TransGriot Note: From Ashley Love about a DC event for President Obama
President Barack Obama has done more for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender and intersex Americans in the first year alone of his presidency than any other president. Many LGBTI African Americans and allies are disappointed by LGBT Inc’s personal attacks on a fierce advocate such as our president because change has to be inspired, not forced. To show our solidarity and support of our first African American Preside...nt, we need to come forward and be vocal about the real changes that have taken place.
This weekend has been a historic event with the first convergence of over 100 African-American LGBTI leaders from around the country at the Congressional Black Caucus with the National Black Justice Coalition's OUT on the Hill event! In that spirit, I am asking that we come and celebrate together at Busboy's & Poets, a venue located in a historical neighborhood where Black intellectuals, artists and activists have come together for over a century to take a stand for social justice and to combat racism.
Sunday, September 19 · 5:30pm - 7:30pm EDT
Washington DC. "Busboys & Poets"
Address: 14th & V. 2021 14th St, DC.
For more info contact Ashley Love: ashleylapr@yahoo.com
TransGriot Update: Speakers for tonight's event are MAGNET organizer Ashley Love and IFGE Executive Director Denise LeClair. There will be a special message from Kylar Broadus, Board member of the National Black Justice Coalition.
But I have to grudgingly admit that many of them are in my personal DVD collection. When I need a good laugh, I pop the microwave movie butter popcorn, fire up the DVD player and watch them on a regular basis along with the other Black cinema classics such as Carmen Jones,Shaft,Cabin In The Sky and Imitation of Life that are in my movie collection.
So I was surprised to find out he was directing and producing the screen version of Ntozake Shange's classic play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf considering all the Black female directors such as Gina Prince-Bythewood, Julie Dash, and Kasi Lemmons, or screenwriters such as Suzan Lori Parks that I believe would have done a better job with this play than Perry.
Well, he was the one tapped by the studios to do it and the trailer has been released for the movie. For Colored Girls debut has been moved up to a November 5 release date so it can get Oscar consideration.
Okay people, now that you've seen the trailer, are you headed to the theater to support it?
I am, and hear me out on this.
One of the things I and many of my friends gripe about is the lack of quality Black movies to attend. The last quality ones I have gone to the theater and paid hard earned dollars to see were Precious and The Secret Life Of Bees, and I have yet to attend a movie since I moved back to Houston.
Come to think of it, the last movie I watched inside the Houston city limits was Two Can Play That Game.
Hey, don't trip. I like Vivica A. Fox, Morris Chestnut and Anthony Anderson.
But back to my regularly scheduled post.
Now, we know that Hollywood's idea of a quality Black movie is to put stuff like 'Lottery Ticket and other nouveau coonery on the screen when there are reams of novels by Black authors such as Eric Jerome Dickey, the late E. Lynn Harris, the late Bebe Moore Campbell, romance queen Kayla Perrin and others that just beg for and could easily be converted to feature length films.
But in order for those books to be turned into feature films, we probably need to support For Colored Girls with that larger goal in mind.
Yeah, I know the idea of putting your cash in Tyler Perry's pockets makes some of you nauseous. But it's also putting money in Ntozake Shange's pocket as well as the actors who are in this film.
You have to give him props for the cast he assembled for this film. H-town is represented in Tony award winning actress Phylicia Rashad and our homegirl Loretta Devine. There's two other Tony award winners in Anika Noni Rose and Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg.
Some of my fave actresses are in this film such as Kerry Washington, Thandie Newton, Janet Jackson, Kimberly Elise and even Macy Gray has a role.
So yeah, I'll definitely be at my local multiplex checking out For Colored Girls and I hope you will focus more on the people in the movie rather than the person producing it.
If it turns out to be a slamming movie, I'll definitely give Tyler his props for it.
But let's focus on the big picture, pardon the pun. If you wish to see more quality Black films coming from Hollywood, you have to send that message with your box office dollars before Hollywood hears it.
I was invited to be part of the panel for last year's inaugural discussion, but regretfully couldn't attend due to a TDOR scheduling commitment elsewhere.
A gentle reminder that if you want me speaking at your TDOR events, better move fast because speaking slots are filling up.
This year's panel discussion will take place on Thursday, November 18 from :00pm - 9:00pm EST. It will happen at Safeguards, 1700 Market Street, 18th Floor in Philadelphia, PA.
The theme for this year's discussion will be- Generation to Generation - Bridging the Gap Toward Transcendence - SPEAK ABOUT IT!
Premise and Topic: Identity and the circular motion of change between generations. How to bridge the divide in our community toward growth beyond terms. In alignment with the famous quote by Audre Lorde: "There are no new ideas".
For additional information about this upcoming 2010 TDOR event you can contact Dionne Stallworth via e-mail at prismchild@yahoo.com
Last Friday when Team USA took on defending FIBA world champion Australia, they administered an 89-56 beatdown in Hartford.
This time Team USA was on the other side of the Pond in Salamanca, Spain facing an Opals team with Penny Taylor in the lineup. We also didn't have Maya Moore playing due to FIBA regulations that only allow 12 active players on a team and right now the USA roster stands at 14.
Based on today's results, if I were coach Geno, I'd put Maya Moore back on the active squad.
If Team USA was going to play a bad game, glad they got it out of their system now in exhibition play. They shot 48.4% (30-62) for the game but an abysmal 1-11 from 3 point range, turned the ball over 22 times, and got outrebounded by the Opals 43-38 (20 of them were offensive rebounds) as they dropped their opener in the Spain International Tournament 83-77.
Tina Charles led the Team USA scoring with 18 points and seven rebounds, and Lindsay Whalen contributed 13 points on 6-7 shooting. Diana Taurasi had 13 points and Tamika Catchings scored 12 for Team USA.
The Opals were paced by Jenna O’Hea's game high 24 points. Penny Taylor tossed in 18 with Liz Cambage chipping in 17 points. Hollie Grima grabbed a game high 13 rebounds to go with her five points.
The Aussies only shot 38.0% from the field, but lit it up at a 50% clip from three point range on 8-16 shooting. In addition the Opals were 21-25 from the free throw line for the game.
“I thought our defense was nowhere near as good as it was when we played (Australia) in Hartford,” said USA head coach Geno Auriemma. “I thought our energy level was way below where it needed to be, and I was really disappointed in our rebounding and how many times we would get a stop and they were able to continue the possession by getting an offensive rebound.
They are an excellent free-throw shooting team, and we put them on the free-throw line. So, we gave up threes, we put them on the free-throw line and we gave them second shots. Anytime you do that against a team, especially a good team, you’re not going to win the game.”
Well ladies, shake it off, because help is on the way. Sue Bird, Swin Cash and Angel McCoughtry are winging their way across The Pond to you. You have a practice and tomorrow's consolation game against the Spain-Senegal loser and a September 20 game against the Czech Republic to fix whatever is broken.
One of the things that bothers many African descended TBLG/SGL people is the high level of vitriol leveled at President Obama by predominately white GL people over the stalled GLBT political agenda.
While some of that criticism of the president is justified, there are concerns expressed internally by many of us chocolate flavored GLBT people that some of that criticism contains elements of bigotry, racism and sour grapes over the fact that Hillary Clinton, their preferred HRC supported candidate in the 2008 Democratic primary was beaten by President Obama.
So it leads us chocolate GLBT/SGL peeps when we see the disconnect between what his administration has actually accomplished so far for the community and the vitriol leveled at him to wonder why these white dominated GL orgs like GetEqual aren't leveling the same amount of direct action and heated rhetoric at their GOP oppressors?
I see them conducting sit-ins at Speaker Pelosi's offices in San Francisco and Washington, DC, chaining themselves to the White House gates, or interrupting the president's speeches at fundraisers.
But I and the chocolate TBLG/SGL community wonder out loud when we will see those same predominately white GL peeps blasting their GOP oppressors in gayosphere blogs and doing sit-ins in Sen. Mitch McConnell and John Boehner's offices? When will y'all chain yourselves to the doors of GOP headquarters? When are you going to bumrush their fundraisers or picket their conservaevents?
The point is, the Republicans are your oppressors, not the Democrats. It's the GOP who tried the pass the Federal Marriage Amendment, passed DOMA, and has been openly hostile and proudly opposing the march to GLBT equality for decades.
So why aren't you using the civil disobedience tactics and your voices to condemn and draw attention to the people who are causing the GLBT community the most harm?
Or is the GL reluctance to picket or criticize Republicans on their abysmal GLBT rights record rooted in wanting to be 'just like them'?
I was not surprised when I read the news report that Bethany Storro confessed her claim that an 'athletic Black woman in a ponytail' threw acid in her face outside a Portland, OR Starbucks was false.
Something didn't add up in that case from the start. Besides, Portland doesn't have a large African-American population base to begin with.
It's an over a century old pattern of behavior from whites we are tired of that in some cases has deadly consequences for us.
How many Black men were hung from trees in the late 19th and 20th centuries or Black neighborhoods and towns burned from riots triggered because some white woman falsely accused a Black man of raping her to cover up for the fact that some white kid was the one who did the deed?
If you think I'm kidding, let's just roll through recent history shall we?
Let's go back to the 2008 presidential election, in which McCain campaign worker Ashley Todd claimed a Black mugger robbed her at a Pittsburgh ATM and carved a backwards 'B' on her face.
Then there was Susan Smith in Union, South Carolina, who claimed in 1994 she was carjacked by a Black man at a traffic light with her two kids strapped in the backseat. That lie led to ramped up racial tension in the city of Union and Union County before Smith confessed to her crime.
And let's ride the wayback machine still further to 1931 and discuss two women named Ruby Bates and Victoria Price. Their false rape accusations jumped off the notorious Scottsboro Boys case in Alabama.
White males have played that game as well. Earlier this year 30-year-old Conrad Zdzierak robbed four banks and a CVS in just three hours in the Springdale, Ohio area by wearing a high quality $700 dollar silicone mask to make himself look like a Black man.
He'd commit the robbery, and take the mask off while driving his next target, confounding police on the lookout for a Black man. He was caught at a hotel because he failed to disguised his car.
At the same time Philadelphia Police Sgt. Robert Ralston claimed he was shot by an unidentified Black man in the city's Overbrook section. The lie triggered a manhunt in West Philadelphia for the alleged MUBM (mysterious unidentified Black man) perpetrators, led to an arrest and inflamed racial tensions in the city. He admitted a month later he fabricated the entire story and had shot himself.
On October 23, 1989 Charles Stuart drove into a predominately Black Boston neighborhood with his wife Carol, shot and killed her with a gunshot to the head, shot himself in the abdomen, and claimed a MUBM did it. That lie, like Sgt. Ralston's did, inflamed racial tensions in Boston and triggered a citywide police dragnet that pissed off the Black community. William Bennett was arrested on unrelated charges and fingered by Stuart as the perpetrator before Stuart's story fell apart. After confessing his crime to his attorney, Stuart committed suicide on January 3, 1990.
The depressing regularity of these stories not only speaks to the racism that still infects our society, but the misguided belief that African-Americans are 'more criminal' and 'unethical' than other ethnic groups.
The prisons and jail cells of this nation aren't just occupied by African descended people alone. But it's just us who are saddled with the air of criminality and frankly, we are beyond sick and tired of it.
So next time white peeps, when y'all want to commit crimes, take responsibility for your own criminal behavior and leave us out of it.
It took them long enough, but The Associated Press, the go to organization for journalistic standards finally announced what those of us in the blogosphere knew years ago.
The AP recently announced as part of changes to respond to the 'age of the Web' that its staff will recognize bloggers as valid sources of news and credit them in their articles.
This respect has already been earned and given to bloggers by other news outlets. Hopefully it will result in more credibility and increasing clout for those of us who take what we do in the blogosphere with our various blogs seriously.
It's about time. Now if we transosphere bloggers could get news outlets to follow the AP Stylebook guidelines for respectfully reporting and writing about trans people, everything would be copacetic.
The Team USA women ballers are now in Europe gearing up to play in the FIBA Women's World Championships which start in the Czech Republic September 23-October 3. Bad news for FIBA women's basketball world, Team USA hasn't forgotten what happened in the 2006 FIBA worlds in Brazil.
Since the WNBA Finals are over, Angel McCoughtry, one of the best women ballers on the planet, is about to join the FIBA world number one ranked USA womens team along with Sue Bird and Swin Cash. Maya Moore is already on it and lighting people up and she's just a college senior.
Be afraid FIBA world. Be very afraid. And don't hate if we win FIBA title number eight.
Team USA is playing in a warm up tournament in Salamanca, Spain today and Saturday with Australia, Spain and one of their Group B opponents in Senegal.
Speaking of number one teams, lets see who made it to the top of the rankings for our illustrious SUF award this week.
There was a bumper crop of fools standing out this week. Beck, O'Reilly, Palin number one with a bullet and rising is Delaware tea bagger queen Christine O'Donnell, Rep. Mike Castle and Dinesh D'Souza were considered.
But this week's winner is Kentucky GOP senate candidate Rand Paul.
After running around Kentucky spouting rhetoric that politicians are chicken for not telling you what they plan to do when they're in office, he then hypocritically states that he won't reveal his plan for how to balance the budget and pay for the Paris Hilton tax cuts until after the election.
The 40th annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 2010 Annual Legislative Conference started yesterday at the Walter Washington Convention Center in our nation's capital through Saturday.
It's an event I've always wanted to attend, but my schedule or finances never seem to match up so I can do so.
The cool thing about it is that many of the seminars are led by CBC congressmembers.
19 years after they dropped the ban on gay and lesbian Aussies being able to serve in the Australian Defence Forces, according to the Advocate.com the desire of a ADF soldier to transition has led to the dropping of a ban against trans Australians being able to militarily serve their country.
Nations such as Canada, Israel, the Czech Republic, Spain and Thailand allow transgender soldiers to serve but also support them through diversity programs.
The policy is scheduled to become effective in December. ADF Chief Angus Houston said commanders must “manage ADF transgender personnel with fairness, respect, and dignity ... and existing medical review provisions; and ensure all personnel are not subjects to unacceptable behavior.”
Okay, so when is my nation going to join the rest of the world, much less our next door neighbor in terms of allowing transpeople who are willing to put their lives on the line to serve our nation to do so?
“If we succeed in protecting the rights of the individual, if equality under the law destroys the forces of power and money, if the primary title we use amongst ourselves is that of ‘citizen,’ if rewards are given exclusively for talent and virtue, then we have a republic, and it will be preserved through the universal suffrage of a solidly free and content people.” Mexican President Vicente Guerrero
Today is Mexican Independence Day and the beginning of the celebration of Mexico's bicentennial year as a nation. On this date in 1810 it declared its independence from Spain and began a long war for its independence that lasted until the Mexicans were victorious in 1821.
But one fact I'll bet you didn't know is that Mexico not only has an African descended population mostly concentrated on the southwestern Pacific coast, but had an African descended president long before we Americans got around to electing Barack Obama in 2008.
His name is Vicente Ramon Guerrero Saldaña, and he was Mexico's version of George Washington and Lincoln combined. He was a major military leader during Mexico's war For Independence and as president ended slavery in his nation on September 15, 1829 in addition to promoting
The President of the United States of Mexico, know ye: That desiring to celebrate in the year of 1829 the anniversary of our independence with an act of justice and national beneficence, which might result in the benefit and support of a good, so highly to be appreciated, which might cement more and more the public tranquility, which might reinstate an unfortunate part of its inhabitants in the sacred rights which nature gave them, and which the nation protects by wise and just laws, in conformance with the 30th article of the constitutive act, in which the use of extraordinary powers are ceded to me, I have thought it proper to decree:
1st. Slavery is abolished in the republic. 2nd. Consequently, those who have been until now considered slaves are free. 3rd. When the circumstances of the treasury may permit, the owners of the slaves will be indemnified in the mode that the laws may provide.
He was president of Mexico from April 1, 1829 until he was deposed by his vice president Anastasio Bustamante on December 17, 1829 in a right wing initiated coup, captured through deception in Acapulco and later executed in Oaxaca on February 14, 1831.
He is considered a Mexican national hero and his body is interred in Mexico City. The Mexican state of Guerrero on the Mexican Pacific coast is named in his honor along with the towns of Col. Vicente Guerrero and the Baja California town of Guerrero Negro.
'If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.'
That quote from Audre Lorde pretty much sums up the mental space where a lot of African descended transpeople are right now.
Because of our lack of visibility, whitewashing of our history, and lack of inclusion into the leadership ranks of the trans community, we find ourselves in the first year of the second decade of the 21st century at a crossroads.
The lack of visibility for Black transmen and transwomen has created a void in which our kids struggling with gender issues and looking for trans role models who reflect their heritage don't have them readily available. We also face the problem of being pigeonholed in the 'tragic transsexual' role because we are taking the brunt of the anti-trans violence aimed at this community and mischaracterized and nothing more than female illusionists or sex workers.
The situation has marginally improved over the last few years, but it's not even close to what our white counterparts have in term of the multiplicity of transpeople of both genders they can point to as positive role models to counteract the negatives in addition to the community support infrastructure that has been built.
It's time for us to define ourselves. National Black Justice Coalition Executive Director Sharon J. Lettman-Hicks basically said the same thing at the 2010 State of the Black Gay Union event held in Atlanta.
"Black gay people are Black people first. Whether you are gay, straight, bisexual, transgender, questioning you are still Black first. So when we speak of 'our' people, we need to think of our entire community and bringing LGBT issues to the Black community. We need to create a Black LGBT agenda to move the bully pulpit forward."
And in that context, Black trans people need to do some hard solid thinking about who we are and where we fit in in this new Black LGBT agenda. We African descended transpeople need to make sure that we are taking a major leadership role in articulating our issues.
We need to ensure that any organization that claims to represent our issues is doing the job. We don't need to be or have time to waste being in a situation in which we are once again marginalized as a Black LGBT agenda is constructed and articulated to our African American family. We've been there, done that with our issues being marginalized in the white dominated GLBT community.
It's also past time we took back our images from other people and define them for ourselves. We need to demand balance and accuracy in terms of media portrayals of African descended transpeople. That will help us immensely in terms of dealing with the predominately faith based shame and guilt issues we've long needed to cast aside.
We need to reclaim our history and build an African descended trans community that is integrated with not only our Black GLB/SGL brothers and sister and cis allies, but the TBLG one as a whole. As we proceed we need to be adamant about the Black trans community's desire to be a major player in any coalition we participate in during this decade and beyond and not an ignored junior partner.
And finally, we need to stand up to the religious bullies and scientifically illiterate people inside and outside our community's ranks who insist on misquoting scripture and mischaracterizing us for their own political and economic gain.
It's time to tell them that open season on African descended transpeople is over.
To our cis women haters, you need to realize that we are here to be compliments to Black womanhood, not detriments to it. We are your allies and join with you in the battle to defend against the demonization of the Black female image.
And finally, as children of the African Diaspora, we need to reach out to our trans brothers and transsisters who are struggling to do the same work on the Mother Continent, the Caribbean, Brazil, Great Britain and other lands across the Diaspora.
As they define themselves as transmen and transwomen in the context of their local cultures, we should listen to their concerns and help amplify their voices to our constituency in the States when asked.
African descended transpeople in this decade and beyond are taking this opportunity to let everyone know that we're sick and tired of people negatively defining us for their own nefarious purposes, and from now on we will define ourselves.
Because as Audre Lorde so eloquently stated, we've had enough of being crunched into other people's fantasies and eaten alive in them.
As I've mentioned, I am concerned about the long term future of TransGriot and want to take steps to secure it's future. I'd like you loyal readers to help by hitting the DONATE widget on the left hand side in order to do that.
I would like to get a new computer so that I can get the current TransGriot Computer Prime repaired. I have a balky CPU fan on it that needs replacing and I'd like to have a little money set aside for a emergency repair fund in addition to purchasing a new Computer Prime.
TransGriot is approaching its 5th anniversary on January 1, 2011 and has grown beyond my wildest dreams for it. I didn't dream when I started it in 2006 that it would become as well read and respected as a community treasure and news source as it has.
I want to raise $2000 to do that. I think it's doable. I get roughly 2000 people a day visiting this site and that number has increased since winning my recent 2010 Black Weblog award. If I get just $1 from people who visit TransGriot, I can hit that goal quickly.
Of course, now that the blue ChipIn campaign widget is up you loyal readers can keep track of the progress toward the fundraising goal. Once I hit it, I'm headed to off at warp speed to get a new computer.
Trying to decide between a laptop and another desktop, and while I was in Western Mass got a chance to test drive my host Ericka's Compaq laptop. I liked it, and it appeals to me since I started on HP products and Compaqs are still locally produced here.
I like my desktops, so it's going to be a tough decision. But its probably best for the long term future of the blog that I get a laptop so I have portability.
I know times are tight for everybody and I deeply appreciate whatever change you can spare to help me achieve this goal.
Thank you, TransGriot readers. Whatever you can spare be it $1, $5, $10 or more will be put to good use and greatly appreciated.
Last year Mokha Montrese finished as the first runner up to 2009-10 queen Armani, who finally achieved her personal goal of seizing the crown at the 30th annual Miss Continental Pageantin Chicago.
What a difference a year makes at the recently conducted 31st annual edition of the Miss Continental Pageant.
Outgoing queen Armani spent Labor Day 2010 at the Park West Theater passing the Miss Continental crown to her successor, Mokha Montrese, the person she beat to gain the previous year's title. She is the Miss Continental pageant queen for 2010-11.
Mokha Montrese's story is a mirror image of Armani's Miss Continental history in terns of finally getting to wear the crown she's relentlessly pursued after all these years. She's another longtime Miss Continental contestant who has come agonizingly close in various years to winning the title.
The Miss Continental pageant is contested every Labor Day weekend in Chitown, so if you're interested in attending the 2011-12 version, better be ready to shell out the dough when the tickets go on sale because they don't last long.
Bu congrats to Mokha, and may you enjoy your reign you've worked long and hard to achieve.
Now that the 'menz' have finally ended their 16 year championship drought in the FIBA Worlds, time for me to turn the TransGriot spotlight toward our Team USA woman, who have handled their basketball business internationally when the men weren't.
They have a 63-1 record in major international basketball competitions (the last loss was against Russia in the 2006 FIBA world semis), have won four consecutive Olympic gold medals (1996, 2000, 2004, 2008), two FIBA World Championship gold medals (1998, 2002), one FIBA World Championship bronze medal (2006) and one FIBA Americas Championship gold medal (2007).
The task of building on this recent run of success for the 2010 edition of Team USA women's squad falls upon the shoulders of UConn's Geno Auriemma and his staff for the FIBA Women's Worlds and the 2012 London Games.
Team USA has been whittled down to 14 finalists, and the goal of the final 12 women left standing for our FIBA Number one ranked women's team is the same as the USA men had for their successful world championship business trip to Turkey.
The Team USA women wish to leave the Czech Republic October 3 with the FIBA crown and the automatic bid for the London Games in hand as well as protect their FIBA number one world ranking.
Was a little bummed to find out that if I'd asked, I could have attended the 89-56 demolition of defending FIBA women's champ Australia Friday night in Hartford. However, not taking too much stock in that game because the Opals were missing Penny Taylor and Lauren Jackson. Jackson is busy playing in the WNBA Finals with Seattle Storm teammates and Team USA members Sue Bird and Swin Cash against the Atlanta Dream and Team USA member Angel McCoughtry and Team USA assistant coach Marynell Meadors.
UConn senior Maya Moore is the only collegiate player on this squad, but as far as I'm concerned she's probably made the 2012 London team as well.
She led the way for Team USA by lighting up the Opals for 16 points. Beijing 'Young Gun' Kara Lawson chipped in 15 points and three assists with Tamika Catchings contributing 12 points and three blocks. Jayne Appel grabbed eight rebounds to go with her seven points.
The next night (September 11) they took out Spain 85-69. They got off to a slow start as Spain took an early 6-0 lead, but tightened up the defense and found themselves headed into the halftime locker room with a 44-24 lead.
They had to withstand a Spanish run that saw them shrink the lead to 68-63, but eventually got it together to build the lead back up to 76-65 and preserve the win.
They had five players in double figures led by UConn alum Tina Charles' double double of 17 points and 10 rebounds. Kara Lawson had 11 points while Candice Dupree, Asjha Jones and Maya Moore all chipped in 10 apiece.
That capped the domestic portion of Team USA's training and they now headed to Salamanca, Spain to tangle with the Aussies and Spanish teams again along with Senegal on Spain's home soil. They will be playing Australia in the first game of the 2010 Spain International Invitational tournament on September 17 with Spain taking on Senegal. Winners meet in the title game September 18 while losers meet for third place.
"Black gay people are Black people first. Whether you are gay, straight, bisexual, transgender, questioning ... you are still Black first. So when we speak of 'our' people, we need to think of our entire community and bringing LGBT issues to the Black community. We need to create a Black LGBT agenda to move the bully pulpit forward."
The more I see and hear of current National Black Justice Coalition Executive Director Sharon J. Lettman-Hicks, the more I like her.
This is a cis woman who is echoing many of the things I've said on TransGriot for years concerning the Black community and TBLG/SGL people.
The moral arc of the universe is bending toward justice and in favor of the GLBT community within my African descended family. I'm happy to see that.
But we still have much work to do because we still have knuckleheads that don't get it. I am still Black first before the trans part even becomes an issue, and I didn't give up my Black Like Me card when I transitioned.
I also love the fact that she is taking the NBJC out of the shadows and putting it on a more out there path to be the advocacy org that African descended BTLG/SGL people sorely need at this juncture.
Check out her speech to the State of Black Gay America Summit that transpired last weekend in the ATL.
"I think I am a feminist, in a way. It's not something I consciously decided I was going to be; perhaps it's because I grew up in a singing group with other women, and that was so helpful to me."
"It kept me out of so much trouble and out of bad relationships. My friendships with my girls are just so much a part of me that there are things I am never going to do that would upset that bond. I never want to betray that friendship, because I love being a woman and I love being a friend to other women." Beyonce, Daily Mail UK magazine, August 14, 2010
While the feminist blogosphere was harrumphing and twisting itself into philosophical and academic argument knots trying to 'prove' why Beyonce Giselle Knowles-Carter wasn't one of then, feminists were once again demonstrating for the whole world to see why women of color left the movement behind decades ago.
Once again, they have displayed their utter cluelessness in not seizing an opportunity to bring the sorely needed fresh blood and perspectives of young women of color into their movement.
So to my sistah Houstonian, I have a proposition for you.
Since it's obvious that the feminists don't want you in their ranks, we womanists would like to humbly extend an invitation for you to consider yourself one of us.
We would be proud to have you in our ranks since it is inclusive of ALL women, including this chocolate trans one.
As you check out what our founding mother Alice Walker has written on the subject, you will find that womanism fits where you are in your feminine journey. It is inclusive, welcoming and has a better approach to race, class and other intersectional issues that affect women of color.
It is light years better when it comes to trans issues moreso than a movement that spent much bandwith trying to come up with excuse after excuse why you weren't part of it.
Beyonce, let's get real for a moment. Would you want to be part of a movement that Sarah Palin claims membership in and spends more time criticizing the FLOTUS than it does defending her and other women of color from right wing attacks?
We womanists are keenly aware of the fact that you have carried yourself with class and dignity while having an intensely bright spotlight of media attention on you. If they had bothered to check into your background, they would know like I do that you and your sister Solange grew up watching your mother Tina run a highly successful business that put you in early contact with many power sisters in H-town.
We know that young tween and teen sisters look up to you as a role model, and the second you uttered the words 'I'm a womanist', would send them scurrying off to Google to look up the word.
Beyonce, we'd love to and would be honored to have you consider yourself a womanist.
Feminists have made it clear in some quarters they don't want you, and that's their myopic and short sighted loss
Today is the 47th anniversary of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church terrorist bombing in Birmingham, AL. Four teen girls, Addie Mae Collins (aged 14), Denise McNair (aged 11), Carole Robertson (aged 14), and Cynthia Wesley (aged 14), were killed in the attack, and 22 additional people were injured, one of whom was Addie Mae Collins' younger sister, Sarah.
It took a while, but 'Dynamite Bob' Chambliss and his hooded terrorist henchmen were eventually tried and convicted for the crime. Chambliss was convicted in November 1977 and died in prison October 29, 1985. Herman Cash died before being arrested for the crime while Thomas Blanton and Bobby Cherry were arrested in 2000.
Blanton was subsequently convicted for the terrorist act as well.
TransGriot Note: From Ashley Love about a DC event for President Obama 
