The Trans Military Service Ban Is Unjust

While I was traveling back home to Houston yesterday from Minneapolis, it was keenly on my mind that oppression was being aimed once again by the Trump misadministration at the American trans community. 

Yesterday was the day that this malignant administration, egged on by Mike Pence, Tony Perkins and the white evilgelical wing of his party, banned transgender Americans from serving in the US military.

The pic of Carla Lewis and her famous shirt stuck with me as I jetted back to Houston via Dallas Love Field, where in just 10 more days I'll join my Black trans family for this year's edition of BTAC.

And note to the Black cis community, some of the transgender military peeps negatively affected by this ban are Black.

There are over 15,500 transgender people already serving in our military in all of its branches.  It is a bull feces laden excuse that it would 'cost too much' to cover trans medical care.  It costs $86 million annually to provide Viagra to the military.   Trans medical care would only cost $8 million.

The military chiefs . the AMA and countless other organizations have unfailing pointed out that transgender people serving in the US military doesn't harm military cohesion or readiness. 

This is just once again Trump kowtowing to the white evilgelicals and pushing transphobia for his own short term political gain.

And as far as the other lie goes that transgender troops would affect the 'lethality' of our military, the Israeli Defense Forces, one of the best in the Middle East, haven't had that problem and have had transgender troops serving in the IDF for over a decade.    Many of our NATO allies allow their transgender citizens to serve and have done so for decades

Didn't we already go through this BS with Jim Crow segregation that barred Black people from serving in combat roles?   The failed Don't Ask Don't Tell policy aimed at the LGB community?

The trans military ban is destined to go the same way.   But unfortunately a lot of people will be negatively affected by it before the unjust policy dies.

Forgotten Women Panel Happening April 16

I have another panel I've been asked to participate in as I pass the time before I head to Dallas for BTAC 2019. 

This one will take place on April 16 on the Lone Star College North Harris County campus, and is entitled Forgotten Women:  Sexual Assault and Violence Against Women of Color.

I'm joining three amazing women in Dee Dee Watters, Audia Jones, and Mya Carroll as we discuss this topic.  This also gives you folks who live in the Houston 'burbs a chance to see all of us in your neck of the woods.

The panel will start at 2:30 PM at the Lone Star College North Harris campus, located at 2700 WW Thorne Dr not far from Bush IAH.

Hope I see al lot of my far northside friends there for this event..   

Thank You Minneapolis and U of M!

I had an unexpected additional day in the Twin Cities after the event because of a massive spring storm that slammed the state with several inches of snow combined with sustained 25 mph high winds that cancelled flights at MSP.

That storm also resulted in the cancellation of my return flight home to Texas, but I wasn't too pressed about it.  I needed the additional day of rest because I know when I get back home I'll be going back to Austin to deal with our TXGOP legislative craziness.

I had a wonderful first visit to the Twin Cities and the state of Minnesota to participate in the second annual Andrea Jenkins Lecture Series.   While I was disappointed I didn't get to see more of my Minneapolis trans family because of the approaching storm, there were 100 souls who braved the weather to see Dr C Riley Snorton and myself.

In addition to Andrea dropping some of her poetry on us, Dr Snorton and I took to the Mayo Auditorium stage to discuss Black trans history and other subjects over the next two hours.

And yes, it was wonderful to see Rev Lawrence T. Richardson and Councilmember Andrea Jenkins again and meet Dr. Saby Labor , the director of UM-Twin Cities Gender and Sexuality Center for Queer and Trans Life. 

It was also a pleasure, honor and privilege to reconnect with Dr Snorton, and I'm going to enjoy reading his latest book on the plane ride home.   I also discovered Dr Snorton and I have a mutual acquaintance in his University of Chicago colleague Dr Kristen Schilt.

I also got to do some touristy things before the snowstorm hit like see the world famous First Avenue nightclub where Prince, The Time and countless other music legends have performed.   I visited the Mall of America  and went to Nicollet Mall downtown to see the Mary Tyler Moore statue.

Did I visit Paisley Park?  Not this time.   It's in the 'burbs and off the beaten public transit path, so I'll save it for a future trip.

But what I do wish to say is thank you Minneapolis for a wonderful first visit, and hope I can return to the Twin Cities soon.

Texas, I'm headed back home. 

I'm Getting An Award At The JRR Luncheon!

I've never been to the annual Johnson Rayburn Richards event that Harris County Democratic Party conducts.\  It's one of their biggest fundraisers, and one of the biggest for any of the Democratic Party organizations in the Lone Star State.

But this year I'll be attending it for the first time, and a I have pretty good reason for doing so.

I've known about it for a week now, but was asked to keep it quiet until the official announcement could be made.by the HCDP.

I'll be receiving the Barbara Jordan Breaking Barriers Award at this year's JRR luncheon!

As a native Houstonian who was a witness to the remarkable trailblazing political career of this legendary H-town Democrat, it is a high horor to receive an award named for her.

That also means I'll be writing a speech for the occasion, and so looking forward to being there on May 24 to deliver it and receive the award along with my fellow JRR Award honorees Yolanda Black Navarro and Ai-jen Poo for it.

Leaving On A Jet Plane-To Minneapolis

It's a travel day in which I get to take a jet plane out of Hobby and head to Minneapolis for the Andrea Jenkins Lecture I'll be participating in tomorrow with Dr C Riley Snorton on the UM campus.

Already have a shot of me next to the Bronze Fonz, and Minneapolis has its own iconic statue of a fictional TV character in Mary Tyler Moore at Nicollett Mall. 

It recreates the scene from the Mary Tyler Moore Show opening credits in which her Mary Richards character throws her tam in the air in front of the downtown mall along with scenes from the show. 

I was a huge fan of the Mary Tyler Moore show growing up that put Minneapolis in the public consciousness before His Royal Badness came along later..

I'm looking forward to seeing as many of the Minneapolis based trans peeps I know while I'm there, and hope everyone can come to check out the event at the Mayo Auditorium on the University of Minnesota campus.

Also looking forward to spending some quality time with D. Snorton.

The interesting thing is I have to fly to Denver first and then catch my connecting flight out of there to Minneapolis.   Here's hoping I have no drama or ATC delays.

Happy 25th Transiversary To Moi!

April 4 to me is not just the day that Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis.   It is also the day in 1994 that I nervously walked into Terminal C at IAH to clock in for my shift for the first time as my true self.

I was going to wait until my May 4 birthday to do that, but got impatient and just went ahead and put my new femme uniforms on, grabbed my new ID and plunged into my new reality.

A lot of things have changed since that 1994 day.   My hair is a lot shorter now than when I walked into Terminal C, and I've gained 50 pounds.  There's even a brand new Terminal E next door and connected to Terminal C at Bush IAH. 

 I even have a shelf of awards I keep adding to from multiple organizations across the country for my 20 plus years of activism on behalf of the community.

But it would have never gotten to that point if I hadn't found the courage to take the first steps toward becoming Moni.

She downplays her role in it, but one person I have to credit for burning my trans closet door down and challenging me to handle my transition business was a fellow flight attendant coworker in Maxine Farrington.   

Max and I had gotten to know one another because I worked the gates, but she perceptively picked up on the fact I wasn't happy, and felt I was hiding something.

One day I was talking about how her statuesque self should become a model, and she told me that she not only was, but had some major ad campaigns back in the 80's

So I told Max what was going on and what I was up to.    She went on vacation after I confided in her, and by the time Max got back I was now working the gates.   I was also dealing with 30,000 people a day gawking at me as they rushed to their flights or boarded the ones I worked. 

As for the peeps gawking at me during my awkward transition stage, I dealt with it the only way I could, by putting my head down and throwing myself into doing my job to the best of my ability.   Major difference was I was way happier with the way my life was going.

Max was walking off one of her first post vacation trips when she walked off the plane that had parked at my gate and she spotted me.

"Congratulations," she said after spotting me.  "But we need to talk."

We had that conversation at the airport a few days later.  She was concerned that a mere seven weeks after our conversation in which I confided to her I was transitioning that I was jumping in too fast. 

 Max had four girlfriends who were trans from her modeling days, and I assured her that I was not only serious about what I was doing, I had been thinking about it for more than a decade.

I had her and a lot of cis feminine role models around that airport and elsewhere to look up to in those early days.  It was an interesting, emotional and challenging first month, but I survived it and the next seven years on the job.

Were there some potholes along the way?  Sure was.  But nothing in life is easy., especially a gender transition.

I ended up in Louisville for eight and a half years starting in late September 2001 before returning to Houston four days after my birthday in  May 2010.

I still talk to Max and many of my coworkers from that time  She and my coworkers tell me how proud they are of me and the person I've become.

I discovered in these 25 years that your family expands, not contracts during a gender transition.   I've been blessed to meet a lot of amazing people along the journey here and during my time in Louisville.   Some are still my friends today.

And yeah, I have a lot of trans nieces and nephews these days in addition to my two biological nieces.

Y'all know the rest of the still evolving story.   25 years later I am this unapologetic Black trans person who strives to be better every day for myself and my community.  I have an amazing life, have gotten to blaze a few trails and make history along the way.

And yeah, I look fly doing it. 

Happy 25th transiversary to me.

Moni's Heading To Minnesota Soon!

It's official now so I can talk about it.

Last year I went to Wisconsin for the first time back in November for a TDOR, and now I'll be back in the upper Midwest again to do a lecture with Dr. C. Riley Snorton on the University of Minnesota campus.

What I'm heading to the Twin Cities for next week is the latest installment of the Andrea Jenkins Lecture Series that happens on the UM campus.   This year it's happening on April 10 in the Mayo Auditorium.

So yep, I'll be in the Twin Cities for the first time ever after some failed attempts to go there during my airline days, and so looking forward to spending time with y'all up there in Minnesota.

I'm also looking forward to getting to spend some quality time with CM Jenkins and hopefully see CM Cunningham, too along with the rest of my Minnesota trans family

I'm also looking forward to meeting Dr Snorton, whose work I have admired for some time now, and it is a sincere honor and privilege to share a stage with.

As someone who is a huge Prince fan and owns a DVD copy of Purple Rain, hopefully I'll find some time to swing by the legendary First Avenue club and take a photo in front of it. 

And just like in Milwaukee, Minneapolis has a bronze statue of a famous TV character that called the city home in Mary Tyler Moore's Mary Richards.   There's a shot from the opening credits of the Mary Tyler Moore Show in which she takes off her tam in front of the then brand new Nicollette Mall in downtown Minneapolis and throws it in the air

A statue in front of the mall recreates that moment.

May also try to roll by the Mall of America while I'm up there as well

But once again Minnesota trans fam, I'm headed your way, and hope to see y'all on April 10 at 6 PM in the Mayo Auditorium .

Vigil For Ashanti Carmon Tonight

For those of you in the DMV area, a vigil has been scheduled tonight for our sister Ashanti Carmon, who was killed in the early morning hours of March 30.

Here's the press release for it:

April 2, 2019, Washington, DC

The Transgender community condemns the murder of Ashanti Carmon, a 27-year old transgender woman who was brutally shot multiple times to death in the 5000 block of Jost Street in the town of Fairmount Heights, MD on the morning of Saturday March 30   

The Transgender community and other local LGBTQ organizations joins the Carmon family and friends in mourning this senseless loss.  Her murder reminds us all of how often the transgender community is targeted for violence in our society.   Sadly, violence against transgender people has become far too common in many cities. 

While this murder was just across the Eastern Avenue line and happened in Maryland, Ashanti is well known and loved in the DC area by many.  In looking back on murders it brings us to the shooting death on Eastern Avenue N.E. of Lashai McClean age 23 who was killed in July of 2011.   While this murder may or may not be characterized as a hate crime by police at this time, it is important that each of us works to eradicate transphobia on a personal and societal level.       

There will be a Press Conference prior to the vigil, beginning at 6:30 PM EDT. The vigil will take place on April 02, 2019 at 6:30 pm in the 5000 block of Jost Street near the site of the attack. The LGBTQ community encourages everyone to participate and show solidarity against hatred and violence.  Also, Funeral arrangements are pending and will be announced once released.  

Hope you can attend if you are able to do so.

The April Fool's Joke Is In The White House

I have a TransGriot transition in which on April 1, I do a prank blog post as an April Fool's joke.

But no post I could come up with right now would match the orange idiot occupying the White House right now, his Republican party accomplices enabling him, the FOX Noise network that parrots his lies, and the white evilgelicals who support him to push their evil political agenda.

So until this racist fool and the GOP are defeated at the ballot box next year, April Fool's Day on this blog is cancelled.

We already have a joke for a POTUS, and he's an embarrassment to our country.

Number 2- Rest In Power and Peace Ashanti

This is definitely not the way I wanted to spend our tenth anniversary celebration of the Transgender Day of Visibility, but it is a sobering reminder of how our visibility can come with a high price.

It's also something I've been concerned about as we transition out of the colder winter weather into the spring.  When the weather warms up,  the anti-trans violence incidents rise along with the warmer temperatures. 

We travel to the Washington DC area for news concerning the second trans murder of 2019. 

The 20 something year old Ashanti Carmon was found dead after Fairmount Heights police responded to multiple shots fired calls in the area of Aspen and Jost streets around 6:23 AM EDT Saturday morning.

I also had a major problem with the way the report on her death was written by WJLA-TV in DC media.

The area is near the DC-Prince George's County line.   Police arrived at the scene seven minutes later, located Carmon, and pronounced her dead at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds.

It was the first murder in Fairmount Heights in five years according to its police chief.  The homicide investigation will be turned over to the Prince George's County Police.

As of yet, no word on a memorial vigil or a funeral, but once I find out that information, I will pass it on to you TransGriot readers once I receive it.   .

And I have to ask once again, especially on this TDOV day, when will our Black trans lives matter to the Black cis community?:

Both the trans people we have lost to anti-trans violence in 2019 have in common they are Black trans feminine people and under age 35.   

Rest in power and peace Ashanti.   May the person who committed this heinous crime be swiftly caught and punished for it.

Happy TDOV 2019, Everyone!

Today is not on the Transgender Day of Visibility, it is the tenth anniversary celebration of this day

It is a day that Rachel Crandall-Crocker created in 2009 to celebrate our trans successes and those of us visibly living and unapologetically being our awesome trans selves.  It has grown from a Michigan centric event to one that now spans the country and increasingly the world.

In four days I will mark the 25th anniversary of my nervously walking into IAH's Terminal C clocking in for work that day as me for the first time.

My life began on that April 4 day. It has been an amazing 25 years full of ups and downs, but it hasn't been boring. I get to do some amazing things, and I have gained an international family of trans people and supporters as a result.

I am also blessed to have a cadre of amazing cis women that have my back and were instrumental in helping me understand the journey I was about to embark upon.

I'm blessed that in these 25 years since I transitioned, I've been able to blaze trails and make history as I navigate my amazing life while evolving to become a better version of myself.

I don't have any kids, but I gained a whole lot of trans nieces and nephews along the way in addition to my two biological nieces.

I'm also pleased and proud to be considered a role model and mentor to the generations of trans people coming behind me. 

By stepping into Terminal C 25 years ago, I began to own my power and become the unapologetic Black trans woman you see standing before you today .

We can't forget on this TDOV day the trans and gender non conforming people who are non-disclosed for safety or other reasons.  You also play an important role in helping all of us gain our human rights and defending our humanity against all who would attack it for their own nefarious political gain.

When you are ready to take that visibility step,, your community will be waiting with open arms.  In the meantime, those of us who are visible will continue to fight to make the world a better place so that you can feel comfortable in taking those steps into unapologetic trans visibility.

Trans right are human rights.   And on this tenth TDOV, we are once again shouting that message as loud as we can until people get it.

Let's change the world together, starting today.

Happy TDOV everyone.

TDOV-A Candid Conversation With TENT

Was happy to discover that we actually have an event scheduled to happen in Houston on the 10th anniversary of TDOV.

The Transgender Education Network of Texas and Transform Houston are hosting a panel discussion tomorrow that will discuss the importance of trans and non binary visibility.

The panel will feature Atlantis Narcisse, Rylie Jefferson, Nick Arvizu and Mike Webb.  They will discuss what visibility means to them and the different types of visibility we have in the community.

This panel discussion will take place at 4212 Emancipation, at that address on Emancipation Ave in Houston's Third Ward and run from 7 - 9 PM CDT.

Hope you can attend this event and see this group of panelists .   

Daniel Villarreal's SXSW Talk- 10 Emerging LGBTQ Media Topics

I met Daniel Villarreal during an LGBTQ Media Journalist Convening event several years ago, and have a lot of respect and love for him and his journalism work.

He recently gave a talk at the 2019 SXSW on the subject of  'Ten Emerging Topics In LGBTQ Media'.   I was in Austin during SXSW for TENT's Lobby Day on the march 7, but had to return home on the date of his talk..

While 70 people attended his talk, there have been a lot more people who expressed interest in the subject, so Daniel has decided to record it so more people can see it.     

Here's the video.

Naw Curtis Jackson, A Man Who Dates Trans Women Isn't Gay

I cancelled Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson a long time ago, and am proud to say that not one of his CD's desecrates my collection.   His most recent anti-trans comment makes it crystal clear why I just say hell no to 50 Cent.

He took to his Instagram page with 22 million followers yesterday to say to the rapper Young Buck, who was formerly part of his G-Unit group this transphobic comment. 

“If your [sic] in a relationship with a t****y your [sic] gay. that’s a boy, Boy!!!

“It’s cool Buck you gonna be big down at the gay bars Give me a call,

He also posted a video of Young Buck in which the rapper is saying 'take that s**t down' to a woman who wrote an article alleging he had sex with a trans woman.

Um no Curtis and other like mined transphobes, that's not how this works.   Let me make this real simple and plain for you trans ignorati because I'm not feeling your transphobic BS and my patience with it is nonexistent today.

A trans women is a woman, a trans man is man.  That trans man is also a better version of a man than you could ever hope to be.

If you as a cisgender man are attracted to a trans woman, that makes you STRAIGHT.  If you are a cisgender man that is attracted to a trans man, that makes you GAY.

Curtis, your use of the 't****y slur and the BS perpetuation of the 'that's a man' crap to describe trans women not only contributes to the toxic masculinity problem, it  contributes to more Black trans women getting attacked, hurt or killed. 

There are cisgender men who love them some trans women, be they pre, post or non op.   Your comments and the internalized transphobia it feeds in trans attracted men and the Black community at large makes it harder for those men to be open and honest about being ride or die attracted to trans feminine people.

Curtis, if being with trans women is not your cup of tea, we get it.   You ain't all that to some of us either.  But you and your buds in Rap World need to stop demonizing Black trans women, especially when some of you are desperately trying to hook up with trans women on the down low.