2014 Williams Watch-'Williams'-don Starts Today

My favorite tennis playing siblings had a forgettable trip to Stade Roland Garros and its clay courts last month as they both exited the 2014 French Open earlier than planned due to second round upsets.

But starting today through July 6 is the Grand Slam tournament at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London which the Williams sisters have so thoroughly dominated it I call it 'Williams'-don.  

Serena has won five titles here (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012) and so has big sis Venus (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008).  As a matter of fact their domination at Wimbledon is so complete that during the 2000's the only years that someone not named Williams won the women's singles title was in 2004 when Serena was upset in the final by Maria Sharapova and Amelie Mauresmo of France won it in 2006 after defending champ Venus was upset in the third round by Jelena Jankovic.  

During that stretch the Williams sisters met in the Wimbledon finals four times in 2002, 2003, 2008 and 2009 with Little Sis taking three of the four matchups.   Serena won her 2002 and 2010 Wimbledon titles without losing a set, and Venus did the same in 2008   

And yeah, can't forget to remind the Williams haters of the Olympic gold medal Serena won in the London Games and the London Olympic doubles title she and Big Sis won which was ahem, played at the All England Club.

The grass courts are well suited to their power game, and with Centre Court's retractable roof, when it's closed, they become even more lethal. 

But it's the 2014 edition of The Championships, and both are seeking rebounds from the double disappointments in Paris and Serena's shocking fourth round upset loss here last year. 

Number one ranked and number one seeded Serena starts the fortnight with an opening round match against fellow American Anna Tatishvili while 30th seeded Venus starts with an opening round match versus Spain's Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor.  

The Williams sisters are also entered in the ladies doubles tourney as they seek to capture their first Wimbledon doubles crown since 2012. 

And hopefully I'll get to see Serena holding up the Venus (Williams) Rosewater dish on July 6 

Finding KOKUMO

Our Chicago based sister KOKUMO is one innovative, gifted and talented artist and like myself an inaugural Trans 100 honoree.  I've had the pleasure of seeing her perform at the 2014 Black Trans Advocacy Conference in Dallas, while others recently got their opportunity to see her at the recent Philadelphia Trans Health Conference or the T.G.I.F. Festival in Chicago.  

So when I received the alarming report KOKUMO went missing Thursday from her Baltimore hotel in a city that had just experienced a trans woman being murdered, the concern was obviously high amongst myself, the trans community and our allies. 

But instead of this story having a tragic ending, it turned into a moment in which our Black trans community and our allies banded together.  Using the power of social media and the determined boots on the ground of the Black Transmen, Inc.-Maryland/DC Chapter, it had a positive outcome

I received an alarming e-mail message at approximately 8:50 PM CDT from Vann Michael, one of the members of that BTMI chapter.  He  told me that she was missing and the clerk at the Motel 6 located at 110 W. North Street reported that KOKUMO left with her black suitcase.   The clerk also reported to them that she appeared distraught and confused.

That led a very concerned me to post the initial alert on my blog and Facebook page.   The blog post eventually got 3000 hits by Saturday morning and the Facebook page alert being shared 312 times.  

From my awareness about missing person cases, if you don't find the person within the first 24-72 hours after they go missing, the probability they will be found alive precipitously drops.   So time is critical in these cases, and the earlier you start the search and file the police report, the better.

By default because I have a lot of connections across the country and even in the Baltimore area, I became the national communications point person.

Centralized communications was needed in this situation, especially when it comes to a well known in our community figure like KOKUMO that suddenly goes missing.  Rumors popped up on Facebook in that frantic Friday night she had been found a mere hour after the TransGriot blogpost went up alerting everyone she was missing.   Another rumor was posted she was okay and had called various people including her mother    Those rumors weren't true because KOKUMO didn't have her cell phone. 

Meanwhile, as I was getting the word out she was missing with emphasis to my Baltimore area peeps, Vann, Brendon and the BTMI brothers were filing the missing persons police report and gearing up to begin the search for KOKUMO starting at 7 AM EDT Saturday morning . A nervous Trans Nation, our allies and all the people who love and care about her turned their attention to Charm City, prayed and sent warm thoughts that our sister would be found safe and unharmed.  

Meanwhile other Baltimore area trans community leaders like Beth Morgan and Jenna Fischetti were busy spreading the word in their influence circles

Saturday morning dawned with the BTMI search team beginning the daunting task of trying to find her in the 209 sq miles and 623,000 people that comprise the city of Baltimore.   While some members of the search team checked Johns Hopkins Hospital and a rumored sighting at a shelter,  Vann doubled back to the last known location of KOKUMO at the Motel 6 to get more information after calling me with an update as to what had transpired since our initial contact Friday evening..

Longtime Baltimore area trans leader Cydne Kimbrough e-mailed me not long after seeing the news on my Facebook page, and I was amazed to hear that she lived mere blocks form the Motel 6 in question.   I asked her if she would get the people she knew in her neighborhood and influence circles to keep their eyes open in case she was still in the area. 

The BTMI search team hit the East Baltimore streets armed with a photo of KOKUMO and the steely determination not to allow her to become another casualty of violence against transwomen of color or law enforcement insensitivity.   Vann, Brendan and the BTMI search team shared her photo with Baltimoreans at bus stops, people setting up community outdoor markets, who were attending morning rehab groups and with local community members who keep track of the pulse of the street.  

One person they talked as they shared that photo prayed at that moment with them for KOKUMO's safe return. 

The search finally began to generate leads.  The search team began to run into people that recalled spotting  the statuesque KOKUMO on Friday.   One person reported spotting her near a local market which sent the search team quickly heading in that direction.  

Once they arrived at that local market, it turned out the lead was a solid one.  More people confirmed she'd  been the area but the ironclad one turned out to be when they showed her picture to a local gypsy cab driver.   The gypsy cab driver yelled to his friend to take a look at the photo of KOKUMO, of which the friend of the cab driver and his female companion recognized her immediately.

"Yeaaa! I seen her! This morning!" he said as the woman asked," She have on a flower dress?"

Unable to confirm what she was wearing when she left the hotel, the BTMI search team member was about to dismiss it as a soft lead until the woman asked,"Did she have a black suitcase?"   At that point he definitely knew he'd picked up KOKUMO's trail, and he was instructed by the helpful pair to go to West Baltimore.
 
After calling the rest of the members of the search team with the news, buoyed with increased hope, they headed to the West Baltimore location where the couple had spotted KOKUMO.   The couple also told them before they headed off to that section of town that some police activity had  happened in that area . 

While that was a concern, they were hopeful as they drove toward the West Baltimore location this was going to be the last stop in their search for our lost sister.  But the report of the couple of police activity had them unsure and worried this was in connection with KOKUMO. 

After they arrived at the location where the couple had last spotted her,  the BTMI search team approached a crowd and showed them the picture.  One of the people in the West Baltimore crowd recognized her and said she was last seen walking "Over there," as he pointed in the direction that he'd spotted her ambling off in.  When the BTMI brothers turned their gaze in that direction, there was KOKUMO, sitting under a tree surrounded and protected by bushes. 

Success!  Against long odds she had been found, and after I got the call they found her a little after 9 AM Saturday EDT, the BTMI brothers cautiously approached her, identified themselves, scooped her up and took her to a nearby hospital to be checked out.   She was released to their care after the medical exam and was handed a phone to call some people as her mother Sandra Baker prepared to hit the road from Chicago to drive to Baltimore to retrieve her daughter.   

KOKUMO has been picked up, is enroute back to Chicago with her mother and in great spirits after spending some quality time with the BTMI brothers.  She thanks everyone along with her mother Sandra for your warm thoughts, prayers, and pulling together as a community to ensure she would be in the position to come home safely.

KOKUMO is going to get a needed rest break, and when she's ready, you know she'll come back from it refreshed and ready to amaze us with her talents. 


Thanks also to Vann Michael and Brendon for their accounts of what happened that I used as the basis for this story, and the BTMI-Maryland/DC chapter search team that did the legwork Saturday to ensure this story had a happy ending.  

Ivy Taylor's TBLG Rights NO Vote Coming Back To Haunt Her

You'll remember during that contentious summer last year that San Antonio successfully passed their non-discrimination ordinance, I wrote an open letter to Councilmember Ivy Taylor imploring her to be on the right side of history and vote for the ordinance. 

Unfortunately she was one of the three members of the San Antonio City Council that voted against it.   It was disappointing and personally offensive to me because she is the only African-American member of the council.

Now in the wake of Mayor Julian Castro's May 22 appointment by President Obama to become HUD secretary, the political maneuvering has begun in the Alamo City to appoint an interim mayor to fill out his remaining unexpired term.

Taylor has emerged as one of the front runners to replace Castro, which has alarmed San Antonio activists.

“I don’t think she’s representative of this entire city. She doesn’t support equality for LGBT people, and it’s very bothersome,” activist Daniel Graney said in a San Antonio Express-News interview. “I don’t think she should spend one day in the mayor’s office because of it.”

In response to the concerns of the San Antonio TBLG community, Taylor has pledged that if she's appointed mayor she wouldn't move to undo the ordinance that passed 8-3.  But that pledge has zero credibility in the community and with our allies because of a long list of problematic anti-LGBT statements going back to 2011  

During her 2011 city council campaign, Taylor stated that if she received the endorsement of the Stonewall Democrats, she wouldn't advertise it because it would be 'too divisive'.  She made a subsequent statement that she wouldn't appear in the city's pride parade. 

Despite admitting the hateful comments of the faith-based opponents of San Antonio's ordinance made her cringe, Taylor still voted against the law based on the specious argument that the law would be used to stifle religious freedom.

“I really wanted to be able to vote yes on this ordinance because I wanted to be able to affirm that all citizens deserve protection under the law, which I do believe,” Taylor said at the time of the September 5 vote. “I know that people will say that I’m an ignorant bigot, or that I gave in to fear and prejudice, but I know my heart. I am not a coward. I am not a bigot. And I am not ignorant.”

Councilmember Taylor, you are a coward who gave in to fear and prejudice, and your NO vote is irrefutable evidence of that.  You let 'fear and smear' tactics deter you from being a drum majorette for justice. 

Now you will have to reap the karmic consequences of that decision    Your NO vote on a human rights ordinance last September may derail your chances of making history and becoming San Antonio's first African-American mayor.  

And frankly, I'm not only giddy about karmic justice asserting itself so swiftly, I won't be shedding any tears for you if that's the case.

RIP Yaz'min Shancez

Some sad news to report coming out of Florida in terms of another one of our sisters being brutally murdered.  

The burned body of 31 year old Yaz'min Shancez was found behind a dumpster off Fowler Street Thursday morning in Fort Myers, FL.  

She had been shot prior to the burning of her body.  The death has been ruled a homicide, but Fort Myers police as of yet aren't investigating it as a hate crime.

And tragically, Yaz'min died two years to the day  her 16 year old sister Cha'Riah Owens was shot and killed..

"Nobody deserves that," said Beatrice Loggins, Shancez's aunt in an interview. "Straight, gay, purple, pink, white, black. Nobody...There will never be another T, you couldn't clone her, couldn't mold her."

A vigil will be held later today starting at 7:30 PM EDT to honor the memory of Yaz'min Shancez at Centennial Park, 2000 W First St, Fort Myers, FL.       

In addition the Facebook group, there is also a fundraising page that has been set up to help the family pay for Yaz'min's burial expenses.

If you have information to help solve this crime and bring the waste or wastes of DNA who did this to justice, please call the Fort Myers Police Department at 239-321-7700, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS or text message C-R-I-M-E-S (274637) Keyword FMPD.

Rest in Power, Yaz'min.   You are another one of our sisters who was taken away from us way too soon.

Rev. Dr Cameron Partridge Preaching At Historic National Cathedral TBLG Service Today

More trans history will be made in Washington DC today as the Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge is set to become the first out trans pastor to preach from the  National Cathedral's Canterbury Pulpit.

It will be part of a service in which the cathedral celebrates TBLG Pride Month, and it will be officiated by the Right Rev. Gene Robinson  

In addition to the historic participation of Rev. Partridge, who is the Episcopal chaplain at Boston University, the service will also include readings and prayers from members of the BTLG community. 

The Very Rev. Gary Hall, dean of the cathedral, says he hopes Partridge's appearance "will send a symbolic message in support of greater equality for the transgender community."

That message of support from a religious community is definitely needed in the wake of the Southern Baptists passing their anti-trans resolution on June 10.

Congratulations Rev. Partridge on this historic occasion, and hope you get pack the pews attendance levels for this LGBT service.

50th Anniversary Of The Freedom Summer Murders

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the start of Freedom Summer, which was a ten week coordinated civil rights campaign organized by the four Mississippi branches of CORE, SNCC, SCLC and the NAACP under the Council of Federated Organization coalition banner. 

The Freedom Summer campaign was designed to register African-American voters in Mississippi, which at the time had only 6.7% of its Black population registered because of the measures put in place to suppress it such as poll taxes, subjective literacy tests, onerous voter registration forms and grandfather clauses.

It also set up Freedom Houses, Freedom Schools and community centers to support the African-American population in many Mississippi small towns.   

Over 1000 out of state volunteers came to Mississippi to help the local Blacks participating in the Freedom Summer Project.   Two of them were New Yorkers Michael Schwerner, who was a CORE organizer and his summer volunteer Andrew Goodman.   They were paired with local CORE organizer James Chaney.

Of course, Freedom Summer was met by violent resistance by the Klan, the White Citizens Councils and other white segregationists in the state.  Black churches were bombed and burned along with Black businesses, Freedom Summer volunteers were beaten or arrested.

On June 21, 1964 Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner were sent to Longdale, MS to investigate the June 16 burning of the Mt Zion Baptist Church in which they had intended to set up a Freedom School to aid the voter registration drive in Neshoba County.    

After their investigation, the civil rights workers were enroute back to COFO headquarters in Meridian when they were falsely arrested in Philadelphia, MS, detained until after nightfall, and released into a Klan ambush.  

Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner were killed and their bodies buried in an earthen dam under construction.   They were found weeks later after an intensive search.

The perps were eventually convicted in 1967.  Edgar Ray Killen's original trial deadlocked, and he wasn't convicted until 2005.

The murders of the civil rights workers and the national outrage behind it helped galvanized support for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Right Act of 1965. 

 

More Important To Get The Story Right

Like everyone else I've been very concerned about the status of our Chicago based #girllikeus sister KOKUMO ever since I got the word last night she had been missing since Thursday and was seen leaving the Baltimore area hotel she was staying at in a confused state.

I received the call at approximately 8 AM CDT from my BTMI-Maryland Chapter brothers Vann and Brendon that KOKUMO was found, is safe and with them right now.  

The other aspects to this ongoing story concerning what happened are still in flux and require more time to sort out. 

I had someone on my Facebook page demanding to know what was up literally minutes after I got the call from Vann telling me they had found her.   The person in question had a problem with me telling her to chill out and removed herself from my FB page in a huff

Good riddance.  Leaves a spot open for someone who wants to be there. 

The reason I relayed this interaction with you is because I want to point out something about my blogging philosophy.   It has never been important to me to get news out first because I like to verify it before posting.

There are posts I compile that I spend much time researching and writing before  I'm satisfied enough with the flow of them to feel comfortable hitting the PUBLISH button and unleashing them on the world.

Now I tend to have an ability to get TransGriot scoops out there because I'm connected with so many people in this community, they trust me, and I know how to keep my lips zipped so they continue to tell me stuff that may turn out to be blog post worthy.   

Because I do a lot of hard, solid thinking about many issues of importance to this community, you'll see them posted her first before somebody else writes about them maybe a year or two years later. 

And yes, I do have no problem calling crap out when I see it. 

But the most important thing to me is get a story right before I post it, not get it out right now..  I'm also quite aware of just how many people are counting on me to do my job of chronicling our stories respectfully and correctly since far too many blogs and journalistic outposts don't when it comes to transgender issues.    

I have spent 8.5 years building this blog to be an accurate go-to source for news and information about this community.  I'm proud of what I've accomplished in terms of the over 5.6 million people worldwide and counting who have read posts here since I started TransGriot on January 1, 2006.   The blogging awards I have either received or been nominated for speak to the wisdom of the decision to go down that less traveled blogging path.  

TransGriot is one of the longest running blogs run by and edited by a trans person of color, and I take that responsibility seriously of getting stories right because of that.  

Quality blogging is about getting the story right, not getting it out right now

Bamby's Liberty Awards Speech

I have much love and respect for my homegirl Bamby Salcedo, the founder of the TransLatin@ Coalition and a longtime Los Angeles based activist

She was recently honored at Lambda Legal's West Coast Liberty Awards ceremony, and had some emotional and stirring things to say about our ongoing trans human rights movement.

The Liberty Awards event took place under the somber backdrop of activist Zoraida Reyes' body being found just 24 hours before she was to accept the award.

Congratulations Bamby on the well deserved honor for all the work you have done on behalf of our community.  

Here's the speech. 



 

KOKUMO Is Missing!

Just got the alert from one of my BTMI brothers that KOKUMO is missing.   The Chicago based artist was in the Baltimore area and was last seen on Thursday at her hotel.

She was staying at the Motel 6 at 110 W. North Ave. in Baltimore and was reported appearing confused.

Of course the Baltimore area trans community, all who love her and I are obviously quite concerned for our sister's safety, and the BTMI chapter in the area is helping coordinate the search for her.   She is full figured and approximately 5'11-6' tall.

If you Baltimore are peeps have any information concerning her whereabouts or spot her, please call BTMI at 1-855-.255-8636 ext 51

If I have any further information on this situation I'll pass it along as quickly as I receive it.


TransGriot Update:  She was found on Saturday morning..

Shut Up Fool Awards-Let's Call Out The Fools Edition

Well, it's Friday, so y'all know that means it's time for another episode of the Shut Up Fool awards in which I get to call out jaw dropping hypocrisy, mind numbing ignorance and just straight up over the top lies.

So let's get to this week's fools.

Honorable mention number one is Linda Harvey, for suggesting on her radio show Wednesday in her attack on Laverne Cox and the trans rights movement that Satan is behind her trans rights advocacy. 

Linda, stop projecting   Church Lady, tell me who you think is backing Linda's show.  




Honorable mention number two goes to North Carolina US Senate candidate Thom Tillis, who let his pointed hood show and uttered in an interview that White people are the only 'traditional Americans'.

I shouldn't be shocked he said it since he admires the late race baiting Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC)  
And how's that GOP voter outreach to non-whites working again?   Oh yeah, that's right, you pushed that voter suppression law in your state as the Speaker of the House.  

You know, repeatedly saying racist crap makes your task of trying to beat Sen. Kay Hagan in November harder when you keep pissing off North Carolina's Black and Latino voters.

Honorable mention number three I go local for in Dave Wilson.   The fake Black person for electoral purposes at a recent HCC board of trustees meeting asked that the school withdraw from participation in this year's June 28 Houston Pride parade.   The longtime gay baiter and one of our HERO haters offensively compared it to participating a Klan parade which openly gay HCC trustee Zeph Cappo blasted him on among other HCC trustees.  . 

Will the trial date to remove his ass from the HCC board hurry up and get here? . 

Honorable mention number four is for Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), who opened his mouth and inserted foot about the just passed Texas TGOP plank on reparative therapy.

January 2015 can't get here soon enough.  
 
Honorable mention number five is Daniel Snyder.   He''s channeling George Preston Marshall and refusing to change the offensive nickname of the Washington NFL franchise he owns despite mounting pressure and another blow from the US Patent Office.   The Trademark Patent and Appeal Board in a 2-1 decision canceled six trademarks on the offensive nickname citing the nickname was offensive to a substantial composite of native Americans.

That pressure only increased after this devastating commercial was aired during the NBA Finals

Honorable mention number six is Rep Steve King (R-IA) who once again showed off his acute case of Obama Derangement Syndrome and compared the POTUS to North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un. 

If he was Steve, your behind along with many of your fellow wingers would be behind barbed wire in the sunny climes of Guantanamo.

This week's shut Up Fool award goes to Mike Huckabee.   This fool at the sparsely attended NOM sponsored rally for marriage Thursday in DC parted his lips to use a section of Dr King's Letter Form Birmingham City Jail to make his loud and wrong argument conflating their losing battle against gay marriage to fighting Naziism.  .

Oh hell no.   Don't even try to take the Good Doctor's words out of context like that.   We already know from his late wife Coretta what Dr King's views would have probably been on this subject

“Freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation is surely a fundamental human right in any great democracy, as much as freedom from racial, religious, gender, or ethnic discrimination.”
-Coretta Scott King,. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 2000.

“I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice,” she said. “But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’” “I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream to make room at the table of brother- and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people,”
-Coretta Scott King, March 31, 1998.

Those are just two quotes on the subject.  She's been saying it since 1994. 

And I have a Dr. King quote for you to ponder. 

"Any religion that professes to be concerned with the souls of men and is not concerned with the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them is a dry-as-dust religion." -- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr


So how dare you Mike Huckabee, twist the words of Dr King to fit your dry as dust so called religious agenda when conservatives like you spent much time demonizing the man in life and even in death?

Have several seats and shut the hell up fool!

Sharron, Why You Hatin' On Janet?

One of the pleasures of my first ever Philadelphia Trans Health Conference experience was getting to see Janet Mock's keynote speech in which I got an unexpected shoutout during it. 

But what is pissing me off is that in the wake of it, is Sharron Cooks dipping a nasty cup in the post PTHC Kool-Aid and engaging in Hate on Janet Mock Derangement Syndrome. 

The Philadelphia based activist leveled the charge on her Facebook page that Janet was paid a five figure fee for her keynote speech at the just concluded conference.  That didn't sound right, so I called Janet myself to get the lowdown.  

Let's just say according to Janet, Ms. Cooks numbers are highly inflated by about $11,000.  What Janet told me her compensation was didn't even come close to that.  

PTHC is now the largest trans themed convention in the US and arguably the world. The room was overflowing when Janet spoke Thursday afternoon.  

Let's shift the conversation in another direction for a moment . How many people who were on the fence about coming to PTHC 2014,   made the decision to come because she was the keynote speaker?

Activists need to pay bills and replenish our bank accounts too, and because we do this work many of us will have a hard time getting 9 to 5 jobs. So if we have the ability to leverage our status as activists into speaking fees, what's the problem with that?

One of the things I have griped about for years on this blog is Black transpeople not being paid what we are worth or conference organizers trying to go cheap on our speaking fees when we are asked to keynote conferences or speak on the college circuit. It's even more galling when you have white transpeople who literally can make a living from doing so.

Dan Choi at one point reportedly wouldn't speak anywhere unless he got a minimum $10,000 fee plus first class air travel to wherever he was going. The Rev. Dr. ML King Jr in one year in 1960's dollars reportedly made $600,000 in speaking fees. The PTHC is a free conference, so where are the funds going to come from for Janet to get paid the $12K speaking fee that Ms. Cooks alleges happened? 

My inquiring mind also wants to know what is Ms. Cooks' beef with Janet when she also adds the shady 'she's not an activist' line in her loud and wrong critique?  


And my additional question to you Sharron, is what in your mind makes you think Janet ISN'T an activist?
Did you not consider that activism isn't just screaming and direct action protesting in the streets and it takes multiple forms? 

Activism is changing hearts and minds of the fence sitters when it comes to our human rights struggle.  It's pushing back against the falsehoods and lies of our opponents. It's lobbying legislators to pass trans inclusive legislation that helps ALL transpeople live quality lives. It's giving hope and a voice to people in this community who feel like they don't have one. It's also providing role models to our trans community that people can look up to and emulate.

All of us involved in trans community activism have certain missions and roles to fulfill and the skill sets necessary to complete that particular mission we gravitate to.  And as Janet has stated in those multiple venues she has access to, there is room for all of us to shine as we do so. 

Janet, because she worked in media as a former People.com editor, has a masters degree in journalism, and yes is attractive, is perfect for the role of being the trailblazing media savvy Black transwoman along with Laverne Cox and Tiq Milan for engaging with the media and telling our stories.

That is her activist lane, and we need to be doing whatever it takes as a community to support her in that role.  

I'm curious to know Sharron, what exactly does 'NOT an Activist' mean? Does it mean you have to take a vow of poverty in order to become an activist? That only certain forms of activism like street protests are 'acceptable activism'?  Does it mean that because I have an internationally read blog in TransGriot that has over 5.5 million hits and I have spent 8.5 years building it into a go to resource and voice for our community, I'm 'not an activist'?  

If you tried to say that about me in Houston, elsewhere in this country and the trans community, you'd be laughed out of the room. 

Who are the other people who meet your 'not an activist' criteria?   Is Geena Rocero 'not an activist' because like Janet, she was an undisclosed trans woman and supermodel until recently, but since coming out has had the well received TED talk, lobbied in her birth nation for trans human rights friendly laws to be passed there, formed an international trans rights organization in GenderProud and was also in attendance at this year's PTHC?

Or is it envy that Janet was asked to keynote that PTHC speech in your hometown conference and not you? 

Was it jealousy that Ms. Mock has been interviewed in multiple national media print outlets, cable news programs like the Melissa Harris-Perry Show and now has a New York Times bestselling book that people eagerly line up to get autographed that makes her in your mind 'not an activist'?


Frankly, I'm tired of the attacks that have been being aimed at Janet Mock and other Black transwomen including moi since February.  They aren't acceptable when they come from jealous white transwomen and their clueless boyfriends.  It's also an interesting things that make you go hmm moment to note that some of the white transwomen attacking Janet reside in your Philly backyard.

Those attacks are problematic and unacceptable when they come from our own people.

Sharron, you have every right to your opinion about who is and isn't an activist.  But where I draw the line is when your opinion leads to false attacks on a sister doing the work and mimic 'Janet is not an activist' shade that has been thrown by jealous and borderline racist white transwomen.

And yes, I characterize a statement that Janet Mock is 'not an activist' as an attack on her.

Ms Cooks, It flies in the face of logic and reason and makes you look petty and vindictive when you claim Janet Mock is 'not an activist' when it is clear in her own way she is.

Guess you weren't paying attention when she used her media profile and blog to draw attention to the plight of transteen Jane Doe in Connecticut. Or you were probably too busy rolling your eyes to notice in that very PTHC room where she delivered her keynote and answered questions after concluding it, when she only had time for one more question, she insisted the last one come from a transperson of color. .

You stated on your Facebook page 'We cannot have unity without honesty'.  Bearing false witness against someone and calling it the truth doesn't promote unity, either.

I met you during that same just concluded PTHC conference.  I'd like to sit down and have a serious conversation with you one day and get to know you better.  But one of the things I have very little tolerance for is a trans sister of color unjustly attacking another one.  Seen too much of that divisive dynamic in white trans feminine world, and I refuse to let that dynamic even get a foothold in ours. 

So whatever your issue is with Janet, take it off the Net, pick up the phone, call her and work it out.   . 

    

Happy Juneteenth Trans Texans!

We've stepped off the mental plantation of shame, fear and guilt and are taking those bold steps into being proud trans masculine and trans feminine Texans involved with and ensconced in the communities we intersect and interact with.  How that continues to evolve will be the source of constant communication. effort and sometimes 'The Texas Trans Revolution Will Not Be Televised' consultation, but I'm happy to see it's finally happening in my birth state.
--TransGriot  June 19, 2013  'It's Juneteenth, 2013 Edition'

Juneteenth is the Texas state holiday now celebrated in 42 states that commemorates the 1865 day that Union Major General Gordon Granger ascended a balcony at Ashton Villa in Galveston, TX and read General Order Number 3 that proclaimed that all slaves in Texas were free. 

Since 2012 I have been writing posts that framed Juneteenth in the context of what we Black trans Texans needed to do.  I called for a Trans Juneteenth in which we worked to emancipate ourselves from the mental plantations we have been inhabiting for far too long

I called for us in the two previous posts to do a better job of owning our power, stepping up our leadership game and working together with all the communities we inhabit and intersect with in bringing  about a new birth of freedom in Texas and the  various cities we inhabit inside the Lone Star State.

As you witnessed in the Houston HERO battle, I have no problem practicing what I've been preaching at y'all.  Nether do the African-American trans Texans represented on the 2013 and 2014 editions of the Trans 100.

One of the easy things you can do to own your power is to vote this November 4 and in EVERY subsequent election for the rest of your life.   You vote is your political and societal voice, and if you don't exercise it, shame on you.   Shame on you for not doing so and not exercising your precious right to vote on behalf of our community.     


I'm proud to report on Juneteenth 2014 that call to own our power was not only heard, but is being acted upon.  It was heard by Carter Brown and the brothers of Black Transmen, Inc. who organized the Black Trans Advocacy Conference in Dallas in 2012 that continues to grow and prosper 

The Dallas headquartered BTMI also continues to grow with three chapters here in Texas and five other states to help African descended trans men own their power and become the change they wish to see in the world.. 

It was heard by the Rev. Carmarion Anderson in Dallas. It was heard by Tye West, Diamond Stylz, and Dee Dee Watters here in Houston.   It was also heard by numerous Black trans Texans around our state who while they agree with the call to own our power, they don't feel comfortable enough yet to openly do so.  

It was heard by allies to our community like Espy Brown who organized the sister org to BTMI, Black Transwomen, Inc.   It was heard by allies like Augie Augustine, Perri McCary, Fran Watson, LaTrina Carter, Brandon Mack, Jon Humphries and A.J. Woods.   It was heard by Yesenia Chavez, Maria Gonzales, Kristin Capps, Arianna Lint, Lou Weaver, Januari Leo, Daniel Williams, Tarah Taylor Christina Gorczynski, Amelia Miller, Brenda Lunger, Ray Hill, Phyllis Frye, and a long list of people I'd need another post to name.     

Black trans Houstonians were integral parts of Team HERO that helped the much needed H-town human rights ordinance pass on May 28 and will be part of the team defending it.

Yes, trans rights are international human rights.  We are at a tipping point moment that sees us on the verge of making them a reality around the world. Even a red trending purple Texas can't resist the forward momentum of trans human rights forever.  If we want a Texas that protects our human rights as trans people, we will need to show up, show out and fight tooth and nail to make it a reality. 

No matter how much a bunch of kneegrow sellout ministers want to deny it, we are as Black trans masculine and trans feminine Texans part of the kente cloth fabric of our communities  

Black trans issues are Black community issues, and even three of the four African-American Houston city council members, our African-American Texas and national legislators, judges, and legacy orgs like the NAACP and Urban League get that point.

We Black trans folks didn't just pop up into existence in the early 21st century either.  Black trans Texan and Houstonian Wilmer 'Little Axe' Broadnax was a major gospel singer from the 40's to the 70's.   Black trans  Texans like myself have influenced everything from media to the pageant worlds to trans history itself.

And if given the opportunity, we will make substantive contributions to the Black community and Black history.


So on Juneteenth 2014, let us Black trans Texans resolve to honor our ancestors by doing our part to uplift the race and our community.

 Let's continue to plant those human rights trees in our beloved Lone Star State soil watered by the blood of our people who were sadly taken from us by anti-trans violence.   Let us continue to close ranks and own our power so that we are a stronger, more cohesive partner to all the group we intersect and interact with. 

And as we drink that strawberry soda, strawberry Kool-Aid, or whatever your preferred libation is, let's think about the work we still have to accomplish to make Texas and the Lone Star State cities and town we inhabit better for ourselves and future generations..

Happy Juneteenth, trans Texans! 
 

USA World Cup 2014 Watch-Revenge!

When the World Cup draw happened a few months ago with the USA ending up in the Group G  'Group of Death' with Germany, Portugal and Ghana, the June 16th game with Ghana was the one the USA pointed to.

Ghana was responsible for eliminating the USA out of the 2006 and 2010 World Cup Finals knockout rounds and payback was on the menu in this 2014 Brazilian edition.

The USA wanted to get off to a fast start in their opening Group.G match played in Natal and they did. 

Clint Dempsey scored 32 seconds into the match with the sixth fastest goal scored in World Cup history to stake the USA to an early 1-0 lead they stubbornly held despite determined Ghanian counterattacks until the 82nd minute.

Andre Ayew received a gorgeous back heel pass that he blasted past USA goalkeeper Tim Howard to tie the game and give USA fans 'there they go again' nightmares of another World Cup loss to Ghana . 

But not on this night.   In the 86th minute sub John Brooks headed in the winning goal off a corner kick and made a little USA World Cup  history by doing so.  He became the first USA sub ever to score a World Cup goal.

The USA still had to navigate the rest of the second half and 5 nerve wracking minutes of extra time to secure their opening Group G win and a vital 3 points in the standings.

And oh yeah, beating Ghana was the most delicious part of it. 

But this win was costly as striker Jozy Altidore left in the first half with a hamstring injury, Matt Besler had a milder version of one in the second half and Clint Dempsey ended up with a broken nose after being kicked in the face.

It only gets tougher for Team USA.  They face a Portugal team in Manaus mauled by Germany 4-0 that will be pissed off, determined to show the world they can play better than they did June 16 and fighting for their World Cup lives.

And if Team USA survives that match, they will close out group play in Recife on June 26 against Germany.  

   

I Don't Mind Being A Mentor...But

One of the things that I have made a priority ever since I started my own transition 20 years ago was to one day be that mentor to the next generation of trans women I wish I'd had at the start of my journey.

I'm still evolving into the person I wish to be, and along the way I have accumulated a lot of knowledge and history I want and need to pass down to the next generation of trans women.   

But there are some ground rules.

Rule number one is when you get to be my age, you pass down the knowledge I'm telling you as my mentee to a trans person younger than you someday. 

One of the things that royally pissed me off with my predecessors is that elements of them hoarded the knowledge about transition like it was the secret recipe to KFC.  Thanks to the Internet, that type of gatekeeping is impossible now, but it was a handicap during my trans formative years in the 70's and 80's when I was seeking knowledge on a wide variety of fronts, including about our trans history. 

Rule number two is listen.   The object of me mentoring you is to pass down knowledge that you respectfully listen to, then do what you will with it to confidently blaze your own trail.   If you're not willing to listen to what I have to say, then it's a waste of my valuable time.  That's also valuable time I can spend with someone else who is more respectful of my time and my status as a elder stateswoman who paid her movement dues. 

Rule number three is critically think. I am human.  I don't walk on water.  While I will do my best to make sure any information I pass down to my mentees is accurate, it doesn't hurt for you to cross check it and make sure it is.   It won't hurt my feelings if you let me know if I'm incorrect about something I told you so I can adjust it.

Rule number four, don't betray my mentor's trust in you.    I and my fellow trans elders are willing to share our experiences, wisdom and stories because we see something in you as future leaders.  We're hoping that you will use the info we give you to make yourselves better leaders, pass it down to future generations and uplift our entire community as a result. 

But don't stab us and the community in the back

Rule number five, this mentorship is a two way street.   There is not only information and history I get to pass down to you, but at the same time your input is valuable to me.   It not only keeps me up to date on how things have evolved, it gives me an idea of what the trans landscape was like when you began to transition so I have a baseline frame of reference as to the forces that shaped your thinking.  It also helps me properly target my advice for maximum positive effect.  

I don't mind being a mentor.  I enjoy it and see it as part of my activist job description.  I had the same kind of help from veteran activists when I was a novice, still get it and eagerly seek it out.  It's time for me to pay it forward. 

It also keeps my thinking on these issues from becoming stagnant and rigid.  

And hopefully me and my trans elders mentoring puts you on the road to becoming the best activist for our people you can be, and makes us better ones. 

MHP On Open Military Service For Trans People

You know where I stand on this issue, and I believe it's past time for it to happen. 

Melissa Harris-Perry in one of her commentaries just before Memorial Day took hater Elaine Donnelly to task for promoting the exclusion of transgender people from our armed forces.

Publicist Leigha Hagood Comes Out As Trans

TransGriot Note: I have pointed out more than a few times over the years that trans women can accomplish and do anything if just given the opportunity to do so. 

I was made aware of a situation in which a previously  undisclosed professional #girllikeus was threatened with extortion because of the unscrupulous and criminal behavior of a transphobic former employee. 

Leigha Hagood is a real life Olivia Pope for the hip hop and PR world and as we now know because she is coming out, a trans woman. 

I'm honored that Leigha trusted me with her story, and there will be more to come from me on these electronic pages concerning our trans sister in the weeks to come.  

Publicist Leigha Hagood released a coming out statement to TransGriot blogger and civil rights activist Monica Roberts.  It was in response to a defamatory press release issued by a former employee who demanded cash in exchange for not disclosing Hagood's transgender status.

Hagood refused to give in to the extortion demands, stating, "This is not the first time someone has threatened to out me unless I pay them, but it will be the last! I'm trans and so proud."

Hagood is known behind the scenes throughout the industry as a fixer who specializes in crisis management, and worked with several high profile clients in public relations scandals. In 2012 she took control of the PR company she was working for (The Firm Global) as head publicist, which merged with LT Creative Group in summer 2013 and specializes in personal PR and brand development.

Hagood says, “I got tired of doing so much work and never really getting the credit.  Because of the delicate and highly confidential nature of the services rendered, I couldn't even publish a client list and most clients are taken on referral basis only. I even had large publicists coming to me for ideas and crisis management for their clients.” 

Hagood currently is tied deeply within the hip hop industry and works with several high profile celebrities, including Grammy nominated and Grammy winning producers, artists and athletes.   She has also worked with large corporate clients, including The Gay and Lesbian Center and Friends Without Borders.

Hagood had not previously publicly disclosed her transgender identity during the time she has been working in the PR and hip hop industry.  "It's hard enough to be a woman in this industry without having to throw trans in front of that, but enough is enough! I look at people like Laverne Cox, Tona Brown and Janet Mock, on top of the amazing support I’ve gotten, and I’m confident this is the best thing to do."

Hagood hopes that clients will see beyond her gender and that her work speaks for itself, saying, “We are all humans and strive for the same thing success, love and happiness."

When Hagood refused to pay an ex-employee for her silence, the ex-employee sent out a defamatory press release calling Hagood several anti-transgender slurs and a fraud while attaching unlawfully obtained copies of Hagood’s California ID and Social Security card. 

Hagood says, “Contrary to what was written in the (ex-employee's) press release this has nothing to do with my work and everything to do with my being transgender. My gender has nothing to do with the integrity of my work. The employee says she feels she should have been told upfront that she was working with a ‘Person’ like me.”

Hagood has filed a police report with the West Hollywood Division of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and their investigation is ongoing.

Denmark Becomes First European Nation To Pass Progressive Gender Identity Law

Over six decades ago Denmark was the nation in which Christine Jorgensen underwent her hormonal transition.   Now Denmark becomes the first nation in Europe to pass a progressive gender identity law that removes obstacles to legal gender recognition. 

On June 11 the Danish Parliament passed a law modeled on the one passed in Argentina in 2012 that removes the requirement of a Gender Identity Disorder (GID), Gender Dysphoria or any other psychological assessment or opinion is not necessary    The Danish Parliament also removed requirements for medical intervention, mandatory surgical intervention and mandatory sterilization.

Under the new law an application for legal change of gender is submitted to a relevant authority and after 6 months the applicant simply needs to confirm their application for it to happen..

The passage of the first in the European region law was hailed by European TBLG organizations and activists.

"This is ground-breaking for trans persons in Denmark and elsewhere. We hope that other countries will follow the Danish example and pass quick, accessible and transparent legal gender recognition legislation based on self-determination swiftly. Nevertheless, for the young generation of trans people in Denmark we hope that the minimal age of 18 years will be dropped eventually..” comments TGEU Executive Director Julia Ehrt 

Paulo Côrte-Real, Co-Chair of ILGA-Europe, added: “We are very pleased to see the Argentinian model for legal gender recognition being introduced in Europe by Denmark today. The benchmark is set high now and we encourage other European countries to follow suit and to remove unnecessary, humiliating and degrading requirements which hinder people across Europe to fully enjoy their lives in preferred gender.”

The new law will take effect in Denmark on September 1.   Here's hoping other governments in Europe and elsewhere role model it in their own trans ID policies.    

HERO: Next Steps Meeting

You know I thought is was important if I tore myself away from the USA's initial World Cup match to head over to Resurrection MCC to attend a community meeting concerning the HERO and our next steps in defending it.

It was another one of the frequent questions I received while I was in Philadelphia for the PTHC in terms of how the haters petition drive was going.

In a fast paced one hour meeting in their Gathering Place room that seemed more like a reunion, we got updates on the current situation from Januari Leo, Christina Gorczynski, Brad Pritchett, Lou Weaver and Ryan Leach with major assist from Kristen Capps .

Christina reminded us in her presentation that our greatest asset in this fight to defend the HERO is the truth is on our side.   She pointed out the HERO covers 15 protected classes of which only two are sexual orientation and gender identity.  The HERO also addresses discrimination based on sex, race, color, age, ethnicity, national origin, marital status, familial status, genetic information, military status, pregnancy, disability and religion. 

The exempted classes are private clubs, religious organizations, private schools, senior citizen and military discounts and federal, state and county governmental entities. 

The private employers threshold is stairstepped.  I would have rather had it be 15 from the outset, but it goes from 50 employees in the first year to 25 in the second year and 15 in the third and subsequent years. 

It not only protects Houstonians but visitors to our city as well.. 

Brad's presentation covers the HOUequality website which is designed to be an informational clearinghouse concerning all things HERO related.   If you need to do some faith-based lie busting, you can whip out your mobile device and have at your fingertips all the factual information to crush the lie in an avalanche of information. 

Lou's portion of the presentation busted the anti-trans myths the haters are using to stir animus toward the ordinance and what to do to help Houston trans community voters get registered and a early voting polling place they can go where they will be respected. 

Ryan closed it out with our game plan if the faith based haters get enough signatures to place it on the November ballot.  Who gets to write the repeal ballot language, fundraising and PAC's.

So yep, definitely needed to be there.  Besides, the USA-Ghana game will be replayed on demand  anyway.      

Where's The Black Trans Man-Black Trans Woman Romantic Love?

June is the traditional start for the wedding season and just like 'errbody' else, trans masculine and trans feminine people are searching for that special someone to spend the rest of their lives with.

In my case that's been a so far futile search, but as a hopeless romantic I remain somewhat optimistic it may happen for me someday since I see it happening for so many of my trans sisters .

What drove me to write this post is something that was mentioned in the PTHC workshop I facilitated on Friday but we ran out of time to properly explore it. 

One person asked the question during the discussion that was centering on the unity theme at that moment why Black transwomen and Black transmen haven't been hooking up in relationships with each other. 

It was a valid question, seeing that I know of Black trans women hooked up with long-term relationships with cis men and Black trans men doing the reverse with cis women.

Why haven't we seen more often the no-brainer situation of transmasculine and transfeminine people not only hooking up in long term relationships, but marrying each other?   What is preventing us from doing that? 

I say it's a no-brainer situation because it eliminates one of the impediments in a trans-cis relationship in terms of the ''When does the transperson disclose that history?' scenario.

I have no problem with trans people marrying the people they love be they cis or trans.   But what I would like to see is more instances of hetero oriented Black transmen and Black transwomen getting into healthy relationships with each other that lead to long-term relationships and possibly marriage. 

We briefly touched on it before time ran out, but the initial short answer is steeped in the gender binary and internalized transphobia we navigate in the community.   In order to be seen as a 'real man', a transman must date and eventually if they're fortunate enough to have found the right person, marry a cis woman.    Their emerging masculinity will be called into question if they are seen dating transwomen.   

The reverse dynamic is also somewhat true with trans women hooked up with trans attracted men who revere them.  

Some trans feminine women see it as a test of our budding femininity to see if we are attractive enough to get and keep a cis man.   It's even more of a feather in their cap if they are 'woman enough' to get him to stay in their lives even if we reveal our trans feminine status.

But frankly, just as some transmen need to stop believing the negativity and real woman' shade about transwomen, we transwomen also need to stop focusing on a transman's genitalia and recognize the content of his character just as we insist people do with us.

As Precious Davis said in a comment on her Facebook page that accompanied the initial photo, 'Black trans men and Black trans women loving each other is revolutionary'.

It damned sure is.   And we need to do a better job of role modeling the mutual respect and friendships which will allow that love to blossom and grow.