Video-Dear Trans Attracted Men: Stop Caring What Society Thinks

In this video that deserves to be signal boosted, Katherine talks about trans attracted men and relationships in general.

Anniversary Of The 1959 Bermuda Theatre Boycott

One of the consistent themes for those of us of African descent living in our various parts of the Diaspora is having to deal with anti-Black bigotry, racism and racial segregation.

We have the common thread in various nations across the African Diaspora having a person or persons who either by circumstances or through group coordinated action participated in events that served as tipping point moments for oppressed African descended people in their nation to rally around and eventually achieve or start down the path of getting racial justice.  

In Canada that person was Viola Desmond.   In the United States it was Rosa Parks December 1, 1955 arrest that triggered the 381 day Montgomery Bus Boycott, gave national prominence to an eloquent young minister and gave birth to the African-American civil rights movement.  In South Africa that person was Nelson Mandela.  

In Bermuda the seminal event that ended segregation there was the June 1959 Theatre Boycott that put the British colony on track to beginning the process of creating a better, more racially harmonious society.   

In 1959 Bermuda was approaching the 350th anniversary of its founding as a British colony and was a thriving travel and tourist destination for wealthy Americans, people that lived on the US east coast and other international travelers wishing to escape their cold climates.  

And for many of those upscale American tourists Bermuda reminded them of all the Jim Crow comforts back home. 

But the 28,000 Black Bermudians living there at the time chafed at the Jim Crow like segregation they were subjected to in its hotels, restaurants, schools, theaters, hospitals and other aspects of Bermudian life.

Borrowing from the example of the African-American civil rights movement now playing out before the world's press, they decided it was past time to end that discriminatory paradigm. 

Since the entire island attended the six white-owned segregated Bermuda General Theatres, a group of Bermudians desiring a better government, universal suffrage and an end to segregation held a series of meetings to coordinate a boycott of those segregated theaters timed to start on June 15. 

The Progressive Group as they called themselves was comprised of Vera and Rudolph ­Commissiong, Izola and Gerald Harvey, William Francis, Florenz and Clifford Maxwell, Stanley Ratteray, Marva Phillips, Esme and Lancelot Swan, Erskine Simmons, ­Clifford Wade, Eduord and Rosalind Williams, Coolridge Williams, Eugene Woods and William Walwyn.

The Progressive Group was also an airtight secret one that would remarkably maintain that secrecy until they revealed their identities 40 years later.  They feared not only retribution from the ruling white oligarchy on the island, they were worried about retaliation against their parents and their future employment prospects in Bermuda.  There was also the concern that since some of the group members were young people, they wouldn't be taken seriously by their elders. 

In addition to the other concerns, secrecy and surprise were key elements in getting this protest started and having the desired effect.  The members of the Progressive Group were rigorously vetted before being allowed to join.  In order to maintain the strict operational security they were barred from revealing even to their spouses what they discussed at the meetings held at Rosalind Williams' home.

Canadian visitors Anna Wheal and Ruth Cordy, who were staying with the Harvey's while visiting their college classmate Betty Kawaley, bought the printing press the Progressive Group used to create the flyers that later blanketed the island.  They also kept their roles in the boycott secret until 2009.   

At 10:30 PM on June 11 the members of  the Progressive Group began the first nerve wracking phase of the protest.  They synchronized their watches, scattered to different locations on the island and without being detected executed a coordinated drop of the flyers and posters across various locations around Bermuda announcing the boycott and its start date. 

Richard Lynch and Kingsley Tweed didn't have those secrecy reservations.  Once the boycott started on June 15, they appeared at the rallies organized to exhort Black Bermudians to support it and energized the crowds with their fiery street corner speeches.   .

After the posters and flyers appeared, the boycott began slowly and was arrogantly dismissed as a 'storm in a teacup' by the white ruling class.   But they were premature in their smug assessment of the situation. 

Over the next eight days the Theatre Boycott gathered steam thanks to Lynch and Tweed's rally oratory and the determination of Black Bermudians.  The boycott crippled the movie theaters to the point they had to shut down on June 23.  The rattled theater owners and white establishment demanded that the Progressive Group come out of hiding to negotiate with them but they refused as Black Bermudians continued in solidarity to adhere to the boycott. .  


The theater owners capitulated on July 2 and desegregated the theaters.  The hotels, shops, banks and other public establishments in Bermuda soon followed in rapid succession.

The Theatre Boycott succeeded beyond the wildest hopes of the organizers.  It ended segregation in Bermuda's public places in a matter of days.  A year later the Committee for Universal Adult Suffrage was formed with the twin goals of extending the right to vote for people ages 21 and older and eliminating the property requirement and implemented in 1961. 

It also jump started a long debate on the future social direction of Bermuda and despite some bumps along the way toward achieving it, helped Bermuda evolve toward a society that was was cognizant of the hopes , dreams and expectations of the majority of Bermudians.

The Theatre Boycott also emphatically demonstrated the value of nonviolent protest as the primary means to accomplish that systemic change. 

TransGriot Note: The photo is of four members of the Progressive Group that organized the Theatre Boycott.

Renee's In The Hospital

Got the news from the unhubby that my Canadian homegirl is in the hospital.

Renee's condition is improving since Monday.   She's armed with her tablet and her determination to get better.  With continued progress from the initial health setback she may be home sometime next week.

Until then please say a few words of prayer for her and her family for the next few days so that she can get well, back home to her family and all of us who love her as expeditiously as possible.   .

TransGriot Note: Since this is her 'Get Well Soon' post, I know one of the things she likes is Coach purses.  So I thought I'd put this Coach cake purse photo up to make her day.

Shut Up Fool Awards-Transwomen Rocking The House Edition

The White House that is!

The 2013 LGBT White House reception was held yesterday and it turned out I had more than a few peeps I knew in the room for that event that kicked off at 5 PM EDT.

In addition to Toni D'orsay, in the house representing the community were Janet Mock, Ayana Christian, Allyson Robinson, Denise Brogan-Kator, and Dr. Lynn Conway.

Those were just some of the tranpeeps y'all know and love that were in that nice house at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. 

President Obama did address the huddled masses for a few moments and while he didn't say the words most of the folks wanted the hear (ENDA executive order), he did urge Congress to pass the ENDA bill.  

He also stuck around to shake some hands before departing  and the crowd started taking photos of each other that will be showing up on their various Facebook pages, Twitter feeds and Instagram accounts over the next few days.

Here's the POTUS making his remarks at the LGBT reception. 




Oh yeah, since it's Friday, it's time to segue into what I do on this day every week.  Do my due diligence in terms of letting you TransGriot readers know what people are gleefully representing the plethora of fools amongst our species.

As Mr T says, "Fools are everywhere." 
   .
So let's get busy figuring out who won this week's Shut Up Fool Award.

Honorable mention number one is Virginia GOP lieutenant governor candidate and cookie chomping sellout EW Jackson.   He's been hanging around the Tea Klux Klan a little too much because their demonstrated ability to correctly spell words in English is rubbing off on him.    He's also attempting to tapdance away from some of his extreme statements that yoga leads to Satanism and that birth defects are caused by the parents sins.  

Once a Teahadist, always a teahadist.  Don't be fooled Virgina by his attempt to move from  the batturd wing to simply being an extremist.  

Honorable mention number two I'm going north of the border for.   It's Diane Watts of REAL Women of Canada.   As the only witness testifying against C-279 in that June 10 Senate hearing she channeled her inner Bug and regurgitated the same loud and wrong testimony she used last November to attempt to kill C-279 in the House of Commons.  

Just like last November, she failed.  C-279 passed out of the Senate committee whose eyes glazed over as they heard Watts' BS, and is now headed to the Senate floor for Third Reading.

Honorable mention number three goes to Governor Rick Perry (R-TX).    The GOP controlled legislature passed the Merry Christmas Bill  (I kid you not) that Governor Goodhair signed that states you have the right to say religious greetings like 'Merry Christmas' and display various religious symbols on school grounds.

"I'm proud we are standing up for religious freedom in our state.  Freedom of religion doesn't mean freedom from religion." said Perry. 

Wrong, dude. That bill is unconstitutional, and once again you're going to put Atty Gen. Greg Abbott (R) in the position of wasting our tax dollars to defend that jacked up bill and lose in court    You cannot spend public money to promote any religion and news flash, not everybody in the Lone Star State is a Christian.

This week's winners and prime examples of vanillacentric privilege and ignorance combining are Joey Heck and Tanner Flake.   Heck and Flake let loose racist, sexist, anti-Semitic and homophobic tweets that their Congressional Republican fathers, Rep Joe Heck (R-NV) and Sen Jeff Flake (R-AZ) had to apologize for. 

Like fathers, like sons.

Joey Heck and Tanner Flake, shut up fools! 

“I’m proud we are standing up for religious freedom in our state,” Perry said. “Freedom of religion doesn’t mean freedom from religion.” - See more at: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/13/texas-gov-rick-perry-americans-have-no-right-to-freedom-from-religion/#sthash.aQjX2Aqk.dpuf

 

2013 Philadelphia Trans Health Conference

The 12th annual Philadelphia Trans Health Conference kicked off yesterday and runs through Saturday, June 15.

It is the largest trans themed conference in the United States (yep it's bigger than Southern Comfort in the ATL) with up to 2,500 attendees, and I'd hoped to finally get this off my conference bucket list this year.   I was scheduled to take part in a panel discussion, but once again my buzzard's luck with this conference continues. 

Unfortunately I'm not going to be at the Pennsylvania Convention Center to meet and greet you peeps or on that 5:40 PM Saturday panel I was scheduled for due to circumstances beyond my control. 

Yeah, I'm disappointed I'm not there.   But as much as I'd like to be at every major conference this community holds, sometimes the stars don't align for you to be able to attend it.

I can tell you one conference I will be there in full effect for in 2014, and it happens from January 29-February 2 in Houston at the Hilton Americas hotel.   

I'm really bummed about missing this edition of the PTHC because not only were Audrey Mbugua, Liesl Theron and Victor Mukasa scheduled to be there, so was Jazz and a long list of other people in the community I've been wanting to meet.   There were also a lot of my friends in the community I wanted to see who were attending the PTHC as well.  

I was also looking forward to destroying a few cheesesteaks and Slurpees while I was there.

But for those of you who are in Philly for this event, I hope you're having a wonderful time, you're getting your learn on with all the wonderful seminars and panel discussions that are part of this event, and you'll get the opportunity to check out the meet and greet event happening later tonight at the William Way Community Center at 1315 Spruce Street from 8-10 PM EDT sponsored by the Task Force, TPOCC, NBJC, NCLR  and The Transgender Law Center.  

Oh well, here's hoping I can make the 2014 PTHC. 

C-279 Passes Favorably Out Of Committee

The trans rights news is also wonderful coming out of the Great White North as C-279 passed another critical step in becoming Canadian federal law.

After hearings on June 3 and June 10, it passed favorably out of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights.

It moves back to the Canadian Senate floor for another two hours of debate and a final Third Reading vote that its Senate sponsor, Sen. Grant Mitchell is hopeful the bill will pass.. 

If it passes Third Reading,C-279 goes to the Governor General for Royal Assent and becomes Canadian law. 

I am in admiration of you trans folks who live in Canada.   You are living in a nation that is about to pass a law that codifies your human rights as a trans person. That IS something for Canada to be proud of and it's something I wish my nation would replicate on our side of the border

I will keep hoping and praying that C-279 becomes a reality and you have something to really celebrate when Canada Day happens July 1..

Delaware Trans Rights Bill Out Of House Committee

More good news out of Delaware as the First State shows New York how it should be done when it comes to passing a trans rights bill. 

Senate Bill 97 has bipartisan support and passed in the Delaware Senate June 6 on an 11-7 vote. 

It passed out of the House Administration Committee with a favorable bipartisan 4-1 vote Tuesday as the two Republicans on the committee went in opposite trans human rights directions.

The usual 'bathroom bill' spin meistering from Nicole Theis and her haters from the Delaware Family Policy Transphobic Hate Council ain't working because the bill has support from Gov. Jack Markell (D), Atty General Beau Biden (D), and several people testifying favorably for its passage. 

One of those people is Delaware native Sarah McBride who is lobbying with Equality Delaware along with her parents.  Sarah was the trans White House intern I met during OUT on the Hill last year and now she's handling her trans human rights business.   

The bill now goes to the full Delaware House for a vote on June 17 that will be watched by all of us in Trans America.  If it passes on Tuesday the bill heads to Gov. Markell for his signature. .

GetEqual Activists Arrested Protesting John Boehner's Office

Hmm.   Seems like GetEqual heard the comments coming from moi and other Black LGBT peeps who correctly noted their far too frequent penchant for protest actions aimed at the POTUS and FLOTUS. 

They pale in comparison to any similar ones aimed at their ongoing and unrepentant oppressors in the Republican Party. 

Right on cue after taking a major negative publicity hit for another protest gone bad, we have eight GetEqual activists show up in House Speaker John Boehner's (R-OH) office demanding a vote on ENDA and getting busted for it.

See this broken clock moment for yourselves.






Still doesn't erase the negative optics of what Ellen Sturtz did, but it's a start. 

EW Jackson Misspells Title Of His Book On The Cover

The Tea Klux Klan and their knee-grow auxiliaries just keep making it too easy for me to mock and ridicule them.   We're going to do this in Final Jeopardy format (snicker, snicker)  

E.W Jackson, the cookie chomping sellout running for lieutenant governor of Virginia has a misspelled word on the front cover of his waste of trees book.  What is it?

And remember, your answer must be in the form of a question 

Cue Final Jeopardy think music

Times up, TransGriot readers.   What was your answer?

If you said, What is 'Commandments'? you are correct, TransGriot reader. 

Hey 'Bishop' Jackson, if  you can't spell, we damned sure don't need you making law.   Besides, your ideas and political stances are too batturd off the chain for you to even become the lieutenant governor of Virginia, much less be allowed to cast the tiebreaking votes in a deadlocked Virginia senate.  

And you know this fool just earned another Shut Up Fool Award nomination for this one..

A Modest AP Stylebook Proposal

For those of you who have taken the time to peruse the over 6500 posts here, you'll notice that many of the posts I have written over the last seven years have chronicled the many journalistic fails in terms of following the AP Stylebook guidelines for reporting on transgender people.

To remind people, here's what they say in terms of writing about trans people:

transgender-Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.

If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the individuals live publicly.

Translation: transgender woman=use female pronouns in story. Transgender male=use male pronouns in story.  

GLAAD has a media guide you can peruse in addition to the NLGJA. 

Since there seems to be confusion, a lack of reading comprehension, or outright blatant ignoring or disrespect of the trans person's humanity a la the Cleveland Plain Dealer's recent journalistic hate crime in these stories, I propose adding this line to the current AP Stylebook guideline in covering transgender stories.

When in doubt, use the name germane to the acquired characteristics or the way the persons live publicly and do not use a name inconsistent with those characteristics.

What that will do is make the stories about trans people more consistent, respectful and less confusing to readers, the trans community and our allies.  It is not necessary for a reader to know in a human interest story for example that Karen's name used to be Kendall or because Karen has yet to get her identity documents changed to seize on and add to the story 'her legal name is Kendall'.

You have already let your readers know that Karen is a transwoman by stating that fact in the headline or opening paragraph of the story.   Throwing the old name in the story is disrespectful, unnecessary (and in some cases triggering) to the transperson in question. 

The bottom line is trans people aren't going back into the closet or going away.  We are spread out all over the country and will eventually make news good, neutral or bad that you'll be in a position in your various locales to report on.

We in the trans community would prefer that those media interactions be positive ones and not adversarial. 

2013 TBLG White House Reception Today

And it could get ugly as the volume has risen from Gay, Inc and predominately white gay peeps about the ENDA executive order they are demanding President Obama sign that won't cover the entire community.

We'll see if the LG folks behave themselves today.  

And all I have to say if ENDA was so important to pass, why when we had to choose one bill to get done during the 2010 lame duck session it was DADT?

I will at least have one of my trans community friends there to witness whatever goes down today in Antonia D'orsay of Dyssonance blog fame.   

When she's not writing thought provoking blog posts, she's the executive director of This Is H.O.W in Phoenix and who came up with the idea for the Trans 100 List that she and Jen Richards made happen. .

Congrats Toni on getting the invitation to the White House and having a ringside seat to what should be a very interesting day inside I-495.

BTMI T-Shirt Design Contest

Calling all artists and aspiring graphic designers, Black Transmen, Inc. is conducting a T-Shirt design contest!

Can you draw? Do you have graphic arts experience? All creative minds are invited to participate!
We'd like to update our current design, with a fresh, new look for the Summer.

If your design is selected, you'll not only be recognized for it but get a paid internship as BTMI's Graphic Artist.

We are seeking a stylish, everyday look, that also includes our BTMI logo. We want to make T-Shirt lovers think of BTMI's clothing line, as they build their Summer wardrobe.

If you're interested in unleashing your creative talents and possibly getting a paid internship in the process, contact BTMI today by sending an e-mail to cburton@blacktransmen.org for further information. 

All entries in the BTMI T-shirt design contest are due by July 1, 2013.

 Contact BTMI today and best of luck to those of you who choose to participate in this contest.

Washington DC Proposing Legislation To Ease Trans Birth Certificate Guidelines

More positive news out of Washington DC in that the District of Columbia is working on legislation that would make it easier for trans people to obtain new birth certificates reflecting the people they are now.

“D.C.’s law as it currently exists makes it really hard for trans people to get their vital records in line with who they really are,” said Andy Bowen of the DC Trans Coalition in an interview with WRC-TV

Under the old rules to get a birth certificate change not only required genital surgery, but public notification for several days via classified newspaper ads.  The new ones would simply require a certified statement from a medical doctor and issue a new birth certificate rather than amending the old one.  

Too bad Washington DC's proposed approach isn't universal across this country.   Would make things a lot easier documentation wise for transpeople.   

The DC  Council Judiciary Committee has already approved the legislation and it will come before the full DC City Council in the next few weeks where it is expected to easily pass. 

50th Anniversary Of Medgar Evers Assassination

It didn't take long for reaction to come from the Southern segregationists and Klan terrorists to come in reaction to President Kennedy's civil rights speech the previous night

50 years ago today civil rights leader and NAACP Field Secretary Medgar Evers was shot and killed in the driveway of his Jackson, MS home by white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith as he returned from a meeting with NAACP lawyers in the early morning hours of June 12, 1963.

After his funeral in Jackson, the Army veteran was buried with full military honors June 19 in Arlington National Cemetery as President Kennedy and other leaders of the time condemned the murder.

De La Beckwith was arrested for murder within weeks of Evers’ shooting but his first trial in 1964 ended with a hung all-white male jury. When a second all-white male jury also failed to reach a decision, De La Beckwith was set free. 

With the persistence of his widow Myrlie Evers-Williams, who later became the chair of the NAACP herself in 1995, pressure was applied three decades later by the Evers family and civil rights leaders to force the state of Mississippi to reopen the case based on new evidence.   

Evers body was exhumed from his grave for autopsy during the trial and on February 5, 1994 a racially mixed jury convicted the then 73 year old unrepentant white supremacist De La Beckwith for the 1963 assassination of Evers and sentenced him to life in prison, where he died in January 2001 at age 80.
.

Here We Go Again With The ENDA Executive Order

It's back for the 2K13, the predominately white gay grousing over President Obama not moving on their demands to sign an ENDA executive order.

The ENDA executive order they have been pushing for since 2010 has been a recurring theme in GLBT politics.  It's also bogus.   Far from eliminating discrimination for the entire LGBT community 'with the stroke of a pen', it only protects TBLG people employed by federal contractors.

It only benefits the gays who are employed by federal contractors and I'm extremely skeptical about the benefits to the rest of the community not covered by the executive order.. 

The Employment and Nondiscrimination Act is the legislative solution for the problem of LGBT employment discrimination.  It would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in both public and private employment and benefit the ENTIRE TBLG community.

An executive order won't.  

Granted, even Stevie Wonder can see that ENDA isn't passing out of a Republican controlled House.  But one of the reasons it's a Republican controlled House is because some of you GL peeps sat on your asses on November 2, 2010 instead of taking them to the polls during that midterm.

At the same time, because you were mad at President Obama for not dropping what he was doing to clean up the mess Junior left him and immediately cater to what you wanted him to do, you loudly and stupidly called for the GL community to sit out that election to 'punish the Democrats'.

And who ended up getting punished?  Damned sure wasn't the Democratic Party, it was all the GLBT peeps who aren't in your tax bracket who got punished.   It was every person in the US who depends on having the Dems in power to fight for them inside I-495 to keep their human rights from being trampled on by the neo-fascist Republicans.

But now that we have this lemon Congress, how do we make lemonade out of the situation?   And no, the ENDA executive order ain't it because it isn't broad enough to cover the sectors of the BTLG community that desperately need the anti-discrimination coverage.

Time to focus people on the long game and remember your Dallas Principles. 

Circle November 4 on your 2014 calendar, bust your butts to ensure the Dems hold or expand their Senate majority and take control of the House back.   We can raise our appletini glasses together to celebrate the return of the speaker's gavel to Nancy Pelosi's hands from the clutches of the GOP Cryin' Man and then get busy executing the full court press in 2015 to pass an inclusive ENDA..

50th Anniversary of JFK's Civil Rights Speech

President John F. Kennedy on this night 50 years ago addressed the nation on African-American civil rights issues.   While we have come a long way since June 11, 1963, we still have a long way to go.

We have far too many people (including a few Supreme Court justices) in this country that think the progress we African-Americans and our allies have paid for in blood to the country that Dr. King envisioned needs to be rolled back or is 'racial entitlement'.

To remind you TransGriot readers the struggle continues, here is the speech President Kennedy made on that June evening 50 years ago.







***

Good evening, my fellow citizens:

This afternoon, following a series of threats and defiant statements, the presence of Alabama National Guardsmen was required on the University of Alabama to carry out the final and unequivocal order of the United States District Court of the Northern District of Alabama. That order called for the admission of two clearly qualified young Alabama residents who happened to have been born Negro. That they were admitted peacefully on the campus is due in good measure to the conduct of the students of the University of Alabama, who met their responsibilities in a constructive way.

I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents. This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.

Today, we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. And when Americans are sent to Vietnam or West Berlin, we do not ask for whites only. It ought to be possible, therefore, for American students of any color to attend any public institution they select without having to be backed up by troops. It ought to to be possible for American consumers of any color to receive equal service in places of public accommodation, such as hotels and restaurants and theaters and retail stores, without being forced to resort to demonstrations in the street, and it ought to be possible for American citizens of any color to register and to vote in a free election without interference or fear of reprisal. It ought to to be possible, in short, for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to his race or his color. In short, every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated. But this is not the case.

The Negro baby born in America today, regardless of the section of the State in which he is born, has about one-half as much chance of completing a high school as a white baby born in the same place on the same day, one-third as much chance of completing college, one-third as much chance of becoming a professional man, twice as much chance of becoming unemployed, about one-seventh as much chance of earning $10,000 a year, a life expectancy which is 7 years shorter, and the prospects of earning only half as much.

This is not a sectional issue. Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every State of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety. Nor is this a partisan issue. In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics. This is not even a legal or legislative issue alone. It is better to settle these matters in the courts than on the streets, and new laws are needed at every level, but law alone cannot make men see right. We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the Scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution.

The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated. If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his children to the best public school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who will represent him, if, in short, he cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place? Who among us would then be content with the counsels of patience and delay?

One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice. They are not yet freed from social and economic oppression. And this Nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free.

We preach freedom around the world, and we mean it, and we cherish our freedom here at home, but are we to say to the world, and much more importantly, to each other that this is the land of the free except for the Negroes; that we have no second-class citizens except Negroes; that we have no class or caste system, no ghettoes, no master race except with respect to Negroes?

Now the time has come for this Nation to fulfill its promise. The events in Birmingham and elsewhere have so increased the cries for equality that no city or State or legislative body can prudently choose to ignore them. The fires of frustration and discord are burning in every city, North and South, where legal remedies are not at hand. Redress is sought in the streets, in demonstrations, parades, and protests which create tensions and threaten violence and threaten lives.

We face, therefore, a moral crisis as a country and a people. It cannot be met by repressive police action. It cannot be left to increased demonstrations in the streets. It cannot be quieted by token moves or talk. It is a time to act in the Congress, in your State and local legislative body and, above all, in all of our daily lives. It is not enough to pin the blame on others, to say this a problem of one section of the country or another, or deplore the facts that we face. A great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all. Those who do nothing are inviting shame, as well as violence. Those who act boldly are recognizing right, as well as reality.

Next week I shall ask the Congress of the United States to act, to make a commitment it has not fully made in this century to the proposition that race has no place in American life or law. The Federal judiciary has upheld that proposition in a series of forthright cases. The Executive Branch has adopted that proposition in the conduct of its affairs, including the employment of Federal personnel, the use of Federal facilities, and the sale of federally financed housing. But there are other necessary measures which only the Congress can provide, and they must be provided at this session. The old code of equity law under which we live commands for every wrong a remedy, but in too many communities, in too many parts of the country, wrongs are inflicted on Negro citizens and there are no remedies at law. Unless the Congress acts, their only remedy is the street.

I am, therefore, asking the Congress to enact legislation giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public -- hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores, and similar establishments. This seems to me to be an elementary right. Its denial is an arbitrary indignity that no American in 1963 should have to endure, but many do.

I have recently met with scores of business leaders urging them to take voluntary action to end this discrimination, and I have been encouraged by their response, and in the last two weeks over 75 cities have seen progress made in desegregating these kinds of facilities. But many are unwilling to act alone, and for this reason, nationwide legislation is needed if we are to move this problem from the streets to the courts.

I'm also asking the Congress to authorize the Federal Government to participate more fully in lawsuits designed to end segregation in public education. We have succeeded in persuading many districts to desegregate voluntarily. Dozens have admitted Negroes without violence. Today, a Negro is attending a State-supported institution in every one of our 50 States, but the pace is very slow.

Too many Negro children entering segregated grade schools at the time of the Supreme Court's decision nine years ago will enter segregated high schools this fall, having suffered a loss which can never be restored. The lack of an adequate education denies the Negro a chance to get a decent job.

The orderly implementation of the Supreme Court decision, therefore, cannot be left solely to those who may not have the economic resources to carry the legal action or who may be subject to harassment.

Other features will be also requested, including greater protection for the right to vote. But legislation, I repeat, cannot solve this problem alone. It must be solved in the homes of every American in every community across our country. In this respect I wanna pay tribute to those citizens North and South who've been working in their communities to make life better for all. They are acting not out of sense of legal duty but out of a sense of human decency. Like our soldiers and sailors in all parts of the world they are meeting freedom's challenge on the firing line, and I salute them for their honor and their courage.

My fellow Americans, this is a problem which faces us all -- in every city of the North as well as the South. Today, there are Negroes unemployed, two or three times as many compared to whites, inadequate education, moving into the large cities, unable to find work, young people particularly out of work without hope, denied equal rights, denied the opportunity to eat at a restaurant or a lunch counter or go to a movie theater, denied the right to a decent education, denied almost today the right to attend a State university even though qualified. It seems to me that these are matters which concern us all, not merely Presidents or Congressmen or Governors, but every citizen of the United States.

This is one country. It has become one country because all of us and all the people who came here had an equal chance to develop their talents. We cannot say to ten percent of the population that you can't have that right; that your children cannot have the chance to develop whatever talents they have; that the only way that they are going to get their rights is to go in the street and demonstrate. I think we owe them and we owe ourselves a better country than that.

Therefore, I'm asking for your help in making it easier for us to move ahead and to provide the kind of equality of treatment which we would want ourselves; to give a chance for every child to be educated to the limit of his talents.

As I've said before, not every child has an equal talent or an equal ability or equal motivation, but they should have the equal right to develop their talent and their ability and their motivation, to make something of themselves.

We have a right to expect that the Negro community will be responsible, will uphold the law, but they have a right to expect that the law will be fair, that the Constitution will be color blind, as Justice Harlan said at the turn of the century.

This is what we're talking about and this is a matter which concerns this country and what it stands for, and in meeting it I ask the support of all our citizens.

Thank you very much.

Another GetEqual Fail- White Privilege, Black Blaming and Dissing The First Lady

I've been on GetEqual's ass since 2010 about their one sided penchant for protesting this White House but not having the same vanillacentric zeal to protest their Republican oppressors.

I've also questioned at times if anybody in the org paid attention in their government or political science classes.

Once again their lack of vision and bad timing bit them in the behind when GetEqual's Ellen Sturtz interrupted First Lady Michelle Obama at a recent private fundraiser event.  The stated purpose was to call attention to getting the POTUS to sign an incrementalist ENDA executive order that the 1% white gays have been pushing that won't protect the entire community like comprehensive ENDA legislation will. 

And oh by the way, the First Lady doesn't have the power to write and sign executive orders, her husband does.   It's not a good idea to piss off the person who DOES have the power to issue that executive order you'd like them to sign by disrespecting their spouse. 

The only attention it has gotten was on how rude Ms Sturtz was, how problematic the optics were on this and how once again, predominately white led Gay Inc orgs pull these stunts that play well in the white gay community but piss off gay and straight African-Americans weary of the unprecedented levels of disrespect aimed at the Obamas. 

The timing also sucked because African-Americans trans, gay and straight were already pissed off about being blamed by loud and wrong gay pundits for the Illinois marriage equality legislative FUBAR.

Denise Oliver-Velez comments on this latest GetEqual fail in her DailyKos post that features comments from a certain blogger y'all know.

Eva Longoria Offers Support To Trans Employee

I have much love for my fellow Texan Eva Longoria, and like many people in the trans community was pissed to hear the story about about trans barista Vivian Diego.

The 22 year old Diego worked at Longoria's LA restaurant Beso that she opened in 2008 with chef Todd English. 

Vivian was headed home after working her shift at the restaurant when she was ambushed near the Hollywood Blvd LA METRO station by four knuckle dragging wastes of DNA, severely beaten and left for dead 

Vivian was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and treated for two fractured ribs, a shattered cheekbone, a broken jaw and damage to her temple.  The perpetrators of the assault are still being sought by the LAPD's Hollywood Division  and it is being investigated as a hate crime. 

It didn't get much better when that cesspool of transphobia celeb gossip blog Bossip posted the story and I ended up along with several other transpeople and our allies having to go to war in the comment section against all the transphobic ignorance running amok in the comment threads.

On June 3 Longoria tweeted about the incident and offered support to Diego by posting on "My heart and prayers are with Victor Diego and his family."

Glad to hear her comment about it, and hope the LAPD gets the creeps who did this.

Cssa Ruby Turns One!

It has served over 700 people since its June 2012 opening, has attracted the unwanted attention of a hater who called in a bomb threat to the premises and served as the home for Latin American delegates to a recent HIV/AIDS conference that took place in Washington DC. 

Casa Ruby is celebrating its first year of service primarily to the trans Latino/a population of the District, but its doors are open to everyone.

The center located at 2822 Georgia Ave NW is now expanding services to the third floor of the brownstone it occupies. 

It currently offers a variety of social services and other programs to LGBT Latinos in the D.C. area in both Spanish and English. These include job placement programs, referrals to immigration lawyers, HIV testing and a food pantry.

Some of the money to cover Casa Ruby's $5,500 monthly expenses budget is coming out of Corado's own pocket, but she hopes to qualify for a recently announced Washington DC city program that provides up to $100,000 in grants to LGBT organizations that provide services to the District's residents.

Congratulations Ruby!  Hope you get that grant because Casa Ruby is a vitally needed community resource.  Hopefully the next time I'm in DC I'll get a chance to visit.

Upon Further Review, The 2013 Honor 41 List...

Has FIVE trams people on it..    There are four trans Latinas and trans man Isaac Gomez on the 2013 edition of the Honor 41 List. 

To explain the significance of the Honor 41 list and how it became a reality, here's the creator of the list Alberto Mendoza to discuss it. 

The Honor 41 List highlights and shines a much needed media spotlight on the contributions of LGBT Latino/a people.

I knew about three of the women who were honored when I composed my initial post about it and have had the pleasure of meeting two of them personally over the last several months in Arianna and Bamby. 

The videos for numbers 31-41 weren't up yet at the time i compiled the initial post, and I wanted to share that good news with the rest of our community and congratulate the women I knew who had been given the honor of being on the inaugural list..

Speaking of honors, the other trans Latina besides the lovely trio of Bamby Salcedo, Maria Roman and Arianna Inurritegui Lint who is on the initial list is Danielle Castro. 

Maria, Danielle and Isaac I am so looking forward to meeting you one day.  I wish you continued success in being outstanding role models for not only the trans Latina/o community and the TBLG Latina/o one, but your local, state and the national LGBT community as a whole.