5th Annual Texas Transgender Non Discrimination Summit Recap

The Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit is a local activism event I always look forward to and haven't missed since I returned home. 

This year's edition of it took place on the University of Houston campus for the third time (2009, 2011 and 2013) in its five year history.  But this time instead of the Roy Cullen Building where it was held the previous two times we were on the UH campus, it was in the brand new Classroom and Business Building.

My alma mater has been on a building spree the last few years in addition to having one of the new METRORail lines under construction pass by the southern and western edges of the UH campus.

This 2013 edition of the TTNS was going to be different because in addition to my usual reporter role, I was teaching a TTNS seminar for the first time.  It was a fact that caused the TransGriot to not have a comfortable night of sleep before I arrived on campus.

I was not only nervously excited about doing that on the campus of my alma mater, I recognized the significance of it as a trans person of color doing so.  I had been up until 2 AM doing last minute research to make certain my presentation was on point which also didn't help in addition to me still being pissed off about the Zimmerman verdict.

Day 1 dawned sunny and I arrived for registration in the CBB lobby after having to detour around the UC because it was under reconstruction after getting off my METRO stop on the Calhoun side of campus.  

On the 18th was the second annual Transgender Health Summit sponsored by Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT) that since I was still honing my presentation I decided not to attend.  Turned out I missed Carter Brown who had Megabussed it down I-45 to attend, Tye West and Dee Dee Waters who did show up for it..

After handling my registration business with Dr. Maria Gonzalez and Kim Herhold and greeting them with hugs, I started the meet and greet portion of my day and saw Katy Stewart and Lauryn Farris, who had made the drive down I-10 east from San Antonio.   Got to see local folks like Daniel Williams, Kristopher Sharp and Nikki Vogel who was volunteering at TTNS this year.  We also had a Latina PFLAG member from Brownsville, TX who was there along with a nice mix of cis and trans folks, gay, lesbian, bi and straight allies, activists, social workers and collegiate admins as we availed ourselves of the breakfast, juices and coffee in the lobby.  

I also got a hug from Antonio an HCC-Southeast student I met during an event I done there. 

At 9 AM we were beckoned by Josephine Tittsworth to Room 124 at 9 AM for the welcome to campus by Dr. Gonzalez, our introduction from Josephine to open this edition of the TTNS and our Mistress of Ceremonies Jenifer Rene Pool taking the podium.

We also had a cameraman from Channel 39's NewsFix filming during the first half of the day before departing back to their southwest side studios.

After our first break we returned at 10 AM to hear the introduction for our first keynote speaker, Dr. Kristen Benson of North Dakota State University.   Dr Benson's research focuses on gender identity and family/ partner relationships, is a frequent author and presenter on gender identity inclusion and transgender affirmative practices. 

It was entitled Earning an A in Transgender Inclusion: Higher Ed's Role as Advocate, Academic and Ally and my former Louisville roommate Dawn Wilson would have loved this keynote because it was themed as 'Defying Gravity' and featured the song from the musical Wicked of the same name as an intro.

Dr. Benson in her keynote proceeded to highlight how universities can earn those A's by advocating, focusing on the academic aspects of trans issues and being standup allies for trans students so they can excel in the academic environment before we broke for lunch at 11:15 AM.

After lunch came the start of the first round of concurrent session starting at 1215 PM.  The three sessions you could choose from were Transgender Legal Issues, taught by Angela Oaks and Tracie Jackson in Room 110, Transgender 101: A Safe Space For Dialogue by Lou Weaver and Becca Keo in Room 104 and the one I did attend Engaging the Conservative Movement In Meaningful Dialogue by Christopher Busby in Room 124 where I'd been teaching my seminar in the next round..  

Christopher is a Log Cabin Republican who along with Jenifer did the heavy lifting in getting the HISD school board with three conservative leaning members to in 2011 unanimously add gender identity and sexual orientation to their employment policies, non-discrimination statements, and anti-bullying policies before I returned home in May 2010 from Da Ville to add the element of being a trans HISD alum.

The seminar helped us understand the conservative mindset and us liberal progressives learn the counterintuitive for us ways of talking to a conservative when we must to advance our human rights agenda and what conservabuzzwords to use when doing so.

After our 1:45-2:00 PM chocolate break, which I missed because I was getting ready for my seminar came the second round of concurrent sessions starting at 2:05 PM.

In addition to the one I was teaching in Room 124 on Contemporary Texas Trans History, Robin Mack and Jay Mays were in Room 104 teaching 'the Gender book Presents: How to Change The World In 3 Easy Steps and Judge Phyllis Frye was teaching another one on Transgender Legal Issues in Room 110 with one of her law firms new associates.

I pointed out that trans history has a Texas twang and focused on trans history in Texas from the mid 70's to the current day, covered many of the players, heroes and sheroes and events that shaped not only the Houston and Texas trans communities, but also had an impact on the national and in some cases international trans community. 

As far as how well it was received, I'll find out when I get the evaluation scores later.   But I did have a few of the attendees tell me how much they appreciated learning what I had talked about and I'm thinking about submitting this seminar either for the upcoming Creating Change event in Houston or as part of the programming of our POC hospitality suite.

After the closing remarks from Jenifer starting at 3:35 PM to conclude Day 1, we headed over to the TG Center for the traditional BBQ Dinner and social event they hold starting at 6 PM.  Spent another several hours in conversation with the TTNS and other people there on discuss the first day and other subjects of interest before I headed home and crawled into bed at 1 AM Saturday morning to end a day that started for me at 6 AM.

I started this cloudy Day 2 behind.  I set the alarm for 7 AM but made the fatal rollover and didn't wake up again until 7:45 AM.  Missed my first bus and the next one wasn't coming since it was on a Saturday schedule until 8:48 AM   Still got to UH and walked into the CBB right at 9 AM because this time I cut through the Melcher Building across from the CBB.

A few moments later we were assembled in Room 124 to hear Jenifer's opening remarks, announcement of a change to the schedule and started the day viewing the NewsFix report on TTNS Day 1.     



After watching it, we moved into the first Concurrent sessions of Day 2.   Our choices for the 9:20-11:15 AM hour were in Room 124 Helping Transgender Students Thrive On College Campuses: A Comprehensive Approach by Dr. Colt Meier and Utilizing HRC's Municipal Equality Index To Advocate For Transgender Legal Protections In Texas Municipalities by Michael Porcello.

Guess what room I ended up in?   Yeah, my dislike of HRC is still strong.  Besides, Colt is one of our local trans kids we've been investing in since 2003, and it was wonderful seeing one of our trans younglings grow up.  He just received his doctorate in May and is back home after his Texas Tech stint to start on his medical school work.

Dr. Meier laid out during his presentation a comprehensive model honed on one of the more conservative Lone Star collegiate campuses in Texas Tech University in Lubbock.   The model identified what departments to target, the people and decision makers to sway and what needed to be done in order to make college campuses more accessible and comfortable for transpeople, employees and faculty.

The 11:15 break hit way too soon, and at 11:30 it was time for Jennifer to introduce our keynote speaker for this day in Dr. Heather Kanenberg who had a Houston connection.   She'd taught at UH-Clear Lake for several years during the time that Josephine and Dr. Arch Erich were getting UH-CL to enact their trans inclusive policies.  She's been out of the state in Pennsylvania but is headed back to teach at UH-CL this fall.

Dr Kaneneberg's keynote was entitled Policy Change in Higher Education and in her speech she hit upon these major points that needed to be successfully accomplished in order to accomplish that policy change you seek.

1. Delineate The Policy
In other words you must know what you wish to change in order to accomplish that task.

2-Get The Facts
Make sure you do you homework because the opposition damned sure will and won't hesitate to pounce upon any errors, mistakes or lack of knowledge in order to deny grating the change you seek.

3-Who Holds The Power?
Who are the decision makers who wield the power to make your policy change a reality?  What is the chain of command?  Any rivalries or personality conflicts between the power players that could affect your proposed policy change adoption?    Knowing who the power players are and cultivating relationships with them in order to get your policy change approved.

4-Building a Coalition of Allies
Allies are vital in getting your policy change adopted nd showing you have broad based support.

5-Taking Thoughtful and Measured Action
Coming up with a strategy and game plan in order to get your policy change passed and having alternative routes to get to you end goal in case Plan A doesn't work.

6-Attend to Politics 
College campuses can be more politcal than Washington, your state capitol, your county commission or your city council.  Never forget that politics is part of the process and do your homework about the political dimension of this task.

Dr. Kanenberg closed it with two Dr. King quotes.   'True peace is not the absence of tension: It is the presence of justice" and "We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice."

After some questions and comments we moved to lunch at 12:30 PM.   It was at that point the skies opened up and we got one of those summer monsoon like rains we tend to get in H-town during this time of year that continued for about 45 minutes.

Our final concurrent sessions for the 2013 edition of the TTNS to choose from were Tips for Teaching Transgender to Health Professionals on College Campuses by Dr. Colt Meier and Lou Weaver in Room 104 and Katy Stewart of TENT's Trans Health Data From The National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS).   It was an interactive one in which were given aspects of the NTDS and asked to present those stats and how they related to the higher education sphere.

The one I ended up in Katy's seminar with was the Family Life stats, in which I pointed out during my presentation that lack of stability in family life affects your K-12 educational performance, can prevent you from even having the ability to attend college, or if you happened to be in college, lack of stability in home life or worrying about it because of fear of what disclosure of your trans status will do to that home life can affect and be a major distraction your collegiate educational performance.  The last one was an issue I was intimately familiar with.

3:00 PM came far too soon, but that meant we were about to hear from our final keynote speaker of the 2013 TTNS in Judge Phyllis R. Frye.

She talked about The History of the LGBT Movement At Texas A&M University, which is a very colorful one.  She gave trans shero and pioneer Sarah DePalma a shoutout, talked about the hell Sarah went through at A&M during the time she was there fighting anti-LGBT discrimination. and mentioned what Lowell Kane was subjected to as he built the GLBT center on the A&M campus I had the pleasure of visiting during my presentation up in Aggieland. 

The Closing Plenary, like the ones for Dr. Benson on Friday and Dr. Kanenberg's were videotaped and when it concluded a little after 4::00 PM, Jenifer returned to the podium to make her What Is Next? remarks.

Jenifer pointed out that much of what she learned at the 2009 TTNS she used to successfully lobby HISD and Rafael McDonnell did the same after attending a TTNS, taught a seminar in 2011 and returned to the Dallas area to get trans inclusive policies passed for DCCCD and the DISD.  

We finally got to the bittersweet point of a TTNS where Josephine made her closing remarks.  She made her call for hosts of the 2014 summit at the end of those remarks and when she finished speaking, just like that, the 2013 edition of the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit was over.

Where will the 6th annual edition of the TTNS be in 2014?   That's a question that will be answered in November.  The TTNS board's goal has always been to have this event rotate to different parts of Texas to make it accessible to everyone across our bigger than France state.  They don't want it to be just a Houston party but that's how it has evolved so far. 

So far it's been just UH (2009, 2011, 2013) Rice (2010) and UH-Clear Lake (2012) hosting the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit with HCC and UH-Downtown also waiting in the wings if no one else in the rest of the state is willing to step up to be the eager hosts of the 2014 TTNS. 

To be honest, I'd like to take a road trip to San Antonio, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Austin or even better one of our Texas HBCU campuses in Texas Southern University or Prairie View A&M to attend or teach a seminar at a TTNS one day.   The cluster of San Antonio folks who were there in attendance had a quick preliminary discussion not long after the TTNS ended in order to discuss that possibilty of organizing and hosting it on one of the college campuses in their area and I hope they are serious about making that happen. 

But wherever it goes, you TransGriot readers will find out when I get the word.

Rest In Peace, Michelle C. Myers

Was saddened to learn yesterday of the passing in her sleep of another one of our trailblazing leaders on June 17 in Michelle Claire Myers.   She was president of TATS for several years in the late 90's when she lived here in Houston and I was on the board of the organization, and I had much love and respect for this kind woman who was missed in H-town when she moved to San Antonio.

She was a retired chemical engineer who spoke three languages, knew several computer languages and served on the boards of several organizations in San Antonio.   She had some health challenges recently prior to her death.

Her memorial service was held June 22 and I wish I'd known about it so I could have paid my respects to her well lived life and posted about Ms. Myers at that time. 

Better late than never.   

Michelle was a beloved figure in San Antonio and also on our end of I-10 who mentored, guided and advised many people who were embarking on this gender journey with wise counsel that she role modeled every day.

She will be missed by all who knew and loved her.  Rest in power and peace, Michelle.  

POTUS Remarks On Trayvon Martin Case

President Obama after a few days of noticeable silence emerged Friday to speak about the Trayvon Martin and the unjust Zimmerman verdict.

 

Houston Possible Trans Murder Case Update

I posted about the discovery of a body wearing a black dress and hose in a NW Houston gully back in early July and the possibility the victim was trans.

As of today we still don't have clear and concise enough information about the deceased that I and other people are confident enough to report at this time.

We also haven't been getting enough information from the Houston Police Department to clear up in our minds whether the person found was actually a member of our trans community.

I'll continue to work my sources to ferret that information out and once i have it, you'll see it posted here.

In the meantime, for those of you in the Houston area who have information on this ongoing case, please call HPD Homicide at 713-308-3600.
 

5th Annual Texas Transgender Non Discrimination Summit Day 2

Still not too late to join us at the brand new Classroom and Business Building on the University of Houston campus for the 5th annual Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit.

Onsite registration in the CBB starts at 8:30 AM with today's TTNS seminars and activities commencing at  9 AM CDT.   

If you didn't go yesterday, you missed some wonderful seminars including my own seminar on Contemporary Texas Trans History. 

It's the first time I've ever done one at the TTNS and I enjoyed discussing the events, heroes and sheroes since 1975 that have shaped not only the Houston and Texas trans communities, but the national and in some respects international ones.

And yeah, you missed our traditional TTNS chocolate break, too.

It was fun for me to be teaching a seminar for a change instead of being in my usual position at his even of just being a reporter, although I will sit down and compile a report as I always do reviewing this year's 2013 TTNS, keynote speakers and highlights from some of the seminars I was able to attend.

So I'll be busy getting my learn on today instead of being in the interesting position of teaching a seminar.  Enjoyed it so much already thinking about doing another one next year.

Hope the people who attended it enjoyed it as much a I did, and hope you'll bounce over to UH and the Calhoun street side of the campus to participate in Day 2 of the Texas Transgender Non Discrimination Summit.

Here's How NOT To Respond

                       Because the First Lady of Marvel is not here for your foolishness.

TransGriot Note: In the wake of the Zimmerman unjust verdict the polarized conversations around it have been taking place over the last week and the 'Two Americas' that John Edwards talked about have reared their head in it.

Denny wrote this post back in June, but it's definitely apropos and recommended reading as a guide to navigating what's sure to be a contentious Internet environment for the next few weeks.

Underscoring the points our fearless leader RVCBard made in the recent comments policy post, I’m sharing two responses I made on my Facebook page which explain HOW NOT to reply to a minority when we’re discussing the oppressions we endure.

Word of warning to white people everywhere. One of the most disgusting and deplorable of acts of racism that you can ever commit is to lecture a black person or for that matter any person of color, on how they should judge perceive and judge racism or any other cultural issue or oppression they face as a minority.
Understand that if you choose to engage in this behavior, it will not end well…..for you.

The fact that you have the unmitigated gall to think that you can sit from a place of privilege, police someone on their life experiences, their culture and the oppressions they endure, situations that you have never faced and will never face, reflects unbridled ignorance, malice, narcissism and bigotry. It’s also a red flag that you might be a sociopath.

If you ignore a person of color’s repeated warning to educate yourself on an issue and to disengage from the discussion, because its been established that you are speaking from ignorance, and said POC already knows where this derailed train is headed, such is your privilege.

But also understand that you when you rightfully get taken to task, read the riot act and illustrated as another example of everyday white supremacy, you don’t get to complain, you don’t get to cry. That humiliation and crushing defeat? On you.

Also, harassing me in PMs after the fact, not the smartest move. Because then the gloves are really coming off and I will really give you something to cry about. As a few individuals learned this weekend.
Also……

Pro-tip: Anytime you tell a black person, or any other person of color that you won’t care about racism or the oppression their facing until they do x. y, and z pretty much displays the white supremacist mindset you’re running with right there.

So don’t act shocked if you get lumped in with all the other “bad white people” when you make comments like that.

Because I guarantee you if someone said they wouldn’t care about homophobia or any issue affecting white people until x y and z are met, that ish wouldn’t fly for you.

If you’re sitting from a place of privilege and we have to win your empathy on your terms, then you’re no ally of ours and you’ve given us every reason to write you off as another bigot.

Please heed these warnings, or don’t. But when you get handed your ass for showing yours, don’t act like you weren’t warned.

Alleged Killer of January Lapuz To Face Trial

The alleged killer of Vancouver area trans woman January Marie Lapuz will be going on trial next year.

Twenty year old Charles Jameson 'Jamie' Mungo Neel is facing second degree murder charges in the death of the 26 year old Lapuz, who was stabbed in her New Westminster, BC home last September and subsequently died in a hospital a few hours later.

Neel was arrested on December 5 by New Westminster, BC police and faced a preliminary hearing in the court of Judge Therese Alexander back in June.

After hearing witnesses and viewing presented evidence, Judge Alexander ruled this case should go to trial and a date was set for June 9-16, 2014 for the trial to take place.

Will continue to monitor this north of the border case and see in the Canadian justice system is better than the one in my own nation when it concerns dispensing justice in the murder of trans individuals.

Shut Up Fool Awards-Conservafools Gone Wild Edition

This was a tough week for those of us who espouse fairness, justice and are on the liberal-progressive political side to promote them.  

First came George Zimmerman getting to walk for killing Trayvon Martin and the conservafool media and sheet wearing bigots everywhere gloating about it.   There there were the Republican controlled Texas and North Carolina legislatures passing draconian and unjust new abortion restrictions by hook and crook.

Then there was the House voting to cut SNAP benefits out of the farm bill.

November 4, 2014 can't get here fast enough

But intil that date, it's time for me to handle my usual Friday business and sort out what fool , fools, or group of fools deserve to get this week's Shut Up Fool awards.   Since my fools runneth over this week, time to get busy sorting them out.

Honorable mention number one is Ryan Gosling, who in an interview stated that the worst thing you can call someone is a 'dumb hipster'.   Really?    I can tell you more than a few words to call someone that are infinitely far worse than 'dumb hipster' to call someone.   I can also tell you about one that has a 400 year negative history behind it that start with 'n'. 

Honorable mention number two is Pat Robertson who opened his mouth on a recent 700 666 Club show and said that Zimmerman was right to pursue Trayvon Martin because 'only criminals wear those hoods'

So I guess you think the pointed white ones are okay then?

Honorable mention number three goes to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) who parted his lips to say the Voting Rights Act should be held hostage to protect their voter suppression ID laws.

Honorable mention number four goes to Ted Nugent.   He got himself back into the Shut Up Fool of the Year running with this statement on the Alex Jones Show that 'The Blacks' could end racism by staying clean and sober and speaking clearly.'

No, we could end racism by you and your GOP buddies STFU.   And Ted, Why don't you lead by example.  When you stay clean and sober, you might have standing to open your mouth.  But until then STFU about things you don' have a fracking clue about.

And this week's SUF winner.  It's a joint award for the Zimmerman KKKlan and their attorneys Don West and Mark O'Mara.  Whether it was saying racist crap in their collective interviews, tastelessly spiking the football after they got George off for murder last Saturday in their press conference, George arrogantly demanding that Black people apologize to him, all they proved this week was that white privilege and bigotry  runs deep in the Zimmerman family.    Same is trie for West and O'Mara.
.
And now, take it away Mr T.

5th Annual Texas Transgender Non Discrimination Summit Today

At the moment I'm getting my beauty sleep in preparation for a long day on the campus of my alma mater for the 5th annual Texas Transgender Non Discrimination Summit at the University of Houston today and Saturday July 20.

This is not only one of my fave local events, it's one that for the first time since I came back home I'm actually taking the plunge of not just reporting on it as I've done since 2010, but teach a seminar too.

The seminar I'm teaching is going to be on Contemporary Texas Trans History.  I have about 45 minutes to cover the last 40 years of Texas transgender history.   I have a fascinating and interesting story to tell and I'm looking forward to doing so.

It's not too late for you to join us, so head on over to the University Classroom and Business Building behind the University Center on the Calhoun street side on the campus and join us starting at 8:30 AM CDT 

And are you doing the chocolate break again this year? 
 

GL Community, When Are You Coming Back For My Trans Brothers And Sisters In Wisconsin, New York, New Hampshire and Maryland?

Another subject that needs to be talked about that has been weighing on my mind lately has been the fact that the GL community has human rights protection in Wisconsin, New York, New Hampshire and Maryland and my transpeeps in those states don't.

In these four states the GL community gained sexual orientation non-discrimination protection while throwing transpeople under the human rights bus to do so.  Wisconsin passed a GL rights law in 1982.  Maryland did so in 2001.  New York and New Hampshire in 2002.

And did the GL community come back for us in those states much less even lift a finger or donate money to help their trans allies?   Nope.  They were busy passing marriage equality legislation and after it passed they felt their heavy civil rights lifting was done and started planning their weddings. 

In New Hampshire the marriage bill passed in 2008 but a trans rights bill winding its way to passage the same year inexplicably died n a Democratic female controlled Senate on a 24-0 vote.

The same pattern repeated itself in New York in 2011 and Maryland in 2012 in which marriage equality legislation passed, but trans rights legislation moving to passage ironically died in those states Senate chambers as well. 

You could make the argument the GL community has been a bigger impediment to trans human rights legislation passing than the Republican Party in all those states, especially since they focused on passing marriage in three of them and are still trying to do so in Wisconsin.

And as ENDAblog 2.0's Kat Rose would argue, the gay community still has the special right to discriminate against the trans community in all of those states they have 'full equality' in.   Judging by the publicly foul crap that happened to Allyson Robinson, they damned sure are exercising it, especially in the Gay, Inc organizational ranks.


In the meantime the trans community has been waiting 31 years for gender identity language to be added to the non-discrimination law in Wisconsin, 12 years in Maryland, and 11 years in New York and New Hampshire.  

For the folks in New York it has been even more aggravating as they have seen GENDA pass their assembly six straight times only to get bottled up in the New York Senate.   Meanwhile as they painfully watched GENDA get stalled again in a state whose governor ironically boasted it leads the way on human rights issues, the folks in Delaware took less than a month to show New York how it's done and become the 17th state to pass a trans rights law.

Prominent gay male blogger (and transphobe) John Aravosis recently stated in an Americablog comment thread that the gay community isn't obligated to come back for trans people and help them gain human rights coverage.  

It 's an opinion shared by elements of the white gay male and lesbian community and is probably is a factor in why the predominately white gay male run orgs have been glacially slow or outright refuse to engage in doing intersectional human rights work on behalf of the trans community. 

Aravosis was the same person when marriage equality failed in Illinois doing loud and wrong bigoted griping about it.   Can you say 'vanillacentric privileged white gay male hypocrite'?   Thought you could.

John, I and the Black community will keep that highlighted comment in mind the next time you and your like minded friends ever part your lips to complain about marriage equality failing in an area with a sizable African-American population.

I will also remind you of that comment the next time you ever open your mouth or write in a blog post the Black community has a responsibility to help you oppressed gay and lesbian people gain your marriage rights.

If you insist we African-Americans have a responsibility as your allies to help you on your issues, you and the GL community have the same responsibility and reciprocal obligation to help oppressed trans people do the same in addition to support other oppressed people who are part of the progressive coalition with their issue concerns..

It's called intersectionality, and it's something the gay community has historically sucked at.  It has led to the perception with non-white trans and SGL members of this liberal-progressive coalition that the gay rights movement is only concerned with pursuing policy stances and issues that help them get their lost white privilege back and frack everybody else.  

So I ask the question I posed at the beginning of this post.  When is the GL community coming back to help the trans community get their human rights coverage?

The trans community, the liberal-progressive coalition and the world is anxiously awaiting your answer to that question.

Where In The World Can I Go With My US Passport As A Trans Person?

One of the things that's on my short term to do list is getting my United States passport.  I want to have that issue out of the way in case I get invited to participate in a future international trans conference.  

The cool thing about getting a US passport is you don't need to undergo genital surgery to get the proper gender code on it and it's on the voter suppression laws list of acceptable ID because of the $135 cost.

I do like to travel, and one of the things I regret didn't get a chance to do more often before I reluctantly left the airline industry was fly internationally.

Like a lot of people I have an international travel bucket list of which in addition to seeing the classic tourist attractions like Paris' Eiffel Towel, Beijing's Forbidden City, Tokyo's Ginza district, transiting the Panama Canal and Berlin's Brandenburg Gate I also have attending international sporting events on my agenda like the Olympics, FIFA World Cups, FIBA world championships and tennis Grand Slam tournaments.  

My personal travel bucket list has a mix of well known tourist things to do plus things that are significant to my culture as a child of the African Diaspora and membership in the international trans community.    

Some of the things I'd like to do someday in addition to visiting Paris is going to the D-Day beaches in Normandy.   I want to see Robben Island prison in South Africa, look out of The Door of No Return at Senegal's Goree Island, visit Berlin, Stuttgart where my cousins are and drive on an autobahn, and travel to Holland and visit Anne Frank's annex. 

I want to go to Poland and see Auschwitz, see Mt. Fuji in Japan and ride a bullet train, visit Australia, hang out with Zoe in Canberra, see the Sydney Opera House and catch a footy game.  I want to visit London's Imperial War Museum and The All England Club, see Hong Kong, and spend some quality time with Naomi Fontanos and my transpinay sisters in the Philippines and take in the Amazing Philippines Show while I'm there.  

I'd also like to travel to Thailand, see a show at one of Thailand's trans cabarets, spend quality time with Audrey Mbugua and Lindsay during a Kenyan visit.  I'd like to visit Canada and my Canadian homegirls cis and trans across the country along with doing a dream north of the border road trip. 

But because of the anti-trans animus being stoked in large sections of the Middle East, eastern Europe, Latin America, Malaysia and Indonesia and much of the African continent, there are some of my travel bucket list items I may have to postpone or scratch off the list period for the time being. 

Can't go to Russia or Nigeria.  They both have draconian anti-LGBT laws and Russia will host the 2014 Winter Olympics in a few months.  Bye bye Red Square in Moscow and visiting St. Petersburg. 

Uganda, where Victoria Falls is located not only has a Kill The Gays one they have been trying to pass for several years now, it has rampant transphobia.  There are several sub-Saharan African nations in which transphobia is sadly on the rise.

The Middle East?  Same tired story of rampant anti-trans animus, especially in the Gulf States like Kuwait.  Egypt, the home of the pyramids has denied entry to transpeople into their country from customs and so has Dubai. 

Turkey is the second most dangerous place in the world for trans women and will be the host nation for the FIBA World Championship for Women next year.  

Brazil?  One of the most dangerous places in the world for trans women and the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics will be there.   Mexico?  Increasingly dangerous for trans women.    Greece?  Police harassment and unjust detainment of our transsisters, so that kills visiting the ancient Greek antiquity sites like the Parthenon.  The Caribbean?   We have heard the stories about Jamaica's recent anti-TBLG history.  Some of the other Anglophone Caribbean nations still have British colonial era anti-crossdressing laws on their legal books that could be liberally interpreted by the local po-po's to garner you some unwanted time in the local jails.

Bermuda?  While they just enacted a law expanding rights for gay, lesbian and bi folks, it's still open harassment season for trans people.

Central America?  Anti-trans animus and violent attacks on our transsisters in several of those nations such as Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.  Malaysia and Indonesia?  Anti-trans attitudes spread by fundie Muslims.  Hong Kong was detaining trans women, especially transpinays as you entered customs.

And that's before we even throw in my skin color and racial profiling as a factor.   The fun of just getting on that international flight to leave the USA after going through the TSA security gauntlet and upon your return going through customs as you reenter the US.

So where the hell can I travel as a Black trans woman who wants to see the world before she departs it? 

Theoretically, it's any place on the globe I have the time, cash and desire to visit with the exception of Cuba and North Korea in which US government travel bans are in place.

But realistically, the list of countries I can safely travel to as a trans person is sadly shrinking.

Martin Bashir Points Out Who The Real Hoodlum Is

MSNBC's Martin Bashir in his Clear The Air segment on his show did something that many pundits and journalists have refused to do in terms of calling out the demonization by conservative whites of Trayvon Martin.

The way Bashir did so was noting all the stuff George W. Bush did as a youth and young adult and compared it to the demonization that Trayvon Martin has faced at the hands of the Right Wing Noise Machine in the run up to this unjust trial and since the verdict.

Kerry Washington Gets Emmy Nomination!

Y'all know how much I love Kerry Washington, and was happy to hear that she has received an Emmy nomination for her critically acclaimed work on my fave show Scandal.

She was nominated for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category, but I was shocked and not surprised to learn that in the 64 year history of the Emmys, in this particular category only four African-American women have ever been nominated and NONE of them won.

In case you're wondering who those four women are, Debbie Allen (“Fame”; 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985), Alfre Woodard (“St. Elsewhere”; 1986), Regina Taylor (“I’ll Fly Away”; 1992, 1993) and Cicely Tyson (“Sweet Justice”; 1995)

What's even more disgusting is that no African-American woman has been nominated for this category since 1995 and Kerry Washington is the first African-American woman to receive a nomination in this category in the 21st Century. 

There have been others who deserved nominations for their work such as Jada Pinkett Smith for HawthoRNe, Khandi Alexander for Treme and Angela Bassett during the final season of ER but all were snubbed. 

That dearth of African-American winners is probably one of the reasons I tend to ignore the Emmys when they are on TV, but I won't be doing so this year because it could be a historic night.

Don Cheadle and Alfre Woodard also received Emmy nominations..

It will be interesting to see if Kerry Washington's stylishly dressed self will be picking up that Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series trophy on September 22.

Happy 95th Birthday, Nelson Mandela!

'The very fact that racism degrades both the perpetrator and the victim commands that, if we are to be true to our commitment to protect human dignity, we fight on until victory is achieved.'--Nelson Mandela
The odds were looking bleak a few weeks ago in terms of him being around to celebrating this birthday.  He was battling a lung infection that had him on the ropes for a while, but today has dawned with him still in our plane of existence.

Today is former South African president Nelson Mandela's 95th birthday, and the world greets the news that the 1993 Nobel laureate is seeing this day with great relief.

As we celebrate his legacy, we in the United States also note that Mandela's 95th birthday is coming on the on the heels of our human rights being messed with on multiple levels by our Republican oppressors.  We are also emotionally reeling as we process our reactions to an unjust court verdict in which the teen victim was put on trial and not the adult gun toting bigot who killed him. 

It is also Nelson Mandela International Day , in which the global call to action goes out that celebrates and makes the point that each individual on our planet has the power to transform the world and the ability to make an impact.

The Mandela Day campaign message is a simple one.  It points out that Mr. Mandela gave 67 years of his life fighting for social justice.  It asks individuals to start with 67 minutes of their time supporting their favorite local charity or serving their community.

Mandela Day is a call to action for individuals across the planet to take responsibility for changing the world into a better place, one small step at a time, just as Mr. Mandela did.

There are weeks like this one in which that seems like it will be an impossible task, but in the spirit of this day we must do our part to at least try.

Happy birthday Madiba!    May you be blessed with many more.

In The Aftermath Of George Zimmerman's Release

TransGriot Note:  Renee's got a fresh post up, and this latest Womanist Musings one is her comments on the Zimmerman case from her above the 49th parallel vantage point as a Canadian.

I awoke this morning to discover that George Zimmerman has been acquitted of second degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.  I wasn't in the least bit surprised because for as long as I have been alive, Black life has been cheap.  It's a hard truth, but it's the reality with which I live, with which all children of the African Diaspora live.  The phrase "I Am Trayvon Martin" has become very popular and this is because he literally could have been any of us. Some worry that this verdict will embolden racists to target Blacks, but I wonder when have we ever not been a target? From chains to a Black president, Blackness continues to be under assault.

I find the only thing that brings me even the slightest bit of relief is the fact that I am Canadian and my sons are Canadian.  At 12, Destruction is five foot five and would not look much different from Trayvon in the same circumstances.  Like all mothers, I worry about his safety, but our much more rigid gun laws would more than likely mean that no neighbourhood watch cop wanna be, would take his life for simply existing. The glorification and absolutely masturbatory fascination Americans have with guns, combined with a White supremacist culture, which purposefully criminalizes and cheapens the lives of Black children before they can even take their first breath, are directly responsible for the violent unnecessary murder of Trayvon Martin.

Being a Canadian, I watched the circus of a trial unfold from a distance. There are most certainly large differences in American and Canadian law, though we share a symbiotic relationship in many ways, but what I saw before me was a farce.  George Zimmerman may have been accused of murder, but it was Trayvon Martin who went on trial. How is it that the person who ended up dead, and therefore unable to speak for themselves was criminalized? We learned about pictures of Trayvon Martin holding guns, about THC in his system and suspensions from school. It was not long before  he was turned into a drug dealing thug, who Zimmerman graciously saved the world from having to deal with.  What I want to know, is how is any of this is relevant to what happened that fateful night?  Zimmerman would have known none of this as he approached Trayvon, in direct contradiction of police instructions. The only thing that Zimmerman knew for an unequivocal fact, is that Trayvon Martin was Black.


He purposefully stalked Trayvon, creating a situation which ended in death but somehow he is not culpable? Had Zimmerman only listened to the 911 dispatcher, Trayvon would be alive today, but in a world in which every Black person is born a threat, Zimmerman felt emboldened to act.  Even after the fact, he could not admit the mistake he made and instead we had to listen to some cooked up story about self defense. How can someone claim self defense, when they started the situation to begin with?  If Zimmerman felt in true peril, it is only because he is a racist.  Zimmerman benefited from a system which has no interest in justice for people of color. Stop and Frisk Laws as well as the Stand Your Ground Law under which Zimmerman got away with murder, exist only to oppress and criminalize Black and Brown people.

You would think that after the controversial verdict of not guilty had been delivered by the all White jury that the Zimmerman family would finally let Trayvon rest in peace, but the character assassination continued on Pierce Morgan.  In a discussion regarding Trayvon's actions the night he was slain, Robert Zimmerman told Morgan and Lemon:

"I want to know if it's true, and I don't know if it's true, that Trayvon Martin was looking to procure firearms, or growing marijuana, or looking to make lean." 

This is what Robert extrapolated from a hoodie and a packet of sweeties.  How can this be rational?  Yet, we had White conservatives celebrating and calling it a defeat for the supposedly liberal media. Lost in their zeal is the anguish of yet another set of Black parents, who have lost their beloved child forever and the fear of Black parents across the diaspora that their child could be next.

I say child, because that is what Martin was and the only reason he was not perceived as such is his race.  Can you imagine an all White jury arriving at the same not guilty verdict, had the victim been a White kid from the suburbs and the perpetrator Black?   No one would even have had to rally for an arrest had that been the case, let alone watch this farce of justice that supposedly represented a trial.  Was there ever any hope of justice with a jury of all White women - women who have been raised to see Black males as the predator who jumps out of the bushes to harm them - women who have been indoctrinated to believe that only their children have value?

Slowly this story will slip off the front pages of newspapers and the networks will end their round the clock coverage, moving onto yet another tragedy that they can report on. The coldness of the grave does not bring ratings like sensationalism. The only people who cannot walk away, who cannot forget, are those who knew and loved Trayvon. For them, this will be a never ending nightmare because not only did they not get justice, they cannot get their loved one back.  They don't even have the cold comfort of believing that Trayvon's death will lead to change because this trial has proven soundly that he is just another, in a long list of Black youths, whose lives and deaths are meaningless in a White supremacist world. 

Malala's Very Happy Birthday

Malala Yousafzai's 16th birthday was on July 12 and it was one the Taliban tried to prevent her from seeing.

Thankfully for her family and the world they failed.

They attempted to assassinate the award winning Pakistani teen activist who advocates for children's education and women's rights on October 9, 2012.  

But she survived it, is now living in the UK with her family and has become an even bigger and well respected voice for those issues and women's rights and is now the youngest person to ever be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

In honor of Malala, her 16th birthday was designated by the United Nations and UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon as Malala Day. as she celebrated it with her first public speech since the cowardly Taliban terrorist tried to kill her on her way to school in Pakistan's troubled Swat valley.

She spoke in front of a UN Youth Assembly in New York in an impassioned speech in which she invoked the names of non-violence advocates Mahatma Gandhi, the Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. and the late Benazir Bhutto and called on the world's government to provide free education to every child among other issues.





"Let us pick up our books and our pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One teacher, one book, one pen, can change the world," Malala said to the nearly 1000 young leaders from around the world..

"The terrorists thought that they would change our aims and stop our ambitions but nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage were born. I am the same Malala. My ambitions are the same. My hopes are the same. My dreams are the same," the rights activist said.

Telling the UN Youth Assembly that she was focusing on women's rights and girls' education because they were suffering the most, she called upon world leaders to change their strategic policies in favor of peace and prosperity.

"We call upon all governments to ensure free compulsory education for every child all over the world," she said, also calling on governments to fight against terrorism and violence, to protect children from brutality and harm.

Happy birthday Malala.  May you have many more.

MSNBC's Thomas Roberts Goes Off

Too bad I didn't see this when it was first broadcast Monday morning, but thanks to the magic of video, I get to see it now.

MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts launched into a rant calling out the conservafools favorite disparaging talking points to 'other' people, and challenged his network to do more to debunk them.

“When we talk about these laws, don’t we need to do more about our social contract with each other in this country when it comes to being ‘others’?” the MSNBC host asked. “Because when we look at this we can use this as a great pivot point to talk about race relations in this country. But being an ‘other,’ whether it’s LGBT — because you’re then suspected of being a pedophile and a rabid disease carrier. And if you are a woman, well, you certainly don’t have a right to your own body and your own reproductive health. Because if you do then you’re just a slut who wants to sleep around and use abortion as birth control. And then if you’re Hispanic, you’re just a taker, you’re not a maker, and you want to come here and have anchor babies and you just want to lay off the land [sic].”
 

British Trans Woman Gets Justice For Sexual Assault After Her Death

(TRIGGER WARNING:  This post discusses a sexual assault) 

Anna Vincent finally got justice for what happened to her on a horrible January 23, 2001 night.  Too bad she wasn't alive to see this day happen.

She was 36 at the time and on her way home inebriated from attending a birthday party.  Just outside the Camden Town tube station she was snatched by Mohammed Salim at approximately 10 PM and dragged by him to a nearby alley.   He tried to force her to perform a oral sex act on him before forcing himself on her, anally raping the post operative trans woman, vomiting and running away from the scene.

At first Vincent wasn't going to report the sexual assault because she felt the police wouldn't care, take it seriously or do anything about it because of her transfeminine status.  She was persuaded to report it anyway and did so the next day.

Good thing she did.  Semen was found in that alleyway, but the case remained unsolved until a cold case review took place in 2011.  
   
With the ability to now do DNA testing on the semen sample, it came up as a billion to one match for the 43 year old Mohammed Salim, who was arrested and charged with her rape and two counts of indecent assault.  

The initial trial for Salim at Old Bailey in June resulted in a hung jury, but in the retrial that started July 8 Salem was convicted and sentenced to eight years in jail for the assault on Vincent. 

Unfortunately Anna Vincent didn't see her attacker get brought to justice because she died in 2006. 

The London Metropolitan Police suspect that Salim was involved in other sexual assault cases and are asking for people to call their Serious and Complex Case Team on 0208 217 6526. To remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

2014 BTMI/BTWI Conference Dates

We knew when the 2013 edition of this conference came to a close that the location of the 2014 BTMI/BTWI Conference would be in Dallas and it would be held sometime in the spring.

But what we didn't know was which DFW area hotel would earn BTMI/BTWI's 2014 convention business much less the date for next year's event.

Have been advised that the dates for the third annual BTMI/BTWI conference that I had the pleasure of keynoting last year have been determined.

Start making your plans to "Become The Change You Want To See In The World" by heading to the Dallas-Ft Worth area for the third annual BTMI/BTWI conference from April 30-May 4, 2014.

Hmm, that's around my birthday.   As soon as I get the hotel and other details as to when the convention site goes live I'll pass on that information as soon as I receive it.

We had a wonderful time at the 2013 event and BTMI/BTWI promises to be even bigger and better

TransGriot Update:  Been confirmed that the hotel will be the same one as well, the Doubletree Campbell Center. 

I Repeat: Black Trans Issues Are Black Community Issues

'We are one, our cause is one, and we must help each other; if we are to succeed.'--Frederick Douglass, 1847
I made that point in a 2008 blog post and seven years later, ain't nothing changed except for the fact I have more compelling data to back it up. 

I also have a growing list of legacy organizations in our community such as the NAACP realizing not only that Black trans community issues are Black community issues, they are vocalizing it more often. 

We Black trans people are part of the kente cloth fabric of the community and deserve our seat at the family table.  That point needs to be made even more clearer in the wake of the unjust Zimmerman verdict. 

We're dealing with 26% unemployment and underemployment, near genocidal rates of anti-trans violence aimed at us, zero Black trans people elected to political office since 1992, and difficulties in getting our identification documents to match up with the people we are now due to lack of consistent policies on making those changes accessible and affordable, and it must end now.

That's before we even begin to talk about the issues we have in common with our cis African-American brothers and sisters like stop and frisk policies and police brutality that disproportionately affect us, voter suppression and dealing with a society that hates our Black bodies just as much as they hate yours.   

We must help each other as Frederick Douglass stated if we are to succeed.   That also means you must respect and treat the trans community as equal partners in this struggle and not some unwanted relative you reluctantly speak to

The bottom line is if we are beginning the process of closing Black community ranks in order to build a more cohesive community to better execute the legal and sociopolitical struggle we're about to embark on, transpeople not only must be part of the conversation, but foot soldiers and leaders in it.

Black trans community issues are Black community issues, and now more than ever, that message needs to be burned into the brain of every African-American.

We don't have time for the petty BS when whiteness and white supremacy is still working on their now four century old effort of keeping all African descended people demonized and marginalized in American society for their benefit.