The State of The Black Trans Union 2014

So what's the state of the Black Trans Union?   A mixed bag that's not even close to where we need it to be, but is improving enough to give me hope that when I write this post in 2014 it will be better. 

--TransGriot  February 30, 2013  'The State Of The Black Trans Union 2013'

It's a year later and the state of the Black Trans Union circa 2014 is still a mixed bag but improving.

2013 was a breakout year for Black trans visibility.  Janet Mock and Laverne Cox led the way as they made appearances across the media spectrum on behalf of #girlslikeus and kept it real about being Black and trans.

Janet's Redefining Realness book was released to rave reviews today.  The book is paving the way toward having that long needed dialogue and conversation between Black cis and Black trans women.   Laverne has a historically groundbreaking role on Orange Is The New Black   Even B. Scott finally came out as trans. 

Kylar Broadus was deservingly tapped in September to head the Task Force's Transgender Civil Rights Project.  Tiq Milan is now at GLAAD, and Dr Kortney Ryan Ziegler is taking his Trans* H4CK concept of combining a hackathon with trans social justice to solve real world problems national after its wildly successful debut in Oakland.   

The Black Trans Advocacy Conference is rapidly approaching in Dallas April 30-May 4 and promises to be bigger than it was last March. 

And yeah, a founding editor of a blog 'nobody reads' continues to chronicle the stories of our community and get a GLAAD Media Award nomination for it..

While #blacktransexcellence was breaking out all over the place, the sobering reality is still hitting us that we are facing crushing 26% unemployment rates because of the lack of NDO's that ban discrimination based on gender identity.  Yes, ENDA passed the Senate, but the Republican controlled House is preventing its passage and signature into law by President Obama.  If they won't act to pass this much needed law, then we need to act on November 4 to kick their azzes to the congressional curb and send legislators to Washington DC who will.   

Our transsisters from coast to coast are being viciously killed from Islan Nettles in New York to Domonique Newburn in Southern California and everywhere in between.  While CeCe McDonald is finally free, there are still other trans people who are facing the hell of unjust incarceration.
 
While our sisters are being killed, when they do catch the perpetrators they are increasing starting to see lengthy prison sentences.   The Islan Nettles case is unfortunately one of those in which the perpetrators of the anti-trans hate violence fatally visited upon Islan have not only yet to be arrested but prosecuted for the crime.     

We are starting to see Black trans women form alliances with our trans POC sisters in the Latina and Asian-Pacific Islander community to work toward the common goals of trans human rights coverage for all of us.   We are continuing the work to strengthen the bonds between Black transmen and Black transwomen and role model what Black solidarity looks like to the rest of the African-American community. 

I'm seeing more trans brothers stand up and take leadership roles in our community as well and begin to get recognition for it.   The Black cis community is starting to recognize that Black trans issues are Black community issues because things like voter suppression laws, sexism, racism, and discrimination affect us too.

We Black transpeople have a proud history that we are not only reclaiming, but people who are making history in the 21st century. 

But we still have much work to do. Like our SGL brothers and sisters, we are not happy about the lack of diversity in Gay, Inc organizations.  But we also need to point out that when we set up FUBU organizations such as the National Black Justice Coalition or Center For Black Equity, when you have job openings you're looking to fill, talented trans people need to be hired as well.  .  

So this is why I'm saying the state of the Black Trans Union circa 2014 is a mixed bag.   While there has been tremndous progress made in our trans human rights journey, we still have a long way yet to travel and much work ahead of us before we reach our goals.

 

'Redefining Realness' Out Today!

I received my autographed copy of it just as Creating Change was cranking up in H-town, and finally had a chance to spend Monday evening settling into a quiet well lit corner and reading Janet Mock's book Redefining Realness.

It's an interesting read that seamlessly discusses her personal story growing up in challenging circumstances as a mixed race trans kid in Honolulu, Oakland and Dallas for a minute.   The interesting twist to this memoir is that trans community stats are weaved into it that reflect what she's discussing at that time and in that particular chapter of the book.

It's an innovative way to tell your personal story, and once I started turning pages in it I couldn't put it down. . 

Janet's highly anticipated book will be released today, and I hope this becomes a New York Times Best Seller.  

We'll see how that plays out.  Janet will also be doing a tour in support of this book, and I can't wait until she hits Houston. 

Piss Off A Conservafool-Buy Girl Scout Cookies

TransGriot Note:  Meme courtesy of ShoreBud Mike

The Conservafool War On Women includes not only attacking trans women, but also organizations that empower young women like the Girl Scouts.

They have not only said ugly and batturd crazy crap about the organization, but have tried to go after one of the funding streams of the organization in the annual Girl Scout cookie drive. 

So if you want to piss a conservafool off, now that it's Girl Scout cookie drive time, lets practice some intersectionality trans, bi and SGL community and buy a few extra boxes this year.    Even better, eat or share them in front of your wingnut co-workers to get even for the time they bought Chik-Fil-A  Bigot Fil A chicken biscuits or food to eat at your last office gathering. 

I could use a few boxes of Thin Mints myself..

To find out where to buy Girl Scout cookies near you, here's the link:  http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/find_cookies.asp

Denver Transpeeps, Make Sure Your #CC15 Host Committee Reps The 'T'

Now that Creating Change Houston style is over, we get to rest, bask in the afterglow of a job well done and wait to pounce on another opportunity to bid for it again.

In the meantime our thoughts and gaze is turning towards Colorado and the city we passed the Creating Change torch to in Denver

I'm sure you are quite aware of by now that Houston set the bar high in terms of how to organize and run this event.

One of the things that we were wildly successful at was getting the Houston trans community and our allies involved.

Lou Weaver was selected as one of the four Houston Host Committee co-chairs.  We had transpeople as chairs and co-chairs of various subcommittees and a small army of them either as members of the host committee or who volunteered their time to make the event run smoothly.   

We had transpeople presenting seminars or having major roles in panels.  And it didn't hurt that one of the people on the Houston host committee was a GLAAD Media Award nominated blogger documenting much of it..   

Our local trans community benefited immensely from having to focus along with our SGL brothers and sisters in bringing sustained collective work toward organizing a major convention. It has laid the groundwork for the work and cohesion that will be necessary when we gear up to get a comprehensive non-discrimination ordinance with gender identity and sexual orientation language passed.

It has also had the ripple effect of not only getting us better connected with each other. but with our Houston GLB family we worked side by side with on the host committee.

So as we pass the torch to you Denver trans community, we in the Houston trans community issue you a challenge.  We want you to meet or exceed our Houston trans community level of involvement as you put together next year's conference .   

We'd like to ask you to make sure that when the Denver Host Committee is formed to organize #CC15, it has significant and diverse trans representation on it like ours did.

I know that Denver's trans community has groundbreaking leaders there that the rest of the country needs to know about.  You have television personality Eden Lane in your backyard who would probably make an excellent keynote speaker or panelist.  Pam Bennett has run for office in suburban Aurora twice.    My activist mentor Dainna Cicotello lives in the area, and you have unsung trans heroes and sheroes who would benefit from having the #CC15 spotlight shined on them.

And when we roll up to Denver on February 3-8 we'd love to meet them.

So Denver transpeeps, you're now on the Creating Change clock.  Please make sure that when the Denver Host Committee starts forming in a few months, that you are there in full effect repping the 'T' and your community is reflected in the programming, suites and seminars.

But you have to be part of the organizing process to make that happen.

Justice For Jewlyes

Now that Creating Change 2014 is receding into history, I have some time to refocus my attention on what's happening in the trans community while I was doing my part to make our Houston flavored event an off the charts successful one.

There has been increasing pressure being applied on the Contra Costa County DA's office to drop the case against Hercules HS transteen Jewyles Gutierrez, who is being charged with battery  for defending herself against three girls who were bullying her nonstop for several months .

And just in case you were wondering, outside of the three girls who bullied her being suspended from school for the fight, they aren't facing charges. 

A Change.org petition calling on Contra Costa County DA Daniel Cabrera to drop the charges has garnered almost 200,000 signatures and sponsorship from Transadvocate, and GLSEN (Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network) as of this writing.

If you wish to add your name to that list of people outraged over what is increasingly appearing to be charges based on a recommendation from a transphobic cis female detective, you can follow this link to add your name to this petition.

The lengthening list of people speaking out against these unjust charges also includes San Francisco Supervisor David Campos, who along with four co-sponsors introduced on January 28 a non-binding resolution  urging that the unjust charges be dropped. 

"What happened to Jewlyes Gutierrez is reprehensible," Campos told the SF Weekly. "Prosecuting Jewlyes for defending herself merely stigmatizes and bullies her again, this time in an official capacity and by the institutions who's duty it is to act as her protector. It is important that as a city, we in San Francisco stand for what is right and acknowledge that we must commit to protecting the most vulnerable among us and demand the same of communities around the country, especially in the Bay Area."

Will be keeping an eye on this situation.

Russell Wilson Makes Black History

What a way to start off Black History Month!

Before today, in the entire history of Super Bowls, there have been four African-American starting quarterbacks who have played in the NFL's biggest game.   The first, Doug Williams in 1988 took his Washington team to victory over the Denver Broncos.  

Steven McNair was mere inches from joining that short list in 2000 when the Tennessee Traitors (yeah, I'm still bitter about that move) fell inches short of the championship winning TD.    Then there was Donovan McNabb in 2005 and Colin Kaepernick last year against the Ravens. 

Russell Wilson., the fifth Black quarterback to start a Super Bowl, made a little Black history today by becoming only the second ever African-American quarterback to win a Super Bowl when his Seattle Seahawks team took down the Denver Broncos 43-8.

And yeah news media, it's still a BFD when I see a brother quarterback in the Super Bowl, much less win one.  Colorblind does not mean ignore the reality of this historic moment when it occurs.

Now for the interesting piece of Black history still yet to be made.  Will Russell Wilson become the first one to win multiple or back to back Super Bowls?   We'll have to tune in when the 2014 NFL season kicks off to finad out the answer to that question.

Creating Change 2014- Passing The Torch To Denver

My last day at Creating Change 2014 started with a 9:30 AM panel discussion with Stacey Langley, Liz Elsen and Sable Schultz entitled Building A Bridge Over The Rainbow: LGBTQ Women Creating Community.  

We discussed many of the issues keeping us from building sisterhood amongst the letter in our community and attempted in the hour and 30 minutes we had for the discussion to come up with the beginnings of a solution to that problem.   After that panel was done, so was the seminar portion of the entire conference

We then headed to the ballroom for a brunch, a speech from Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, a closing keynote speech, watch Houston's own Kristopher Sharp receive the Paul A. Anderson Youth Leadership Award on his last day in town before jetting off to DC to do his internship and see the fabulous Nona Hendryx close it out for us.

After Nona stepped off the stage John Denver's Rocky Mountain High started blaring over the speakers to signal that Creating Change 2014 was really over and our committee is now passing the torch to Denver.

I also got a chance on behalf of her trans fans like me after the closing concert was over to thank Nona Hendryx for her decision to not play MichFest last year.

The Houston Host Committee accomplished its mission.  Our goal was simple.  We wanted to put on the best Creative Change ever and do it with Houston flava..  We smashed records, proudly showed off our city, and were told that this just concluded Creating Change is the largest conference ever in the history of the Hilton Americas Hotel

To those of you who attended our record setting conference, visited the hospitality suites, interacted with us and our volunteers, and built community over the last few days, thank you and safe travels back home.  I had just as much fun being there as you did and hope you get many opportunities to put your newly learned skills to good use 

Okay Denver, you're now on the clock for #CC15.

2013 TransGriot NFL Predictions-Super Bowl Sunday

I've been a little busy with Creating Change in my inside Loop 610 backyard, so it has been a nice distraction from all the Super Bowl XLVIII hoopla and coverage which was probably more intense because it was being played near one of our nation's media centers.

So when the Seattle Seahwks and Denver Broncos tangle in the first matchup of number one seeds from their respective conferences in a long time, who will emerge victorious? 

It's Denver's high octane offense versus Seattle's 'Legion of Boom' defense when this highly anticipated matchup kicks off later today. 

As to who I think is going to win it?   While I'm rooting for the Seahawks, my head says the team from the city that's hosting Creating Change 2015.

The Broncos to walk out of MetLife stadium with the Vince Lombardi trophy in their possession.     

TransGriot Note:  Okay 12th Man, Seattle spanked that azz 43-8.    I've had a rough 2013 NFL season picking games anyway that I'm ready to put in the rear view mirror.  Congrats to the Seahawks.

Janet's Latest MHP Appearance

Y'all know how much I love my little sis Janet Mock and already have my copy of Redefining Realness.   The rest of y'all can preorder it or buy it when it comes out February 4.

While I was busy at Creating Change, she made another #nerdland appearance on the Melissa Harris-Perry show to chat about the new book and other subjects.

 

Creating Change 2014-Day 4

Hard to believe that this is the last full day of Creating Change 2014 Houston style.  Some of the record TBLG and allied crowd we're had over the last two days are now on their way back home while others will be hanging out until the closing plenary and Nona Hendryx concert.

The hospitality suites not only have been busy since they opened Thursday, but each one has its own distinctive style.
They range from being places of quiet reflection to ones in which there is lively and thoughtful conversation about a wide range of subjects.

It's the last full day of seminars and panel discussions plotting the next steps of our movement, and since it's Saturday, it's playtime once the long day is done. 

There was the MasQUEERade Ball for the younglings 24 and under and for us grown folks the 50+ and Allies dance.   Shuttle buses departing from the hotel headed to the Montrose gayborhood and Neon Boots.  The Trans Pool Party.  The hotel bars at the Hilton Americas and the nearby Embassy Suites filling with #CC14 attendees talking about the day's events or other subjects.

But before we got to playtime, there was still the Saturday seminar schedule to get through.  Since I'd only had two hours of sleep leading into Friday, my body said "You are getting seven hours whether you like it or not."

Melissa opening the suite today allowed to get that extra shuteye and not have to be there until 11 AM 

I had a meeting of POC trans leaders and cis POC allies at 12:15 PM.  It was coordinated by Kris Hayashi to apprise us of the current situation concerning AB 1266 and let us know what their plans were in case the haters get enough signatures to trigger a ballot initiative.

Much of what was discussed in that room today is in The Trans Revolution Will Not Be Blogged About territory, so I can't comment on it. 

But what I can say is that AB 1266 went into effect on January 1 and is being implemented.  All AB1266 does is clarify California state and federal non-discrimination law as it applies to trans students, and the Forces of Intolerance are still hating on it.     

I was satisfied to discover the peeps in Cali are quite aware of the national implications of what the haters are up to, plans are being formulated and ready to roll out if necessary.

They sought our input and I am on the mailing list, so watch this space for further announcements  

As I was wandering the Hilton Americas halls, ran into Ace Portis, and finally my homegirl Michelle Brown and her spouse. 

Michelle and her cohorts from Can We Talk For Real were getting in line to take NOH8 photos.  After meeting her spouse and watching the fun for a moment, it was time to attend my first session of the day. 

It was entitled Inclusive Public Workplace Policies: The North Texas Model  and was taught by Rafael McDonnell   He discussed what the TBLG community in the DFW Metroplex has been doing to initiate an impressive string of policy wins since 2010.

When that was done, as one of the inaugural Trans 100 honorees, I headed to Grand Ballroom E for Trans Visibility and Positivity: The Trans 100 that stated at 6 PM.   Toni D'orsay and Jen Richards explained how the idea came to her, how they select the curators, created the show, and whats in store for 2014.

First thing is there will be a brand new set of Trans 100 winners.  None of us who were selected last year will repeat, so will be nice to see on March 31 who gets chosen.

So after that did a little suite hopping, and buzzed the Trans Pool P with Melissa and Dylan before returning to the Racial Diversity Suite to prepare to close it at 10 PM .

Just before I left the Hilton Americas, ran into Reina Gossett, told her she'd done a wonderful job on the panel before I headed off to catch my bus.  

Tonight was the KPFT-FM tribute broadcast for Jimmy Carper. As I wandered the four blocks to my bus stop I pondered a Circle of Life moment.   Back in 1999, I left Creating Change in Oakland to do my first broadcast that night at Jimmy's side.   Now with us hosting our first ever Creating Change here in Houston,  Jimmy passes away two days before it started. 

Well, gotta get that beauty sleep.   Doing a 9:30 AM panel in the morning entitle Building a Bridge Over The rainbow LGBTQ Women Creating Community. that is scheduled for room 335C. 

Creating Change 2014-Laverne Cox Speech

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This is the keynote speech Laverne gave at the opening Thursday night plenary. that everyone who heard it is STILL talking about.  

Hopefully I'll get to do that one day (hint hint)

Tai Babilonia

It's Black History Month 2014 edition but as y'all know I consider every month on TransGriot as Black History month.  

With the Sochi Olympic Games about to start in a few days, I thought this would be a great time to kick off my series of TransGriot Black History Month posts by talking about figure skater Tai Babilonia. 

And yeah, full disclosure, had a little bit of a crush on Tai back in the day.  Moving on to the post. 

Most people are aware of the fact that Dr. Debi Thomas became the first African American to win a medal of any sort in the Winter Olympics with her figure skating bronze medal at Calgary in 1988.  


But that piece of Black history was almost made by biracial figure skater Tai Babilonia, who is of Filipina, Native American (dad) and African American descent (on her mom's side) back in 1980.

She was born in Los Angeles on September 22, 1959 and was inspired to begin ice skating after seeing world and Olympic champion figure skater Peggy Fleming on television when she was six. 

Tai along with her partner Randy Gardner had been skating together since they first met when she was 8 and Randy was 10.  They.were the five time US champions, and when they won the 1979 World Championship in pairs figure skating, they broke a 14 year streak of Soviet titles and became only the second ever American figure skating pair (and unfortunately the last so far) since the competition started in 1908 to win it.  

After finishing fifth in the Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck four years earlier, they were the wildly popular home soil gold medal favorites going into the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics.

But unfortunately during practice ten days before the Lake Placid Games started Gardner fell and suffered a painful groin injury that prevented Randy from lifting Tai and jumping consistently during some of their program elements.

The groin injury to Gardner healed over those ten days, but he re-injured it and made it worse just 48 hours before they were scheduled to compete.  

Randy tried to press on, but it became clear in the warmup before the competition started on February 15 that he was in pain and it forced the couple to withdraw from the Olympic pairs figure skating competition.  

Tai was devastated, but despite the disappointing Olympic setback, the pair continued to skate professionally until their retirement in 2008 despite their ups and downs and drama in their off the ice lives. 

And yes, they are still close. They have been there for each other when the other has needed them.      Randy came out in 2006, has a partner and is penning a memoir. Tai is a businesswoman, mother to a teenage son from a previous marriage, and currently married to comedian David Brenner. 

Tai is still a beloved personality by many of the people of my generation and one of our great figure skating champions.  .   

Creating Change 2014-Day 3 Recap

Day 3 of Creating Change Houston Style is conference hump day, and I was doing so on two hours sleep.

It was a self inflicted wound of which alcohol or excessive partying wasn't the cause of it, but writing two posts that I didn't complete to my satisfaction until 4 AM

Unlike many of our attendees, in addition to my seminars I've been blessed to participate in, I've busy working and repping H-town in our Racial Diversity Suite along with Melissa and our proud volunteers.

Thanks to all our volunteers who have or will be working it.  James, Letitia, Jerry, Anthony, Larry, Kyndal, Joel, James A, Miriam, James D, Clarence, Ashley, Talor, Keciana, Rodney, Tammy, Erin, Ciro and Reggie.

Your work, smiles, and Texas hospitality is deeply appreciate by Melissa, myself, and our Houston Host  Committee.  You have our visitors feel welcome, special, appreciated and it has been noticed. 

So since my next scheduled panel wasn't until 3 PM, I had the opportunity to support other people panels. But in the wake of Laverne's shoutout to me during her kick butt keynote speech, my coolness quotient was rising and I found myself taking a lot of photos today.

So I started my Day 3 with a panel Toni D'orsay was conducting entitled How Arizona Flushed Anti-Trans Legislation.  Toni broke down how the Arizona trans community banded together to kill the Your Papers To Pee and No Loo For You bills and discussed the strategies and tactics necessary to kill bad bills in red states. 

One of the things that is cool about Creating Change and maddening about it is there are so many wonderful panels that are happening at the same time that in order to get the info needed, you need to find a buddy, split up, attend them and take notes for each other to get the information that will be disseminated in them. 

One of those panels that was taking place at the same time I was in Toni's session was one featuring  Judge Tonya Parker from Dallas and one of my activist mentors in Judge Phyllis Frye discussing life on the bench for a TBLG judicial pioneer .  

If your still here and reading this Judge Parker, so want to meet you.

Then my next seminar was The Sisterhood, in which I watched a multicultural, bilingual at times and multigenerational panel of Latina, Asian and African American transwomen moderated by Andrea Jenkins that discussed the common issues that affect all our communities and do the work of builing a national sisterhood that will help us go a long way toward solving them.    The participants were Milan Alexander, Cecilia Chung, and my homegirls Bamby Salcedo and Arianna Lint.

It was also fun for me because I got to meet the rest of the members of the fabulous TransLatina Coalition and see Ruby Corado again..

After checking on the RD suite and hanging up there for a little to chat with some folks, bounced down to check out Imam Daayiee Abdullah, who I met during OUT on the Hill 2012 and the Muslim service that was held during the lunch hour.

I have been trying to get some quality time together all conference with Imam Abdullah and I have had one impediment after another keeping it from happening.  Even on my way to this service there was a room change that caused me to be a little late for this one. 

But when I arrived it was worth it because I not only got to hear his sermon and message to the assembled LGBT Muslims and people of other faiths like myself in the room, I got to witness a sadly not too common but emotionally powerful sight of a young woman leading the call to prayer.   After talking to Imam Abdullah and many of the other assembled worshipers who appreciated my heightened presence went back up to the suite to rest for a moment before my next panel.   

Then came my 3 PM GLAAD sponsored panel with the brilliant Reina Gossett, Tiq Milan and Laverne moderated by Dani Heffernan entitled Growing Visibility: Transgender People In The Media in which we spent much of our hour and a half discussing the ways in which media had positively and negatively impacted transpeople and especially transpeople of color.  

Then it was back to the suites for a few hours, checking out a blogging panel, bumping into my fave power could in Danielle and Aisha Moodie-Mills looking effortlessly lovely as usual, conversation in the bloggers reception with Venton Jones from NBJC and Samantha Master where we told some hilarious stories about past OUT on the Hills and Samantha joined Janet Mock in asking me to write a book on Black trans history.

And yes, the rumor is true. I had a sit down chat with NCTE's Mara Keisling, Lisa Mottet and Bamby Salcedo to talk about some issues in the community including our shared concern about the developing Jewlyes Gutierrez situation in California.

I said hi to my Houston homeboys and homegirls Lou Weaver, Yesenia Chavez and James Lee who were chilling out nearby before I bounced for the evening.

And what's this rumor I hear that the Denver #CC15 host committee people have been talking smack about busting all the Creating Change records we have set?   If its true, bring it on then. 

CC14's Hump Day has concluded for me, and now we have one last full day of seminars, plenaries, and once on one conversations with 4000 of our friends to Create Change who have made Houston the center of the LGBT Universe for now.
 

Shut Up Fool Awards-5th Anniversary Issue

On January 30, 2009 I began what has turned out to be one of the more popular features on TransGriot in my weekly Shut Up Fool Awards.   Juan Williams of Fox Noise was our inaugural winner of that first award and they have been a plethora of them ever since.

Since yesterday was the fifth anniversary  of the Shut Up Fool Awards, I'm also going to start doing a Shut Up Fool of the Month.

But first, let's just get right to the 'bidness' at hand and select this week's fool, fool or group of fools.

This week's winner I'm going to Russia for, and naw it ain't Russian President Vladimir Putin.  The award goes to Sochi Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov, who claimed in a BBC interview there are 'no gay people' in his city.  Oh really?  The patrons of the several gay oriented night clubs in Sochi say otherwise.

Yeah right, and next you're going to tell me that Sochi is NOT on the Black Sea.  Peddle that BS somewhere else.

And how do you say Shut Up Fool! in Russian?  
 

Creating Change 2014-Day 2

Day 2 of Creating Change 2014 Houston Style was a busy one for me.    We opened the suites and I was scheduled to supervise it today since Melissa had to work at her day job.

I was also invited to take part in thw National Black Justice Coalition's first ever at Creating Change Black Institute, and you know I wasn't missing the opportunity to be a prat of that event .

But what that set up for me was running back and forth from the fourth floor ballroom where the institute was being held to our Racial Diversity Suite on the 11th floor.

The Institute started at 9:15 AM after welcoming remarks from Task Force Deputy Director Darlene Nipper, NBJC ED/ECO Sharon Lettman-Hicks and the new man on the NBJC team in Venton Jones, their Events and Operations Manager. before they turned over the facilitation to Je-Shawna Wholley

After the screening of the film The Shadow Behind The Rainbow, we moved into the initial panel of the day I was on, entitled The Call of the Griot.  I was joined by Cleo Managao, Curtis Lipscomb, Dr. Kofi Adoma to discuss where we'd been as Black LGBT people and talk about intergenerational influences on the movement.

My mentor Mandy Carter was scheduled to participate in this panel, but the ATL weather related air traffic snarls delayed her arrival into Houston until later in the afternoon (darn it0  

When it was over I had to bounce to check on my suite (in room 11029 for you #cc14 attendees reading this post), and when I arrived it was packed for the lunch rush. I did get the opportunity to talk to many of our young attendees during the lunch break.

As I stepped out of the Ballroom H door enroute to the suite I had Charlene Carruthers and several people stop and  congratulate me for an award nomination.  I was puzzled until I was subsequently told TransGriot was nominated for a 2014 GLAAD Media Award. for Outstanding Blog.   Is there a trip to Los Angeles or New York in my future?    We'll see because my esteemed competition in this category is pretty stiff.


After making sure everything was copacetic in the suite, I returned to Ballroom H for the Young Gifted  Black and Queer Panel moderated by Je-Shawna and having as panelists Charlene Carruthers, Van Bailey Venton Jones and Samantha Master. 

Samantha had another surprise for me in an Asus laptop.   I've needed one for a while and this will do nicely to learn the nuances of laptop computing on.   I got to enjoy their panel and at the close of I spotted Louis Mitchell, Mandy Carter, Kimberley McLeod and Aisha Moodie-Mills entering the room a few minutes apart..

After she finished her chat with Sharon, I took a few moments to hug her and find out if Danielle was here (she is) before she had to moderate the third panel of the day entitled Double Jeopardy:: When The Struggle Overlaps.   It was a panel with Stacey Long, Holiday Simmons, Sheila Isong, and Dr. Imani Woody that looked at the political implications of being Black and gay.

When it was over and the assembled peeps were in another breakout session, I once again had to leave to  check on my suite.  A shift change had happened while I was gone, it needed a little TLC and it was also busy.

We were shutting down early tonight because we wanted everyone to attend the initial plenary session featuring speeches from our CC14 Host Committee Co-Chairs, and Mayor Annise Parker. 

But the buzz and excitement at the Hilton Americas had been building all day and frankly, ever since it was announced Laverne Cox would be our keynote speaker.

I got to the plenary after shutting down the Racial Diversity Suite for the night and the ballroom was standing room only.

Fortunately for me Kylar Broadus and and Marisa Richmond had a seat for me after standing for a few minutes and I settled in to watch Sue and Russell,  my Houston Host Committee Co Chairs, and Mayor Parker welcome everyone to Houston along with emcee Kate Clinton. 

And then the moment arrived in which our keynote speaker arrived to a standing ovation, she gave shoutouts in the speech to several people, including some GLAAD Award nominated blogger y'all know. before moving to the salient points in her speech.

Laverne's keynote discussed self love, the criminal justice system and how it impacts the trans community and pride in being not only trans, but a Black trans woman.  .

Looking forward to doing that panel with her, Tiq and Reina later today.

Creating Change 2014-Day 1 Recap

January 29, 2014 was the day we'd been planning as a Host Committee almost a year to have seamlessly happen, and it dawned clear and cold.

It was Day One of Creating Change Houston style, and on tap for it was The Racial Justice Institute. I didn't actually have to be up at the Hilton Americas until 5 PM for a meeting concerning the suites, but I'd sat at home and gotten my beauty sleep long enough   It was time for Moni to make an appearance at the Hilton Americas Hotel for CC14 and see my LGBT peeps .

I bounced out of the house at 7 in order to get a feel for the layout of the space and where our suites were located.   I discovered they are all on the west side of the hotel starting on the sixth floor and going all the way up to the 21st floor.  I returned to the lower levels after locating the 11th floor location of the Racial Diversity Suite , chatted with some of the peps at the registration desk before heading to the Lanier Ballroom where the initial session of the RJI was occurring.and being facilitated by The Washington Consulting Group, of whose members I met and chatted with before it started. 

It also didn't take me long to start seeing people as the cavernous room began to fill up with people attending the RJI..  I finally met the lovely Angelica Ross, who I have known online and chatted with on the phone from time to time for several years.   That triggered the floodgate of people rushing up to want to talk to me once they realized the TransGriot was in the CC14 house. 

And yes, I enjoy those conversations as much as the people who are approaching me do.  

The RJI started at 9 AM and was scheduled to run until our 12:30 PM lunch break, and we spent that time working toward the goal of having deeper and meaningful conversations across race and sexuality.  


As that lunch break happened and I pondered what I was going to do, I ran into Stacey Langley and we decided to walk over to a nearby food court in the mall near the Four Seasons Hotel.   

I ran into in rapid succession on that walk Holiday Simmons from Lambda Legal, Jen Richards of Trans 100 fame and my Arizona homegirl and newlywed Toni D'orsay.

After lunch Stacey and I returned to hit different breakout session .   She hit the Engaging Race As A Multiracial Person in the LGBT Community one while I decided to head to the Engaging Race Gender Identity And Sexual Orientation Across People of Color Communities.

Shiva Subbaraman and Vernon Wall facilitated an interesting conversation over the next hour and 15 minutes that touched on a wide range of topics including the internalized issues inside our various POC communities.

I got to see Imam Daayiee Abdullah during this session and looking forward to checking out the Muslim service he's leading on Friday.   Didn't get to finish the RJI because of that 5 PM meeting to pick up the key for the suite that opens tomorrow at 8 AM and help set it up with Melissa Meadows.

On that note, I didn't get back home until almost 9:30 PM.   I did have a nice package waiting for me when I arrived, and it was my autographed copy of Janet's book Redefining Realness that's going to be released February 4.

As busy as I'm going to be for the next two days, quiet time to read it is going to be at a premium.    And yep, need to get my behind in bed to get up at 5 AM so I can be there to open the suite and do the NBJC sponsored institute I'm a part of  in a few hours.

And nope, for those of you #CC14 attendees who are fans of TransGriot and have asked me, haven't decided who gets this week's Shut Up Fool Award yet.  I am taking suggestions though.

Creating Change 2014- Moni's Busy CC14 Schedule

Creating Change 2014 officially starts in a few hours with the day long Racial Justice Institute kicking off at 9 AM, and despite Houston Freeze Part 2, people are either here in H-town already or on their way here.  

Creating Change already started for me with the Volunteer Training Session that was held on Sunday.  I have a 5 PM meeting to attend to do some additional training related to my supervisory duties in the Racial Diversity Suite, but I'm looking forward to my first Creating Change since 1999 for a lot of reasons.

The Hilton Americas and the other overflow hotels for the next several days will be the epicenter for the TBLG movement, and it's going to be a wonderful thing to witness.

In addition to seeing all my old friends in the movement, meeting many people for the first time and people I'm aware of via their movement work but I'll meet for the first time ever during CC14, I'll be fulfilling another dream and getting to participate in Creating Change as a panelist. 

I'm part of the host committee, and I'm so looking forward to seeing old friends, meeting people I've connected with via The Net or admired for a long time in the TBLG community.

And the best part about it is Creating Change came to me this year.

Because Creating Change 2014 is happening in H-town, I got asked by a few peeps to be part of their various presentations and panels. I've feel blessed and honored that people sought me out to do so. 

On Thursday January 30 I'm one of the panelists in the first ever The Black Institute: From the Civil Rights Movement to the LGBT-Equality Movement sponsored and organized by the National Black Justice Coalition.  It runs from 9 AM-6 PM in Grand Ballroom H on Level 4 of the hotel.  

This institute will explore the challenges and successes while living at the intersection of racial justice and LGBT equality and here's a description of some of the topics we'll tackle during this day long conversation.

From Selma to Stonewall, there is uniqueness about telling the story of where Black folks fit in the conversation about LGBT equality, especially when you live openly as a Black LGBTQ person who is deeply-rooted in Black culture in America.

Are Black queer folks always to live in survival mode? Or do we have an opportunity to THRIVE in both movements? This conversation is long overdue to declare Black LGBTQ people as a distinct population with specific needs and challenges that must not be relegated in one movement versus another. The time is NOW to set the agenda for our future. The place is HERE where we will come together to achieve this goal.

I'm looking forward to Laverne's keynote speech Thursday night and hearing Mayor Annise Parker's remarks at the opening plenary session in the Ballroom of the Americas.

On Friday I join GLAAD Media Strategists Dani Heffernan and Tiq Milan in Grand Ballroom F on Level 4 for a 3-4:30 PM panel entitled "Growing Visibility: Transgender People in the Media,"   It will discuss transgender images in the media and features Reina Gossett of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and our CC14 keynote speaker Laverne Cox.

I then head upstairs to the Racial Diversity Suite in Room 11029 to do a Texas Trans History presentation in the suite from 7-8:10 PM.

On Saturday February 1 from 12:15-1:30 PM I'll be in Room 333.attending a person of color only space discussion about the attacks against Trans and Gender non-conforming youth in California, that will also discuss AB1266 (the School Success and Opportunity Act) the attempt by the haters to take it to a ballot initiative, and the implications for and impacts on the continued national trend of attacks on trans and gender non conforming youth of color in schools 

On Sunday February 2, I join my Houston homegirl Stacey Langley in Room 335C for a discussion entitled  Building A Bridge Over The Rainbow: LGBTQ Women Creating Community.   That panel will be a 9:30-11:00 AM start before we move into the final plenary and the concert with Nona Hendryx to close it out and pass the Creating Change torch to Denver.     

And that's not even counting the other panels I'll attend, be chatting in, the networking I'll be doing and the the large numbers of people I'll be engaged with during this January 29-February 2 period.

Glad I got my beauty sleep last week.   Gonna need it.

Moni's Going To DC In February

A month from today it'll be my turn to hop on an airplane and jet off somewhere for a conference.

On February 28 I get to chill out in DC (and I hope chill out isn't the operative weather word that weekend) and take part in the 2014 edition of the LGBT Media Journalists Convening

It'll be the second one I've been blessed to take part in, and the theme for this edition of it is "Honing Our Game," and I'll get to be inside the Beltway from Friday, February 28 to Sunday, March 2, 2014. 

The goal of this fifth annual LGBT forum is to strengthen the capacity of TBLG  members of the media and blogosphere to more deeply understand and more effectively communicate critical issues facing the BTLG community, as well as assist in increasing the presence and diversity of GLBT bloggers in the national blogging community.

I'm looking forward to taking my first road trip of 2014 back to DC again, and I hope to see many of my blogging and media peers on what should be a n informative and fun weekend.

The SOTU Speech I'd Love To See The POTUS Give

The State of the Union speech is happening later tonight, and I'll be paying attention like all of us political junkies and the pundit class will be.

President Obama will steer this one right now the middle and try his best to stay with the 'No Drama Obama' image despite the massive hate the Teapublicans and their conservafool acolytes have hurled his way. 

But just once I would like to see him give a SOTU speech in which he went Chicago Southside on their behinds.   How would that sound?

***

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, fellow citizens: 

I have had it with trying to be nice to these Teapublican jerks, and I'm going to go Southside on them in this State of the Union Address and call some folks out.

The State of Our Union is strong but divided due to these racist GOP fools doing everything possible to get back at me for whipping Mitt Romney's behind in the 2012 election cycle.  

They hate me so much they were willing to destroy the economy of the United States and the world just to deny me ANY success by following Sen. Ted Cruz's lead and shut the federal government down.  These mitches are so filled with hatred that they won't pass the Jobs Bill this country needs, immigration reform, reasonable gun regulation, increasing the minimum wage, rebuilding infrastructure, passing ENDA or do anything else that will generate good jobs at good wages because it's what I want to see done and they are beholden to the Koch Brothers and their 1% corporate paymasters. 

Something else I want to see done is fix the problem with the Voting Rights Act tossed into our laps due to another jacked up Supreme Court decision.  But you know the Republicans don't want that to happen because they know you'll with vote their behinds out of office this November

My fellow Americans, I know you want and would like to see bipartisanship bloom like the cherry blossoms inside the Beltway, but I can't keep offering my hand to people who instead of shaking it and doing what's best for the country and moving us forward together, take their hand instead to slap me across the face with it, spit in my face when they are done, and then laughably accuse me in their propaganda outlets of not wanting to work with them. 

Well, that's over.  They want to lie and accuse me of being a Chicago politician, well, they are about to see it live and in living color in 2014.   If they won't act to move this country forward in a bipartisan way, then I'll do it my damned self.   I'll use my executive authority to the full extent constitutionally permissible to move America forward.   There's more than one way to beat an obstructionist Republican, and I'm going to prove that to you.

And as I handle my business inside Washington DC, I ask you to do your part by putting pressure on your congressmembers and senators to act on the legislation already passed by the Democratic Senate that is bottled up in the House because Speaker Boehner refuses to bring it to a vote.

If Speaker Boehner continues his recalcitrant ways through the rest of this year, then you get the opportunity on November 4 to vote him and the Republicans out of power on November 4 so that we can return the speaker's gavel to someone who will pass the legislation we need to move this country forward in Nancy Pelosi.

It's past time to end the war in Afghanistan and bring our troops home.   And when we do so, we give them everything we promised them in terms and they signed up to go into the military for in terms restoring all the GI Bill funding.   They earned it fighting to defend our freedoms, we promised that money to them, and we need to make good on that promise. 

And speaking of our military, it is past time to allow transgender Americans to opportunity to openly serve their country.  The time has come to allow patriotic transgender Americans the chance to openly serve their country like anyone else inside the borders of this nation we all love.   It is also time for our military to allow those transpeople who are hiding their true selves in order to stay in military service to be able to come out and openly serve our country.   Just as was done with DADT, we do so after consultation with our military leaders to expeditiously come up with the best practices, policies and ways to integrate trans Americans into the greatest armed forces in the world.    

We also need to act decisively to end the horrific situation that our daughters in uniform face when it comes to sexual assaults going unpunished.   American women sign up to serve our country, not  face sexual harassment and assault and have their superior officers turn a blind eye to it when they seek justice for what happened to them.   If you are not willing to act inside the military justice system to fix the problem, then we'll need to give our women warriors other options if their superior offices are thwarting prosecution of those crimes.

I've already alluded to it with transgender Americans in the militray, but if we are are going to lead the way in fighting for the human rights of LGBT people people around th world, we have to lead by example here at home.    It is past time that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans be afforded first class citizenship in the United States of America.  It is ridiculous that ENDA has not been passed, that many states still refuse to allow people to marry the person they love for specious reasons or use their faith as a fig leaf to cover their bigotry and prejudice. 

It is inexcusable that transgender people are facing the levels of hate violence they do.  Transpeople should have to hide because they fear that what happened to Islan Nettles will happen to them.   They should have to jump through hoops just to get identification that matches who they are now or if they are immigrants working hard to build new lives for themselves after fleeing anti transgender oppression in their birth nations being deported back to them.. You are first class human beings who deserve first class citizenship in our nation, and it's past time that happened. 

And why should we do all this?   We are approaching 50 years since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed and signed into law by president Lyndon Baines Johnson.  I , my children and yours are the beneficiary of the changes in American society that the Civil Rights Act and other subsequent groundbreaking legislation engendered..

And let us keep building together a more perfect union.  This country works best when we are also contributing our ideas, talents, sweat equity and elbow grease into putting in the work to make as Barbara Jordan said. an America as good as its promise. 

We should have as our guiding North Star striving to make an America better than its promise.   Let's start that wok tonight as we leave this chamber.  

God bless you my fellow Americans, and God bless the United States of America.  

Open Letters From Wendy's Daughters

You've heard and read the scurrilous attacks from the lying male chauvinist GOP pigs on Texas state Senator Wendy Davis, who is the Democratic candidate for governor.

There was even one from the GOP's favorite unwed mother, Bristol Palin who doesn't even live in my home state and had the nerve to part her lip and claim she was a better mother than Wendy.

Fool, you're not even smart enough to wear Wendy's pumps, so don't even try to go there.    Wendy also had something to say about the junior Palin's loud and wrong comments.


Davis' narrative in which she went from single motherhood in a trailer park to graduate at the top of her class from TCU and Harvard Law to become an attorney, Ft. Worth city council member state senator and now on the verge of becoming the 48th governor of my home state is a wonderful story.

If she had an 'R' behind her name, her narrative would  be thrown up in our face at every opportunity by the conservafools and FOX Noise as vindication of their 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps isn't America/Texas great?' propaganda. 

But since Wendy has a 'D' behind her name, and is also a Democrat who has the best shot since Ann Richards in 1990 of taking the governors mansion back from the not-so dynamic rule of GW Bush and Rick Perry, and are genuinely 'scurred' of the prospect of Wendy Davis becoming the next governor of my home state, they have resorted to a new line of personal attacks now that the 'Abortion Barbie' line is pissing people off. 

The Texas Teapublicans know her story resonates with Texans all over our state and as her 2011 education filibuster and 2013 filibuster on a woman right to choose demonstrated, she will fight for working class Texans.

They are also quite aware of the fact we 99% Texans want change after 20 years of failed batturd crazy and racist GOP policies geared toward corporations and the wealthy. .

Well, the Texas GOP can't brag on their piss poor record of running thangs in the Lone Star State either for the last 20 years, so the fact they have resorted to attacking Wendy's story tells me how bankrupt and bereft of ideas their party is and their assessment of her chances of winning this November are regardless of the 'she has no chance' rhetoric they comfort themselves with in their conservosphere.   . 

But it's sad that Wendy's daughters Amber and Dru even had to write these open letters defending their mom, but their voices and opinions matter in terms of how good a parent their mom is, so tell the truth and shame the conservadevils.  But whatever it takes to shut their sexist mouths the hell up and make sure that next January, it's Wendy J. Davis on the steps of the state capitol in Austin taking the oath of office.   


You can read both of the open letters from Dru and Amber Davis here