Mom Gives Moving Speech About Her Trans Child

As I've pointed out more than a few times, trans children not only exist, but for those who are fortunate enough to be in the homes of loving and astute parents, are coming out at earlier ages. 

Here's video of Debi Jackson in a moving speech she gave earlier this year at Unity Temple on the Plaza in Kansas City talking about her trans feminine daughter AJ.

And for good measure, Jackson blows up some anti-trans myths while she's at it in this six minute speech. 

45th Anniversary of Apollo 11 Launch

On July 16, 1969 my space junkie self was up on a warm summer Houston morning like everyone else in the country and the world nervously awaiting the launch of Apollo 11 on live television. 

Meanwhile to the southeast of me down in Clear Lake, Mission Control was keeping a watchful eye on their monitors and Launch Pad 39A.  They too along with their counterparts in Florida were awaiting the launch of the ginormous Saturn V rocket from Cape Kennedy that would propel Neil Armstrong, Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin and Michael Collins toward the Moon and their rendezvous with history. 

At 8:32 AM CDT the Saturn V rocket roared to life and slowly lifted off from its launchpad enroute to the Moon.   12 minutes later it was in Earth orbit and after one and a half trips around the planet the third stage of the Saturn V fired up on its translunar injection burn to send Apollo 11 to the Moon.



 

Archie Dies

One of my childhood pleasures which probably surprised some of my readers, was announcing my love for Archie comics. 

My dormant interest in the Archie comics and the Riverdale gang was reawakened after the six series arc of comics (that I own) in the Life With Archie series launched in 2010 was published which depicted him being married to Veronica and another marriage scenario to Betty.

It was interesting to note in those six issues how his life evolved along different trajectories in both instances based on whether Betty or Veronica was his spouse.

I was also intrigued by issues #608 and 609 in which he and Valerie Smith of Josie and the Pussycats briefly dated and issue #636, the gender swap one in 2012 in which the eternal love triangle between Archie, Betty and Veronica gets gender flipped and it's a female Archina being pursued by Billy and Ronnie.

But hitting the stands today is Life With Archie issue #36 in which our hero is shot while trying to stop an assassination attempt on openly gay  US Senator Kevin Keller.  

Keller is one of the newer characters in the Archie universe. He's a married military vet (issue #16) who is pushing for more gun control after his partner Clay Walker is shot in a robbery attempt
     

Archie unfortunately doesn't survive the shooting and dies.  In Issue #37 the story continues and skips ahead a year as all his friends honor his legacy as the series of comics that feature adult versions of Archie and his pals concludes.

As to who shot Archie?   That will be revealed as well. 

The Life With Archie series touched on the post Riverdale High School lives of our fave characters.  It also tackled more socially relevant storylines and topics that seems at times ripped from the headlines such as Keller's same gender marriage to Clay, the death of beloved teacher Ms. Grundy and sometimes Archie love interest Cheryl Blossom tackling breast cancer and affordable health care.

Now the Archie writers are taking one the issue of gun control and the senseless violence that plagues our society.

Countdown to Fox Noise and the conservafools slamming the issues in 5...4...3...2...1... 

If they haven't sold them out at my fave comics stands, I'll definitely be getting those two issues.

HERO Updates, Notes And News-July 15

It's time for another HERO news update since the last one I penned was back on July 4. 

One thing I and everyone inside Beltway 8 are keenly aware of is that the world is watching our fight to defend the HERO with keen interest. 

I discovered that firsthand when I flew to our nation's capital last week to attend the White House LGBT Innovation Summit.  One of the next questions off everyone's lips once they discovered I was there from Houston was, 'What's happening with the HERO?"

What's happening is the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance is nearly two months old, is still in effect, and covers 15 categories.  I can also confidently report that no bakers have been forced to make swastika cakes anywhere inside the Houston city limits. 

Right now we are in signature counting mode.   As you know for the last update the hate ministers dropped off their petitions with the alleged 50,000 signatures at City Secretary Anna Russell's office July 3.  Mayor Parker held a press conference on that date that I was in attendance for along with other members of Team HERO expressing her thoughts about it.

In addition to the launch of the Equal Rights Houston website, we've also held multiple petition verification trainings that have trained over 150 volunteers how to spot invalid signatures.  Now that we've begun to finally receive those petitions, we can start the actual work of poring through them to find the fraudulent and ineligible ones.  

One of those petition checking events will happen tonight at Resurrection MCC Church starting at 7 PM CDT. and  we'll know by August 4 whether the petition drive was successful or it failed.

There will also be a Civil Rights Strategy Meeting held July 24 at Resurrection MCC starting at 7 PM to discuss HERO.  One of the topics on the agenda will be to assess what needs to be done to combat the lies and ignorance about the ordinance being disseminated in communities of color.

Short answer is get African-American media to give the pro-HERO side as much airtime to counter the lies as you have given the opponents.  Our legacy orgs in the NAACP and Urban League along with our politicians and leaders who support HERO have also been far too silent and not forceful enough to call out the ignorance and lies coming from the Baptist Ministers Assn of Houston and Vicinity. 

Neither have they pointed out the fact they are selling out and siding with white Republican conservatives in opposing an ordinance that benefits the entire Houston community. 

One of the things that has pissed off me and Team HERO in this human rights fight is the Houston media continuing to pimp the lies of Dave Welch, Max Miller and his faith based haters. 

While the Houston Chronicle just published this positive HERO op-ed, unfortunately in one of Houston's oldest African-American newspapers, the Forward Times went in the opposite direction. 

Here's another example of the transphobic bathroom myth being repeated without debunking in this Forward Times ad promoting an upcoming HERO debate forum they are setting up on August 4. 
 
Christina Gorczynski had this to say on her Facebook page in rebuttal to this problematic ad

'Factual information about this ordinance must reach each and every community and we are counting on the media to report HERO accurately. Let's avoid dividing people based on the very characteristics that HERO protects and work together to end all forms of discrimination against every Houstonian.'

She's absolutely right about that.   One of the major problems I've had with the African-American media during this HERO fight is they haven't been doing their job of reporting on this ordinance accurately. 

They have been far too busy parroting of the lies of Max Miller and his Baptist Ministers Assn of Houston and Vicinity but not inviting HERO supporters to counter those lies, much less give us the same air time (Majic 102) they have given them.   Houston African-American trans and SGL people are still waiting for KMJQ-FM to extend to them the same opportunity to appear on Sunday Morning Live as was given to the HERO opponents a few weeks ago. 

Speaking of opportunities to tell our story, I'll be part of a panel along with Christina Gorczynski, Daniel Williams and Noel Freeman on HMS TV Thursday discussing the HERO.     

The struggle to keep the HERO continues.

TPOCC, BTMI and BTWI Handling Their Capitol Hill Business

The Trans Persons of Color Coalition (TPOCC) , Black Transmen Inc (BTMI) and Black Transwomen Inc (BTWI) are part of the coalition of groups that are walking the House and Senate office buildings right now handling their Capitol Hill lobbying business on behalf of our community.

It's been past time that we New Black Transmen and New Black Transwomen handle our legislative business.  It's also been past time to let the Congressional Black Caucus and other congressional leaders know that trans people of color exist and are more than capable of speaking for ourselves, owning our power and talking about the issues that affect our community.

It's also time as grown ass POC trans people we determine who we will and will not ally ourselves with politically.   Far too many of the national LGBT orgs that allegedly represent us have NONE of us siting at their policy tables or in their workforces getting paid to advocate for us.

That needs to end now. 

Yeah, wish I was up on Capitol Hill with you, but I have every confidence those of you who are there inside I-495 will do an excellent job handling your citizen lobbying duties on behalf of our community.  

Next time I damned sure want to be there doing my part.  I want to help conduct training sessions, do briefings, give a little motivational speech, and pass on my accumulated knowledge to the current and next generation of trans leaders.

We'll see if that happens.

The 2014 Honor 41 List Honorees Are...

The Honor 41 list founded by Alberto B. Mendoza celebrates  LGBTQ Latin@ role models, and last year we were excited to learn that the inaugural 2013 class of Honor 41 List honorees included 5 trans people.

The Honor 41 list takes its name from a 1901 Mexico City hate crime in which a clandestine party was raided and the 41 people in attendance were beaten, arrested, and disappeared from society because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.   In Mexico, the number 41 became a slang term to refer to someone with a different sexual orientation

Honor 41 confronts this history and reclaims it to honor inspirational individuals and LGBTQ leaders of Latina/o heritage who are blazing the trail toward acceptance and equality. 

The Honor 41 2014 Class was announced this morning, and the trans representation is up to nine people.   As you probably guessed I do know a few of them.   Ruby Corado is one of the nine people honored this year!




"Everyone has a story, so having the opportunity to capture the stories of these amazing role models and share them with others is incredible, said Alberto B. Mendoza, founder of Honor 41 and the producer of the Honor 41 List.  "I know by sharing these stories, we are making it easier for Latino LGBTQ individuals to come out and live their lives with honor and pride."  

In the coming weeks as they are released and I get them from Alberto, I'll be posting the links to all the Honor 41 trans honoree videos.

Congratulations to all the Honor 41 class of 2014 honorees for all they do to advance our human rights struggle and understanding of LGBTQ people inside and outside the Latino/a community. 

Countdown To FIFA Women's World Cup 2015

If you thought that the World Cup wasn't going to happen until 2018 in Russia, think again.   There will be FIFA World Cup action happening next summer, and it'll be right next door to us in Canada.

The seventh edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup will happen June 6-July 5 with an expanded field of 24 nations for the first time playing in the cities of Vancouver, Edmonton, Montreal, Moncton, Winnipeg, and Ottawa.   The title game is set to be played at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver.   

The Women's World Cup Draw to set the groups will take place on December 6 in Ottawa and as of this writing, besides the host nation of Canada, six have qualified so far including defending world champions Japan, China, South Korea, Australia and first timers Thailand and Switzerland.

One team you won't see is North Korea, who is banned for this tournament for having several players test positive during the 2011 World Cup edition in Germany for banned substances.  

The official mascot for this upcoming Women's World Cup has already been unveiled, and she is the female great white owl named Shuéme

If you're wondering if FIFA world number one ranked and 2011 runners up Team USA has qualified yet, the CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament to determine three of the World Cup spots assigned to our federation isn't happening until October 14-26 somewhere here in the USA.  The fourth place CONCACAF team will have to fight a CONMEBOL (South America) third place finisher in a playoff for another World Cup spot. 

Team USA has had a turbulent year.  It has been 15 years since they captured their last world championship with the dramatic Rose Bowl penalty kick shootout win over with China.   But Team USA finished a shocking seventh in the Algarve Cup tournament with zero wins.   After the worst ever finish in the Algarve Cup tournament, the Stars and Stripes (need to come up with a cooler nickname) knocked off China's Steel Roses, then fired coach Tom Sermanni and replaced him with assistant Jill Ellis. 

While Team USA is deep, the question remains whether Ellis will have enough time to fashion Team USA into the dominating unit we all know and love that rolled though CONCACAF Olympic qualification by a cumulative score of 38-0 in 2012 

And yes, the host Canadians will be looking for payback next summer after being knocked out of the Olympic semifinals (they assert they were robbed) by Team USA.  They are also pissed that striker Sydney Leroux, one of the best north of the border players since Christine Sinclair, decided to play for Team USA.

Hey Canada (and Renee), don't hate because we got it like that. I'm glad sistah Sydney (yep, she's Black) is playing for my team. 

But like Canada, the rest of the world is catching up to our FIFA world number one ranked USA squad . The Germans have won two titles.  The French are a threat along with defending champion Japan and Pia Sundhage coached Sweden. And the Brazilians with Marta are always dangerous.

As far as the rest of the women's football world is concerned, the race is on to punch their tickets to Canada.  The CAF (Africa) will determine their three spots at a qualifying tournament to be held in Namibia October 11-25 while the 2014 South American Women's Football Championship will be held in Ecuador September 11-28 to determine two of the CONMEBOL spots.   UEFA (Europe) is still sorting out who will represent them and take their remaining seven spots, while New Zealand barring a monumental upset is probably going to get Oceania's lone tournament slot. 

So we still have a few months left before we know which teams will be playing in Canada next summer and which groups they will be competing in with the ultimate goal of being in Vancouver to hoist that trophy.   The only team that does know their group are the host Canadians, and they will be per FIFA tradition in Group A.

The answers to the rest of the Women's World Cup related questions we'll discover by the end of the year..
 

Transgender Lobby Day In DC Today and Tomorrow

Today and tomorrow my transpeeps are going to be walking the halls of Congress visiting congressional and senatorial offices engaging in exercising their constitutional right to petition their lawmakers for redress of trans grievances.

Translation: they'll be lobbying.  

Contrary to public opinion, lobbying isn't just for high dollar corporate backed K St pros or former congressmembers, it is also for citizens from various states and congressional districts across the country who are taking their time to visit their congressmembers and let them know their thoughts about various issues 

My trans peeps will be visiting offices in the Cannon, Longworth and Rayburn House Office Buildings and the Hart, Dirksen and Russell Senate Office Buildings to talk to staffers and if their lucky, a few congressmembers and senators about the issues of importance to our community. 

The Transgender Lobby Day is a joint project of the Trans People of Color Coalition (TPOCC), Trans Latin@ Coalition, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, PFLAG National, Black Transmen, Inc., Black Transwomen, Inc and NCTE.

And nope, not in DC for this one despite the fact I've been there, done that numerous times  since 1998.

Several of the coalition orgs let me know last week when I was in DC how much they would have rather had me there inside I-495 helping train the neophyte lobbyists instead of being in Houston.

But there are enough vets there to where my presence isn't necessary this time.   Besides, I can do a better job of lobbying when I come to DC unannounced.    

A welcome reception was held last night for all attendees of the event and on tap today at the Meeting House of the Friends, at 2111 Florida Ave, NW. is a policy conference.   After some lobby training on Tuesday in the same location our trans citizen lobbyists will head to the Hill. 

For those of you in DC for the event, here's some other tips they may or may not cover.  

*There's an app for your phones you may wish to download that tells you the House or Senate office building and office number for your congresscritter, the phone numbers for that congressional office and several staffers, and will dial that office number once you find the congressional office you wish to visit.

*Street parking is almost non existent in that area due to heightened security, so do what 'errbody' else does in DC and take Metrorail.  If you're staying near a CVS you can buy a reloadable SmartTrip card there or get it at a Metro subway station.  Catch the Orange or Blue lines to the Capitol South Station, which is a easy one block walk to the Cannon House Office Building.   You can access the Longworth and Rayburn HOB's via tunnel once you clear security at Cannon HOB.

Unfortunately, since the 9-11 terror attacks, the subway between the House and Senate office buildings has been restricted to congressmembers and staffers, so you will have to exit one of the house office buildings and walk past the Supreme Court Building plaza and Capitol Visitors Center to get to the Senate office buildings.

*The Senate HOB's have electronic video boards to make it easier for visitors to find Senatorial offices.   Unfortunately the House doesn't yet (probably because it's GOP controlled).  The House directories are near stairwells and elevators in a font size that can be hard to read at times. There are some in various House office buildings located in spots where even my tall behind had to tiptoe to read them or have a small flashlight to do so because of the darkness of the corridor.

*The offices will have the nameplate of the member plus the state flag outside the door to further help you find your member as you wander the House and Senate office buildings in search of those offices..

*The cool thing about visiting your own congressmember is as a district constituent, the staff will take time to talk to you even if you don't have an appointment. 

I salute and thank you for taking the valuable time out of your schedules to represent yourselves and our community in Washington DC. Enjoy your time in our nation's capital, have fun and I know you will represent our community well.

Diamond Williams Case Update: Sargent Mental Competency Hearing

Here's the latest update in the Diamond Williams case.

I was advised by Gloria Casarez about an upcoming Wednesday July 16 mental competency hearing in the case of Charles N. Sargent, Diamond's accused killer. 

The 44 year old Sargent was arrested for murdering and dismembering Williams last July after luring her to his Strawberry Mansion home. 

He faces charges of murder, abuse of a corpse and other related charges to this case.  Due to concerns about his mental state, he has not had a preliminary hearing


For those of you in the Philadelphia metro area wishing to attend this hearing in a show of support to for Diamond, her family and the local trans community, it will be held at 9 AM EDT on July 16 in Courtroom 1103 of the Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert St. in Philadelphia.   Municipal Court Judge Marsha H. Neifield will preside over the hearing. 

Here's hoping that this is the first step to Sargent being held accountable for his heinous crime and our fallen sister receives justice.

TransGriot Update:  Sargent was found COMPETENT to stand trial!

Not Supporting Lauren Scott Or ANY Trans Republican

In the wake of me writing about Paula Sophia being poised to make trans history and possibly get elected to the Oklahoma Legislature on August 26 if she prevails in her runoff election, I had a Republican leaning trans person contact me and ask why I hadn't written a similar post about Lauren Scott's candidacy in Nevada. 

As I wrote in this 2010 post, and will expand on it as we head to the 2014 midterms, the right trans candidate for public office at any level of government is NOT a right-wing one. 

As far as I and other non-white voters are concerned, the Republican Party is nothing more than the political arm of white supremacy, and they gleefully make that clear to us every day. 

If you're a libertarian, we non-white peeps don't have much love for you either because all we see you as is the flip side to the same white supremacist political coin.

It's also laughable to me when we have daily examples of Republican politicians at ALL levels of government being bigoted, racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, (fill in the blank) that ANY politically savvy and thoughtful trans person would want to join, much less be a member of a party that oppresses them and their trans brothers and sisters.

At first glance Ms. Scott's record is one that would make you gravitate toward supporting her legislative candidacy.  She's an Air Force Desert Storm vet, small business owner, has participated in an NCTE sponsored lobby day in 2007, is the founding Executive Director of Equality Nevada since 2009, was appointed by Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) to sit on the Nevada Equal Rights Commission until her term expires October 31 and unsuccessfully ran for an open Nevada Assembly seat in 2012.

While I commend Ms Scott for stepping up to run for office, it's the choice of party affiliation that is raising red flags with me and other big picture thinking trans people.  When the Nevada Assembly currently has a 26-15 Democratic majority and the Nevada Senate a precarious 11-10 Democratic majority, why in Hades would you run for office in that party? 

Granted, you are running for the Nevada Assembly seat in District 30 currently occupied by incumbent Assemblyman Michael Sprinkle (D) that you didn't make it out of the primary fr in 2012.  

But should you make history and win that race, it puts the Republicans one seat closer to gaining control of the Nevada Assembly and possibly unleashing the flood of batturd crazy racist legislation that is the sadly all too common result of GOP control of a state legislature.

That hasn't happened in Nevada only because of Democratic control of both legislative chambers. 

Yes, I have repeatedly said that the next level of our trans human rights struggle is to actually get our people elected to public office.  And yes, it is important to have our folks involved in both political parties.

But let's be real about the fact that in this 2014 cycle, in many parts of the country the Republicans are nothing more than neo-Confederate anti-government trans oppressors, and any trans person in those GOP ranks is wasting their time. 

Nevada's GOP might be different, but after seeing Sharron Angle's 2010 US Senate campaign, Cliven Bundy tripping, and the damage that conservatism does when they get control of a state (or national) legislature, I would hate for Nevada voters to find out the hard way their Republicans are just as off the chain as the Arizona and Texas GOP.     

So no, I'm not voting for or supporting ANY transperson who is a member of the Republican Party, because as a trans person of color, neither I or my people can afford to have that trans GOP legislator, no matter how moderate they may seem at first glance, be the one vote that gets the Republican Party closer to or actually tips the balance of legislative control of a House or Senate chamber.

Doing A Moni Me Time Weekend

Been a busy few months for me, and I'm feeling the need for some downtime to recharge the creative batteries.

So yep, it's past time to take the weekend off for some Moni Me Time. 

In addition to recharging the creative and personal batteries,  I need to prep for a seminar at the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit on the Texas State campus in San Marcos August 8-9 and another one later this month at an upcoming  convention I'm in final confirmation stages for 

Once I confirm that upcoming East Coast panel discussion, I'll let y'all know when, where, and what time it happens.

If I get some breaking news, an inspired thought that leads to a post before Monday, you'll see me post it.   Otherwise the game plan is just to take a mini writing break and get back to doing my usual TransGriot writing schedule on Monday 

Tiffany Edwards Case Update

Here's the latest news update in the Tiffany Edwards case courtesy of LGBTQ Nation. 

Quamar Edwards, the 25 year old waste of DNA arrested in the murder of our sister Tiffany after he turned himself in to Cincinnati Police on July 2, was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on one count each of aggravated robbery, aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, having weapons under disability and tampering with evidence.

Investigators said Quamar Edwards solicited the victim for sex, and fatally shot her following an argument.   So much for his uncle trying to play the 'trans panic defense' card. 

Edwards is currently cooling his heels in the Hamilton County Jail under a $500,000 bond

And as always, I will keep you TransGriot readers posted concerning any new developments in this case.

Shut Up Fool Awards- No Fools Zone Edition

It's Friday, and you long time TransGriot readers know what that means.   It's my ongoing weekly effort to expose the fool, fools or group of fools in our societal midst who continue to exhibit mind numbing stupidity, jaw dropping ignorance and over the top hypocrisy.  

And I have fun calling their asses out, too

It's time for this week's edition of the TransGriot Shut Up Fool Awards.  Since I know you're anxious to find out who won this week, I'll shut down the jibber-jabber get right to it.

Honorable mention number one is a joint one for Kanye West and Stacey Dash.   After Kanye went on a problematic 20 minute rant during a July 5 London concert comparing the paparazzi to rapists.   Stacey Dash, in her new gig as a Faux Noise pundit and who had appeared in Kanye's All Fall Down video, then suggested to he needed to spend some time at Riker's Island to know what rape really is.  

Both of them need to have several seats.  


Honorable mention number two is the Ugandan government for making the ludicrous claim that the Anti-Homosexuality Law 'is not meant to punish gays.   

Oh really?  In what delusional world did you come up with that conclusion when the bill call for lifetime imprisonment for repeat violators of it?    Own your homophobic bigotry and the consequences of letting white American homophobes bamboozle you into passing that draconian law. 


Honorable mention number three is Chicago disc jockey UB Rodriguez.   The WGCI-FM disk jockey let loose with this transphobic tweet while commenting on the video Laverne Cox appeared in for the John Legend song You & I.



After initially trying to defend the slur, Rodriguez deleted it.   

As I said in the post discussing the just launched Windy City trans respect billboard campaign,  

Ten of these billboards are being deployed on Chicago's South and West sides and like Channyn, I hope they convey the message to the rest of cis society what transwomen already know.  Transwomen are human.

We're also just trying to live our daily lives without added drama or BS.  

I also hope one of those ten billboards is across the street or near the WGCI-FM studios

Honorable mention number four to the Thanks A Million Corp. for their Add a Kid Line of t-shirts that includes a problematic monkey one.   To promote the line it has multiethnic headshots of kids, and one retailer paired the African-American kid headshot with a monkey t-shirt.

Thanks a Million Corp, did it not occur to you not to have a monkey shirt in the first place, being that African-Americans up to and including the POTUS and FLOTUS still have to deal with that racist imagery?  

Honorable mention number five is Joan Rivers, who refuses to part her collagen injected lips and apologize to the First Lady for her racist and transmisogynistic comment I blasted her for last week.

Honorable mention number six goes to Alex Jones, for doubling down on that transmisogyny that Rivers attacked the FLOTUS with and going even more off the chain with it.


This week's Shut Up Fool Awards winner is Southern Talabaptist President Richard Land, who declared that 'transgenderism is the ultimate rebellion against God' 

Seriously?   The 'ultimate rebellion against God' is you and your SBC fools claiming to speak for the Almighty while trying to erase the irrefutable fact transpeople exist. 

Here's some New Testament for you, from Jesus himself.  .

For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. Matthew 19:12
 
Trans people are part of the diverse mosaic of human life, and God loves us, too   So you and all your Southern Talabaptists can have several seats in those arena sized churches and have a tall sweet tea flavored glass of STFU.

So let me say this in terms easy for you to understand:   Richard Land, thou art a fool that needeth to shut  thine lying lips    

Lawdy Lawdy, Renee is 40!

I have been waiting for this day for two years now and it has finally arrived.   It's Renee's milestone birthday, and one in which I pay my Timmy's IceCapp drinking Coach purse loving homegirl back for this birthday post she unleashed on me in 2012. 


So, let's see, first off, who are some of the people who share Renee's birthday?    There's Lil Kim, Kellita Smith, Leon Spinks, Nadya Suleman, Lisa Rinna, Caroline Wozniacki, Giorgio Armani, the late actor Yul Brynner and Houston Texan WR Andre Johnson just to name a few. 

As for some of the things that are older than Renee on this day?    

The Toronto Maple Leafs last NHL championship banner in the Hangar.
Timmy's
The Skylon Tower
Terra Firma
Niagara Falls

I may have started this post by poking fun at my sis, but I  have to say that my life has been immensely enriched by having her as a major part of it for nearly a decade.  Renee and I have had some thought provoking conversations about many issues ever since I met her that I enjoy. 

The other thing I most appreciate about you besides your intellect, fashion sense, and your stories about being the only estrogen based lifeform in a house full of guys is that you not only talk the talk when it comes to sisterhood and being a standup trans ally, you role model it.         

And best of all, I'm proud to call you my friend.   Now if I can make that north of the border visit happen sometime this decade. 

Happy milestone birthday, Renee!    May you celebrate many more of them!

Laverne Cox Gets Historic Emmy Nomination

I'll have another reason to watch the August 25 Primetime Emmy Awards broadcast on NBC besides wondering if Kerry Washington and Joe Morton get the statues to go with their well deserved nominations for their respective Scandal acting roles

I'm still pissed off about Kerry getting screwed last year and y'all know how much I love her. 

But enough about Ms.Washington, this post is about another person I have mad love for in our fave possibility model Laverne Cox, who made more trailblazing history today.

When the nominations for the 2013-2014 Emmy's were announced today, Orange Is The New Black earned 12 Emmy nominations.  One of these nominations was for the Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series category, and Ms. Cox was nominated for her role as Sophia Burset on the smash hit series.

That nomination makes Laverne the first open transgender actress to be nominated for a primetime Emmy.

She's competing against two of her Orange Is The New Black castmates in Uzo Aduba (Suzanne 'Crazy Eyes' Warren) and Natasha Lyonne (Nicky Nichols) for this Emmy, but I'm hoping that it works out for her.  

Congratulations Laverne!  Well deserved nomination and I'll be tuned in at 7 PM CDT to see if you make more history and actually win it.    
  

Moni's In The Middle Of The WH LGBT Innovation Summit

It's been an amazing year so far for me and it still has five more months left in it before we flip the calendar page to 2015.

Another blessing came my way with an invitation courtesy of Dr Kortney Ryan Ziegler and Trans*H4CK to attend the first ever White House LGBT Innovation Summit.   You know as a history buff I love being at groundbreaking events, and definitely wanted to be in DC for this inaugural July 7 one.

So once again I found myself on a jet plane winging my way to DC via the ATL to be there.  

Since it was post-4th of July weekend, it was an interesting route to get there.  Normally I like going in and out of DCA (I refuse to call it Reagan National) because it's on the WMATA Metrorail Yellow and Blue lines.   But on this trip I was routed to go into BWI on Sunday and leave out of DCA on Tuesday.  In addition I had 3 hour layovers in Atlanta on both legs.  But hey, I'm still getting my frequent flyer miles.    

I got up at 4 AM CDT to head over to Hobby for my 7 AM departure to the ATL.  After Dee Dee Watters dropped me off, I'm thinking "Who is going to be traveling at 6 AM on Sunday to go somewhere?" as I entered the airport terminal..  But after I picked up my boarding passes in front of the Delta ticket counter and saw the line at TSA security I was jarred back into the reality I was traveling on the back side of the holiday weekend, as my 15 minute wait to clear security attested to. For once I didn't get some hands on attention from our TSA friends after I went through the body scanner .

It's a gorgeous flying weather day and I get to the ATL with no issues.  I've already eaten breakfast, I'm chilling at my BWI gate with my laptop playing my fave tunes from the 70s-90's on my Spotify account as I settle in to kill my three hours of Hartsfield-Jackson airport sit time.  I'm watching the world and the Delta flight personnel walk by and thinking about how much I miss the airline biz when I heard the announcement that my flight has gate changed due to a mechanical problem with my just arrived inbound aircraft.

We ended up leaving 20 minutes late on the ATL-BWI leg but my captain made up the time and we pulled into my BWI gate at 3:47 PM EDT, three minutes earlier than scheduled.    Samantha Master grabbed me a few minutes later and off we went in the direction of Washington DC and my Dupont Circle area hotel.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, because I know so many people in the DC area who would love to spend quality time with me (and it's a nice problem to have), they know to get it they have to grab me either when I land inside I-495 or on my way out of town back to DCA.  

So Samantha made sure she got first dibs on me before Ruby Corado did.
     
After taking me to lunch, doing a little shopping and discussing the current state of the movement, we eventually ended up at the Carlyle Suites hotel on New Hampshire Ave NW.   I noticed along with Samantha the Delta Sigma Theta Way sign underneath it as we turned onto New Hampshire Ave.  I discovered I would be staying less that two doors down from DST national headquarters which made me chuckle as a child of a proud AKA. 

That area also has many embassies, and the Grenadian embassy was on the corner of New Hampshire Ave and R St.  I also noticed something else in addition to the embassies sprinkled throughout the tree shaded neighborhood, a 7-Eleven.   That meant I was going to be able to destroy some Slurpees on this trip.    

I checked into my 7th floor art-deco style suite, made some calls, walked around the corner to that 7-Eleven to get my first Slurpee (lemonade) since my PTHC trip and after returning to the hotel settled in to get some rest for the big day.

Monday July 7 was another warm but beautiful clear weather day in which I debated when I woke up at 8 AM whether to go to Capitol Hill and see Yesenia Chavez or just head to the White House area for the Summit which was starting at 1 PM. 

I was anxious to see who was going to be in attendance for the Summit, and started walking toward the Dupont Circle Metro station.   I discovered during that walk the embassies of Nicaragua, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Argentina were also in the vicinity along with the headquarters of the American Library Association.   That made me smile and think about my homegirl BiblioDiva, AKA Melissa Meadows as I made the turn onto Q St. near the Argentinian embassy and headed toward the station.  

When I arrived there I got my first pleasant surprise of the day when I tapped my WMATA SmarTrip card and discovered I had $9.60 on it.  That was more than enough to get me down there and back from Dupont Circle, so I added another $7 to it to cover any other Metrorail trips I would possibly do here before jumping onto my Red Line train to head to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House grounds.        
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After changing to a Orange Line train at Metro Center Station I get off at Farragut West and realize I didn't burn as much time as I thought I would and I'm way early.   Fortunately I spot a Mickey D's and decided to burn up an hour and grab lunch there before heading to the designated WH security gate since I knew it was going to be at least 4 hours before I'd get an opportunity to eat something.

I arrive at the security checkpoint outside of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at 11:40 AM and I'm met by a female intern ironically from Dallas who is waiting to escort another party into the WH complex.   After we exchanged Lone Star pleasantries a few minutes later I start seeing the peeps arriving for the Summit.   Michael David Battle arrives with his mom, then Geena Rocero, and Krys and Kin Folkz from Oakland who I'd met during the first Trans*H4CK 

We all start catching up on what has been transpiring in our lives as the clock ticks toward 12 noon and the point that security personnel are ready to begin checking our ID for the first stage of clearing the WH security gauntlet

After arriving in the auditorium I begin to see more familiar people like Kimberley McLeod from Elixher, Angelica Ross, Lourdes Hunter, Katrina Goodlett, and the man of the hour in Dr. KRZ complete with his patriotic flag pattern tie.  Introductions are coming fast and furiously, business cards are being exchanged and pictures and selfies are being snapped as the time ticks down toward the 1 PM start of the event. 

I even got an opportunity to talk to Tim Gill about politics and a few issues.    

One of the biggest questions I got asked once I revealed I'd come to the event from Houston is 'What's happening with the HERO?'   So yeah peeps, the world is watching H-town. 

Finally the program starts with the SRO crowd settling in for the welcome from WH Office of Public Engagement advisor Gautam Raghavan.

Following his remarks, the first armchair conversation with Google [x] VP Megan Smith moderated by Lesbians Who Tech founder Leanne Pittsford to start the four hour program begins.   

That conversation focused on women in the tech field and dropped the interesting historical note that the Duchess of Cambridge's (AKA Kate Middleton)  grandmother was one of the Bletchley Park duty officers that helped decode German military messages encrypted on the German Enigma coding machine for Allied use.  It moved to discussing other diversity issues before that conversation concluded with audience Q&A.

Before the next segment of the program happened, we were given the opportunity to line up at the two mikes on either side of the room and give a 30 second elevator  pitch discussing our innovative work on behalf of the community, ask for help or resources, or share your Big Idea.

Once the time allotted for the first round of elevator pitches expired, we moved to a panel discussion entitled Challenges And Opportunities Facing LGBT Communities.   The panel was comprised of USDA Special Assistant Ashlee Davis, WH National AIDS policy Director Douglas Brooks, Out2Enroll's Katie Keith and UCLA Williams Institute Senior Counsel Adam Romero.

After discussing HIV/AIDS and the problematic inclusion of transpeople in the MSM category, the problems of rural LGBT people, and the lack of inclusion of transpeople and especially transpeople of color in Gay Inc leadership ranks and organizations with the Black transfolks in attendance leading much of the conversation in that auditorium on many of those issues, it was time for the next round of elevator pitches.

When those concluded it was time for our sis Geena Rocero to take the stage. 

Taryn Miller-Stevens introduced her and Geena gracefully strode to the podium to talk about how the power of stories fused with technology is empowering trans people, helping us change lives and influencing public policy changes.  She also talked about the motivating reason why she founded GenderProud. 

I received an unexpected shoutout during her speech, along with Dr Z and some of the other trans POC leaders who have been pushing for systemic human rights change on behalf of our community.  

When she concluded her speech to a standing ovation, she and Taryn had an armchair conversation to answer more audience questions driven by her remarks before they stepped aside to make way for the next portion of the program. 

The Presidential Innovation section of the program was an interview conducted by Senior Advisor to the US Chief Technology Officer Erie Meyer with 18F Creative Director Hillary Hartley.

After their interview and Q&A, we took a short break before we heard Tim Gill's Call to Action speech to conclude the LGBT Innovation Summit. 

After some closing thoughts and next steps from Gautam, we moved to the Indian Treaty Room on the 4th floor for a Gill Foundation hosted reception that concluded a little after 6:30 PM to end our day on the White House grounds.

Some of us decided to continue the conversations at the nearby W Hotel and its patio bar with a gorgeous view of  the White House complex, the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the Washington Monument and The Mall.   We were joined there by Kylar Broadus, Ruby Corado and Joanna Cifredo and engaged in debriefing conversations about what had just transpired on this historic day and discussed the lobby day taking place next week.  

We then took those conversations from that spot to another locale that lasted well into the wee hours of the morning before I had to bounce to my hotel and pack for my departure in a few hours.   

I woke up at 8 AM to another gorgeous but hot DC summer day.   Since my flight to Houston via Atlanta wasn't leaving until 3 PM, I decided before I had to check out of my room at 12 noon and because I didn't want to be schlepping my laptop and bag through Capitol Hill security, to bounce to Capitol Hill and attempt to keep my promise of seeing Yesenia before I left the Washington DC area.  

When I got to Rep Raul Grijalva's (D-AZ) office on the fifth floor of the Longworth Building a little before 10 AM, one of her coworkers advised me she'd just left for a training session and wasn't due back in until after 11 AM.  I decided after a few minutes of enjoying their hospitality to kill time by going to see my own congressmember. 

After accomplishing that mission, I headed back to Longworth to see if Yesenia was back. She wasn't and because it was now 11:10 AM I had to head back to the Capitol South station to begin my journey back to the Dupont Circle area and check out of the hotel.   I discovered later when I checked my phone at DCA after I cleared TSA security and arrived at my departure gate I just missed Yesenia by five minutes. 

Oh well, I'll catch her next time. 

Ruby showed up a little after 12 to pick me up from the Carlyle Suites and hang out at Casa Ruby for a moment before we headed off in the direction of DCA to drop me off to start my return trip home. 

So once again I got to spend a little time inside the beltway, see some old friends, meet some new ones, talk about the Trans Revolution Will Not Be Televised business with my trans peeps and get my learn on at the same time.

The evaluation for this inaugural White House LGBT Innovation Summit should be hitting my e-mail soon, but so glad I had an opportunity to be in the house for the inaugural event.   

Hope next year's is even better.   

And for those of you who missed me on this latest trip inside I-495, I'll probably be back before the year is out, so just get ready to try to get me at DCA before Ruby or Samantha do.