Ines Rau Becomes The First Openly Trans POC Playboy Model

For the first time since Caroline Cossey accomplished it in 1991, we will have an openly trans model doing a Playboy spread.  

We saw Ines Rau raise more than a few eyebrows with the steamy photo shoot she did back in November with model Tyson Beckford.   Now she's appearing in the May 2014 issue of the US version of Playboy.

In case you're wondering who is Ines Rau, she's a 24 year old Parisian born model based in New York who transitioned at age 16 and was discovered by modelling scouts in Paris.

Her career has been exploding lately and after reading Caroline 'Tula' Cossey's book I Am Woman twice decided to come out as trans.   Now she's following in Caroline's pumps and posing for Playboy.  
 
Playboy actively looked for several months to find a trans model to fit the parameters they were looking for before they found Ines.

That May issue is on your local newsstand now

Back In H-town From BTAC 2014

Well, finally back in Houston after a memorable BTAC 2014 weekend for me.

I couldn't attend the entire conference because of the pressing HERO business here, but did make up for lost time after my arrival in Dallas Thursday night.

Friday afternoon an amazing Black sisterhood discussion co-facilitated by Espy Brown and myself happened in which the cis and trans women in the room talked about the issues and concerns that concern us.  

That discussion needed another hour but it brought major insights to how both sides see things and hopefully helped pave the way for friendships to form. It was also the beginning of giving our cis sisters the knowledge they need to be better advocates for us when they end up in situations in which they have to quickly and confidently check other transphobic women.   

We also left that session in agreement that trans women are women and we both need to be doing a better job of working together.  It's a discussion we'll probably do again at a future BTAC event.

The community town hall immediately followed.  A tell it like it T-I-S is discussion moderated by Tiq Milan in which we discussed a wide range of issues impacting our community.

Several hours later at the Advocacy Awards Banquet, we got to enjoy a performance by KOKUMO and Dr. KRZ, Louis Mitchell and I were in the Skyline Ballroom to personally hand out the awards named for us   And did I mention all those handsome brothers, their lovely significant others and our allies in semiformal attire?

And who won the Monica Roberts Black Trans Advocacy Award for this year?    Tiq Milan. 

Houston represented this year (as usual).  Major shout out to Dee Dee Watters for winning a well deserved Newcomer of the Year Award and Tye West who was also honored during the Friday banquet.  

Always good to see my Dallas peeps Omar Narvaez, Rafael McDonnell, Katy Stewart, Nell Gaither and my homegirl Arianna Lint who did double duty with us and LULAC.

Saturday was Fun Day, and as we pulled out of the hotel on another clear and cloudless day enroute to Camp El Har Stevie Wonder's classic song Fun Day was playing in my head, and that exactly what it was.

A fun day to laugh, play games, and get away from the hotel for  few hours while building community before we moved into the screening of the movie Shirts and Skins, the TransManifest and the Black Diamond Ball

I did get to read two of my poems for TransManifest.   One of them was the fave poem of the BTAC fam and a request from Auset O'Neal entitled Y'all Love Madea But Hate on Me' and the other was 'Bathroom Trans Hate'.

And just as quickly as BTAC 2014 begun, it was over.  I hate I missed the early days of it, but the closing service on my birthday was a nice way to tie everything together and send us on our way back to our various parts of the country renewed, refreshed and ready to do the work necessary to continue the Black Trans Renaissance and build our community..

See y'all next year BTAC fam, and hopefully for the entire event.

Uniguest Blocks GLAAD Award Nominated Black Trans Blog

One of the things I was NOT a happy birthday camper about during my just completed trip to Dallas for BTAC 2014 was having another negative encounter with Nashville based Uniguest, the company that provides computer blocking software for many hotel chains.

Once again I ran into the problem of when I entered the Doubletree's business center Saturday to attempt to use their computers to get access to my blog, it kept kicking me off.  Black Transmen, Inc also had a similar problem accessing their website.

This isn't the first time I've had this problem.   It happened to me during last year's BTAC event and during the 2012 Netroots Nation.   Their excuse the last time was that my blog contained the words 'white supremacy' in it.

Yep, it sure does.   But if your obtuse behinds had taken the opportunity to read those posts in question, they were yours truly putting white supremacy on blast. 

Then again, maybe that's why you blocked it so nobody would read them.

One thing I do know is I'm beyond getting sick and tired of when I go to a hotel business center on my road trips and conferences around this country, need to access TransGriot for the purposes of printing something or just feel like using the hotel computers instead of my laptop to compose a post, I get ACCESS DENIED. 

I'm also not happy that I couldn't get anyone on your help desk number to complain about it and attempt to expeditiously fix the problem, which is why you're getting called out on my blog.  . 

Uniguest, I understand there are some problematic blogs out there.  But if your blocking software can't tell the difference between those problematic sites, a GLAAD Award nominated trans blog and a website for a Black trans advocacy organization, then your software has some issues. 

So fix the problem, Uniguest
  

Church Of The Real Signs

Come on down to the Church of The Real, in which Pastor Denny Upkins will tell it like it T-I-S is about the issues of the day as Deaconess Moni shouts Amen and hallelujah in the corner.

Church of the Real started as a hashtag Denny created when he was calling people out while issuing tell it like it T-I-S truths on his Facebook page.

Every now and then he drops a truth bomb on someone so thorough I just have to share it with y'all on the blog. 

So when I stumbled across a website that generates church signs and other graphics that you will occasionally see on this blog and my Facebook page over the next few months, that's when I got the idea to put some of his fave slogans on a Church of the Real sign 

While I created them for Denny and will deploy them on his Facebook page when I comment over there, from time to time they ill get deployed when I have to shut up my own trolls and assorted fools. 

Let the congregation say Amen!
  .

It's Moni's 52nd Birthday Today!

It's my birthday today! 

I find myself in Dallas on the last day of BTAC 2014 hopefully getting some beauty sleep at this moment.   I do tend to do much of my writing and hard sold thinking at night.  I sometimes find myself not going to bed until 3 or 4 AM in the morning. 

One of the things that has to change this year. 

I'm looking forward to what is going to be an interesting and unique experience in terms of getting to celebrate a birthday with my Black trans family.

I have been blessed to make it through another 365 day ride on this space rock to celebrate my special day.  What I do know for certain on this Cuatro De Mayo 2014, I'm a better person than I was at this time last year. 
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But there's always room for improvement.   As for what I will wish for should a birthday cake materialize at some point before I head back down I-45 south, haven't settled on that yet.     

Besides, for that birthday wish to come true, I can't reveal it.

It was an interesting year, and I hope and pray the next 365 days have more blessings, fun, abundant love and wonderful times in store for me as the previous year did. 

2014 GLAAD Media Awards, NY Division Tonight

While I'm in Dallas at the moment hanging out with my BTAC peeps, I will have one eye turned in the direction of New York City's Waldorf Astoria Hotel. 

Later tonight I'll discover like everyone else if I got an early birthday present and get to make a little more trans history in the process. 

The GLAAD Media Awards are taking place this evening, and as many of you loyal readers know TransGriot was nominated in the Outstanding Blog category.    I'm honored, pleased and happy that I'm the first trans feminine blogger to ever be nominated in this category.  

I thank you all for your unwavering support of this blog over the last eight years.  I thank you for occasionally dropping cash in the TransGriot tip jar and sharing my posts on you Facebook and Twitter feeds so they do get read.   I thank you for the confidence you have expressed in me that I am doing my best to fulfill the mission I laid out for this blog in being a unapologetically Black trans voice for this community telling it like it T-I-S is on subjects inside and outside the TBLG community.. 

I thank you and I'm humbled by your glowing assessments of my chances of seeing that GLAAD award land on my trophy shelf, but the reality is I do have some stiff competition in this category.

Kimberley McLeod's Elixher, Alvin McEwen's Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters , Autostraddle and The New Civil Rights Movement  are no slouchy blogs either.  This is the second nomination for Autostraddle and the third for The New Civil Rights Movement.   

Kimberley and Alvin are quality people I have much love and the utmost respect for as well

So we'll see in a few hours if I can officially say that TransGriot is a GLAAD Media Award Winning Blog and give my haters something else to dislike me for.

Should they call my name tonight, I would be the first trans blogger ever to win the Outstanding Blog award in the short history of this category that started in 2011.

But if I don't, it was an honor just to be named as one of the five finalists in that category.   

BTAC 2014-Day 5

It's Saturday May 3, Day 5 of the Black Trans Advocacy Conference and we get to leave the hotel for a few hours for Family Health and Fun Day.  

Bus will be rolling away from the Doubletree Campbell Center property at 10 AM and the first annual Kye Allums 3 on 3 basketball tournament.    After returning at 4, the evening's events will be a screening of the movie Shirts on Skins,  BTMI's Club Harlem theme party in which the requested attire is 1920 Harlem Renaissance era costumes, Trans Manifest and  the Black Diamond Ball.

Lots of fun things to do today. 
   

Shut Up Fool Awards-BTAC 2014 Edition

I'm finally in in Dallas for this year's edition of the Black Trans Advocacy Conference and have two panels I'm on I'm looking forward to. 

First one is the sisterhood one with Espy Brown and myself and the Black Trans Community Summit later on this afternoon moderated by Tiq Milan. 

But y'all know I'm quite aware of what today is and it ain't hump day.  .  

Yep, time to call out this week's fool, fools or group of fools who deserve to get called out for their BS. 

Honorable mention number one is Bill O'Reilly for claiming that Beyonce is responsible for girls getting pregnant out of wedlock

Seriously? 

Honorable mention number two is Sucker oops Tucker Carlson, who said on a recent FOX and Friends  broadcast that watching Oprah's 'anti-male brainwashing' will emasculate your male children.

Say the man who wore bow ties for years. 

Honorable mention number three goes to Christina Fallin, the daughter of Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin.
During a Norman Music Festival performance of her band Pink Pony she mocked Native American protestors of her by doing a fake war dance as her boyfriend shot the finger at them from the stage.

The Native Americans were protesting her posting of a photo on her Instagram account of her wearing a red headdress. 

And you conservafools keep protesting that you aren't racist.  But you keep adding to that continuously mounting five decades of overwhelming evidence you most certainly are.  And as Christina Fallin proves, the kids are sometimes worse than their conservaparents. 

Honorable mention number four goes to all the faith based hate mongering pastors who stood in opposition to the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance and violated several commandments in doing so.  Oh, you know the ones about bearing false witness, lying and then had the nerve to get butthurt about getting called out for being haters and oppressors. 

News flash, you are. 

Honorable mention number five  is a joint award for serial racist Donald Sterling and the LA Chapter of the NAACP     The soon to be ex-owner of the LA Clipper pissed off his girlfriend, who revealed to the world what many of us already knew in terms of his record setting bigotry.  

But the head scratching part of this reprehensible was the LA NAACP being set to giving Donald Sterling a lifetime achievement award   For what.   Best Oppressor to our community?   Most realistic portrayal of a plantation owner?  Most Bigoted Conservafool?    

What the hell were they thinking?  
Honorable mention number six goes to DL Hugley for calling Tanee-McCall Short,the estranged wife of Columbus Short, a 'thirsty b---h.   Hugley has apologized for his comments, but that still jacked up to diss a victim of domestic violence on national radio.
Honorable mention number seven goes to Angela McGlowan, who is still trying to suck up to the Tea Klux Klan and pimp that government benefits = slavery meme.  
Didn't you learn anything about how much the conservafiools really love you when you ran for Congress in Mississippi and you came in fourth behind three white male Republicans?   I guess not.
   

This week's Shut Up Fool is Alan Keyes.   First this kneegrow parted his lips on WingNutDaily to say that Cliven Bundy wasn't a racist and liberals 'were the real racists'.   Then Keyes doubled down on that idiocy by claiming that 'Black people were worse off now than under slavery' 

Naw homes, you're not only hanging with the real racists, you've got your nose stuck so far up their anuses if they fart you can recite what they had for breakfast.   And yeah, you're still bitter the POTUS spanked that azz in the 2004 Illinois US senate race.
   

For that shameless azz kissing you deserve a Oreo cookie, an Uncle Ruckus and a Negro IZ U Sirius? Award

And oh yeah, Alan Keyes, Shut up Fool!

BTAC 2014-Day 4

Moni's FINALLY in the Black Trans Advocacy Convention house to handle her BTAC business, see her peeps, and do a little reporting about what's happening at this third annual convention. 

We start off Day 4 with more seminars running from 9:15 AM -2:30 PM    I not only get to do mine with Espy Brown from 1:15-2:30, after the break I head into the Tiq Milan moderated  Black Trans Community Summit in which I'm one of the participants along with Louis Mitchell, Kim Watson, Carmarion Anderson, Jonathan Thunderword, Justice William Millhouse, and Dee Dee Watters.

Then after the conclusion of the Summit, we move into the Black Trans Advocacy Awards gala in which KOKUMO is scheduled to be performing.

 

We Have A Black President And This Country Is STILL Racist

One of the things that has irritated me lately is when I get into conversations online is when some conservafool starts trying to deny that racism American style exists by deploying the 'We have a Black president' line followed by reciting the usual conservabullfeces and talking points. 

The bottom line is this country is still racist, and no matter how much you wallowing in vanillacentric privileged 'proud conservatives' want to deny it, this country is as racist as ever, and I submit it's gotten worse since 2008. 

Hell, you conservafools have demonstrated foaming at the mouth hatred of the POTUS and severe cases of Obama Derangement Syndrome since November 4, 2008, so it's disingenuous for you to try to hold him up as your justification in your minds that racism doesn't exist. 

The bigot eruptions from Cliven Bundy and Donald Sterling blow that lie up along with the ranting of Limbaugh and all of your hive mind radio and FOX Noise commentators. 

I haven't even addressed the dog whistle racist comments of  Rep. Paul Ryan and his fellow Teapublicans who continue to execute Southern Strategy 2.0 and foment racial animus in white conservative ranks for political gain.

Race matters.  Racism exists in the United States, it is systemic and as Justice Sonia Sotomayor so eloquently stated in her recent blistering dissent in the Schuette vs Bahm Michigan affirmative action case:

"In my colleagues' view, examining the racial impact of legislation only perpetuates racial discrimination,” Sotomayor said. “This refusal to accept the stark reality that race matters is regrettable. As members of the judiciary tasked with intervening to carry out the guarantee of equal protection, we ought not sit back and wish away, rather than confront, the racial inequality that exists in our society."

“The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to speak openly and candidly on the subject of race, and to apply the Constitution with eyes open to the unfortunate effects of centuries of racial discrimination,”     

And until the out of touch and willfully clueless in this country grasps the point that Justice Sotomayor made, and get serious about tacking the systemic racism in this country beyond cosmetic measures, these problems will continue.

No April African-American Trans Murders!

"So will we see a threepeat of that pattern in 2014?   I hope and pray we don't, but with the increased attention transpeople and trans issues are getting in the media, it has also fueled backlash.  Some of that backlash will be manifested in people who are mean spirited, hateful and angry enough to take their transphobia to murderous levels." 
-TransGriot, April 3, 2014, 'Will April Be A Deadly Month For African-American Transwomen This Year?'

For the last two years, April has tended to be the deadliest month for anti-trans murders aimed at African-American transwomen. 

2014 so far has been a quiet year on that trans murder front here in the States, but when the calendar page flipped to April my anxiety level went up known the pattern of the last two years.  Now that we have turned the calendar page to May, I can exhale and report an amazing occurrence.

This year was the first in two years we didn't have trans African-Americans murdered in the month of April.  So keep up the good work my transsisters.  As a birthday present to me, please continue to be vigilant and most importantly be safe so I don't have to type out stories of a transwoman being killed somewhere in this country for the month of May. 

I'll have to sort through the Remembering our Dead statistics to see how far back the trend of African-American transowmen being murdered in April goes, but it's wonderful news to note that for the first time in a while, we won't have some family planning an all to soon funeral for a loved one they lost during the month of April.  

'The People' Includes LGBT Houstonians, Too

Over the entrance to the city council chambers in our art deco designed Houston City Hall are the words 'The People Are The City'.

It's a reminder to the councilmembers and the mayor sitting at that curved desk with those nice green leather chairs who they are ultimately accountable to.

And the people in that slogan also includes the Houston TBLG community.

We trans, bi and SGL people are part of the 2.2 million denizens who live, work and play in the 628 square miles of Texas soil we call Houston.

It is past time our human rights are respected and protected in the city we love just as much as the haters.  I and my fellow LGBT Houstonians want the same first class human rights you demand for yourselves with no excuses, no obfuscations and no delays.   We've waited long enough.   Your specious religious beliefs do not trump my human rights. 

This Houston Equal Rights Ordinance is needed and long overdue. to combat the discrimination we face as LGBT people.   That discrimination is even more pronounced for trans people, and worse for trans, bi and SGL people of color who face anti-LGBT discrimination combined with racism.

Yes, the people are the city of Houston.  As we will continue to emphatically point out as our opponents resort to fear and smear tactics to oppose the HERO, 'the people' includes trans, bi, lesbian and gay Houstonians, too.

BTAC 2014-Day 3

Day 3 of the Black Trans Advocacy Conference at the Doubletree Campbell Center dawns with more workshops on the schedule starting once again at 9:15 AM and running until 2:30 PM 

And if you're asking Where's Moni?', assuming no complications, I'll be in the BTAC house later tonight.  

Today will also feature the highly anticipated keynote addresses of Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler, Arianna Lint and Ignacio Rivera that are set to start at 2:45 PM

Once those keynotes have been completed, starting at 7 PM will be the Mr and Miss Black Trans International pageant to close out BTAC's third day.

ConGRADulations Trans Class of 2014

You may even make a little history in the process since as of yet we have never had to my knowledge an out transperson become a homecoming queen, prom king or high school class president.
-TransGriot, June 8, 2013, 'Trans Class Of 2014, Start Planning Now To Beat Your Trans Oppressors'


Has it been almost a year since I wrote that post?.   Obviously it has since I have another birthday coming in three days.  

Congratulations Trans Class of 2014, you did make some trans history in this 2013-14 school year.   Cassidy Lynn Campbell wasn't a member of this class, but became the first ever out trans feminine homecoming queen when she was elected by the Marina HS student body back in September.  

Meanwhile the first out trans homecoming king in New Hampshire also happened this year with the landslide election of  Ray Ramsey at Concord HS.
 

We also had the first ever out African-American trans masculine homecoming king happen just in time for Black History Month when Blake Brockington accomplished that feat at East Mecklenburg High School 

However, we did have some situations in which the haters came out to play.    Cassidy's haters and cyberbullies included right wing talk radio hosts like Bryan Fischer.  Kasey Carron didn't even get the opportunity to run for homecoming king because his Johnston, PA school district refused to let him do so.   Hopefully they will at least let him walk in the male cap and gown. 

Down in the Rio Grande Valley Jeydon Loredo had to fight the transphobic LaFeria ISD with the legal help of the Southern Poverty Law Center just to get his male senior picture added to the yearbook.

And as usual, just in time for prom season we had the situation crop up of potentially problematic prom rules in the DeSoto ISD.   In the New York City borough of Queens, senior Anais Celini is not being allowed by her private high school to take her trans boyfriend to her May 22 prom.

And how many trans students in the Class of 2014 will have to fight just to wear the cap and gown that properly reflects their gender identity and expression?

Trans Class of 2015, just as I advised this year's seniors to start preparing now to come up with their game plans to beat your trans oppressors, you have a few months to do the same.    And there is still trans hsitory yet to be made on many of your campuses.   I'd love to see the first Black transfeminine homecoming and prom queens happen.   Trans student body presidents.  Trans valedictorians.   

But conGRADulations Trans Class of 2014.   Much love to you for accomplishing this major life goal and may you have continued success as you continue to climb the educational ladder or take those first daunting steps toward taking the world beyond your college campuses.

Handling My HERO Business

For the longest time one of my fondest wishes as a Houston based activist was that one day I would get to be part of the team that would help wipe Houston's name off the human rights list of shame and pass a trans inclusive human rights act.

Well, be careful what you wish for, because it can happen and sooner than you expect.

That moment of participating in the Houston human rights fight that I've been thinking about since 1998 is here. 

The TransGriot,  Dee Dee Watters and many of our  Houston LGBT community members, activists, clergy, friends and supporters showed up at City Hall in force for the 2 PM CDT hearing on our proposed Houston Equal Rights Ordinance that spilled over into adjacent viewing rooms.  

It was a hearing of the Quality of Life Committee chaired by Councilmember Ellen Cohen in which the only item on the menu was the HERO and it took place in a packed City Council chamber.  

After City Attorney Dave Feldman laid out the case for the HERO and city council members had the chance to comment on it pro and con, the fun began around 3:20 PM.    I knew I was going to have a long wait because by the time I got to City Hall and signed in to speak the list was up to five pages.

This is what I said in a earlier post about my assessment of what I thought the haters were going to do before I even left the house for City Hall:

I'm expecting our Pastor's Council haters to be there in full effect bearing false witness and pimping their usual lies of how this will 'stifle their free speech',  'suppress their religious freedom' and fling the bathroom meme for good measure.

Can I call it or what?   They went to City Hall in full 'fear and smear' mode.  But I did forgot one of their attack lines.  They also threw the 'sexual predator' meme out there while whining about being called haters and bigots. 


Well, Houston Pastor's Council conservafools and kneegrow auxiliaries, read my lips:  If you don't want to be called haters, oppressors and bigots the cure for it is simple.  Stop acting like haters, oppressors and bigots and we'll stop calling you out on that inconvenient for you truth.       

But what really disappointed me today (but wasn't surprising) was seeing that cluster of African-American pastors eagerly playing the role of oppressors and bearing false witness on an oppressed community as some of the women mouthed not so silent amens.  

The thing also pissing me off today was the erasure of me and LGBT African-American Houstonians as they were throwing their 'smear and fear' attacks and their selective memories concerning the history of the Civil Rights Movement.  I have two words for you faith based know nothings trying to pimp the lie we don't have any claim as African-American LGBT people to the legacy of our civil rights movement:  Bayard Rustin .  

The Civil Rights Movement history is MY history too, and how dare you try to lie and say it isn't as you tried to do in city council chambers today.  . 

And there were times I had to literally leave the chamber and vent because I was so pissed off at those crimes against history. 

Note to the Houston African-American haters.  BTLG people of African descent exist who get discrimination aimed at them from multiple intersections.   We are also just as down with fighting for the issues that impact our community as my appearance at HISD headquarters to fight the closure of schools in our neighborhoods and last summer's Trayvon Martin rally on the steps of City Hall are ample testament to.  

You can deny it all you want, but African-American LGBT people are part of the kente cloth fabric of our community, and it's past time you stopped slumming with the children and grandchildren of segregationists and recognize that.   

It was close to 6 PM before I got the chance to finally approach the podium for the third time this year and speak.   Since I only had 90 seconds, all I had time to do was call out the hate pastors and point out that trans, bi and SGL African-American exist with multiple oppressions aimed at our bodies.  

The hearing concluded after 7 PM, but this was just the warm up.  

The battle to pass the HERO is about to ratchet up another level with two more public hearings before we get to the final city council vote sometime in mid May.

TransGriot Update: Final tally of the speakers at yesterday's HERO hearing was 49 in favor and 19 against.  That means we also had more human rights minsters than hate minsters speaking..  

HERO Rally and Quality of Life Committee Hearing Today

The battle to pass the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance continues as we have a public hearing on the HERO at 2 PM CDT today.

The Houston LGBT community and our supporters will gather on the steps of Houston City Hall for a rally that will start at 1:15 PM prior to the start of the Quality of Life Committee that will be conducting the hearing in city council chambers.

After this committee hearing, the HERO will go before the full council on May 7.

and for consideration by the full council on May 7. If approved, the ordinance would go into effect immediately. - See more at: http://txvalues.org/2014/04/25/religious-freedom-free-speech-threatened-by-houstons-lgbt-ordinance/#sthash.HiuT4HJU.dpuf

and for consideration by the full council on May 7. If approved, the ordinance would go into effect immediately. - See more at: http://txvalues.org/2014/04/25/religious-freedom-free-speech-threatened-by-houstons-lgbt-ordinance/#sthash.HiuT4HJU.dpuf

I'm expecting our Pastor's Council haters to be there in full in effect bearing false witness and pimping their usual lies of how this will 'stifle their free speech',  'suppress their religious freedom' and fling the bathroom meme for good measure.   

Naw conservafools, you don't get the special right to discriminate.   I'm already mad you peeps are exempted from the provisions of this ordinance, so don't even try to go there.


Should be fun to watch the haters squirm.

BTAC 2014- Day 2

It's Day 2 of the Black Trans Advocacy Conference in Dallas, and on the schedule for today is the first day of  workshops that commence at 9:15 AM. and run with breaks until 4 PM

The first full day of the conference is one packed full of interesting and informative seminar topics that will be capped off by the Imagine One Humanity - Interfaith spiritual revival service.

The people conducting that interfaith service will be Pastor Deneen Robinson, Min. Carmarion Anderson, Rev. Alex Byrd, Min Kaleb Elijah and Auset O'Neal.

And yeah people, I'll be on your end of I-45 tomorrow night.  

If We Tell You It's A Slur Word, Dont Use It

I'm still amazed that elements of the white gay male community are still tripping about the RuPaul mess and using it to let their transphobia fly simply because we told you we will not tolerate you or anybody else in cisgender world using the two words we consider slurs to us. 

And that's not overpolicing language, being PC (and I hate that term), creeping fascism or the other over the top BS I've seen in predominately gay male site comment threads over the last month. 

I'm also megatired of elements of the white gay male and drag community trying to prop Andrea James and Calpernia Addams up as their apologists and human shield cheerleaders to attack the rest of us transpeeps who hold the majority consensus opinion that 't----y' and 'shemale' are unacceptable slur words.And in some cases, some of those white gay males have gone transphobically off the rails in doing so.  

Words matter.   They matter because hate thoughts + hate speech = hate violence.  Words matter because they have the potential to be weaponized and hurt marginalized communities when aimed at them by people with societal power.   Words matter to a trans community facing unacceptable levels of anti-trans violence aimed at it in addition to anti-trans discrimination. 

When a majority of people in a marginalized community tells you a word is offensive to them, you don't fracking use it if you wish to be considered respectful allies to that community.   I don't see gay men using the slur words the Latin@, African-American and Jewish communities have told them are offensive or claiming they are 'being PC' for demanding they not do so.  

So why are they tripping in this case?   Is it because it's the trans community telling them not to do it? 

Let me drive this point home once again.  You don't get to make the call as to what words are or aren't offensive to my community.  WE make that call.  If you respect our community as you claim you do, then heed our repeated request to simply NOT use the offensive slur words.  

Hell, if Jerry Springer can stop using it, so can you. 

Neither do we need trans people acting as agent provocateurs undermining the message we as a community are trying to send to the world NOT to use them.  Bottom line is we have seen the same gay male community hypocritically crying to us about 'word policing' tearing people new anuses for using the slur words unacceptable to them.   So why is it acceptable for gay men to demand people not use the slur words they deem unacceptable, but the trans community is considered to be 'word policing' when we do the same thing in defense of our humanity?

If it is acceptable for you gay peeps to demand people respect your community and your humanity by insisting that people not call y'all the f-word that rhymes with maggot among others, then we as trans people expect the same reciprocity in the name of defending our humanity that you not use the slur words deemed unacceptable to ours.

BTAC 2014-Day One

I'll be heading up I-45 to it on Thursday, but today was also the first day of the Black Trans Advocacy Conference in Dallas running through May 4.   That means I'll actually get to do something on my birthday weekend besides sitting at the house

And it's still not too late for you peeps in easy driving range of Dallas to come join us at the Doubletree Campbell Center.

Yep, I'll be hangin' with my transpeeps starting late Thursday night.   But while I'm handling some business and tying up loose ends here in Houston so I can take off for the weekend,  the Grand Akanni led by BTAC founding co-chairs chairs Carter and Espy Brown will happen followed by the BTAC Family Social.

Darn, I hate I'm missing that. 


I'm also missing Day 2 and the first day of workshops that commence at 9:15 AM tomorrow.  

The April 30 day's events will be capped off by the Imagine One Humanity - Interfaith spiritual revival service led by Pastor Deneen Robinson, Min. Carmarian Anderson, Rev. Alex Byrd, Min Kaleb Elijah and Auset O'Neal    

Day 3 will bring us into May and more thought provoking seminars.  It will also feature the keynote speeches of Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler, Arianna Lint, and Ignacio Rivera.   That evening's event will be the Mr. and Miss Black Trans International Pageant.

Day 4 on May 2 is why I'll be there in full effect.   I have a Black Sisterhood panel I'm doing with Espy Brown and the Black Trans Community Summit before we move into the Black Trans Advocacy Awards Gala. 


Day 5 (May 3) is Family Health and Fun Day featuring the first annual Kye Allums 3 on 3 basketball tournament and BTMI Club Harlem.   

BTAC 2014 closes on my Cuatro de Mayo birthday with an interfaith service and closing ceremony and a luncheon before we all head back to our lives.  

I'll just be a year older than when I arrived in Dallas.

 

Adam Silver's Big Decision

In about an hour, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is about to hold a press conference at 1 PM CDT that will shape the perception of his leadership during this first major test of his brief two months in office.

He'll have to make the decision about what to do concerning LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling and  his disgusting racial remarks that have overshadowed the playoffs, pissed off the players in a league that is 70% African-American and sent Clippers advertising partners fleeing for the exits. 

Some of Sterling's fellow owners aren't happy either about the firestorm that has happened over the last few days

Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores probably echoed the sentiments of the other 29 team owners watching this PR disaster when he said, "There is no place for prejudice and intolerance in our league, or anywhere else. That's not a debatable point.  It's a first principle." 

Leslie Alexander, the owner of my fave NBA ballers told the Houston Chronicle that while the NBA constitution only allows an owner to be summarily stripped of his franchise for gambling, the Rockets owner does think something needs to be done to ensure "this kind of event never happens again."

But the question in everyone's minds right now is what is that something?  What kind of punishment can you come up with that hurts a multibillionaire who is a serial racist that sticks? 

Silver, like the other major sports league commissioners has 'best interests of the game' powers that do give him some latitude here.  He could declare all of the Clippers players free agents while indefinitely suspending Sterling and assessing him a substantial fine.  He could call for a meeting of the owners that could result in them voting to strip him of the club.  

But the only person that knows what's going to happen is Commissioner Silver.   He is also quite aware that the world is watching and the NBA does have to tread carefully to avoid legal trouble. 

Bottom line is Sterling should have been dealt with by the NBA when the DOJ discrimination suit came down and he paid that hefty fine.   But now that his racist chickens have come home and pooped all over the NBA's porch, they have to deal with it.

And it will be interesting to see just how that happens.

TransGriot Update:  Commissioner Silver dropped the hammer.   Slapped Sterling with a lifetime ban from the sport and a $2.5 million fine. The meeting will be held soon with the owners to get the authorization to force the sale of the team.