Whose Beloved Community? Black Civil And LGBT Right Movements

TransGriot Note: This Call for Proposals was forwarded to me by Ovid Amorson and looks like it's right in my activist wheelhouse.   This will be one tremendous conference at Emory University in the ATL on March 27-29 focused on the Black Civil and LGBT Rights Movements and I'm definitely interested in going or participating in it.

An international conference at Emory University, March 27-29, 2014

Call for Proposals: Review of proposals begins June 17, 2013. Notification of acceptance will be no later than September 15, 2013.

The role of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in both race-based and sexuality-based civil rights movements is frequently rendered invisible as a result of prevailing national narratives that present (presumed white) LGBT communities and (presumed straight) Black communities as opposing forces.  In recent years, however, an increasing number of scholars and activists have produced work seeking to make visible the vital points of intersection and contention among the U.S. Civil Rights movement, the LGBT equality movement, and Black LGBT communities.  This work is shaped by questions related to identity formation, intersectionality, tokenism, marriage equality, the role of religion and “respectability” in African American communities, the emergence of the South as a center of Black LGBT life in the U.S., HIV/AIDS and its continuing effect on African American communities, the proliferation of a prison-industrial complex unprepared for its LGBT population, and the appropriation of the civil rights movement by the right.  This conference seeks to make visible and critically engage the points of convergence and divergence between these two historic, overlapping, yet distinct social movements that continue to transform civil society, law, and the academy.

We encourage paper and panel proposals on a wide range of topics including, but not exclusively encompassing, the following:         

• The legacy of the Civil Rights Movement
• Identifications and disidentifications with “movements”
• Black LGBT leaders and popular figures, historical and contemporary
• Literary, artistic and popular culture engagements with Black LGBT identities
• Inclusion and marginalization of transgender and bisexual identities in Black LGBT communities/politics
• Intersections with other post-1960s civil rights movements (other racial groups, people with disabilities, women, etc.)
• Black LGBT activism in relation to work in other LGBT communities of color
• Racial diversity in White-led LGBT organizations
• Law and politics
• Black queer politics of space
• Public health
• Memory, mourning, trauma, and resilience
• Black LGBT families
• Marriage equality movements
• Sexuality and respectability
• Class and elitism
• Sexism, classism, and other “isms” in the Black LGBT movement
• Black masculinity in LGBT communities
• Black feminism in LGBT communities
• Intergenerational issues
• Intersections between public advocacy/policy and academia
• Intersections of U.S. Civil Rights with Black queer Atlantic political movements
• The future of Black queer studies
• Teaching Black LGBT history, Black queer studies, etc.
• Black LGBT university populations
• LGBT issues and Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Each submission must include a cover page with paper titles, presenters, their affiliations, and a current email contact, along with a maximum two-page c.v. of each presenter.  For individual papers, please submit an abstract of no more than 250 words. For panels, submit an overall abstract of no more than 500 words and individual paper descriptions of no more than 250 words each. Please submit materials via email to Whose.beloved.community@emory.edu.

This conference is generously supported by the Arcus Foundation and Emory University

What The Hell Happened In DC Today?

I had an enjoyable day at HCC-Southeast kicking Trans 101 knowledge this afternoon to a predominately Latin@ and African-American student audience and after arriving home around 4:30 PM CDT took a nap. 

When I awakened at approximately 7:30 PM CDT I discovered when I perused my Facebook postings elements of the trans community were pissed off.  Interest in my 'Why The Transgender Community Hates HRC' essay post has gone viral to the point that I obliterated my all time single day hit count record on March 26 with 39,027 hits and there is a level of anger at the Human Rights Campaign I haven't seen since former Rep. Barney Frank stripped trans people out of ENDA combined with  Joe Solmonese getting caught misspeaking lying at the 2007 Southern Comfort Conference in the ATL.

And yes, looking like I'm going to have to get busy finishing that sequel to the 2007 essay that I tentatively titled 'Why The Trans Community Loathes HRC'. 

The big unconfirmed rumor I'm hearing that is stoking the fresh wave of anger in elements of the trans community is that it is being alleged a group of transpeople at today's Washington DC Marriage Equality rally were supportively waving the trans community flag and were told by someone presumed to be an HRC staffer or someone connected with the event to stop doing so.  The person is also alleged to have said according to the rumor spreading on the Net that "Marriage Equality is not a transgender issue."

Okay, if you were or know the person the alleged incident happened to and you have video of the alleged incident to prove it happened, come out of the shadows and talk to a reporter and get it on the record.  If you have the video or pics of the alleged incident, that needs to be posted ASAP.  

If it didn't happen that way, then you're about to earn a Shut Up Fool award nomination.  As far as I'm concerned in terms of flags, this is the only flag that should have been flown at the SCOTUS rally, anyway.   

What heightens my skepticism about this incident is the graphic refers to HRC as the Human Rights COALITION.  HRC is the Human Rights CAMPAIGN.   The lack of video in an era when just about everyone and their grandmother on this planet is armed with cellphones with videotaping capability also has me in 'things that make you go hmm' mode. 

But HRC, let's be real.  While you have made some incremental progress in terms of improving your image in the community, there is still smoldering trans anger about being thrown under the ENDA bus in 2007 coupled with your long negative history of trans oppression that has many of us (TransGriot included) looking at you with side-eyed suspicion.   The perception of overemphasis on marriage equality to the exclusion of other more pressing issues on the GLBT rights menu such as ENDA, immigration reform, trans human rights, and HIV/AIDS just to name a few issues combined with leadership ranks that look like a Republican party convention haven't helped either. 

Don't even get me started talking about what the perceptions of the non-white trans and SGL community are concerning HRC and the marriage equality issue.

But as to the comment that marriage isn't a transgender issue, my response is you're kidding me, right? 

It is when trans marriages are the collateral damage from the predominately vanillacentric privileged push for same gender marriage.  

I support marriage equality and want to see DOMA die but I'm lukewarm about it.   I have to note that trans people had the ability to get married to their cis partners until the 1996 passage of DOMA and the 2003 GL full court press for gay marriage started having a deleterious effect on trans people's ability to get married.

Think I'm kidding about that?  Ask my Lone Star State homegirls Christie Lee Littleton and Nikki Araguz, Ms W in Hong Kong, Joanne Cassar in Malta or Kimah Nelson and Jason Stenson  in New York City.

I'm sure that the truth will come out about what really happened at that rally today, but note Human Rights Campaign, you still have a very long and tough road to travel before you even begin to get some positive cred back and you have zero room for errors, misspeaking, or mistakes.

Trans 100 Kickoff Event In Chicago Sunday

Too bad I can't be there for this one, but for those of you in the Chicagoland area, you'll get an opportunity to roll over to the Mayne Stage on March 31 and see Janet Mock, Dr Kortney Ryan Ziegler, performances by Namoli Brennet and Joe Stevens in the The Trans 100 List Kickoff Event. 

It's being hosted by Kokumo and runs from 7-9 PM CDT and it's free, but you'll need to register because my sources tell me seats are going fast.  

March 31 happens to also be the Trans Day of Visibility and this event is commemorating the launch of the Trans 100 List that is a joint effort of Phoenix based This Is How and We Happy Trans.

Looking forward to it.   Hey, I'm curious to know who made the inaugural list,.too 

#GirlsLikeUs Turns One

A space created by and for trans* women with the purpose of connecting, upLIFTing one another, and sharing resources and stories. It reaches across generations and color, location and socioeconomic standing, established by @janetmock in March 2012 to empower trans women to live visibly and connect in sisterhood and solidarity.  Happy birthday to the #GirlsLikeUs hashtag and campaign that Janet Mock created  which turns a year old today.  It's the Twitter hashtag that grew up quickly to become a pride based movement.  

It was March 27, 2012, during the contentious fight Jenna Talackova waged to bring down the odious 'natural born woman' rule being used to bar transwomen from competing in pageants that Janet Mock first used the #GirlsLikeUs Twitter hashtag in a tweet linked to a petition supporting Jenna.

We know that Jenna's fight to take down that rule was successful and she proudly walked the stage as a contestant in the Miss Canada Universe pageant a few weeks later.  That battle Jenna and transwomen around the planet waged in support of her also opened the doors for other girls like us to compete in Miss Universe pageant system events around the world (despite a few transphobic holdouts) starting this year.

From that March 27 first use of it the #Girlslikeus hashtag took off and went viral to the point that as an enthusiastic supporter of the campaign, I weave it into my TransGriot posts from time to time when I want to have a change of pace phrase to describe us instead of just trans woman. 

Although it's a campaign created by a Black trans woman, she's created it for all of us and I hope the trans brothers do something similar.  Janet made that clear in a subsequent post she wrote on her blog and a May 15, 2012 tweet about the #Girlslikeus campaign.

#GirlsLikeUs is for ALL trans women, regardless of color, but all who lend their voice to amplify ours knows that intersectionality matters.

Happy first birthday, #GirlsLikeUs. 

'The Face' Model Devyn, Is Apparently So Light Skinned, She's International and Not Black

The latest guest post from Renee of Womanist Musings

Women of colour have always had a hard time in the modelling industry.  There have always been a few who have managed to have a successful career like Alec Wek, Naomi Campbell and Iman but by enlarge, despite their obvious beauty, their race has been a stumbling block rather than an asset.  The fact that population demographics are clearly changing, has not effected the fashion industries commitment to ensuring that White women, continue to be representative of womanhood.  This is not only racist but damaging to young women of colour.  Some cope with this racist treatment by internalizing negative concepts about their race.  The following is a clip from The Face, a reality show which appears on Oxygen.




transcript is below the fold

Wendy Williams: So, let's just get right into it, you guys are competing to the face of Alta. Devyn what do you have that Ebony doesn't have?

Devyn: I feel like I have the international look and I have a story that can relate to everyone.

Judge: She did good. She answered well

Wendy Wiliams: Ebony, you're only 21

Ebony: Yes Maam

Wendy Williams: And you have two children.

Ebony: yes

Wendy Williams: A 2 year old and a 4 year old and two babies fathers.

Ebony: Yes, I do. My children's fathers are the best dads ever.  They love their kids so much and they support me.

Wendy Williams: Are you still with either one of the babies fathers?

Ebony: I am not, but we're very close friends. It didn't work I was young

Wendy Williams: (laughs) Mercy

Ebony: and I am so glad that I went through it, because I know better now.

Judge: She's stirring it up

Judge 2: Wendy?

Judge: Yeah

Judge 3: Of course, that's her job.

Wendy Williams: Devyn, what's it like to be a black girl model?

Devyn: I don't really consider myself as a Black girl model. I know what my ethnicity is but I'm fair skinned and I feel like I have an international look.

Wendy Williams: You don't feel Black?

Devyn: No, that's not what I said whatsoever.

Naomi Campbell: What the fuck does she mean? That's a disgrace; she's a Black girl

Devyn: As soon as I finish answering my question, all I hear is Naomi bug out.  I'm scared out of my pants. I feel like I could have screwed it up for team Carolina.

Despite knowing her ethnicity, Devyn does not feel Black because she is light skinned.  Devyn is well aware that for the most part, light skin has a long history of providing opportunities for Black women which have long been denied darker skinned women.  This is not to say that light skinned women don't suffer from racism but that light skin functions as a privilege, thereby reducing the amount of racism that a Black woman has to face.  To be clear, this is not a case of someone who is bi-racial choosing to identify as both sets of her identity but a Black woman actively choosing to deny her Blackness because she thinks it will help her get ahead. It's misguided and clearly evidences the degree that she has internalized negative ideas about Blackness.

It clearly did not escape Devyn's notice that she was up against the dark skinned Ebony and this why she sought to engage in colorism to press an advantage.  Colorism has divided entire families, with darker skinned child made to feel less valued and loved. Colorism is a bane upon communities of colour and is a direct result of White supremacy.  Whiteness has falsely created a so-called elite definition of Blackness to encourage Blacks to fight for the scraps from it's table, even as it ensures that true equality is always out of reach.  Though Campbell is obviously a success in her chosen career, her reaction speaks volumes.  It was absolutely clear that through her comments, Devyn sought to place herself above her, despite Campbell's success and obvious achievement by nature of her lighter skin. She may have only intentionally meant her comments as an attack on Ebony, but the speak to a revulsion of all darker skinned women.  Just as White people can throw a slur to quickly change the dynamics of a conversation and assert power, light skinned people can do the same, though obviously with less personal profit because of a shared identity of Blackness.

The other matter I would like to address in this video, is the obvious slut shaming of Devyn by Wendy (you can't pay me enough to support a fellow Black woman) Williams.  Wendy of course shied away from using the word slut but by working hard to ensure that Ebony had to justify her reproductive choices, Williams might as well have.  In a world in which women's reproductive choices are always questioned (note: especially true when it comes to women of colour) Wendy sought to construct her as a hyper sexualized Jezebel.  At the end of the day, why does it matter how many children Ebony has, or who the father is?  Wendy's questions were not just "stirring things up", as the judge said, but directly designed to shame.  I can completely understand the shock and even disgust regarding Devyn's comments, but why are so few people speaking out about the inappropriate nature of Williams' questions?
 
The truth of the matter is that until Devyn defined herself as international and not Black, her light skinned body bought her an unspoken privilege.  It's not an accident that these to women were seated next to each other in competition.  It is also no accident that Devyn was given the clearly softball question and Williams sought to go for the jugular when she questioned Ebony.  The very nature of Williams' choice of questions reveals that she also has internalized patriarchal values of what constitutes a so-called good woman, as well as colourism.  Even in an interaction of all Black women, race and sexism are always omnipresent

Trans 101 Panel Featuring The TransGriot At HCC-Southeast Tomorrow

This time tomorrow I'll be in the Angela Morales building on the HCC-Southeast campus preparing to do a Trans 101 panel.

For those of you in the Houston area interested in attending it an seeing the TransGriot in action, it will take place from 1-2:30 PM.

The HCC-Southeast campus is located at 6815 Rustic St just off the Gulf Fwy (I-45) near the Woodridge exit.

Hope to see many of your readers who can attend there

 

Shouldn't Need To Show ID To Pee

TransGriot Note:  When I'm upset or pissed about something, I express it sometimes with my poetry.  Been a while since I've written one about an issue that deeply angered me enough to get to the point I'm spitting rhyming lines. 

SB 1432, the Arizona unjust 'Papers to Pee' bill qualifies as a catalyst for this latest poetic creation.

An MKR Poem

For sixty years we've been free
As transpeople to go and pee
In the bathroom that matches our identity
And this wasn't a problem until recently

Now you haters wanna jack with that tranquility
Because we're gaining trans human rights equality
Used a tactic from the white supremacist dustbin of history
And attacked trans people's humanity

Radical feminist fools and sacrilegious right wing shills
Labeling trans rights laws 'bathroom bills'
Heaping upon transpeeps around the nation
A massive helping of discrimination.

Arizona legislator John Kavanagh
Took the trans hate one step too far
With the unjust bill that's cis tyranny
And would force trans people to show papers to pee

Whether you're a trans mister or miss
All we need to do in the bathroom is poop or piss
So Kavanagh please explain to me
Why transpeople need to show an ID to pee?


As is being trans isn't a big enough life stressor
Now comes this GOP legislative oppressor
Six months in jail and a $2,500 fine
For using the bathroom?  Are you out of your mind?

Is this the way the GOP wields legislative clout?
Is this the 'small government' you rail about?
Seems like conservatives aren't having fun
Unless they're actively hating and oppressing someone

Kavanagh needs to step back and chill
And spike this oppressive and unjust bill
Because it's obvious to everyone who yearns to be free
That you shouldn't need to show ID to pee    
 

Jamaican Girls Like Us Standing Up For Their Rights In Ad Campaign

Those of us in the US and elsewhere across the African Diaspora have watched in horror the last few years as our Jamaican trans sisters have been brutalized and mistreated for daring to live as their true selves.

J-FLAG back on January 17 launched the We Are Jamaicans video campaign which seeks to encourage respect and understanding for transgender, bisexual, lesbian and gay  (TBLG ) people on that island nation and raise awareness about BTLG identity and the community.

Two of the people who are taking part in that J-FLAG sponsored campaign are girls like us Whitney and Tiana Miller





What you ladies are and always will be in addition to being Jamaican is part of the diverse mosaic of human life.  Thank you for stepping up to courageously tell your stories and being willing to be visible representatives for the Jamaican trans community in this important GLBT rights ad campaign. 

NBJC Supreme Court Rally For Marriage Equality

The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments March 26-27 on two cases that could potentially lead to the demise of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and Prop 8. 

Hollingsworth v. Perry, the challenge to California's Proposition 8 will be argued today and United States v. Windsor, the case challenging the unjust Defense of Marriage Act, is scheduled Wednesday, March 27.

Events have been organized inside I-495 and in all 50 states to rally for marriage equality and the National Black Justice Coalition will be at the Supreme Court along with its United For Marriage coalition partners 

The NBJC team and volunteers will join a coalition of supporters of marriage equality on the steps of the Supreme Court at 8:30 AM EDT on both days of the hearings at 1 First St. NE in Washington, D.C.

NBJC Executive Director and CEO, Sharon Lettman-Hicks, will be addressing attendees at the Wednesday, March 27 rally.

Wear RED to show your solidarity!

Together we will stand up for our love and show the nation that all Americans deserve to be treated fairly and equally under the law - no matter who they love.   All we need are five or more Supreme court justices to realize the same thing.  NBJC asks that you spread the word on Twitter with the hashtag #UnitedforMarriage.

For those of you in the Washington D.C. area or planning to hang out and watch history unfold, the nearest Washington Metro station is Union Station for the Red Line and Capitol South for the Blue and Orange lines. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes and bring anything you'd need to be outside

Trans Inclusion In The Military Panel Discussion

As I, the Transgender American Veterans Association, and a host of other people and organizations continue to point out, the 2011 repeal of DADT doesn't include the trans portion of the community.  

Trans people still have to hide who they are if they want to remain in the military, and for those of us who already transitioned, we can pay taxes, but are not allowed to sign up at the armed forces recruiting centers to serve our country. 

That's fundamentally unfair, insulting and cuts off to patriotic trans people an employment avenue many cis people use to get a paycheck, skills, education and training for the civilian workforce when they leave the service.

On March 20 a panel discussion on the topic of transgender inclusion in the military. was held at Pennsylvania's Gettysburg Collge in which TAVA's founding president Monica Helms took part. 

here's the video from that panel discussion.




Let us American transpeople openly serve our country like the transpeople of six nations can do in theirs.

More 'Ask A Trans Attracted Man' Videos

Troy is a self described 'trans-attracted' brother who recently started a YouTube channel dedicated to discussing the issue. 

He wants to do his part to erase the stigma that surrounds cis brothers who date trans women, blow up the misconceptions that girls like us have about the brothers who are man enough to step to us for that potential long term relationship and 'ejumacate' everybody at the same time.

And I repeat, being attracted to a trans woman or having a short or long-term relationship with her doesn't make you cis boys gay.


His channel has two previous videos and he also did an interview with Diamond Stylz on the subject at her video blog. 

I present for your viewing pleasure TransGriot readers the third and fourth videos of his YouTube  'Ask A Trans Attracted Man' channel.

Part 3





Part 4







.

GLAAD Officially Standing Up For Trans People

Got to see an interesting announcement happen while watching this morning's episode of the 2013 GLAAD Media Award winning Melissa Harris-Perry show with a panel that included Janet Mock and Mel Wymore.

Melissa Harris-Perry received the award in the Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine category for a segment entitled "Being Transgender in America."

GLAAD announced that the organization has formally dropped the 'Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation' from its name and will be known going forward as GLAAD, the LGBT media advocacy organization.   With the name change comes a renewed commitment to incorporate transgender people as well as allies from diverse backgrounds in GLAAD's work to shape the media narrative and build public support for LGBT people.





I took part in GLAAD's People of Color Media Institute last summer in New York, and was thrilled to hear the news about this change and making it clear they are standing up for trans people.

"I was happy to hear GLAAD has committed to prioritize trans issues," Laverne Cox, an actress and transgender advocate told NBCNews.com. "They really need to be."

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

"It is a natural progression that reflects the work GLAAD's staff is already leading," said GLAAD's spokesperson Wilson Cruz. "We respect and honor the full name that the organization was founded with, but GLAAD's work has expanded beyond fighting defamation to changing the culture. Our commitment to marriage equality, employment nondiscrimination, and other LGBT issues is stronger than ever, and now our name reflects our work on transgender issues as well as our work with allies."

TLC's Masen Davis Discusses Unjust Arizona Transphobic Bill

Transpeople have been using gender appropriate public restrooms for six decades.  But because the trans human rights movement has been successful over the last few years passing laws and the Forces of Intolerance have no justifiable reason to oppose them, the right wingers and their radical feminist allies have gone to a tactic straight from the segregationist playbook in terms of 'fear and smear' over the bathroom.

Arizona Republifool legislator John Kavanagh has taken it to the extreme by proposing a draconian unjust 'Your Papers Before You Potty' bill.    Transgender Law Center Executive Director Masen Davis discusses it on MSNBC.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Janet Mock Appearing On Sunday's Melissa Harris Perry Show!

So when will trans persons of color be invited to participate in a Melissa Harris Perry show discussion?  Will that happen sometime before this decade is over? 

TransGriot February 13, 2013 'When Will POC Transpeople Be Invited To MHP?' 

As you TransGriot readers are aware of I've been quite vocal about the lack of trans POC people appearing on this GLAAD award nominated show (and countless others) to talk about trans issues (and other issues of the day including LGBT community ones) from our perspective.

So I was beyond happy to read that Janet Mock will be in the #nerdland studios tomorrow morning taking part in the discussion on what lies beyond the marriage equality fight.

Alright Janet!   So deliriously happy that you'll be our POC trans community's first representative on the Melissa Harris Perry show   I know you'll do a wonderful job.  

Now MHP show, was that so hard?    All us trans POC folks were asking for is the visibility and the opportunity to show that trans persons of color are more than just 'tragic transsexuals'.

Trans masculine and trans feminine POC peeps are more than capable of holding our own in a policy discussion.    We trans persons of color not only needed to see ourselves represented on the MHP set and television screens across America, so did our LGBT peers and the cis people inside and outside our communities who don't believe that thoughtful, intelligent talking head trans persons of color exist..

Looking forward to tuning in tomorrow with the rest of America to check out the latest edition of #nerdland and see a beautiful and talented girl like me as part of the panel.  I also hope that we see more trans POC's on future #nerdland shows as well

This Week In The Texas Lege 2013-Week Ending March 22

It's time for the latest edition of Daniel Williams' reports on what our GOP dominated Texas legislature is up to in Austin for the week ending March 22

And now, here's Equality Texas Field Organizer Daniel Williams with the latest Texas Lege news.

Barack-etology 2013

Well, you've seen my NCAA brackets for the 2013 men's and women's tournaments which have already taken a hit on the men's side with New Mexico being upset by Harvard (score one for Eli Blake) and Georgetown's shocking loss.  

But my Final Four teams on my men's and women's brackets are still alive for now.

Here's what President Obama had to say about the 2013 NCAA men's and women's tournaments.

The NCAA women's tournament

 

The NCAA men's tournament

South Korean Court Rules Trans People Can Change Gender Markers Without SRS

Some positive news on the international trans human rights front coming out of South Korea.  

On March 15 the Seoul Western District Court ruled in a case brought by five trans masculine individuals that trans individuals could change their legal gender status without undergoing genital surgery

The Seoul Western District Court ruled in favor of accepting the requests from the five trans men to have their family register listing altered to be classified as male. None of the five has undergone operations to surgically alter their genitalia.

The five trans men filed their request in December, arguing that the demand for surgery to conform to the changed gender status constituted the main barrier to approvals and violated the spirit of the legal gender modification system, which is to guarantee the Constitutional rights of transgender people.

Of course the five transmen were thrilled about the landmark ruling.

Despite the South Korean Supreme Court ruling in June 2006 that transpeople in that nation have the right to alter their legal gender status, in the guidelines they subsequently drafted one of the requirements was that individuals have to possess 'external genitalia of the opposite sex from their biological one' in order to do so.

Last January, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health sent an opinion to Seoul Western District Court arguing that genital surgery should not be a requirement because it is not medically necessary and is a difficult procedure with a strong risk of side effects and other negative consequences.

It's another good day for the advancement of trans human rights not only in South Korea, but internationally as well. 

Shut Up Fool Awards-March Madness 2013 Edition

The annual college basketball feast known as March Madness has started in arenas all over the United States.  The men's tourney kicked off on Tuesday with 68 teams vying to be the last one standing in Atlanta. Tomorrow the road to New Orleans begins for the 64 women's teams playing to see who will be the NCAA national champion when the final games are played.

And it's Friday, so that means it's time for us to see what fool, fools, or group of fools exhibited championship level arrogance and stupidity this week.

And since this is the March Madness edition, we'll have four finalists and the championship fool or fools.

Our first finalist is Arizona State Senator John Kavanagh (R) for his attempt to pass the unjust Your Trans Papers To Pee SB1432 bill.  

Our second finalist courtesy of a nomination from Denny Upkins is Consequences from Love & Hip Hop for his White Skin is the Right Skin shuckin & jivin nonsense.

Our third finalist is our least fave Whyte Radfem Womyn Gone Wyld that we all know and loathe in Catherine 'Cockroach' or 'Bug' Brennan for her latest unhinged hate on transpeeps screed that Dyssonance eviscerated.  

Our fourth finalist is Michelle Shocked who unleashed an anti-gay onstage rant (NSFW, and triggering language) in San Francisco of all places while she was on stage.  Now that she's shocked, shocked (pun intended) about the backlash coming her way and tour dates and being cancelled with the quickness, she's trying to deny she said it.

And this week's winner is.....Michelle Shocked.  That's giant sucking sound you hear is your music career going down the toilet.   Let your fundie friends support you now. 

Take it away Mr T.

     

Moni's 2013 NCAA Women's B-Ball Bracket

In honor of Women's History Month, in 2008 I started doing an NCAA women's tournament bracket similar to what I was doing for the men. 

My readers who are women's basketball fans like me loved the idea so much I've continued what has become an anticipated TransGriot tradition in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Unlike the menz, The Lone Star State is well represented in this edition of the NCAA women's tournament, and one of the teams involved just happens to be the defending champs.  Baylor compiled an unprecedented  40-0 unbeaten record enroute to knocking off Skylar Diggins led Notre Dame for the 2012 NCAA women's basketball title and keep that trophy in Texas.   The other Lone Star State schools besides 32-1 Baylor participating in this 64 team tourney are SEC tournament champ Texas A&M, SWAC tourney champ Prairie View A&M and Texas Tech. 

Prairie View has the misfortune of once again facing the overall number one seeded Lady Bears and Brittney Griner in the opening round of the tournament.

Speaking of the Lady Bears, can they send my Houston homegirl Brittney Griner out in her senior year a winner as a repeat NCAA champion?  Will she dunk in the title game or sometime during the tournament? 

Will Chiney Ogwumike and her Stanford teammates spoil the title coronation and hang another loss on the Lady Bears?  

Will Skylar Diggins and Notre Dame in her senior year finally get the NCAA title she and the Fighting Irish have come so close to winning twice? 

Does UConn have a long NCAA title run in them?  Or will some new contender to the women's basketball throne spring some upsets that send them all the way to New Orleans?

The road to the 2013 NCAA Women's Final Four in New Orleans starts on March 23 with the title game happening April 7-9 

Oklahoma City Region

Ist Round
Baylor, Florida State, Louisville, Purdue, Oklahoma, UCLA, Syracuse, Tennessee

 Sweet 16
Baylor, Louisville, Oklahoma, Tennessee

Elite Eight
Baylor, Tennessee

Oklahoma City Region Champion 
Baylor

Spokane Region

1st Round
Stanford, Villanova, Iowa State, Georgia, LSU, Penn State, Texas Tech, California 

Sweet 16
Stanford, Iowa State, LSU, California

Elite Eight
Stanford, LSU

Spokane Region Champion
Stanford


Norfolk Region

1st Round
Notre Dame, Miami, Colorado, South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas A&M , Oklahoma State, Duke

Sweet 16
Notre Dame, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Duke

Elite Eight
Notre Dame, Texas A&M

Norfolk Region Champion
Notre Dame

Bridgeport Region

1st Round
Connecticut, Vanderbilt, Michigan St., Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina, Dayton, Kentucky  

Sweet 16
Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina, Kentucky

Elite Eight
Connecticut, Kentucky

Bridgeport Region Champion
Connecticut

Final Four Teams
Baylor, Stanford, Notre Dame,Connecticut

Championship Game
Baylor, Notre Dame

2013 NCAA Champion
Baylor


     

Claude 'Rick' Roberts, Jr 1941-2013

Was at the Houston hospice today when my father passed away at 12 noon CDT.

Didn't talk about it much on the blog, but my dad is a Black radio and Houston radio legend. 

He's also one of the reasons why I have the public speaking skills I do right now since everyone from my various schools to my home church had me standing at their podiums since I was age 6 MCing their programs.

Dad even had me doing a commercial promoting his morning drive time radio show when I was in second grade. 

Dad was a native Houstonian, and started his radio career at WBOK-AM in New Orleans.   He spent bulk of his radio career starting in 1967 in the Houston area at KYOK-AM as its program director and at KTSU-FM before he retired in 1993.

I had a ringside seat to much of the Houston Black radio world growing up.  KYOK had a ground breaking RV that served as a mobile broadcasting studio and I bounced around different areas of town to many of those remotes.  

There were also a few nights when he brought that vehicle to the house pre or post remote and I got to sleep in it.

I also got to see firsthand the major love and respect many people had for him inside and outside the community because he not only was a proud Black man who stood up for his beliefs and was willing to do more than just talk about them, he was a voice for the voiceless in H-town.  

And he was one heck of a play by play announcer  If ESPN had started a little earlier you probably would have heard him calling football and basketball games on that network.  As it was I did get to watch him call Texas Southern University and HISD football games from the Astrodome press box and see people like NFL Hall of Famers Walter Payton and Doug Williams play while happily sipping on my bottomless soda cup. .  

I was also constantly amazed by the people he knew on a first name basis inside and outside the Houston area in the radio, music and political arenas.  That's probably a major reason why I have the deep interest in politics and I do what I do as a human rights warrior. 

I'm comforted in the fact he didn't suffer when he passed away and his legacy in the industry will live long past the days when my family's tears have dried.

Many of his photos from his radio days are in the African American Archives of Music and Culture in their Black Radio collection housed at IU-Bloomington.  There have also been people writing tribute articles expressing how much he meant to them and their love for him..    

Speaking of love, thanks to all of you who have lifted my family and I up in prayer, kept us immersed in your positive thoughts, and have been there at various times when we needed it during this difficult period for us.  

My family still has heavy hearts and a difficult few days yet to navigate, but with your help we know we will. 

Well Dad, you're not suffering anymore.  Say hello to Grandmother Tama for me.


TransGriot Note:  First photo from the AAAMC archives is a 1974 one of Dad and Shaft's Richard Roundtree in KYOK's studio.  The second one is Dad, Michael Jackson (yep, the future King of Pop), Pluria Marshall, Jr and the teen TransGriot during a KYOK sponsored 'Meet The Jackson 5' event in August 1974.