Shut Up Fool Awards- Last Friday In July Edition

Wow, seems like is was just yesterday we were experiencing Canada Day, Independence Day and Renee's birthday and now we're hitting the last Friday of this month and getting ready to cruise into August.

But I know that's not why y'all surfed by this post.  Y'all know what I do here every Friday.

It's time to handle my weekly Friday 'bidness' of shining a bright spotlight on the fool, fools or collections of fools that have exhibited engaged in mind blowing WTF moments, said stupid stuff, demonstrated jawdropping stupidity, or exhibited unbridled arrogance and hubris worthy of our Shut Up Fool Awards.

So let's get busy shall we?

Honorable mention number one is Anthony Weiner who has embarrassed and made a fool of himself in front of the city of New York and the nation once again for getting embroiled in another sexting scandal while running for mayor of New York.

Honorable mention number two is Rep Steve King (Teabagger-IA) who not only compared immigrants to dogs and got called on it by Univision's Jorge Ramos, vocalized his racist opposition to the DREAM Act by saying this jacked up comment when talking about DREAMers and a path to citizenship:

“For everyone who’s a valedictorian, there’s another 100 out there that weigh 130 pounds and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert. Those people would be legalized with the same act.”

DREAMers have been sending his congressional office cantaloupes in response and have refrained from throwing them at his bigoted butt as he doubled down on the remarks.

And the GOP wonders why they are losing Latino voters..  

Honorable mention number three goes to Rep Louie Gohmert (Teabagger-TX) who once again opened his racist mouth and compared the human rights of African-Americans to the snail darter. 

Oh well, at least it wasn't the usual simian comparisons his conservafool buddies repeatedly make.   Must be killing him and them not to be able to say n****r.

Honorable mention number four is the GOP controlled North Carolina legislature for passing the most draconian voter suppression law in the nation.  

Honorable mention number five is Tavis Smiley  He's still hatin on President Obama and dissed the speech he made on race in the wake of the unjust Zimmerman verdict by saying 'it was too little and too late' on his Twitter feed and NBC's Meet The Press.  Black Twitter came down on his azz like a ton of bricks with the #TavisWeeps hashtag and so did several African-American pundits..

You and your boy Cornel still aren't getting inside the White House between now and January 20, 2017 and it should be crystal clear by now your hatin' the POTUS is only harming you, so you need to give it up. 
 
This week's winner is Ted Nugent.   Ted went on an unhinged rant dissing Stevie Wonder and the performance boycott of Florida being joined by an increasingly long list of music performers.



Ted, thought you said you'd be dead or in jail if President Obama was reelected?   We're waiting. 

And I know your Tea bagging ass isn't parting your lips to diss Stevie Wonder, who you wish you were one tenth the musician that Stevie is.  Stevie was named in 2009 a United Nations Messenger of Peace, an honor you'll never get.

When you and your conservafool friends start expressing concerns about the rampant white on white crime and all the white people that die at the hands of unhinged white males with automatic weapons, then I'll take your faux concern over Black folks in Chicago dying at the hand of gun violence that your NRA board buddies enables by fighting reasonable gun control regulations.

Until then sit down, STFU and Shut up Fool!.     

Use Our Black Trans History Posted Here To 'Ejumacate' Folks

"One of my favorite parts about TransGriot is when you showcase some of our trans history.  It opens my eyes to a world in the past that I can't imagine living in. From Lady Java to Lucy Hicks Anderson, I appreciate knowing that we didn't just pop up in the millennium. We have been here fighting. It shows me that I have been handed a torch and I need to continue running with the torch." --Diamond Stylz  October 26,.2011

One of the things I get a lot of love and appreciation for (and requests to do more of) are the posts scattered through the almost 7000 TransGriot posts here I've written about Black trans history makers, the events we've had a hand in shaping, compiling interviews of Black trans people and chronicling our accomplishments here and across the African Diaspora.

I even have a post at EBONY.com talking about it.

I recently added a trans history one about Wilmer 'Little Axe' Broadnax, a trans man who was a major gospel singer in the 40's, 50's and 60's and more are forthcoming.   The Broadnax story also drives home the point I repeatedly make on this blog, at my panel discussions, seminars and during my keynote speeches that Black transpeople are woven into the kente cloth fabric of African-American life and we aren't going away. .

The inspiration for this post is concerning something that happened two nights ago while I was burning the post midnight oil composing a few future TransGriot articles.  I had one browser window open on my Facebook page as usual and received a chat message from Diamond Stylz asking me what was the name of our trans sister who was a JET magazine beauty of the week. 

After I replied 'Ajita Wilson' and sent her the link to the post I wrote about her, she explained moments later why she asked. 

Diamond was approached online by a cis Black woman who wished to write a Buzzfeed post entitled '12 Reasons You'll Never Be A Jet Beauty Of The Week' that wanted to include the transphobic 'because you're a man'  line as one of them.  

Diamond not only schooled her on why that particular reason was not only problematic and insultingly transphobic, she used the link to my Ajita Wilson story to prove it was historically inaccurate and wrong.

Diamond then proceeded to use more of our trans history to point out the other things Black trans women have accomplished or are part of like being a state legislator (Althea Garrison), a major fashion model (Tracy Africa Norman), a writer, community leader and past editor of People.com (Janet Mock), helping jump off the Stonewall Riots and be a major early trans leaders (Marsha P. Johnson, Miss Major), help found organizations like A Dionne Stallworth and Dee Dee Chamblee, sing before a sitting US president (Tona Brown), be the first patient to go through the Johns Hopkins Gender program (Avon Wilson), help take down the odious LAPD Rule Number 9 (Lady Java), groundbreaking actress (Laverne Cox), fashion designer (Isis King), college professor and two time DNC convention delegate (Dr. Marisa Richmond), novelist Pamela Hayes, musicians across a wide range of musical genres from Jordana LeSesne, Koko Jones, Katey Red to the late T. Desiree Hines, attorneys like the late Dana Turner, ministers (Rev. Carmarion Anderson), up and coming activists like KOKUMO, trans elders such as Tracie Jada O'Brien, Cheryl Courtney-Evans and Gloria Allen, our Diaspora sisters Audrey Mbugua, Mia Nikasimo, Sahhara and some award winning trans blogger whose posts y'all will occasionally read.      

And that's before I even start talking about all the stuff Black transmen have done and are still accomplishing across the African Diaspora that deserves its own post like Marcelle Cook-Daniels, Alexander 'Bear' Goodrum, Kylar Broadus, Rev. Louis Mitchell, Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler, Carter Brown, Victor Mukasa and Skipper Mogapi just to name a few.   

When Diamond was through with cis homegirl she was shifting gears and asking her about doing an interview for a feminine empowerment blog she writes.

That's the power our Black trans history has.  It not only can 'ejumacate' and inspire us to do wonderful things, it also educates our own people who aren't aware of the Black trans community's accomplishments and us standing up for our human rights.  

It also tells the fascinating stories of people like Georgia Black, Lucy Hicks Anderson, Wilmer Broadnax, James 'Sweet Evening Breeze' Herndon and Jim McHarris who boldly lived their lives in an era which predates transgender being used to describe them.

They were simply living the best way they knew how their lives as the men and women they were created to be and insisted they were regardless of the genitalia configurations between their legs.

Much of the reason I compile Black trans history stories on this blog is to ensure they are documented and don't get forgotten, gayjacked or whitewashed.  The attempts to do that with the predominately African-American 1965 Dewey's Lunch Counter Sit In Protest in Philadelphia story have been made.  

It's here on the blog and I'll be adding more Black trans history stories as expeditiously as possible.

So use it trans people, allies and supporters to dispel the lie that we Black transpeople haven't contributed anything to the advancement of trans human rights, our people's advancement, aren't part of the Black community or made some history in our own right.

Use the Black trans history posted here to 'ejumacate' folks about our ongoing contributions to society here and across the Diaspora.

Honor 41 List Trans Honoree Videos

The Honor 41 list was created by Alberto Mendoza to bring visibility to and honor the contributions of Latina and Latino TBLGQ people.

On the inaugural Honor 41 list we have five transpeople represented on it in the persons of Bamby Salcedo, Arianna Inurritegui Lint, Maria Roman, Danielle Castro and Isaac Gomez.

Nominations will open soon for the 2014 edition of the Honor 41 list, so if there are BTLGQ Latina/o folks you think deserve to be on the next list, when Alberto sends me the word, you TransGriot readers will also know when, where and how to send those nominations in. 

I have a few peeps I'm definitely going to suggest for next year's list.  And naw, they are not all Texans either.

As part of the process of being named to the Honor 41 List, the honorees also submitted videos.  So take the time to get to know our trans Latino/a brothers and sisters who were honored on this inaugural list and hope to see many more Honor 41 trans honorees in future editions of it.


Bamby Salcedo




Arianna Inurritegui Lint





Maria Roman






Danielle Castro




Isaac Gomez


   

Why I'm STILL Pissed Off About The Zimmerman Verdict

One of the questions I got asked this weekend by a few of my white allies during the just concluded TTNS who sincerely wanted to understand what was happening was why I and many African-Americans were highly pissed about the unjust verdict that went down in Sanford, FL.

Grab a seat.  This might take a while.

While many of us weren't shocked and were even expecting to hear the words 'not guilty' come out of the mouths of a six person jury that had ZERO African-Americans on it (and do not even try in the comment thread to point out there was a Latina on it) it was still painful to hear and realize that this grown azz white man (and that what Zimmerman is, people despite his Latina mother) just got away with killing a Black teenager.

That fact continuing to be ignored by many of you predominately white and conservafool peeps either gloating about this verdict or trying to whitesplain it is much of the reason we're seething about it.  It also didn't help before this verdict even went down that four black robe wearing white men and a sellout self hating knee-grow on the Supreme Court gutted Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act.  

Black folks have and NEVER will forget our 400 year negative history with the people who continue to gleefully oppress us and our continuing human rights struggle in the US.  All that verdict did was remind us is there are elements of the white community who will always hate us, and elements of you who are clueless as to the white privilege you walk around with that shapes your opinions to the point you have blocked from your minds that an unarmed 17 year old kid was killed by a grown azz man and got away with it.

It was also galling to see Zimmerman's attorneys gloat in victory, Georgie boy arrogantly demand the Black community 'apologize to him' and his bigoted brother Robert, Jr express fears on CNN that his brother would be shot by armed vigilantes.

WTF?   It was also a bitter slap in the face that reminded us that where the US justice system is concerned, it's definitely not color blind and Officer Friendly has a problem with POC's be they cis, gay or especially trans.

Every time a white person parts their lips to disrespectfully call our legitimate vocalizing of the jacked up things we see happening to us as 'playing the race card', we get even more offended and angry about it.

In addition for the renewed fear I have for my teenage and toddler male cousins (and frankly female ones aren't safe either) and their chances of not fulfilling the depressing statistic that 1 in 4 Black males will die before their 30th birthday, the verdict also reminded me of all those microaggressive and macroaggressive racial incidents I dealt with on the other side of the gender fence.

A DWB traffic stop in Highland Park, TX just a few days after Christmas in 1980 in which mine and my cousin's crime was wanting to see Christmas lights.   Another 1983 one in Southwest Houston in which me and my friends after leaving a club were pulled over and disrespectfully asked by a white cop after we all showed our IDs why we were in Southwest Houston with South Park addresses on our licenses. 

It brought back the bitter memories of being followed in the Joske's in Gulfgate Mall by store security as a white male scooped up a rack of designer jeans and ran past them on his way out of the store.

It brought back the 1990 memory of me in an IAH Terminal C parking garage elevator on my way to work, the elevator door sliding open on the 4th floor of it and a white woman my age switching her purse in her arm and cowering in the corner as I seethed and gave her the side eye.  

I said to her at the time,"If I were the larcenous type, do you really think I would rob you while on my way to a job that pays me quite well every two weeks, wearing a loud ass red jacket with a Continental badge hanging from it with my name in bold print and a loud yellow City of Houston Aviation department badge with my social security number on it?"

It also reminded me of the verdicts in which the murderer of Chanelle Pickett walked out of a Massachusetts courtroom a free man and CeCe McDonald is sitting in a Minnesota jail for defending herself against a neo-Nazi.  The anger and frustration boils over as I think about what Roger B Taney wrote in 1857 in terms of being considered someone who 'has no rights a white person is bound to respect' and seems to be a mantra that the Republican Party and the conservafool movement gleefully puts into political action.

So if you're wondering why I'm still pissed about the Zimmerman verdict, now you know.

Fallon Fox Going For The CFA Featherweight Title October 12

We now know the date that Fallon Fox will be back in MMA action and taking on Ashlee Evans-Smith for the Championship Fighting Alliance featherweight tournament title.

That championship bout for our fave MMA girl like us is scheduled to take place October 12 in Coral Gables, FL.  It'll be the first bout for the 3-0 Queen of Swords since she beat Allanah Jones by submission in a semifinal match back in May. 

The winner of this October 12 bout not only gets the title, but the $20,000 grand prize that comes with it. Of course you know who I'm rooting for to win that fight. 

Go Queen of Swords!

And yeah, I expect the transphobic haters to make their appearance as the fight date with the 1-0 Evans-Smith gets closer. 

Hopefully for Fallon's sake there won't be as much drama and distractions in WMMA World and elsewhere surrounding this fight as there were in the runup to the last one.  I know she's in the gym working hard, focusing on her training and trying to get as close to being razor sharp as possible for this CFA featherweight championship bout.

Best of luck, Fallon and hope you walk out of the ring a champion and with a nice check in hand!

Hey Media Peeps, Trans People Wish To Work With You, Not Fight You

After another media mess up over pronouns that in far too many cases happens with non-white trans people, it's time we trans folks make this point crystal clear to the media 

Trans people wish to work with you to accurately get our stories out there, not fight with you.

As someone whose late father was in the media for over three decades, I witnessed firsthand the power of the media and its ability to shape the perceptions of a marginalized group fighting for visibility, acceptance and understanding. 

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was also cognizant of the media's power to mold and shape opinion and galvanize people to action for a human rights struggle.  He said so in an August 1967 speech to the National Association of Radio and Television Announcers.(NATRA).   

I would prefer to have that media power on our side working with the trans community to expand knowledge of it.

But when misgendering, blatant salacious reporting and indifferent to hostile attitudes from media people occur when we trans people point out the instances of problematic reporting and they continue despite having guidelines in the AP Stylebook and other places such as GLAAD, the National Association of LGBT Journalists (NGLJA) easily accessible on the Web that explain how to respectfully report on trans people, we have the right to be highly pissed about it. 

Speaking of the AP Stylebook, what does it say concerning the respectful reporting about transgender 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.  If the transperson in question has acquired the outward physical appearance of a female regardless of the genitalia configuration between their legs, that person is a transgender female and needs to be referred to with feminine pronouns and a feminine name.   If the transperson in question has acquired the outward physical characteristics of a male regardless of the genitalia configuration between their legs, that person is a transgender male and needs to be referred to with masculine pronouns and a masculine name.

Their old birth names that do not fit the person they are now aren't germane in many cases to the story and our 'real name' is what a transperson tells you it is.  Neither is it any business what the genitalia configuration of a transperson is.  You've already done so by mentioning the person is trans given the reader a clue that their genitalia may not match their physical gender presentation. 

Badly written or salacious stories also add to the climate of intolerance and fear that facilitates anti-trans violence and can lead to court cases in which justice is denied to the families of trans murder victims.

We realize that you have a tough job under deadline pressure to get a story out fast, first and accurately.   But the accuracy part is what we are focused on.   Not only is it important for you to tell our stories in the first place, it's vitally important they be told accurately so that we can get justice for our fallen transpeople and start the process of organizing vigils. 

When you misgender transpeople in stories, peddle the 'deception' meme or use old names we don't recognize, that delays the process.  

And yes, we'd like media coverage to happen for the trans community when we have positive things to report in our community and not just during TDOR or when someone gets murdered. 

There are trans people that have fascinating and universal stories to tell, events we organize and conduct that will drive home the point we are engaged members of our various communities. 


Those guidelines aren't that hard to follow.   Following them will get you and your news organization much love and respect in the trans community when doing so.

Philly Diamond Williams Vigil Remarks-Gloria Casarez

TransGriot Note: I had the sincere pleasure of meeting Gloria Casarez during the LGBT Media Convening in Philadelphia back in February.  We had a nice conversation about more than a few issues, including the Nizah Morris case.   Gloria is the director for the Office of LGBT Affairs for the City of Philadelphia, and she was at LOVE Park last night to give her remarks at the vigil for Diamond Williams.

DIAMOND VIGIL / RALLY REMARKS– JULY 23, 2013

I don’t want to be here today.

Less than a year ago at our LGBT community center, we gathered for Kyra Kruz – who was murdered.
Her murderer is still out there.

Two years before Kyra, we gathered right here at Love Park for Stacey Blahnik – who was murdered.
Her murderer is still out there.

And, almost 11 years ago, we gathered for Nizah Morris – who was murdered.
Her murderer is still out there.

Today, we’ve gathered for Diamond – who was brutally murdered over the weekend. The only consolation in Diamond’s death is that HER murderer has been captured. Her murder will see justice and I pledge that we will keep attention on Diamond’s brutal murder. We’ll keep attention on this case – for Diamond, Kyra, Stacey, Nizah, and all of us who have experienced violence because of who we are.

We will fight so that the coward who killed her pays for his crime. We will fight so that her killer can’t use “she tricked me” as a defense. We will fight, because Diamond, Kyra, Stacey, and Nizah can’t fight.
But, as we fight, there are witnesses who said nothing. Be mindful of this as much as you are mindful of your own safety. And in every one of these cases I believe there are witnesses who have said nothing. I don’t want to be here – for another murder.

Another act of violence. Another loss. Another death misreported by the press. Another “man in women’s clothing” piece from our local media. To anyone covering these stories, we can’t train you. You’re a journalist and we expect you to get the story right. The National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association and GLAAD have style guides for media that offer instruction on how to refer to LGBT people in reporting. USE it! If the police give you inaccurate or confusing information about a person, ASK clarifying questions! That’s what journalists are supposed to do and that’s what we need you to do.

When people are misidentified in the press, its hurtful. Hurtful to the people who knew and loved them and it dishonors their life. It also hinders investigations at the earliest point and contributes to these cases being unsolved. When initial news reports describe a victim as “a man in women’s clothing” to describe a transgender woman, it impacts witness reports. When Kyra was described in such a way it was stunning. Anyone who knew Kyra would describe her as a woman and any witness who may have seen her the night she was murdered, wouldn’t have “read” her as a “man in women’s clothing.”

We need to respect people in life and especially in death and that very much extends to a person’s gender identity and expression.

We’ve done a lot of work here in Philadelphia on LGBT issues and I’m proud to be a part of these positive changes in law, policy, and protections – but – we still have work to do. And by WE, I mean all of us.

No number of laws, policies and protections are going to keep you safe in a dangerous situation. We can’t be lulled in to a false sense of security. Especially when we’re in the Gayborhood, its easier for some of us to be “US”, but its important to note that none of these crimes took place in the gayborhood – these crimes took place in north Philly, northeast, southwest, and Center City.

Today, we gather for Diamond and we know that her murderer will see justice. All of us will see to that. And, we’ll follow this case on through to the end. For Diamond. For Kyra. For Stacey. For Nizah. For you and for me – we will not rest. JUSTICE FOR DIAMOND

Not Feeling The Sochi Olympic Boycott Proposal

In the wake of the draconian anti-LGBT laws that Russia has implemented resulting in persecution for our TBLG cousins living there, their allies and are now being extended to visitors to the country, loud calls have started to emerge for a boycott of the approaching 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi this February.

I have mixed emotions about the idea, but if you pin me down and ask me to make a definitive stance on it, I'd have to say nyet to it. 

While I'm appalled and pissed off about the anti-TBLG crap going on in Russia, I also have the advantage, unlike some of the younglings calling for an Olympic boycott now of seeing what happened the last time somebody suggested we stay home for political or human rights reasons and the effectiveness of it.

In December 1979 the then Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, and as one of the responses to the invasion besides a grain embargo, President Carter proposed a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games scheduled to take place in Moscow that summer from July 19-August 3 if the Soviets didn't withdraw their troops from the country by February 20. 

They didn't and the Carter Administration began the diplomatic work of making the Olympic boycott a reality. 

Eventually 60 nations joined that boycott, some reluctantly.  While it resulted in the smallest Olympics in the last several decades with only 80 nations participating in the Moscow Games, it triggered a retaliatory Soviet bloc boycott of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. 

The Soviet Union also didn't remove their combat units from Afghanistan for another nine years.

The only people the Moscow Olympic boycott hurt were the athletes who spent years training for it and never got another opportunity to compete in an Olympic cycle. 

Those who were younger like 1984 swimming triple gold medalist Tracy Caulkins got their shot in a subsequent Olympiad at the Olympic glory that eluded them in 1980.    But that wasn't the case for many of the folks who were at their competitive peak in 1980 and were knocked off the 1984 team by younger competitors or the 1980 Moscow Games were their last Olympiad after having competed in 1972 or 1976.  They were left with nagging 'what-if' scenarios that have dogged them for much of their lives.

The 1980 Moscow Olympics went on as scheduled without them and the boycott did not remove one Soviet combat unit from Afghan soil.

So with the Winter Olympics coming to Sochi, why repeat the mistake?  It's interesting to note that these boycotts are always proposed by people who have never spent one day in their lives training to be the person standing at the top step of an Olympic platform, getting the gold medal and hearing their national anthem played as they watch their flag rise. 

They propose them because it's not their lifelong dream that's being dashed.

The proposed Sochi Olympic boycott is not going to get Russian President Vladimir Putin or their legislature to repeal the anti-LGBT law.   But you can continue to point out for the world to see what the Russian government is doing to their own people.
 
You can call for people to not attend the Sochi Games, not watch it on television, buy Sochi Olympic themed merchandise and give the athletes the choice of deciding whether or not they will compete there instead of having the decision forced upon them by their governments. 

Olympic boycotts simply do not work as political tools, only hurt the athletes and historically haven't  accomplished the political policy goal they are trying to achieve.
.

Jamaican Teen In Femme Attire Killed By Mob

Infuriatingly sad story coming out of Jamaica

Dwayne Jones, a 17 year old Jamaican teen was at a street party on July 22 in the Irwin community near Montego Bay wearing femme attire at the time and dancing with a cis male. 

Unfortunately sometime around 4:00 AM local time Jones was outed by a cis woman, held by another cis male party attendee, searched by another cis male and when it was discovered the genitalia didn't match the femme clothing Jones was wearing the teen was set upon by a mob.

The teen was chopped, stabbed and shot to death.  The body was dumped in bushes along the side of the Orange main road where it was subsequently discovered at 5:00 AM local time.

Jamaican police are stating that patrols will be increased in the area, but that doesn't help Jones, the teen who is dead now because of the rampant homophobic and transphobic ignorance of the denizens of Irwin. 

And speaking of rampant transphobic ignorance, it's starting to run wild in the comment threads and there needs to be people pushing back in them.

Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) said they have documented nine cases of TBLG people killed in Jamaica this year and have reported a 400% rise in homophobic attacks since 2009.

Jamaican churches have also gleefully increased their anti-gay rhetoric and fiercely lobbied against an effort by Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller last year to repeal the odious British colonial era buggery law fueling much of the anti-LGBT animus in the island nation.

A looming conscience vote in the wake of a review of the buggery law is also drawing the ire of fundies.

We can't overlook the role of American based fundie conservative Christian groups injecting their vile poisonous doctrine into this volatile mix of injustice.  In the Montego Bay area, an anti-gay rally was held in St. James on June 23 by Montego Bay Pastor Glendon Powell, who shills for a US based fundie conservafool church in Des Moines, IA

And Maurice Tomlinson of J-FLAG told it like it T-I-S is.  “Despite this ongoing slaughter of innocents, many Jamaicans, including attorney-at-law and senior member of the opposition political party, Ernest Smith, categorically deny that gay Jamaicans are under attack,” Tomlinson said in an LGBTQ Nation interview.

To the Jamaican flag waving transphobic haters I say this:. 

Buy a vowel and get a clue that sexual orientation and gender identity are not the same.

Neither do you have the right to kill someone because you DON'T like their outward gender presentation not matching with the genitalia between their legs.

I thought Jamaica was an independent nation. Amazing the haters are still quoting a jacked up British colonial era law with no basis in science or reality and hiding behind the Bible as their justifications for their anti-gay and anti-trans hatred with tragically violent outcomes to our trans and SGL peeps on the island who happen to be facing the brunt of it.

The Jamaican national motto is "Out of Many, One People".  The Jamaican national motto also applies to them as well. Too bad you haters have continued to shown no inclination to respect the human rights of or acknowledge that some of the people who are proud to be Jamaicans also happen to be part of the TBLG community.

Thanks Nefertiti!

Now this is what we're looking for when we see a media news report about a trans person, especially in the wake of their deaths.

Remember this one I wrote yesterday expressing my concerns about the weekend broadcast about Diamond's death?    Well, after people in the trans community reached out to NBC10 and Nefertiti, this is her report concerning the vigil.

 

The Infighting Stops Today

TransGriot Note: The thinking that went into my post about trans community dissension was jumpstarted by this Facebook one composed by Cecilia Chung.   She's one of our trailblazing and highly respected trans community leaders based in the San Francisco area.

She's one of the people I'm not only looking forward to meeting one day, she's one I have major love and respect for. 
  
This commentary needed to be signal boosted. Here's Cecilia!

Something I need to get off my chest.

Silence = Death
Trans Silence = Death

It is a universal truth.

‪#‎GirlsLikeUs‬: If you know someone who is ‪#‎trans‬ and ‪#‎HIV‬+, ‪#‎HepB‬/C+, ‪#‎Unemployed‬, recently ‪#‎incarcerated‬, struggling with ‪#‎addiction‬, ‪#‎homeless‬, struggling with mental illness, been ‪#‎abused‬ ‪#‎sexually‬/‪#‎emotionally‬/ ‪#‎physically‬ by a stranger/ a family member/ a partner, help them find their own voice. Be their support until they find the strength to fight. We need to organize now more than ever. And the infighting stop today, because we still have sisters and brothers dying and there is too much work to do.

No one will hear us until all our stories are told by us. Transgender, transsexual, trans* or trans? These labels don't dictate our lives so stop letting them drown out our message of freedom, equality, justice and human rights.

Stop making our own sisters and brothers the enemies. The real enemies are stigma, misguided religion, intolerance and ignorance, which are the ingredients of hate and discrimination.

TransGriot Diamond Williams Philly Vigil Statement

The Speakout and Vigil in Philadelphia's LOVE Park for Diamond Williams is happening as I post this, and I was asked by Sade Ali last night to compose a statement she would read for me at this event. 

***

To the family of Diamond Williams, the Philadelphia trans community, our allies, friends and supporters.

I wish I could be there with you tonight instead of in Houston to give you comforting hugs, dry your tear-soaked eyes, and stand with you in your hour of great sorrow.

But what I can do is offer my words and hope they are adequate for the herculean task.

As a representative of the national trans community, I offer my deep condolences to the Williams family and the community for the loss of their loved one.

The trans community in the United States and internationally shares your loss, grieves with you at this difficult time and hopes that justice will be done at the appointed time.

As the national and international trans community offers its prayers for your loss, we also pray for the expeditious end of anti-trans violence aimed at us here in Philadelphia, the United States and the rest of the world.

We also pray that one day, trans people in Philadelphia and around the world will be able to do what was written 237 years ago in the Declaration of Independence in terms of us being able to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

We also pray for the day that the human rights and humanity of transpeople in Philadelphia and around the world are not disposable items subject to debate by a tyranny of the majority, but an established fact.

God bless you all,
Your sister in the trans human rights struggle,
Monica Roberts

The TransGriot

Dwight DeLee Conviction Overturned In Green Trans Hate Murder

Dwight DeLee, who was found guilty of a hate crime in the November 14, 2008 killing of Syracuse, NY trans woman Lateisha Green and sentenced to 25 years in prison, had his conviction set aside by the 4th Appellate Division of New York's Supreme Court based in Rochester.

The court ruled the conviction on Manslaughter in the First Degree as a hate crime should not stand because the jury found Dwight DeLee not guilty of Manslaughter in the First Degree without the added element of a hate crime.


The issue was raised by DeLee's defense counsel after the jury returned the July 2009 guilty verdict, but the lower court judge dismissed the jury instead of returning them to the jury room to resolve the discrepancy.

The appellate court did allow a weapons conviction to stand which means DeLee will remain in prison while the issues surrounding the manslaughter charge are resolved.

Onondaga County DA Bill Fitzpatrick indicated in a prepared statement they would appeal the ruling in the New York State Court Of Appeals.

"We are obviously extremely disappointed in the Fourth Department's decision and we plan to seek permission to appeal as soon as possible. There was nothing in the proof at trial, nor the conduct of the police or attorneys that was at issue. The Appellate Division ruled that, unfortunately, the problem in this case was a judicial error involving the trial judge's instructions to the jury and the jury's verdict based upon those instructions. We intend to ask the Court of Appeals to review this case and follow the well-written and well-reasoned dissent of Justice Erin M. Peradotto."

So stay tuned, will be keeping you TransGriot readers updated as to the latest happenings in the Green case that we thought was handled four years ago. 

And it's also a major reason why GENDA needs to be passed as soon as possible so that trans people are covered under New York hate crimes statutes on gender identity grounds.     

Speak Out and Vigil For Diamond Williams In Philly Tonight

Don't forget Philadelphia metro area trans peeps, there will be a Speak Out and Vigil for Diamond Williams at LOVE Park starting at 5:30 PM EDT.

Speaking tonight at this vigil are: Aamina Morrison– TIP Co-Director
Samantha Jo Dato – Trans* Wellness Project
Christian Axavier Lovehall – Philly Trans* March
Sade Ali –Philadelphia Deputy Commissioner Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services, Morris Home Founder
Gloria Casarez - Director of LGBT Affairs, Mayor's Office

LOVE Park is located at 1599 John F. Kennedy Blvd in Philadelphia, PA. and it will take place from 5:30-6:30 PM EDT. 

Hope you can attend it and pay your respects to the name and memory of Diamond Williams.

Guess The Outcome Of This Stand Your Ground Trial

We don't have to, we already know what the result would be.   And that's assuming the Black person holding the gun isn't shot dead by the po-po's rushing into this picture. 

'Stand Your Ground' wasn't designed by ALEC for Black people with guns who feel threatened, only white ones.
     

Don Lemon Schools A Conservafool On His Vanillacentric Privilege

I've been hard on Don Lemon for his trans fails, but have to give him his props for schooling conservafool Ben Ferguson on his privilege and his knee jerk reaction to President Obama's remarks last Friday on the Zimmerman verdict.

Speak Out and Vigil For Diamond Williams In Philly Tomorrow

For my trans family in Philadelphia and our allies, been advised by Nika Jewell, one of my Philly area TransGriot readers there will be a Speak Out and Vigil for Diamond Williams, the girl like us who was horribly murdered in the Strawberry Mansion section of the city by Charles Sargent.

There will be representatives from GALAEI’s TIP (Trans-health Information Program) and Mazzoni Center’s Trans* Wellness Project at this speak out and vigil designed to honor the name and life of our trans sister who was lost to violence, and issue a call for justice and respect.

Violence against trans women is unfortunately a harsh reality in the city of Brotherly Love as evidenced by the murders of Stacey Blahnik Lee and Kyra Cordova.

This speak out and vigil event is an opportunity for Philadelphia community members to gather, speak and organize against the violence that continues to claim and threaten the lives of transgender women in Philadelphia.

People who will be speaking at this vigil are:
Aamina Morrison– TIP Co-Director
Samantha Jo Dato – Trans* Wellness Project
Christian Axavier Lovehall – Philly Trans* March
Sade Ali –Philadelphia Deputy Commissioner Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services, Morris Home Founder
Gloria Casarez - Director of LGBT Affairs, Mayor's Office

The event will take place at LOVE Park, 1599 John F. Kennedy Blvd in Philadelphia, PA from 5:30-6:30 PM EDT.  Hope you can attend it and pay your respects to the name and memory of Diamond Williams.

Dissension In The Trans Community Is Healthy, Even When It Gets Loud

From time to time I hear concerns from various leaders in the trans community about the sometimes very loud way we can and do disagree with each other when it comes to talking about issues in this community. 

There are white transpeople in this community for example, who bristle, curse and get their backs up when they hear my name and frankly I don't care what they think because I'm focused on the big trans picture.  I'm out and proud about being a Black trans woman, unapologetic about calling out the TS separatists for their loud and wrong bull feces, and have no problem calling out our trans oppressors inside and outside the community.

I also have no qualms about repeatedly calling out the racism in our trans and SGL ranks or tellin' it like it T-I-S is about issues like stealth and how they negatively affect us.

But back to the post.   My thoughts about this topic are more in line with a Jennifer Lawson comment that I've paraphrased for the purpose of this post.  We've had the same discussion in the African-American ranks about the contentious at times sniping we do at each other and her comment on it is,'Dissension is healthy, even if it gets loud.'

My TransGriot take on that comment is "Dissension in the trans community is healthy, even if it gets loud."

I look at dissension as passionate and reasoned argument about the issues of the day and a debate between reasonable, intelligent people into what is the best way to move forward to permanently solve the problem being discussed.

Note I said reasonable, intelligent people.  

I see contentious, passionate debate as meaning we're not apathetic about the problems that ail us in the trans community and we wish to do whatever it takes to solve them. As long as we recognize that and swiftly close trans ranks to work on the big picture things that we have in common I'll take occasional sniping and dissension on low level insignificant stuff.

What are those big picture items?   ENDA passage, recognizing our trans human rights and our humanity, insisting on positive and diverse media portrayals, calling out anti-trans bigots and oppressors with a loud unified voice, getting respectful medical coverage, and eliminating anti-trans violence here and around the world.  

There's more, but that's just the short list of some of the things we're fighting to achieve. Others will have more to add or want to take some off that list.  And note I said that is a short list.   It's not a comprehensive one of everything that negatively affects trans people.   That list can also vary based on race and class.  

But the point I'm making is that we need to be in constant discussions about what ails our community, what we need to do to permanently eradicate the problem, and keep tabs on the progress we make in solving those problems.  

What's more important than giving each other the evil eye after a passionate argument is having the ability to swiftly close ranks when we're being attacked by oppressors outside our community. and keeping our eye on the prize of trans human rights coverage here and elsewhere around the globe.

Nefertiti, Read Your AP Stylebook

Nefertiti Jaquez until January 2013 used to be an award winning reporter and part time anchor working for KPRC-TV, our local NBC affiliate here in H-town.

She now works for the NBC affiliate in Philadelphia, and it's why I'm majorly disappointed to hear that in this unfolding case in which Charles Sargent has been arrested for killing and dismembering a girl like us, the story about it misgendered the victim, the 'male prostitute' angle was highlighted, an old arrest record and mugshot was plastered all over it without any attempt at balance in terms of finding anyone in the trans community who knew the victim.

View more videos at: http://nbcphiladelphia.com.

The How Not To Report On Black Transpeople playbook was followed once again to perfection..

But then again Nefertiti, if you'd taken the time to call the William Way Center to balance this story out or use the femme name once you discovered the person was trans, maybe you would have quickly found someone who knows Ms. Williams by her femme name. 

The reason you're getting pushback from trans community people all over the country and GLAAD is that we have this crap happen far too often.  It happens far too frequently with trans victims of color and were beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of it..

BTW, here's what the AP Stylebook says about reporting on transgender 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.  If the transperson in question has acquired the outward physical appearance of a female regardless of the genitalia configuration between their legs, they are a transgender female and need to be referred to with feminine pronouns and a feminine name.   If the transperson in question has acquired the outward characteristic of a male regardless of the genitalia configuration between their legs, then that person is a transgender male and need to be referred to with masculine pronouns and a masculine name.

One of the reasons we're getting more combative about insisting on respectful media coverage for transpeople is because potential jurors that watch these misgendering and sensationalized reports are being poisoned with this slanted anti-trans coverage that could result in the murder victim at trial not getting justice and the alleged killer going free.

Granted we realize you were possibly on a deadline to get it out, or you possibly received incorrect gender info from the PPD about Ms. Williams, but whoever is doing the fact checking or research needs to be aware of that and ask that question, especially when the killer says he committed the deed because he discovered he 'slept with a man'.

That's a hint and a half that you're dealing with a trans woman, and questions you need to ask to get a story respectful to the victim need to change to fit this situation. 

TransGriot Update:  Been advised by several Philly activists Ms. Williams femme name is Diamond.  As soon as I get or can find femme pictures of her, I'll post them on subsequent posts about this case instead of that jacked up mugshot.

 

Dallas Observer Amends Problematic LGBT Movers And Shakers List

The Dallas Observer as you probably read here published a problematic Dallas LGBT movers and shakers list of seven people earlier this month that had no ethnic diversity or people on it from the trans, bi or lesbian wing of the community. 

After the TransGriot and a few other people inside and outside the DFW metro area pointed out the original list was melanin and estrogen free in addition to omitting people from the trans, bi and lesbian ends of the  community, three days ago the article was amended

There was this comment from author Alicia Auping in the opening paragraph about it.

Update, July 18: After this post went up a couple weeks back, several people pointed that it was a little -- OK, a lot -- one-dimensional, omitting various demographics of Dallas' vast LGBT rainbow of a community.

So we've added to it. Not every mover or shaker or mover-shaker is included, and you're welcome to suggest the names of people who move and who shake in the comments. But we think it's a better reflection of the community's diversity, which should have been present the first time around.

Indeed.  The persons added from the trans end were Dr. Oliver Blumer and Rev. Carmarion Anderson.  BTMI/BTWI's Carter Brown should have been in this article, too.   On the L end of it Joretta Marshall, Feleshia Porter and Cece Cox were added.  

Still could stand to improve on the ethnic diversity of this rainbow community list, but at least you were listening. Dallas Observer and Ms. Auping.