Angelica Ross Named An MHP Foot Soldier!

I missed the broadcast on Saturday because of cable issues, but was excited to learn that my Chicago homegirl Angelica Ross was named one of the first Melissa Harris-Perry show Foot Soldiers of the Week for 2015!

Angelica is founding CEO of Trans Tech Social Services, and in this segment talks about how tech turned her life around and she's now reaching out to help others.

Congrats Angelica!   Here's the video for those of you who missed the original Nerdland broadcast.

Hour Magazine 1980 Trans Interview

While looking for something to watch on YouTube stumbled across this video of a 1980 Hour Magazine host Gary Collins interviewing trans women Heather Fontaine, Amanda Winters and Shalei Latrelle

Hour Magazine was one of the first national talk shows that discussed transsexuality, and Collins would later interview on his show Caroline 'Tula' Cossey and Christine Jorgensen.

This show also featured a few moments of their performances at the Queen Mary drag club in Studio City, CA.

It was a professional but very Trans 101 interview by Collins in what has a feel to be a conversational style.  And yes, some questions from the studio audience.

And I'm feeling old watching this.disco-era video.

But this show was a godsend to peeps like me in the pre-Internet era.


Part 1


Part 2

Stuart Scott (1965-2015)

"When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live."
--Stuart Scott, July 16,2014

It was a shock to hear that groundbreaking ESPN sportscaster Stuart Scott passed away this morning after a valiant battle with cancer at age 49.

As you TransGriot readers know I'm a big sports fan, and one of the channels my TV is parked on is ESPN.  I grew to love watching his Sports Center broadcasts and especially when her did highlights because he brought our cultural swag to it.

He' was loved by his colleagues, the professional athletes he covered, and his fans like me, and he's going to be missed.

Here's the speech that he gave at the 2014 ESPY's last summer when he was awarded the Jimmy V Perseverance Award

Rev. Carol Stone Passes Away

Some sad news to report from the other side of The Pond concerning a trans pioneer.

The Rev. Carol Stone lost her battle with pancreatic cancer and passed away at age 60.

Rev. Stone was ordained under her previous name as a Church of England vicar in 1978.  After serving in several positions she announced her intention to transition in 2000.  

Although she feared at the time she wouldn't be allowed to speak from the pulpit, the Right Reverent Barry Rogerson, then Bishop of Bristol stated there was no ethical or ecclesiastical reason why she couldn't do so.    She was also supported by her parishioners and received a standing ovation when she returned to the pulpit after her surgery.

Rev. Stone was also a regular radio contributor, and in 1979 received an award from the Sandford St. Martin Trust.

The Right Rev  Lee Rayfield, the Bishop of Swindon in his remarks about Rev Stone said: "She and her colleagues really worked hard and overcame one setback after another, 

'She really was a true priest who overcame a huge amount in her life and a huge amount with other people, and I'll remember her with great affection.' 

Rest in peace Rev. Stone.

Rev. Richardson's Thoughts On The Alcorn Suicide

Rev. Lawrence T. Richardson wrote an essay for his The Salt Collective Blog entitled 'Transgender and Christian..and Crying For Leelah Alcorn'

In it Rev Richardson has this to say about the tragic events.

In response to her parents’ rejection, her own depression, and the feelings of hopelessness, Leelah ended her pain by walking in front of a tractor trailer on the highway. I cry for Leelah. I cry for Leelah because the hatred and the rejection she experienced at the hands of the very people who gave her life is what ultimately contributed to her death. I cry for Leelah because she didn’t know another way. I cry for Leelah because she represents the nearly 50% of all transgender people who attempt suicide. I cry for Leelah because her parents used their Christian faith to justify not loving and affirming their child for who she was and, like many trans folks, this hits too close to home for me… - See more at: http://thesaltcollective.org/leelahalcorn/#sthash.wLgMTtRW.dpufOn

"In response to her parents' rejection, her own depression, and the feelings of hopelessness, Leelah ended her pain by walking in front of a tractor trailer on the highway.  I cry for Leelah.  I cry for Leelah because the hatred and rejection she experienced at the hands of the very people who gave her life is what ultimately contributed to her death."
Rev. Lawrence T. Richardson

You can click on this link to read the rest of Rev. Richardson's essay.

HERO Updates, Notes and News-January 3

Happy New Year people!  

While the calendar page has flipped to 2015, our fight to implement the passed on May 28 Houston Equal Rights Ordinance continues against our faith based oppressors.
 
The court hearing is coming up on January 19,  in which King Hater Dave Welch and his sellout kneegrow auxiliaries are trying to force a repeal vote on the HERO despite not collecting enough signatures by the deadline to do so, and repeatedly violating the procedures to do so.

In this first update for 2015, our opponents continue to try to pimp the lie that TBLG discrimination doesn't happen in Houston, but this lawsuit filed by a trans woman of color who was formerly employed by Saks Fifth Ave. just blew that lie up.

Here's the KPRC-TV news story about that anti-trans discrimination lawsuit.



In addition, it was disturbing to hear the Saks attorneys try to use their HRC Corporate Equality Index score as a defense against the trans discrimination allegations.

It is an index  that trans people have complained to HRC about since 2009 that the Corporate Equality Index is problematic because it doesn't give proper scoring weight to transgender discrimination issues or policy solutions that would go a long way to alleviate it.

But the bottom line is that the HERO needs to be implemented without delay, since it's obvious that the discrimination inside the Houston city limits aimed at the TBLG community won't end unless the violators are forced to do so.

TransGriot 2014 NFL Picks-Wildcard Weekend

The regular NFL season is over, and I fell short of my goal of walking away with another prognostication title.   That's headed to Denver.

To make it worse, I have to hear it from the Harris County Cowboy Bandwagon Riders about their team finally making the playoffs after three consecutive 8-8 seasons.

Well, if JJ Watt wins the NFL MVP, I'll feel somewhat better about this 2014 season and finishing second in the prognostication contest.

But while I'm killing time waiting for the 2015 NFL season to start, time to use the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs to hone my prognostication skills.

Saturday NFL Wildcard Weekend Games

Arizona Cardinals 11-5 vs Carolina Panthers 7-8-1

This is the Saturday early game.  The Cardinals were the hot team early in the season until the injury bug started decimating their roster and especially at quarterback.   The Panthers had all kinds of drama and adversity early and slumped to a 3-8-1 record at one point, but won their last four games to become the first team to repeat as NFC South champions despite the below .500  record.

But don't let that record fool you.   Carolina has momentum and is peaking at the right time of the year, while Arizona peaked too soon.   Doesn't help the Cards either they are on their fourth quarterback and playing this game in Charlotte after having the best record in the league at one point.

Arizona also has problems defending mobile quarterbacks, and Carolina has Cam Newton on their side and in uniform for this wild card game.

Picking the Panthers in this one.
 
Baltimore Ravens 10-6 vs Pittsburgh Steelers 11-5

The nightcap is the rubber match for these longtime AFC North rivals, and true to the nature of this series, they split the 2014 regular season series.   The Ravens beat the Steelers in Baltimore 26-6 during Week 2 while the Steelers returned the favor in Week 9 and thumped the Ravens 43-23 at Heinz Field.

The playoff game is at Heinz Field, and the AFC North champion Steelers come into it winning their last four games.   The Ravens won three of four down the stretch, but those games were to Miami, Jacksonville and Cleveland , and the loss was to the Texans. 

The Ravens chances to advance depend on which Joe Flacco shows up to play.  I'm betting it's bad Joe Flacco.    Steelers to win

Sunday NFL Wildcard Weekend Games

Cincinnati Bengals 10-5-1 vs Indianapolis Colts 11-5

This is a battle of Houston area high school quarterbacks in Katy's Andy Dalton and Stratford's Andrew Luck.  It's a rematch of a Week 7 game in which the Colts over the Bengals 27-0 at Lucas Oil Stadium.   They rolled up 506 yards of offense in that shutout and held the Bengals to 135 yards of total offense and 32 yards rushing..

This trip to Lucas Oil Stadium will be different.  Dalton and his teammates will have to hear ad nauseum on that bus ride up I-74 the factoid that the Bengals last playoff win was against the Oilers in 1991, while the Colts may have a slight chip on their shoulder about pundits saying they play in the 'soft'.AFC South.

Indianapolis went 5-2 down the stretch, but both losses were to the Patriots and Cowboys.  So did the Bengals, with both losses being to their AFC North nemesis the Steelers.

Over the last few weeks the Bengals have been using a devastating rushing attack anchored by rookie RB Jeremy Hill.    That will be their key to the Bengals finally getting that playoff monkey off their backs   The health of AJ Green will also be a factor because he still hasn't been cleared to play after suffering a concussion in the Steelers loss and he also missed the Week 7 game.  

The Colts will lean on Andrew Luck to carry them to another playoff win, but he has no running game to help him out and has been turnover prone this year.

If the Bengals can control the clock, force some turnovers and AJ Green can play, they have a shot.   But this game is at Lucas Oil, and the Colts don't lose many there. 

Colts to win this one.

Detroit Lions 11-5 vs Dallas Cowboys 12-4

In the nightcap the Detroit Lions head to Jerryworld for their NFC wild card game against the (yuck) NFC East champions.  Matthew Stafford played his high school ball in the Dallas area at Highland Park HS, where he led the Scots to the 2005 Texas Class 4A Division I title.

But it's NFL titles he's chasing now, and the Lions will have a tall task in stopping the Cowboy trio of Dez Bryant, NFL rushing champ Demarco Murray and Tony Romo.   Having Ndamukong Suh on the field will help the NFL's Number one rushing offense, since he won his appeal and got the one game suspension reduced to a $70K fine instead.

The Lions have a playoff history monkey to get off their backs as well.  They have only won two playoff games in the Super Bowl era, and their last win came in 1992

The opponent they defeated?   The Dallas Cowboys.

This playoff game will be Dallas' offense vs. Detroit's defense.   Only one will prevail, and if the Cowboys get to play ball control like they have all season, they will win.   If Detroit shuts down that rushing attack and forces that weak Dallas defense to play extended minutes, could be a very happy day for Matthew Stafford.

Naah..Dallas to win this one.

Shut Up Fool Awards-First Fool Of 2015 Edition

It's the first Friday of 2015, and even though it's been a slow news week, somebody out there was exhibiting for folks  mind numbing stupidity, gleeful hypocrisy, and WTF moments that make you shake your head.

And it is my proud duty every Friday on these TransGriot electronic pages to gleefully point them out.

So let's get started selecting our first fool (or fools) of the new year shall we?

Honorable mention number one is a group award for FOX Noise.  They decided to make a foray into social media and ask people what they were over in 2014 with the #OverIt2014 hashtag.   Guess they forgot that social media is overwhelmingly liberal progressive turf and it backfired badly on them.

Honorable mention number two is a group award for Target.   As part of the promotional blitz for the just released remake of Annie featuring Quvenzhane Wallis and Jamie Foxx, a line of clothing inspired by the movie has whitewashed instore ads.  

Here's the Change.org petition protesting the ads.

That boneheaded move was not only a dumb one in a time of heightened racial animus in this country, but was insulting to Quvenzhane and my community. who may I remind you, spends lots of money in Target stores around the nation and is projected to have $1.1 trillion dollars of spending power in 2015..

Honorable mention number three is R Kelly for parting his lips to say that Bill Cosby is a pervert who belongs in prison.    So sayeth the fool that married a 15 year old Aaliyah and videotaped himself allegedly peeing on a then 13 year old girl.

The only reason your azz isn't in jail is because you had a good attorney

Honorable mention number four is Rudy Giuliani, who continues to pander and parted his loud and wrong mouth to say that NYC mayor Bill DeBlasio should apologize to the NYPD.


For what?   You need to have several sections of seats in Yankee Stadium and STFU with that nonsense.   If an apology is owed, it's from the NYPD and their union leadership to the mayor.

This week's first Shut Up Fool Award of 2015 goes to Rep Steve Scalise (R-LA). The soon to be number 3 man in the House leadership is in hot water over a 2002 speaking appearance in front of a white supremacist group helmed by David Duke.

I'm not buying the toro poo poo you're trying to sell to the nation that you didn't know the group you keynote spoke in front of in 2002 was helmed by David Duke.  

It's also problematic to your claim that 'you're not a racist' that as a Louisiana legislator  you voted twice against establishing a MLK holiday in the state and have an 'F' grade on the NAACP Congressional Report card

What is a fact it that once more it provides irrefutable evidence that no matter how many times y'all try to hold Mia Love  and Tim Scott up as a human shields, the Republican Party as current constituted is the political arm of whiteness and white supremacy.   The only way that perception will change is when the GOP actually pursues policies that help instead of harm my community.

And oh yeah, Rep. Scalise, shut up fool.

Trans Community, We Need To Be Better Friends To Each Other

One of the things that jumped out at me while reading my Facebook feed was one transsister not wanting to go out on New Year's Eve, but expressing her wish of just wanting to quietly usher in 2015 at her place with a friend and watch the New York ball drop on TV because she really wasn't feeling being in a club that night.

I feel her on that.  She was also aware that because it was New Year's Eve, her mission to find someone who wouldn't be out clubbing or at somebody's house party would be tough.

She managed to get in contact with another trans sister at home that night, but Person B as I'll call her declined. 

To be fair to Person B, she could have had a rough day that played into her decision to decline the invite and had no intention of hurting the person in question's feeling.

But Person B declining that invite led the person to question whether she actually had any trans sisters as friends in the community in which she lives that cared about her.

I know the person in question, and she is a warm, funny, and sweet person who is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside..  I would have loved to have spent a few hours on New Year's Eve (or any time) in her company since the last time I was in her presence I enjoyed it so much.

And on New Year's Eve I was at home alone myself and looking to spend some quality time with somebody that evening, so that story she recounted on her Facebook page resonated with me.

The reason I'm mentioning this is because I have a bigger point to make as it relates to transkind and the current spike in suicides we are experiencing. 

One of the reasons I believe we have the suicide problem in trans circles is because for the most part, we tend to be loners to begin with. 

I have had to fight that loner tendency myself.   You combine that with rejection from family and friends because of the trans issues, add a dash of isolation and depression, and you have the perfect storm of conditions to grease the skids for a suicide attempt.

To me, one way to combat that is simple human contact with people who love and care about you and your well being..  Facebook chats and phone calls are fine, but nothing beats sitting with your homegirls at their home or yours chatting about whatever issues pop up in your mind.  Or if that's not your speed, going to lunch or dinner with a friend.   Going shopping.   Going to a movie.  Going to a museum.  (insert fave activity here)

Human beings are social animals, and we need regular contact with other humans on a frequent basis. So transpeeps, go do something you like in which you have regular contact with another human being.cis or trans.

And one thing we trans folks need to do a better job of is hanging out with other trans people.   I love my cis sisters and have learned much in my own feminine evolution because of the conversations and  quality time I've spent with them over the years and will continue to do so because every trans woman needs sistahfriends in her life.

But there are times when you have to have conversations with other trans people who have gone through the drama of living life while trans.

And some of those trans people you can learn things from are trans guys.

It's not like this is a new idea I'm suggesting in terms of being better friends with each other..  I've talked about the importance of sisterhood for years and it being a necessary component of building a strong community.    With this outbreak of recent suicides, the message about reaching out to other transpeople and forming lasting lifelong friendships needs to be repeated once again.

So in the spirit of fixing society as Leelah urged in her final words, let's do this.   This is one of the easy things we can do as a community that doesn't require legislation and we can expeditiously implement it.

It's also necessary for us to do so because our only sane response to a world hostile to transpeople is to close ranks, hold each other tight, and love each other and the allies who love us.

And yep, I have a few people in mind I'd love to do that with in 2015.  

Strange Fruit' Hits 100 Show Milestone

Heard the wonderful news from Da Ville that Niece and Nephew's public radio show recently broadcast its 100th episode.

Niece and Nephew as you longtime TransGriot readers are aware of would be the fab duo of Dr. Kaila Story and Jaison Gardiner.   They are the hosts of WFPL-FM's Strange Fruit, a weekly radio show that discusses pop culture, current events, politics and Black gay life.

The show is produced by Laura Ellis and broadcast locally on 89.3 FM and is available to the rest of us via podcast.

I've known Laura for a few years on Facebook, but finally had the pleasure of meeting her when I did my first in studio taping of a Strange Fruit  show when I visited Da Ville back in September.

FruitCakes, as they lovingly call their loyal listeners, know that I have had the pleasure of doing three of those 100 shows which involved your fave transfeminine blogger commenting on some issue du jour.

Congrats Strange Fruit team for your broadcast milestone of 100 shows!  Looking forward to the next time I get the opportunity to appear on the show, and hope you are blessed to reach the 200 broadcast milestone.

Happy 9th Anniversary TransGriot!

January 1 as you long time readers are aware of also happens to be the anniversary date of the founding of TransGriot.   

It was on New Year's Day 2006 that I decided after much prompting from my sis Jordana LeSesne, this would be the day I started this blog with this initial post.

The TransGriot blog Mission Statement came a few years later on January 2, 2011.

The TransGriot blog's mission is to become the griot of our community. I will introduce you to and talk about your African descended transbrothers and transsisters across the Diaspora, reclaim and document our chocolate flavored trans history, speak truth to power, comment on the things that impact our trans community from an Afrocentric perspective and enlighten you about the general things that go on around me and in the communities that I am a member of.
Nine years and several award nominations later, TransGriot has garnered over 5.8 million hits and counting internationally.  It is also considered the go to blog for information and commentary not only about trans people of color, but the trans community as a whole.

And I'm proud to have seen my baby grow up.  So is the person who stayed on my butt and  ensured that first post at midnight EST on January 1, 2006 happened

So proud of you and TransGriot. Just look how far you've come! The best still lay ahead. Onward and upward Monica, just like I said at that conference we met at in Philly.
-Jordana LeSesne

Thanks to all you readers who continue to surf by here to check out my latest posts.  Thanks to all you readers that  I meet as I'm out and about in the world, during my events and my travels across this country (and hopefully soon the world)  how much you appreciate my writing.

You can bet that whatever happens in 2015, I'll be commenting on it.

Happy New Year 2015!

Another  January 1 has arrived for this space rock, and 2015 starts off for me personally with some major life changes.

For the first time since 1992 I start off a new year in my own place.  Been in it a little over two months now, but getting adjusted to my new neighborhood and the METRO bus grid and routes that flow through it.

And I've also been doing some hard solid thinking about the major difference between this New Year's Day and that one in 1992.

Well, some of y'all are probably partying , attending a New Year's Eve watch service or nervously glancing up at your ceilings hoping that Newtonian physics doesn't get proven once again as the fools with firearms shoot their guns and bullets in the air in a populated area.

I have some resolutions that I made I have every intention of keeping since they are all personal growth related.

However you celebrated the beginning of 2015, I hope and pray it's a fabulous one for all of us.

Come Out Of The KKKloset About Your Racism, GOP

Here we go again with another GOP legislator trying to convince us that he's not a racist, but with a problematic association, record as a Louisiana state legislator and 'F' grades since 2008 on his  NAACP Congressional Report Cards creating a things that make you go hmm moment. 

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) is the latest conservafool to fail to navigate their ongoing problem of trying to appeal to their bigot base while not alienating the white swing voters that would be repulsed by their attempted on the down low associations with white supremacists

As a Louisiana state legislator, he was one of six legislators who voted against a Martin Luther King holiday in 2004, and consistently opposed efforts by the Black mayors of New Orleans to draw more government funding to the city.  

He also damned sure know who the hell David Duke is since he ran for Louisiana's governorship in 1991, much of his state house district voted for him and Duke has been defending him..

Scalise's been on the fast track in the GOP House leadership hierarchy, becoming the majority whip after Eric Cantor lost his seat in June and he moved up to the Number 3 spot

The fact that he is now the number three person in the GOP leadership hierarchy in the upcoming 114th Congress , even though this meeting with Duke's white supremacist group happened in 2002 only makes this look more odious.

Yeah, you try to claim the Republican Party is not racist, but those Dixiecrats in your midst combined with your policy stances that end up pissing off non-white voters keep reinforcing the percetion and the reality you are.

It amuses me to see the contortions that GOP conservafools twist themselves into when they get caught being the racist bigots that all non-whites and conscious white people know they are.

And then the conservafools predictably try to play that failed Robert Byrd false equivalency card or the I have Black friends' card  to try to justify their BS they executed while pushing the Southern Strategy and Southern Strategy 2.0.

Here's a suggestion conservatives. If you don't want to be called a racist bigot, stop acting like one.

You also need to stop giving speeches to white supremacist groups, and pushing policies that reinforce the impression that you are all about perpetuating whiteness and white supremacy.

If you can't or won't do that, then you need to come out of the KKKloset about your GOP flavored racism

Moni's 2014 Year In Review

While 2013 was a great year for me,  2014 was also a breakout year for moi personally. 

And I piled up a lot of activism related frequent flyer miles

It started with me, Dee Dee Watters and several other transpeeps of color showing up at the first Houston City Council meeting of the year in January and sending the message that the only acceptable HERO (which was in its formulation stages at the time) would be a trans-inclusive one.

Three weeks later me and the rest of the Houston Host Committee welcomed Creating Change 2014 to my hometown and the Hilton Americas Hotel for the first time ever.

In addition to being part of the Houston CC14 Host Committee team and co-chair of the committee tasked with running the Racial Diversity Suite, I was also part of three panels during CC14.  

I participated in a panel during NBJC's inaugural Creating Change Black Institute, a GLAAD sponsored media panel featuring Laverne Cox, Tiq Milan and Reina Gossett and a BTLG sisterhood panel with my homegirl Stacey Langley.

And yeah, I did get a shoutout during Laverne's CC14 keynote speech.  I also found out during Creating Change that TransGriot had been nominated for a GLAAD Media Award.

Exactly a month later I found myself in Washington DC for the 2014 edition of the LGBT Media Journalists Convening.   In addition to reuniting with many of my LGBT journalistic colleagues, I also got to meet the fabulous Tona Brown and Candace Avent Montague over dinner

And in a sign of my growing media visibility, I found myself being honored with inclusion on a Autostraddle list of 100 LGBTQ Black Women You Should Know.

The battle to pass the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance began to take shape in March. In addition to the LGBT community town hall meeting, I bounced back to the UH campus to watch the passage of the Josephine Tittsworth Act.   It also heralded the use by the opponents of some arguments we would later hear during the HERO fight in terms of the BS 'bathroom predator' one.

In late April the battle to pass HERO began in earnest, and I was one of the Houston trans community leaders hellbent on making sure it was trans inclusive and it passed.  

In the middle of that HERO passage fight I went up I-45 to celebrate my birthday at the Black Trans Advocacy Conference and do a panel. 

My late birthday present was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream and HERO passage on May 28, but did have an interview on KPRC-TV along with Amelia Miller which was one of the few times   the Houston media actually gave transpeople a chance to tell our stories and debunk the lies.

With the passage of HERO came the wingers attempt to force a recall referendum on it which failed, but once again I found myself on a jet plane heading to Philadelphia for my first Philly Trans Health Conference. 

It led to me finally meeting Jazz, Maria Roman  and the newly out Geena Rocero among the long list of  peeps I met during my time in Philadelphia.

I also in June got to debate two of our HERO opponents and tangle with King Hater Dave Welch.

July had me once again leaving on a jet plane to Washington DC for the inaugural White House Innovation Summit.   I got to meet some more amazing peeps like Katrina Goodlett, Joanna Cifredo, and see Dr Kortney Ziegler, Angelica Ross and Ruby Corado once again.

I was barely home from the second DC trip before I flew in late July to Boston for a panel discussion at the National Association of Black Journalists convention, then the next week headed to San Marcos and the Texas State University campus for the first ever Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit held outside the Houston area.

After I returned to Houston from my first visit to Louisville since I left it in 2010 to move back home, for two months my charmed year went horribly south in a hurry. 

Instead of battling our communities enemies and focusing on writing TransGriot blog posts and my new column at Black Girl Dangerous, I was doing battle with transphobic relatives. 

They situation got ugly enough to where I was facing homelessness and ended up being extracted by my friend Sahel to stay at her place for three weeks as the community rallied to support me in my hour of need.   

And while I was going through the worst drama and stress filled weeks of 2014, I received news that I had been voted by the readers of OutSmart Magazine as their Favorite Blogger Female, Favorite Tweeter Female, and was  named as a finalist for Most Prominent Female Activist.

I was also nominated for another local award in relation to the HERO fight.

I was blessed in November with an opportunity to serve as the emcee for the opening plenary of the Facing Race Conference in Dallas in addition to meeting the legendary Kate Bornstein at the Representing Trans* Symposium on the University of Chicago campus .  

On that Chicago trip I finally met Fallon Fox and Christina Kahrl and got to see Jen Richards and Tiq Milan again for the fourth of what would be five times our paths crossed.

I got to happily destroy a Giordano's Pizza while I was in Chitown.

After keynoting a local TDOR event, finally ended up in a new apartment and taking my final trip of the year to New York in December just in time for all of the drama surrounding the Garner murder non-indictment to close out an interesting year.

I did get to meet Kimberly Reed, Eden Lane, Andy Marra and Tracee McDaniel, and get to see Janet Mock, Cheryl Courtney-Evans and my fave trans men in Dr Z, Tiq, Diego Sanchez, Gunner Scott and Amos Mac.

2014 for me was filled with far more highlights and positivity that more than overshadowed the unnecessary family drama. 

I got to have a lot of fangirl moments meeting various peeps inside and outside the trans community during my travels.   During my toughest moment. some people stepped up for me, and I found out who my homegirls really were.pe

I also thanks to the CC14 organizing, the CC14 Conference and HERO fights got an opportunity to meet, work with and become friends with people locally I may not have met otherwise.

As for 2015, can't wait to see what's in store for me this year.  But going to have to do some work to top this one.

The 2014 Shut Up Fool Of The Year Is...

One of the more popular features on my blog is the weekly Shut Up Fool Awards.  Every week I get to call out the fools in our midst, and business was booming in 2014 because it was an election year.

An outgrowth of the Shut Up Fool Awards is one of my TransGriot New Year's Eve traditions in which on December 31,  I take the time to honor the person, persons or group who had a year's worth of WTF moments with the TransGriot Shut Up Fool of the Year Award.

The inaugural winner of the Shut Up Foll of the Year Award in 2009 was then RNC chair Michael Steele   He was followed by Sarah Palin in 2010, Herman Cain snagged the honor over some stiff competition in 2011 followed by runaway 2012 winner Mitt Romney. 

Last year's Shut Up Fool of Year winner was the junior senator from Alberta, Ted Cruz.   He made a late run to snag the 2013 Shut Up Fool of The Year honors.

So let's get to this year's Shut Up Fool of the Year winner.   Was a tough decision.   Sen Ted Cruz  (R-TX) made a serious run for a repeat.  Sen Marco Rubio (R-FL)  Rep Steve King (R-IA), Rep Peter King (R-NY), Rep Marsha Blackburn, (R-TN), Reince Priebus,  Bryan Fischer,  Gov. Rick Perry, Greg Abbott, Rev James Manning of the ATLAH hate church, local Houston fools Dave Welch, Dave Wilson and Rev. Max Miller, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Steve Doocy, Gretchen Carlson, Rudy Guiliani, Pat Lynch also were in the mix for this 2014 award.

Group Nominations for Fox Noise, the NFL, the NRA, the NYPD, and the Republican Party.

But this year's SUF Of The Year honoree narrowly missed the honor in 2013, but earned it this year with people from the Attorney General to the TransGriot 'casting aspersions on his asparagus.'

This year's Shut Up Fool of the Year is Rep. Louie Gohmert (Teabagger-TX). 

Whether he was race baiting President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder on a regular basis, hating on the LGBT community, opening his mouth to charge that the POTUS wouldn't protect women from 'hundreds of thousands of immigrant rapists', saying gays shouldn't serve in the military because massages will make them vulnerable to terrorism, claiming liberals want violence and mayhem, and saying the gang violence in Central America is a myth, Gohmert Pyle proves on a regular basis he is one of the stupidest men in Congress, an embarrassment to Texas and the reality based people unfortunate enough to live in his district.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, you're the 2014 Shut Up Fool of the Year!

Attacking Leelah's Parents Or Christianity Isn't Going To Bring Her Back

In the wake of Sunday's tragic suicide of 17 year old Leelah Alcorn in the Cincinnati area, it was brought to my attention by one of my long time readers that some peeps pissed off about what happened decided to doxx the parents.

That's unfortunate, stupid and counterproductive.

Granted,I understand the anger that motivated the doxxing.  I'm not a fan of reparative therapy or the refusal of her fundamentalist parents to deal with the reality they had a trans feminine child.

But neither am I as a Christian liking the atheist members of the trans community using this tragedy to once again launch another attack on Christianity. 

So how would I handle this situation?   In the words of the Good Book, 'Bless them that curse you.

We need to be expressing our condolences to Leelah's parents as a community, not attacking them as some misguided peeps have done.   If we want Leelah's death to mean something as was her final public wish, attacking Leelah's parents is not the way to accomplish that. 

That doxxing is not only not going to bring Leelah back, but it runs the risk of driving the parents into the arms of our right wing opponents and turning them into political martyrs

Instead as Leelah asked, use her death to not only continue the discussion about trans kids, but prod Ohio lawmakers into changing their anti-trans policies.  Work on banning reparative therapy aimed at TBLG kids.  Work on getting Ohio to pass laws allowing  transpeople to change their birth certificates without surgical intervention.  If the current Republican dominated Ohio state government won't do so, elect legislators and a government that will.

Unfortunately Leelah wasn't aware of the work that trans activists inside and outside Ohio were doing to try to make trans lives better.  We as their activist elders need to do a better job of telling our trans youth what we're doing to help leave a better world for them.

Work on changing the anti-trans climate in the state so that trans kids in Ohio and elsewhere don't feel their only viable life option is to end it.

Angel's Missing

Sadly as we close out 2014, need to signal boost a report courtesy of ELIXHER about a missing Black trans woman

20 year old Angel Elisha Walker has been missing for two months, and was last seen on that date in Salisbury, NC.

It also isn't helping that the local media has been misgendering her. 

Once again local North Carolina media, correct pronouns matter in helping solve a case that involves a transfeminine person.   It's also a sign of disrespect when you DON''T use proper pronouns ,

Her 2000 Pontiac Sunfire was found November 23 so badly burned it could not be initially identified.

Walker often traveled to the Durham and Camp Lejuene areas, so if you have any information that will help solve this case, please call the Rowan County Sheriff's Office at 704-216-8683.

Rowan County Sheriff’s Office at 704-216-8683.

It's Tona's Birthday!

Today is Tona Brown's birthday, and had to give my little sis a TransGriot birthday shoutout after the amazing history making year she had

She made her lifelong dream of performing on the Carnegie Hall stage come to life on June 25 with her well received 'From Stonewall To Carnegie Hall' concert that made her the first out African-American trans woman to perform there.

I've known, talked to and been aware of my classically trained musician sis for years now, and it was one of the highlights of the 2014 LGBT Media Journalists Convening in DC when I finally got to meet her.

As to what Tona has in store for us in 2015?   That's a good question.  But I know I'm looking forward to watching it unfold and happen.

Happy birthday Tona!  May you be blessed with many more.

If #BlackLivesMatter...

Then #BlackTransLivesMatter too.

We are days away from seeing the end of a groundbreaking year for trans visibility predominately led by Black trans people. 

In Houston it was myself, Dee Dee Watters and our supporters who showed up at the first City Council meeting of 2014 to send the message that the only acceptable Houston Equal Rights Ordinance to us would be a trans inclusive one, and we fought tooth and nail to make it a reality.

But one of the things I continue to be distressed by is the ignorance in our African-American ranks across the country about transgender lives, and the spreading of the debunked faith based ignorance about us being pimped by kneegrow sellout ministers trying to curry favor with white conservatives.

That crap needs to stop because it is greasing the skids to anti-trans violence aimed at Black trans women.  We lost 12 trans women in 2014 , and I don't doubt the anti-trans hate being thrown around by the anti-civil rights haters hellbent on stopping human rights advances that include us played a large part in the fact these sisters are no longer in this plane of existence..

Yes, I have no love for bad policing that results in our people ending up dead.   But I would like to have seen as a proud transperson of African descent just as much anger in Black America over Islan Nettles' killer still walking the streets unprosecuted.   I would have loved to have seen the same passion in the ATL and beyond over two trans women being attacked on MARTA trains.  I would have loved to have witnessed the same level of Black community anger over CeCe McDonald being unjustly incarcerated in a Minnesota jail for defending her life against a neo-Nazi.  And I would have loved to have seen Black political and community leaders in attendance at this year's TDOR's

If Black Lives Matter,  then Black Trans Lives Matter. 

The Trans Rights struggle is also an international  human rights struggle that has been rooted in the African-American tradition since the Dewey's Lunch Counter Sit In and Protest happened in Philadelphia nearly 50 years ago this coming April.

Just as our families include gay and lesbians in them, you also have transgender members as well who are part of the kente cloth fabric of Black society.   I defy any sellout kneegrow minister to tell me to my face I'm not Black.

I'm saying it loud, I'm Black trans and proud of being both, and you haters need to deal with that in the 2K15 and beyond.   We Black trans folks are going to demand our seats at the African-American family table, and we are not taking no for an answer any more.

We trans folks are proud Black people who care just as deeply about this community as you do, and it's past time you got that message.

It's also past time you heard another message concerning your trans brothers and trans sisters loud and clear, because it's going to get repeated often by me, other Black trans leaders and our allies in 2015.

#BlackTransLivesMatter because they are also Black lives that matter.

The 2014 NFL Prognostication Winner Is...

Mike Watts.

We were co-champs in 2011, and his 2012 and 2013 season ended in furious late season finishing kicks that came up just short.   

This year he made sure there would be no agonizing contest over the last few weeks of the NFL season by taking control at the season's midpoint and running away from me and Eli despite my late season 37-11 finishing kick over the last three weeks of the season

Defending champ Eli did strike a what might have been blow to close out our prognostication season by taking the final week with a stellar 14-2 record to edge me for final week honors..

But all hail our 2014 prognostication champion.    And yep, I'm definitely planning to do it again next year..  

Week 17 Results

TransGriot    13-3
Eli                 14-2
Mike             10-6

Final 2014 NFL Season Record


TransGriot     170-85-1
Eli                  162-93-1
*Mike            177-78-1