Upcoming Know Your Rights With The Police Event

I missed the first one, but definitely plan to be in the house for the second in a planned series of trainings organized by Ashton Woods that are in the current climate of mistrust between the police and the community vitally needed.

For many of us, the idea of getting stopped by the police can be intimidating. One reason is that many of us do not know our rights and how to properly respond to police. This Know Your Rights training series is intended to teach you how to respond to police, and know your rights during your interactions with police.

The trainings are being taught by attorney and former Houston city councilmember Jolanda Jones and this next event will take place on Saturday, January 24 from 12:30-2:00 PM.

Location of the training will be at Resurrection MCC's The Gathering Place.   Resurrection's address is 2025 W. 11th St.  Hope to see you there.

Why The Lack Of Media Coverage Of The NAACP Terror Bombing?

Back in 2010 I asked the question when is a terrorist attack NOT a terrorist attack?   I asked that in the wake of the predominately white media twisting themselves into pretzels to avoid calling the dive of a private airplane into the IRS building in Austin by a white anti-tax zealot a  terror attack when conservative media was gleefully stirring up anti-government fervor as a tactic to stop passage of the Affordable Care Act.

Now in a time in the USA in which we have heightened racial animus because of police brutality aimed at African-American and our protests against it, an attempted bombing of an NAACP headquarters in Colorado Springs yesterday morning by a white male suspect has gotten little media coverage on CNN or other major news networks.

And when CNN probably because of the building social media outrage finally covered ittoday , they neglected to mention the ethnicity of the suspect, who is a balding while male in his 40's driving a white pickup truck.

I'd be willing to bet that if an IED had gone off across town at Focus on The Family's headquarters building and the suspected perp was a member of the LGBT community, FOX Noise and the networks would have been on that story ad nauseum like pigs at their feeding trough.

But in an incident eerily reminiscent of the Jim Crow era Klan terror bombings aimed at churches and the homes of back in the day African-American civil rights leaders, an improvised explosive device exploded outside the headquarters building of the Colorado Springs NAACP branch on S. El Paso St. in an incident in which the FBI initial investigation is calling deliberate.

Well duh, they damned sure weren't attacking the hair salon next door.

In a statement on the NAACP website about the attempted bombing:

No injuries were reported in what is believed to be an explosion near the Colorado Springs NAACP Branch located on the 600 block of S. El Paso St. The cause of the explosion is still unknown. The NAACP looks forward to a full and thorough investigation into this matter by federal agents and local law enforcement.

But one group it seems to the increasing agitation of African-Americans that seems disinterested in covering this unfolding story is the media.   

And why is that?  Could it be because this is a concrete example of another White on Black terror attack that we can thank God didn't have fatalities attached to it?  

Or is it because you white media peeps are reluctant to admit, that when it comes to domestic terror in the United States, and especially when those terror attacks have been aimed at my people, it has historically had an overwhelmingly white male face..

Happy Birthday Jordana!

Today happens to be the birthday of my musically gifted little sis from another mother and the reason this blog exists in Jordana LeSesne.

And you know she's getting the TransGriot birthday shout out!

I've told the story every TransGriot blogiversary about how she pushed me to set a date to start the blog until I did so on January 1, 2006.    She was also in the room in Philly when I received my IFGE Trinity award a few weeks later..

There have also been some long, thoughtful intergenerational conversations in which I've learned much from her.    She also makes sure when we're debating different subjects that I stay on point  and don't ever slip into 'lazy thought' mode.

That's an invaluable skill to have when you have 3 minutes to talk to a legislator

And best of all, my gorgeous Little Sis isn't afraid to call my azz out when I need it.  

So happy birthday Jordana!   I know my life is much better with you in it, and I hope this year and subsequent ones are filled with abundant blessings for you.

Jordan Baker Protest At Houston City Hall

One of the things that will continue to be an issue in Houston and elsewhere around the country is unarmed Black people continuing to be shot and killed by predominately white police forces.

And yeah, the Black community is beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of it.

And before you pro-police peeps go there and start spouting insulting FOX Noise talking points such as my people need to learn respect for the po-po, how about the police officers who look like you turn off the right wing radio and stop using my people as gun practice targets?

In the Houston area, we have the Jordan Baker case to sadly contribute to the national conversation about the death by po-po of Black people of all ages and what needs to happen to end it. 

And as per the disgusting pattern that has played out elsewhere, the HPD officer in question was NOT indicted.

At the same time we have another fatal incident that occurred i n Texas City that has exacerbated racial tensions there to the point that a protest by the family of Carlton Smith was bumrushed by predominately white pro-police supporters.

Since today is the first city council meeting of 2015, a protest will happen at 1:30 PM CST on the steps of city hall in advance of the city council meeting in which people have signed up to speak about the Baker shooting and policing HPD style.

Yep, definitely will be checking it out.

SXSW Interactive Trans Tech Panel

Not too early to get started thinking about what conferences and conventions you'll have an opportunity to attend in 2015 and get your trans learn on.

If you're attending the SXSW Interactive event in Austin, TX from March 8-17, know that transpeeps will be in the house.

One of the fascinating panels that will be taking place during the SXSW Interactive portion of it will be entitled Transgender In Tech: Past Present and Future.

Unfortunately, this will also be the ONLY trans themed panel at SXSW, and that's another issue we need to discuss in another post.

We have a long proud legacy in the tech industry that we can trace back to Dr. Lynn Conway. who has served a role model to many trans peeps currently in the tech industry. 

The panel will bring together three people who have helped forge the path toward trans inclusion in tech spaces.   Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler will be in the SXSW house to talk about Trans* H4CK, his innovative hackathon and speaker series that highlights transgender created tech and entrepreneurship and has had successful sessions in Oakland, Las Vegas, Chicago and most recently Boston. 

Dr Lynn Conway will also be there.   IBM fired her after she transitioned in 1968, but Dr. Conway went on to achieve international fame as a pioneering researcher in computing and VLSI microelectronics.

The third panelist will be Brielle Henderson.  She is a user interface engineer at Facebook who helped create and implement the custom gender options that you can select on your Facebook profiles.

The facilitator of this fascinating panel will be Allyson Robinson, the VP for Knowledge and Impact with the LGBT Technology Partnership based in Washington, DC. 

She'll facilitate a conversation amongst the panelists that will focus on the trajectory of trans inclusion in technology and what it will mean for an industry that struggles with diversity and inclusion.

So if you are planning to be in Austin for the SXSW Interactive event, you may wish to be there for this fascinating panel. 

This panel brings together three figures who have helped make history advancing transgender inclusion in tech spaces. Lynn Conway was fired by IBM and nearly ended up on the streets when she transitioned in 1968, then went on to achieve international fame as a pioneering researcher in computing and VLSI microelectronics. Brielle Harrison, a user interface engineer at Facebook, helped create and implement that platform's industry-leading custom gender options. Dr. Kortney Ziegler envisioned and built Trans*H4CK, a hackathon and speaker series that spotlights transgender created tech and entrepreneurship.
Allyson Robinson, Vice President for Knowledge and Impact at the LGBT Technology Partnership in Washington, D.C. and a transgender pioneer in her own right, will facilitate a conversation among these trailblazers about the trajectory of transgender inclusion in tech and what it might mean for the future of diversity in the industry.
- See more at: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/39695#sthash.lAYHcBET.z50gWX0o.dpuf

Hey Trans Men, Wake Forest Scientists Create Human Penis In Lab

One of the ongoing truisms we'll say in the trans community that relates to bottom surgery for our trans brothers goes like this:

'Trans men got the blessing of instant passability, but their bottom surgery sucks.'

While medical science has long been able for decades to create aesthetically authentic looking genitalia for trans women, so far that has been problematic enough for our trans brothers to the point many forgo the genital surgery.

But that may be about to change thanks to news of a. medical technology breakthrough that may change that for trans men and cis men who have lost their genitalia for whatever reason.

In 2009 urological surgeon Dr. Anthony Atala the director of the Wake Forest University Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and his colleagues attached a bioengineered penis to 12 male rabbits.   When those rabbits mated, 8 had successful ejaculations and 4 produced offspring.

With the successful animal trials completed, they have now moved up the evolutionary ladder and are working to do the same for human males

Atala's technique is to use a donor penis, soak it in enzymes that remove the donor cells, then use cells from the patient so they have a biologically functioning penis.   Once the organ has grown strong enough, it is then attached to the patient.

What is needed is someone to do the first human transplant test to know if the technique is viable, and Atala's team expects that to happen in the next five years.

As for whether it  would work for our trans brothers, there are pro and con arguments so far, but the only way we will know for sure is once the technique is perfected or medical science comes up with a better solution.   And as fast as medical technology has been evolving lately, it may be sooner rather than later.

But a long held dream of the trans masculine community that wishes it in terms of realistic and functional penis may become a reality within the next ten to years.

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.