Wannabee Union Buster Busted

You know I'm enjoying the fact that Wisconsin Tea Klux Klan governor Scott Walker got bamboozled into revealing his destroy the unions agenda recently that has triggered protests in that state.   .

Hear it for yourselves
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More Than Just 'Tragic Transsexuals'

"Black women in America are the luckiest on the face of the earth and it will be marvelous to be one."   Carole Small  JET Magazine    March 16,1967

While many of us are feeling Carole Small's comment, one of the things we haven't been lucky with is the whitewashing of our stories to the point that the memes that have plagued Black transwomen besides the 'unwoman' one that we share with our cissisters is the 'tragic transsexual' one

We rarely get any positive media coverage for the things we accomplish or do as African descended transpeople,  but let a Black transperson commit a crime or through no fault of her own be part of a sensationalized news story and it's splashed all over the news.

A positive Black transwoman character in the fiction world?   Unless we create them as author Pamela Hayes has done, they are about as scarce as Cleveland Cavalier wins this NBA season. .

And I haven't even begun to talk about the numbers of my transsisters who are killed and whose names get called every November during the Transgender Day of Remembrance every November.    But before they get to that point of being memorialized during a TDOR, they get disrespected by being misgendered in media news stories.

Yes, we're sick and tired of being sick and tired of  the 'tragic transsexual' role we're getting saddled with.

One of the major reasons I compiled that first annual TransGriot African American Trans History Quiz was not only being sick of erasure, whether it's inadvertent or deliberate, but to make you folks inside and outside of the TBLG community aware that my chocolate end of the trans rainbow has done much to not only build the trans community, it is doing its part to write trans and African American history as well.

We are more than just 'tragic transsexuals'.   We are people who are accomplished musicians, award winning leaders in our communities, bloggers, athletes, DJ's, models, clergy, college professors and teachers, attorneys, business owners, aunts, uncles, parents, and loving spouses.  

We can, do and will if given the opportunity to do so achieve anything we set our minds to accomplish.   Our destiny as African descended trans people is to do more than just transition or die in the attempt.   We deserve and demand something better
   
It won't be long before I ecstatically see trans African Americans running for and successfully winning public office.   Looking forward to seeing the first open African American trans model strutting down a catwalk near you, openly participating in her favorite sport, or making her stylishly dressed way in the business world.   

We are more than just 'tragic transsexuals', and it's past time that all the communities we intersect with realize that.   We want to contribute to our country and our communities.

All we need is the chance to do it.

TransGriot African-American Trans History Quiz-The Answers.

Well, it's Thursday, and I know you're all anxious to find out how well you did on the First Annual TransGriot African American Trans History Quiz.    It was an open book quiz, and I should have dropped y'all the hint that many of the questions on this quiz could be answered by simply searching through the TransGriot archives..

So without further ado, the answers to the quiz.

1.This transman was the first African-American president of FTM International.  Who is he?

Zion Johnson is the first African-American prsesident of FTM International

2. In 2008 she became the first African American trans person to be elected as a delegate to a major political party convention.    Name her.

Dr. Marisa Richmond.   She was elected as a Tennessee delegate to the Democratic National Convention

3. There have been four African American winners of the IFGE Trinity Award.  Who are they?   Bonus points if you can name the year they won those awards.
Dawn Wilson 2000, Dr. Marisa Richmond 2002, Monica Roberts 2006 and  Earline Budd 2010

4. This transperson is a Stonewall veteran, has testified at the UN about our issues and is an advocate for incarcerated trans persons.   Name her.
Miss Major.   

5. This transman was a member of the City of Tucson GLBT Commission and instrumental in getting TBLG protective laws passed there.   Who is he?
Alexander John Goodrum

6. She was the first patient of the now closed Johns Hopkins Gender program.    Who is she?
Avon Wilson
 
7. In 1965 African-American transpeople were responsible for the first known protest rooted in trans issues.  In what city did this occur?

The April-May 1965 Dewey's Lunch Counter Sit In occurred in Philadelphia, PA 

8. This transman was board chair of the National Black Justice Coalition and recently featured in a Black Enterprise article.   Name him.
Kylar Broadus

9. This transwoman was the first out transperson to compete on America's Next Top Model  Who is she and bonus points if you can name what cycle of the show she competed on.

Isis King   Cycle 11

10. This transwoman was a fashion model in the 70's and 80's with runway and print ads to her credit.   Name her.

Tracy Norman  AKA Tracy Africa. 

11. This trans civil rights organization had two African American founders and an African descended Latino transman as it leaders.  Name the organization and the year it was founded.  
The nationa Transgender Advocacy coalition (NTAC)   1999

12. What does the 'P' in STAR co founder Marsha P. Johnson's name stand for?
Pay It No Mind

13.  Edith Stokes was an African American transgender character on a episode of a groundbreaking television show entitled 'Just A Friend'.    Name the show and bonus points if you get the year it aired.  
The Jefferson's  1977

14.  This transperson is a member of the Chicago GLBT Hall of Fame for her advocacy work.   Name her.  
Lorrainne Sade Baskerville
   
15.  A. Dionne Stallworth's signature is on the incorporation papers for a trans lobbying organization.  Name the organization.
GenderPac

16. In 2005 and 2006 the Transsistahs-Transbrothas Conference, the first African American trans oriented conference was held in this city.    Name the city. 
Louisville, KY
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17.  Name the first open transgender NCAA Division One athlete.
Kye Allums

18.  True or False:  Kerry Washington, Veronica Redd and Sheryl Lee Ralph have played transwomen on the big and small screens. 
True

19.  Helena Bushong became the first African-American transperson to accomplish this as a result of attending a HIV/AIDS policy event there.   What did Helena do? 
Was the first transperson of African descent to visit the White House

20.  This transwoman was in the news in 1982 for being a passenger in a car accident.    Who was the driver of that car and what is the transwoman's name?
Teddy Pendergrass was the driver and the transwoman's name was Tenika Watson

21.  She became the first trans person to speak at the rally concluding the MLK Day parade in Atlanta in 2007.  Who is she?
Tracee McDaniel

22.  This legal case was the first effort to determine if the 1977 DC Human Rights Law's looks-oriented discrimination provision applied to transsexuals.  The plaintiff was an African-American transwoman . Name the case    
It was Underwood v Archer Management Services, Inc
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23. The videotaped police brutality in this city's jail focused attention on the mistreatment of transpeople at the hands of the police.   Name the transwoman involved and the city it took place in.
Duanna Johnson   Memphis, TN

24. What is Tracie Jada O'Brien's connection to African-American trans history?
She is a Stonewall veteran

25.. The TransGriot blog made history with this achievement in 2008.  What was it?
The first trans themed blog ever to be nominated for a Best LGBT Blog award in the Weblog Awards competition.

26.  Adrian Williams is involved in this August 7, 1995 Washington DC incident.   What was it?
He was the EMT who denied medical treatment to transwoman Tyra Hunter after a car accident

27.  There have been two African-American transwomen who have competed in the Miss International Queen Pageant in Thailand.  Who are they?
Domanique Shappelle 2006 and Stasha Sanchez 2010

28.  This transwoman won a GLAAD Media Award for her appearance of a reality TV show.   Who is she? 
Laverne Cox

29.  True or False:  African American transpersons were present at the White House LGBT receptions.
False

30.  This transwoman was featured in a JET magazine article and wrote an autobiographical book entitled 'A Finer Specimen Of Womanhood'.   Name her.
Sharon Davis

31. Transwomen Katey Red, Foxxjazell and Pam Jones have this in common.   What's the link?
They are all rappers

32. JET magazine did several stories on Carlett Brown in 1952.    What was she trying to accomplish?    

She was trying to become the first African American to have SRS

33. True or false.   Drum and bass DJ 1.8.7 is an African American transwoman.
True

34. Trans twins Chanelle and Gabrielle Pickett appeared on what talk show in the early 1990s?
Jenny Jones

35. This iconic transperson known as Sweet Evening Breeze was legendary in her home city.   Name this person and the city they resided in .   
James Herndon was a well known iconic resident of Lexington, KY 

Nizah Morris Case Update

Nizah Morris was a 47 year old Philadelphia transwoman who accepted a courtesy ride from the Philadelphia Police Department in 2002 and was later found with a fatal head wound.  

The circumstances around Nizah's death are still murky almost a decade later and the Philadelphia PD claimed in 2008 the Morris file had been lost.

Armed with 14 new members, the Philadelphia Police Advisory Commission is trying again to shed light on this case.  They are seeking information from the District Attorney's office, and have made it clear they are willing to go to court to get it..

One month ago the PAC gathered for a first time meeting in the TBLG community at the William Way LGBT Center.   They passed out copies of letters addressed to District Attorney R. Seth Williams and Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, seeking more information on the Morris incident..

There was another PAC meeting held Monday in which Tim Cweik, a reporter for the Philadelphia Gay News was going to speak during the public comment phase of the hearing, but it was interrupted by a fire alarm in the Municipal Services Building .   Cwiek's comments about the Morris case were still heard by commission members according to the Groffoto blog.

Once again, what does the Philadelphia PD know about what happened to Nizah Morris, when did they know it, and if po-po's are involved, who did it?    

Inquiring minds in the Philadelphia and national trans community would like to know the answer to that still festering question.