Nikki Araguz Update 6 - Umm...About That 'Texas Law' Meme

One of the things that I'm seeing repeatedly pop up in posts and stories about the ongoing Araguz case inside and outside the TBLG community is this recurring meme that the 1999 Littleton v Prange case is settled Texas law.

No, it isn't

The GOP dominated Texas Supreme Court did not rule on the Littleton case as a Fox 26 News legal analyst incorrectly stated.

They refused to do so in order to cover Junior's behind during his 2000 presidential run.

This comment from a MetroWeekly story about the case also got my attention:

According to Texas' laws, though, transgender people are deemed to remain the same gender as their original birth certificate despite gender reassignment procedures.

No, we're not.

Just thought I point that out as a transgender Texan.

Translatina Showing In DC

Translatina is a 90 minute documentary that was three years in the making, took 100 hours of filming and contains interviews from people in 15 nations.

The documentary has been selected for five international festivals and it chronicles the challenges faced by Latin American trans women in accessing work, education, justice, health care, and other basic services in the region.

The Spanish language film with English subtitles also showcases the efforts of Latin American transgender organizations are starting to dialogue with governments in the region to demand justice and services for trans women.

For those of you in the Washington DC metro areawho wish to see it, you may head over to the Pan American Health Organization later today and check out their screening of Translatina

PAHO is located at 525 Twenty-third Street, N.W., and the screening will run from 6:00 to 8:30 PM EDT. After a welcoming ceremony, they will serve refreshments before beginning the film.

Here's the trailer for it, of which sections of it aren't workplace viewer friendly.



The screening is sponsored by the group Latin@s En Accion. If you need more info about it you can call Ruby Corado at (202) 506-0894

Federal Judge Smacks Down Parts Of The SB 1070 'Hate On Latinos' Law

Federal U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton earlier today gave the 'Hate On Latinos' law a serious legal smackdown.

"The Court by no means disregards Arizona's interests in controlling illegal immigration and addressing the concurrent problems with crime, including the trafficking of humans, drugs, guns and money," Bolton wrote. "Even though Arizona's interests may be consistent with those of the federal government, it is not in the public interest for Arizona to enforce preempted laws."

SB 1070 will still take effect at midnight, but Judge Bolton's ruling blocks implementation of the most controversial and odious parts of it.

Judge Bolton delayed the parts of the law that required immigrants to carry their papers at all times. SB 1070 took aim at day laborers by making it illegal for undocumented workers to solicit employment in public places. Judge Bolton also blocked officers from making warrantless arrests of suspected illegal immigrants.

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard (D) is running for governor and was put in the awkward position of having to defend a law he opposed and had this to say about the ruling.

"Rather than providing the leadership Arizona needs to solve the immigration problem, Jan Brewer signed a bill she could not defend in court which has led to boycotts, jeopardized our tourism industry and polarized our state. "It is time to look beyond election year grandstanding and begin to repair the damage to Arizona's image and economy."

Judge Bolton was appointed by President Clinton and of course the 'activist judge' sniping has already begun by the right wing. Gov. Jan Brewer has already indicated the state will appeal.

But this was just round one of a legal tussle over this bill that will probably end up being decided by the Supreme Court.

But score one for our side.

2nd Annual LA TG Film Fest Coming Soon

The second annual TG Film Fest will be held at the LA Gay and Lesbian Center's Renberg Theater on August 28th, 2010

The festival kicks off at 11:30 AM PDT and runs until 9 PM. The TG Film Fest will feature four ninety minute screenings of trans themed films.

The films being presented this year include one that I had the pleasure of seeing during last year's U of L Pride Festival. It's a short film by Calpernia Addams and Andrea James called Transproofed.

Transpoofed will be part of the short films being show at 7:30 PM.

Another interesting movie that will be part of the 2010 is a Todd Holland film called The Believers, which is about the 2004 Outmusic award winning San Francisco based Transcendence Gospel Choir.

Suggested donation is $20, but people without funds will not be turned away. Outside the theater, in the center's courtyard there will be a DJ and live performances from 11:30 AM to 9 PM and vendors selling art and crafts.

The LA Gay and Lesbian Center is located at 1125 N. McCadden Place in Hollywood, CA.

Thank You, Keith!

Keith Olbermann tells it like it T-I-S is about the Sherrod affair and the piss poor panicked reactions of the left in response to the Right Wing Noise Machine faux controversy.

Proud Member Of ABW Sorority, Inc.

So what does ABW stand for?

Besides being the name of a wonderful thought provoking blog, ABW is the abbreviation for one of the sobriquets that is hurled at me or any other sistah by YT that dares call out whiteness, tell the truth about the unfairness inherent in the current system or talk about about how it affects our lives or simply expresses an opinion that runs counter to prevailing groupthink.

Angry Black Woman.

Well, if that's the case, consider me a proud dues paying member of the Angry Black Women Sorority, Inc. Lambda Lambda Lambda chapter.

You can consider me the president of the Lambda Lambda Lambda chapter and I pledged during the Spring 1994 semester.

Now as a member of Angry Black Women Sorority, Incorporated I received when I went over love of myself and every millimeter of my fine brown curves, reminders that we come in twenty plus variations of skin color that range from vanilla creme to ebony black and the wide and creative variety of hairstyles we wear.

We're also taught during our pledge period love for my sisters and our people, and pride in my people's history and accomplishments.

That pride in my people's history and accomplishments does not translate to 'I hate white people' rhetoric because you are uncomfortable with me pointing out some harsh truths about our contentious history in the Americas and across the Diaspora with whiteness.

As the president of Lambda Lambda Lambda chapter I have to deal with the racist attitudes within the GLBT community that cause friction and impede us from working together to vanquish the anti-GLBT Forces of Intolerance.

I have to constantly point out that transwomen of African descent exist. We have been and will continue to be thoughtful, stereotype busting creative leaders inside and outside the various communities we intersect with.

That point also has to be forcefully made at times within the African American family as well.

We ABW members point out that the feminine journey for a Black woman has special complication thanks to being considered the 'unwoman' and centuries of negative propaganda aimed at her. Our service projects are designed to uplift her and the race at the same time.

It's past time y'all stopped listening to christopimps in $1000 suits who are doing the bidding of white fundamentalists in injecting poisonous 'hate the gays' rhetoric in our community.

Y'all need to recognize and realize that we are and will always be just as Black as you are.

And it's my job and other ABW sorors to ensure you never forget that and to ensure that you treat all chocolate flavored sisters, trans, gay or cis with respect and dignity.

It's A Texas Thang, Y'all Wouldn't Understand

One of the things that constantly surprises people who have observed our right wing fools in action over the last two decades is why any TBLG person would want to live in the Lone Star State?

I'm a fourth generation Texan on my father's side of the family and a third generation one on my mother's side of the family. I love the 268,820 square miles (696,200 square kilometers for my international readers) of south central US territory it covers just as much or even more than the average Faux News watching right winger without a clue.

It's fashionable in liberal progressive circles to beat up on Texas and Texans in general because many are still angry about the George W. Bush mispresidency and the eight long years of conservadamage it wrought on our country.

I must point out that not all of Texas' 24.7 million residents lock step agree with the Texas GOP, the conservafool controlled State Board of Indoctrination or its racist, homophobic and transphobic agenda, much less cast precious ballots for it. We've seen firsthand the damage that unchecked 'proven conservative leadership' can do.

I will point out that many of you liberals who call yourselves Greens enabled Dubya by casting enough votes for Ralph Nader in 2000 to get Dubya close enough to be selected by the Supremes, even after we progressive Texans warned you what would happen if Junior made it to the White House instead of then Vice President Al Gore.

But I digress.

Is Texas perfect? Not by a long shot. It can be and should be better that it is right now. Because we love this state, its culture, its traditions and all of the things we hold dear as denizens of the second largest state in the Union, we think it's worth fighting for.

The legacies of liberal-progressive Texans such as Governor Ann Richards, Billie Carr, Rep. Barbara Jordan, Rep. Mickey Leland, Molly Ivins, Sen. Ralph Yarborough, Sen. Lloyd Bentsen and present and future Texas liberals compel us to fight for the heart and soul of the Lone Star State. It's increasing share of the Electoral College vote and restoring fairness and equality for all Texans demands that we do.

And yes, the fact that its population is already trending majority-minority doesn't hurt either in turning it back to the progressive direction it was historically run on until the GOP got total control in 1995.

While it isn't turning soon enough for you peeps along I-5, I-95 and inside I-495, it took us a while to get into this mess, and it has been a long hard slog back.

That means we GLBT Texas who want to see progressive change inside our borders have to stay and openly fight tooth and nail for it, not cut and run to a so called coastal gay mecca that in some cases can be worse than the so called red state we left behind.

Besides, I can't get Blue Bell ice cream, Frenchy's chicken, Shipley's Donuts or Whataburgers in southern California or the Northeast corridor.

May I point out to you Texas bashers GLBT division that my hometown is now ably run by Mayor Annise D. Parker. There are three living IFGE Trinity Award winners that reside inside its borders and some of the early trans community leadership was epicentered in Houston.

One of the early must go to trans events was the Texas T Party in the San Antonio area. Phyllis and ICTLEP used to host an annual trans law conference in the mid 90's in Houston. The Austin and Dallas-Ft Worth areas are battling to see which metropolis is the most gay friendly and have passed GLBT protective ordinances.

But Houston trumps them both with the first openly gay mayor elected to a major Texas city and a US Top 5 population city.

Just thought I'd rub that in.

But having The Intolerant Enemy in our faces 24/7/365 (366 in a leap year) keeps us focused. We don't have time for the internecine warfare that roils other GLBT communities. You also have to get creative in terms of coming up with airtight arguments that will sway even a conservative leaning pol to vote for your civil rights.

But just like you GLBT peeps on the coasts love the areas you live in, we BTLG Texans love our state as well. The diversity of its population and its culture. The urban sophistication of Dallas, Austin and Houston. San Antonio and El Paso's blends of culture. The state fair in Dallas. Football in the fall, be it high school, college or pro.

Did I mention the barbecue and pecan pie?

Well, it's a Texas thang, y'all wouldn't understand.

Trans People Are Part Of The Diverse Mosaic Of Life 7

Repeat after me: Trans people are part of the diverse mosaic of life, and we are beautiful.

Transpeople are part of the diverse mosaic of life and we are beautiful.



Diana Taylor at an ACLU-NJ press conference



Fredrikka Maxwell in her Sunday diva mode



Brittany Novotny on the campaign trail




New Orleans bounce rappers Katey Red with Big Freedia




Andreas Krieger with his competition medals



Romy Haag at a Berlin event

Still Working On My 'A' Game

No matter how good they say you are, always keep working on your game.

That's a quote from Michael Jordan's 1999 NAACP Image Award acceptance speech, and it segues nicely into the topic of this post.

I have people in the community who think I'm all that and three bags of chips. Some consider me as one of the better activists on the national scene. Some international trans activists I admire have shocked me by saying to me that I'm their role model.

I have people who believe TransGriot is worthy of being considered an 'A' list blog, tell me I'm an excellent writer and a role model to many people inside and outside the TBLG community.

When I hear all those accolades, it would be easy for me to get 'big head syndrome' and start believing the hype.

Fortunately I have a saber wielding friend along with Ursa Maritimus Louisvillius and a host of other people in my friendship and sistahfriend circles who ensure I don't.

I also keep Michael Jordan's quote in mind to keep working on my 'A' game.

I am and continue to work towards being the best sister I can be. I'm constantly assessing my femme presentation, know what works for me hair, clothing, makeup and color wise and what doesn't. I'm looking for clothes and shoes that stylishly fit the image I wish to project to the world. I observe, watch and emulate the positive women I admire and take note of how they interact with the world around them.

Besides, the Phenomenal Transwoman ain't coming out of the house looking tore up from the floor up.

I'm constantly working on perfecting my writing skills. While I've become known for my non-fiction writing, I'm not too bad at fiction writing either. My dream is to publish one of my novel manuscripts one day.

As educator Marva Collins once stated, 'Readers are leaders'. So I do spend time on and off line reading as much current events material I can get my hands on, and perusing stuff that piques my intellectual curiosity.

I am a Trinity Award winner. That is the second highest honor that the United States trans community gives to a member of it or an ally. I see it as meaning that I have to step it up another level since I received that award for things I'd done prior to 2006.

I not only expect a higher standard of excellence for myself, I carry the perception sometimes that people expect greater things from me than the average trans activist starting out.

But I welcome that challenge.

If I say or commit to doing something, it's done. I'm doing a speech, it's going to be on point, well written and fitting to the occasion. When I do a presentation, I come armed with the most up to date information on the topic I can find prior to my on campus arrival and my PowerPoint presentations are regularly updated.

I am going to be in professional diva mode when I get there because I may be the lone African-American in the room or the first professional African descended trans person that particular individual, the group or the organization I'm speaking in front of has encountered.

Because the numbers of out African American trans activists are few in number, we have the additional considerations of having to represent our people and conduct ourselves in a morally upright and highly ethical manner.

Translation: I have to represent. Those may be 'old school' values to some people, but it's the way I strive to conduct my life.

So yes, in order to continue evolving into the finer specimen of womanhood that trans author Sharon Davis talked about, I definitely have to keep working on my 'A' game.

And by continuing to do so, in the long run it makes me a better person as well.

Moni's Headed Back To New England

Been sitting on this news for a little while.

Since it has been posted to the NETU Pride March website and we're a few weeks away from the event happening, I think it's time to share the news with my loyal TransGriot readers. I'm pleased to announce that Moni's headed back to New England for the 2010 New England Trans United Pride march and rally.

I was just one of the speakers at the inaugural event in 2008 in which Miss Major was the Grand Marshal.

This time I'm honored to be following in Miss Major's footsteps as the 2010 parade's Grand Marshal.

Last year's march in Northampton drew over 600 participants and the organizers hope to exceed that total this year.

The goal of the march and rally is to raise awareness of the discrimination faced by the trans community in order to build support in the Massachusetts legislature for pending trans civil rights legislation.

One bill on the local community's radar is Massachusetts bill H1728/S1687, “An act Relative To Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes,”.

Thanks New England Trans United for the honor and looking forward to seeing you peeps in Northampton, MA and the surrounding area on Saturday, September 11.

Will be a blast to see and hang out with old friends, meet some new ones and say howdy to all my TransGriot readers in the area.

And please tell me y'all snagged the RV y'all had for the 2008 event.

Brittany For HD 84 Update

The Oklahoma primary election is on Tuesday, but the good news is that she doesn't have a primary opponent.

She is the Democratic nominee for HD 84 and can focus all her energy on block walking, meeting the voters, discussing her vision for HD 84 and saving whatever cash she raises on the fall campaign.

Nice segue into what I'm going to point out next. If you want good trans candidates in your state houses and eventually Congress, that takes money. She actually has a great shot at winning this race against Sally Kern, so send Brittany whatever cash you can spare. Here's the link.

Here's the link to Brittany's FB page. It'll help you folk who don't live in the OKC area keep up with all the developments in her campaign.

Run Brittany Run! Win Brittany Win!

Trans Marriages Have Always Been Legal

I have much love and respect for my fellow Texan Kat Rose. She has off the charts intellect and we have a lot of similar interests that have made us good friends over the years. She's a historian, legal scholar, and one fantastic writer.

And has a wicked sense of humor.

One of the things that our opponents want to obfuscate is that transpeople have always been able to get married. That was the case in the early 60's when Jacqueline-Charlotte Dufresnoy booked Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral to marry her first husband, when transpeople in the US did so for decades such as Avon Wilson without drama until the passage of DOMA, Mexican transpeeps Diana Guerrero and Mario del Socorro did in 2008 and South Korean trans model Harisu doing so with her husband Micky Jung.

Check out this 2004 cited Deakin Law Review piece Kat authored on trans marriages entitled '"The Proof is in the History: The Louisiana Constitution Recognises Transsexual Marriages and Louisiana Sex Discrimination Law Covers Transsexuals- So Why Isn't Everyone Celebrating?"

In light of the ongoing Araguz case, it has heightened importance for us.

Bad Medicine

One of the things that continues to be an issue in the trans community is the negative treatment that trans people receive at the hands of people in the medical establishment.

While some doctors, nurses, EMT's and other medical personnel are caring, compassionate and professional, we have some nekulturny fools in the bunch as well.

We have doctors who fail to live up to the Hippocratic Oath and nurses, EMT's and other medical personnel who are more concerned with maintaining their faith based bigotry of trans people than providing the quality medical care their trans patients need and deserve.

Even at the expense of that trans person's life.

The nightmare scenario for many transpeople took place almost 15 years ago on August 7, 1995.

Tyra Hunter was on her way to work in Washington DC when the car she was riding in was involved in an accident. She was refused timely treatment by DC Fire Department EMT Adrian Williams and later at DC General Hospital that would have saved her life.

Worse, while Williams was NOT treating Tyra, he took the time to disrespectfully mock her. And what was his punishment? A promotion by the DCFD.

Sadly, the less than stellar treatment trans people receive in medical facilities still happens. Had a transwoman recently e-mail me about her needing to call in her congressmember to get her Medicaid application approved she filed in April 2007.

They glacially dragged their feet on a process that normally takes only 90 days for kidney patients. She heard nothing about her status until July 2008. Once the congressmember's staff started making phone calls on her behalf it was approved two weeks later.

To add insult to her injury, she endured a jacked up transphobic medical experience while getting needed kidney dialysis treatment.

Less than 24 hours after reading her e-mail, I heard the story about a transwoman getting disrespectfully treated July 18 at Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, IN.

Her life partner took her there because she was coughing up a large volume of blood.

The patient showed emergency room intake staff her Indiana state ID which had her FEMALE name and FEMALE gender marker in clear print on it.

So what did the Ball Memorial ER staff do? Logged her into their system as a MALE.

The fun and games continue. They proceeded to ridicule the patient and loudly refer to her as "it" while the patient's partner was disrespectfully asked by these infantile health care "professionals" if she was a 'he/she'. To add even more insult to injury, the patient was quizzed about her length of time as a 'transvestite'.

That incident was so jacked up a protest is going to take place there on August 17, and a petition is already circulating on the Net condemning it.

Medical disrespect and poor service happens to our transbrothers as well. Just as Tyra Hunter is our nightmare scenario, Robert Eads has the same significance to many transmen.

They will sadly recall how he was refused medical treatment by two dozen doctors for the cancer that took his life in 1999. His story is detailed in the 2001 documentary 'Southern Comfort'.

And that's before we even get started with pharmacists who refuse to fill hormone prescriptions on specious faith based grounds or if they grudgingly have to do so, disrespect the trans person availing themselves of their services.

So yes, there's a lot of work we must do to ensure that no transperson is denied care or mistreated while receiving it.

But at the same time the medical profession needs to look inward, do the right thing and come down on those people in its ranks who presume their religious beliefs and transphobic attitudes outweigh their solemn oaths to do no harm and take care of all patients who seek their services.

And the point also needs to be driven home to the medical profession that 'all patients' includes trans people as well.

You Want Trans POC Peeps Speaking At Your Events, Simply Ask Us

Was perusing some pictures on Trystan Dean's FB page taken at the TransForm New Hampshire Conference that concludes today when I noted a comment Trystan made concerning a point made in Allyson Robinson's keynote conference address that resonated with me.

'There wasn't a single person of color there. Every one of us looked/passed as white. It was rather heartbreaking. Allyson Robinson noted the absence of people of color in her keynote speech. It takes more than an announcement to build bridges between the diverse elements of our Trans community. It takes going the extra mile to bring everyone to the table. Like Allyson said, we have to be willing to give away our privilege.'

True enough. It's not like we don't have transpeople of color who are capable of giving inspiring keynote speeches at trans conferences and other events.

I've been blessed to have been asked and able to give speeches at several TDOR events in Louisville and Long Island, the inaugural NE Trans Pride march, a keynote for a gender conference on the University of Colorado campus, a speech at Bryn Mawr College and of course, my 2006 IFGE Trinity Award acceptance speech.

I have had a note on the right side TransGriot sidebar for almost two years stating that I'm available and willing to speak, and I'm personally aware of other trans POC's like myself in various sections of the country who not only have the talent and eloquence to do so, would love to have the opportunity as well.

We just aren't asked.

Would I love to be a keynote speaker at a Southern Comfort Conference? A Colorado Gold Rush? A Creating Change? The Unity Banquet in my hometown? An IFGE Convention? Various events taking place on college campuses? Cis community civil rights events such as ACLU, NAACP and Urban League dinners, et cetera?

You damned skippy I would.

And I'd be looking fly while doing so.

But for that to happen, you have to ask me and my fellow transpeeps at the outset of your planning for the event, not treat us as an afterthought once it's over.

Because if we aren't part of the event, it sends the unspoken message that we aren't wanted and need not show up.

That may not be the intended one you as organizers of an event wished to send to the general public and our community, but when POC transpeople see pictures of a nearly monoethnic event, and see a list of guest speakers that reflect only one ethnic group, that's unfortunately the message that gets received.

The trans community has to be BETTER than our oppressors.

Granted, there were mitigating factors at this event because of the fact it was held in New Hampshire. Demographically, according to the 2000 US census New Hampshire is 97% White. But there are also transpeople of color in the surrounding New England area states in easy driving or flying distance of Concord, NH.

If asked, they probably would have been thrilled to have the opportunity to do so.

If we assert that the trans community is a diverse bunch and that diversity is our best weapon and our strength against our misguided opponents, then we have to do more to ensure our events reflect that diversity.

Just because the rest of the world doesn't is no excuse for us to fall into that same old same old pattern, especially as a marginalized group fighting our own pitched civil rights battle with the Forces of Intolerance.

But it will take going the extra mile to make that happen.

Nikki Araguz Update 5 -Sounds Like Somebody's Bitter

'TransGriot peeps, thought I'd post one of the comments I received a few days ago that got caught in my spam filter. This one is courtesy of someone calling herself 'Cowgirl'.

***

well, I am sure Nikki knew the laws in TX when she took her marriage vows. So, she should not be surprised and heartbroken now. If, in fact, her "husband" knew she was transseuxal and he knew the law then he could have drawn up a will that would leave a specific amount to "Nikki".

My ex husband left me and the kids to be a "woman" financially devistating his family. The real victims are the children and mislead spouses. It's funny, among the trans-community there is not one soul that thinks perhaps the ex wife needs that money to care for those children and to pay for college for them. It's only $500K. I know exactly how fast my ex would blow through that money...He'd have a wild time at Victoria's Secret to say the least.

***

"Cowgirl", your transphobic slip is showing.

Judging by your commentary, you're not only bitter, I doubt that you know the Texas laws covering marriage. If you're talking about that odious marriage amendment that was hastily cobbled together by GOP legislative haters, there a question about whether ANYBODY in Texas is legally able to get married since the 2005 passage of the 'hate on same gender couples amendment' to the Texas Constitution.

Funny, I love it when you right wing people are quick to use children as your human shields to be as nasty, judgmental and hateful to people you don't like, including your exes.

'Cowgirl', what happened between you and your ex is just that. Drama that happened between you and your ex. It doesn't apply to all people who find themselves married to a transitioning trans partner with kids.

Unless you have ESP, you have no idea what Nikki knew about Texas marriage laws or what Thomas Araguz III knew (or didn't know) about the configuration of the genitalia between Nikki's legs.

The one thing we can definitely say is that Thomas Araguz III loved her enough to marry her in 2008.

You never know what people like to do or what turns them on sexually once that bedroom door is closed. Nor is it yours, mine or anybody else's business in Wharton, the state of Texas, the United States or this planet to know.

When you ASSUME...you make an ASS out of...Well, you get the point.

I'd also like to point out that one of the last things any relatively healthy twenty, thirty or forty something person is thinking about is drawing up a will.

Just ask Anna Nicole Smith's family.

But people, this is a small sample of the transhate and ignorance that this case has and sadly will continue to draw. Unfortunately it's only going to get worse before we see the light at the end of the tunnel for it.

Nikki does have a Facebook page, so send her some love and let her know her trans brothers and sisters and supportive cis allies around the world are lifting her up in love, prayer and support.

The Transgender Foundation of America is collecting funds to help Nikki and support the case. If y'all can spare a dollar, $5, $10, $20 or whatever to help support the case, that's all good as well.

Speaking of prayer, let's just hope and pray the Araguz care is the nail in the coffin for Littleton and it isn't another 18-wheel adverse legal ruling truck barreling down on us.