Not Happy About GLAAD Chopping The Best Blog Awards Category

When GLAAD announced their nominees for their upcoming media awards shows in Los Angeles and New York, there was a glaring admission in the 2016 edition of the awards.

Bloggers.

My blog is celebrating its 10th anniversary (January 1) in continuous operation as one of the few Black owned media outlets that centers the voices of trans persons of color and talks about trans history from our perspective..  

As a former nominee for that Best Blog award in 2014, I am not liking the decision, whoever made it, to cut the blogging award category.

Even when TransGriot was nominated in 2014, I felt like we were treated like media stepchildren by not even having our blogging award given during the televised feed. That's why when I was a finalist in 2014, my behind was in Dallas, TX at the BTAC conference being enveloped in my community's love instead of New York at the GLAAD awards ceremony being snubbed.

There seems to be this disconnect concerning just how much impact bloggers have in driving the media conversation about TBLG issues and the movement as a whole.  Since my blog is the only one that unapologetically discusses issues from a Black trans perspective and has done so for a decade, it is considered a credible news source to mainstream journalists and the LGBT big box outlets that do get nominated for awards.  The fact I have been an activist for now approaching 18 years also makes my blog unique and gives me more credibility when I opine about LGBT activism issues.

I can't tell you how many pictures I joyfully took or conversations I had with young LGBT kids at the recent Creating Change in Chicago that grew up reading TransGriot.  In addition to having conversations with the next generation of our movement, and my fellow LGBT journalists, they thanked me for writing the over 9000+ posts I have written over the last ten years telling it like it T-I-S is about our community.

And speaking of my fellow LGBT journalists, looking forward to sharing space with them in Baltimore for the upcoming LGBT Media Journalists Convening in March.

It's also important to have media outlets that are not centered in Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco or New York since the vast majority of  LGBT people don't live there but in cities and rural areas in what is derisively called 'flyover country'.   It is also vitally important to have trans media voices of color breaking down stories from their perspectives.  The more diverse voices we have on the ground to inform our community, the better.

I didn't get into writing TransGriot for the awards.  It simply started as a way for me to have a real time way back in 2006 on commenting on the issues of the day when I was writing a then two year old monthly column at a Louisville-based regional LGBT newspaper.  TransGriot the blog became bigger than and enhanced the readership of TransGriot the newspaper column until it ended in 2007.

It was also founded because I saw the necessity of having an unapologetically Black trans centered blog talking about the issues of the day from a trans perspective.

But it sure is nice when the hard work you put into making sure your blog is a credible news source is recognized by your peers.

It's interesting for me to note my GLAAD media trained self gets quoted in news stories inside and outside the LGBT community, and so do my Twitter comments from time to time.

If anyone doubts my impact on community conversations or the news cycle, ask the Houston Pride Committee just how much impact my blog 'nobody reads' had when it came to generating the media publicity storm that resulted in getting them to change their misguided decision to move the Houston Pride date to Juneteenth.   I also pointed out mistakes made during the coverage by those same LGBT national outlets GLAAD wants to honor about the HERO fight that was playing out in my Houston backyard.

And before the bigger outlets started doing so, it was yours truly chronicling the deaths of Black trans women, calling people out about the disrespectful transphobic news coverage, chronicling Black trans history, and talking about the history of why HRC is loathed by many in Trans World.

My readers include in addition to high school and college peeps, Houston, Washington D.C. and Texas politicians, various people in my old Louisville stomping grounds, TBLG leaders around the country and the world, and educators at the high school and collegiate levels.

I have been told by various college professors across the country that some of my TransGriot posts have been used in their classes when they wish to talk about and teach trans issues during their gender studies classes.  

And more seriously, so far I have had five people privately tell me that reading some of my posts that focus on empowerment and trans pride on TransGriot kept them from committing suicide.

But I agree with my fellow former two time GLAAD nominee Alvin McEwen that eliminating the Best Blog category sends a negative message.  It's not only short sighted to those of us who toil in the blogging world with little to no compensation at times to ensure that the voices of marginalized LGBT people here and around the world are heard, it's also a mistake.

And it's a mistake I hope they rectify next year.

Brazilian Trans Day Of Visibility Is Tomorrow

Because of Carnaval, a long list of trans models gracing their local and world's fashion runways like Roberta Close, Lea T, Carol Marra and Felipa Tavares, and a national healthcare system that includes trans specific care up to SRS, Brazil is seen by those of us living in the US as a trans friendly country.

But sadly, because of the confluence of a Roman Catholic faith that has been poisoned by anti-trans attitudes injected to it at the Vatican level,  large Pentecostal megachurch pastors in Brazil spreading hatred of trans people combined with the lack of non-discrimination laws at the federal and state levels, the Brazilian trans community has been hit with an off the charts level of anti-trans murders, abuse and discrimination.

Brazil's trans women are still catching hell.  And it needs to stop.

While so far here in the US in 2016 after a record setting year of trans murders for us we haven't had a trans sister killed yet (and I pray it stays that way for a while) that is not the case in Brazil.

In just this month alone, according to Aleika Barros, 40 trans women have been killed in Brazil in January. That is double the number of trans women we lost in the entire US over all of 2015, and unfortunately means that if this pattern continues,by the time we have this year's TDOR, Brazil will once again lead the world in genocidal levels of violence aimed at trans women living there..

According to Aleika, between 2008 and 2014, 604 Brazilian trans women have been murdered, and sadly, they are on their way to another murderous year.  Our trans Brazilian sisters are tired of it, and so am I.

Tomorrow is the Trans Day of Visibility in Brazil, which has been celebrated there on this January 29 date since 2004.  This is one Brazilian Trans Day of Visibility in which I hope trans Brazilians will not only emphatically point out that they are citizens of their country whose humanity needs to be recognized, but that their human rights need to be protected at the local, state and national level.

And their murders need to end.

I hope and pray their fellow cisgender Brazilians look into their hearts, join with trans Brazilians and resolve to work in tandem with the Brazilian trans community to bring those unacceptable levels of anti-trans murders to zero.

TransGriot Note: Photos are of Brazilan trans woman Aleika Barros

30th Anniversary Of Challenger Disaster

Today is the 30th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger disaster.   It ,exploded 73 seconds after it was launched from Cape Canaveral on a chilly January 28, 1986 winter day with a large live TV audience of schoolchildren looking on in horror.

One of the people who was part of that Challenger crew on that STS-51L mission was Sharon Christa McAuliffe, a Concord, NH schoolteacher who was set to become the first civilian launched into space and was going to once the shuttle got into orbit do some teaching from space.

But that broadcast never happened.  The collapse of the external fuel tank caused an explosion that broke the shuttle apart and sent the crew cabin in a fall from 46,000 feet altitude to the Atlantic Ocean below that killed all seven crew members.

The mission crew that perished that day were Mission Specialist Ellison Onizuka, Teacher In Space Christa McAuliffe, Payload Specialist Greg Jarvis, Mission Specialist Judy Resnik, Pilot Mike Smith, Mission commander Dick Scobee, and Mission Specialist Ron McNair.

Like the 1963 Kennedy assassination or the September 2001 terror attacks, people of my generation and who were kids watching the launch in their classrooms across the nation remember what they were doing when it happened at 10:39 AM CST.

I was getting ready for a job interview, and my space junkie self had forgotten for a moment that the launch was happening after two prior postponements.   So I flipped the TV on CNN and was listening to the commentary as I got dressed.

The CNN commentators hadn't mentioned the explosion at the time I turned on the television, and I said to myself, "'Damn, the way they're talking, something must have happened to the Challenger."

A few minutes later I would see the horrific video of that shuttle launch gone horribly wrong.  The shuttles were grounded for nearly three years as NASA and the Rogers Commission sought to find out what happened and make the necessary corrections to the shuttle's design to make it safer.

It was later determined that the cold snap that affected the Cape Canaveral area plus a design flaw in one of the solid rocket boosters combined with violations of NASA launch procedures and protocols caused the accident.

As President Ronald Reagan said in his speech to the nation that night, "The future doesn't belong to the faint-hearted; it belongs to the brave.  The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future and we'll continue to follow them."

And may the souls of the Challenger 7 continue to rest in power and peace, and inspire this generation and future ones to continue to look to the stars.

.      

Happy Fran Watson Day!

Many of us were not aware of it, but today Houston GLBT Caucus president Fran Watson was given another honor in what has started out to be an amazing year for her.

In addition to her historic election as the first African-American female president in the history of the Caucus, today she received at her inauguration celebration event a gavel from Texas state Senator John Whitmire (D) and a city of Houston proclamation signed by Mayor Sylvester Turner (D) and presented to her by Councilmember Robert Gallegos declaring today as Fran Watson Day!

***

Whereas, founded in 1975, the Houston GLBT Political Caucus is one of the oldest LGBT civil rights organizations in the south. The Houston GLBT Political Caucus continues to be the City of Houston's primary organization working to advance equality for all LGBT Houstonians and,

Whereas, the Houston GLBT Political Caucus has been led by 30 past presidents. The election of Fran Watson as president marks the first election of an African American woman; and,

Whereas, Fran Watson has distinguished herself in the struggle for equal rights for all people through her tireless advocacy efforts organizing around LGBT equality, supporting homeless LGBT youth, working to combat the mistreatment of people of color through the Black Lives Matter movement, organizing to protect the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance and engaging communities of faith in support of social justice; and,

Whereas, on January 27, 2016, Fran Watson will be honored for her commitment to the advancement of LGBT Houstonians. The City of Houston commends Fran Watson and extends best wishes for her continued success.

Therefore, I, Sylvester Turner, Mayor of the City of Houston, hereby proclaim January 27, 2016, as Fran Watson Day in Houston, Texas.

***

Congratulations, Fran!  Hope this is just the first of many well deserved honors you receive as one of our trailblazing community leaders I have mad love, respect and admiration for.

Happy Fran Watson Day!

Roland Martin Drops The Mic On Stacey Dash

Stacey Dash has sadly had the wash set and GOP cranial rinse to become a FOX fembot, and has been cooning it up lately on FOX Noise.

She was recently unleashed by her paymasters to say some monumentally stupid and hypocritical comments about BET, Black Hollywood and Black media in general that paid her bills for decades before she started taking pundit checks from FOX Noise.

Well you know my ascot wearing Houston homeboy Roland Martin wasn't having it, and delivered this recent smackdown on her azz.

Enjoy.

Why Were Y'all 'Scurred' Of This Trans Attracted Men Panel?

'I refuse to believe that there's something wrong with a man that is attracted to me, the way that I am'.
--Bryanna Jenkins

Still not happy about the bull feces that transpired in Chicago last week that resulted in the shutdown of the Trans Attracted men panel that was supposed to take place during NBJC's Black Institute.

The peeps who shut it down were high fiving themselves and cheesing for the cameras after they did so, but now that the backlash from their ill thought out action is smacking their millennial asses in the face, now they are furiously trying to moonwalk and spin their way out of it.

Naw boo boo kitties.  Too late now.

But the questions I and a lot of people have been asking in the wake of this action is what was the real reason motivating them to shut down this trans attracted men panel in the first place?  Why was that cadre of Black trans women so 'scurred' of trans attracted men telling their stories and their truths as they see them?  

Bryanna Jenkins has an interesting take on it that I agree with that I'm going to piggyback off of it.

But I still have to ask the question why were they so  'scurred' of the trans attracted men panel enough to launch a shut down protest of it?  And spare me the lies you used to attempt to justify last Thursday's action.

I would love to find out how many of those #CC16 protest girls were post op.  I agree there are post ops who are chasing pseudo cis privilege and believe because they have genital surgery, they are 'better than' pre-op or non-op trans women.  That divide combined with unacknowledged dysphoria around our trans feminine bodies causes problems in our trans feminine ranks.

Bottom line ladies, is the Religious Reich doesn't care whether we identify as pre-op, post-op or non-op.  They hate all of us with a foaming at the mouth passion and if they had their way, would like nothing better than to throw us into detention camps and forcibly make us all detransition.

Back to the post.  

What the trans attracted men conversation would have done had it been allowed to happen would have been to blow that pseudo cis privilege up and many assumptions trans women base their lives on.  It would have revealed that yes, some trans attracted men prefer non-op or pre-op trans women, and perusing Craigslist would easily back that assertion up.  It's also worth noting that the number one type of porn that flies off the shelves is porn featuring non-op or pre-op trans women .

That  trans attracted man conversation would have allowed them to declare to the world they unconditionally love us, and that there is nothing wrong or shame inducing in doing so.

It would have allowed them to call out the trans attracted men who are abusive to their mates or have killed their partners.  And that conversation would have allowed us to hear from their own mouths what is going on in the minds of trans attracted men and how they see us.

It would also give us a window into how the trans attracted man thinks.

And as Cheryl Courtney-Evans said in a comment she posted on Bryanna's page, "This conversation desperately needs to be had...the more this is discussed with our male supporters, the less stigma will be attached to our relationships in general, which adds to the value of ALL our lives. "

Amen Cheryl!

But that conversation didn't happen Thursday. However what you misguided trans women did do is create demand for those necessary trans attracted men conversations to be held across the country

So some of y'all can be 'scurred' all you want and try to spin what you did as `defending your sisters`   What y`all did was stifle a conversation from happening, and no amount of spin will kill the reality of that,

While you were temorarily successful in doing so, the trans adults in the room are willing ready and eager  to hear that adult conversation y`all created through your action more interest in around the country.

2016 Williams Watch- Serena To The Australian Open Semis!

The 2016 Australian Open keeps rolling to its conclusion, and Serena Williams is still on track to claim her seventh Australian Open title, her 22nd Grad Slam title to tie Steffi Graf overall, and start a run at a Golden Slam.

But standing in the way in the quarterfinal round was a woman she'd beaten 17 straight times in fifth seeded Maria Sharapova of Russia.   The last time she'd lost to Sharapova was in 2004, and since then it's been all Serena all the time

This one started out with Serena getting off to a slow start and dropping her initial service game to get into an 0-2 hole and get her haters around the wold salivating.  But she eventually got it to 4-4 and after a tense four deuce game held to take the lead and eventually break Sharapova to take the first set.  

Serena then kicked it into A+ level and rolled to a 4-0 lead before Sharapova broke the five game un by holding serve.  But Serena once again held her serve and broke Sharapova to win the match in straight sets 6-4, 6-1.   It was the 18th straight win for Little Sis and the seventh straight time in their non rivalry she'd beaten Sharapova in straight sets.

Next up in the semis for Serena is fourth seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland who sent #10 seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain to the sidelines in straight sets 6-1, 6-3.

If she handles her semifinal business, these are the potential opponents who could be standing between her and her seventh Australian Open title.

That half of the quarterfinal bracket has #14 seeded Victoria Azarenka facing off against #7 seeded German Angelique Kerber, and giant killers Johanna Konta of Great Britain and qualifier Zhang Shuhai of China in the other quarterfinal.

The winners will face off in the semis to determine who that finalist will be.

TransGriot Update: The other semi will be Angelique Kerber and Johanna Konta.

Do You Wish To Be A Trans Leader Or A Trans Pariah?

As many of you have heard by now, there was a protest jumped off by a cadre of millennial trans women and their supporters during the NBJC Black Institute at Creating Change in Chicago on Thursday

The reason, as the group of protesters claimed, was not to 'hold people accountable' or 'support their trans sister', the purpose of it from the beginning was aimed at shutting down the Trans Attracted Men panel discussion that was set to happen organized by Tona Brown and Bryanna Jenkins.

That action turned ugly when NBJC's executive director and CEO Sharon Lettman Hicks was dismissively told to 'sit down and shut up' by protester Aaryn Lang, and other people in the room were disrespected as well like TPOCC Founding ED Kylar Broadus by the protesters.

While I was also one of the peeps they disrespected, and I thank everyone for their calls, hugs during CC16 and expressions of concern that are still coming in, this post is not about me.   It is about this disturbing pattern I have witnessed over the last two years of Northeastern and Midwest based young Black trans women who seem to think (and know who they are) that it's okay to exhibit Jerry Springeresque nekulturny behavior in conference spaces where we come and invest time and money in those spaces to learn and facilitate the introductions necessary to help build and sustain a national human rights movement.

I'm tired of the off the chains bad behavior along with other Black trans elders who have sacrificed much to ensure your generation of trans women could be you at ages earlier than we could ever dream of, and have less obstacles to face as you did so.

And what irritates us is that you are squandering that blessing paid for with the blood of your fallen trans sisters while embarrassing yourselves and the Black trans feminine community as a whole

The facts as I was able to determine before posting this were that the protest group never attempted to talk to Tona, Bryanna, or anyone in NBJC about their concerns, and it is increasingly apparent that the charge they have leveled at one of the panelists, has increasingly become highly questionable.

Yes boo boo kitties, I saw the police report.

Ladies, one of the tenets of a protest is that before you put your ass and reputation on the line to militantly protest something. make sure that the stuff you are allegedly protesting for actually happened before you start it.   If it turns out to be false, your credibility is shot.

As my sis Kim Watson so eloquently stated, 'You do not go in the line of fire based on lies'.

But back to the panel.   There were people in that room who spent money on conference registration fees, travel to Chicago, hotels and their valuable time to see that panel.  Your sisters Tona and Bryanna organized it, and it was being held in one of the few unapologetically Black spaces in that Creating Change Conference hotel in the NBJC Black Institute.

It was sponsored by an org that has had Black trans women's backs since Sharon Lettman-Hicks became the ED/CEO of that organization in the National Black Justice Coalition and the Kylar Broadus founded Trans Persons of Color Coalition.

The NBJC Black Institute attendees have every right to be pissed about not seeing that panel, much less a group of ungrateful children disrupting the NBJC Black Institute   You selfishly suppressed a conversation that needed to happen, and may have revealed insights into the mindset of trans attracted men that may help us reduce the numbers of our trans sisters being murdered.  

But y'all didn't give a rats anus about the people in that room gathered to see and hear that conversation or that were triggered as violence or sexual assault survivors by your actions.  You ate NBJC's deep dish pizza and then proceeded to crap on them afterwards.

You can try to justify that mess with that BS 'taking the space that is rightfully ours' mantra all you want, whatever in the hell that means, stroke your egos, but the end result is what you did was wrong and phucked up.  If you wish to continue down the trans pariah path that Ashley Love and Mariah Lopez occupy, be my guest, because that is exactly where you six peeps are heading right now.

And far from shutting that conversation down, there is even more desire and determination to see the trans attracted men chat happen.

While y'all were preening for the cameras, the right wing is introducing legislation to dehumanize us in several states and make it a criminal offense to be trans.

And the question I have for you six is simply this.  Do you wish to be a trans leader or a trans pariah? Choose wisely.

I understand y'all wish to be like the trans Latinas and have an organized, national movement.  But the trans Latinas also have discipline in their ranks, short and long range plans, don't disrespect their elders and diss each other on social media.   If they have beef with each other, they take it offline and squash it.

We have real work to do to build an intergenerational sustained Black trans movement.  I'm down to mentor people who wish to lead that movement and collectively give our people the representation they deserve.

If you wish to be part of that and want that to happen, great.  If you wish to keep mess and confusion going in Black Trans World, I'm not down for that and y'all can step aside.

As y'all step aside and descend to pariah status, the real leaders in Black Trans World can get on with the business of leading our community, fighting all who would seek to dehumanize and oppress us.

They are also tasked with educating our allies and enlightening all who wish to learn about trans issues from a Black perspective, and not embarrass our community at the same time.

2016 Williams Watch-Serena's Headed To The Quarters!

While I was in Chicago dealing with a drama filled Creating Change conference, I was comforted in the fact that Serena Williams was kicking butt and taking names on her way to hopefully her seventh Australian Open title and 22nd Grand Slam title overall.

In her Australian Open third round match she played during the January 22 night session at Rod Laver Arena, she made quick 6-1, 6-1 straight set work of Russia's Daria Kasatkina.

Two days later on that Rod Laver Arena court she only took 55 minutes to efficiently send another Russian to the sidelines in Margarita Gasparyan.    Little Sis beat her in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 to set up a quarterfinal match with an opponent she hasn't lost to since the 2004 Wimbledon finals in Maria Sharapova.

Maria may be tired of hearing about it, but facts are facts.  You've lost 17 straight matches to the greatest tennis player of all time, and until you beat her, you'll get repeatedly reminded of it.

Should Serena handle her tennis business and make it 18 straight against Sharapova, she would face the winner of the Agnieszka Radwanska - Carla Suarez Navarro match in the Australian Open semifinals.

Coming Back From Creating Change 2016

And now it's time to say the words that everyone in Harris County loves to hear.

Time for me to come back home from #CC16 Chicago style.

After some morning panels and a closing brunch we'll be gathering for the final plenary session as the Chicago Host Committee gets to the bittersweet moment of passing the hosting torch to the #CC17 host city, Philadelphia..

I won`t get to see the end of it because I have to catch my flight back to Texas at ORD.

Our Creating Change in Houston was two years ago, and all of us who were involved in putting it together still have fond memories of doing so.  We want another opportunity to host it again and want to top what we pulled off in our maiden attempt..  

Hey, Dallas has held it twice , we've only hosted it once.

But thanks Chicago for handling your #CC16 business.  It's been an amazing and drama filled at times four days here, but I'm more than ready to get back to the warmth of Houston and scarf up some barbecue when I get back home.

To my old friends I had a chance to spend time with at #CC16, enjoyed it immensely and looking forward to the next time we get to share some space together.   To my new friends and all of our youth I got a chance to talk to and take pics with, it was my sincere pleasure to do so.

And to the peeps who live for stirring up mess and drama (and they know who they are), time for you petulant children to grow up and chill with that mess because we have far more important work to do on behalf of our entire community.

Later, Chicago.

TransGriot 2015 NFL Picks-Conference Championship

I'm in Chicago for Creating Change, but the NFL 2015-16 playoffs are rolling toward Championship Sunday and who will play in Super Bowl 50.

In last week's Divisional Round went 3-1 (5-3 for the playoffs) on my picks thanks to that unbelievable play in OT by Larry Fitzgerald that followed a miracle Green Bay Hail Mary that tied the game at 20-20 and sent it to overtime.

It's Championship Sunday, and hope we get two games that match the drama of those Divisional round matchups.

AFC Championship

#2 New England Patriots (13-4) at #1 Denver Broncos (13-4) 

First up on Championship Sunday is the rematch, with much higher stakes between the Patriots and Broncos.  The regular season clash played at Sports Authority Field back on November 29 resulted in an unexpected 30-24 Denver overtime victory that knocked the Patriots from the unbeaten ranks and the Broncos eventually getting home field for this game.

This time, Brock Osweiler won't be the starting QB, Peyton Manning will be.  He led them to a come from behind 23-16 victory in their Divisional round game against the Steelers.  The Brady bunch ended the Kansas City Chiefs season with their 27-20 win at Gillette Stadium.

Should be another interesting and close game between future Hall of Fame QB's Manning and Brady, but only one will be walking away with the Lamar Hunt trophy at the end of the game and a punched ticket to Super Bowl 50.

While it's hard to beat a team twice in the same season,  Broncos will win this game.

NFC Championship

#2 Arizona Cardinals (14-3)  at #1 Carolina Panthers (16-1)

This game will be in Charlotte, and it's a game matching arguably the two best teams in the NFC and possibly the league.

Both of them had interesting Divisional round games to say the least.   The Cardinals had go to overtime to punch their first NFC conference title game ticket since 2008 after Aaron Rodgers Hail Mary throw on the last play of regulation time tied the game 20-20.  

The Panthers stormed out of the locker room and built a 31-0 halftime lead against the Seahawks, then had to hold on for dear life as the two time NFC champs mounted a furious second half comeback that fell just short.

This should be a fun game to watch, but as for who I think will be hoisting the George Halas trophy after the game, it will be the Panthers.

#CC16 Day 3

Day 3 of Creating Change Chicago style and the last full day of seminars after an interesting night in which a protest aimed at the A Wider Bridge reception ended up with the Chicago po-po`s being called .

Highlights of today`s agenda are the MasQUEERade Youth Ball and the 50+ and Allies Dance .  

I`ll also be tweeting at times various panels when I pop into various panels and something interesting gets said.

Shut Up Fool Awards- Moni's At #CC16 Edition

I'm up in Chicago for the 2016 edition of Creating Change, and I'm having a blast getting my learn on and seeing everyone that made it up here for this major conference.  We're happy that the weather is not as chilly as we expected, but the Chicago Host Committee is showing us a great time as we get our learn on.

It's Friday, and even though I'm up here handling #CC16 business, fools are everywhere, and I gots to call them out.  Speaking of calling fools out, I'll be adding five more names to the SUF Lifetime Achievement Awards List during Oscar weekend..  

So let's get started with my weekly TransGriot Shut Up Fool Awards and finding out what fool, fool or group of fools get it.

Honorable mention number one goes to Bernie Sanders, who is upset that he didn not get the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign, but keeps mispronouncing the name of the organization.

Maybe if you gooten the name of the group right, they may have felt the bern for you.

Honorable mention number two is a group award for PETA, who floated the offer that if the city of Detroit went vegan, they would pay Detroit`s water bill.

And y`all wanna know why I hate PETA`s racist asses.

Honorable mention number three is a group award for all the 2016 POTUS candidates who continue to spew racist, sexist (fill in the blank) comments at every stop on the ccampaign trail.

Honorable mention number four goes to FOX Noise spokessellout Stacey Dash, who while cooning it up for FOX Noise tried to defend the melanin free Oscar nominees by suggesting that the BET and NAACP awards need to go if we Black people want intergration,

You need to chill with the GOP cranial rinses.   The reaon those award shows exist in the Black community Stacey, is because of repeated snubs like the ones you`re trying to defend.

This week the Shut Up Fool winner is Sarah Palin for blaming the arrest if her son Trask on President Obama and PTSD,

Really?  As usual that chillbilly is just like very other Republican in terms never taking responsibiloity for their actions of lousy parenting.

Sarah Palin, shut up fool

#CC16 Day2

The second day of Creating Change Chicago style features the first full day of seminars at the Hilton Chicago

The State of the Movemnet Plenary is happening today, and the Muslim/ Prayer service at 12:30 PM with Imam Daayiee Abdullah presiding over it.

And later this evening, the Agents of Change House Ball
.

#CC16-Day 1

The moment the Chicago Host Committee has been waiting and conducting nine months of convention  planning for has finally come to pass.  Creating Change 2016 has started.

White it's the second day of #CC16, it's the first day of Creating Change Chicago style for me at the Hilton Chicago.  Today is dedicated to the all day institutes, and one of them I'm keenly interested in will be the NBJC sponsored The Black Institute in the Williford C room

It will feature a groundbreaking panel discussion moderated by Tona Brown that focuses on the trans attracted men  who love us and the issues surrounding them.

The opening plenary will hopefully be less dramatic than the one in Denver last year, but is featuring a discussion on Black Feminism and the Movement for Black Lives.

I am planning on live tweeting the action while I'm here chilling (literally) in Chicago, so stay tuned to these TransGriot pages for the #CC16 news.  You can also check out the Creating Change website to see the webcasts of the plenary sessions

You can also check out the #CC16 hashtag on Twitter to check out what people are saying about this event on social media or my @TransGriot Twitter handle.

As you noticed, in addition to the live tweeting, I'm planning on writing update posts concerning the #CC16 happenings here at the Hilton Chicago as our LGBTQ community gathers for this major conference.

And so happy to be in town for it.

In The #CC16 House!

Well, it wasn't looking good for a minute, but the stars aligned for me to finally be in Chicago for my third straight Creating Change and fourth overall.

The first Creating Change I attended was in 1999, but it took Creating Change coming to me in  Houston in 2014 for moi to be able to go to my second one.   Unlike last year at #CC15 in Denver when I had a room in the conference host hotel, this time I'll be at the Hyatt Regency Chicago up the street from the #CC16 host hotel, the Hilton Chicago.

My AA flight from HOU to DFW was delayed,  making my connecting flight through DFW to O'Hare a little tigher than I like considering the size of DFW.   But what I can`t complain/about was I had the front row of a regional jet to myself on the HOU-DFW leg (think extra legroom), and a row to myself on/ the second leg.

Even better, I got up here early along with my bag.   Buit I still like Southwest.

Walked into/ the conference hotel, and within 30 seconds after entering the doorI started bumping into people.   I`m also chilling here until I can catch up with Ruby Corado, whose flight to ORD was delayed.
.

As I mentioned in a previous post, it's the first time I've ever been to Chicago in the winter, and I was hoping and praying while I was up here during the four days of this conference that neither the high or low temps would have minuses in front of them or snow would be in the forecast.  So far so good.

You're welcome.  You can thank a sistah for bringing some heat with her and the somewhat warmer winter temps (for Chicago) from H-town by hooking her up with some Giordano's deep dish pizza.

I'll also be hitting some 7-Elevens near my hotel to handle my Slurpee addiction.

I'm looking forward to during my #CC16 time here hanging out with my homegirls and 'errbody' else I know in the LGBTQ community.  I'm also looking forward to meeting in the flesh peeps I correspond with and have gotten to know via Facebook and meeting some new friends while I'm in the Windy City.

Speaking of meeting new friends, for those of you wandering around the #CC16 Hilton Chicago host hotel, just want to let y'all know to don't be shy, say hi to Moni.  I remember what it was like when  I was attending my first Creating Change back in Oakland in 1999 and I was the neophyte activist in awe of my trans elders at the time.

While I may have a lot of people around me at different times due to being in the movement now for 18 years and counting, I don't bite unless you're a right wing Teapublican or a Trump supporter.

Just stop me in the hall or after the panel discussion and say hello when you see me.  If I'm not rushing off to a meeting, to grab food with someone or another panel, I'll be happy to take a few moments to chat with you.

For those of you here in the Windy City for #CC16, here's the link to the program book.   I'm also planning to tweet different panels I find interesting to attend and report about what's happening here when we're not getting our learn on.  

And yeah, I did pack plenty of warm clothes for the time I'll get to spend here..

 I'm taking some time tonight to get some preliminary writing done so I have more time to hang out.  Once I get through doing that, I might go swing by the bar later and see who is in town.

But if y'all don't see me tonight, see y'all at the Hilton Chicago in the morning.

#CC16 Pre-Conference Drama

Assuming my flight left DFW on time, I'm winging my way to Chitown as your read this.

One of the things about every Creating Change is that when you have a conference in which 4000 advocates come to town for a major conference that has the goal of training LGBT advocates to do the work, we shouldn't be surprised if people take the tactics they learned and aim them at you or decide to use the heightened media spotlight this convention gets in the LGBT and local media to advocate for various causes. ..

Drama is already happening in advance of the start of Creating Change 2016.

We already had ICE cancel a problematic #CC16 panel back on January 12, and now a kerfuffle has erupted over the cancellation and now reinstatement of a January 22 reception sponsored by the group A Wider Bridge.

Dean Spade and Dark Matter were openly critical of the reception, calling the group Zionist and an Israeli government front organization trying to pinkwash the ongoing conflict and Israeli treatment of the Palestinians.

When the reception was canceled on January 15, Jewish LGBT people responded in outrage, accused the Task Force of being anti-Semitic and began the noisy push to get the event reinstated on the #CC16 calendar.

The increasing rancor between the two groups resulted in National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey to issue this statement Monday about the reinstatement of the reception.

Having taken in a range of information and seeing what has happened over the last couple of days, I have decided to reverse our decision to cancel the ‘Beyond the Bridge’ reception hosted by A Wider Bridge with guest speakers from the Jerusalem Open House. It is our belief that when faced with choices, we should move towards our core value of inclusion and opportunities for constructive dialogue and canceling the reception was a mistake. Our decision was made by staff; neither our board members nor the local Host Committee were involved.  We are aware that our original decision made it appear we were taking sides in a complex and long-standing conflict, which was not the intention, and that in cancelling the reception we deeply offended many people, and our reversal will offend others.  In reversing the decision today, we want to make it quite clear that the Creating Change Conference will always be a safe space for inclusion and dialogue for people with often widely different views.  It was not at all our intention to censor representatives of the Jerusalem Open House or A Wider Bridge at Creating Change and I apologize that our actions left people feeling silenced.

Stay tuned, because the drama over this event probably isn't over, and we'll see how this plays out on Friday.

Moni's Leaving On A Jet Plane...

To Chicago!

The first trip of the New Year for me leaving out of Hobby in a few hours to the chilly Windy City to attend and cover Creating Change 2016.   It's not only the third straight Creating Change I've had the opportunity to attend and my fourth overall, it's going to be the first time I've flown into O'Hare since my Air Marshal days.

It's also the first time I'm traveling to Chicago in the winter.  I usually despise air travel during the winter months, but gots to do what I have to do to be in the #CC16 house including enduring a connection and DFW layover up and back.

I'm so looking forward to seeing the Chicago peeps who are in attendance, my trans sisters and brothers and  'errbody' else in the national and international TBLGQ community that are traveling by land and air to get to the Hilton Chicago host hotel and other nearby lodging spots in the Chicagoland area starting tomorrow.

But I'm not looking forward to the 40+ degree winter temperature difference between Houston and Chicago.

I need to stop whining about it and count my blessings. The temp will warm up to a high of 31 degrees F by this weekend.  Until a few days ago, it was looking like I was going to miss it and moping in Houston about not being there.

Creating Change not only is an event in which we get our learn on and hone our activist skills, it also serves as a big impromptu TBLG family reunion and one in which much of the community's business is conducted during the time everyone is in the Creating Change host city.  

But some positive things happened for me over the weekend that made moi being in the #CC16 house possible, and I thank Brock and Ruby in advance for making it happen

Well Chicago, see y'all in a few hours.  Save some Giordano's meat lovers deep dish pizza for me.

2016 Williams Watch- Good And Bad News From Melbourne

My fave tennis playing siblings are once again starting the New Year Down Under at the first Grand Slam tournament of the 2016 tennis season in the Australian Open.

And after the first round matches were completed in Melbourne, there's some good news and bad news to report.

First the bad news.  There were 12 players in the women's singles bracket that went down in first round upsets.  Number 2 seed Simona Halep, #16 seed Caroline Wozniacki, #17 Sara Errani, #22 Andrea Petkovic, #24 Sloane Stephens and #25 Samantha Stosur were some of the folks who went down in the first round.   #23 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova went bye bye in the second round.

Joining that list of one round and done players was Venus Williams.   8th seeded Big Sis is surprisingly done for this tournament after she was upset by Johanna Konta of Great Britain in straight sets 4-6, 2-6.   Venus has a great 2015 in which she reached the quarterfinals at last year's Australian Open and Wimbledon, and the third round of the US Open but had a bad day at the office at the worst possible time.  

Nothing in her game was working, including her usually lethal serve which was broken by Konta five times.  She was moved around the court easily in a loss that was considered a shock to tennis pundits

But she's out of the 2016 Aussie Open in the first round

Meanwhile on that same Rod Laver Arena court, Serena began the quest for her seventh Australian Open title by knocking off Camila Giorgi of Italy in straight sets 6-4, 7-5 to punch her ticket to the second round where she faced Hsieh Sui-Wei of Taiwan.

She took an hour to cruise to a 6-1, 6-2 straight set victory and move on to her third round match with Russia's Daria Kasatkina .

Going to be an interesting week Down Under, especially on the women's side.

Her Story Goes Live Today

After months of buzz, positive press, the release of a tantalizing trailer, and public premiere events in New York and West Hollywood, today the groundbreaking Her Story webseries goes live.

And I'm happy on so many levels to see it.   I'm thrilled to see a trans written, trans acted and trans produced dramatic series with realistic trans characters.  I'm happy that it's getting positive buzz.

And most of all, I'm elated that this project involves two people I have mad love and respect for in Angelica Ross and Jen Richards.

So looking forward to see the first season of Her Story and hope it's megasuccessful enough to where it not only gets a second season, but leads to more FUBU projects like it on cable and broadcast TV.

Here's the link to Her Story for you to check out the six webisodes that make up its first season .