HB 2899 Must Die!

Looks like the Republican trans oppressors in the Texas House were watching what was happening in North carolina when they passed their non-repeal of HB 2.

Several Texas House Republicans led by Ron Simmons. dismayed that the unjust SB 6 isn't moving in the House, filed this HB 2899 bill along with co sponsors Cole Hefner, Tom Oliverson, Terry Wilson, Jodie Laubenberg and Valorie Swanson.

It is basically a copy of the discriminatory bill that was just passed in NC, and seeks to do the same thing that SB 6 does in stripping Texas cities of their ability to write human rights law for their citizens in addition to oppressing trans people.

Rep Simmons, the sponsor of this bill is trying to paint HB 2899 as a 'reasonable compromise' but it is still state sponsored discrimination and needs to be called out for what it is.

It has been assigned to the House State Affairs Committee, the same committee where SB 6 is currently bottled up.  You may want to call the members of this committee and politely urge them to kill this legislative abomination.

There will also be a hearing on HB 2899 on Wednesday April 19, so if you can get to Austin, I urge you to do so to make your voice heard about this unjust bill.    

Dionne's Thoughts

TransGriot Note:  Guest post by A. Dionne Stallworth.

All hate is wrong. Discrimination is wrong. One can’t call someone out for hate and discrimination on one day and return it people on the next.  I can only hope that Bill Shakespeare won’t mind my taking a few liberties with his words.

“I am an (add race, gender expression/presentation/identity, class, religious or spiritual identity (or lack of one), sexual orientation, political affiliations, country of citizenship, species or anything that makes a living being different from one another). Have we not eyes? Have we hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same summer and winter as each other? If you cut us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, do we not revenge or avenge?”

We all differ in many ways – some obvious and in others, not so much. This is the only planet we have, the only corporeal existence we know, and the only time we have. Given the finite resources The One has given to us, shouldn’t we learn to share them for the betterment of all concerned? Our very survival as living beings depends on how we answer that question.

I will end this with another hackneyed movie quote: “There are many ways to The One, my child.  I hope that yours is not too difficult.” Enjoy life, enjoy our gifts, our faults, our dreams, our nightmares and each other. Each of us has less time than we may think.


Have a great day and enjoy all that surrounds you and share it with someone – family, a friend or stranger.  Heed the words of this song.

None of us are Free (as recorded by Ray Charles)

Well you better listen, my sisters and brothers
'Cause if you do you can hear
There are voices still calling across the years
And they're all crying across the ocean
And they're crying across the land
And they will till we all come to understand
None of us are free
None of us are free
None of us are free, one of us are chained
None of us are free
And there are people still in darkness
And they just can't see the light
If you don't say it's wrong then that says it right
We got try to feel for each other
Let our brothers know that we care
Got to get the message, send it out loud and clear
None of us are free
None of us are free
None of us are free, one of us are chained
None of us are free
It's a simple truth we all need, just to hear and to see
None of us are free, one of us is chained
None of us are free, now I swear your salvation isn't too hard to find
None of us can find it on our own
We've got to join together in spirit, heart, and mind
So that every soul who's suffering will know they're not alone
None of us are free
None of us are free
None of us are free, one of us are chained
None of us are free
If you just look around you
You're gonna see what I say
'Cause the world is getting smaller each passing day
Now it's time to start making changes
And it's time for us all to realize
That the truth is shining real bright right before our eyes
None of us are free
None of us are free
None of us are free, one of us are chained
None of us are free
None of us are free
None of us are free
None of us are free, one of us are chained
None of us are free
None of us are free
None of us are free
None of us are free, one of us are chained
None of us are free

Upcoming LGB and What About The T? Panel At 14 Pews

There's an interesting panel discussion that will be taking place at 14 Pews on April 19 focused on the trans community

It's entitled LGB and What About The T?   It is a panel discussion with the goal of talking about the erasure of trans people of color, and how we can create a world in which trans folks can exist freely and without drama.

It's a timely discussion at a time in which the Republican majority in the Texas Legislature is trying to unjustly legislate oppression against the Texas trans community,

Kaleb Elijah is one of the panelists, and nope I get to be a spectator on this one.  Food will also be served from 6-7 PM with the panel starting immediately after the food is served.

Kaleb is also challenging his trans brothers to show up for this event.

"I am asking Houston trans men of color to join me as I guest speak on this panel. The organizer told me today that besides me and one other he has not met any transmen of color, that is alarming." he wrote in a comment on his FB page.  .

"Instead of complaining that you are not heard or understood or your needs are never tended to in the community, show up in the spaces that are inclusive and have been created for your voice to be heard. The torch has been lit,  Please don't let those who are in leadership carry the load by themselves. Just like you needed someone, someone needs you."

He's right trans men of color,  I've said the same thing about you needing to show up for events and claim leadership roles in our community.  Can't be just trans women of color consistently carrying the community leadership torch.

14 Pews is located at 800 Aurora street in The Heights, and hope to see you trans men of color in the house on that date.

We Trans Peeps Are Not An Easy Right Wing Political Win

One of the things I thought about on the Sunday plane ride home from Boston was how proud I've been about the US trans community standing up for itself against Republican tyranny and oppression.

If the right wingers in the wake of their SCOTUS loss on marriage thought that by shifting their focus to attacking transgender people they would get an easy political win, they were sadly mistaken.

We are people who have had to fight a long list of people for decades that includes the TERFs, transphobic lesbian and gay folks, politicians, the media, academia, our blood families, the medical establishment and clergy just for our right to exist,

What made the Southern Baptists, the Roman Catholic Church, the Republican Party and the conservative movement think that people who have had to fight tooth and nail just to exist wouldn't fight their azzes just as hard to beat them?

You're finding out that you should have left us alone, accepted your SCOTUS marriage loss and moved on.  But you conservafool wanted to continue your centuries long tradition of being wrong on the human rights issues of the day and exercise your oppressor gene against another marginalized community 

You started World War T against us, and now you're finding out that we give just as good as we get. We had no choice.  You stated attacking our trans kids, and those attacks on the humanity and human rights of our kids we trans adults could not allow to go unchecked. 

By attacking our kids, you also got people off the fence about where they stand about trans human rights and helped us get a whole lot of allies.  It also brought the Mama and Papa Bears in our ranks. By attacking trans kids, you forced their parents into the fight to protect their humanity and human rights against your state sponsored legislative bullying.    

You are also finding out that not only are trans adults formidable opposition, our kids are formidable leaders as well and inspire us to fight even harder for our community.. We trans folks are also justice seeking individuals who want a world better than the one that we arrived in.   

We trans peeps and our allies have the moral high ground in this international human rights fight.   You didn't and never will, and your desperate oppressive actions and anti-trans propaganda aimed at our community only make that increasingly clear to us and all who are paying attention that you are the unjust oppressors and the trans community are the aggrieved party whose human rights are under attack by you.  

And we have legislators and a growing list of organizations on our side who are willing to stand up and call out your oppression against our community.

So if you thought we were going to be an easy political win or we would just roll over and cower in the corner as you gleefully stripped away our human rights, naw boo boo kitties, we aren't 

To borrow the words from Kara Thrace of Battlestar Galactica, we're fighting you until we can't, and we're fighting until you leave us alone to live our lives without your loud and wrong interference. 

Kimberly's Faith Journey

From time to time I've talked about one of our wonderful Lone Star Mama Bears in Kimberly Shappley, who has been on a evolutionary journey of her own along with her amazing trans daughter Kai.

     

Here's the video of the recent Today show interview that was done with Jenna Bush Hager that was recently broadcast.  If you missed it, here's the video.

Leaders Need Love, Too

'If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.'
-John Quincy Adams  

I've been in trans activism and holding a leadership role in some capacity in it for 24 years now.   While there are times I enjoy it, there are other times it can be a pain in the rear end in terms of executing the responsibilities that come with that leadership mantle.

While it is fun and exciting at times to be networking at various conferences, dinners, board meetings, participating in panel discussions and lobby days, and meeting, spending quality time with and getting to know some of the amazing activists, allies and leaders inside and outside our community, some of the things that aren't fun are the travel.

Getting up before the sun rises to catch flights to and from home especially for those of us who don't live on the coasts involves a multi hour plane ride with multiple connecting flights at times. While that's great for my frequent flyer miles, your body is saying 'what the heck are you doing to me?'  

It's also interesting when you are traveling from Houston in the winter or early spring to a cold weather locale and experience a 50 degree temperature drop in mere hours and you're trying not to catch a cold because of that wild temperature swing.

Sometimes getting jacked up by TSA security isn't fun, and in some cases neither is doing that travel solo.  There are moments during those plane rides that you have time to do some hard solid thinking about whatever issues that are cropping up in your life at that time.

And if I hear the phrase 'holding someone accountable' one more time I'm gonna scream.

There's also the keyboard activists that you rarely see doing any action, at a lobby day, or working intersectionality with other groups but have the nerve to criticize you and claim 'you don't represent them' or are spitting the word 'elitist' at you for whatever reason.

I know that's part of the territory, but it's still an irritant, and we need love, too.

Being a leader ain't easy. but when you help pass good legislation and kill bad bills, make someone's day simply by talking to them, motivate people to stand up for their human rights because they are following your example, and have your classmates, community members  and former coworkers tell you they are proud of you for what you do, the rewards so outweigh whatever criticism I receive from nattering nabobs of internet negativism.

It's also where the self care aspect comes in.  Having a group of people around me that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that love you, tell you the unvarnished truth and have your back is vital. They'll give you that hug when you need it and a motivational kick in the azz when it's required

It's also nice to talk to people who do the work and discuss stuff beyond what's happening in the movement and just catching up with their lives. There are also those phone calls in which we get to vent with each other about the crap we're seeing.

Those peeps who love and care about you will not allow you to get 'big head syndrome' either and keep you focused on why you do the work in the first place.  .

In a world that is hostile to trans people and especially trans people of color, it's vital to have people in your life who unconditionally love you.

They help make you not only a better leader, but a better human being as well.

Oppressor Kenneth Adkins Found Guilty Of Eight Child Molestation Counts

We always say in TBLGQ world that those people who adamantly and loudly hate us, attack our humanity and oppose our human rights advances are usually folks who doth protesteth too much and are deeply closeted when it comes to their own sexualiy or gender identity until the skeletons come bursting out of the closet.

One of our oppressors in 57 year old former Brunswick, GA pastor Kenneth Adkins is a prime example of that.  

He was the carpetbagging kneegrow frontman the white fundies and Republicans in Jacksonville deployed as a useful fool to successfully attack and shut down the passage of their LGBTQ inclusive NDO a month after HERO went down in flames, and made some nasty and hateful anti-gay comments via Twitter in the wake of the June 2016 Pulse Latin Night terror attack.in Orlando.

[I’ve] been through so much with these Jacksonville homosexuals that I don’t see none of them as victims. I see them as getting what they deserve!!

Adkins was arrested on eight counts of child molestation and yesterday, it took a Glynn County jury only one hour to convict him of all eight charges after a week long trial.

He was accused of having a then 16 year old teenage male and his then 15 year old teenage female girlfriend under the guise of 'mentoring them', perform sexual acts in front of him at his church to ensure they were 'doing it right'   He eventually joined in on the acts, and sent the male accuser two photos of his penis.  

There were also electronic communications between the female and him from 2014 revealed during the trial.

Well Kenneth, we're now having the schadenfreude laced moment of watching you get what you deserve and justice being served for your crimes.

He will be sentenced on April 25, and because of Georgia's strict mandatory minimum law and Adkins' prior criminal convictions, he's facing spending the rest of his life in jail.  

Stay tuned to see how much time he got for his crimes..  

Airline Customer Service Matters

Been getting asked about my thoughts since I worked in the airline biz and this recent incident in Chicago happened once again on United which merged with my old carrier.

I defended them in the last incident because it involved non-rev passengers and you do have dress code rules you have to follow for traveling on a non-revenue pass.  I felt they were being unjustly attacked for that dress code mess.

Now in this latest incident that happened, while I understand the situation that drove them to have to solicit for volunteers to get off the last flight to Louisville to put a must ride crew on, is still WTF level and indefensible.

It's also an unfolding PR disaster to add to the other ones United has had this year.

I've been in that situation as someone who worked IAH departure gates in which a must ride crew suddenly pops up at the last moments before departure on a full flight and I have to solicit for oversale volunteers because they must be on that plane to take it out on time from that outstation city in the morning

And yes, it is like pulling teeth to get volunteers in that situation, but if you make the deal sweet enough, eventually you'll get them.   In the situation I encountered, I needed two seats for a captain and a first officer,   It took me $1000 vouchers for each of the two passengers I needed to give up seats, 50,000 OnePass miles, dinner and seats on the next bird four hours later to make it happen.

This situation on the UA Chicago-Louisville flight could have and should have been handled far better than it disastrously turned out.  Some folks need to lose jobs including the security guard and whoever is handling public relations for United.

It is definitely as of this writing negatively affecting UA's stock price, it's got United once again taking a PR beatdown in the news to the point even the White House has commented on the incident, and its stock price has fallen 6% since the Dow Jones opened today.

Air travel is still the best and only way to travel long distances quickly. But since we have gone down via mergers to four major national airlines (American, Delta, United and Southwest) plus smaller regional carriers like JetBlue, Frontier, Spirit and Alaska, some airlines have forgotten the lesson that superior customer service can increase profits.

During my 14 years in the airline business, I watched Continental go from during my time there from 1987-2001 from one of the worst during the Frank Lorenzo regime to under Gordon Bethune winning multiple JD Power awards.  We did so by emphasizing customer service, on time performance.and a corporate culture that emphasized treating employees with dignity and respect

The emphasis on customer service, treating customers and employees with dignity and respect and on time performance in the 90's took us from bankruptcy in 1993 to profitability in a very short time, and led to us being in that strong financial position when the merger with United happened.

I've noted the decline in airline customer service in the 2000's as carriers focused on becoming larger.  When you do have a flight with a meal service, you have to pay for it   You have to pay to check bags.  It's past time airlines started emphasizing customer service again instead of coming up with ways of how to squeeze every last dollar out of you when you fly.

They'll discover that when you relentlessly focus on customer service and treating employees and passengers with respect, the end result is you'll build a brand loyalty that will be profitable for you and your fiscal bottom line long term.
Airlines also need to relearn the message and recite it like a mantra that airline customer service matters.

Sometimes It's Your Own Funky Personality That Makes Peeps Not Like You

I've talked about how at times in this gender marathon journey we're on, you'll run into trans folks who have other issues besides just the gender identity ones.

Some of those peeps haven't done or refuse to do the introspection, self analysis or gotten the professional help they need to see the negative behavior patterns everyone else they come into contact with does so they can overcome them.

There are just people with fracked up personalities period or who walk through life with such negative energy that no amount of transition is going to change that.  If they were jerks before transition, they will be jerks after they do so.

Those peeps need to be honest with themselves. You can tell yourself ad nauseum that people don't like you because you are transgender, but the truth is for those of you who role model the bad behaviors I'm talking about, is people don't like you and don't want to be around you because of the crappy persona you project to the world.

Nobody wants to be around a negative person, be they cis or transgender.

And the first step in correcting that nekulturny behavior pattern is take a long hard look in the mirror, holding yourself accountable for that bad behavior and stop blaming being transgender for people not liking you.

Yeah, we have people who irrationally hate on us.  But your sucky personality is probably exacerbating that dislike in your case.   As my fellow writer Denny Upkins once said and I'm going to remix his original words here, being trans does not give you an all access pass to show your azz to the world.

So time to get busy correcting those defective personality traits that make people not like you and stop trying to deflect blame for you personality shortcomings on being trans.

Conducting yourself with decorum and class will get you far not only in our activist ranks, it will carry you a long way in life period.

Thank You For Voting For Me For Houston Pride Parade Grand Marshal

The opportunity to vote for the 2017 Houston Pride Parade grand marshal closed at 5 PM CST yesterday afternoon, no now it's all about counting the votes and finding out who won later this month

I want to thank all of you who did vote for me and helped spread the word about my candidacy for it side I have been quite busy this month fighting the Lone Star Forces of Intolerance, and attending two conferences in Boston and Orlando that were set up months before I agreed to place my name in nomination for 2017 female pride grand marshal.

I won't find out until later this month if I made history by becoming only the third African American female grand marshal in Houston pride parade history and the first ever Black transgender one.

It would also be wonderful if Lou Weaver made that history with me.  He would not only become the first ever trans masculine Houston Pride parade grand marshal, if we both won in 2017 it would would be the first time ever for ANY pride parade to have trans masculine and trans feminine parade grand marshals concurrently serving in the same parade.

We'll see if I made history again in a few weeks
   

Moni's Made It To Massachusetts!

Finally made it to Boston, or to be precise, Brookline, MA.   Flight up was relatively smooth and I'm ensconced in my room, have made my usual call to Mom to let her know her eldest child is safe and had a chance to unwind for a minute and check out my room , the hotel and the nearby neighborhood.

Good to also know there's an MBTA train station nearby as well.

And year, I'm actually having to pull out my sweaters peeps since the high temp right now ins only 53 degrees F.   Way cooler than what I left this morning.

But looking forward to seeing Dr Pamela Lightsey and everyone connected with this human conference that kicks off tomorrow.   We're having dinner tonight to facilitate those intros, and I need to get out of my traveling outfit and get into dinner wear.

So let me do that so I can be ready at ^6:25 PM EDT to get picked up.

Leaving On A Jet Plane- To Boston Again

Your long time TransGriot readers are probably looking at this post and are wondering, weren't you just in Boston a few months ago?  

I sure was, to pick up that Robert Coles Call of Service Award back in October,

New year, new month and new event that brings me not only back to Boston but on a different Boston collegiate campus.   This time I'll be on the Boston University campus for a human rights conference that will take place tomorrow at the George Sherman Union Building Ballroom.

So that means I need to be rolling from Texas in a few hours in order to be in Beantown for it and not miss the panel discussion I'm participating in and Bishop Yvette Flunder's morning keynote.    

But before all that happens. definitely need to be getting my beauty sleep for the travel day that's about to start in a few hours.

It's About Our Kids

I was in a panel discussion last Thursday night and was asked the question what keeps me motivated to keep fighting despite the odds for trans human rights coverage.

My answer to that question?  "It's all about the trans kids."

It has alway been my goal to make it better for the trans kids coming behind me, just aa the trans advocates who preceded me had my generation in mind when they fought they oppressors of their day.

I'm paying it forward, because as the song 'The Greatest Love Of All' that Whitney Houston so eloquently sang says, the children are our future.   It's why they are being attacked by our pseudo faith based opposition and why we must just as vigorously defend their humanity and human rights.

It's our job to plant the human rights trees whose shade we may never get to sit in.  Now if we happen to be around when the trees grow tall enough to produce the shade that will shelter our trans kids when they are our ages from the blazing sun of intolerance, and we get to enjoy the benefits of our labor we're putting in now, that's all good as well.

But yes, when we're talking about the bottom line as to who we are fighting for, it's all about our trans kids.   .  

The Divine Cassadine Transition Scholarship Fundraiser

There are a few posts on TransGriot in which I discuss silicone pumping, the negative effects of it and chronicle the pumpers who get busted and brought to justice or killing people while doing so.

Tanisha Caston AKA 'The Divine Tanisha Cassadine', was born in Memphis  September 16, 1968 and touched many lives inside and outside the House of Cassadine and the pageant and ballroom community    She died on March 16 at age 48 due to complications from silicone injections.

It was a death that shocked many in the pageant world who knew her, and brought home to people the danger of silicone pumping


Miss BTIPS 2016 Taliyah Cassadine is also the founder of Say No 2 Silicone Injections to promote awareness of the danger of silicone pumping.

She created the Divine Cassadine Transition Scholarship to not only keep memories of the legacy of Tanisha alive, but also help create a funding stream to help trans women who want to transition in a healthy and safe way without using silicone.   It can also be used to remove silicone from a person's body, which can also be a costly process.

The Divine Cassadine Transition Scholarship will be awarded at future BTAC conventions.  Fundraising for the $3000 goal started April 1 with the hope that the goal will be reached and hopefully exceeded by next April 1.

If you're inclined to give $5, 10, 20 or whatever your heart moves you to do at this time, please do so. No amount is too small to give in order to reach and hopefully exceed the goal to seed this fund.  

Even $1 will help the cause, and here's the link to the fundraising page. 

US Seventh Circuit Court Of Appeals Full Panel Rules You Can't Be Fired For Being Gay

“I have been saying all this time that what happened to me wasn’t right and was illegal. Now I will have my day in court, thanks to this decision, No one should be fired for being lesbian, gay, or transgender like happened to me and it’s incredibly powerful to know that the law now protects me and other LGBT workers.”-Kimberly Hively

That's something I always believed and many Americans believed was already the case for TBLGQ Americans, but now we have a federal court decision to back that up in the Hively vs Ivy Tech Community College case.

On Tuesday a full panel of the US Seventh Circuit in Chicago by an 8-3 margin found that workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation violates Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

“… Hively represents the ultimate case of failure to conform to the female stereotype (at least as understood in a place such as modern America, which views heterosexuality as the norm and other forms of sexuality as exceptional): she is not heterosexual. Our panel described the line between a gender nonconformity claim and one based on sexual orientation as gossamer-thin; we conclude that it does not exist at all. Hively’s claim is no different from the claims brought by women who were rejected for jobs in traditionally male workplaces, such as fire departments, construction, and policing. The employers in those cases were policing the boundaries of what jobs or behaviors they found acceptable for a woman (or in some cases, for a man).”
-Chief Judge Diane Wood

This came just three weeks after a three judge panel in Atlanta ruled the other way that Title VII doesn't cover discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The plaintiff in this case, Kimberly Hively, was an instructor at Ivy Tech Community College  who in August 2014 sued the school with the help of Lambda Legal after she was seen kissing her girlfriend in the parking lot of the school and subsequently denied promotions and full employment.

Hively's suit argued that Ivy Tech violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.  The trial court dismissed her suit and claimed that Title VII of the CRA, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin and religion, doesn't protect employees from anti-gay discrimination.

In April 2015 Lambda Legal appealed the case to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals seeking a reversal of the trial court decision and reinstatement of Hively's complaint.  The three judge panel ruled against Hively in July 2016, but Lambda Legal requested it be heard by a full Seventh Circuit eleven judge panel.   The request was granted on October 11. 2016 and heard in November 2016.

What also makes this ruling notable is that the Seventh Circuit not only leans conservatives, five of the eight majority judges in this 8-3 decision were appointed by Republican presidents.

Once again, that 'strict constitutionalism' cuts both ways. so spare me any calls of 'judicial activism'.. You conservafools don't complain when those same federal judges make rulings in your direction.  .

“In many cities and states across the country, lesbian and gay workers are being fired because of who they love. But, with this decision, federal law is catching up to public opinion: ninety-percent of Americans already believe that LGBT employees should be valued for how well they do their jobs—not who they love or who they are. Now, through this case and others, that principle is backed up by the courts,” said Greg Nevins, Employment Fairness Program Director for Lambda Legal. who argued the case in front of the full Seventh Circuit judicial panel.  

“This decision is gamechanger for lesbian and gay employees facing discrimination in the workplace and sends a clear message to employers: it is against the law to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.”

And it remains to be seen whether this decision gets litigated at the Supreme Court.      

Payless Filing For Bankruptcy

One of the things I inherited from my mom was a love of fashionable shoes, and while you petite divas would love to be my supermodel level height, it comes with the problem of trying to find those fashion forward shoes in a double digit shoe size.

I wear a size 12, but sometimes I'll go up one size when it's available for comfort.  Many department store shoe departments stop at size 10, or have very few shoes in sizes 11, 12 or 13 where many women are increasingly having to shop as the average women's shoe size gets larger.

Nordstroms is one of those that does carry a nice variety in sizes 11 or 12.   Some brands like Nine West  have them up to size 12, but once again, you have to order them online.   The same is true for DSW and Rack Room that only carry up to size 11, and you have to special order other styles that they carry in a size 12.   Shoe Carnival stores only carry them up to a size 10 or 11.

There are other online outlets like Zappos.com, shoes.com or Long Tall Sally for example, but it's always preferable to see and be able to try a pair of shoes first before you buy them.  Sometimes that shoe color looks great online but when you actually get it may not be exactly be the shade that you're looking for to go with an outfit and sometimes you can't return them if you bought them on sale..

And then there's the cost.   $75 and up, which is another problem when you're low income or on a budget.

Payless has long had the reputation in Trans World of being the 'Trans Woman's best friend' when it comes to finding fashionable shoes, bags and accessories at an easy on our wallet price.  

Its 4400 stores and 22,000 employees in the US and Puerto Rico have been a lifeline for many trans women trying find those nice shoes, flats, boots and pumps to go with a work or dressy outfit or simply for everyday wear.

And when it's BOGO time, I'm going to be buying those shoes I've had my eye on.  One of my current fave pair of Christian Siriano black pointed toe heels I bought during a BOGO sale for $10 and get a lot of compliments when I wear them.

Was saddened to hear that Payless filed yesterday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and will be closing 400 stores immediately, with another 500 possible.

I have already lost one of my fave Payless locations in downtown Houston right on the METRORail Red Line at the Main Street Square Station when it closed in February.  I noticed that when I went to Louisville on vacation last summer, the downtown Payless on 4th Street I used to find shoes in up to size 13 when I lived there had closed.

So it will be interesting to note which Payless stores in Houston will be shuttered, and I hope they aren't the few locations where I can get my shoes in a 13.

Big Trans Rights Win In Illinois D211!

With 147 or the 147 precincts counted, and totals still unofficial, in an April 4 school board election with national implications that was closely watched by the trans community in Illinois and our allies, it looks as though the trans inclusive slate of D211 board members Anna Klimkowicz, Robert LeFevre and board member elect Edward Yung backed by the partnership of local parents and national trans rights group the Trans United Fund have defeated a candidate slate backed by a coalition of anti-trans activists and groups affiliated with the anti-trans SPLC-certified hate group the Alliance Defending Freedom.

In the D211 school board race, incumbent member Klimkowicz topped all candidates by garnering  9,951 votes to easily retain her seat.  incumbent member LeFevre got 8,706 to retain his and member elect Yung got 8,144 votes to capture the last available seat and return to the D211 board compared to the ADF affiliated 'Parents For Privacy' hate slate of Katherine Jee Young David with 7,917 votes, Ralph Bonatz with 7,318 and Jean Forrest with 7,225 votes.

"I think that what it says is the community thinks we're doing a good job," Klimkowicz said.

The voters have spoken, and it's a resounding defeat for anti-trans bigotry in D211.

The Alliance Defending Freedom sought to insert themselves in this local school board race in Palatine, IL in order to flip control of the largest school district in the state and undo the DOE/DOJ agreement reached in a discrimination case with a local trans student.

The national Washington DC based trans rights group Trans United Fund jumped into this race two weeks ago at the behest of parents concerned about the ADF affiliated opposition slate.

The Alliance Defending Freedom had been targeting D211 for months with a lawsuit designed to strip the trans protections from the district and overturn the settlement.

"A mom from Palatine, IL called us up to advise me that a slate of school board members was running (the Parents For Privacy slate) to take out school board members who had supported inclusive schools and with the goal of rolling back protections for trans youth," said Chicago based TUF national board member LaSaia Wade.

"The anti-trans candidates recruited to flip control of the school board were supported by a network of anti-LGBT activists and groups ranging from Illinois state senator Tom Morrison to ADF ally Vicki Wilson to the Illinois state chapter of Focus on the Family.  I raised the issues with the board, and they enthusiastically endorsed the idea of going all in to support these D211 moms and kids fighting back against an array of anti-trans oppressors," said Wade.  

Trans United Fund, sensing the national political implications and symbolic importance of this race to the trans rights cause, did more than just send a stand with them in solidarity message to the concerned parents and kids of D211. They launched the first trans led political independent expenditure in the history of the modern trans rights movement on behalf of those parents and kids.

In less than two weeks, despite the financial and organizational head start the anti- trans forces had, Trans United Fund helped the pro-trans slate parents, kids and allies raise funds and quickly assemble a strong political program that included phone banking, mail, digital and volunteer canvassing to get their ultimately successfully messaging out to the D211 voters.

As the Trans United Fund board foresaw, this is a major political win, one with soon to be determined political implications that will be felt across the country. One of the moms, sharing how inspired she was by the experience wrote about how it felt to have Trans United Fund have her and her child's back

“…words cannot express how grateful I am that you have taken your time your time and resources to help us fight back against a group of people who have sought to demean and discourage my daughter for being who she is throughout her high school years.  Unfortunately, because of their tactics, I have seen my strong-willed, smart and beautiful daughter's self-confidence shatter.  It has been an exhausting battle and at times we often felt alone and that the majority of people were, in fact, on the side of the hate group.  However, as more and more people step up and speak out, we realize we were wrong.  Through your courageous efforts, you have brought hope not just to my daughter, but to trans kids throughout D211 and the world.  You have told them that they are accepted, that they are cherished and that they have amazing talents to contribute to our society. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” a local mom in Palatine, IL. 

"We have been so inspired by the more than 30 moms and young people who have been at the core of the campaign to fight back against hate and fear in their school district," said Hayden Mora, co-chair of Trans United Fund. "I'm proud that Trans United Fund was able to make a decisive difference but I'm even prouder of the incredible coalition of allies we were able to build. "Tonight's victory is the result of the incredible leadership of moms and youth in D211, the amazing allyship of Brian Johnson and the Equality IL team, the savvy and commitment of LaSaia Wade and the Trans Liberation Collective and our team at Trans United Fund, " Mora added..

"Hate groups weren't just trying to roll back rights in this Chicago suburb, they were trying to build a model that they could export across the country. What they got was a model of what's possible when trans people, parents, youth and our LGBTQ allies work together. The message to parents and trans people all over the country tonight is one of hope and a story about how we can fight back against hate and fear and win. "
Yes we can!   In Palatine, IL tonight, we sent the message thanks to a committed group of people that we will fight for our kids, the allies who support them and do so successfully.

The Race And Everyone Else Enters With Me As Well

On this 23rd anniversary of the 1994 day I nervously clocked in for work one month before my birthday to begin the public coming out as moi in the middle of IAH's Terminal C, one of the quotes that has  stuck with me through this journey in this part of my life is one from sociologist, civil rights leader and educator Anna Julia Cooper.

'“Only the black woman can say 'when and where I enter, in the quiet, undisputed dignity of my womanhood, without violence and without suing or special patronage, then and there the whole Negro race enters with me.”

That's true for me as well, but I also have a few extra groups tagging along as I get the blessings and opportunities to blaze trails on behalf of myself and the communities I represent in this six foot two inch tall intersectional body.

Everywhen and anywhere I go, the race enters with me as well.  I'm always cognizant of that as a Black trans woman.   I'm always acutely aware that my presentation must be on point, I must be knowledgeable about many subjects, and fearless about speaking my truth in a world determined to silence or shut down my voice

And it's a role that I have gleefully accepted since that day I stepped into Terminal C and haven't looked back.

Upcoming 'Our History, Our Future A Multigenerational Conference on Human Rights' In Boston

Heading back to Boston this weekend to participate in a conference that is going to happen on the Boston University campus.

The ' event will be taking place on April 8 in the George Sherman Union Ballroom on the BU campus jointly sponsored by the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground and the Boston Theological Center.

Join us on April 8 for a public conference titled entitled, "Our History, Our Future: a Multigenerational Conference on Human Rights."

The schedule includes two plenary sessions, two panel sessions and a workshop offering participants nonviolent direct action training. This is a continuing education event; CEUs will be provided upon request. Registration is free but you MUST register to attend.

Speakers include persons known for human rights activism during the 60s civil rights movement, the crisis in Ferguson and Baltimore, the movement for Black Lives, LGBTQ activism, scholars of the movement and serving as consultants to the White House under the Obama administration. They are gifted in ministry, music and the arts, shaping public policy, writing, peace negotiation and nonviolent direct action.

I'm excited because I get to see and hear the amazing Bishop Yvette Flunder speak again during the morning plenary session immediately before my panel with Ahman Green-Hayes and Karlene Griffiths-Sekou scheduled to start at 11 AM EST.

The conference is free, but you will need to register for it at this link 

 Conference Schedule

9-10am Breakfast, Welcome and Introduction10-11am Plenary One (Bishop Yvette Flunder)11-12pm Panel (Monica Roberts, Ahmad Greene-Hayes, Karlene Griffiths-Sekou)12-1pm Lunch1-2:30pm Nonviolent Direct Action Workshop (Rev. Osagyefo Sekou)2:30-3:30pm Panel (Ruby Sales, Kevin Rigby, Darnell Moore, Tef Poe)3:30-5pm Plenary Two (Rev. Michael McBride)

Address is 775 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, 02215. and I'm hoping to see some of my trans family who can attend be there.

2012 Sage Smith Case Is Now A Murder Investigation

Sage Smith of Charlottesville, VA went missing ironically on November 20, 2012, the Transgender Day of Remembrance, and still hasn't been found four years later.

The 19 year old left her home to meet Erik Tyquan McFadden at the Charlottesville train station, and hasn't been seen by her family and friends since.   McFadden has also gone missing since that time

The case after four years has now been reclassified as a homicide case, which opens it up to more law enforcement resources to be brought to bear on solving it.

With the reclassification, McFadden is now considered a person of interest in the homicide case.

Sage's grandmother Lolita Smith, like myself and others in the trans community, wondered what took so long to get to this step.

“Frankly, I don’t understand why they waited so long,” she said. “It’s been four years. I think the Charlottesville Police Department dropped the ball from day one.”

Here's hoping that the reclassification into a homicide case results in justice being served and us finally learning what happened to Sage..