Saturday, October 31, 2015

The Fight To Keep HERO - October 31


'The bottom line is that the HERO opposition has been since last May disseminating lies about HERO unchallenged. This election will probably be decided in Black neighborhoods, and we must get accurate information to our people to counteract the right wing lies.' 

--TransGriot September 30, 2015


I hope that on November 3 I'm in the position to report some wonderful news when it comes to the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, but right now what I'm hearing is disturbing but something I and the Houston Black LGBT warned about months ago.

Early voting it over, and it's being reported that the anti-HERO forces have an edge going into Tuesday.  The thing that makes me have some shred of optimism about these reports is two of the three local political scientists reporting this have been wrong multiple times.

I hope I'm wrong on November 3, but as many of you longtime readers of this blog are aware of, I have this propensity of being correct about political and other stuff.

It's also a problematic sign of this Prop 8 2.0 campaign as I called it in my October 6 interview with political blogger Charles Kuffner when the Houston NAACP has their awards gala last night at the Hilton Americas Hotel and there is ZERO mention about a human rights ordinance that protects the entire populace, and was driven by discrimination aimed at African-American Houstonians.

Time for a Keeping It Real moment from Christina Gorczynski pointing out all these anti-HERO peeps who have 'concerns about women and children' have been all talk and no action.

Hey Houstonians: Just a quick ‪#‎HERO‬ observation and a little Houston history. Not long ago, Houston had years of backlogged untested rape kits-- and these anti-#HERO fear-mongering potty police were NOWHERE to be found. They were not running commercials advocating for safety for women and girls, and they were certainly not out protesting for justice for sexual assault victims in our city.
IN FACT, the person who took the lead, fought for funds and showed a drive for justice was our Mayor Annise Parker- the very person you are lying about and accusing of making women and children unsafe in bathrooms. She worked with our city council and our state and federal legislative delegations to get the funding necessary to successfully alleviate the untested rape kit backlog. She made it a mission to make sure that women and children in Houston were safer and that people who violated women and children were held accountable. Without much fanfare, she worked hard for us. And our city should be grateful for her leadership. (Olivia Benson would be proud.) 
So some REAL TALK: If all these anti-#HERO assholes really gave a flying fuck about the women and children in Houston, they would have given a damn then. If they actually cared about supporting women and children in crisis, they'd be giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Houston Area Women's Center or the women's ministries at their respective churches instead of buying TV ads to scare women and make us feel afraid in our own city, all under the guise of keeping us "safe."
Frankly, If these DUDES really wanted to protect women, they wouldn't be lying like dogs to each and every one of us with this nutjob shit about bathroom predators. And if they really respected women and children-- and I mean ALL WOMEN including trans women and ALL CHILDREN including trans children, they wouldn't be sitting around thinking of creative and completely dishonest ways to make us afraid of sexual violence every time we leave the house. 
#HERO protects women. Period. Anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is knowingly or unknowingly full of shit. ‪#‎hardstop‬

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HERO also protects 14 other categories of Houstonians and it's worth fighting for.  Would be a shame if my fellow Houstonians allowed themselves to be hoodwinked and bamboozled into voting against their own human rights.

Happy Trans National Holiday 2015!


Today is Halloween, and for those of you who aren't getting rained on like we are in Houston right now, hope you will have a wonderful time taking to kids out to trick or treat, or at that costume party you're planning to attend later tonight.

And don't wear Blackface.   While I'm at it, don't wear yellowface, redface or think that you can put on a non white persons cultural traditions like some sort of costume.  Just say no and use that brain to come up with another idea for a Halloween costume.

Now that I've gotten that TransGriot public service announcement out of the way, Happy Trans National Holiday!

Halloween has been the night in which our people held elaborate drag balls in Chicago and New York that drew thousands on the South Side and the old Roseland Ballroom.



But it was also the night that we trans folks were free to if just for one day, be the everyday men and women we wanted to permanently be the other 364 days of the year.

I know that was the way I looked at it on those Halloween nights before I moved into my own place.  I'd head to a trusted friends apartment where I had my femme clothing stashed, take the time to gleefully get in femme mode and go to Studio 13 in Montrose as an everyday sister just getting off work.

And it's interesting to note that once transition happened for me and became a reality, Halloween wasn't a day I planned with the efficiency of the D-Day invasion, but became just another day on the calendar.

So for trans people and those contemplating transition, Halloween has a different meaning than it does for cis people.  It's only after we become our true selves that we transpeeps even begin to think about it in terms of 'what costume do I wear'?

Happy Trans National Holiday people!

Friday, October 30, 2015

Shut Up Fool Awards- Looking For Human Rights HEROes Edition


We are in the last day of early voting for our Houston municipal election and stuff is getting real as we approach November 3.  You have until 7 PM  to get to your favorite polling place and vote in the mayoral election and for Prop 1.  

And yes since today is Friday, time to call out some fools.

Honorable mention number one is a group award for all you Houston folks who believed the anti-HERO bathroom predator lie and voted NO in the early voting phase on Prop 1.

Honorable mention number two is another group award for all the GOP presidential candidates on stage for the GOP debate in Boulder, CO.

Honorable mention number three is our unelected Harris County Republican sheriff Ron Hickman, who came out of the closet about his opposition to HERO, claiming it was 'confusing and divisive', but wasn't in the chair for a day when he demoted a lesbian sheriff with 30 years of experience, ended the LGBT liaison program, and attacked the #BlackLivesMatter movement in a problematic press conference in the wake of the shooting of Deputy Darren Goforth,

Honorable mention number four is anyone who wears Blackface for Halloween.

Honorable mention number five is Rep Mo Brooks (R-AL) , who opposes immigration because 'it changes the voter pool'.

And makes it more likely that bigots like him get bounced out of office.

Honorable mention number six is Ben Fields, the ex-Richland County SC resource officer who body slammed and dragged across the floor a Black female student.

Hope you get the assault charges that need to follow up this incident, but we'll see if justice is served in this heinous incident..

This week's Shut Up Fool award is a joint one that goes to Raven-Symone and Don Lemon who continue to cause us to wonder whether both their Black cards need to be revoked.

Raven made another cringe worthy statement on The View in regards to the SC student being violently dragged across that Spring Valley High School classroom.

Don Lemon tried to justify the officer's actions, which led CNN legal correspondent Sunny Hostin to put his ass on blast.



The sad part is both these kneegrows have sizable media platforms, and they continually make jacked up WTF statements

Raven-Symone and Don Lemon, shut up fools.



The Fight To Keep HERO-October 30

Today is the last day of early voting in H-town for the upcoming mayoral election and voting YES for Prop 1 and the ads are flying.   Another pro-Prop 1 ad rolled out this week as an anti-HERO ad featuring Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick hit the airwaves.



We have had in the runup to Election Day some political heavyweights comment on the HERO vote in President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

“While the Administration generally does not take a formal position on specific proposals or initiatives, the President and Vice President have been strong supporters of state and local efforts to protect Americans from being discriminated against based on who they are and who they love. We’re confident that the citizens of Houston will vote in favor of fairness and equality.

Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has also weighed in on the HERO fight..

Screen Shot 2015-10-29 at 12.45.19 PM

Hollywood has chimed in as well.  Native Texans Matt Bomer and Eva Longoria have also tweeted their support of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.


I’m proud to join in support of in Texas. Join me in the fight  




We have had actress Sally Field, who has Texas family roots and is an award winning women's rights advocate, weigh in on the HERO at an event Wednesday night, and repeated her commentary Thursday morning at an event for women legislators at the Alley Theater.

News coverage on the local and national level about this fight continues.  The Houston Chronicle in another editorial called out Lt Governor Dan Patrick for outright lying about the ordinance.

But I'm still concerned along with the Houston Black LGBT community this late swell of positive endorsements may be too little, too late.   Polling has tightened up in the last few days, and you know I've expressed my dissatisfaction with the way the campaign to defend HERO was run.  I've been concerned about the failure to utterly crush the bathroom lie.and its lack of outreach to the Houston Black community and POC trans community of color in the face of an opposition side that will use fear and smear attacks on trans people as their only tactic.

And the HERO haters have been immensely helped by the lazy reporting of Fox 26,

You have until 7 PM to take advantage of early voting, otherwise you'll have to wait until November 3 to make your voice heard on this issue.



Thursday, October 29, 2015

Alexandra Billings On 'How To Get Away With Murder' Tonight


Another TransGriot Must See Trans TV alert for you.

For those of you who are fans of the ABC-TV show How To Get Away With Murder, in tonight's episode of it, we'll have longtime girl like us actress Alexandra Billings making an appearance on it

She is excited about appearing on this top rated ABC drama, and I'm jut as excited to see her performance tonight to see if she does indeed get away with murder.

How To Get Away With Murder comes on at 9 PM CDT on you local ABC station, and hope you'll tune in.

Break a leg, Alexandra!

British Trans Woman May Not Be Getting Locked Up With The Cis Boys

One of the problems we have had when trans women have been incarcerated for law violations is that far too many prisons operate based on the genitalia you possess and not gender presentation

For trans women, that is a problem that leads to them being mistreated by guards and inmates alike and walking targets for sexual assault. Combine that with a documentation issue, and you have a recipe for disaster

26 year old British trans woman Tara Hudson was harshly sentenced by magistrates in Bath to 12 weeks in the all male Bristol prison after admitting to headbutting a bar manager.   Never mind the fact that she has been on hormones, lived as Tara for six years, had reconstructive surgery, and been declared by her medical doctor as a woman.   But because she doesn't have a Gender Recognition Certificate, a document that confers legal recognition of her gender and it time consuming and expensive to get, she is facing having to do time in a prison in which according to an inspection report, levels of violence have risen since the last inspection and not enough was done to protect vulnerable prisoners.

And we can visualize the hell that would ensure for her if she was thrown into that situation.

Tara Hudson has been sent to an all-male prison

After 122,000 people around the world signed a Change.org petition asking for Hudson to be moved to a women's prison, that request is not only being considered, but her case is being reviewed.

Her mother is hoping that the sentence will be reduced so that she can spend it at home on an electronic monitoring tag.

But Hudson should have never been put in this dangerous situation in the first place. It's time for Britain to listen to its trans citizens and consider changes in the 2004 Gender Recognition Act hat would allow self declaration of gender identity without the bureaucratic hoops and fiscal burdens that come with the current policy.

TransGriot Update:  Hudson will be transferred to a women's prison to serve her sentence. 

2015 TransGriot NFL Picks-Week 8


Been a week of drama for my fave NFL team.   First owner Bob McNair asked for his $10,000 check back that he gave to the anti-HERO forces, then they got their behinds kicked by the Miami Dolphins for the first time ever in franchise history.  JJ Watt missed that game with a back injury, and Ryan Mallett missed the team charter flight and was subsequently cut from the team..

They resigned TJ Yates, who after Matt Schaub got hurt led them to their first playoff berth, and to the AFC Divisional round of the playoffs to back up Brian Hoyer.

Bob McNair says the season isn't over, but if they drop this game to the Tennessee Traitors it probably is, even as weak as the AFC South has been.

We are now at the halfway point of the 2015 NFL season, and still have time to make my prognostication championship dreams happen.  But got to do better and that starts now.

14 more games with one more international one from London.


Teams on their bye week in Week 8 are Buffalo, Jacksonville, Philadelphia and Washington.

Week 7 Results                                         2015 Season Record.
TransGriot   8-6                                         TransGriot       67-38
Mike            9-5                                         Mike                70-35
Eli                8-6                                         Eli                    62-43


NFL Week 8 (Home team in CAPS)

Thursday Night
PATRIOTS over Dolphins

Sunday Noon
CHIEFS over Lions (from London)
RAVENS over Chargers
Cardinals over BROWNS
Vikings over BEARS
Bengals over STEELERS
TEXANS over Titans
Giants over SAINTS
RAMS over 49ers
FALCONS over Buccaneers

Sunday Afternoon
Jets over RAIDERS
Seahawks over COWBOYS

Sunday Night
Packers over BRONCOS

Monday Night
PANTHERS over Colts

California Trans Teen Becomes Cheerleader


One of the things that really makes me proud to see as a trans elder is seeing our trans youngling not only getting to live their lives as their true selves at earlier ages, but getting to live their dreams at the same time.

Meet Anry Fuentes, who is not only transitioning during her senior year at Denair High School in Turlock, CA,, but is also living her dream to be a cheerleader.

“I was really good friends with this girl named Selena and she was a cheerleader with Denair Youth Football, so I would just go and watch her cheer for the football players and go to her practices,” said Fuentes.
“I was like, ‘wait, I want to be a cheerleader too!’” she laughed.

That childhood dream to become a cheerleader fueled by her friendship with Selena became a reality for her.  She has not only received support from cheerleader coach Robin Hilton, but her fellow cheerleaders and classmates.

Fuentes noted in her interview with the Turlock Journal that although her transition has had some bumpy moments, she has excelled in school and earned the Stanislaus County Seal of Multilingual Proficiency for her Spanish and English fluency.

“I’m not sugarcoating it, it was tough. But my life is given to me once and I’m going to make the most of it,” said Fuentes. “Everybody goes through that stage where they think ‘I’m never going to get out of this.’
“No—you are going to get out of it. I am living proof. I didn’t give up,” continued Fuentes.

The Fight To Keep HERO- October 29


We are in the second week of early voting which will conclude on Friday, so if you haven't gotten your early vote on, please do so today or Friday.  After that date you will have to do it at your regular polling place on Tuesday November 3.

And yes, I have voted FOR Prop 1 and the candidates for mayor and council who support the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.

Lot of things happening since my last update post.   One of the big business groups in town, the Greater Houston Partnership has come out in favor of HERO and urged a YES vote on it.



And that meme leading off this post?    Yep, it's sad but true.  The reason we don't have a non- discrimination ordinance with local remedies for discrimination today is because back in 1984 when the sexual orientation only one was passed, the ordinance haters like Steven Hotze, Dave Wilson and others teamed up with the Klan to 'scurr' people into voting against their own human rights.  And yes, attacks on the trans community (crossdressing men in your kids schools) were used in that odious 1985 campaign.

Now Hotze, Wilson and the new jack HERO haters like Dave Welch, Steve Riggle have shrewdly used kneegrow sellouts like Ben Hall, Rev F.N. Williams and Rev Max Miller to act as human shields for them to make their hate coalition look 'more diverse' and inject anti- trans hate in my community.

And I'm NOT happy about that .along with the ongoing efforts of these sellout kneegrow ministers and a failing for the second time mayoral candidate to hoodwink and bamboozle Black Houstonians into voting against their human rights.


As I've been saying since August, the HERO battle would be won or lost in the Black community, and I've expressed my concerns that NOT enough has been done by Houston Unites to kill the bathroom predator lie being spread in Black neighborhoods.

The gentleman on the left is Houston civil rights icon Rev. William Lawson.  He led the coalition that helped desegregate Houston's downtown lunch counters, secured Black employment for the construction of the Astrodome and subsequent African-American employment when it opened in 1965.  

And as the Houston African-American News pointed out, he supports HERO

Today from 6-8 PM a phone bank geared toward the Houston African-American community will take place at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston jointly sponsored by African Americans For HERO and Houston Unites. Address is 5200 Fannin Street, and you can either bring your laptop and cellphone or  just show up.

The NAACP and Houston Urban League (better late than never) are finally getting radio ads on the air urging my community vote YES on Prop 1.  But is it in time?

And as I've pointed out, this fight has the attention of Texas and the world.  Articles in the New York Times, the Texas Tribune and other media outlets.

Out of town media, just a note.  HERO is a human rights ordinance,   It is not a 'bathroom bill' or an 'LGBT ordinance'.  Get it right that it covers 15 categories.

Here are 5 quick things you need to know about the HERO.

And something they should have been doing from the start in terms of debunking the bathroom lie..



In other news Texans owner Bob McNair woke the hell up and asked the HERO haters to return his $10K contribution to them.   Guess the NFL or someone whispered in his ear this was a bad PR move and much of his fan base supports the HERO.

Don't be like Bob on Election Day and wake up on November 4 feeling stupid because you fell for the right wing okey-doke and lies.  Vote YES on Prop 1.
 


Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Trans Woman Wins Holland's Next Top Model


We watched Isis King attempt to do so on the American version of the show that is ceasing production after 12 years,.but in the Netherlands it's still on the air and a trans woman has broken through to become the first out trans feminine winner of Holland's Next Top Model.

Loiza Lamers wins Holland's Next Top Model 2015 (Photo: Twitter/@MarloesCoenen)

20 year old Loiza Lammers initially decided to not disclose her trans status at first, but as the rumors started flying and she secured her spot on the show, she announced she was trans and subsequently began to dominate the competition.

While there have been trans contestants on the other international versions of Top Model who have attempted to win those versions in their nations and failed, Lammers has broken through and along the way to the win became an icon to the Dutch TBLG community..



She won a modeling contract with Touche Models, and hopefully this is the first step to a long and successful career for her.
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'Her Story' Premieres At New York LGBT Film Festival


Was happy to hear about the premiere of Her Story, which features two people I have mad love for in Jen Richards and Angelica Ross.   It is a web series that features not only trans people in front of the camera playing nuanced trans characters, but a trans person directing it in Sydney Freeland

Gee, trans actors playing trans people.   What a refreshing concept.   And something Hollywood has needed to do for a long time.

Her Story debuted to a packed house at New York's LGBT Film Festival Monday night, and the NewFest crowd was treated to a post screening panel with Angelica, Jen and Laura Zak moderated by Laverne Cox.



If you haven't seen the trailer for Her Story, here it is.



So looking forward to seeing it when it is released to the rest of the world.

I Won't Allow You To Trample On My Human Rights Or My Dignity


I had a high school classmate of mine make a transphobic comment on her Facebook page that I called her out about early Sunday morning while I was in Massachusetts.  

While I was traveling back to Texas she deleted the comments and blocked me from her page which is her right to do.  I then exercised my First Amendment free speech rights to call her behind out about the transphobic comments on my Facebook page, and wrote an open letter to her trying to explain what was wrong with what she wrote. and why it is hurtful to trans people.

After I did so, she ,her daughter and two other people swarmed my Facebook page and unleashed transphobic attacks at moi while trying to hide behind the Bible and claiming I had 'attacked her'

Naw boo boo kitty.  If I had attacked you, you and the whole world would have known about it.  

But the bottom line is this FB mess gave people an opportunity to see just how embedded anti-trans attitudes are in the Houston Black community, and how much transphobic ignorance is being sowed by these ministers in I hope will be another failed effort to overturn HERO on November 3.

It has also shown me that multiple clear the air town halls between Black cis women and Black trans women will be necessary post Prop 1 in the wake of all the anti-trans rhetoric pimped by the Baptist Ministers Assn. of Houston and Vicinity that has filtered down to the flock level.

But I also need to send a message to Black Houston since you're refusing to have Black trans representatives on air to rebut the ignorance being spread in Houston television media and on Majic 102 and KCOH-AM.

It's past time for Houston's Black trans folks to start calling out our Black community oppressors instead
 of silently sitting there letting them spew anti-trans rhetoric in the blogosphere and elsewhere with impunity.  I am sick of transphobes unleashing anti-trans hatred, and when you call them out on their nekulturny behavior, try to hide behind the Bible, accuse you of 'attacking them' or trot out that trifling 'agree to disagree' line
There is no 'agreeing to disagree'' when your loud and wrong attitudes are being used to demonize and oppress a community or take human rights away.
And if it means I'm going to be the only one standing up to Ben Hall, Majic 102, KCOH-AM and the Baptist Ministers Association of Houston and Vicinity to do it, then yeah, I'm going to go there and be the sword and shield for our community in conjunction with our allies that aren't liking the rampant transphobia being unleashed in H-town either.
You are going to be called out for it, and if you don't like me or any other transperson you attack that way calling your behind out and holding up the mirror on your transphobic azzes, I give zero phucks about it.
If I'm not scared to call out politicians, HRC and a long list of people for their transphobic BS, what makes you think you're immune?
There are times when being polite doesn't work, and you have to call a trifling mofo out, especially when that trifling mofo is attempting to trample on your human rights and your dignity.

New rule for the 2K10.  I wonk allow you or anyone inside or outside of the Black community to tranple on my human rights or my dignity. 

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Nikki's Trans Marriage End Game In Sight


Ever since the story broke back in 2010 that the widow of fallen firefighter Thomas Araguz III was a girl like us, I've been following it as the mother and ex-wife of Araguz tried to use the odious Littleton v Prange case as a way to do a money grab and stick it to Nikki at the same time.

Unfortunately in their zeal to hate on her, the ripple effect consequences were that the ability of Texas trans people to get married in the Lone Star State and have it recognized by the state were placed in jeopardy and riding on the results of this high stakes Araguz vs Delgado case.

I say high stakes because no matter which way it went, it would either set a precedent that would advance the human rights of Texas trans people or set them back.

Along the way, I've gotten to know her after our first meeting back in August 2010, and have admired her for sticking up for herself and her human rights.

After six years, a court loss at the district court level, getting remarried and two legal wins at the appeals court and Texas Supreme Court level combined with the Obergefell SCOTUS marriage ruling that made the issues Delgado sued on moot,

On Friday the 13th Texas Court of Appeals affirmed their 2014 ruling that reversed the one invalidating her marriage of Judge Randy Clapp in Wharton and sent it with a mandate back to his court,

"It's the most beautiful twist of karma. The judge to so viciously ruled against me now has to reverse his own ruling," said Araguz Loyd in an interview Monday. "It's never been about money. It was not about money when I married my husband. It certainly was not about money when I buried him."

Now it's just a matter of Nikki waiting for the final legal acts to play out in this long delayed and hard fought win for not only her, but all Texas trans people.

Monday, October 26, 2015

Got My Houston Vote On!


The second week of early voting started yesterday. and you know I wanted to make certain that I got to weigh in on this 2015 mayoral and Houston civic election because I was voter suppressed out of the 2013 one.

But it's now 2015, and with Texas driver's license in hand that doesn't expire until 2020 and current orange voter registration card in hand, I sauntered into my fave early voting location with Dee Dee Watters and cast my ballot for who I think should be sitting in The Horseshoe and those comfortable leather chairs in January running our city.


And yeah, there's some human rights ordinance you may have heard about called HERO that I voted on as well.

After we both handled our election business, Dee Dee and I decided to have some fun doing some Trans 101 'ejumacation' for the assembled poll workers handing out push cards, including one wearing a Women for Hall shirt.   We may have flipped some minds and hearts in the process, and if they haven't voted yet, changed some NO votes on HERO to YES ones.

Speaking of voting, if you haven't done so yet, need to get to an early voting center before Friday.  After that date, you will have to wait until November 3 to make your electoral voice heard.

Open Letter To My Cis Feminine HS Classmate Colleen

Dear Colleen,
I'm writing this open letter to you since you blocked me for rebutting this transphobic comment you unleashed on your personal Facebook page on Sunday night.

if you were not born a woman, you don't belong in a women's bathroom. i could care less what you identify as

So yeah, not gonna lie, that comment hurt.  It was also hurtful to see many of the cis women that I like, am proud of and admire on one level or another in The Class With Class cosign your transphobia.   But what pissed my unapologetically Black trans behind off was when you exercised your right since it was your page to delete my responses to it.

Fortunately as an internationally recognized award winning trans human rights advocate and writer, I have a big award winning platform I can use to turn this transphobic Facebook lemon of a comment into teachable moment lemonade you denied me the opportunity to do on your page Sunday morning.

I'm also reading your comment several days after becoming the first African-American trans person and the second Texan to be honored by my community with the Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award and several hours before I took three bumpy flights back home to Texas.   I was anxious to get back in the fight to keep the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance I fought hard last year along with other Houstonians to pass and cast my YES vote in favor of Prop 1.

I also read your microaggressive comment after spending an amazing and empowering week here in Provincetown. MA enveloped in love and gratitude by Fantasia Fair attendees, townspeople and others for being my awesome self along with the repeated thanks for being a human rights warrior

Colleen, as you stated in your subsequent e-mail to me this morning, you have every right to express yourself on your Facebook page. You most certainly do.  I also have the reciprocal right and the duty to call your behind out on it and not let the foul stench of transphobic bigotry in my Houston Black community ranks go unchallenged because that has been happening far too much lately.

Black trans people exist in Houston and everywhere else on this planet, we aren't going back in the closet to make you feel better about yourselves and neither are we going to quietly whimper and cry in the corner as our humanity is attacked.

Just in case you and the preachers in the Baptist Ministers Association of Houston and Vicinity didn't notice or keep trying to ignore, I'm Black.  I did not lose my Black Like Me card when I transitioned, nor will I allow you or anyone else to police my femininity simply because you were fortunate enough to have your body and brain line up when you were born two months before me in 1962.


First off, I and my trans sisters have to poop and pee just like any other human beings on the planet. and have been doing so in bathrooms marked female for over 50 years    I and my trans sisters are not 'men' as you disrespectfully put it and increasing medical research will confirm for you that the organ that determines your gender identity and how you express it is between the ears, not your legs,

Medical science and increasing research is also pointing out that gender is not the rigid binary system it was assumed and taught when we were in school, but is a non-binary spectrum.


And if you don't like the fact I will be going to the bathroom marked 'female' at any future JJ class event I have the time to attend and pay my hard earned money to do so, too bad.   BTW, there are trans men who happen to possess the same genitalia you do, but damned sure aren't women.

The bathroom predator meme you and Ben Hall have recited has been widely debunked in Texas and elsewhere , and if any person goes into a bathroom for the purposes of committing a criminal act, they will be prosecuted for it.  The keeping of HERO will not change that as HPD Chief McClellan pointed out.
 
This bathroom predator meme is also derived from the same talking points used by the GOP oppressors you're siding with they aimed at our parents and grandparents to justify Jim Crow segregation.

The sad part Colleen, is that you are a prime example in just how successful the anti-HERO peeps were in getting transphobic attitudes implanted in elements of the cis Black community it will take us years to root out.


And just to make one more point, I don't live as you commented in our private conversation a 'trans life.'   I live a life period that is a much better quality one than when I was miserably walking the halls of JJ and sitting in my Vanguard classes in a body that didn't match the person inside.

It is a life in which I have been to the White House five times. It is a life in which I get to talk to college students here and across the country. It is a life in which I can pick up the phone and call Janet Mock, Laverne Cox, Dr Kortney Ryan Ziegler, Geena Rocero and countless others just to say hello.  It is a life in which Jazz Jennings and her amazing family and the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement are a small sample of the people I have been fortunate to meet in the 21 years and counting I have been me.

It is a life in which my cis and trans friends live around the world, I get to attend conferences, do panel discussions and talk to the attendees as I was doing last week during Fantasia Fair in Massachusetts.

It is a life in which I not only get blessed to make history, it is also one in which I practice the principles of my Christian faith rooted in Kingian love and Black liberation theology to fight and call out oppression wherever and whenever it pops up.

And I'm just not fighting for trans specific human rights issues.  I was speaking out at those hearings at Jones and HISD headquarters when they tried to close JJ.  I spoke at a Trayvon Martin rally on the Houston city hall steps in the wake of his 2013 murder.

And I was there in all three City Council hearings of pro and anti- HERO testimony enduring 10 plus hour days to get a human rights law that protects all Houstonians passed.   It is a law that provides ALL Houstonians in 15 categories a local remedy against discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations we all need that you wish to vote against because of a HERO opposition lie.

As for being blocked from your Facebook page, no big deal to me when I have other people who love, care about and respect the person I am now add me to theirs.

But what I do hope and pray happens for you is evolution and reevaluation of your current anti-trans position.


You don't have to like me.  You don't even have to speak to me ever again in life. Your loss.  You and other misguided folks can exercise your right to vote against the HERO and think you're sticking it to Mayor Parker, the Houston LGBT community, and me.

But before you do that, some food for thought.  54% of the complaints filed with the Houston OIG tasked with investigating HERO complaints before it was unjustly suspended by SCOTX were for RACIAL discrimination, followed by 17% for GENDER discrimination.

And the very people spreading the anti-trans lie at the behest of their Republican masters like Kendall Baker are guilty of sexual harassment or worse.  But those are the ignorant cis masculine folks you are listening to when you have a classmate who actually lives at this very moment as a trans feminine woman, has unapologetically done so for 21 years and who does seminars and panel discussions on these issues.

As the testimony of Judge Alexandra Smoots-Hogan and Dan Scarbrough points out, discrimination is still happening in H-town, and you would be voting to kill the HERO and against your own human rights based on a monstrous lie.

God bless you Colleen, and may you have ever increasing blessings in your life.

Your Classmate,
Monica
 

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Heading Back To Texas From Fantasia Fair 41


After a wonderful and historic week here in Provincetown for my first ever Fantasia Fair, it's time for me to go back home with the Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award in my luggage.

It has been wonderful getting to see old friends in our community and our movement, and meet new ones as I knocked a series of firsts off my trans bucket list.

It was my first time visiting Provincetown and the first time I have had the opportunity to attend Fantasia Fair.   I had fun, got an opportunity to explore the town a bit.  Even got to see three seasons while I was up here.

But while it was enjoyable, and I hope I can make a trip to a future Fantasia Fair, my life in H-town awaits along with a date at a early voting polling location to ensure that Prop 1, AKA HERO passes.

If you haven't early voted yet H-town people, get to stepping to your nearest early voting polling location.  You have until this Friday to do so.

Thanks to the Fantasia Fair staff, volunteers, people of Provincetown and attendees that rolled out the red carpet for me and everyone else at FF41 during this week that went way too fast.

As for the question I got repeatedly asked about whether or not I would be at FF42 next October?   Depends on my 2016 schedule.

It`s been real P-town, but time for me to get some sleep and get my devices charged up for the long travel day back to a soggy Lone Star State.

But I do head back home with some positive memories and a few more additions to my Facebook page.

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Fantasia Fair Day 6

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It's Saturday, and after an entertaining Fantasia Fair Follies that drew a standing room only crowd, raised money to build an HIV-AIDS memorial in Provincetown, and another late night out at Club Purgatory and Roomers, the last day of the 41st annual edition of the Fantasia Fair (for me anyway) has on the schedule for today a keynote speech from attorney Dr. Jillian Weiss.

It will be nice to see her again, and she had a big legal win with H-town roots in the Leyth Jamal case.   Saks settled after aiming transphobic discrimination at Ms. Jamal while hiding behind their perfect HRC Corporate Equality Index score to do so.

We are also going to make another attempt at taking that group photo at the base of the Pilgrim Tower

Later tonight will be the awards banquet, and a final opportunity to dress to the nines and break bread with old and new friends.

Hard to believe this FF41 week has gone by so fast, but it most certainly has.

Friday, October 23, 2015

Shut Up Fool Awards-Chillin' At Fantasia Fair 41 Edition


As you TransGriot readers may already be aware of, I've been here in Provincetown, MA for the last few days attending my first ever Fantasia Fair Conference.

This is the 41st annual edition of the longest running trans themed conference in the United States, and I have been having a blast getting to see old friends, meet new ones and just having a great time up here in addition to handing some keynote business on Tuesday when I was honored with the Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award.

But while I've been up here in New England experiencing Fantasia Fair,  the world beyond Cape Cod and P-town keeps on turning, and fools kept doing what they do

And as I do every Friday, I gots to call them out.

Honorable mention number one is Donald Trump for the usual crimes against common sense.

Honorable mention number two is Ben Carson who is now the front runner in the GOP POTUS field in Iowa.

Honorable mention number three is TX Lt Governor Dan Patrick for meddling in Houston human rights business and hypocritically attacking the HERO while knowing the same laaw exists in Austin, Dallas, Ft. Worth, San Antonio and El Paso.

Honorable mention number four is Jeb Bush for disrespecting a DREAMer at a recent campaign event.

This week's Shut Up Fool winner is a group award for every Republican member of the House Benghazi Select Committee.   They kept former secretary of state Hillary Clinton on the witness stand for 11 hours yesterday in a political witch hunt that had the goal of ruining her 2016 presidential campaign, but may have backfired to the point where they may have handed her the Oval Office.

As she sat there hour after hour looking presidential, they looked like the mean spirited political buffoons playing to their base they were as the Democratic members of it took shots at not only the entire event like Rep Elijah Cummings, but other Democratic members had her back.

GOP Benghazi Select Committee members, have several sections of seats at FedEx Field and shut up fools.

Fantasia Fair Day 5

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Moni is still hanging around at the 2015 edition of Fantasia Fair, and the reality is sinking in that this wonderful week in Provincetown is rapidly coming to a close.

It`s Friday, and on the schedule for today is a keynote on a subject near and dear to my heart in trans history being delivered by Dr. Aaron Devor of the University of Victoria, which has a growing transgeder history collection I am anxious to see one day and hear about in this speech.

Other highlights for today include seminars on effective lobbying, one on The Biopsychology of Transsexualism by Dr Thomas Bevan, and the Fantasia Fair Follies at 8 PM followed by late night dancing at Club Purgatory starting at 10 PM

And yeah, yeah, I know what today is TransGriot readers.   The Shut Up Fool Awards post will be up on schedule.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

2015 TransGriot NFL Picks-Week 7


I'm up here in P-town deep in the heart of Patriots country for Fantasia Fair, and the NFL season is almost near the midseason point. Yeah, the Patriot fans are talking trash since their team is unbeaten and calling this season `The Tom Brady Revenge Tour`

But we all remember what happened the last time the Patriots were chasing perfection don't we?

Week 6 was one in which I didn't listen to my football intuition and paid dearly for it.  I changed two of my picks in the Lions-Bears and Seahawks-Panthers games and ended up with two losses, an 8-6 record, and now trail Mike by two games as a result.

Arrgh.  I need to not repeat that error this week.  I must get back to having double digit wins to stay in contact with Mike and not let him get a massive lead to insulate him against my tendency to have late season runs.

Another 14 games with the Bears, Bengals, Broncos and Packers watching everybody else play.



Week 6 Results                                         2015 Season Record.
TransGriot    8-6                                       TransGriot        59-32
Mike             9-5                                       Mike                 61-30
Eli                8-6                                        Eli                     54-37

NFL Week 7  (Home team in CAPS)

Thursday Night

Seahawks over 49ERS

Sunday Noon
Bills over JAGUARS (from London)
RAMS over Browns
LIONS over Vikings
Texans over DOLPHINS
COLTS over Saints
STEELERS over Chiefs
PATRIOTS over Jets
Buccaneers over WASHINGTON
Falcons over TITANS

Sunday Afternoon
CHARGERS over Raiders
GIANTS over Cowboys

Sunday Night
PANTHERS over Eagles

Monday Night
CARDINALS over Ravens

Fantasia Fair Day 4

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The amazing week at the longest running trans conference in the US is past the halfway point, and what's on the schedule for today?.

I get to watch someone else give a keynote in the person of Dr. Marisa Richmond.

Group photo is also happening today unless it rains, and I`m also planning on being present for two panel discussions by Denise Norris and Lezli Whitehead.

Denise will have a 10 AM panel entitled ~Toward A gender Authentic Future` That I will be interested inhearing her thoughts about.  

Lezli, who I discovered last night as we walked back from the fashion show at the Crown & Anchor was staying upstairs at the same Dyer`s Barn guest house I am residing in on the ground floor, has an interesting 3 PM/ one I will be attending entitled `Gnder Clear- Communication, Movement & Voice.

At 7 Pm Cody Suzuki will be hosting a Spoken word and Trans Poetry Slam at the Cown & Anchor to close out Thursday.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Fantasia Fair Day 3

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

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

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

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

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Liberal Red Tide In 2015 Canadian Federal Election


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

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

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

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

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




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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

2015 Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award Acceptance Speech


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


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

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

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

Click to enter

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

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

Thank you.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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