2016 UH Cougar Watch- Cougars Beat Cincinnati 40-16

The game was actually closer than the final score indicated, but the number 6 ranked University of Houston Cougars beat the Cincinnati Bearcats 40-16 in front of a national television audience and a sold out Nippert Stadium/

It was The American conference game opener between two unbeaten teams considered the favorites to be playing in The American title game in December.  It was also a clash two teams rumored to be the front runners in the Big XII expansion sweepstakes.

But after a frustrating first half in which they turned the ball over twice and despite moving the ball at ease on the Bearcats went in at halftime tied 10-10,

The Third Ward Defense shut down any Bearcat attempts to run the football, but still managed because of Cougar turnovers to grab a 16-12 fourth quarter lead.

Greg Ward, Jr. then shook off the third quarter end zone interception he threw that the Bearcats converted for their go ahead touchdown to march the Cougars on a clutch drive to take the lead back 19-16, then the defense took over.

They contributed back to back pick sixes as part of that 28 point fourth quarter explosion to move the Cougars to 3-0 on the season and win their opening American conference game.

Will these two teams meet in December?  We'll see. But the Cougars travel to San Marcos next week to take on the Texas State Bobcats in a non conference matchup as they continue on their mission to crash the CFA College Football Playoff party.   .

Roland Martin Calls Out Bill O'Reilly

Y'all know how much I love my Houston homeboy Roland Martin, and one of the highlights of the joint NABJ-NAHJ convention I recently attended in DC was actually getting to meet and talk to him for a moment about TBLGQ issues.

Roland has never been shy about expressing his opinions on his NewsOne Now show, and in this video he puts Bill O'Reilly on blast for attacking Colin Kaepernick and questioning his patriotism.

Roland give O'Reilly a much needed history lesson while calling him out, and suggests a few books for him to read to get an understanding about what it's like to be Black in America..

Arrest Made In Deneequia Dodds Case

I have some good news to report in that an arrest has been made in the Deenequia Dodds case.

You'll recall that Dodds was found by a pedestrian shot in the neck in the early morning hours of July 4 in the 200 block of Division Ave NE just a few blocks from her home/  She succumbed July 13 from her gunshot wound after nine days on life support at Prince George's Hospital Center.

There were unfortunately no witnesses at the time to what happened to Dee Dee, and MPD detectives suspected it was a robbery and a $25,000 reward was offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer.

Looks like the reward worked in getting the necessary information.

22 year old Shareem Hall of District Heights, MD was arrested yesterday morning and charged with murder while armed.   Hate crime charge enhancements are a serious consideration in this case according to Interim MPD Police Chief Peter Newsham.

Know that I and my DC trans family will be keeping an eye on this case to ensure that justice is served.
 

My Ambivalence About The USA And Texas Is Real

Sometimes I wonder just how many of you white Americans not only say amen to what Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney wrote about my people in the 1857 Dred Scott v Sandford decision but think on this date in the second decade of the 21st century we're still 3/5ths of a human being compared to you? TransGriot, July 4, 2013

The conservafools are going apoplectic because the kneeling protest of the flag and national anthem kicked off by 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is now being replicated across the nation.

I've said in more than a few posts on this blog not only that some of my fellow Americans piss me off, my relationship with this country can be summed up in a line from the HBO movie The Tuskegee Airmen.


How do I feel about my country?  How does my country feel about me?

As a student of history, I know that the anti-Black hatred embedded in the American DNA is real and manifests itself at times in every fiber of this society.  I also know that as much as I love my birth state of Texas. and the United States, I have serious concerns about the state of race relations in the Lone Star State and this country.

I have overwhelming evidence gleaned from history and my five decades of lived experience that my state and my country don't love me with the same level of enthusiasm that I love them.

And my unapologetic Black trans status shows me that my state's Republican leaders in Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, and Attorney General Ken Paxton hate me not only for my Blackness, but also because I'm transgender.

As I like to say when I get asked about it, love my birth state, hate the conservative GOP jerks that run it.

So yes, my ambivalence about this country and this state is real.  How can I be proud of a country and a state that gleefully tries to suppress my ability to vote via SCOTUS rulings and unjust laws and enslaved my ancestors for over two hundred years?

How can I be unfailingly proud of a state that is seriously considering, despite the overwhelming evidence from Indiana and North Carolina that targeting the TBLGQ community for discrimination is dangerous to your state's economic health, still are flapping their loud and wrong gums about wanting to pass and HB2 style bill here in the Lone Star State?

Miss me with that idiotic crap.

Also miss me with all the bigoted assumptions you carry about me and my people because I'm not 3/5ths of a person.  Neither is my humanity as a Black trans person up for discussion or debate or to be used to prop up support for your party's failed policies  

To borrow and paraphrase the words of the writer James Baldwin, it is because we love this country that I and other African-Americans loudly criticize her when she is on the wrong path to make America better.

It's your choice White America.  You can stop tripping about Colin Kaepernick, because he is the representation of what many African-Americans, myself included, have felt for decades about this country, and just because he gets a nice paycheck doesn't negate his 1st Amendment rights.

You can either listen to what we Black Americans have to say in a peaceful manner and take corrective action, or as usual attempt to ignore it, and then be shocked and dismayed when you hear the same message in the language of the unheard.

TransGriot 2016 NFL Picks-Week 2

Picking games during the first week of a new NFL season is always a nerve wracking crapshoot.

Because of all the roster moves, retirements, training camp injuries, suspensions, coaching changes, et cetera, you have no idea until they kick the ball off in the first week's games whether all those changes helped the teams that executed those moves and made them better, worse or kept them at the same level of 8-8  or 7-9 mediocrity.

Here in Houston we were quite happy with the outcome of last week's NFL activity. We were pleased to see something we haven't witnessed for a long time here in Texans Nation.

What's that you ask?  A Texans offense with speedy wide receivers like Deandre Hopkins and rookies Will Fuller and Braxton Miller who can stretch the field and cause problems for opposing defenses and a defense with a healthy Jadeveon Clowney playing on the field.

We were also pleased in H-Town to see that the Texans won, and the Tennessee Traitors, Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts all lost, which means at this early juncture the Texans are for now in first place in the AFC South Division.

Nope, never gonna let it go that the Oilers moved to Nashville.

Back to this week's prognostication post.

There were a lot of close games during Week 1, many of which I got right.   And thanks to the New York Giants and New England Patriots, my campaign to defend my NFL prognostication title is off to a great start after going 11-5.

But that was last week.  This is Week 2 and have another 16 games to pick   Team I'm selecting to win will be in BOLD print.  Home team is in CAPS.

These are Mike's Week 2 picks.

2016 NFL Week 1 Results                                     2016 NFL Season Standings

TransGriot 11-5                                                       TransGriot 11-5
Mike            9-7                                                       Mike            9-7
Eli                ---                                                        Eli                 --


Thursday Night Game
Jets over BILLS

Sunday Early Games
TEXANS over Chiefs
PANTHERS over 49ers
WASHINGTON over Cowboys
STEELERS over Bengals
GIANTS over Saints
PATRIOTS over Dolphins
LIONS over Titans
Ravens over BROWNS

Sunday Afternoon Games
Seahawks over RAMS
CARDINALS over Buccaneers
CHARGERS over Jaguars
RAIDERS over Falcons
BRONCOS over Colts

Sunday Night Game
Packers over VIKINGS

Monday Night Game
Eagles over BEARS

Openly Trans Service Member Promoted To Navy Lt. Commander

After fighting for this policy for years, since July 1, transgender members of the US Armed Forces can openly serve in our nation's military.   Ending the ban on trans troops was groundbreaking for the 15,500 trans people who are serving our country and allowed them to focus on just being the best service members they can be and not have to worry if they are going to be tossed out of the service.

It's now two months after that historic announcement, and trans history was recently made when Navy Lt. Commander Blake Dremann became the first open trans service member to be promoted post open service in a ceremony also attended by his parents in the President's Room of the Navy Memorial in Washington DC.

On his promotion stage as he advanced to  Lt. Commander from Lieutenant, everyone was transgender, including the persons who emceed the event in Air Force Major Bryan Fram and the person administering the oath in Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy Amanda Simpson,

Simpson herself made history when she in 2010 became the first trans feminine presidential appointee, and is now the highest ranking trans person in the Department of Defense.  

Dremann is used to firsts in his 10 year Navy career.  In 2011 he was one of the first female bodied persons to integrate submarine crews.  He has been deployed 11 times and since 2015 has been stationed inside the Pentagon.

And in his off duty time, Lt Commander Dremann has succeeded Army vet Sue Fulton as president of SPART*A, which has over 500 trans active duty or veteran members.

But as Assistant Secretary Simpson said in her concluding remarks, "Today isn't about firsts.  This ceremony is about following the grand traditions of the United States Navy and the high standards of trust and service and thus specifically, Blake Dremann.   That is why we are all here."

And if we make a little trans history along the way, that's all good, too.
 

2016 UH Cougar Watch- Coogs Open The American Conference Play Against Cincinnati

After playing a marathon football game against Lamar that lasted 6 hours and 18 minutes, the number 6 University of Houston footballers take their 2-0 act on the road to Cincinnati for their ESPN televised The American conference opener against the Bearcats.

Yep Cincinnati, the #HTownTakeover is headed your way, and Greg Ward, Jr will be starting this week.

Like UH, the Cincinnati Bearcats are also 2-0 and one of the schools rumored to be in the mix for Big XII expansion.  They would be like the Cougars a logical pick to be granted membership because Cincinnati would give West Virginia a Big XII regional rival and travel partner, but would also bring a quality basketball program to the party as well.

But unfortunately, the Big XII hasn't distinguished themselves in the logical thinking department, so we'll have to see what happens next month on the expansion front.  If I were leading the Big XII I'd be advocating expanding to 14 teams to ensure that if someone bolted for another league I still had the number of teams necessary to have a conference title game.  

But right now it's football season, and the the 2-0 Cougars are on a mission to repeat as The American champs, and make the CFA national championship playoffs as a bonus.  

But it all starts here at Nippert Stadium with a Bearcat team that would love to not only ruin those plans, but avenge last year's 33-30 loss to the Cougars and prove they are also Big XII ready at UH's expense.

Should be a fun game to watch starting at 6:30 PM CDT

The GLAAD Gala San Francisco Speech

Angelica Ross recorded much of the speech, but here's the video of my complete GLAAD Gala SF speech I delivered on September 8, 2016.

On this night I accepted a Special Recognition Award from GLAAD for the decade of service to the community as TransGriot's founding editor and my nearly two decades of activism on behalf of our community.

Atlantic Coast Conference Pulls All ACC Championship Events From NC

While the North Carolina Republicans and the state's conservafools continue their media spin with the goal of justifying discrimination and oppression of LGBT North Carolinians and do nothing about it, the economic fallout continues in the wake of the North Carolina GOP led passage of the unjust HB2 and their obstinate refusal to repeal it despite the massive damage it is causing to the state's economy.

Today the Atlantic Coast Conference Council of Presidents followed the lead of the NCAA and pulled all ACC championship events from the state effective this academic year until HB2 is repealed.

"As members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the ACC Council of Presidents reaffirmed our collective commitment to uphold the values of equality, diversity, inclusion and nondiscrimination.

 Every one of our 15 universities is strongly committed to these values and therefore, we will continue to host ACC championships at campus sites.   We believe North Carolina House Bill 2 is inconsistent with these values, and as a result, we will relocate all neutral site championships for the 2016-17 academic year.  All locations will be announced in the future from the conference office."    

The Atlantic Coast Conference is based in Greensboro, NC, so this definitely stings in the wake of the NCAA action on Monday.

The ACC announcement also ;means that Charlotte just lost the ACC Championship Game that was scheduled to be played at Bank of America Stadium December 3.  The game had been under contract to be held in Charlotte until 2019, and the 2015 ACC title game is estimated to have a $32.4 million economic impact for the local economy.

And don't look now Charlotte, but the CIAA, the oldest African-American athletic conference in the nation is considering moving its basketball tournament that has been hosted in the Queen City since 2006

The CIAA tournament has an estimated economic impact of $55.6 million, so losing that tournament would be another body blow to the North Carolina economy.

You can gripe all you want about it, but the reality is that bigotry costs you money, NC GOP and Governor McCrory, and you did it to yourselves.

You can either continue down the path of obstinately defend the indefensible HB2, or you can call a special session just like you did to speedily enact HB2.  

You are not going to get enough right wing conventions to come to the state to make up the millions you've already lost since your idiotic passage of HB2.

The special session to repeal it will cost you much less money than all the business you have lost since your misguided passage of Hate Bill 2, as the Rev Dr. William Barber II calls it and I concur with that assessment.

The choice is clear North Carolina GOP.  You can continue down the bigoted Tobacco Road, or you can take the first steps to be on the correct side of human rights history.

TransGriot Update:  This is the list of 10 ACC neutral site championships that will no longer be held in North Carolina.

Women’s soccer: November 4-6 in Cary, NC at WakeMed Soccer Park

Football: December 3, at Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium

Men’s swimming and diving: February 15-18 at Greensboro Aquatic Center

Women’s swimming and diving: February 22-25 at Greensboro Aquatic Center

Women’s basketball: March 1-5 at Greensboro Coliseum

Men’s and women’s tennis: April 26-30 at Cary Tennis Park

Women’s golf: April 21-23 at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro

Men’s golf: April 21-23 at the Old North State Club in New London, NC

Baseball: May 23-28, at Durham Bulls Athletic Park

I repeat, bigotry costs you money.

TransGriot Post Number 10,000!

This is TransGriot post number 10,000 you are reading.

Took a lot of writing, ten years, a lot of sweat equity, 6.4 million readers and hundreds of thousands of words to get to this milestone point in TransGriot's life.

It also takes the writing skills to ensure you loyal readers not only stay here for a while, but share these posts and recommend them to the people in your influence circles.

I thank you for doing that.  I also thank those of you who hit the TransGriot Tip Jar and drop some cash from time to time to help support the blog.   Some of you have even donated computers to help me keep telling it like it T-I-S is about our trans lives, speak truth to power and back up my words with activist deeds..

It's also apropos I'm hitting this milestone not only during the tenth anniversary year of this blog, but not long after I was just honored by GLAAD for the decade of sustained blogging excellence and the use of this platform I've been blessed with to move the needle toward trans acceptance one blogpost at a time.

It's also been a joy to fulfill the mission of this blog:

The TransGriot blog's mission is to become the griot of our community. I will introduce you to and talk about your African descended trans brothers and trans sisters across the Diaspora, reclaim and document our chocolate flavored trans history, speak truth to power, comment on the things that impact our trans community from an Afrocentric perspective and enlighten you about the general things that go on around me and in the communities that I am a member of.

It has also brought me some unexpected blessings in terms of getting to go to conferences, attend several White House events, give speeches, do panel discussions and meet and call my friends some amazing people in our community.

And it all started because Jordana would stop pushing me in the fall of 2005 to start TransGriot.  I'm now 10,000 posts into it later, and I'm considered one of the best trans bloggers out there with the awards and respect of my peers to back it up.

So it's on to the next milestone.   15,000 posts coming up.

Messages From Gender Infinity And Montrose Center Concerning The Phelps Phamily Protests

The Phelps Phamily is allegedly coming to Houston to spread their special brand of hate on Friday.   There's a 50% chance they won't show up since they frequently flake out like that, but if they do, they plan on targeting the Montrose Center and the Gender Infinity Conference with pickets.

The targets of their alleged pickets in the Montrose Center and the Gender Infinity Conference have a message for you Houstonians and peeps in the metro area outraged that these faux faith based fools are desecrating our city limits.

First, the message from Gender Infinity:

Gender Infinity is aware of a possible protest planned during our conference at the University of Houston on Friday, September 16th. Please respect our main focus to provide all conference attendees a wonderful experience. We have been working with community partners to make arrangements to ensure this goal.

UH has a free speech zone where only a small number of people are allowed to gather at a time. If counter-protesters exceed that number, you will all be asked to leave and the protesters will remain. This is not what we want.

With that in mind, we ask the following:

1. Do not show up at UH to counter-protest unless you have coordinated with our point of contact, Rev. Troy Treash, a dedicated supporter at revtroy@resurrectionmcc.org. He will coordinate this effort.

2. Our community partners who have experience with these particular protesters advise that the best way to respond is not to engage them verbally or physically. Do not give this group the media or social media attention they crave (e.g., do not share their website on social media).

3. Instead, please come together as a community in other ways at this time to support each other and display a united, organized, peaceful, and collected front.

4. Alternative ways to support Gender Infinity at this time include liking our facebook page, following us on Twitter, or making a financial donation to our organization or any other local LGBTQI+ organization.http://support.genderinfinity.org/

We hope the response of our community, in solidarity, will show the world our commitment to advance justice and inclusion with and for transgender, gender diverse, and gender expansive persons.

Thank you,
The Gender Infinity Team

Next, the message from the Montrose Center"

We are asking that people not come to the Center on the 16th between 10:30 am and noon unless you have business here. We do not want to give them any media attention or assist them in their mission to disrupt our services and guests.

We have consulted with other Centers who have been protested and have been advised the best way to frustrate them is to not engage them. We have it covered and ask that there be no counter protest. We have made arrangements to protect our clients, staff and visitors and their privacy. Thanks everyone for respecting our plan.

We'll see if the Phelps Phamily actually backs up their words, drives down from Kansas and shows up at either event this Friday,

H-Town peeps, I know you're pissed.  I definitely am seeing that I will be at Gender Infinity supporting our trans kids and their families.   But the best way to support both these orgs is respect their wishes.  

It also doesn't hurt if you express your pissivity at the Phelpses by dropping both of the targeted organizations some donations.

Here's the link for the Montrose Center and the Gender Infinity Conference to do precisely that.

Two More USA Trans Women Lost In 2016

Once again, it's my sad duty to report that we have lost two more trans women, one in Maine, and one in Chicago which brings the death toll this year up to 20 with three months to go.

43 year old Lexxi Sironen's body was found floating in the Kennebec River on September 6 at 8:15 AM EDT near the water reservoir of the Brookfield Power Facility.   She was from Waterville, ME, lived along the riverbank and was associating with other transient people in the area.

Friends of Sironen think that foul play was involved in her death, and while an autopsy on the body has been done by the state medical examiner, the cause of death has yet to be announced.

There will be a memorial service held for Sironen on September 18 at 12:00 PM.

Waterville police are still investigating, and if you have information that will help solve this case, please call Waterville Police Detective David Caron at 680-4700.

I'm also tired of the mugshot being used instead of this pic I found on her memorial website.

In Chicago, the body of a 26 or 27 year old Black trans woman known as T.T. to all who loved her on Chicago's West Side was found with her throat slit in West Grant Park and the knife nearby on Sunday night.   Ironically T.T's body was found a mere two blocks from the spot where Paige Clay's body was found in 2012.

T.T was pronounced dead at the scene, and was misgendered by the Chicago Police Department, the Chicago Sun Times and the Chicago Tribune when they first reported the case.  It took subsequent reporting from the Windy City Times to correct the police and media misgendering.

There was a vigil held for T.T yesterday at the corner of Monroe and Kenton Streets in which a friend of T.T's named Jaliyah Armstrong stated that T.T had an altercation with another trans woman three days before she was found dead and that person threatened to kill her.

Hmm CPD, sounds like a lead in this case to me.

The Windy City Times in a 2015 investigative report by Gretchen Hammond documented the CPD's problems with misgendering trans people, but it's obvious that they still refuse to learn anything.

The investigation into T.T.'s death by the CPD is an ongoing one, but the local trans community is pessimistic that it will result in the arrest and prosecution of her killer.

If you have information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of T.T's killer, call Cook County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-535-STOP

Rest in power and in peace Lexxi and T.T.

NCAA Pulls Seven Championship Events From North Carolina Over HB2

If the North Carolina GOP and conservafool movement thought the NCAA was bluffing about pulling championship events from the state over the unjust HB2 law, the NCAA just sent the message they weren't kidding.

The NCAA recently passed a rule in April which states they will not hold any of their championship events in a city without human rights laws as part of the NCAA's commitment to have an inclusive environment for collegiate student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans.

As part of that commitment and the new bid policy, the NCAA announced yesterday they were pulling seven championship events from the state and relocating them to other locales because of the unjust law.

The NCAA will decide in December who will host those events removed from North Carolina for their lack of human rights vision,

Are you paying attention Dan Patrick, Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton?   San Antonio is slated to host the NCAA Final Four in 2018. If you Texas GOP fools try to pass either an HB2 style law or an anti-trans statewide law in the upcoming legislative session due to start in January, Texas can say goodbye to that Final Four and any future NCAA championship events.

The NCAA championship events relocated from North Carolina include:

 

*The 2016 Division I Women's Soccer Championship College Cup in Cary, NC December 2 and 4
* The 2016 Division III Men's and Women's Soccer Championships in Greensboro, NC December 2-3
*The 2017 Division 1 Men's Basketball Championship First/Second rounds in Greensboro March 17 and 19
*The 2017 Division 1 Women's Golf Championships regional in Greenville, May 8-10
*The 2017 Division III Men's and Women's Tennis Championships in Cary May 22-27
*The 2017 Division  I Women's Lacrosse Championships in Cary May 26 and 28
*The 2017 Division II Baseball Championship in Cary May 27-June 3

Bigotry costs you money.  Too bad the people of North Carolina are being made to suffer because of the lack of human rights vision of a Republican Party that seeks to dehumanize and oppress their fellow North Carolinians for their own political gain.

You have a chance to correct that 2012 and 2014 mistake in putting the GOP in power on November 8 by voting out the politicians responsible for this mess.

Phelps Phamily Coming To Houston To Hate

We already have enough problems with our Lone Star domestic LGBTQ haters in Steve Hotze, Dave Welch, Dave Wilson, Jonathan Saenz, Max Miller, Ken Paxton  and Steve and Becky Riggle.

Now comes word that the Phelps Phamily slithering out of their Westboro Baptist Hate 'Church' hovels to bring their special brand of intolerance to H-town.

They claim they will be stopping by the Montrose Center and the Gender Infinity Conference being held on the University of Houston campus for unwanted visits on Friday, so let's give them a proper Texas welcome.  

By that, I'm advocating we replicate what Resource Center Dallas did back in 2010 and use their reprehensible appearance in town to fundraise for LGBTQ organizations.

 Let's turn this lemon visit into an opportunity to fundraise for Houston LGBTQ orgs. If you wish to show your disdain for the Phelps Phamily, pick an org to benefit from the funds generated by their appearance.

I'd suggest that the beneficiaries of a Houston fiscal based protest of the Phelps Phamily should be Gender Infinity Conference, the Montrose Center or even the Houston GLBT Political Caucus.

Basically, what you do to use your wallets to send a gigantic FU to the Phelpses is count the number of minutes the hatemongering Phelps Phamily are in town, and have peeps donate 50 cents, a dollar or whatever you feel comfortable giving until they bounce and move on to desecrate another locale.

People also have the option of giving a lump sum to the targeted organization instead of a per minute donation before the Phelps Phamily rolls into Houston.

The Phelps Phamily gets pissed when they find out their presence, far from stirring the anger their hatemongering business model requires and craves, is actually raising money for the LGBTQ organizations they are hating on, and it tends to have the beautiful effect of limiting their time in an area they are protesting..

It's a nonviolent way to protest them and creatively use their appearance in town to raise funds for a good LGBTQ cause.   Would also be nice to have the Angel Wings show up.

So Houston, lets show our disdain for the Phelps Phamily and piss them off by raising money for these targeted organizations at the same time.

12 Year Old Mexican Child Attempts To Stop An Anti-Gay Protest

And it is written in the Bible that a little child shall lead them.

In a protest reminiscent of the 1989 'Tank Man' protest of a lone man stopping a column of tanks headed to Beijing's Tiananmen Square to crush the democracy protests happening there,  a 12 year old Mexican child stood in front of a line of 11,000 people during a march organized in Celaya.

It was in response to President Enrique Pena Nieto's proposed constitutional marriage equality reforms allowing couples in Mexico to marry regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

Marriage equality is gaining momentum in Mexico.  It's legal in Mexico City and several of Mexico's 31 states, with legal challenges currently happening across the country.  

The photo was taken by Mexican journalist Manuel Rodriguez, who interviewed the child and asked why he did it..  The child replied, "I have an uncle who is gay, and I hate the hatred."
.
Sound like a perfectly logical reason to me, and far more in line with the moral arc of the human rights universe, unlike the 11,000 people in Celaya and other cities around the country marching to oppress their fellow Mexican citizens

H/T Towleroad

Hey Hollywood, Trans Actors Exist, So Hire Them!

TransGriot Note:  Actress Trace Lysette on the Emmy's red carpet.

One of the things I've been increasingly pleased to see is the increasing proliferation of my trans siblings gracing the red carpets of Hollywood as they work in the industry doing various film and television projects'

What I not happy about is film and television roles that are designed as trans feminine characters being played by cis men, and cis white men in particular when there are plenty of qualified trans actors who are ready, willing and able to play those characters and give them the nuance our community deserves..

Doing that feeds 'the man in a dress' stereotype that is negatively impacting our lives and the human rights of everyone.  That stereotype needs to die, Hollywood, and you need to lead the way in ensuring that happens.

Look cis white male actors, y'all already get 70% of the roles in Hollywood, let some other peeps get some roles and some of that money, too.

We've come a long way from the days when Aleshia Brevard was non disclosed while working there and on stage, and didn't reveal until 2001 her trans status.  I also remembering us celebrating in 2007 when Candis Cayne broke ground with her recurring role of Carmelita Ranier on the canceled ABC series Dirty Sexy Money..  

Now we have a long list of trans actors working in Hollywood like Alexandra Billings, who many of you saw on the first and second seasons of Transparent, and in an episode of ABC's How To Get Away With Murder and teaches future actors,.  

We also have the amazing Scott Turner Schofield repping the trans masculine community with not only his historic role on the CBS soap The Bold and the Beautiful, but his one person shows like Debutante Balls and tonight's Chicago performance of Becoming A Man In 127 Easy Steps.


Break a leg, Scott.

And yes, I'm pleased to see my sisters Laverne Cox and Angelica Ross starting to get roles in which Black trans women are not the butt of a joke or are killed in the first ten seconds after they appear on screen.

Laverne will make history when the CBS legal series Doubt debuts in the 2016-17 midseason with her playing Ivy League educated attorney Cameron Wirth.  It will be the first scripted TV series ever with a transgender main character, and it's past time that happened.  

And can't forget Mya Taylor, Zackary Drucker, Jamie Clayton, Trace Lysette, Michelle Hendley, Calpernia Addams and the others trying to make a name and get paid in Hollywood for their acting talents.

Hollywood, don't just hire trans actors for trans roles.  Free your minds and cast trans actors for non-trans roles  like you have done for far too long with cis males playing trans characters.

Hollywood, if you're going to tell our stories, make money off them and get awards for writing, filming and producing them, then you need to stop pretending trans actors don't exist.  

It's undeniable that they do, and it's past time you not only start hiring trans actors to tell those stories, but trans peeps behind the camera to write and film them.

NBJC OUT On The Hill 2016 Starts Wednesday!

Unfortunately I won't be there in DC because of other commitments, but had to let you TransGriot readers know that the National Black Justice Coalition's (NBJC) OUT on the Hill Black LGBT Leadership Summit is one of my favorite events.

The 2016 edition of OUT on the Hill will be taking place September 14-17, with the theme of The Post-Obama Era: What's Next?   Since this also takes place at the roughly the same time as the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference,

OUT on the Hill has always had some collaborative panels with the CBC-ALC event and provided opportunities for OUT on the Hill attendees to access the CBC-ALC event taking place over at the DC Convention Center.



OUT on the Hill kicks off with an Issues Advocacy Day at the US Capitol on September 14, a welcome reception on Thursday sponsored by HRC, the OOTH 2016 one on Friday  and the closing State of the Black LGBTQ/SGL Community brunch on Saturday.

While I won't be in the OUT on the Hill house this year, as always I hope this event is megasuccessful, and hope my schedule will allow me to attend it in 2017.

And if your schedule allows you do do so, here's the link to register for the OOTH2016 conference.

'Her Story' Emmy Disappointment

Was hoping along with everyone in the community that my girls Jen Richards and Angelica Ross would be making some more history at the 2016 Creative Arts Emmy Awards Sunday night, but alas, it didn't happen for them.

As y'all may be aware, Her Story was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series category, but unfortunately  the show Children's Hospital on Adult Swim walked away with the Emmy in that category.

Said Richards on her Facebook page concerning the result:  "Her Story didn't win tonight, but it's hard not to celebrate when it was just a short while ago that Angelica Ross and I were just two unknown transgender women living together in Chicago, who found in each other reasons to dream big."
 
"We have pushed and challenged and cheered each other, have laughed and cried and strutted despaired and hope together every step of this.  And here we are at the Emmys because we had the audacity to believe our stories mattered," she added..

"Thanks to everyone for their unceasing love and support tonight:."  

But the Emmy nomination for Her Story was a win in itself, especially in light of Hollywood's continued annoying pattern of casting cis masculine actors to play trans feminine characters.

I hope that the Emmy nomination of Her Story not only leads to additional seasons of it, but also leads to Hollywood realizing once and for all that trans stories not only matter, but they best done and most authentic when you cast trans actors in trans roles.

IBetter luck next time ladies!  I have a feeling that one day one or both of you will someday be putting an Emmy in your trophy case.

15th Anniversary of The 9-11 Terror Attacks

September 11, 2001 is one of those dates etched into American history as one you remember what you were doing and where your were when the event happened.

15 years ago today an Al Qaeda terror attack that used hijacked planes to slam into the World Trade Center towers in New York, the Pentagon in Washington DC and another that was planned to either slam into the White House or the US capitol building.

That attack was thwarted when the passengers of United Flight 93 overpowered the hijackers and the plane crashed near Shanksville, PA,

The shock and horror of that day was amplified when the twin World Trade Center towers both came crashing down

The 9-11 attacks shocked the world and killed over 3000 people   Our airspace was closed for two weeks in response to the attack, and Canada in Operation Yellow Ribbon opened their airports, hearts and homes to international flights and travelers forced to land there because of the closure of US airspace.

While a new World Trade Center building rises 1776 feet into the New York skyline at the spot where the former towers stood, the gaping hole in the Pentagon has been repaired, and Osama Bin Laden long ago was killed in a SEAL raid, for many of the people who lost loved ones or who survived the attacks, the infamy of that day hasn't subsided..

Here are President Obama's remarks at the memorial service remembering the attack on the Pentagon.