I Repeat: Transpeeps Wish To Pee In Peace

Once again, just a friendly TransGriot reminder of why we trans folks have to go to a bathroom that matches our outward gender presentation.  

To answer nature's call.  

.Trans people, just like you cis people have to eliminate bodily wastes either by peeing, pooping or a combination of both.  Once we are done we flush the toilet, wipe the seat, wash our hands, check our appearance on the trans feminine end and go.

We are not the predators as the Duggar family and other hypocritical conservafools projecting their sexual fantasies and proclivities accuse us of being, we are the prey.

It's why we transpeeps want to go in the bathroom, handle our business, and get out with no fuss, no muss and no drama and have been doing so ever since Christine Jorgensen stepped off the plane in 1953.  We are in there to handle a natural bodily function, not to get a date or prey upon your wives and kids.  

That would be your ministers, some male relative or family friend of yours.   They also as Josh Duggar and others have proved overwhelmingly tend to be right wing Christian white males, and you have to be far more concerned with them being around your wives, female relatives and kids than the average trans woman.

I'm just sayin'.   Now where's my unsweetened tea?.

The point I'm making is that the trans predator myth is a debunked lie, and anyone trying to pimp it deserves you either laughing in their face, calling their lying azzes out or you giving them the side eye.

If you see any trans women in your bathrooms, they are more likely to be hogging the mirrors and complimenting your wives and children, even if you wish to irrationally hate on them because FOX Noise and some right wing minister pushing an agenda told you so.

I repeat.  Let my people pee in peace.

We Mourn A 13th Trans Woman's Murder This Year

Another trans person has been murdered, and this time the scene shifts to my home state of Texas.

The 13th trans woman murdered this year is 22 year old Shade (pronounced like the singer Sade) Schuler, whose badly decomposed body was found in an open field July 29 near Dallas' medical district.

It took Dallas PD detectives nearly two weeks to positively identify her, and as you probably guessed  as per the pattern with murdered Black trans women, Shade was promptly misgendered in the local media.

FYI, the violator of the AP Stylebook standards for reporting on trans people this time was The Dallas Morning News.   The Dallas Police Department has also been guilty of misgendered Shade as well in their press releases.

With this now 13th murder, we have surpassed all the trans people killed in 2014, and once again, still have four months to go in this year.

Anyone with information on this Shade Schuler case is asked to call Dallas PD Detective Chaney in the Homicide Unit at 214-671-3650, and refer to case number 174511-2015. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 214-373-TIPS (8477).

And as usual, as I receive information concerning this latest murder of an under 30 trans woman of color we are now just finding out about, I`ll pass it on to you.

And the question I asked in the last post is still relevant today.  When will #BlackTransLivesMatter to you Black America?

Rest in power and peace, Shade.  We will not rest until justice has been served in your case.

Stop Cosigning The Opposition Lies, HERO Defenders

While I was at the Hilton Americas Hotel`s Skyline Ballroom for the rollout of the Houston Unites campaign to defend it, one thing happened at the end of the press event that really pissed me off in terms of a reporter ignorantly asking the bathroom question again and our side wasting valuable air time answering it.

The question I have for the Houston Unites folks is when are you going to stop giving credence to a right-wing meme that needs to die?

As I learned when I went through GLAAD media training three years ago, just because a reporter asks you a question doesn't obligate you to answer it.

We aren't obligated to use our precious air time answering a question that we know is a fear and smear lie, so why dignify it with an answer?.  And I believe it is a mistake to continue to give validity to a anti-trans bathroom predator meme that we know and repeated studies tell us is a lie, but elements of the Houston media (FOX 26) seem to be stuck on stupid about.

So my proposal about how to handle the issue is this:  don`t answer a question that we know is a anti-HERO talking point.   If the media member asks that damned bathroom question, immediately pivot off of it and go straight to our pro-HERO talking points.

And here`s an example of what I`m talking about:

Question from media:  Won`t the HERO allow men dressed as women to go into women`s restrooms?

Answer from us:  Why aren`t you asking me about how the HERO will benefit the 15 classes of Houstonians that are protected in this much needed ordinance with a local remedy for combating discrimination that unfortunately happens in our city?

That`s the conversation we should be having.

Houston didn`t have a local ordinance to address discrimination until HERO was passed last year.  It sends a loud and clear message we Houstonians welcome all who wish to move and live here, do business with our city, and cements our growing international reputation as a diverse, welcoming place.

***

That`s how that question should have been answered, and there will probably be others we come up with over the next few months.

And next time, don`t send someone to me to condescendingly talk about  polling stating we need to acknowledge the fear and the lie that is stoking that fear.  I saw that data, and it's time to try a new tactic of just saying no to cosigning right wing fear and smear and calling it out for the lie it is. 

I`m part of the Houston trans community they have been demonizing ever since this Houston human rights battle started and we're tired of hearing 'we need to acknowledge the fear'..

How about acknowledging the fact that now 13 transpeople have been killed because of anti-trans lies like this and the fear we trans people have of somebody in the Houston area joining that list this year because of the anti-trans hate that is about to be unleashed by the opposition? 

How about acknowledging the humanity of trans people and noting we live in the H-town city limits, too?   We`re not only tired of it, we need our allies to be just as bold in calling out the lie as the hatemongers are in telling it.

I repeat:  No we do not have to answer that bathroom meme question . It is a demonstrably false right wing talking point being used across the country by our opponents, it`s the only card they can play, and let me say it once more with feeling, IT IS A LIE..

We have the facts on our side in this HERO fight.  Fair minded Houstonians are with us. .All the out of town haters meddling in Houston human rights business have is GOP support and fear.  

We should not let their fear damage our economy and cause us to lose the Super Bowl , NCAA Final Four rand future corporate relocations.

So let`s have the courage on our side to call out the bathroom meme for what it is, a lie and a scare tactic from out of town  suburban professional gaybaiters who don`t care about our beautiful diverse international city,

Geena Rocero Takes Part In The #GirlsCan Campaign

Y'all know how much I love my modeling sis Geena Rocero, and it was wonderful to see the latest thing she is involved in.    Geena's stylishly dressed self was onstage sitting with other accomplished women discussing the kickoff of a COVERGIRL Cosmetics #GirlsCan campaign videos.

It's a campaign launched in February 2014 by Soledad O'Brien and COVERGIRL that encourages young women to break down social stigmas and challenge themselves to achieve what many would say impossible.

In this photo Geena was sharing the stage with a CEO, a computer science specialist and a rapper who have not only broken down social stigmas and barriers in their own lives, but have excelled in their respective fields.    

Congratulations Geena for being part of this campaign and repping #GirlsLikeUs

Here's Geena's #GirlsCan video with Soledad O'Brien

Hell Naw I'm Not Supporting Megyn Kelly

One of the major reasons I identify as a womanist is because far too often, I see situations in which white feminists will rush to the defense of any white woman who has been slimed by 'the menz' or call for across the board female solidarity in those situations, but you're cricket chirping silent when it is women of color who are being attacked.

Yeah, that's why that #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen hashtag exists.   We have glaring examples of it popping up and not being reciprocated with depressing regularity

Another glaring example of it popped up in my Facebook feed today when I was sent a link to a Salon article by Mary Elizabeth Williams in which she asked feminists to support Megyn Kelly in the wake of Donald Chump Thump's misogynistic attacks on her, even though she has never declared herself to be one, and sides with a political movement that believes feminists are The Enemy.

I'm damned sure not down with what Trump said about her and it needs to be forcefully called out.  But stand in solidarity with her?  Not no but hell naw am I not going to stand with her. 

Since when has Kelly ever stood with women of color, much less not said anything  that wasn't straight up racist? 

And while she has her broken clock moments every now and then, on balance she earns every penny Rupert Murdoch pays her for being the pretty blonde face peddling that odious right wing agenda.

Her azz had the nerve to say from her FOX Noise propaganda perch that a Black female teen manhandled by an out of control McKinney, TX cop earlier this year 'was no saint'.   She declared that Santa Claus and Jesus were white.   She tried to downplay the racist e-mails discovered in the DOJ probe when Ferguson was on everyone's minds last summer by claiming 'racist e-mails are everywhere'

And yeah, I would be remiss in not pointing out that one of her broken clock moments involved trans people on September 1, 2011.

The transgendered, they go through so much pain and emotional turmoil in dealing with the effects of that disorder or whatever you want to call it and I don’t think they need people piling on and mocking them once they do something that many people consider very brave. But that’s me, that’s my two cents. [emphasis added]

But ever since them, she has devolved on trans issues as her FOX Noise employers shift tactics to attack trans people.

So not no, but oh hell no am I as an proud unapologetically Black trans woman going to support Megyn Kelly's behind, especially when she can't seem to do the same on a consistent basis for women of color and trans women.

Not Feeling The #BeyBeAHERO Campaign

We in Houston are gearing up for what will be a nasty, knockdown drag out battle to keep our hard won Houston Equal Rights Ordinance on the books. The ballot language has already been created so it is easy to understand for the voters in November and as straightforward and matter of fact as possible. 

I just returned from watching a press conference announcing the kickoff of the Houston Unites coalition that will coordinate the defense of the ordinance.  The fundraising for the pro-HERO defense will be starting soon if it hasn't already,  We have had Houston's largest business association, the Greater Houston Partnership, put out an ad declaring their support for HERO.

And in last Tuesday's City Council public comment meeting, we have had the head of the Houston Sports Authority warn that next year's NCAA Men's Final Four and the 2017 Super Bowl are in jeopardy along with the estimated $1.6 billion in economic activity that will be generated by hosting those two sporting events if HERO unfortunately gets repealed.

The stakes are high in this battle, and our pro-HERO side is seeking to do everything possible to defend the ordinance including starting a campaign to try to pressure our Houston homegirl Beyonce Knowles-Carter into tweeting something about supporting it in the hope that it somehow would be a game changer in the soon to be PR and media war over the HERO.

I'm not feeling that #BeyBeAHERO campaign, and here are some of the reasons why. 

First problem is that local Houston Black trans, bi and SGL folks weren't consulted before it launched. If you had, we would have told you about other peeps you could have approached locally.  Also by not talking to the Black LGBT community and getting our input first as to whether this was a viable idea, you may have missed out on some peeps who actually have some connections with Team Beyonce.

Another point is that although Beyonce is a beloved figure here in H-town and in Black Houston's TBLG ranks, she has been living in New York with her hubby and daughter.  Even if she wanted to, it is still difficult from over 1500 miles away to keep up with the nuances of local politics.

I spent 8 years in Louisville, and as much as I tried to keep abreast of Houston and Texas state politics, the longer you are away from your hometown, the harder it is to do because you tend to focus politically on the area you live in at that moment in time.

Another problem I have with it is why is Beyonce the ONLY Houston based celeb being hit with this campaign?  

Jim Parsons from CBS' The Big Bang Theory is a Houstonian, too.  So is actress Loretta Devine.  Alexis Bledel, Cierra Ramirez from The Fosters,  Isaiah Washington, Chandra Wilson from Grey's Anatomy, Hilary and Haylie Duff, Renee Zellweger, Clint Black, Rodney Crowell, Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad and gospel singer Yolanda Adams.

And I'm not even close to scratching the surface of the Houston celebs that can be possibly called on, especially in the sports world.

Yeah, yeah I'm acutely aware of Bey's massive social media presence.  But another point is where her sister Solange has no problem calling crap and fools out, Beyonce has been more reluctant to chime in and be overtly political about the issues of the day. 

The most overtly political thing she has done was sing at a 2009 inaugural ball for President Obama, sing the national anthem at his 2013 inauguration and declare she was a feminist (with far too much derisive hatin' about that declaration) from many people.

Even when Mike Huckabee was racistly sliming her and her hubby, not too much commentary from her about his jacked up comments aimed at her.

So if she hasn't justifiably called out a loudmouth conservafool FOX Noise commentator who let loose racist commentary about her and her husband to boost his GOP presidential political fortunes, what makes you peeps think based on past history that she's going to comment about this HERO fight?

If she does, hooray and I'll be shocked if it happens.  But I'm not holding my breath that it will.

JCPS Trans Inclusive Policy Passes First Stage Vote

When I left Louisville in May 2010 four days after my birthday to come back home, I had unfinished human rights business I was unhappy to leave undone.

That unfinished business was getting a nondiscrimination policy that included gender identity language for the Jefferson County Public Schools. 

In 2007 I was part of a coalition effort to get a comprehensive LGBT inclusive policy passed for JCPS..  Trans people were cut out of that policy in committee because of then Supt. Berman's lack of human rights vision.   I was highly pissed off about it at the time and almost dropped our of the effort at that point because I was upset about the trans community getting throw under the political bus again. 

After calming down and promises being made to me and the Louisville trans community that the Fairness led coalition would come back and fight for trans inclusion in the JCPS policy at another time, .I changed my mind and fought hard to get the JCPS trans free policy passed.. 

The trans free policy subsequently passed after three long and contentious public hearings on a 4-3 vote.

On Monday I was alerted by Dawn Wilson that the trans inclusion policy n JCPS I was fighting for passed its first stage JCPS board vote with a 5-2 margin.to take it to the second stage

Linda Duncan, just as in 2007  tried to use all the tools in her oppression handbook, but failed to slow down this policy what should have been adopted 8 years ago had Berman and the board listened to me and the coalition then..   Duncan along with board member Chuck Haddaway opposed it.

Rounds two and three are coming up, and I expect Frank Simon, Jerry Stephenson and the rest of the merry band of suburban haters will be loading up the buses to stick their nose in JCPS human rights business soon.

Houston Unites Sponsored HERO Press Conference Tomorrow

TransGriot Note: The battle to defend our hard won Houston Equal Rights Ordinance has begun!   A statement from the Houston Unites coalition group to keep HERO.

They will have a press conference that will take place tomorrow, August 12 at the Hilton Americas Hotel in downtown Houston at 10 AM CDT. to launch what we hope will be the successful effort to defend this much needed human rights ordinance.

***
 
Tomorrow, concerned citizens, members of civil rights groups and representatives of the faith and business communities will gather to launch Houston Unites, the campaign in support of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO). On November 3, Houstonians will vote on this critical ordinance that protects Houstonians from discrimination based upon 15 categories that include race, age, military status, pregnancy status, gender identity and sexual orientation..

Those of us who supported HERO and advocated for its passage last year are in agreement that NO Houstonian should be discriminated against.  That’s a core value a majority of Houstonians share, and that's why HERO's passage a year ago was supported by more than 80 current and former elected officials, community and non-profit organizations, major corporations and more than 70 local faith leaders.

In America’s most diverse city, we believe that everyone should be treated fairly no matter who they are.

Houston Unites is the coalition working to elevate the diversity of voices supporting HERO. The leading coalition partners include: ACLU of Texas, Equality Texas, Freedom For All Americans, Human Rights Campaign, NAACP Houston Branch and Texas Freedom Network.

We The People Petition To Formally Investigate US Trans POC Murders

As many of you TransGriot readers know, I have been tracking since the inception of my blog nearly a decade ago the murders of trans women of color and whether or not they have received justice in their cases.

I have been alarmed by the fact that we have already matched the number of trans women killed in the US in all of 2014 (12) in just 8 months, and this year still has 4 months left to go.  I am also particularly concerned and incensed about the fact that the majority of trans women that have been murdered are not only trans women of color, but under age 30.

I am pleased to not only affix my signature to this (Signature #23), but also signal boost this We The People petition that started today.   It seeks to get 100,000 people to sign on to this effort to get the federal government to investigate this unacceptable slaughter of trans women of color, of which far too many of them have been under 30 years of age.

We have to get the 100,000 signatures by September 10 to get a formal response from the White House on the requested action stated in the petition.

Here's the link to the petition and I hope you will join me in taking just a few moments of time out of your busy day to sign it.

If you do, thank you.  I and my community deeply appreciate the support, and please share this news in your influence circles.

Christie Vetoes Trans Birth Certificate Bill For Second Time

Governor Transphobe, er Chris Christie (R-NJ) showed his transphobic side again to the people of New Jersey, its trans citizens, the nation and the world by vetoing for the second time a bill that would have allowed trans and intersex people the opportunity to get a clean copy of their birth certificates without undergoing genital surgery..

I would have had he signed it, allowed for a person’s gender marker to be changed upon receipt of a note from their health care provider indicating that the individual has undergone treatment appropriate for a gender transition, in accordance with the most recent medical standards for treating gender dysphoria.

Several states and the District of Columbia already have such policies in place, and this is the second time that he has vetoed such a bill, citing 'fraud and abuse' as his cover excuses for doing so.

Activists in the Garden State were hopeful but not surprised that this veto happened.   There was hope that because this 2015 version of the bill had more bipartisan support, he would possibly sign it, but LGBT activist in the state were less optimistic about that possibility.   They pointed to his need to pander to the GOP conservative base in the rest of the country in an attempt to bolster his 2016 GOP presidential nomination aspirations as to why this TBLG bill would probably get vetoed by him .

As for the possibility of a potential override of his veto?  Not likely even though the Democrats have the majority in both the Assembly (48-32) and the Senate (24-16)    An override would require 27 votes in the Senate, and 54 votes in the Assembly.

That means it would require six Republicans to join that effort in the Assembly and three Republican senators to do so in that chamber, and Republican legislators have traditionally supported their governor..  

The trans birth certificate bill initially passed the Senate 30-6, with four members absent, and the Assembly 51-23, with six members absent.

So trans and intersex New jersey residents once again got thrown under the political bus by their GOp governor.   Why should I not be surprised by that development?

Alberto B Mendoza To Become NAHJ Executive Director

You TransGriot readers are familiar with him as the founding creator of the Honor 41 list that recognizes LGBT Latinos, but on September 1 Alberto B. Mendoza will be recognized for another reason.   On that date he will become the executive director of the National Hispanic Journalists Association.

“Alberto is the right leader at the right time for NAHJ,” said Mekahlo Medina, NAHJ President. “He comes with decades of non-profit experience, exceptional organizational skills, sponsorship building and a history of elevating organizations to the next level.”

That extensive non-profit experience includes recently serving as the Regional Vice President with Jumpstart: Children First where he led the operations in California, Texas and Washington which served over 3300 children. He also served as the President and CEO of the Coalition for Clean Air, a California policy and advocacy organization, where he was the first Latino leader to run a statewide environmental organization.

In 2009, United States Senator Barbara Boxer honored Mendoza with the first ever U.S. Environmental Leadership Award. Alberto was also the founding Regional Executive Director for the Drug Policy Alliance- Southern California office and also led programs for Girl Scouts USA, Public Counsel and AIDS Project Los Angeles.

And as pleased as NAHJ was to name him on June 10 as their new executive director, he is just as pleased to be joining the organization.

“I’m extremely honored and excited to join the NAHJ family,” said Mendoza. “The caliber of our membership and the organization’s impressive reputation, are the two key elements of why I wanted to take this leadership role. While there’s lots to do, I am confident we will achieve new levels of success for NAHJ and our members”

Congratulations Alberto!  I have no doubts that NAHJ is headed to the next level as a journalism organization with him in their executive director role that he will assume full time in September.  I've known him for several years as one of my FB friends and couldn't be happier for him. 

I'm looking forward to the day I finally get to meet him.  May have to do so at that joint NAHJ-NABJ conference in Washington DC next year.

Straight Outta Stonewall

One of the things that pissed me and many folks off last week was the release of a trailer for the upcoming Roland Emmerich directed crime against history Stonewall movie that centered the story around a fictional white gay man named Danny.

We all know who really kicked off the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion.  It damned sure wasn't the Fire Island  'good homosexuals' covering in their closets.  It was the trans peeps, butch lesbians, bi folks, drag queens and other LGBT people of color fed up with NYPD police harassment of them.

And the Stonewall Inn was their hangout.  

In honor of the 20th anniversary of the release of the classic NWA rap album Straight Outta Compton, Beats Audio created a meme maker in which you could upload a pic of yourself and add your 'hood or hometown to it.  Of course, their are mischievous pranksters who have gleefully taken it and ran with it and I'll be talking about that in another post late.

But thanks to La La Zannell, we have these reminders of who the real heroes and sheroes of Stonewall were in terms of Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson and Miss Major.

In light of the fact we have had far too many trans murders this year, these memes serve to remind usof the proud history we have as trans women of color, and that we are not just tragic victims.   We kicked off a human rights movement.  We are fighting not only to advance our own human rights cause but the human rights of all people.   We are providing  trailblazing and innovative leadership as we continue to make history in our 21st century time on Planet Earth.

It  is also vitally important for our trans younglings to know we existed before they were born, are part of the fabric of our communities, and they have possibility models they can look up to, be proud of and emulate.

We who benefit from the pioneering work of Sylvia, Marsha, Miss Major, the Dewey's Lunch Counter Sit In protestors, and the Compton's Cafeteria and Copper's Donuts riots must never forget that we all walk in their pumps, and it ain't about us.  It's about the next generation of transkids that we do this work for.  All we are simply doing is building on the foundation of resistance and struggle they have painstakingly laid down. 

Even though we may not live long enough to enjoy the fruits of that work, it's trans human rights work we must do.  At the same time we must tell our stories, work intersectionally to build allies, build community here and abroad while documenting our history.  We must pass it on to the next generation so they can know what we did in our late 20th-early 21st century time on Planet Earth did to make the world better for trans people than when we encountered it.

As the Stonewall movie whitewashing tells us,  we must also be vigilant in ensuring the historical record is correct when it comes to events we know beyond a shadow of a doubt were trans people of color productions.  We cannot allow POC contributions to building the LGBT rights movement to be erased by whiteness and white supremacy.   

We're Straight Outta Stonewall, and don't you ever let anyone try to tell you you're not.


TransGriot Mote:  Last two images courtesy of Elizabeth Rivera, previous three  LaLa Zannell.

RIP Amber Monroe

Was made aware of this by Melanie Davis that we have now had a 12th transwoman killed in 2015, this time in Detroit.

Her name was Amber Monroe, and she was just 20 years old and a student at Wayne State University in Motown.   Her body was found early yesterday morning, and she had been shot, according to a statement by Equality Michigan .

“Our hearts are heavy with grief that we have lost another vibrant member of our community too soon. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of Amber’s family and friends whom she clearly loved deeply,” said Yvonne Siferd, Director of Victim Services for Equality Michigan.

“We have no idea yet whether this attack was fueled by transphobia, but we do know that Amber’s murder is the 12^th murder of a transgender woman in the United States this year, and the 10^th murder of a transgender woman of color. Transgender women, and especially transgender women of color, are disproportionately affected by violence.

Her life was just beginning; I know that this loss will leave so many people with a hole in their lives and with more questions than answers. Let’s come together to celebrate her life, and work for real change so that our transgender sisters can be free from persecution. I know we can do better. We have to do better.”

Yes, we as a society MUST do better.  With this third murder of a transwoman in the last 17 days, I know I'm getting fracking tired of writing the story about another young Black trans woman being killed.   We are being hunted, and nobody seems to give a rats anus about it.

Papi Edwards, 20, Louisville, January 9

Lamia Beard, 30, Norfolk on January 17

Ty Underwood, 24, Tyler TX on January 26

Yazmin Vash Payne, 33, LA on January 31

Taja de Jesus, 36, San Fran February 1

Penny Proud, 21, New Orleans February 10

Bri Golec, 22, Akron on February 13

Kristina Grant Infiniti, 47, Miami on February 15

London Chanel, 21, Philadelphia on May 18

Mercedes Williamson, 17, Alabama on May 30

India Clarke, 25, Tampa on July 22

K.C. Haggard, 66, Fresno on July 23

Amber Monroe, 20, Detroit on August 8#SayHerName

This is still a developing story and Detroit Police are still investigating what happened, so as further details get passed on or I find out about them, I'll pass them on to you TransGriot readers.

This crap needs to strop.   With this murder we have matched in eight bloody months what it took all of 2014 to accomplish, and these are just the ones we know about.   Ten of the 12 trans women killed have been trans women of color.  

What also irks me the most is that nine of the now twelve murdered trans women were under 30 years of age, and one was just 17 years old.

I'm also tired of my young trans sisters being misgendered and posthumosly slimed by the media after they are murdered. 

So tell me Black America, when will #BlackTransLivesMatter to you?   Today?   Next week?  Next month?  Next year?  How many more young Black trans people must die before you start caring enough to work with us to stop the murders of trans people? 

When will you  send the message that Black trans people are part of the Black community too? 

Your fellow trans people are waiting to hear that answer instead of loud and wrong condemnation from sellout ministers cooning it up for white cconservafool fundamentalists and deafening silence from our legacy organization like the NAACP and the Urban League.

Rest In Power and in peace, Amber.   You are loved, and your trans family and our allies won't rest until justice is done in your case..
.

Moni's In The Middle Of The 2015 Houston GLBT Caucus Endorsement Meeting

I  have attended a few Houston GLBT Political Caucus meetings before and after my Texan in Exile days in Da Ville, but this one was going to be special.    It was going to be my first one ever as a paid member of the Caucus, and it also happened to be the 2015 Caucus Endorsement Meeting. 

Founded in 1975, the Houston GLBT Political Caucus is not only one of the oldest organizations of its kind in the southern US dedicated solely to the advancement of gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans equality, it is also the largest political organization in Houston and Harris County. 

A Houston GLBT Caucus endorsement, while it is a nonpartisan org that gives the endorsement based on your support of LGBT rights, has basically become over time one of the most sought after and critical ones if you are a liberal-progressive leaning candidate running for office in the Houston area. 

Getting that endorsement helps your campaign tremendously if you get it, because their endorsement cards are used by Houston LGBT voters and our allies to ensure they are voting for liberal-progressive leaning candidates that have our community's trans..bi and SGL human rights interests at heart and will do a great job in the office they were endorsed by the Caucus for.. 

So while I have experienced being a participant in the political candidate endorsing process when I lived in Louisville and was a member of the Fairness Campaign board, I was still excited about today's events.

I didn't get there until 12:55 PM because I overslept, but once I arrived at the meeting venue I could feel the excitement in the air as I walked into the IBEW Union Hall where they had to move this endorsement meeting from the Montrose Center.  I later discovered that this was possibly the largest endorsement meeting ever attendance wise in caucus history.

Interest was huge because we in H-town are selecting a new mayor to replace outgoing Mayor Annise Parker and in the wake of recent political events surrounding HERO..  It was definitely on my mind and the minds of the folks in that packed and overly warm house.   The air conditioning in the building was having problems and improvised fans were having to be used by the meeting attendees until the AC issue got sorted out.. 

Five seconds after I walked into the room I ran into HISD school board trustee Juliet Stipeche who was seeking the Caucus endorsement in her race.   It also didn't take me long to start running into old friends like Ray Hill, Brandon Mack, Ashton Woods, Fran & Kim Watson, Dalton DeHart, Melissa Vivanco, Lou Weaver,, Brenda Langer, Michael Webb, Antonio Maldonado, Maverick Welsh, Nikki Araguz Loyd and Will Loyd/   It was also an opportunity yo meet new ones like Sharon Fuller.

I also started running into friends running for office like Jenifer Pool, Jolanda Jones and Lane Lewis and candidates seeking Caucus support that I'd met at various events over the last few months like Phillipe Nassif, Amanda Edwards and Laurie Robinson, along with my first 

Not long after I arrived at 12:55 PM because I overslept, the meeting started.  After voting to by acclimation give all the candidates in non-contested races except one the Caucus endorsements they sought,  and that all candidates endorsed by the Houston GLBT Political Caucus must publicly support ‪HERO‬ on some campaign materials, the meeting moved on to the business of dealing with the contested races, starting with the mayor's race.

It  took six hours of sometimes contentious debate and arguments that at times got heated, but in the end no chairs were thrown and no fights broke out.   The Caucus endorsement business was handled masterfully by Maria Gonzalez who kept the meeting civil and Daniel Williams who served as the parliamentarian ensuring Robert's Rules of Order were correctly and fairly applied.

Here are the candidates who earned Houston GLBT Caucus endorsements:.

Mayor 
Sylvester Turner

City Council
District B - Jerry Davis; District C - Ellen Cohen; District F - Richard A. Nguyen;
District H - Roland Chavez; District I - Robert Gallegos; District J-Mike Laster; District K-Larry Green

City Council At Large
Position 1 - Lane Lewis; Position 2 - David Robinson; Position 3 - Doug Peterson; Position 4 - Amanda K. Edwards,  Position 5 - Phillipe Nassif

Controller
Chris Brown

HISD School Board Trustee
District 2 - Rhonda Skillern Jones; Position 3 - Ramiro Fonseca; Position 4 - Jolanda Jones; Position 8 Juliet Katherine Stipeche

HCCS Board
District 3 - Adriana Tamez; Position 8 - Eva Loredo.

Congratulations to all the candidates who did get the Caucus endorsement, and to those who didn't, sorry it didn't happen for you this cycle.  

Now let's focus on the next step of getting them in office this November.

Houston GLBT Caucus Endorsement Meeting Today

In a normal Houston civic election year, stuff usually doesn't start heating up politically until September around Labor Day   

But this isn't a normal election year.   After winning her three allotted two year terms, Mayor Annise Parker will have to vacate the chair in January, and there are 6 declared candidates who have jumped into the race.

There are also peeps running to either replace term limited council members or challenge sitting ones. 

With HERO no thanks to the partisan Texas Supreme Court being forced onto the ballot, we will have to decide who will be the best candidates in this 2015 election cycle are the ones best able to support the human rights of all Houstonians.

That process for who the Houston LGBT community will support starts with the Houston GLBT Political Caucus that kicking off as you read this.   There was so much interest in this endorsement meeting, they had to move it from the Montrose Center to the IBEW Union Hall,

It`s going to be an interesting afternoon of H-town political action .  And I'm in the middle of it this time because I'm a voting member of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus.

Tell y'all what transpired in a few hours.  I'm also armed with my tablet, and if I can do so, will drop some tweets or Facebook comments.

Post Number 9000!

The milestones just keep on coming here at TransGriot, and it caps an amazing week in which I had two of my posts, the Dating a Trans Woman Doesn't Make A Cis Man Gay and one slamming the upcoming whitewashed and trans erasing Stonewall movie  go viral within days of each other. for the first time ever on my blog.

I sincerely thank you readers for making that TransGriot blogging first happen.   Another milestone I need to celebrate is that you are looking at Post Number 9000 since I started the blog back on January 1, 2006.  

Still hard to believe at times that after near ten years, I've not only written that many post and the hundreds of words that comprise them, it's a blessing that I'm still be writing daily posts on this electronic platform.

I'm keenly aware that some of the blogs that either started before or after I did for various reasons are no longer publishing, and that saddens me to think about that from time to time.

There have been some bumps and bruises along the way to 9000 posts..   Several moves including a major one from Louisville where this blog started back to my native Houston.  Times in which I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep pressing on with it.   A kerfluffle or two in which my haters REAL:LY disliked something I wroteconcerning whiteness and white supremacy and called me 'racist' for it.  . 

There have also been numerous times my unapologetically Black trans tell it like it T-I-S is self has been called everything but a child of God by my haters, in cluding, the N-word, B-word, T-word, a combination of the three, or all three at the same time

But those of you who chip in on the blog's Tip Jar, who read my posts and the people I meet at various conferences and events around the country keep letting me know how much you appreciate me and my writing.   My writing means nothing if i don't have people reading it and sharing it with others.

Now more than ever it's vital it is is to have a Black trans owned and operated blog fearlessly speaking truth to power inside and outside our community, talking about trans issues from an Afrocentric perspective while also discussing about our trans community history and current events in the world around us.

I hand one person on the anniversary of her  July 16 birthday call me a modern day Ida B. Wells.  It's funny and an interesting comparison because when I started TransGriot, I was simply shooting to pick up where the late Roberta Angela Dee left off.  

To be compared to and outstanding Black writer and journalists like Ms. Wells is something I hope I can live up to as a writer with a focus on human rights and social justice issues..

It lets me know that the commitment I made to ensure that trans issues of interest to African-American and other trans people of color had a voice and platform in the blogosphere is appreciated my my readers and proven by some of the awards I've either won or been nominated for. 

That's to all my readers over the years old and new, for the times that you have shared my posts to your influence circles, and the college professors who have informed me they use them at times for reading assignments in their classes.  It's not only humbling to know that, but it ensures I don't get sloppy with my writing, lazy with my thought patterns, and stay on point with my commentary.

Well, only 1000 more posts to go until I reach the 10,000 post milestone.. Time to get busy doing the writing to get there.

If You Want HERO, Vote NO

Well, the opening shots in the battle to keep the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance on Houston's law books have been fired .

On Wednesday Houston City Council voted 12-5 to affirm HERO, and then put it on the November ballot to the voters.

Council members Jerry Davis, Ellen Cohen, Dwight Boykins (who voted against HERO last year), Richard Nguyen, Ed Gonzalez, Robert Gallegos, Mike Laster, Larry Green, Stephen Costello, David Robinson, C.O. “Brad” Bradford and Jack Christie, voted in favor of reinstating HERO

The usual conservative haters of Council members Dave Martin, Oliver Pennington, Michael Kubosh, Jack Christie and Brenda Stardig voted to repeal it.

Houston City Council then voted 13-4 to approve the city attorney's straightforward language to place on the November ballot   Councilmember Bradford proposed offering different language, but that motion was defeated 12-5.

The language that City Attorney Donna Edmondson came up with that will appear on the ballot is the following:

Shall the City of Houston repeal the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, Ord. No. 2014-530, which prohibits discrimination in city employment and city services, city contracts, public accommodations, private employment, and housing based on an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, or pregnancy?"

Translation.  what that means Houstonians, is that if you support HERO and wish to keep it, you vote NO on Election Day or during the early voting phase.

“Today what happened is that council members reaffirmed the original Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, and we put it to the voters in the clearest, most straightforward language we could, based on the fact that there was a petition, and that is, ‘Do you want to repeal the ordinance or not?'” Mayor Annise Parker said during a press conference following Wednesday’s meeting. “I and many others will go out and advocate to not repeal the ordinance.”

It's on like Donkey Kong now.  To help you peeps remember how to vote on HERO in November, just say or sing this little human rights protecting tune to yourself.   If you want HERO, Vote NO!"
TransGriot Update: And once again, the HERO haters went crying back to the GOP Texas Supreme Court mad because they hate the straightforward no BS ballot language the city came up with.

Will keep y'all posted about how this turns out.

Shut Up Fool Awards- Dancing On MichFest's Grave Edition

While the TERF's are crying rivers of White Womyn's Tears over the self inflicted demise of the 40th annual Hate On Trans Womyn Convening, AKA the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival that kicked off on Tuesday, I'm breaking out the bottle of champagne I received to celebrate a special occasion and doing the happy dance over it's rapidly approaching end on August 9.

Good riddance to transphobic rubbish.  No more anti-trans indoctrination on 'The Land'   And damned sure don't feel sorry for Lisa Vogel and her cadre of stuck in the 70's hatemongers because of their refusal to evolve. They would rather kill the festival than give up their desire to hate on and discriminate against trans womyn who may have been interested in attending their shindig in the Hart, MI woods and the allies who would reconsider their boycott of it if they would just let trans womyn who wish to attend it on The Land. .

If you peeps who liked MichFest want to blame somebody for its demise, you point the finger at Lisa and her like minded TERF's.  Don't aim any of that vanillacentric privileged White Womyn's Hate at Trans World

Anyway, enough jibber-jabber about the soon to be dead MichFest and time to move on to other more important things like calling out this week's bumper crop of fools.

Honorable mention number one is Lisa Vogel for failing to evolve and killing MichFest rather than opening the door to trans feminine women who wish to attend to do so, then doubling down on the transphobia by setting up on The Land a trans reparative therapist.. 

And y'all don't hate trans people at MichFest.  Yeah, right.

Honorable mention number two is Jaqueline Sephora Andrews, a so called 'gender critical transwoman' who got my undivided attention in the wrong way and got put on blast for it.

Really?  The TERF's still hate your allegedly Black trans azz no matter how much sucking up you do to them.  Ask your white TS separatist/H?BS friends how fast they threw them under the bus after they got busted colluding with them on that Brennan-Hungerford anti-trans right BS to the UN Entity on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women

Honorable mention number three is a collective award for every fool on stage at the GOP 'kiddie table' debate and the Cirque se GOP one in Cleveland.

Honorable mention number four is Mike Huckabee, one of our contenders for 2015 Shut Up Fool of the Year who once again tried to take a dig at open military service for transpeople during the debate by reciting that tired 'The military is not a social experiment line'

That would be news to Baron von Steubing, one of the first generals in the Continental Army who was gay, the 54th Massachusetts, the Buffalo Soldiers, the Tuskegee Airmen,  the 761st Black Panther Tank Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Sgt Shane Ortega, Kristin Beck, Brynn Tannehill, the LGB peeps who openly serve in our military and the over 15,000 estimated trans people who are currently serving in our nation's armed forces.

Honorable mention number five is Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) who did some mansplaining on the Senate floor  floor and asserted that he had the right to lecture a woman about abortion because ' it's a man's issue'

Her body, her call on what to do with it, even if you impregnated her.   She has the veto power because she's the one who has to decide whether or not to carry the fetus to term, give birth to it and raise that child for the next 20 years..  Until a man can do that, have several sections of seats at FedEx Field and STFU.

Honorable mention number six.is Jeb Bush for claiming that women health issues are overfunded,

Just more evidence why we need to #StayOutOfTheBushes and there should be #NoBushPOTUSThreepeat

Honorable mention number seven is Rep. Steve King (R-IA) who thinks that because same sex marriage is the law of the land, people will marry their lawnmowers.  

In the race to determine who is the dumbest member of Congress, it's between Louie Gohmert and him.

This week's Shut Up Fool loser  winner is Caitlyn Jenner

She finally let her conservative side show during an August 2 episode of I Am Cait, and it was not a good moment either .  Her insulated from the realities of trans life self made some problematic comments about social programs.

“They can make more not working with social programs than they actually can with an entry-level job,” Jenner said to an RV full of LGBT activists on the show.

Um no boo boo.  As anyone who has had to do SNAP or any other social program for a minute can tell you, one, we DON'T want to be on them because of the stigma, and two, sometimes it's necessary because you may need that helping hand for a short period of time.

And did it not occur to your sheltered, living large GOP voting behind that the average income for some transpeeps because of anti-trans discrimination in many cases pushed by your GOP friends is $10,000 a year?  That's well below the poverty line of $15K.

You really need to talk to the peeps I'm in contact with, along with more trans persons of color who will gladly break it down to you what life is like for those of us who don't live in a Malibu mansion and have been publicly out way longer than you have.

Ciatlyn Jenner, shut up fool!

Tyra Hunter Death 20th Anniversary

Today is the 20th anniversary of a needless tragedy that occurred on this date in 1995.

A 24 year old trans woman by the name of Tyra Hunter needlessly died after a car accident at 50th and C Streets in SE Washington DC of survivable injuries because of a transphobic EMT.

That happened a mere 16 months into my own physical body morphing.  The Hunter case still bothers me 20 years later because the blatant medical transphobia on display could have easily happened to me or any other trans person.

The fact it was fellow African-Americans involved in his episode of transphobic hate along with it happening in the early stages of my own transition is probably why this Hunter case has stuck with me for so long.   It was also one of the events that began to push me toward the trans human rights activism path.

I find myself on this 20th anniversary of Tyra's death pondering many what if questions and coming up with some possible resolution scenarios for them.:.

What if Tyra had gotten the care she needed to save her life?   What would a now 44 year old Tyra Hunter's life be like now?   Would she be flexing her hairdressing skills and owning her own shop by now?  Would she have found love?   Would she still be living in the DC area?

What kind of contributions would Tyra be making to our community and society in general if she were still here?

But no matter what scenarios I come up with good, bad or middle of the road for a 44 year old Tyra Hunter, I know deep down in my soul that they are questions we will never find out the answer to. 

The reason why is because she is resting in power and peace due to the transphobic actions of one DC Fire Department EMT named Adrian Williams  and subsequently at the now closed DC General Hospital from Dr Bastian because these people entrusted with the responsibility of saving human lives failed to see her as a human being..

#WeExist.  Black trans people exist.   And on this day we in Black Trans World and our allies must rededicate ourselves to reminding our fellow cis Black people that our Black trans lives matter, too.

The one thing that we can take away from this tragedy is that medical transphobia kills.   In Tyra Hunter's memory, we need to as a community be vigilant in ensuring the avoidable tragedy that happened to Tyra Hunter on this sad August 7 day 20 years ago never happens to another trans person of any ethnic background ever again.

50th Anniversary Of The Signing Of The Voting Rights Act

August 6 is also the day 50 years ago that President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act.   I find it deliciously apropos that yesterday the 5th Circuit Court struck down the Texas Voter Suppression (ID) law for the third time using Section 2 of the law.

The Voting Rights Act when it was signed into law by President Johnson, resulted in the mass enfranchisement of racial minorities across the nation.   It was markedly dramatic in the South, where the Jim Crow voter suppression and blatant disenfranchisement mechanisms in place were successful in denying African-Americans the right to vote.

The VRA was designed to enforce the voting rights provision in the 14th and 15th Amendments of the US Constitution, and has been updated and amended five times by Congress to expand its protections.  It is considered the most effective piece of civil rights legislation ever enacted by Congress, which is why it has also been under relentless attack by the conservative movement and the Republican Party..

The Voting Rights Act is not only groundbreaking legislation, it led to a dramatic expansion in the number of African-American politicians at all levels of government including four decades later the election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.

It's why I and other African Americans are still highly pissed off about the Supreme Court's racist and clueless 2013 ruling in Shelby v. Holder that gutted a key enforcement provision in the Section 4(b) 'coverage formula' , that was designed to encompass jurisdictions that had historically engaged in egregious voting discrimination at the time the VRA was passed, and was subsequently updated in 1970 and 1975.

The coverage formula was the part that made the Section 5 preclearance provision work, and while the SCOTUS didn't strike Section 5 down, by shadily declaring unconstitutional the coverage formula, they basically made Section 5 unenforceable for the time being until Congress can pass a legislative fix to update the old formula.

While this should have been fixed immediately, and President Obama called on Congress today to act on the VRA fix legislation that Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) has filed to do so, good luck with that happening in a dysfunctional GOP controlled House and Senate whose party is heavily invested in keeping the number of voter going to the polls down in order to win elections.

As a result of Section 5 being gutted and the feds having to prosecute voting rights and discrimination cases using the VRA's Section 2 , the immediate result was Republican controlled legislatures gleefully started passing voter (ID) suppression laws designed to mess with and severely restrict the ability of  non-white voters to cast their ballots.  Texas' then Attorney General (now Governor, boo hiss) Greg Abbott, despite having the Texas Voter Suppression Law being struck down in federal court twice, reinstated the unjust law within hours of the SCOTUS misguided 5-4 ruling.

It resulted in the 2014 election cycle in 600,000 predominately non-white Texans not being able to vote.

So on this 50th anniversary of the passage of this groundbreaking law, let's remember that it safeguards the voting rights of all Americans, and must be defended by all who cherish human rights in our country.