Fantasia Fair Day 3

Day three of Fantasia Fair, and what on the agenda for today after I spent most of it making a little trans history and hanging out at Roomers with some of the other Fantasia fair attendees until 12 AM?

I get to watch Denise Norris do her keynote speech, and have my eye on two seminars by Dr Miqqi Gilbert..

The big event closing out tonught is the eagerly anticipated fashion show hosted by Temperance and Luna Maria.    Luna has been trying to get me o participate in it, but I told her I had my day in the sun yesterday, and it was time for someone else to have their opportunity to have some time in the spotlight.

I`ll be cheering on the participants from the audience unless I cut out early to watch `Empire`

Liberal Red Tide In 2015 Canadian Federal Election

Got to my P-town digs at Dyer's Barn from the Debutante Balls performance last night of Scott Turner Schofield to discover that the Liberals did complete that historic comeback from being nearly wiped out as a majority party by the Conservatives in 2011 to getting a majority government .

In the longest campaign in modern Canadian history at 78 days (we wish ours in the US were that short) the Liberals went from having 36 seats after the 2011 federal election to winning an astounding 184 seats and being able to form a majority government.   The red tide that swept the country was so complete they even won four seats in Alberta.

After nine years of running thangs in the Great White North, Stephen Harper will no longer be Prime Minister of Canada or the Conservative Party leader because they lost 60 seats

Hallelujah!   But he will still be one of 99 Conservative Party MP's representing the Calgary Heritage riding.  Green Party leader Elizabeth May held on to her Saanich-Gulf Islands riding.

Taking over on November 4 will be Justin Trudeau as the man leading our northern neighbors and the Canadians in attendance here at Fantasia Fair I have had the opportunity to talk to about it definitely approve.




In addition to all the historic firsts in this election, Prime Minister designate Trudeau will n ot only become the second youngest Canadian Prime Minister at 43, but also become the first child of a prime minister to also be elected to office.

So as I got to flip on the cable and check out the coverage of the election and Trudeau's speech, it was a red tide that began in Atlantic Canada as the Liberals swept all 32 ridings available in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick.

But one of the Atlantic Canada casualties was a Halifax riding that was represented by a friend of the Canadian trans community in NDP deputy leader and MP Megan Leslie.  That Liberal red tide also broke up the NDP's Fortress Quebec as they gained seats at the expense of the NDP, and the Bloc Quebecois also claimed 10 ridings

Another NDP friend of the community also lost in Olivia Chow as her Toronto area riding was one 80 in Ontario that went to the Liberals as took seats away in the GTA from the Conservatives and NDP.

The good news for our Canadian trans friends besides the Conservatives being defeated was that NDP MP Randall Garrison, who sponsored C-279 the Trans Rights Bill that got killed by the unelected and Conservative dominated Senate, was elected in the redrawn riding of Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke.  

But the NDP on this disastrous night for them went from being the Official Opposition to third party status as they lost 51 seats to be at for them a frustrating 44 seats when the new parliament is seated in an election that they felt going in on August 2 was winnable, along with a possible NDP led minority government.

But it was a historic night for the Liberals, and a joyous for Canadians fed up with the direction that the Conservatives and PM Stephen Harper were taking their country.

 

2015 Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award Acceptance Speech

TransGriot Note: This is the text of the speech I'm currently delivering at Fantasia Fair that's entitled 'A Fantastic Voyage Towards Trans Human Rights Progress'


Good afternoon to Barbara Curry, Jamie Dailey, Dallas Denny, Mary Beth Cooper, Miqqi Gilbert, Fantasia Fair staff and volunteers, my fellow transpeople, my mentor Dainna Cicotello, Fantasia Fair attendees, significant others and spouses, allies and friends.

Thank you Denise Norris for that wonderful introduction, and thank you for the work that you have done to make this world better for all of us.

Thanks also to the Fantasia Fair team that has worked hard to not only make it possible for me to be standing in front of you delivering this speech, but is working daily to make this week a special and enjoyable one for all of you here in attendance here in Provincetown today and for the rest of the 41st edition of this conference.

I am pleased and proud to be standing before you making history this afternoon as the first African-American transperson to be honored by Fantasia Fair with the Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award.  I enthusiastically accept it on behalf of myself and the trans ancestors who preceded me in proudly living our trans lives and fighting for our humanity and freedom,.

I also accept this award in the name of all of the people we have lost this year be it through murder or suicide, and may we please have a moment of silence to remind ourselves their lives mattered.

Thank you.

While I may be the first African-American trans person honored with this Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award, I emphatically believe I won't be the last one to be so honored.   We have some people who have been and still are trailblazing African-American leaders such as Marisa Richmond, Kylar Broadus, Dawn Wilson, Miss Major and Louis Mitchell just to name a few who could have easily been standing here today instead of me.

But hey, I'm not going to lie.  I am so happy y'all gave it to me.

It's actually fitting when you think about it, since Texans have figured prominently in shaping the history of the modern trans community.  My fellow Texan Phyllis Frye, who won this award in 2003 is called 'The Godmother of the Trans Rights Movement for providing the innovative leadership we needed at that time as an out trans woman.  She got the Houston anti-crossdressing law killed in August 1980.  She founded the Houston based ICTLEP conferences that started in 1992 and helped organize the trans community, got us focused on the legal aspects of being transgender, got us on the same page politically, instilled a sense of pride in being out, trans and proud, and trained my generation of activists.

The second gender clinic founded in this country after the now closed Johns Hopkins one was in Galveston, TX. in the early 70s at the University of Texas Medical Branch there.. To the west of me in San Antonio the Texas 'T' Party organized in 1988 by Linda and Cynthia Phillips was mushrooming from a regional crossdresser and trans gathering into the then largest trans themed event in the country before it shut down in 1996 and the Atlanta based Southern Comfort grew to take that title.

When the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition was founded in 1999 at an Italian restaurant in Bethesda, MD, two Texans were sitting at that table helping to put it together in myself and Vanessa Edwards Foster.  

And that legacy of innovative Lone Star State trans leadership continues with Josephine Tittsworth's founding of the Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit, which has resulted in 20 Texas colleges and universities and five school districts adopting trans inclusive policies.  Carter Brown has grown Black Trans Men Inc from a trans masculine centered conference that happened in Dallas to the Black Trans Advocacy Conference that will be held again in Big D in late April

We have trans leaders emerging across our state that is bigger than France like Lou Weaver, Nell Gaiter, Dr Oliver Blumer, Dee Dee Watters, Lauryn Farris, Katy Stewart, Robyn Morgan Collado, Ana Andrea Molina and Nikki Araguz Loyd.

Thanks fellow trans Texans for your contributions in making the trans community, Texas and our local communities better for transkind.

So don't hate on Texas, appreciate it because of our tradition of producing some kick ass trans leaders, and contrary to outside of Texas public opinion, Austin is not the only spot in my bigger than France sized state that is a liberal progressive bastion.
There is also the Rio Grande Valley, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Dallas, San Antonio, Beaumont-Port Arthur and my soon to be third largest city in the US hometown of Houston,

Houston has proudly elected Annise Parker, an out lesbian and longtime LGBT community activist as our mayor three times, and we will shock the world again on November 3 when my fellow Houstonians reject right wing fear and smear campaign tactics and vote to keep the HERO.

For those of you who are not aware of my story beyond what you have seen printed in your Fantasia Fair program, here is the short version.   I have been on my evolutionary trans feminine journey for 21 years and counting.  I love history and I am a Christian in the Rev. Dr MLK Jr liberation theology mode of my faith.   I have been involved in trans human rights activism at the local and state level in Kentucky and Texas, and the federal level since 1998.  

I have an award winning nearly ten year old blog called TransGriot that according to my haters nobody reads.

I am an unapologetically Black Texas trans angelic troublemaker who has zero tolerance for TERFs, fundamentalist idiots, trans community sellouts and anyone else who wishes to oppress and demonize trans people or trample the human rights of others. And I vote in every election cycle despite your attempts Texas GOP to make that harder for me and other people they hate in the Lone Star State to do.

At the time I transitioned on April 4, 1994, the landscape for trans people was light years different than it is now.  Minnesota was the only state along with ten cities, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Paul, MN,  Harrisburg, PA, Champaign, IL, Urbana IL, Santa Cruz, CA, and Grand Rapids, MI which had trans inclusive nondiscrimination laws.   We were a few months from doing a national lobby day in Washington DC, and the trans human rights case law was sketchy at best,

We now have 16 states, the District of Columbia and over 200 jurisdictions that have trans inclusive laws.  We are starting to have court rulings go in our favor and even popular culture is starting to add trans characters like the CBS soap The Bold and the Beautiful, Transparent and Orange Is The New Black.  

And sometimes they will even have wonder of wonders, trans actors like Scott Turner Schofield and Laverne Cox, playing trans characters.

We are also a few months from seeing the 15,000 trans people in our armed forces get the ability to openly serve our country.    Thanks to TAVA, SPARTA, our allies and people inside our military like Sgt. Shane Ortega who pushed our nation to do what 16 other countries have already done and allowed trans people to enthusiastically answer the call to serve our nation.

Why is that important?  Because people like Kristin Beck, Amanda Simpson, Brynn Tannehill and our trans elders like Monica Helms, Christine Jorgensen and Allyson Robinson have in common is they served in the military, and are now using those leadership skills to benefit our community and our nation.

Another thing I have been moved and gratified to see is the emergence of trans teen leaders like Jazz Jennings, Nicole Maines and others with the help and loving support of their amazing parents, step up around the country to not only educate their peers about trans issues, but fight for their own and our human rights while kicking knowledge to us trans elders and others outside our community as well.

I can`t forget my amazing sister Fallon Fox, who is kicking ass and taking names in the women's MMA world while my sportswriting sis Christina Kahrl is reporting the sports news.

And speaking of reporters, I can't forget the trailblazing Eden Lane, who was the first out trans woman to report on a national political convention back in 2008 when she did so for PBS during the historic Democratic National Convention in Denver that served as then Sen. Barack Obama`s springboard to a presidency that has been the best ever for trans people.

I have been proud to see Geena Rocero, Isis King, Andreja Pejic, Carmen Carrera, Arisce Wanzer and others continue down the path that people like April Ashley, Caroline Cossey, Tracy Africa Norman, Roberta Close  and Lauren Foster blazed down the world's fashion runways.

And even in the tech world, we are represented in that world by Dr Kortney Ziegler and Angelica Ross building on the accomplishments of Dr Lynn Conway.  

But unfortunately one thing hasn't changed since I began my own transition, and that is the level of anti-trans violence aimed at our community.

We received another reminder of it happening on the eve of this conference when Zella Ziona Smith was murdered last Thursday in Maryland.   The thing that infuriates me is that she was just 21 years old and continues the upsetting to me pattern of trans women of  color taking the disproportionate brunt of it.

Thankfully the waste of DNA who is accused of killing her was arrested by the Montgomery County MD police and is rotting in jail without bond.

I am going to say this and continue to say it loudly and proudly until they bury me six feet under my beloved Texas soil.   As a person who is unapologetically Black and trans, my transition does not mean because you don`t like my Black trans behind or my Black trans brothers and trans sisters,  you can unilaterally erase us from the Black community we are an intertwined kente cloth part of.

Neither will we put up with in Trans and LGBT World attempts to erase us from the community we have shed blood for, helped to create or its historical record.

We trans peeps are part of the diverse mosaic of human life on Planet Earth and didn't just pop up in the late 20th early 21st century.   You haters of all ethnic backgrounds don`t like the fact we trans peeps exist, tough.

We ain't having it or putting up with that crap any more because Black trans issues are Black community issues and vice versa.  Trigger happy policing and voter suppression negatively affect me as an unapologetically Black trans person along with the historic demonization of Blackness and Black femininity.    

We have seen far too many people in Houston, including a mayoral candidate named Ben Hall and misguided hypocritical Black ministers who share my ethnic background in this battle to keep our much needed human rights law bearing false witness against the trans community.   We in Black TBLG Houston are not going to tolerate that revolting development, especially when the off the charts anti-trans hate being spewed is resulting in the deaths of my trans younglings.

Hate thoughts + hate speech = hate violence is an equation that leads to the deaths of far too many of our people here and around the world.  And it needs to stop.        

Black community, when will #BlackTransLivesMatter enough to you for you to get off your asses and recognize that our babies are being killed?  I am beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of having to remind Black America that Black transpeople are Black people too.

I`ve discussed some issues pertinent to our community, so let`s shift gears for a moment and talk about where do I see this amazing trans human rights voyage we are on needing to go?

One thing we need to do ASAP is have more trans people run for public office.  As that attempt in several states to criminalize being trans in this 2015 legislative cycle points out, we need to be writing the laws that govern us and not on our knees begging to kill the bad bills or get included in the good ones that advance our human rights.

And before you ask me if I am going to take my own advice and run Moni run, let`s just say I am seriously thinking about it.

I would also like to see every trans person who is eligible to do so to not only register to vote, but to exercise it in each and EVERY election cycle.  If we wish to see trans city council members, trans judges, trans mayors, trans state legislators, trans congress members and a trans president someday, we've got to do our part and provide the trans candidate that steps up to run for office support that includes a cadre of base voters they can reliably count on.

We also need as a trans community to be proactive in tackling systemic race issues in our ranks and doing the hard work to dismantle racism, sexism, homophobia and internalized transphobia in our ranks.  Some of our trans brothers need to stop being as misogynistic as their cis masculine counterparts and be the quality men of trans experience we know they can be.

And as Precious Davis and Myles Brady have been role modeling lately,  trans men and trans women loving each other is a powerful and revolutionary act.

As the stats from the 2011 NTDS point out, my transition as an African descended transperson is not like many of yours in this Fantasia Fair room, and neither is it like the one our Latina trans sisters like Arianna Lint, Jennicet Gutierrez, Ruby Corado, Joanna Cifredo and Elizabeth Rivera among others face.

We have an opportunity to role model to the rest of cis world what the Beloved Community that the Rev. Dr Martin Luther King, Jr talked about looks like in practice. White that is going to be a bumpy process at times, it need to be done as part of our ongoing community building efforts.

We must to do a better job on addressing HIV/AIDS issues in Trans World, and the recent Positively Trans Survey was a major first step to doing precisely that.

And people, to borrow the words of Elizabeth Rivera, #StopThe Shade.   We have an array of enemies from the Catholic and Southern Baptist Churches to the TERF`s, FOX Noise and the conservative movement hating on us.

There is enough work that needs to be done in Trans World and beyyond across this country for all of us to excel and shine.  It is time to get busy figuring out what you wish to do, if you have the talent and skill set to accomplish that mission you laid out for yourselves, and get busy making positive change happen.  We do not need to be hating on each other when the reality is we have enemies who wish to destroy all of us.

We need to have regular intergenerational conversations with each other.   I enjoy the phone calls I get for example from Miss Major and Sharyn Grayson, and I`m committing to havoing more conmversations with younger trans activistsgoing forward.   I learn just as much from those conversations as you do from me.

I was blessed to have one of those conversations with Sylvia Rivera in May 2000, and trans younglings, I wish to do for you what Sylvia did for me as a neophyte trans activist.   Those intersectional conversations are important in passing along our history, strategy and tactics, training our replacements in this struggle, and building pride in being the trans men and trans women we are.

We are blessed to be in a tipping point moment for not only the acceptance of trans people in all walks of life, but seeing trans human rights progress grow around the world.

I can`t wait to see how this fantastic voyage of trans human rights progress is going to transpire (pun intended) in the next five to ten years and what exciting things are in store for us.

I also hope we remember the words of the late Nelson Mandela as we continue on this trans human rights voyage  when he said, `For to be free is not merely to cast off one`s chains, but to live in a way that enhances the freedom of others`

I am proud to be doing my part at this pivotal moment in our history to help our community do exactly that as we continue to steer the SS Trans Human Rights to the safe harbor of codified human rights and having our humanity recognized until I have to pass the steering wheel of this ship to the next generation of trans leaders

And I`m confident that when that day comes, the SS Trans Human Rights will be in good hands.

Thank you, may God bless us and our community, may we love one another and ourselves, and you have a wonderful rest of your time here at Fantasia Fair 41.

 

Proud To Be Everything FOX Noise Hates

Up here in Provincetown enjoying my first ever Fantasia Fair and enjoying the experinece so far.

While Ii was doing some last minute tweaks to the speech I'm going to deliver in a few hours,  during a writing break was recalling the hard solid thinking I was doing about this meme on my way back to my FF41 digs from Scott Turner Schofield`s `Debutante Balls` performance at the Provincetown Theater.

As an unapologetic Black trans person, I have an array of haters that also includes this propaganda network that continues to lie on trans people now that their war against marraige equality has failed.

They see trans people as a group they can mock and attack, and rally their dispirited conservatroops aound to feelog superior and proud of being conservative at our expense.

Yeah right.   They have been on the wrong side of history for the last 200 years and opposing trans human rights is going to be another in the long series of issues hey are on the wrong side of.

Moni is a proud liberal unapologetically Black trans Yellow Dog Democrat with a caring heart, a brain and a somewhat encyclopedic grasp of history these neo Know Nothings cannot handle.

And yeah, my Black trans behind looks good in a skirted suit and heels while calling their azzes out in person, on the Net or this blog nobody reads.

I`m gleefully proud of being everything that FOX Noise hates an plan to continue role modeling it for my trans younglings and our friends and allies.

Fantasia Fair Day 2

The second full day of Fantasia Fair is the big one for me.   I get to collect that Virginia Price Trans Pioneer Award and deliver an acceptance speech at 1:30 PM EDT at the Crown & Anchor.

I was up until 4 AM EDT Monday morning working on tweaking it, and I will post the text of the speech for those of you who could not bee in the room with me at that time

I am looking forward to delivering that speech and enaging with Fan Fair attendeees in the post speech Q & A session.

There will also be another day of seminars highlighted by one discussing Transgender Hate Crimes n the Federal Government.

The day will close with the Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneeer Awards Banquet at the Crown & Anchor.

The Fight To Keep HERO-October 19

Early voting starts today, and over the weekend there was a rally and canvassing done to ensure our fellow Houstonians are well versed on what's at stake in this critical battle to keep the HERO as part of Houston City Code of Ordinances.

There was a canvass and rally on Saturday hosted by Resurrection MCC in the Heights, and one of the speaker was attorney Dan Scarbrough.   You may recall that he and two friends were denied entrance into the Gaslamp hate club in Midtown.

Early voting starts today and runs through October 30, so handle your electoral business. For those of you planning to get your vote on today, here's the link to find an early voting location near you.

The Texas Voter Suppression law is still in effect for now), so you will need the orange voter registration card and the conservatively approved photo ID before the clerk let you handle your electoral business.

In other HERO various organizations are still coming out in favor of Prop 1. The Texas AARP has become the latest group to urge the passage of Prop 1.

"For older workers, grandparents, unpaid family caregivers, and others age 50 and older who bring vitality to Houston, there's good reason to afford them and others the protections offered by Proposition 1 (HERO)."
- Bob Jackson, Texas Director of AARP

The Houston Association of Realtors, who supports the passage of Prop 1  also published this recent statement debunking the bathroom predator myth  

"The ordinance originally included language that specifically mentioned the use of restrooms. That section of the ordinance was removed in May 2014 and is not included in the language on which you will be voting. The ordinance does include protection from discrimination in areas of “public accommodation,” which is defined as any business that offers a product or service for sale from a physical location. There is already a long-standing law in the City of Houston that makes it illegal for someone to enter a restroom designated for the opposite gender with the intent to cause a disturbance, cause harm or harass anyone. This ordinance does not change that; it will still be illegal for a man to go in a women’s restroom."

The law the HAR referenced in their bigot busting statement is Section 28-20.  And it was yours truly and other trans leaders who called for the removal of that bathroom language because it was problematic.

The  Houston Chronicle has published another editorial calling for our fellow Houstonians to judge HERO on the merits and not the debunked lies of the opposition.

And yes, even though early voting has started, the big day is still November 3 when the votes get counted, so we still have to endure a bunch of commercials in this hotly contested campaign to keep HERO and in the mayor's race that is heating up.

And I'm going to close this post out with the final paragraph of the Chronicle's editorial.

Houston is a big city, a big-hearted city.  To allow small-minded arguments, fraudulent claims and cynical tactics to prevail om Election day would be a repudiation of core values that are intrinsically Houston. 

This great city is bigger than that.

Vote YES on Prop 1

Thinking About Two Elections

While I'm up here in Provincetown about to spend an enjoyable week here at Fantasia Fair that I am treating like a working vacation.  

I'm also thinking about two elections today

Back home early voting is starting in our mayoral election, and will continue until October 30 in advance of the big day on November 3.  I will be handling my electoral business when I return to H-town to vote YES for Prop 1 and the best candidates to lead my hometown for the next two years.

The one back home is high stakes and will remain contentious until November 3,

But just to the north of me is another high stakes election.  Canadians will be heading to the polls for their federal election today to determine who will get the lion's share of the 338 seats up for grabs in ridings across our northern neighbor and get control of the House of Commons.  Magic number to form a majority government is 170 seats

The polling over the last week seems to indicate that the Liberals and their leader Justin Trudeau are poised to make a historic comeback and either take enough seats to form a majority government or enough to form a minority one.

That was after the polls were showing a virtual tie between the NDP, Grits and Tories back in early August   That's also assuming the polling is accurate.

It is also fortuitous for me that while I am here at Fantasia Fair I will get a chance to discuss the election resullts and the current state of Canadian politics with Miqqi Gilbert.

But you can't count the Conservatives out, especially since they dominate Alberta and Saskatchewan. Nor can you count out the NDP, who are the current Official Opposition thanks to Quebec going NDP in the 2011 cycle and being the beneficiaries of the Liberal and Bloc Quebecois collapse in that cycle.
 

What is clear in 2015 is that Canadians are sick of PM Harper and his Conservative party.   Quebec is a battleground province this time, along with Ontario and the GTA.

The GTA for you Yanks not paying attention to our north of the border neighbors, is the acronym referring to the Greater Toronto Area, in which the Conservatives surprisingly picked up seats in during the 2011 election on their way to collecting enough seats for their majority government.  

The other wild card in this election cycle is this is the first Canadian federal election since 38 seats were added to Parliament.  The new seats added were in British Columbia (6), Alberta (6), Ontario (15) and Quebec (3).

As a result, 87% of the boundary lines for previously existing ridings changed.  We'll have to see what happens politically in not only the 38 new ridings, but the ridings that experienced boundary changes.

And the interesting question that will be answered later tonight is how many people in the respective Canadian major parties will join those party leaders in Parliament?    

Fantasia Fair Day 1

After my travel day, and attending the welcome reception last night, and dealing with an unexpected cold snap in which the temps dived down into near freezing territory , getting up and getting ready for the first day of Fantasia Fair action here in Provincetown.

So what's on the schedule for today?

There's an orientation brunch at the Crown and Anchor, the first seminars of Fantasia Fair 41, and later/tonght at 6 PM the Town and Gown Dinner.

After we get our grub on,  at 8 PM Scott Turner Schofield (yep, THE same one from Bold and the Beautiful) takes the stage at the Provincetown Theater to perform his comedic play Debutante Balls.

An interesting first day to start off this Fantasia fair 41 week.

Hanging Out In P-Town For Fantasia Fair

I've arrived on Cape Cod after my nonstop flight to Boston and a puddle jumper Cape Air plane ride over Cape Cod Bay in a ten seat Cessna to P-town

Provincetown Municipal Airport is one of two unique aviation facilities in the country because like Jackson Hole in Wyoming, it sits in a national park.   The Cape Cod National Seashore was created by President Kennedy in 1961 and encompasses 40 miles of the Atlantic Ocean facing eastern seashore of Cape Cod.  

And yes folks, P-town airport does have a TSA facility.

Provincetown also has an interesting history.   It was the first landing site of the Pilgrims before they settled in Plymouth in 1620.   The Mayflower Compact was signed aboard the ship while it was anchored in what is now Provincetown Harbor.

It was incorporated in 1727, and has a year round population of 3,000 people that swells to 60,000 during the summer resort season.   Because of its location at the extreme end of Cape Cod, an artists colony developed there;   It also has a well earned reputation as a town that is LGBT friendly, which is why Fantasia Fair started here in 1975.

And it;s cold up- here.   Temp is getting down to 38 tonight, and not long after I landed and settled into my digs at Dyer House it got cloudy and started spitting snow flurries for a few minutes

I'm excited to be here for the week and getting an opportunity to explore it.  I'm looking forward to the start of Fantasia Fair tomorrow and my big day on Tuesday.

I'm now checked into my room, gotten my conference materials with the Participant's Guide program with my smiling face on it, perused the schedule, and resting a bit before I head to the 7:30 PM Welcome Reception at the Boatslip.

Going to be an interesting week, and it starts in a few hours

The Fight To Keep HERO- October 18

Just in case you wondering where the Houston Black community stands on Prop 1 passage, outside of the loud and wrong cadre of sellout ministers cooning it up for the Texas GOP fueled opposition to the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.

The NAACP Houston Chapter, the Greater Houston Black Chamber, the Houston Area Urban League and a long list of local politicians enthusiastically support HERO.  The Houston Forward Times, one of the oldest Black newspapers in town, just released an editorial that affirms their support of our much needed human rights ordinance.

And as Morenike said in her 'We Are HERO' campaign commentary:

"Houston is almost the 3rd largest city in the US. We need to step up. I want to know that my family is going to be treated fairly when we go into a business, or my kids are at school; and that if that is not the case, that there is a way to deal with it locally. I want to know that we don't have to be second class citizens; that this is not the Jim Crow South. I want to know that no matter who my children want to love, the color of their skin, whether they move differently, or speak differently because of their disability, that we can feel safe. We have experienced discrimination and others have too. It's time for us to change that."

We have Houston civil rights icon Rev William Lawson, who supports it along with Pastor Rudy Rasmus, who has been featured ina pro-HERO commercial.

And just to remind the HERO haters and the willful ignorati on this issue, it was the discrimination that Judge Alexandra Smoots Hogan faced at a Washington Ave nightclub in February 2014 that was the catalyst for getting HERO passed.




HERO is needed and necessary.  It covers 15 categories and provides a local remedy against discrimination experienced in housing, employment and public accommodations,

Our opposition only has fear, smear and lies to throw at it.

So Black Houstonians, don't let the HERO opposition hoodwink and bamboozle you into voting against your own human rights.tomorrow.

The Air Marshal Takes Flight To Fantasia Fair

The Air Marshal got up at the crack of dawn so I can catch a non-stop bird taking off for Boston. My eventual destination will be Provincetown, MA on Cape Cod for Fantasia Fair and my date with trans history.  

On October 20 I become the first African-American trans person to be honored with the Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award and really looking forward to it and being in the Fantasia fair house for the first time ever..

I'm also looking forward to seeing everyone while I'm in P-town for this year's edition of Fantasia Fair.   And yes, you know I'll be tweeting and writing about what's going on during this exciting week for me.

You can follow those tweets on the #FantasiaFair hashtag or my @TransGriot Twitter feed.

Assuming my flight leaves on time at 7:45 AM, will be in Massachusetts and on Cape Cod in six hours to start the latest exciting chapter of my semi-boring life


 .

The Fight To Keep HERO- October 17

Early voting in our mayoral election starts on Monday, and with it has come increased political activity centered on HERO and mayoral and council elections.

In addition to the increased mayoral campaign ads, the pro-HERO and anti-HERO sides are deploying their TV and radio commercials.  While the pro-HERO side has dominated TV so far, the anti-HERO side has been predominately using radio to push their one trick pony message of hate.

Former Astro Lance Berkman recorded an ad for the HERO haters, and on October 7 Mayor Annise Parker called him out on Twitter about his hypocrisy for lying about the HERO when he failed to do the same vocal criticism in other cities in which he has played such as St Louis, New York and Dallas that have similar human rights laws like HERO.

On Wednesday this full page ad was printed in the Houston Chronicle by corporations that support Proposition 1 to emphasize the fact that many of our large corporations want to see Prop 1 passed. These corporations featured in the ad are on record as saying that Prop 1 is good for Houston, and good for the business community.

An October 12 Houston Chronicle editorial from Dow Chemical VP of Gulf Coast Operations Earl Shipp reflects the pro-HERO mindset of many corporations in Houston.

Houston based political cartoonist Nick Anderson has also commented on the HERO campaign, with this recent cartoon slamming the fear and smear  come out swinging oo

Media Matters has also come out swinging against the bathroom predator myth, this time asking law enforcement and governmental officials in Dallas, Austin, El Paso,  the CEO of the Dallas Rape Crisis Center, and the executive director of El Paso's Center Against Sexual and Family Violence about the opposition's loud and wrong lie, it was repeatedly debunked.

And once again, here's last year's HERO testimony from Cassandra Thomas of the Houston Area Women's Center, who not only support the ordinance, but debunked the bathroom predator lie.

 

Early voting starts Monday.   Vote YES on Prop 1!



 

Sick Of You Washington Media Peeps Disrespecting My Departed Sister Zella

It's bad enough that we US based trans people have lost 22 trans women to anti-trans violence this year with the latest being Zella Ziona Smith a few days ago

It's even more infuriating when their local media outlets add insult and disrespect to their memories by misgendering them.

And it happens far too often to murdered trans women of color.

Once again for you media peeps who refuse to get the message, since 2001 the AP Stylebook has guidelines has guidelines that tell you how you should cover trans people.

transgender-Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.  If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the individuals live publicly.

Translation: transgender woman = use female pronouns in story. Transgender male = use  male pronouns in story.   We determine that by gender presentation, not genitalia. .
GLAAD has a media guide you can peruse in addition to the NLGJA one.  
Once again, we have a trans sister in Zella Ziona Smith murdered, and the local media get it totally wrong by referring to a trans feminine person  as a 'transgender man'

Yeah FOX5, WTOP, I'm talking about you and your messed up stenography in this case so far.

Now let's try to once again get you media peeps to understand a concept so simple that even the GEICO caveman will get it.   A transgender woman is a woman, a transgender man is a man.

It is also not necessary for a reader to know Zella's dead  name or add to the story the problematic lines 'her legal name is ______' or 'born as'.  You have already let your readers know that Zella is a trans feminine person by stating that fact in the headline or opening paragraph of the story or in your opening commentary

Throwing the old name in the story is disrespectful, unnecessary (and in some cases triggering) to the trans community and the people who knew and loved Zella.

If we mere bloggers easily get this and consistently write stories with this in mind since we sadly have had way too much practice over the last few years doing so, what's your problem Washington media?

It's not like you are not going to have the situation of not compiling a  story about a transperson ever again because we make up 3% of the population in the Washington metro area and elsewhere.

And may I remind you that some of the people you write or broadcast these news stories for are transgender people  depending upon you as the professional journalists to get it right the first time.

 

Arrest Made In Zella Ziona Smith Case

That was quick!  Montgomery County,MD police have announce they have made an arrest in the Zella Ziona Smith murder case..

20 year old Rico Hector Leblond of Germantown was arrested and charged with first degree murder in the Zella Ziona Smith case.   She was shot in the head Thursday at 5:49 PM during an altercation between herself and Leblond while in a service alley between the Montgomery Village Plaza and Montgomery Village Crossing and died at 8:12 PM at a nearby hospital.

Police said that Ziona and Leblond knew each other and had 'some degree of friendship' prior to her murder. Her death was ruled a homicide by the Montgomery County Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

Leblond is being held without bond, and has a Monday bond review scheduled in Rockville, MD at 1;00 PM.

Will be keeping an eye on this case to see if justice is served in it.  

Miss Major's TGIJP Retirement Party Coming Soon

After her decades of service to our community, the TGI Justice Project announced that Miss Major Griffin-Gracy  would be retiring as executive director of the organization.

On October 25 there will be an epic retirement party in San Francisco for our pioneering trans elder that also doubles as a fundraiser for the organization and Miss Major.

The party will also witness the formal passing of the TGIJP torch to Janetta Johnson, who will take over as executive director of TGI Justice Project.

While Miss Major is stepping down from the ED role at TGI Justice Project, she says she's still going to be speaking out about issues in our community when she feels moved to do so.

“I want to thank you all for working with me and being part of the transitions and changes we’ve  gone through at TGIJP over the years. And I want to assure you that while I’m stepping down as Executive Director, my mouth is not stepping down and I will continue to bitch and let people know what my community is going through. It's difficult living in our truth, but what better way to survive? It's important that we survive; we've got to come out on top. Please continue to support and back up Janetta for taking on the responsibility of taking TGIJP into the next phase. Wish her well and help her prosper. Be safe and stay strong."

The retirement party is slated to start at 4:00 PM PDT and run until 8 PM at the Bently Reserve Banking Hall in San Francisco, located at 301 Battery Street in San Francisco, CA.

You can purchase your tickets at this link.. There is also a Gofundme that has been set up for Miss Major to help her with her retirement expenses at https://www.gofundme.com/MsMajorRetirement 

Thanks for all you have done for us Miss Major, being still f*****g here to tell your story, passing down our history to me and others in our community, and representing for girls like us.

Number 22- Another Trans Person Killed In Maryland

According to the Metro Weekly, another young trans woman has been murdered, this time in Gaithersburg, MD.

And as you probably guessed, the person was subsequently misgendered by FOX5 stenographers

21 year old D. Smith (not using the deadname) was shot in the head yesterday at 5:49 PM during an altercation between herself and the shooter near the intersection of Lost Knife Rd and Contour Rd near the Montgomery Village Plaza and Montgomery Village Crossing shopping centers.

An eyewitness to the crime told FOX5 that he saw the shooter standing over Ms. Smith and firing.  He attempted to chase down the shooter, who reloaded and attempted to shoot him but the gun fortuitously jammed.    A Montgomery County police helicopter and K-9 units were called in to assist in the search for the perpetrator but have been unsuccessful in locating him so far.

Smith was transported to a nearby hospital where she died from her injuries at 8:12 PM EDT..

This makes the 22nd trans person killed in what is unfortunately shaping up to be a potentially record breaking year for anti-trans murders   And once again I'm not happy this person will not make it to their 30th, much less their 25th birthday.

This is still a developing news situation that has been complicated further by the transphobic misgendering of Ms. Smith by DC media,  

If anyone in the DC metro area has photos of Ms. Smith or knows her femme name, please get that info to me as soon as possible.

Rest in power, Zella.   We won't rest until the perp who took you away from us far too soon is captured and doing time for his crime

TransGriot Update: Was just advised by Elizabeth Rivera moments after completing this post that our murdered trans person's femme name was Zella Ziona.

This also means we have lost another trans woman of color

Shut Up Fool Awards-Calling Out Fools Edition

It's Friday, and once again it's time to get busy with our highly popular TransGriot public service of calling out the fool, fools or groups of fools in our midst.

Honorable mention number one is Bob McNair.  The Houston Texans owner has pissed off moi and much of his fanbase with his boneheaded decision to donate $10,000 to the anti-HERO haters, then tried to put a weak azzed statement to justify his decision.

Not a smart move to piss off much of your fanbase who is already upset over the Texans 1-4 start, and spit in the face of  TBLG Texans fans.    

Honorable mention number two is Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who said it was okay for companies to fire LGBT workers and if LGBT people wanted to keep their jobs, they need to stay in the closet.

Kentucky voters, can y'all fire his azz as your senator?

honorable mention number three is James David Manning, who slithered out of his hate tabernacle to issue a call to 'boycott all sodomites'.



Honorable mention number four is to Mike Huckabee, who tried to troll the Democratic debate and got called out for the dual racist tweets he got called out on.

You keep proving every day why you are unfit to be the Republican POTUS nominee, much less president.

Honorable mention number five is TX Rep. Jason Villalba (R), who also got himself in trouble trolling the Democratic debate and violating Godwin's law by calling Bernie Sanders, who is Jewish, a Nazi.,

Another example of why your neo- Know Nothing party needs to become the minority party as expeditiously as possible in the Lone Star State.

Honorable mention number six is TI, for his problematic sexist comment that he can't vote for a female president.   Kneegrow, you're a convicted felon and CAN'T vote, so sit your sexist azz down somewhere and STFU.

This week's Shut Up Fool winner is  the unnamed white female teacher at Bailey Park Elementary in Grinnell, IA who had racism as the lesson of the day. for two biracial kids.

The teacher said to two biracial kids that they were 'stupid and didn't know anything', and that 'black people and white people shouldn't be a family or go to the same schools.'

First off, that teacher needs to be identified, not shielded so they can own their racist behavior and NEVER be hired to teach in a public school setting ever again.  

This is the microaggressive shyt that Black children have to deal with as they navigate the educational system, that has long term repercussions on their self esteem and drags down their academic performance vis a vis their white counterparts, and it needs to stop.

And as for that racist teacher, shut up fool!


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The Fight To Keep HERO- October 16

Early voting in our civic elections starts Monday, but everyone in H-town is still talking about Bob McNair's $10K donation to the anti-HERO bigots that has pissed off me and other until Thursday ride or die LGBT Texans fans.

He released this written statement in the wake of the growing controversy over his contribution to the Forces of Intolerance.

"I strongly believe that everyone who lives or works in or visits Houston should be treated with the utmost dignity and respect. Because of the way the HERO ordinance is written, it has begun to separate rather than unite our community. This problem can be solved by defeating the current bill in November, thoughtfully rewriting it and then resubmitting it to the voters."

Naw Bob, the animus around HERO is all coming from your suburban Republican peeps meddling in Houston human rights business and demonizing trans people to do so since April 2014.

There is no problem with the HERO language since it went through 15 draft.  Could your 'problem with the language' be related to the fact that the Houston TBLG community are two of the 15 categories covered?

We are also well aware of the fact that when you GOP peeps deploy the  'thoughtfully rewrite HERO' comment, it's dog whistle politics for 'we are going to cut the Houston LGBT community out of it'.

Not no, but HELL no to that Bob.   And for you Texans fans who support HERO and wish to express yourselves, here's the link to their Facebook page for starters.

And NFL, where you at on #HERO?  We need to know with early voting in this election starting on Monday where the league stands on this.   Houston voters on both sides need to definitively know is the repeal of #HERO results in Houston losing the 2017 Super Bowl and chances at hosting future Super Bowls.

If You're Not Free, Neither Am I

I loved this Audre Lorde quote that is written into this meme.   So what's the translation of it?

The short version is it speaks to the inescapable web of mutuality that the Rev. Dr MLK, Jr spoke of.  But it also talks about the point that Lorde is making that if any woman is unfree, neither is she, even if the shackles that woman deals with are different from her own.

The shackles could be whatever is dragging you down or hindering you from being the best person you can be. 

It also points out that we are our sister's keeper.  That's easy for us to say, but difficult at times to put into practice on a consistent basis.  But practice it on a consistent basis is a must if we are going to collectively do what we need to do to uplift our community.

That means that cis women are going to have to stop irrationally hatin' on trans women.   Straight women are going to have to stop hatin' on their lesbian and bisexual sisters.

And every woman is going to have to address the fact that society is set up to despise all Black women, cis or trans and we're going to have to work together to change that dynamic..

If you're not free, neither am I.  I want my freedom, and want you to get it  as well.