for DC getting what it wanted in terms of federal representation, Republican lawmakers attached amendments to Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton's bill designed to weaken those gun laws.

"We just had nine kids shot by an assault rifle in our city," said D.C. councilmember at large Phil Mendelson, speaking about a recent drive-by shooting in Southeast D.C. that left four dead and several wounded. "Under the gun amendment, weapons like the AK-47 would be legal… That's unacceptable."

Several members of the DC City council in addition to Del. Norton were not happy about the games played with the DC Voting rights bill

"We should not trade a piece of democracy for a piece of democracy," said council member Michael A. Brown, who chairs DC's committee on statehood and self-determination. "It was a bad deal for the residents of the District of Columbia," he said of the bill's gun control provisions.

As always, the struggle continues.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) suggested that unrelated issues such as gun rights — are once again holding up an agreement to bring the D.C. voting bill to the floor. Hoyer had originally hoped to bring the bill to the floor this week, but now believes the legislation may be done for the year.

Hoyer said he's "profoundly disappointed" that the legislation will not be brought up, but said the bill should be about voting rights, not local D.C. crime issues or adding a House seat for Utah. Both these issues have held up D.C. voting rights in the past.

Delegate Norton said, "We have begun to develop new strategies to get a voting rights bill through Congress that can pass. "I am full of promising ideas about how to move forward not only on voting rights but on every right D.C. residents are entitled to as American citizens."

This despicable political drama adds another layer to the negativity that many African Americans feel towards the NRA and ossifies the impression in our community that they are a racist organization.

And it's another reason why I can't stand the NRA.

African-American Bi Ballplayers Sue Gay Softball Organization For Discrimination

If the GLBT community wants their rights and humanity respected, protected and codified under the law, it is imperative for them to remember and realize that they must do the same thing for others inside and outside the GLBT community.

Thanks to TransGriot reader Leigh for directing my attention to this developing story of racism and biphobia rearing its pointed head in of all things, a GL run softball tournament.

On Tuesday the National Center for Lesbian Rights in conjunction with the law firm of K&L Gates LLP filed a lawsuit on behalf of players Steven Apilado, LaRon Charles, and Jon Russ in U.S. District Court for the western district of Washington.

The NCLR complaint alleges that the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Association (NAGAAA) broke Washington state public accommodations law by enforcing a discriminatory rule that states only two heterosexuals can play on each team.

The story starts at the 2008 Gay World Series softball tournament that was played in Seattle and sanctioned by the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Association (NAGAAA).

NAGAAA’s stated mission is promoting “amateur sports competition, particularly softball, for all persons regardless of age, sexual orientation or preference, with special emphasis on the participation of members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.”

A mission they miserably failed to execute on for five members of the San Francisco based D2 softball team.

D2 and its members have played in San Francisco area gay softball leagues for several years. During this GWS tournament they got hot, won games and kicked butt all the way to the GWS championship game of their division.

D2 discovered during the title game that a (probably a losing) team filed a protest claiming they were in violation of the NAGAAA 'two heteros only' rule. In the interim teams kept interrupting the championship game to the point that D2 lost.

When the game was over five D2 players, Apilado, Charles, Russ and two white teammates were immediately summoned to a conference room for a protest hearing,

Each player was forced to answer intrusive questions about his sexual orientation and his private life in front of a room of over 25 people, most of whom the players did not know. The players were forced to answer whether they were “predominantly attracted to men” or “predominantly attracted to women,” without the option of answering that they were attracted to both.

After each player was interrogated, a panel voted on whether he was “gay” or “non-gay.” NAGAAA’s committee refused to entertain the possibility that the players could be bisexual. In response to a player’s statement that he was attracted to both men and women, a NAGAAA member responded, “This is the Gay World Series, not the Bisexual World Series.”

Ultimately, the predominantly-white committee voted that all the men of color, Charles, Russ, and Apilado, were not gay. The committee voted multiple times on at least one player. The committee also declared that the other two players, both white—one of whom had given precisely the same answers as Russ—were gay.

The NAGAAA committee recommended disciplinary measures against Apilado, Charles, and Russ, their team, and the San Francisco Gay Softball League, including retroactively stripping D2 by forfeit of their second-place World Series finish.

The men are seeking $75,000 each for emotional distress. They're also seeking to invalidate the alliance's findings on the men's sexual orientations and to reinstate D2's second-place finish in the 2008 GWS.

“This case shows that bisexual people are an integral part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. The San Francisco team was truly diverse and welcomed bisexual, gay, and straight players, and they saw each other as not just teammates, but family,” said NCLR Sports Project Director Helen Carroll.

“We all deserve to be treated with respect no matter what part of the ‘LGBT’ we are. It damages our community to conduct witch hunts and to exclude people from playing in a sports league for not being ‘gay enough’. We wouldn’t accept this kind of treatment from a non-LGBT sports organization and we shouldn’t do it to ourselves.”

Beth Allen, a Portland, OR based attorney who specializes in LGBT-related legal issues and represents the sports association in the suit, said that NAGAAA “agrees that if they were a public accommodation, they could not limit players on the basis of sexual orientation. But they’re a private organization, seeking to provide a forum for gay and lesbian athletes, or those who would like to become athletes, to play ball together in an environment where they don’t face any type of discrimination. ... It is not an unusual situation to have a softball league that is organized by principle on a protected class.”

Allen was quoted in Advocate.com as saying that she found the suit brought by NCLR to be “very disheartening.”

“Certainly I’ve seen infighting in the community. Anyone who’s worked for our rights has seen infighting, because we’re all human,” Allen said. “But as I’ve told [NCLR executive director] Kate Kendell, it baffles me why they’ve taken on this case. Why is the National Center for Lesbian Rights asserting this claim on behalf of three poor beleaguered straight men? I don’t get it.”

Kendell said the suit “makes very clear that the core issue in the case is that sexual orientation discrimination is harmful, demeaning, and stigmatizing. What these players were subjected to in terms of inquiry about their private sexual lives was a violation, not only of the softball association’s own rules but also Washington state law.”

“[Allen’s] response is what’s baffling,” Kendell added.

NAGAAA, which organizes the Gay Softball World Series, has refused to change the discriminatory rule that excludes players based on sexual orientation, to apologize to Apilado, Charles, and Russ for the traumatic and humiliating public interrogation they endured, or to disavow the practice of interrogating players about their sexual orientations in protest hearings.

NCLR Staff Attorney Melanie Rowen said, “Washington law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in public accommodations. But conducting an inquisition into someone’s sexual orientation to exclude them from playing sports in their community is not just discriminatory—it is outrageous.”

NAGAAA has not yet responded to the complaint in court, and this has the making of an interesting court case that I would love to see.

But it goes back simply to the Golden Rule- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

As an oppressed minority group, the GLBT community would not only do well to remember that, it's imperative that the GLBT community hold itself to higher ethical and moral standards than our oppressors.

They also need to cognizant of the fact that relations with African-American GLBT people are still testy after the flurry of anti-Black racism that popped up in the GLBT community post Prop 8. That being said, discrimination in the GLBT community should not be condoned or tolerated at any time.

Here's hoping that NCLR is successful in driving that point home to the NAGAAA.

When Is Someone Going To Tell Black Transwomen We're Prettty?

This picture and the caption beneath it triggered the musings of this post.

Black women for centuries have had their beauty, denied, denigrated, and disrespected because the societal beauty standard doesn't compute for us.

If we African descended transwomen thought we were going to escape that negativity directed at African descended womanhood by society, guess again.

One of the things I continue to notice is that when the beauty of transwomen is discussed, the conversation disproportionately involves white transwomen, with a few Asian and Latina transwomen thrown into the mix in order to appear more diverse.

But Black transwomen being considered pretty? Nope. We get the same shade thrown at us as our cis African descended sisters.

Ugly. Masculine-looking. You get the drift...

I chuckled when Kerry Washington talked about how she almost didn't get the role of Marybeth in the movie 'Life is Hot in Cracktown' playing a transwoman because the director initially considered her 'too beautiful' to play a convincing transwoman.

It's interesting that these 'unwoman' beauty myths persist despite the long list of African-American winners in the Miss Continental pageant system and other trans themed pageants and the first open transgender contestant on America's Next Top Model is a proud African-American.

But to ask the question that's in the title of this post: when is someone going to tell Black transwomen we're pretty?

Well, Kerry Washington did.

And the reality is a lot of these girls are gorgeous. That’s just the truth of it. Transwomen are women. There are many of them that you would never know… ever, ever, ever.

If no one else will do so, then we need to do it our damned selves.

My trans sisters, you are pretty, you are intelligent, and you are beautiful inside and out. It's just a matter of time before the rest of the world sees that.

Mistrial Declared In Duanna Johnson Beating Case

After four days of deliberations in which 11 jurors voted to convict and one holdout said no, a mistrial has been declared in the federal trial of former Memphis police officer Bridges McRae.

McRae was indicted in November 2008 and being tried for violating the civil rights of the late Duanna Johnson. He was caught on tape beating her while undergoing processing in the Shelby County Jail.

He was facing up to 10 years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 had he been convicted.

Prosecutors are considering retrying the case, but once again it means that justice for Duanna Johnson is delayed and denied on two levels.

One for the jailhouse beatdown, and the other for her unsolved murder.

The Queen's New Flick-Just Wright

I love me some Queen Latifah as much as my Canadian homegirl does.

Naah, scratch that. I think Renee has me beat when it comes to hailing the Queen.

At any rate, the Queen is about to grace us with a new movie coming out around May 14. It's called Just Right and in addition to her, it stars Common, Paula Patton, Phylicia Rashad and Pam Grier.

The trailer looks interesting, and it's directed by Sanaa Hamri, who directed Something New with Sanaa Lathan.

I'll definitely be at the local multiplex for it when it gets released.