Moni's Guest Posting At The Rude Pundit

One of the highest compliments you can get or signs that people like your work (besides garnering awards for it) is when your blogging peers ask you to write posts in their spaces, or ask to use yours.

Earlier this week I was honored to be asked by the Rude Pundit to post at his blog as part of his LGBT Week.

I'm due up on Friday July 23, and I'm following some pretty heavy hitters in the LGBT gayposphere.

Will/Wolf of Back2Stonewall kick it off on Monday, Pam Spaulding (my blogging shero) of Pam's House Blend on Tuesday, Jim Burroway of Box Turtle Bulletin on Wednesday, and Michael Petrelis of The Petrelis Files on Thursday.

So surf on by the Rude Pundit on Friday or here and see what I come up with.

Rest In Peace, Angie

Today is the second anniversary of Angie Zapata's death.

Allen Andrade, the waste of DNA who committed this heinous crime was convicted and is now rotting in a Colorado jail cell serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole.

Her brothers and sisters in the trans community and our allies can only hope and pray that as the years continue on, the pain of Angie's untimely departure lessens for her family, friends,and all who loved her.

Never forget this day, and keep Angie's memory alive

Moni's Short Stories

I'm taking time out this weekend to do some fiction writing.

No, I'm not going to apply for a job as a copy writer for Faux News, people.

But every now and then I like to let my creative juices flow and unleash some of these characters that are yearning to be released from the creative area of my brain and run free to live their lives in the context of a story.

If something newsworthy happens to transpire while I'm doing so, I'll definitely write it up and give you loyal TransGriot readers my chocolate flavored take on it.

But just in case you're curious as to whether not Moni has the fiction writing skills to pay her bills, here's a sample courtesy of some old short stories, song rewrites and poetic posts I've written throughout the years.

Gotta get back to work on that. My characters are calling.

Bathroom Issues

Transgender Heaven

It's a Wonderful Trans Life

The Recruiting Visit

The Sermon

Battlestar Galactica With Soul

Moni's Greatest Song Rewrite Hits-Volume I

One of the features on this blog that you TransGriot readers tell me you never get enough of are my satirical song rewrites.

I'll pen one when world events or newsworthy people inspire me to do.

Well, to make it easy for you (and me) to find them, I'm concentrating all of Moni's song rewrites so far in one post with links for you to peruse them.


The Rad Fem Ones

Saggin' Pants

Barack's The President Now

(You Gotta) Fight For Our Right To Potty

The Propaganda We'll Teach Y'all

Screwed By You

Everyday Sheeple

Grandma Just Got Busted In A Drug Deal

I'm The Sidekick John McCain

GOP Golddigger

They Hate Moni

HRC The Fake Civil Rights Org

You're A Mean One, Barney Frank

I'm The ENDA Bill

The new Barney Theme Song

The GOP Hates Science

Irreplacable

You Can Call Bush Crazy

Why We Hate On Gays

I Won't Vote For Republicans

In Iraqinam

Santa Baby (TG version)

You're Going Back To School

I Cheated In Argentina

Rappin' Rushbo

Teabag Lady

He's A Clown

Get Real

No, No, No (GOP Version)

Happy 75th Birthday Diahann Carroll!

Had to take a moment to salute the milestone birthday of one of my fave actresses and beauty role models, Diahann Carroll.

Carol Diahann Johnson was born on this day in New York (the Bronx) and as an infant moved to Harlem with her family. One of her high school classmates at the New York Music & Art High School was Billy Dee Williams and has had a long distinguished and trailblazing career in music, film, Broadway, and television.

In 1962 she won the first ever 'Best Actress' Tony Award given to an African American actress for her role in the Broadway musical No Strings. In 1963 she picked up her first Emmy nomination for the police drama Naked City.

In 1975 she picked up an Academy Award Best Actress nomination for the movie Claudine.

But the role just about everyone of my generation remembers her for besides Claudine is her groundbreaking 1968-71 NBC television series Julia.

She played widowed nurse Julia Baker, and picked up a 1968 Golden Globe Award for the role along with her second Emmy Award nomination in 1969. Carroll was the first African American actress to star in a TV show that cast her in a non-stereotypical role.

She joined the cast of Dynasty in 1984 as its first African American cast member and played the glamorous jetsetter Dominique Deveraux, the half sister of Blake Carrington. Dynasty reunited her with her high school classmate, who played her husband Brady Lloyd on the show.

My favorite role of hers besides Julia is A Different World's Marion Gilbert, the glamorous mother of Hillman College diva Whitley Gilbert. The recurring role earned her another Emmy Award nomination in 1989.

She had a recurring role of Aunt Ruthie on the HBO series Soul Food, for which she received two NAACP Image Award nominations

She was recently seen in 2006 on Grey's Anatomy playing Jane Burke, the demanding mother of Dr. Preston Burke.

You can also add author to this multitalented lady's resume thanks to her autobiography entitled 'The Legs Are The Last To Go'.

She's also a breast cancer survivor who has taken a leading role as a spokesperson in the African American community to heighten awareness of the disease.

Happy 75th birthday Diahann Carroll. May you continue to inspire and be a trailblazing role model for our community and age gracefully in the process.

My Chocolate Flavored Transition Is STILL Not Like Yours

One of the things I have repeatedly said in the 15 plus years I've been a part of the trans community is that mine and the transitions of African descended transpeople are not like our white counterparts.

For starters, class and income differences. A white transwoman comes from a background in which she has a higher income due to her prior status as a white male. For every dollar a white person earns, a Black person earns 70 cents, even if we have a well paying job.

That means it's going to take us longer to save up the money for any type of surgery, much less stuff like electrolysis/laser treatments, or SRS. So by necessity, we focus more on perfecting our femininity from the inside out.

Before we can even tackle the gender identity issues, we have to deal with on an almost daily basis race and racism inside and outside the GLBT community.

We also are affected by the same issues that afflict the African American community at large.

We have to deal with once we begin transition the added burdens of being considered the 'unwoman' just like our cisgender sisters and all the negative stereotypes that come with that.

We have to deal with the shame and guilt, negative stereotypes and negativity heaped upon transwomen of color in addition to taking the brunt of the anti-trans violence casualties along with our Latina transsisters.

Because we grew up in somebody's church, our spirituality is important to us. We are going to be sitting in the pews of somebody's church on Sundays on a regular basis. If we're fortunate to be in our home churches where we grew up and it's a 'whosoever will' one, instead of a prosperity gospel pimp the conservahate one, even better.

So no, while in some respects we have some similarities and shared issues, in others, my chocolate flavored transition is STILL not like yours.

See? Told Y'all The Tea Klux Klan ls Racist

We've all seen the hue and cry come for the Tea Klux Klan complaining that the NAACP and the 'liberal media' mischaracterizes their movement as racist.

They deployed numerous 'Black' conservafools and imitation Internet African Americans to swarm the Net and NAACP Internet sites to 'prove' they aren't.

Methinks y'all doth protest too much.

If it walks like a racist duck, talks like a racist duck, and quacks like a racist duck, it's a racist duck, baby.

QuacKKK! QuacKKK! QuacKKK!

Speaking of racist Tea Klux Klan ducks, right on cue comes Tea Party founder Mark Williams putting his webbed foot in his mouth and proving the NAACP's point behind the resolution passed at their convention Tuesday.

He posted this 'open letter' to Abraham Lincoln on his website, which Keith Olbermann and other peeps in the blogosphere called his azz on. Thanks to the Reid Report blog, we also have a copy of the letter and a screenshot of it just in case Mark Williams belatedly realizes just how badly he just fracked up and takes it down.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

***

And now, presenting Mark's July 16 post from his own blog entitled, 'Colored People Change minds About Emancipation'


Dear Mr. Lincoln

We Coloreds have taken a vote and decided that we don’t cotton to that whole emancipation thing. Freedom means having to work for real, think for ourselves, and take consequences along with the rewards. That is just far too much to ask of us Colored People and we demand that it stop!

In fact we held a big meeting and took a vote in Kansas City this week. We voted to condemn a political revival of that old abolitionist spirit called the ‘tea party movement’.

The tea party position to “end the bailouts” for example is just silly. Bailouts are just big money welfare and isn’t that what we want all Coloreds to strive for? What kind of racist would want to end big money welfare? What they need to do is start handing the bail outs directly to us coloreds! Of course, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the only responsible party that should be granted the right to disperse the funds.

And the ridiculous idea of “reduce[ing] the size and intrusiveness of government.” What kind of massa would ever not want to control my life? As Coloreds we must have somebody care for us otherwise we would be on our own, have to think for ourselves and make decisions!

The racist tea parties also demand that the government “stop the out of control spending.” Again, they directly target coloreds. That means we Coloreds would have to compete for jobs like everybody else and that is just not right.

Perhaps the most racist point of all in the tea parties is their demand that government “stop raising our taxes.” That is outrageous! How will we coloreds ever get a wide screen TV in every room if non-coloreds get to keep what they earn? Totally racist! The tea party expects coloreds to be productive members of society?

Mr. Lincoln, you were the greatest racist ever. We had a great gig. Three squares, room and board, all our decisions made by the massa in the house. Please repeal the 13th and 14th Amendments and let us get back to where we belong.

Sincerely

Precious Ben Jealous, Tom’s Nephew NAACP Head Colored Person


***

QuacKKK, QuacKKK, QuacKKK, Mark.

That was just so hilarious. Next time why don't you do it in blackface?

The more y'all flap your gums, the more the NAACP is proven right and the more your stock plummets amongst reality based white Americans and other people of good will who deplore your race baiting tactics.

And thank you for taking the hoods off and revealing the true nature of the 18% of you in that Astroturfed movement who proudly claim Tea Klux Klan membership.

TransForm New Hampshire Conference Coming Soon

Many of us remember last year, when the New Hampshire Senate, the only female led and dominated legislature in the country if not the world passed a marriage equality bill.

But that same legislative body couldn't, wouldn't or didn't want to expend the effort to open their minds and hearts to protect trans people in their state. On a 24-0 vote turned down at transgender rights bill because 'it had flaws' they never elaborated on.

It appears the New Hampshire trans community is mobilizing in the wake of that bitter loss. As part of that process, the TransForm New Hampshire Conference will take place July 23-25, 2010 in the state's capital city of Concord, NH.

There is a $25 registration fee for the event and during that period people from the Nutmeg State and beyond its borders will gather to watch films, performance artists, and workshops that will help educate people, formulate policy, get better organized and discuss ways to petition their legislators to pass laws so that transpeople can 'live free or die' in New Hampshire and beyond.

Here's a statement from Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire Gene Robinson concerning the event.

'Equal rights for Transgender People is the next front in the equal-rights-for-all effort. But more of our citizens need to understand the experiences, challenges and needs of their trans neighbors. This conference is an extraordinary opportunity to hear national leaders as well as local activists, speaking to the experience and needs of our trans citizens. Even gay and lesbian people are often uneducated and unfamiliar with the complexities of our trans brothers and sisters who have been so supportive of our efforts for full equality. Run, don't walk, to sign up for this great conference!

Featured speakers for the event include Anthony Baretto-Neto, Allyson Robinson, , Peterson Toscano, Kim Pearson, Executive Director and Co-Founder of TransYouth Family Allies, and many more.

The event is sponsored by TransMentors International, in partnership with the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union,

Shut Up Fool! Awards-NAACP Rocks Edition

The 101st annual NAACP convention closes in Kansas City, MO today and one of the big pieces of news that came out of it was the resolution passed on Tuesday condemning the extremist elements of the Tea Party.

Of course, the 'white' wing immediately cranked up the Noise Machine and riled up the conservasheeple. They swarmed the blogosphere and the NAACP's Facebook page armed with bogus talking points that were smacked back into reality by the posters there.

The conservasheeple also took time to bash the FLOTUS as well, who was the Monday keynote speaker.

All you fools did was prove the NAACP's point that there is a serious problem with racism within the Tea Party.

Now let's move on to find out which person, persons or group had a serious problem with stupidity this week. The Tea Party is an obvious candidate this week's illustrious award along with their queen Sarah Palin. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) gets one, and of course the usual suspects of Beck, Hannity, and O'Reilly.

This week's Shut Up Fool! award goes to lame duck (thank God) Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY)

He took his crassness to new levels when he made this comment about former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner during a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing, who passed away from a heart attack on Tuesday.

Bunning said, “because he was smart enough to die in 2010, there is zero liability on the estate tax.”

The man isn't even cold and in the ground yet and you're using him as a political football?

I can only hope that the state of Kentucky chooses wisely and replaces you with current attorney general Jack Conway instead of GOP nominee Rand Paul, who has already demonstrated he'll be even more crass and ignorant than you.

Sen. Jim Bunning, shut the HELL up fool!

Caster Wins!

800m world champion Caster Semenya finally got to run a race for the first time since her world championship run in Berlin 11 months ago. It was in a small Finnish town 135 miles (220 kilometers) east of Helsinki at the Lappeenranta Games.

She won it in 2:04.22 - not even close to the 1:55.45 she clocked while taking the gold at the IAAF World Championships, but Semenya was happy with it.

"To come and run a 2:04 is not easy, especially after what happened," Semenya said. "I was a little bit nervous because it has been a long time not competing."

"It's a new beginning," she added.

Her next race is at the Lapinlahti Games on Sunday before she heads back to South Africa to continue training. There's a possibility she may compete in the African Championships in Nairobi, Kenya in two weeks, but she's working toward being in championship form for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India this October.

MAGNET'S Panel Discussion Tonight

MAGNET'S panel discussion entitled Women Demanding Change Now: The Dehumanization of Transsexual Women through the Gay Male Hollywood Lens will be taking place in a few hours on the Left Coast.

It will be moderated by MAGNET's Ashley Love run from 7-9:30 PM PDT at the Plummer Park Community Center, Room #6. It's located at 7377 Santa Monica Blvd.(Cross street is Martel) in West Hollywood, CA 90046.

Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Transsexual & Transgender People (MAGNET) is an anti-defamation organization dedicated to educating the media about transsexual and transgender issues. It also has as part of its mission pushing for more authentic and positive portrayals of trans people in the media.

It's definitely something that's sorely needed, and those of you in the Los Angeles area can check out what's promises to be a lively panel discussion.

How Do I Feel About The USA? How Does The USA Feel About Me?

July 4 marked the 234th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. But as an African-American, our feelings about this country can be conflicted at times and can be summed up in a paraphrased line from the 'Tuskegee Airmen' movie:

How do I feel about the USA? How does the USA feel about me?

Frederick Douglass touched upon that conflict in his famous July 5, 1852 'The Meaning of July Fourth For The Negro' speech that still resonates with many African descended Americans today.

While I'm immensely proud that an African American president and his family resides in the house that my ancestors built with their uncompensated labor, I'm not happy about the unrelenting racist attacks he has endured since taking the oath of office in January 2009.

I'm displeased that some of the rhetoric is flowing from the lips of white GLBT people who clearly wanted Hillary Clinton to win the presidency. They demand that this president do in half of his first term what the other 43 white males in both parties that occupied the Oval Office couldn't or wouldn't do for GLBT rights.

I'm disgusted with the conservative 'take our country back' and 'real American' rhetoric I'm hearing in the runup to the November midterm elections. I deplore the rush by Republican dominated state legislatures to mimic Arizona's 'Hate On Latinos' legislation being pushed under the guise of 'immigration reform'.

I'm frustrated that as a trans African descended American citizen I'm fighting it seems at times a three front war with conservatives, elements of the Black community and the gay community just to have my humanity recognized and my constitutional rights respected and protected.

But just as I'm ready to say forget it, I'll read a speech from Dr. King, an essay from W.E.B DuBois, quotes from Barbara Jordan or some other brilliant thinker that reminds me of the price our people paid in blood for the American label.

It's our country, our flag, our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution too, even if the Founding Fathers only counted my ancestors as 3/5ths of a human being in 1787. My full citizenship rights required rivers of blood, a civil war, three constitutional amendments, multiple civil rights acts, decades of protests and numerous landmark Supreme Court decisions.

After perusing my history, I'm motivated once again to pick up the baton and become a drum majorette for justice. My faltering determination is renewed and I steel myself once again to fight for Dr. King's dream and a country that values the human rights of all its citizens.

There's a lot of things transpiring in this country right now that make me wonder which direction we are headed.

Is it toward fairness and justice for all or are we being pushed backwards to the early 20th century edition of America?

But there's enough signs that there are a lot of things right with with this country that allow me to be hopeful about its future and feel it will make it to its tricentennial birthday intact in 2076.

But I still have enough concerns about America's color line problem that compel me to ponder once again the question I asked at the beginning of the post.

How do I feel about the USA? How does the USA feel about me?

Caster Semenya Finally Races Today

Caster Semenya will participate in an 800m race at the Lappeenranta Games in Finland today. It's her first race for the 800 meters world champion since she was cleared by the IAAF to compete last Tuesday.

She was left off South Africa’s team for the African championships which start July 28 in Kenya and according to the South Africa’s athletics federation the 19 year old would work toward qualifying for the Commonwealth Games being held in Delhi, India this October.

“She is really looking forward to the competition but is not expecting anything great,” her manager Jukka Harkonen said to a reporter Thursday. “She’s in the middle of her training right now, but needs the experience of competing again.”

So am I, Caster. Hope you kick butt and take names all the way to the 2012 London Olympic Games and beyond.

Send In the ConservaKKKlowns

TransGriot Note: there is a graphic photo in the tail end of this post that may be triggering to some peeps.

Nothing gets the conservafools to let their guard down and show the white privilege and idiocy they wallow in besides hearing the words 'President Barack Obama' or 'NAACP convention'.

Faux Nnise and the entire Right Wing Noise Machine miscommunication apparatus starts railing about the nation's oldest civil right organization and how it's 'racist' and other bull feces du jour lines that are spouted by people who are still pissed off at the over a century of yeoman's work the NAACP has done to strike down Jim Crow segregation and uplift all people of color.

Check out the frothing at the mouth commentary about the NAACP's just passed resolution calling out the Tea Klux Klan racism.


From the NAACP FB page:

Joey Mincks: bet Republican Martin Luther King is turning over in his grave in disgust with the NAACP and reverse racism about now.

Gusella Mariam: I hope the NAACP has already repudiated the NBPP.

Daniel Morgan: Asked several times, what about the racism of blacks towards whites? Haven't heard any condemnation of the New Black Panther Party, Jesse Jackson, Rev. Wright, Al Sharpton and others.

The Tea Klux Klan has laughably even deployed the imitation Internet Black people and conservanegroes to 'prove' they aren't racist.

Alphonzo Miller: ACTUALLY THE TEA PARTY IS BLACK BECAUSE IM A MEMBER AND IF THE BEST YOU CAN SAY IS UNCLE TOM PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO GET EDUCATED ON THE FACTS OF THE ISSUES OF THE INNER CITY CRIME,UNEMPLOYMENT, VOUCHERS FOR INNER SCHOOL KIDS. NAACP DOES CARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE JUST LIKE OBAMA THEIR AGENDA IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN DOING RIGHT BY PEOPLE

Alphonzo, ho hum. Condoleezza Rice and Ron Christie were members of the GW Bush misadministration and look how well that eight years of misguided conservative policies worked out for our people.

I think Zora Neale Hurston's quote applies to Conservanegroes such as youself who refuse to wake up, check the alarm clock and smell the vanilla scented racism.:

All my skinfolk ain't my kinfolk.

See Alphonzo, I can call you more creative names than just 'Uncle Tom'. Does Oreo cookie chomping sellout work for you?

The only part of your long all caps statement that was correct was this one:

NAACP DOES CARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE

They sure do. Enough to for over 100 years consistently fight against and warn us about the dangers of unfettered racism and the mean spirited conservatism that festers in its poisonous soil.

Frankly I find it quite entertaining some of the ludicrous comments that pop up in various websites across the Net. I'm not even going to wade over to the conservaweb because I just ate.

Note that the conservafools daring to come to an African American dominated site to spread their BS talking points aren't the 'A' team.

They are getting their less than intellectual clocks cleaned.

Ahem, once again conservasheeple. Let me say this slowly for you so y'all can hear it above Glenn Beck's delusional screaming, shouting and fake tears.

Racism = prejudice + power

The only people who have held that kind of systemic power, repeatedly used it to maintain their advantage, and commit untold atrocities to do so throughout world (and American) history are white.

No amount of Faux 'News' spin or Beck U revisionist history can change that fact. If whiteness and white supremacy didn't exist and white peeps had CONSISTENTLY done the right thing a long time ago, there would be no need for the NAACP, La Raza and other POC civil rights orgs to exist.

But since you conservafools show no signs of wanting to 'work and play well with others' not like you, thank God the NAACP is around and has been for over 100 years to fight you misguided people.

MAGNET Media Panel Discussion Tomorrow In West Hollywood

We are a little more than 24 hours away from a panel discussion I definitely wish I could be in the room for to support my transpeeps.

MAGNET (Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Transsexual & Transgender People) is facilitating this discussion which is entitled:

Women Demanding Change Now:
The Dehumanization of Transsexual Women through the Gay Male Hollywood Lens

It will take place tomorrow, July 15th- from 7-9:30 PM PDT at Plummer Park Community Center, Room #6. The community center is located at 7377 Santa Monica Blvd.(Cross street is Martel) in West Hollywood, CA 90046.

MAGNET is an anti-defamation organization dedicated to educating the media about transsexual and transgender issues, as well as pushing for more authentic and positive portrayals of trans people in the media.

Once again, if you have an aversion to cameras the event will be filmed for those of us who couldn't be there and would like to see the discussion, so factor that into your decision to attend.

Some of the topics up for discussion are:

• Finding solutions to build authentic unity and trust within the LGBT community

• Mental/physical violence incited by messages in film and TV

• Gay males producing stigmatizing, over the top and unkind images of transsexual women

• Gay Inc. and some transgender activists co-opting the medical condition transsexualism

• Inaccurately depicting transsexual women as “drag queens”, “caricatures of femininity”

• Dangerous propaganda that mis-educates public and assaults transsexual women

There will be an opportunity for the audience to ask the panelists questions.

PANELISTS:

- Kiana Moore (transsexual woman, Hollywood producer- VH1,MTV, Bravo, Oxygen, Logo)
- Talia Bettcher, PhD (trans woman, Philosophy Professor, author)
- Cary Harrison (gay male, radio personality, award winning journalist.)
- Mannee McMurray (LGBT activist, writer, MAGNET volunteer)
- Hannah Howard (trans activist, Gender Justice LA board member)
- Matt Palazzolo (gay male, Equal Roots co-founder)
- Arianna Davis (transsexual & intersex woman, Gender ID Empowerment Coalition (GIEC) co-founder)
- Vanesa Camara (transsexual woman, activist for transsexual liberation & feminism)
- Libby Freeman ( queer woman, outspoken ally for trans people, GIEC & MAGNET organizer)

The panel discussion will be moderated by Ashley Love- (trans rights advocate, writer and an organizer with MAGNET)

It's still not too late for you to let MAGNET know your thoughts on this epidemic so we can include them in the planning and discussion.

FOR INFO and media inquiries, contact MAGNET Organizer:
Ashley Love - Email: magnet_right_now@yahoo.com.

NAACP Calls Out The Tea Klux Klan

The NAACP's 101st annual convention is taking place in Kansas City this week through Friday, and today's news from it made major headlines.

The NAACP is calling out the Tea Klux Klan.

The 2000 NAACP convention delegates passed a resolution yesterday to condemn extremist elements within the Tea Party, calling on Tea Party leaders to repudiate those in their ranks who use racist language in their signs and speeches.

Judging by the 'circle the burning cross' response from the conservafool movement, that has as much chance of happening as the LA Clippers threepeating.

And predictably, the hate is flowing from them as well.

The resolution will not become official NAACP policy until approved by the National Board of Directors in October.

"We felt the time had come to stand up and say, 'It's time for the tea party to be responsible members of this democracy and make sure they don't tolerate bigots or bigotry among their members,'" NAACP President Ben Jealous said ahead of the debate.

"We don't have a problem with the tea party's existence. We have an issue with their acceptance and welcoming of white supremacists into their organizations," he said.

Deal with it Tea Klux Klan. No thinking person is fooled by your 'we're not racist' spin.

Not even the oldest civil rights organization in America, who knows a group of racists when they see their pointed white sheets showing.

The FLOTUS ' 2010 NAACP Convention Keynote Speech.

First Lady Michelle Obama arrived in Kansas City on Monday to deliver the keynote address for the 101st annual NAACP convention. Here's the video of her keynote address.

Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit Rapidly Approaching

The Second Annual Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit is rapidly approaching.

It's underwritten by the Hollyfield Foundation and sponsored by the Texas A&M GLBT Resource Center, Starbucks, Transgender Foundation of America, Rice University, Frye and Associates, and Equality Texas.

The event is free and is being held on the campus of Rice University in Houston July 20-21. Both sessions in the Kyle Morrow Room of the Fondren Library start at 10:00 AM CDT and end at 4:00 PM CDT.

The registration deadline has passed, but I've been advised by the event organizers you can still register and are encouraged to come. If you do, be advised your food and parking are on your own dime.

The TTNS is a strategy sharing summit in which you can learn what works and what doesn't in terms of changing policies on campuses to protect transgender faculty, staff, and students.

It will also be an opportunity to make connections with persons already doing this work, learn about their successes and failures, and help you get up to speed and involved in the struggle to make Texas college campuses more trans friendly.

The TTNS Organizing Committee is pleased to note that 78 people are already registered to attend the summit from over 18 colleges and universities in Texas.

Here's the map for those of you driving. Rice University is accessible on the METRORail Red Line via the Hermann Park/Rice U station at Fannin and Sunset or the Memorial Hermann Hospital/Houston Zoo Stations.

The library's address is 6100 Main Street on the Rice University campus.

Looking forward to getting reconnected with and seeing many of my fellow Texas TBLG activists next week.

Black Models Aren't Loved By The Fashion Industry In ANY Economy

TransGriot Note: I and blogs such as Womanist Musings and Jezebel have talked about the fact that Black models have literally been whitewashed off the fashion runways and off the covers of many fashion magazines over the last few years.

"I think fashion is five steps behind real America, real Canada. There's been way more progress in personal and interpersonal relationships between the races than there has in fashion. Fashion is stuck in 1955, and I don't know what it's going to take to get them to move forward."

Stylist Mann from 'The Colour of Beauty' documentary.

Maybe a few discrimination lawsuits and a congressional investigation?

Jezebel has been tracking the lack of diversity of New York fashion shows for several years, so it didn't surprise me a bit when their report on the Spring 2010 shows came out and revealed the New York shows were less diverse than the last time Jezebel conducted the survey.

That's a nice segue into this Elizabeth St. Phillip film entitled 'The Colour Of Beauty' that highlights the point that Black models aren't loved by the Fashion Industry in ANY economy.



It's past time for us to stop spending money on designer labels if the designers not only aren't going to use our sisters to work their shows, but come up with weak ass racist excuses to justify it.

All Trans Cast Film 'Bella Maddo' Premieres At Outfest 2010

One of the things the trans community has long complained about is having cispeople playing trans roles in films and not getting the opportunity to do the reverse.

Now we have a groundbreaking film that not only features an all trans cast of men, women and children, they have flipped the casting script and the trans actors are all playing non trans roles.

"There are very limited roles for transgender actors in film and television," stated Bella Maddo' director Janice Danielle. "By making this film I am hoping to expand acting opportunities and increase the visibility of the trans community."

The short film by Danielle is called 'Bella Maddo' and it opened last night at the 28th annual Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.





"We are proud to premiere this witty, entertaining and ultimately ground-breaking film," said Outfest Executive Director Kirsten Schaffer. "Bella Maddo really demonstrates Janice Danielle's range as both an actor and a director."

"Bella Maddo" has appeared at the Cannes Film Festival 2010 in the Short Film Corner and is currently in development as a six part mini-series.

Some of the notable people in the all trans cast is my sis Isis King and transkid Miss Jazz from the Barbara Walters 20/20 report on trans children.

It premiered at Outfest last night and will run again July 15th as part of the comedy shorts program called "From Uranus to Titicaca". It will be part of a July 17th special event called "Transpolitics Then and Now: from Queens at Heart to Bella Maddo."

Outfest 2010 started July 8 and will continue through July 18.

Looking forward to seeing the film and hopefully the miniseries.