You Fight Injustice With The Advocates You Have

One of the things that is irritating me is hearing the comments coming from elements of the online trans peanut gallery who are criticizing the Jenna Talackova Los Angeles press conference her attorney Gloria Allred set up and Jenna's nervous reading of her statement at it.

As someone who has had the task a few times to speak and advocate for this community in front of legislative bodies, there have been moments I've been a little nervous at the start of my testimony, especially if I've had time to think about the importance of what I'm about to do and realize that what I say may sway votes in either a positive one for this community or a negative one.

But I've been doing this since 1998 and have the experience, skill set, intestinal fortitude and abilities to do so. I also volunteered after some deliberative thought before taking on that leadership responsibility on behalf of the trans community.  Jenna Talackova didn't ask for this drama and probably wasn't expecting to become an international news story or trans rights warrior for simply wanting to enter a pageant.

I'm willing to bet that Jenna would rather be preparing herself to compete against 65 other Canadian women next month in Toronto, not being in Los Angeles for a press conference having her trans business exposed due to a discriminatory and transphobic pageant rule that has negatively impacted her life. 

Sometimes through no fault of their own, transpeople find themselves combating injustice and becoming reluctant  trans human rights warriors.   When that happens, we as a community need to be ready to give them the support they will need to successfully complete the job.   

Yes, we'd all like the perfect person who can speak eloquently, has a grasp of our history of struggle and our community, and good looks to go with it.  But many times, as in this case, fate intervenes and you have to fight injustice with the advocate you have at that moment in time who is in the public eye.  Right now 23 year old Jenna finds herself being that advocate.. 

As Bet Power said during a discussion we were having about this case on my Facebook page:

I can't believe some are critical of Jenna's appearance on national TV with Atty. Allred. Who cares if she was nervous enough to read her statement instead of speak extemporaneously? How many of us would have done the same thing if we were suddenly thrust into the national spotlight as an out trans person?

Let's not lose sight of the fact that this brave trans woman has (a) Just successfully fought back against rejection and discrimination to win reinstatement to the Miss Universe Pageant as an out trans woman, (b) Has broken a major glass ceiling by being included in the top-level pageant worldwide, and (c) Has a chance at winning! Not all of us are activists. Jenna is a pageant competitor, which doesn't always (or even usually) require one to be intensely political.

However, by her actions alone thus far, Jenna has won a victory for trans people everywhere. She will continue to influence positive change by her presence in the pageant and all of its surrounding publicity. Why is it so hard for our trans community to applaud its trail blazers and celebrate our victories and those who win them?

The trans person in the spotlight is going to get enough Hateraid from ignorant cis folks for standing up for their human rights.   We don't need to be adding to it.

We also need to focus on the fact that by standing up for her human rights, as Bet pointed out, Jenna not only helped achieve an unexpected trans human rights win, she may also be in position to make some history and help change some hearts and minds about us when she steps on that stage at the Miss Canada Universe pageant next month.

Trans human rights victories are not just won by direct action protests, litigation or legislation, but in some cases by people like Jenna Talackova who had the courage and determination to fight back against an injustice aimed at her and by doing so, advanced trans human rights for all of us.

First Black Transmen Conference Fading Into History

I was bummed that some issues here in H-town kept me from traveling up I-45 north to check out the first annual Black Transmen Empowerment Retreat Conference & Dinner that just concluded up in Dallas last weekend.

The post event reports I'm getting is that Rev. Louis Mitchell's keynote speech was a powerful and inspiring one, the workshops were informative and the people who were witnesses and participants in this March 29-April1 historic event felt inspired, empowered, had a blast and were sad when it concluded.

But as several participants and attendees told me, start saving your money because there will be another one next year.  If I get any information about the dates and location for the 2013 event, I'll post it on TransGriot as soon as I receive that information.

Congrats transbrothers for making history and for what I'm hearing was a two thumbs up event.

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The Talackova Press Conference

There was a press conference yesterday in Los Angeles as Canadian transwoman Jenna Talackova continued her fight along with her attorney Gloria Allred to take down the odiously transphobic 'natural born woman' rule that the Miss Universe pageant system has used since 2001 to bar trans contestants from competing in it.

Here's the money video from that press conference courtesy of CNN.

The Lady Bears Are The Unbeaten 2012 NCAA Womens Champs

Told y'all the Lady Bears would win it all!  

Last night in Denver the NCAA women's basketball title stayed in Texas and moved up the Brazos River to Waco after the dominating 80-61 win of the Baylor Lady Bears over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to cap an undefeated and unprecedented 40-0 season    

It was Baylor's first title since 2005 and no NCAA team mens or women's have ever gone 40-0.  Baylor is the seventh team to go through their season unbeaten..

Was fun watching Brittney dominate in the paint after being held to only nine points in the first half.  Only wish she'd gotten a dunk in the title game.

Oh well, maybe she'll get one in Olympic women's basketball play later this summer in London, (hint, hint to Geno Auriemma and USA Basketball)

And bad news for you NCAA women's b-ball teams.   Brittney's coming back for her senior year.

MLK Jr Assassination Anniversary 2012

Once again the calendar flips to April 4 and we have to mark the sad occasion of the now 44th anniversary of the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.in Memphis,TN.

2012 America, just like it was in 1968 is a cauldron of raging racial tensions.  We're once again fighting a foreign war that increasing numbers of people in the US want us to bring our troops home from.   African Americans are asking themselves in the wake of another senseless shooting if this country will ever get over its all too easy propensity to hate us, and a contentious course changing presidential election that promises to be just as close and potentially ugly because the Democratic president occupying the White House is African American.

The best way to close this post is to leave you with the words of the Good Doctor, his April 3, 1968 'I've Been to the Mountaintop' speech.




 
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