Unexpected Black History Honor

Received an e-mail from Josephine Tittsworth yesterday that advised me of something that made me cry when I thought about the enormity of the news I was receiving.

At the University of Houston-Clear Lake, in their Bayou Building atrium they have a display up for Black History Month that includes our local heroes and sheroes and their accomplishments such as the late great Rep. Barbara Jordan

According to Josephine, one of the people UH-Clear Lake included in their Black History Month display was me.

Wow.  I was blown away by that news    Rep. Jordan has always been one of my sheroes, but never in my wildest dreams when I began fighting for the human rights of trans people in 1998 did I ever think that people would consider me in those terms.  In fact, Barbara Jordan is one of the trailblazing women I've tried to role model in terms of what I do with my own flava added to it.


But I do have some indications of my impact on history and the legacy I'm building even if I try to downplay my role in shaping that history.

At TBLG events and conferences people tell me it's an honor to meet me.  I'm mentioned in Dr. Susan Stryker's Transgender History book.   I'm one of four African-American transpeople to receive the IFGE Trinity Award and the first African-American Texan to win it. 

I was one of the founders of NTAC in 1999 and its political director until 2002.   I served on the boards of Louisville's Fairness Campaign and C-FAIR, have this award winning blog, helped organize the 2005-2006 Transsistahs-Transbrothas conventions in Louisville and participated in lobbying events locally in Houston and Louisville, nationally, in Texas and Kentucky.  

When the opportunity presents itself, I get invitations to discuss trans issues from an Afrocentric perspective. I enjoy speaking to college students and various audiences about our issues and love participating in panel discussions.  

So yeah, guess I am living Black History being made and need to toot my own horn a little bit.     

I have respect from the Houston, Texas, national and international trans communities, but this is a really cool and mindblowing thing to hear when people are putting you in the lofty company of Barbara Jordan and other trailblazing African-Americans. 

But I'm still a work in progress.  All I've been trying to do since 1998 was push for trans human rights coverage in Houston, Texas and the nation, ensure that POC transpeople's voices are included in the policy mix, tell our stories, unearth our history and be the stereotype busting role model for African-American transwomen that I didn't have growing up. 

And what makes me happier is that even my African-American brothers and sisters and some in the African Diaspora are beginning to recognize what I do.

From where I sit, I still have much work to do just to be close to being mentioned in the same breath with Barbara Jordan and other trailblazing African-Americans.   To quote the old Curtis Mayfield song, I'm going to have to keep on pushing to get there.

And oh yeah, if anyone has a picture of that display at UH-Clear Lake, send it to a sistah.

Attention Haters

Love this graphic I borrowed from a friend's Facebook page because there is so much truth in it.

As I have said a few times, they hate me because they wanna emulate me.  That's my philosophy and the way I look at them.  If they think I spend every waking hour contemplating hating them, I don't.  I'd have to care about them to do so and I'm not wasting the time or precious positive energy.

Nor do I have time to joust with ignorant fools unless I feel like it.  When you do get my undivided attention, look out, it's on like Donkey Kong..

Frankly, they need to get a life since I already have one.

There The Conservafools Go Again With The Girl Scout Smearing.

I have a lot of reasons to dislike conservafools, but one of the things that really aggravates me are the coordinated right wing attacks on the Girl Scouts that have led me to triple my usual order of cookies this year and I'm looking for more.  

The latest round of idiocy came from Indiana state rep Bob Morris (R-Fort Wayne) who refused to sign a resolution letter honoring the 100th anniversary of the founding of Girl Scouts thanking them "for the strong positive influence it has had on the American woman."   

In a letter to the Indiana Republifool legislative caucus published in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette Morris claims his opposition to the organization based on web-based research at  World Net Wingnut Daily, they are 'promoting homosexual lifestyles'.

Many parents are abandoning the Girl Scouts because they promote homosexual lifestyles. In fact, the Girl Scouts education seminar girls are directed to study the example of role models. Of the fifty role models listed, only three have a briefly-mentioned religious background – all the rest are feminists, lesbians, or Communists. World Net Daily, in a May 2009 article, states that Girl Scout Troops are no longer allowed to pray or sing traditional Christmas Carols.

Really?   What this is about is that you conservafools are still upset you never got control of the Girl Scouts and got the opportunity to turn them into the Conservafundie Youth like y'all did with the Boy Scouts and I thank God y'all didn't.

The fact the Girl Scouts support trans youth is a bonus as far as I'm concerned and I have much love and respect for the organization for standing up to the conservabullying and living up to the Girl Scout Promise and Girl Scout Law..  

The more you conservafools attempt to smear the organization, in an attempt to force them to live your facts free conservative lifestyle, the more support the Girl Scouts get.    

That reminds me, think it's time to order some more Girl Scout cookies.  I'm fresh out of Thin Mints.