Trans Woman Beaten In New York

This is another concrete example why GENDA needs to be expeditiously passed.

Was pissed off to hear via Gay City News that on October 12 a 28 year old trans woman was brutally beaten by four men in the Bushwick neighborhood around 11:20 PM EDT.

The incident took place outside of 1250 Buckwick Ave near Halsey St, and started when the transwoman while walking with a gay friend was approached by the man and asked 'what they were doing in the neighborhood'.

When they figured out the woman was trans, they began calling her a 'faggot' and beat her with a 2x4.  The gay friend escaped without injury, but the still unidentified transwoman was transported to Elmhurst Hospital in critical condition.

The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the hate attack.  In addition to the NYPD having surveillance video of it along with the weapon used in the assault, a bystander captured phone video of it.

The still unidentified transwoman according to Kate Barnhart, the executive director of, New Alternatives for Homeless LGBT Youth. was a client of their organization.  Barnhart added that it is not known at this time if the victim will have permanent brain damage as a result of this hate attack.

Barnhart added, “It is outrageous that transgender people are still not safe in what is supposed to be the safest LGBT city in the world.”

They are not safe because New York State has not passed GENDA and added gender identity in the hate crimes laws, or thrown the book at the waste of DNA who killed Islan Nettles last year.

Here's hoping these wastes of DNA are swiftly captured and is served in this heinous attack.justice

TransGriot Update:  The surveillance video of the wastes of DNA in this case.

Jazz Named To 2014 Time Magazine 25 Most Influential Teens List

In a year in which a teen has won a Nobel Peace Prize, and is garnering attention as an emerging leader in the Hong Kong democracy protests, why am I not surprised when I see this young woman's name on any list of outstanding or influential people?

I had the pleasure of finally meeting Jazz this summer, and I am exceedingly proud of her.

Between all of her other projects, promoting her bestselling I Am Jazz children's book and her award winning advocacy for the trans community, she's already accomplished at age 14 what it takes many people most o their lives to do.

She can add being named to the 2014 Time Magazine's 25 Most Influential Teens List to that ever lengthening list of accomplishments.

And I'm not surprised she's on this list along with Malala Yousafzai, Malia and Sasha Obama, Mo'ne Davis, Joshua Wong and other accomplished teens.  

May wish to scroll down to the bottom of the page and show her some love in the poll that's on the bottom of the article as well.

Congratulations Jazz on another major accomplishment!.

Transpinay Killed In Philippines

The murderously rough week internationally for trans women continues with word that a US Marine has been detained and being investigated for the murder of a transpinay.

26 year old J (not using the male name) Laude was found by a Celzone Lodge employee after midnight Saturday night strangled with her head slumped in the toilet at the hotel in Olongapo City.

M. Gelviro, a 22 year old transpinay friend of Laude, stated in an interview the pair met the Marine at a local bar at 10:55 PM, and accompanied her and the Marine to the hotel.   Laude asked the friend to leave because she feared they would be outed as transpinays.

The suspect was described as a white male age 25-30, standing between 5'8"-5'10" in height with a marine style haircut.

The US Embassy in the Philippines said in a broadcast statement, “We are aware of the situation and express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased. We are also aware that there are allegations that a foreigner, including possibly a US national, was involved in the incident. We are currently looking into these allegations and working closely with the PNP (Philippine National Police) to take all necessary steps to help identify the suspects,” it said.

The unnamed Marine in question is assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines from Camp Lejeune, North  Carolina.  He is  being held on board the USS Peleliu pending an investigation by NCIS.  

The amphibious landing warship arrived as part of a US troop presence for the PHIBLEX 15 military exercises in conjunction with the Philippine military, and the Peleliu has been at  Subic Bay for a port call. 

Condolences to the family of Ms. Laude, and here''s hoping that Philippine authorities and NCIS quickly sort out what happened in this case and that justice is expeditiously served.

TransGriot Update:  It has come to my attention that the name of the victim in this case is Jennifer Laude Sueselbeck.    The Marine being detained on the USS Peleliu is PFC Joseph Pemberton

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving 2014, Eh!

Today is Thanksgiving day north of the border.   All my readers across Canada are taking time out of their lives to count their blessings and get their grub on.

Definitely need to give my Canadian homegirl Renee and her family a shoutout.

After spending over a decade in Niagara Falls, they recently moved to St. Catharines and will be spending their first Thanksgiving having dinner in their new home.

Congratulations on the move.  May this be the first of many happy Thanksgiving dinners and family memories in your new domicile.

While we have yet to see passage of C-279, the Trans Rights Law that has been stalled in the Conservative dominated Senate, it has passed Second Reading stage and is now in committee.   Here's hoping my Canadian trans cousins see their home and native land recognize their human rights.

To my Canadian trans peeps, I hope you have the additional blessing of breaking bread and sharing your Thanksgiving meal with your blood family.  If that's not possible, I hope and pray it's with your chosen family or supportive friends who have opened their doors and their dinner table to you.

And if you are in the position to open your home to a fellow transperson who may not for whatever reason be able to go home to their family, I hope you are able to share your Thanksgiving Day with them.

And to all my Canadian readers, may the food that nourishes your bodies be accompanied by abundant love and smiles.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday Bamby And Dawn!

October 12 happens to be the shared birthday of two people in the trans community I have mad love and respect for as leaders and role models in our community.

You long time TransGriot readers know that my former Louisville roomie, Dawn Wilson's birthday is today.  While I kiddingly use the old nickname of Darth Vader in my posts for her because she is an avid fencer and takes no prisoners on the strip, there's no joking about her role in shaping much of the history of the modern trans rights movement.  

She participated in the first national transgender lobby day in Washington in 1994 and was the first African-American transperson to win the IFGE Trinity Award in 2000.  She played a major role in the passage of the Louisville and Lexington Fairness ordinances and the defense of the Louisville one in 2004.

Wilson was the first chair of the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition after its 1999 founding, has been the chair of C-FAIR, the political action committee of the Louisville based Fairness Campaign, and is currently a Metro Louisville Human Rights Commissioner.

The other person who shares this October 12 birthdate with her is Bamby Salcedo

Los Angeles based Bamby's accomplishments in this community are just as distinguished and lengthy. 

She is the founding president of the TransLatina Coalition, an organization of national trans Latina leaders founded in 2009.  She is the founding publisher of the digital XQsi Magazine, is a longtime HIV-AIDS activist in the LA area,, has been the subject of a documentary entitled Transvisible: The Bamby Salcedo Story, is a board member of Unid@s LGBT, and has also worked with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on health care services for trans people in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Salcedo has garnered a long list of awards for her advocacy work on behalf of the trans community including most recently the National LGBTQ Task Force's Susan J. Hyde Award For Longevity in the Movement and Lambda Legal's Liberty Award

Happy birthday to two outstanding leaders in our community.   I'm proud to call both of you my colleagues and more importantly, my friends.   

May you continue to be sterling examples of the leadership that is necessary to lead our community forward, and you receive the blessing of celebrating many more birthdays to come.

Arrest Made In Zoraida Reyes Murder

There is finally some great news to report concerning the case of our fallen trans sister Zoraida Reyes.   The 28 year old activist was one of four trans women of color killed across the nation during a deadly month of anti-trans violence that broke out in June.

Reyes' body was found dumped near an Anaheim, CA Dairy Queen back on June 12.  The speculation was that she was killed in another location and the body was bought there.

Anaheim Police on October 8 arrested 38 year old Randy Lee Parkerson and charged him with Reyes' murder.   He is accused of meeting Reyes on June 10, choking her to death, and driving around with her body in the trunk of his car for a day before dumping it, according to the charging documents.  

Parkerson is charged with one count of murder.  He is being held on $1 million bail at the Anaheim PD Temporary Detention Facility.  

The case according to an APD spokeperson still is not being investigated as a hate crime.

"The motive is still unclear" said Lt Bob Dunn in an LA Times interview. “There is nothing to suggest that Zoraida was specifically targeted.

As Parkerson undergoes questioning in this ongoing investigation, that is one of the questions that is crying out for an answer.

We are another step closer to getting justice for Zoraida, her family, and all the people who loved  her.

Nartional Coming Out Day 2014- It's STILL Different And Challenging For Trans People

"If you're trans*, it's even scarier and a much different dynamic from our LGB brothers and sisters because a gender transition is not easy.  After the initial coming out date, unlike our cis LGB brothers and sisters, we have to pay cash out of pocket, get trans specific medical care and counseling, and morph our bodies to be our kind of person we wish to project to the world. "  -TransGriot October 11, 2013,"National Coming Out Day 2013-It's STILL Different For A Trans Person


Today is National Coming Out Day!  While some peeps celebrated it with events yesterday because the date has fallen on a weekend, today is the official day.

National Coming Out Day is still and always will be fundamentally different for a trans person to do so than someone in the LGB community. We not only have to pay for the privilege of being ourselves, we have to have the assistance of medical science to morph our bodies to present as the people we are.

If you chose this date to come out and live your trans, bi, or SGL lives, congratulations for taking your first bold steps toward being your true selves.  

And yes, know that there are differences in the coming out experience, and it is affected by race and class just like everything else in American society is.

For my newly out transfolks, while I congratulate you for doing so, on this National Coming Out Day I do need to take some time to drop some real talk on you. 

You are coming out at a fascinating time in modern trans history.   While it is undeniably the best of times in terms of the unprecedented visibility and coverage for transgender issues, and especially seeing trans people of color represented, at the same time we've gotten the undivided attention of the Religious Right.

They have lost their War Against Same-Sex Marriage, and need a new cause to rally the hate troops around.   Since trans rights are quickly being recognized as a human rights issue, they are  joining our longtime disco-era enemies the TERF's in hating on transpeople.

We've had a rough week in terms of the trans women we have lost in Los Angeles, Brisbane, Australia, and Brazil with the Transgender Day of Remembrance just a few short weeks away. 

We are the only peeps in the TBLG rainbow community who have to pay for the privilege of being ourselves.

When I say pay for the privilege of being ourselves, of course I'm alluding to the medical and body morphing aspect of the transition.   That's the easy part.   But it is not the end all and be all of a gender transition.  If you wish to have as a trans feminine person SRS, go for it, but remember that gender is between your ears, not your legs.  

The tougher part of a transition is the ongoing part of you evolving to be the best person you can be while trying to grasp the nuances of living in the world as the man or woman you always were and now get to be full time. 

And you're trying to do so while being hated on by a way too long list of haters inside and outside the TBLG community ranks.

But the interesting note to all of this is that once you do finally start down the transition highway, you'll wonder to yourself as you get comfortable in your skin and your desired gender role why you didn't do this sooner.

You'll meet some amazing and loving people in this community to replace the people that kicked you to the curb or distanced themselves from you after you began your transition.  Your family expands to the point where you will have brothers and sisters across the country and the world. 

And you are part of a group of remarkable human beings who have a proud history, are part of the diverse mosaic of human life, and are fighting every day to just live their lives without drama and to the best of their ability.


Yes, coming out as and being trans is challenging.   But it is oh so rewarding when you do so as well.   

Welcome to the trans family.

Malala Wins The Nobel Peace Prize!

Exactly two years and one day removed from the horrific day Taliban terrorists boarded her school bus and tried her to kill her for being an outspoken advocate for the education of girls in her homeland, it was announced by the Nobel Committee that 17 year old Malala Yousafzai has won the Nobel Peace Prize.

She becomes the youngest winner ever of this award and shares it with 60 year old Indian activist Kalaish Satyarthi, who like Yousafzai, has devoted his life to ensuring that women and young children have access to education.

Satyarthi was an engineer who in 1980 left his career to campaign against child labor.

The Nobel Committee got it right this time, and I couldn't be happier to see this young human rights warrior get this well deserved award.

Both she and Satyarthi will be in Oslo on December 10 to receive their awards.

Shut Up Fool Awards-Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend 2014 Edition

My TransGriot readers come from many countries, but the top one for visitors have been the Canadians.  

This is Thanksgiving weekend for my north of the border readers, and they will be getting their grub on and giving thanks for all their blessings for the year on Monday.  

One of their blessings is that they don't have as many off the charts right wing fools in their national political circles as we have to deal with on our side of the border.

So lets get right to it.   Let's find out what fool, fools or group of fools get called out in this weeks edition. 

Honorable mention number one is the Republican Party.   They have been in Blame Obama mode attacking the administration about various issues and the organizations tasked to deal with those problems, but conveniently forget to mention that they cut the funding to all those organizations so they have less money to do their jobs.

Honorable mention number two is Charlotte Lucas, who let out a Facebook rant in which she proclaimed she was 'sick of minorities running this country'.

Your white sheet is showing Charlotte.   Yeah, I'm sick of minorities like the GOP 1% running this country, too and I'm going to do something about it on Election Day.

Honorable mention number three is Cornel West.   He's still hatin' on President Obama, and still bitter about not being invited to either inauguration.

Honorable mention number four is Reince Priebus, who is still clueless as the RNC chair and praised hatemonger Tony Perkins as being 'right on marriage. 

More like right wing, Reince.   And news flash, the GOP War on Same Sex Marriage is over.   Didn't you get that memo from the SCOTUS this week? .

Honorable mention number five is Annie Lennox for engaging in Beyonce bashing.   And how many Grammys do you have again compared to Bey Bey?   Sit your ass down somewhere.

Diana Veiga said it best about Lennox's feminism policing. 

'This need for white women to police Black women’s definition and brand of feminism is troublesome, bothersome, and disturbing,” she wrote. “It does nothing more than widen the chasm that already exists between white and Black feminists. What exactly are the depths of feminism Lennox is talking about? How does Beyoncé not represent them? And what does Lennox think Beyoncé is missing?” 

Honorable mention number six is Rep Louie Gohmert (R-TX).   This contender for the 2014 Shut Up Fool of The Year Award parted his lips to say that the POTUS just sent 3000 troops to catch Ebola and die.   They are headed there on a humanitarian mission.  

Gohmert Pyle needed to shut up a long time ago.

Honorable mention number seven is Rick Wiles, who continued the TeaGOP Ebola themed talking points on his radio show.  He parted his loud and wrong lips to say that "Ebola could solve America's problems with atheism, homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, pornography and abortion".

One major gaping hole in your theory.  So far the only Americans to get it have been Christians doing medical missionary work.

The Canadian Jive Turkey winner is the Canadian Senate for stalling the passage of C-279 for over a year

This week's Shut Up Fool award winner is Todd Kincannon.   Todd let loose this racist series of tweets that proposed that people with Ebola be put to death, .



And y'all wanna know why I despise the Tea Party movement and call them the Tea Klux Klan   

Todd Kincannon, shut up fool!

Texas Voter Suppression Law Struck Down Again

Last night we Texans received some wonderful news with early voting scheduled to start on October 20. 

After hearing three weeks of testimony, the odious Texas Voter suppression law was declared unconstitutional (well, duh)  in a ruling by US District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos in Corpus Christi.

FYI, she was appointed  to the federal bench by President Obama , so here's another example of elections mattering and why you butt needs to be bumrushing the polls in this and EVERY election cycle .

Back to your regularly scheduled blogpost.  

This wasn't the first time SB 14 has run afoul of the VRA and the Constitution.   The odious Shelby County v. Holder SCOTUS ruling weakening the preclearance provision of the VRA gave Texas Atty Gen. Greg Abbott his opportunity to implement one of the toughest in the country voter suppression laws.

Judge Ramos equated the unjust law, which passed the Texas Legislature in 2011 and has been in effect since last year, to the poll taxes of the Jim Crow-era South that were used to hinder minorities’ ability to cast ballots.

“The Court holds that S.B. 14 creates an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote, has an impermissible discriminatory effect against Hispanics and African-Americans, and was imposed with an unconstitutional discriminatory purpose,” Ramos’ opinion said. “The Court further holds that SB 14 constitutes an unconstitutional poll tax.”

Judge Ramos ruling drew swift commentary from both sides of the political aisle. As Greg Abbott through a spokesperson promised to quickly appeal it to the conservafool leaning US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, Texas Democrats and liberal progressive people hailed the ruling.

“As our former President Lyndon B. Johnson once said: ‘It is wrong—deadly wrong—to deny any of your fellow Americans the right to vote in this country,’” Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement.

“This ruling affirms what Democrats have known all along, the Republican majority in the Texas Legislature deliberately passed a voter/photo ID law to disenfranchise Texas voters based on race,” he continued. “Texas has a long history of voter discrimination. This ruling is a step in the right direction to ensure that all Texas voters have an equal voice at the ballot box.”.

Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe said: “We are greatly encouraged by today’s decision. This decision vindicates what African American and Latino leaders have been saying since this law was first proposed, that it discriminates against minority voters and was designed to do just that.

"This is great news for democracy. I call on Attorney General Greg Abbott to drop his defense of a law that a court has now called a 'poll tax' and 'discriminatory' against African-Americans and Hispanics."  said State Sen. and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis.

State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston: "Texas has a long and sad history of making it difficult for people to vote. Elected officials repeatedly used the law to keep people out of the voting booth. Decades later, history rightly judges those men and women in a harsh light. As the court ruled, the voter ID law is essentially a modern day poll tax and has the same effect as other laws used in decades past to keep scores of lawful, legal Americans from voting. It was wrong then, it is wrong now, and I'm pleased the court stood up to protect the right to vote for all Texans."

State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio: “This ruling is a major victory for our caucus, voting rights advocates across the country, and most importantly, for Texas voters and the fight for free and fair elections in our state. Since last summer's Supreme Court decision, Shelby County v. Holder, struck down the preclearance formula of the Voting Rights Act, we have seen a wave of voter suppression legislation aimed to curb minority voting strength in states across the country.

"We are extremely heartened by the court's decision, which affirms our position that the Texas voter identification law unfairly and unnecessarily restricts access to the franchise,"  US Atty Gen Eric Holder said in a statement released Thursday night. "Even after the Voting Rights Act was seriously eroded last year, we vowed to continue enforcing the remaining portions of that statute as aggressively as possible. This ruling is an important vindication of those efforts."

Let's just hope SB 14 stays dead, at least through November 4

'Laverne Cox Presents The T Word' Documentary On October 17

Coming up on October 17 will be a documentary on trans youth that will be simulcast on the MTV and LOGO networks.

It's entitled Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word and will focus on trans youth.

“The cast members in this documentary are fearlessly living their truths and in sharing their stories,”  says Emmy nominated actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, who produces and co-stars in the documentary. “[And] will send the message to other trans youth that it’s okay to be who you are.”

Looking forward to seeing it.

Get More:
Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word, Logo TV

Happy Birthday, Islan

Today would have been the 23rd birthday of my fallen New York transsister Islan Nettles.

But because she ran into some transphobes on a Harlem street corner who thought for whatever jacked up reason they could physically assault her, she is no longer here to celebrate any more birthdays.

The best present we can get for you right now on this day is justice and heightened awareness of your case..  

The wastes of DNA who attacked you need to be sitting in a  jail cell somewhere in New York state.  If the local prosecutors won't put theses idiots away for their deserved jail time, maybe it's time for federal prosecutors to get.involved and start investigating this case.

And those local prosecutors failing to act need to be replace in the next election cycle by people who will seek justice..

It pisses me off every time I see her face and wonder what kind of contributions she would have made to our community and the world. 
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She was just beginning to live her life and these transphobes ended it it because of their person prejudices and transphobia.

Happy birthday, Islan.  You were taken away from us way too soon.   The city of New York, all the people who loved you and the world are poorer for it.

Conversation Between bell and Laverne

The New School hosted bell hooks for another week long residency with he having conversations with high profile people of color.

One of the people she had a conversation with was my amazing sis Laverne Cox. 

It resulted in this phenomenal discussion concerning feminism, pop culture, and her Orange Is The New Black show with Laverne Cox

Thanks Laverne for the shout out, and here's the link to the conversation.

TransGriot 2014 NFL Picks- Week 6

I had another fantastic week picking NFL games, going 12-3 in Week 5.

Only problem, that wasn't good enough to win the week.   Eli and Mike beat me because of the result of the Dallas-Houston game that ended with the (yuck) Cowchips winning in overtime.

No rest for the Texans, because they now have to dive into AFC South play and deal with H-town homeboy Andrew Luck and his Colts coming to NRG Stadium for a nationally televised first place showdown.

Since the Texans have yet to win a game in Indianapolis, this one is magnified.  

So they better handle their football business    Great place to start would be to play four quarters of football and force teams to try to come back on them instead of the other way around.

Speaking of handling football business, time to get the Week 6 picks out of the way.   Only 15 games to pick because the Chiefs and Saints are on their bye week.

My picks will be in underlined bold print, Eli's and Mike's I'll link to here once they are available.  Our prognostication contest is still tight, and I'm still leading, but not by much.

Week 5 Results.

TransGriot   12-3
Eli                13-2
Mike            13-2

2014 NFL Season Record

TransGriot     49-27
Eli                  47-29
Mike              48-28

NFL Week 6

Thursday Night Game
Houston over Indianapolis

Sunday Early Games
Pittsburgh over Cleveland
New England over Buffalo
Cincinnati over Carolina
Tennessee over Jacksonville
Green Bay over Miami
Detroit over Minnesota
Denver over NY Jets
Baltimore over Tampa Bay

Sunday Afternoon Games
San Diego over Oakland
Atlanta over Chicago
Seattle over Dallas
Arizona over Washington

Sunday Night Game
NY Giants over Philadelphia

Monday Night Game 
San Francisco over St. Louis

Doing Some Brazilian Trans Musing

One of the things I have wanted to have happen for a while as a child of the African Diaspora is to have better communications links and form lasting friendships with my Brazilian transsisters.

While I'm on my way to making that happen on my Facebook page with a few Brazilian transsisters already there and us having conversations from time to time, I need to do it more frequently.

A high priority for me has been to get to know some of my Black Brazilian trans sisters so I can have a better knowledge base to discuss African Diaspora issues from their perspective and intelligently write about them.

I also want to find out their thoughts of being Black and trans in their home country, and where they see themselves in terms of the trans spotlight inside and outside of Brazil.

While there are some differences between African-American trans folks  and Black Brazilian trans peeps, there are other aspects of having blood connections to the African continent that we are both painfully aware of.

Brazil is the largest nation on the South American continent and the fifth largest on the planet.  It is one of the Top Ten countries that I receive TransGriot readers from despite this being a primarily English language blog. 

I'm motivated toward wanting to do a better job of covering trans human rights developments that happen there.

Yes, we have known since Roberta Close hit the international spotlight that Brazil has some of the most beautiful trans women on the planet.  Some are ripping modeling runways right now. But I want to delve deeper and find out from my Brazilian transsisters and transbrothers what are their issue concerns?  How do they see themselves in comparison to the rest of the trans people who are on the international stage?

Who are their up and coming trans human rights leaders?  Who are the local trans people they think represent them well on the national and international trans human rights stage.

In addition to discussing trans themed history that involves Brazilian trans people, while I want to bring attention to the fact our Brazilian sisters are catching hell and getting eviscerated just like we are in the States, I also want to make sure that I present a balanced portrait of Brazilian trans women to my readers.

I want to tell more stories about Black Brazilian trans women as well.

Thanks to Dora and Aleikasandra for giving me your thoughts and  insights into what is happening trans wise in Brazil.  I hope the subsequent posts that result from what you shared with me do your trans community justice the next time I respectfully attempt to discuss those issues on TransGriot.

And I hope we are blessed to have more long and fascinating chats in the future.

The Task Force Is FINALLY Changing Its Name

When I began my advocacy work on behalf of the trans community in 1998, one of the few national organizations that supported us was the Task Force.

I was introduced to then executive director Kerry Lobel, and what I observed of her I liked, and not just because our birthdays were a week apart.

The Task Force at the time was one of the few national organizations that supported trans people, and that trans inclusion was evident at the Creating Change Conference I attended in Oakland a year later.

When I became the Political Director of a neophyte trans rights organization called the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition, one of the first national policy event tables I got the opportunity to sit at with other LGBT organizations was a February 2000 National Transgender Policy one held at the Task Force's DC headquarters.

And over a decade later, I was a proud member of the Houston Host Committee and conference participant for our wildly successful 2014 Creating Change Conference in my hometown.

I have a long personal connection with the Task Force, and I was extremely pleased to hear that yesterday the organization changed its name to the National LGBTQ Task Force.

The Task Force name only including gay and lesbian has been an at times contentious issue with elements of the bi and trans communities, and even reared its head during one of the plenary speeches during CC14.

The organization’s new tagline to go with the new name and logo is “Be you.”  The vision is a society that values and respects the diversity of human expression and identity and achieves freedom and equity for all.

It's past time that the B, T and Q letters were added to the name, since the Task Force as one of the oldest national LGBTQ orgs has long been doing work around trans issues.

It's just now we're included in the name of the organization.

Zeam's MSHSL Testimony

Because Minnesota is not among the 32 states that have policies or procedures for participation by transgender student-athletes, the Minnesota State High School League is debating implementing an inclusive competition policy that would allow transgender high school athletes to compete on the teams that correspond with their gender presentation

News of this was met by the Minneapolis Star Ledger, the state's largest newspaper, making the controversial decision to allow the trans hate group the Minnesota Child Protection League to post in the Sunday edition of the paper a full page falsehood filled ad seeking to stop the policy.

Trans student Zeam Porter appeared before the MSHSL committee debating the policy to give some emotional testimony in favor of it. 

“My love for basketball last year made me believe I could handle being on the wrong team. That was wrong. Constantly being misgendered and called the wrong name took away my soul. I already feel like I don’t have my body -- now I am soulless." said Porter during the hearing.

Unfortunately, the vote on the proposed policy was delayed until December.


All I have to add to this is let my transkids play sports just like everyone else matriculating on a Minnesota high school campus, and do so on the teams that correspond with their gender presentation.

Audrey Mbugua Wins Her Landmark Case!

Been talking about this on the blog since last year, and finally have some wonderful news to report.

Prominent Kenyan trans activist Audrey Mbugua has won her landmark case against the Kenyan National Examinations Council {KNEC}!

KNEC was ordered by the High Court Tuesday to change the name and gender marker on her academic certificates.   

Justice Weldon Korir said KNEC had failed to demonstrate why they couldn't make the changes requested by Ms. Mbugua, and gave them 45 days to print a new certificate without the gender marker.

The court ruled that Ms. Mbugua would have to pay for any extra costs to make the change, but you can obviously presume she was exceeding happy about this latest legal victory.

We won,” Mbugua told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “It’s a huge watershed moment.”

Back n July, the High Court ordered the Kenyan authorities to register her lobby group, Transgender Education and Advocacy, saying their refusal to do so had no legal basis and was an abuse of power.

Mbugua has also been nominated by the Dutch government for their Human Rights Tulip Award for the innovative and groundbreaking human rights work she has been doing raising the profile of transgender human rights issues in Kenya.

This is a huge win she's been fighting hard for, and congratulations to my Kenyan sis.  Common sense and justice did prevail in this case.

Happy Birthday Dee Dee!

I met her last year at a trans POC meeting, and it has been a blessing to me and the city of Houston.  

Ever since we met, we have been collaboratively working on projects that have benefited our community as our personal friendship has exponentially grown.  One of those projects we were working on was HERO.    

And yeah, I enjoy our traditional Tuesday lunches at Frenchy's, too.

When you love and appreciate someone and admire what they do, best to tell them while they are in this plane of existence to hear it..

So here I go.   I have mad love and respect for my award winning activist trans sister, and since today is Dee Dee Watters birthday, I'll let her reveal which birthday she's celebrating. 

She deserves a TransGriot birthday shout out, and my birthday wish for her is that this busy lady take it easy on her special day.   I hope (and presume) she'll be celebrating it by being surrounded by her family and close friends.  

I also hope and pray she receives the ultimate blessing of being around to celebrate many more of them.

Happy birthday Dee Dee!

What Do You Mean Transitioning Was A 'Waste Of My Potential?'

Was talking to my mom the other night when she relayed a conversation she'd had with another one of my old neighbors in the Houston hood I'd grown up with. 

After they'd asked what my other siblings were up to, she then asked what I the eldest was doing since it is not a secret (at least I tend to think so) I transitioned 20 years ago and took the difficult path of doing so in my hometown.

When mom made a non committal "I was doing fine' answer, the person made the mistake of saying what was really on her mind and making the comment that me transitioning was 'a waste of my potential' and it was' an embarrassment'. 

Seriously?   This comment came from a woman whose sons did jail time, and when they made the local news, it was a negative story.   Compare and contrast that with yours truly.

My mom calmly told her, "We give our children life, but we can't live their lives."  As Mom is already aware of, I will determine how to live my life to not only maximize its potential, but to make me happy.  Caring about what haters think is not part of that game plan.

But I damned sure will use my electronic media platform to comment on it.

I'm more than a little tired of this ignorant thinking in the African-American community that presumes that if we don't stay in those mismatched at birth bodies, we African descended trans people don't contribute anything to the greater African-American community.  

That's bull feces.  So far you haven't given us the opportunity to prove that we transpeople of African descent can excel, or are ignoring our contributions when we do so.

And sometimes, you are our oppressors in league with others preventing that from happening.    

As I have pointed out on more than a few occasions on this blog, we have African descended trans people who have advanced degrees, are working in various vocations and excelling when given the chance to do so. 

I'm considered an authority on transgender history.  I'm an award winning writer with a blog I started in 2006 that has 5.7 million hits and counting.   I have done countless radio interviews, speak at various college and conventions on trans and other issues.  I was asked on two separate occasions if I would run for public office.   I have friendships with some amazing cis and trans people that span the globe that I probably would have never met if I hadn't transitioned.

And I still have living to do and chapters of my still evolving story to write.  

Waste of my potential?   It's because I transitioned, I'm living up to it.  I gained the courage to step out there and live my life so I can be happy.  You don't like that, tough.   While you're tripping about my transition, I'll continue to live my life to the best of my ability and look fly while doing so.
 
It is from that happiness and balance in my life I can then focus on using the gifts and talents I have to make my life and all the communities I intersect and interact with better.