The National Black Justice Coalition is hosting its first annual OUT on the Hill Black LGBT Leadership Summit in Washington, DC, September 15-18.
If you're noticing that the date coincides with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s–Annual Legislative Conference Weekend, go to the head of the class, it's not an accident.
The CBCF-ALC is an event I've wanted to attend for years because thousands of African American policy makers, organizers, and concerned citizens travel to our nation’s capitol for it. It's held at the Washington Convention Center and has more than 70 issue forums and 13 session tracks offered to address critical challenges facing Black communities, many led by CBC congressmembers.
In my mind, one of the challenges that needs to be addressed is integrating African-American GLBT people into the everyday economic, social and political discourse of our African-American family.
Black TBLG people and our leaders need to be there for that weekend. I realized the importance of it years ago, but unfortunately circumstances on one level or another have kept me from attending. Maybe I'll be blessed to catch a break and have something positive happen where I can this year.
Now let's return to talking about about OUT on the Hill 2010.
This event will convene the nation’s top Black LGBT thought leaders, philanthropists and activists to participate in social action that empowers our communities while educating our Congressional leaders, the Obama Administration and federal agencies about our public policy concerns.
The NBJC plans to make this an annual event in which we come together to let the powers that be know that we exist, we are organized and informed, and we have the ability to move the masses towards an America that is more inclusive of Black LGBT people.
When I see my own or any national flag being burned in protest, I have mixed emotions about it.
While it is a protected form of protest speech under the First Amendment, on another level it bothers me because I know a flag is a symbol for the nation that it represents.
But when it comes to the Confederate flag, it represents a failed nation founded by traitors during the Civil War. It was founded to not only perpetuate enslaving my ancestors, but with a cornerstone premise that me and my ancestors are not equal to whites and fought a war to continue enslaving people who share my African ancestry.
Thank God the Confederacy was defeated in battle. That flag also became during the Civil Rights Movement synonymous with bigotry and hate.
So yeah, this is one flag burning I am definitely down with.
A movement is popping up on FB that seeks to have happen on September 12, the day the Tea Klux Klan holds its rallies all over the country, to host Burn The Confederate Flag Day.
According to its website, Burn the Confederate Flag Day is a protest against the right wing's ramped up exploitation of racial prejudice for political gain.
The teabaggers are still pissed because they got their electoral butts kicked in 2008 and hate seeing the house at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue my ancestors built with unpaid labor finally occupied by an African-American family.
It'll be interesting to see if this protest gets any traction or coverage from MSM networks overfocused on a small, loud group of angry vanilla flavored peeps.
Many of us remember last year, when the New Hampshire Senate, the only female led and dominated legislature in the country if not the world passed a marriage equality bill.
But that same legislative body couldn't, wouldn't or didn't want to expend the effort to open their minds and hearts to protect trans people in their state. On a 24-0 vote turned down at transgender rights bill because 'it had flaws' they never elaborated on.
It appears the New Hampshire trans community is mobilizing in the wake of that bitter loss. As part of that process, the TransForm New Hampshire Conference will take place July 23-25, 2010 in the state's capital city of Concord, NH.
There is a $25 registration fee for the event and during that period people from the Nutmeg State and beyond its borders will gather to watch films, performance artists, and workshops that will help educate people, formulate policy, get better organized and discuss ways to petition their legislators to pass laws so that transpeople can 'live free or die' in New Hampshire and beyond.
Here's a statement from Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire Gene Robinson concerning the event.
'Equal rights for Transgender People is the next front in the equal-rights-for-all effort. But more of our citizens need to understand the experiences, challenges and needs of their trans neighbors. This conference is an extraordinary opportunity to hear national leaders as well as local activists, speaking to the experience and needs of our trans citizens. Even gay and lesbian people are often uneducated and unfamiliar with the complexities of our trans brothers and sisters who have been so supportive of our efforts for full equality. Run, don't walk, to sign up for this great conference!
Featured speakers for the event include Anthony Baretto-Neto, Allyson Robinson, , Peterson Toscano, Kim Pearson, Executive Director and Co-Founder of TransYouth Family Allies, and many more.
The event is sponsored by TransMentors International, in partnership with the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union,
We are a little more than 24 hours away from a panel discussion I definitely wish I could be in the room for to support my transpeeps.
MAGNET (Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Transsexual & Transgender People) is facilitating this discussion which is entitled:
Women Demanding Change Now: The Dehumanization of Transsexual Women through the Gay Male Hollywood Lens
It will take place tomorrow, July 15th- from 7-9:30 PM PDT at Plummer Park Community Center, Room #6. The community center is located at 7377 Santa Monica Blvd.(Cross street is Martel) in West Hollywood, CA 90046.
MAGNET is an anti-defamation organization dedicated to educating the media about transsexual and transgender issues, as well as pushing for more authentic and positive portrayals of trans people in the media.
Once again, if you have an aversion to cameras the event will be filmed for those of us who couldn't be there and would like to see the discussion, so factor that into your decision to attend.
Some of the topics up for discussion are:
• Finding solutions to build authentic unity and trust within the LGBT community
• Mental/physical violence incited by messages in film and TV
• Gay males producing stigmatizing, over the top and unkind images of transsexual women
• Gay Inc. and some transgender activists co-opting the medical condition transsexualism
• Inaccurately depicting transsexual women as “drag queens”, “caricatures of femininity”
• Dangerous propaganda that mis-educates public and assaults transsexual women
There will be an opportunity for the audience to ask the panelists questions.
PANELISTS:
- Kiana Moore (transsexual woman, Hollywood producer- VH1,MTV, Bravo, Oxygen, Logo) - Talia Bettcher, PhD (trans woman, Philosophy Professor, author) - Cary Harrison (gay male, radio personality, award winning journalist.) - Mannee McMurray (LGBT activist, writer, MAGNET volunteer) - Hannah Howard (trans activist, Gender Justice LA board member) - Matt Palazzolo (gay male, Equal Roots co-founder) - Arianna Davis (transsexual & intersex woman, Gender ID Empowerment Coalition (GIEC) co-founder) - Vanesa Camara (transsexual woman, activist for transsexual liberation & feminism) - Libby Freeman ( queer woman, outspoken ally for trans people, GIEC & MAGNET organizer)
The panel discussion will be moderated by Ashley Love- (trans rights advocate, writer and an organizer with MAGNET)
It's still not too late for you to let MAGNET know your thoughts on this epidemic so we can include them in the planning and discussion.
FOR INFO and media inquiries, contact MAGNET Organizer: Ashley Love - Email: magnet_right_now@yahoo.com.
In a few hours I'm getting all dressed and glammed up so that I can attend the local ACLU dinner being held at the Muhammad Ali Center in downtown Louisville.
I enjoy these events not only because I'll once again get to rub elbows with the rich, not so rich and famous, the power peeps in town and represent the community at the same time, but I get an opportunity to actually wear some of these nice clothes I have in my closet
Most of my working life I've been in jobs in which I've had to wear uniforms. While I don't mind it and that saves me on one hand from clothing wear and tear and the 'what do I wear to work?' quandaries, on the other hand I inherited the fashion diva gene from my mom that she passed on to my sister as well.
There are times I do envy the sisters that get to wear their own clothes to work. I get to check out their individual senses of style, good and bad and get ideas that I may want to try for myself.
I also have a constant stream of catalogs coming to the house from various stores for me to peruse that I check out as well to add to my mini Imelda Marcos sized shoe collection.
Yes, as I've said here on many occasions, femininity is about more than the clothes, it's a lifetime journey of discovery.
But I'll ponder some of those questions later. Time to get my glam on.
Today is the opening day for the 18th annual Southern Comfort Conference which will be running through October 5 at the Atlanta Crowne Plaza Ravinia hotel.
This year's theme is a cruise on the SCC Celebration, but this signature event for the transgender community has always been one with informative seminars, high profile guest speakers, a career seminar for the second consecutive year and is the event where some of the national transgender community's business gets done.
The seminars will kick off on Thursday and if my work schedule allows it I may be able to roll down to the ATL for a Black transgender community event being held as part of the SCC activities. There will also be a screening of Still Black A Portrait Of Black Transmen as part of the SCC 2008 activities schedule.
I got back to Louisville last night after spending a slammin' weekend in Western Massachusetts. I was speaking at the invitation of the wonderful folks who organized the first annual New England Transgender Pride March and Rally.
My trip there got off to an anxiety filled start. When I fly, I usually check weather.com or the Weather Channel to peruse the weather for the cities and the area I'm flying into before I leave. Because my schedule got rearranged by the unexpected trip I had to take in to work that morning, it threw me out of my usual preflight routine.
I arrived at Louisville International Airport around 4 PM to get a head start on clearing security, catch my 6:50 PM United flight to Chicago and subsequent connection to Hartford. It's been a while (2002) since I'd last flown and I'd forgotten about the fact that the TSA has severely limited the size of personal toiletry items you can take in carry on luggage. I had to throw away a full can of shaving cream and my three quarter used deodorant stick before clearing security and was mildly pissed about it.
My pissivity quickly dispersed when I started chatting with two Dallas based Southwest Airlines flight attendants. I walked with them to their gate as we talked about the airline industry good old days and how the industry has changed to where it was less fun than it used to be. The flight attendant also told me a story about one of the people she knew at American who was on one the fateful 9-11 flights and how he ended up on it.
They eventually had to go board their aircraft and do their preflight checks, so they gave me hugs before they departed. I arrived at my United gate only to discover that Chicago was getting whacked by a nasty thunderstorm. The previous Chicago flight was delayed, so I decided to kill a little time and figure out my options by taking a walk. I ended up standing next to the shoeshine booth as I checked the flight information board. Since my black flats needs some TLC, I decided to let the handsome brother sitting there make them look good for me.
I returned to my gate to discover that my UA flight to Chicago was cancelled. The agent rebooked me on US Airways through Philadelphia, and best of all I was now going to arrive at Bradley two hours earlier. In addition to that, the gate for my US Airways flight was right next door. I pulled out my cell phone and called Kris Colton, my ride to Springfield and Louis Mitchell, my good friend I was staying with and advised them I was going to be arriving in BDL at 10:20 PM instead of 12:52 AM.
I was concerned about my tight connection in Philly, but after sprinting through the airport to my gate once I got off the shuttle bus from Terminal F, I was relieved to discover my aircraft was just arriving and disgorging passengers from the inbound trip. It would be a few minutes before we began boarding to Bradley.
I ended up in a neat conversation that lasted through the short one hour flight to Bradley with my seatmate Kathy. We exchanged details on our lives and she wished me good luck for the upcoming speaking engagement the next day before we went our separate ways.
Kris rolled up thirty seconds after I called her and scooped me up from the arrivals loading area. We were quickly headed north on I-91 to the Massachusetts-Connecticut border (the airport is in Windsor Locks, Connecticut) and Springfield.
Kris and I hit it off immediately and we were chatting like two old friends instead of people who'd just met for the first time. I was going to see much more of her tomorrow since she was the stage manager for the rally.
A few minutes later Kris and I were pulling in front of Louis and Krysia's two story corner house in a quiet, tree-shaded Springfield neighborhood remarkably similar to my own back in Da Ville. Louis' house, which was built in 1917, is actually older than mine. I was greeted by him and Imani Henry, who was also staying with us. Miss Major, who was going to be the parade's Grand Marshal unfortunately wasn't staying with us because she's allergic to pets. There are three cats at the Mitchell-Villon household along with a lovable black dog named Lola.
His wife Krysia was asleep at the time, so we bounced to Denny's to grab breakfast and chat. During a trip to New York in 2000 I was supposed to meet Imani for lunch, but got detained by a long chat I was having with the mother of our movement, Sylvia Rivera. So I apologized to Imani for missing our meeting, and we settled on discussing what was going to transpire the next day before going back to the house and grabbing some sleep for what promised to be a long and excitingly historic day.
But just before I dozed off another stress inducing complication arose. I wanted to review my speech, and discovered that I didn't have my WNBA notepad I put it in. It has major sentimental value to me and I feared I'd left it on the US Airways airplane at Bradley. I had a copy of the speech posted on TSTB and saved on my blog just in case I had to download and print it at Kinko's in the morning. Louis' printer was down, so that wasn't an immediate option. I called Kris on my cell, left her a message and hoped for the best as I went to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
That morning I got up a little after 6 AM to Springfield being enveloped in fog and low cloud cover. The forecast was for a 30% chance of rain and we were hoping it would hold off until the rally was over at 5 PM. I received some good news when Kris returned my call and let me know she'd found my notepad in the backseat of her car and she'd bring it with her to the rally site.
One minor crisis solved, I wandered downstairs and finally met Louis' lovely wife Krysia. You know how much I love intelligent conversation, and I was in for a treat hanging out with her, Louis and Imani over the next 36 hours.
The time rapidly approached for all of us to get ready for the march and rally. Louis had already left to meet the lady renting us the RV for the day. I rode to the rally site with Krysia, who as we rode through the beautiful western Massachusetts countryside enroute to Northampton told me a little about her background as I did the same. She was also acting as out hostess in the RV green room for the speakers, and Louis was our MC.
We get to the rally site, a large parking lot hemmed in by restaurants, shops and a six story parking garage in downtown Northampton. The RV was there and the owner was explaining and pointing out all the various features to Kris as I walked in to check it out.
Over the next few hours the lot began to be transformed. The stage was already set up with the sound equipment. The various organizations were setting up their tables, and the various speakers were beginning to arrive. The cloud cover was keeping the heat away from us and didn't break until 11 AM, revealing brilliant sunshine about an hour before the march started.
I finally got to meet Donna Rose a few moments later. We hugged and hit it off like two sorority sisters. By looking at her its hard to believe this woman is hitting a milestone birthday next year. I also got to meet Ethan St. Pierre's wife Karen as me and Ethan caught up on a few things. I was also happy to meet some of the transbrothers like Bet Power, Hawk Stone and some of the members of the Boston based drag king troupe All The Kings Men.
I got a taste of just how widely read my blog was when I started meeting the young transpeeps and college kids like Dustin, Jacklyn and others. Once they found out the TransGriot was on the scene, they raved about how much they loved my blog and I thank them (and all of you) for reading it. A writer always loves it when their work is appreciated.
After the march kicked off at noon from a nearby park and brought a crowd of 700 mostly energized people to our rally site, it began. I was scheduled to speak at 2:40 PM, but hit the stage a little early because we were running ahead of schedule. I delivered my speech, got some cheers at major points in it and some high fives after I exited the stage. I also had the pleasure of finally meeting Dr. Enoch Paige and reconnecting with more than a few old and new friends as the historic day progressed to a close.
Sunday dawned and after a lazy morning conversing with Imani, Krysia and Louis it was unfortunately time for me to head back to my life in Louisville. Since I was in Springfield, the home of the Basketball Hall of Fame, on the way to the airport Louis dropped me off there and let me run around the place for an hour and a half. That's not enough time to see and do everything in this interactive shrine to one of my fave sports.
It was also the first time since I left Continental that I'd be flying the airline, and the flight that ironically greeted me at my departure gate in Hartford was a weather-delayed one headed to Houston.
Eventually I got to board my flight to Cleveland, and two of the flight attendants recognized me from my Houston airport days. As I went to the lav after they finished the beverage service Ann Marie greeted me. She filled me in on just how much I was missed by all my CAL co-workers not only in Houston, but system wide. We exchanged numbers as something told me to use the bathroom and get my butt back in my seat.
Ten minutes later I was glad I listened to my inner voice. There was a line of late afternoon storms pounding the Detroit area and I was concerned before we left Hartford that the tail end of that nasty front extended almost to the Cleveland area. As we descended through the cloud cover from our cruising altitude we got whacked with a microburst that roughly forced the aircraft down approximately 500 feet. I heard the engines power up to regain the altitude we lost as we immediately got hit with a second microburst.
I've flown hundreds of flights, but this was the first time since a 1987 one I took to Chicago I was genuinely scared shitless. We were still over the edge of Lake Erie a few miles from Cleveland-Hopkins Airport, and as a former airline employee I already had the '90% of airline crashes happen on takeoff or landing' mantra playing in an endless loop in my brain. To calm myself down I (and probably 'errbody' else on that flight) said a prayer that we weren't going to end up on the national news.
As I watched the airplane descend through my window seat, it continued to fight nasty crosswinds as we flew over a nearly subdivision and strip center. As we continued to descend and crossed the interstate bordering Hopkins I knew we were almost on the ground. I'd heard the comforting sound of landing gear deploying but I knew we weren't out of danger yet. When the welcoming bump from the wheels touching runway happened and the aircraft's braking flaps deployed, there was a huge cheer and clapping that arose from everyone on board.
We'd had what I call a Pope John Paul II landing. I'm referring to his practice when he traveled around the world of kissing the ground when he stepped off his papal aircraft. If it weren't for the fact I needed to expeditiously get to Concourse D for my Louisville flight, I would have probably done so in the jetway when I disembarked. We did have to call the paramedics for one of the flight attendants and a passenger in the seat behind me, but everybody else walked off under their own power.
I didn't have time to get scared because I had a connecting flight to catch. I pulled out the cell phone and called Dawn to let her know what time I'd be in Da Ville when I sat down in the lobby area. She and AC were there to greet me outside the security checkpoint when I arrived at Louisville International around 9:55 PM.
Eventually I arrived safe and sound without incident at home as I told them everything about what transpired on this wonderfully empowering, historic but emotionally charged weekend.
And I'm looking forward to seeing how you peeps in the Western Massachusestts area top this event next year. Make sure y'all get that RV again, too.
TransGriot Note: The full text of my speech for the Transgender Pride March and Rally
I am deeply honored to be standing before you as we make history together with today’s New England Transgender Pride March and Rally. I sincerely thank the organizing committee for extending me the invitation and opportunity to address you today.
W.E.B. DuBois, a distinguished son of Massachusetts who was an NAACP founder, once stated, “We cannot stand still; we cannot permit ourselves simply to be victims.
When he spoke these words a little over a century ago, they were directed at my fellow African-Americans. But these words are just as applicable to my fellow transgender people of all colors as well.
We cannot sit still as our inclusion in civil rights law, despite clear and pressing evidence that we desperately need it, is not only treated as an afterthought by some legislators, we’re cut out of proposed bills and tossed aside like empty soda cans.
We cannot sit still as the Forces of Intolerance, right-wing pundits and so-called fundamentalist ‘christians’ use myths, distortions and outright lies to demonize and dehumanize us as they pitifully attempt to sway public opinion against doing the norally proper and correct thing by recognizing our humanity.
We cannot sit still as hate crimes committed against us are ignored, the perpetrators are given a legal slap on the wrist and segments of our society give their wink and a nod approval.
We cannot sit still as the media disrespects the unfortunate victims of these crimes. Their old names are weaved throughout slanted and sensationalized stories as their new names and identities are disrespectfully placed in quotation marks.
We cannot sit still as an organization with an equal sign logo that claims to be our ally spends a decade fighting our inclusion in the Employment Non Discrimination Act. Its executive director adds insult to injury by walking into our signature convention in Atlanta, promising to fight for an inclusive ENDA while collecting $20,000 of our hard earned money, then reneges on the promise weeks later. He later claims he ‘misspoke’ while they demonize their critics by claiming they’re concocting 'transgender conspiracy theories’
We cannot sit still as fundamentalists, conservative talk show hosts, radio personalities and pundits attack our patriotism, our lives, our values, our right to exist and our constitutional rights for ratings points or to scapegoat us for the failures of their dry as dust mean spirited ideology.
We cannot sit still as people frustrated with their own lives use us as focal points for their anger, attack our community for the purposes of organizing their own, use us as bogeymen for fundraising purposes or as a distraction so people won’t pay attention to their catastrophic failures of leadership.
It’s time to stop wandering in the desert of shame and guilt. It’s time for us to cast aside the woe is me victimhood about being transgender Americans and boldly stride forward towards the oasis of freedom, equality, justice and pride in who we are as transgender men and women.
Our pioneering predecessors passed a torch to us. As their successors it’s up to us to keep it lit, hold it high and not allow anyone to douse the freedom flame until we can pass that torch on to the next generation of transpeople
Nelson Mandela said a decade ago that to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the lives of others.
Once we cast off the chains of self-doubt, shame, and self-hatred, the first people we owe respect to are ourselves.
So how do we do that? We show respect for ourselves by standing up and fighting for our rights and our basic humanity like my African-American GLBT brothers and sisters did a Philadelphia’s Dewey’s Lunch counter in 1965.
We show respect for ourselves by standing up and fighting like our brothers and sisters did at San Francisco’s Compton’s Cafeteria in 1967.
We show respect for ourselves like Miss Major, the late Sylvia Rivera and our brothers and sisters did almost 40 years ago this month at Stonewall in 1969.
We show respect for ourselves when we stand up and loudly proclaim in one voice that we will no longer meekly accept or tolerate second class treatment or second class citizenship. We are putting friends, foes and 'frenemies' on notice that we are demanding an upgrade to first class citizenship.
First class citizenship means that our rights are codified, respected and protected at all levels of government, be it city, county, state or federal level. We’re also putting you on notice that from this day forward, if we ain’t in a proposed civil rights law, we reserve the right as a community to kill a non-inclusive bill until it does.
We must act for not only the transkids that Barbara Walters profiled on 20/20 and others yet unborn, but for our fallen brothers and sisters such as Deborah Forte, Chanelle and Gabrielle Pickett, Rita Hester, Tyra Hunter, Gwen Araujo, Brandon Teena and Fred Martinez. We must act for every transperson who fought, marched, organized, lobbied, lived a stealth life, raised hell and died so that our lives could be a little bit better than theirs.
We took action towards earning that first class citizenship upgrade by marching in Northampton’s streets today. We let our feet do the walking, but from now on our lips, our pens and pencils, our e-mails, our faxes, our letters, our telephone calls and our votes in this and future elections must do the talking.
Never again must we allow ourselves to sit still and allow ourselves to be victimized by friend or foe. It’s past time for us to say it loud, I’m transgender and proud and take our rightful place at the American family table.
(Northampton, MA) The organizers of the first New England Transgender Pride March and Rally invite community organizations to sign up for the June 7 event in Northampton, Massachusetts. "We invite the participation not only of transgender and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) individuals and groups, but also of schools, businesses, labor unions, religious and civic organizations, and anyone else who supports the equal rights of transgender people," states Marie Ali, one of the coordinators of the march.
Interested organizations throughout the region can register free of charge as a contingent to march with their banner by going to the New England Transgender Pride March website at www.transpridemarch.org.
The march will begin at noon on Saturday, June 7 from Lampron Park/Bridge Street School in Northampton and proceed to a rally downtown from 12:30 to 5:00 p.m. at the Armory Street lot behind Thornes Marketplace. The rally is free, open to the public, and will feature a range of transgender and transgender-supportive speakers and performers.
Ali adds that people can also support the New England Transgender Pride March by giving financially, becoming a sponsor, or volunteering to help at the event. More information about donating time or money is available on the march's website.
Guest Post by Vanessa Edwards Foster From the Trans Political Blog
“When an individual is protesting society's refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him.” — Bayard Rustin, Civil Rights Movement & Gay Activist
“Well, I saw the HRC sign and I thought “what’s this about?” and had to come over here and see. I don’t like HRC either, which is why I never donate to them! I just want to say I support you – you go, girl!” That was a quote from a gay man from Lapanto, Arkansas who had just returned from a cruise with two lesbian friends from there and happened to be staying in the hotel directly across the street from the Intercontinental Hotel in New Orleans as the Human Rights Campaign banquet began Sunday afternoon.
He watched us for a while, went back to the hotel, then came down a half hour later and helped us protest HRC. He also liked some of the raunchy, loud rock – like Linkin Park – which I was blaring from my boombox.
As it turns out, the boombox music worked well. It was very ugly, angry and possibly abrasive to the ear. But it accomplished what I had wanted: drawing the attention, expressing the mood and doing it all without us saying one word. No cheers, no chants, no shouting matches with attendees – and most pointedly, no words that the HRC people will then use to blast us and justify their marginalization of us later.
It’s also distinctly trans music – not of the typical gay disco, dance, diva or even show tune fare that typically is the choice of gay and lesbian America. It’s the stuff that typically is heard blaring from the jukeboxes of what’s affectionately known as “tranny hooker” bars.
An additional bonus to the music was a surprise: we got a number of thumbs-ups and supporters who either liked the music (some of the Buffalo Soldiers contingent in town for a get together, as well as Gen X & Y types who were also enjoying!) even support from the riders on the passing trolleys. It was quite the spectacle!
“I don’t get it. Why would they do that? They’re wacked! That’s not being equal.” Such was the quote from a very polite young junior high-aged teen, replete with longish blonde hair, braces and a Bob Marley T-shirt upon hearing why we were protesting HRC. Truth told, he appeared drawn as much for the Korn song playing as our signs and protest march.
As I explained to him who we transgenders were, who HRC was, what they’ve done historically and how “equality” isn’t equal to all people, I watched his young face watching me and noted a seeming androgyny. I’ll never know if his curiosity was more than just cursory. One thing I did note was he was very diligent in his learning, was patient to listen to the entire story and even thanked me for the information.
Indeed we reached at least one youth (as well as loose gaggles of other teens and/or young adults who passed by).
And those were just two of the folks among the numerous curious who asked. Two of the MCC ministers who volunteered for the HRC banquet came out, got a full education from protesters Phyllis Austin and Kelli Busey (who rode down from Dallas). There were hugs all around and animated chat as well as some new local connections made or renewed by both local girls, Phyllis and Courtney Sharp. One of the ministers who wore his “equal sign” pin removed it!
Another older woman engaged Courtney in explaining her reasons for protesting the banquet. When Courtney explained, the woman asked “are you against transgenders?” Obviously Courtney replied to the contrary, and the woman answered “good! Because I was about to protest YOU if you were!”
Of course we had security running around monitoring us nervously, but there was one big distinction this protest: there was NO police presence! We somehow managed to get the drop on them before they had chance to react (either that or they couldn’t convince the NOPD that the handful of tranny protesters was worth expending resources and manpower on.) Oh, the menace of transgenders ….
“[T]he Gay Elite condemns them and others to death because of our obsessive need to be seen as the Morally Superior Victimized Minority.” — Tammy Bruce, columnist for FrontPageMag
Some of the most memorable items: one black, obviously gay male in a red and white striped shirt talking frantically on a cell phone walking out and giving a head count of the protesters and asking what could be done about us. It was satisfying to see the unnerving.
One of the hotel’s patrons walking by and yelling at me to “turn that shit off!” while the Geto Boys blasted “F*ck ‘Em All!” from the boombox. He clearly wasn’t into our musical choice!
One apparently conservative guy who asked me about the protest and offered support for our protest – but then asked why I was supporting transgenders: “you’re not one of them, are you?” When I assured him I was (including the part about my football days), he stood agape giving the once over a few times. He then gave me a little compliment, wished me “good luck” and walked back across the street rubbing his chin and looking like I hurt his feelings. Poor guy – at least he supported us!
And of course the banquet-goers themselves: nervous people with fast walks averting eye contact with a fixed-straight myopic stare, the cold-hearted elite glares and smug eye-rolling glances and those few who gave physical flinches at both the sign messages and the raunch music with looks of shock and, yes, a few pained expressions. It is painful, and it’s admittedly not a great thing to sate oneself with others pain.
In the case of the Human Rights Campaign, though, it’s collateral damage that has to be factored and accepted into the equation. Sadly, that’s the only option other than our giving up completely and being obliterated. Not only does HRC not care to know about trans people nor the irreparable pain they’ve inflicted, they actively engage in continuing the damage and increasing the intensity.
As with Rep. Barney Frank, HRC takes continuing pleasure in watching the havoc from the chaos they create for us with their strategies, manipulation and implementation. They delight in watching us learn to mistrust our own community by their own selective wedging operations and externally assisted classism. They practically pee their pants laughing at the disenfranchisement, unemployment, economic tragedy and vulnerability they create for us with their own empty promises.
And they will continue this pattern.
They have the money, most all the media and certainly the power: there’s nothing to stop them, and everything to gain by continuing the damage to the trans community. The only way they will learn what we’re feeling is when they have to live with the same pain, the same fear, the same desperation and to feel the effects of the same type of damage.
Money, power and attention (and increasing all three for themselves) is their only desire. Only once those have been impacted will they make “attempts” to come around – even if true reconciliation never comes.
Meanwhile, we make impact … as we did with the last inquiry: a modelesque twenty-something with her equally attractive boyfriend. She was going into the restaurant across the street with her beau and (after seeing our signs) felt compelled to ask us why we were protesting HRC as she had attended their banquet at the Ritz-Carlton the year before. “I’m confused. Why would you protest [HRC]?”
We enlightened her completely on “equality” as opposed to everyone being equal, to which she replied: “Well that sucks! Thank you for letting me know that!” Control that damage, HRC.
The lies, the hurt, the pain, the hate Really keep fucking with me – There's no where else to go.” — Korn, Embrace
Yesterday afternoon I rolled up to the historic Brennan House downtown for a Meet The Candidates event hosted by CFAIR, the Committee for Fairness and Individual Rights. It's the PAC for the Fairness Campaign and I was invited to attend.
I was rousted out of a sound sleep earlier that morning to round up the wine and sodas for the event. After taking one and a half hours of my day doing it and depositing everything at the Fairness Campaign office on Frankfort Ave I returned home to finish my NE Trans Pride March speech and e-mail it to Bet Power so the ASL interpreters could get to work on it.
The event wasn't starting until 5 PM, and I arrived at 5:45 PM in my black pantsuit. Joanne Lynch greeted me with "Our saviour is here!" a humorous reference to my earlier efforts that morning hitting three separate spread out stores for the wine, the multiple two liter sodas, the humongous bag of ice and saving CFAIR some cash in the process. I jokingly said as I hugged her and entered the Brennan House, "I'm not a saviour. I can't walk on water."
By the time I entered the three story Victorian home several of the CFAIR endorsees were there. Metro council members George Unseld (yes, he's the brother of NBA Hall of Famer Wes Unseld) and Rick Blackwell were there along with Metro council candidate Kungu Njuguna.
I was impressed by my Kenyan descended brother. He was born in the States and is a city attorney who prosecuted violations of Louisville's Human Rights ordnance. He's running in AC's district (the 18th) in the Hurstbourne Parkway/Taylorsville Rd. area. Shelley Santry, who's running in a judicial race was also there to thank CFAIR for the endorsement and chat with us for a few moments before jetting off to another event.
A few minutes after I arrived my state rep Mary Lou Marzian showed up and showed us some love. I also got a hug from former metro council member Denise Bentley, who's looking good these days. I noted and mentioned to her that she's dropped a little weight, even though she didn't think so. I also ran into Dr. Story and Jaison Gardiner for the second time in 24 hours as well along with Mark England, who hosted the recent Derby benefit that was the day before my birthday. Dawn popped in after she got off work.
Since I drove, I wasn't partaking in any of the wine and stuck to the soda. The Louisville po-po's have been on the prowl lately pre and post Derby and I was in no mood to spend the night at the Jefferson County Hilton. I hung around chatting with many of the peeps who did show up like Christine and the gang from Sienna, our local transgender organization.
Christine's the prez of the group and congratulated me for my upcoming speaking slot at the NE Pride March. I told her I'd try to make a future Sienna meeting if it didn't conflict with what I had going on. Mark England also chatted with me for a few minutes and asked if I'd seen the photo I took with him and Russ at the Derby benefit. When I replied no, he asked for my e-mail address, input it into his PDA and sent it to me a few hours later.
I'd left my Obama button at home, and a young LGBT Hillary supporter approached me about supporting his candidate. I politely listened to his spiel before I told him I was supporting Senator Obama. When he mentioned that HRC endorsed Senator Clinton, I politely shot back,"That's a major reason why I'm supporting Sen. Obama."
That triggered a lively back and forth conversation in which every time he spouted a pro-Hillary talking point, I had an answer for it. I also pointed out that I'd sat across the table from numerous meetings/confrontations with HRC personnel over the last ten years and had a long, ugly history with them.
When he tried to claim that Obama hadn't stood up for GLBT peeps as an Illinois senator, I told him I had friends and relatives in Chicago who said otherwise. After a few minutes of amusing myself with him, I told him that on this subject we'd agree to disagree and I was still voting for Obama on Tuesday as Joanne and Jeff Rodgers grinned at me.
For you GLBT peeps that still believe that BS like my young friend, here's a quote from a Windy City News February 11, 2004 interview that y'all need to pay attention to.
We must be careful to keep our eyes on the prize-equal rights for every American. We must continue to fight for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. We must vigorously expand hate-crimes legislation and be vigilant about how these laws are enforced. We must continue to expand adoption rights and make them consistent and seamless throughout all 50 states, and we must repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" military policy.
Just an FYI GLBT Hillary lovers, the Windy City Times is a GLBT publication. At the time he was quoted in this interview he was an Illinois state senator a few months away from making the historic keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic convention that catapulted him to national recognition.
Not long after that the event wound to a close. After we helped the staff put the tables and chairs up, I took a quick tour through the lovely Victorian era home before exiting the place and heading back home to Crescent Hill.
TransGriot Note: This was written in February 2005 to explain to our Caucasian brothers and sisters why we were planning a convention of our own that took place later that year.
Why a Transsistahs Convention? By Monica Roberts
Ever since the word got out that Dawn Wilson and I are helping a committee of young African-American transpeople to organize a convention for later this year, there has been much weeping and gnashing of teeth in the Caucasian transgender community. What does the Caucasian transgender community have to fear from a group of African-American transpeople getting together in Louisville to spend several days networking, learning and bonding with each other, just like you peeps have done at Southern Comfort, Gold Rush, IFGE, and various other events?
The simple fact is that we have cultural differences that aren’t being reflected in the current organizational setup of the Caucasian transgendered community. Our community is built with a belief in God as the central pillar of our daily lives. We don't see that reflected in the Caucasian trans community and we have issues and concerns that aren’t being addressed.
What issues you ask? Issues such as HIV/AIDS, the disproportionate number of African-American and Latina transpeople that make up the Remembering our Dead list, socioeconomic issues, ignoring the roles that people of color have played in shaping transgender history, and the pervasive racism within the community. When African-American transactivists and other activists of color have tried to point them out they are dismissively told that their concerns ‘aren’t trans issues’ or ‘quit playing the race card’.
We have qualms about the Caucasian transgender political leadership continually trying to align itself with HRC. It’s a group that has a sorry history of being disrespectful to the African-American GLBT/SGL community and repeatedly sabotaging transgender lobby efforts. The Caucasian TG leadership even sabotaged a 2002 African-American transgender led initiative to the Congressional Black Caucus that would have benefited the entire trans community and boasted about it afterward.
A conservative administration is entrenched in Washington DC. Many African-American transpeople reside in areas run by conservative state and local governments. It was past time for us to build our own institutions so that we may better weather the storms of ‘compassionate conservatism’ and the backstabbing from our so-called allies.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that there have been people and organizations within the Caucasian trans community who have tried to be inclusive and sounded the alarm that we needed to be welcomed into the fold or else. Their pleas and ours have fallen on deaf ears. I’ve noted the growing frustration within our community reflected in the posts on my Transsistahs Yahoo discussion list that I founded a year ago and other African-American GLBT/SGL lists. Those posts have repeatedly called for us to build institutions that will give African-American transkids something to be proud of and resources that they can tap into that reflect their cultural heritage. We’ve finally decided to act on that.
The gathering in Louisville is in the mold of our African-American cultural tradition. We have a proud heritage as African-American women of doing things that not only help us but also uplift the race at the same time. The sistahs are doing it for ourselves to paraphrase an old Aretha Franklin song. We’re not doing it to permanently separate ourselves from the Caucasian trans community, but so that we may work together with our mainstream African-American brothers and sisters. Kwame Toure (Stokely Carmichael to you folks who remember the Civil Rights Movement) stated, 'Before a group can enter the open society, it must first close ranks.'
Well, the African-American transcommunity is closing ranks. Louisville, here we come.
TransGriot Note: The transgender community's protests of HRC dinners continue. Last weekend was the Atlanta HRC dinner, and Monica Helms in a post from her Trans Universe Blog tells us what went down in the ATL.
The "Belly of the Beast" – The Atlanta HRC Dinner By Monica F. Helms
At the last minute, I didn’t know if I could attend the Atlanta HRC Dinner protest in front of the Hyatt Regency, May 3, 2008. Work had me signed up to do 2 hours of overtime right in the middle of when the protest was scheduled. Luckily, I was able to trade the hours to a co-worker.
On Saturday, I had to formulate a plan to talk with the most people I could at the dinner. But in order to do that, I needed to go inside the “Belly of the Beast.” Being a former submariner, I was familiar with submarine war tactics, which have helped me as an activist in the past. You sneak into an enemy’s port, lay a few torpedoes in the sides of their ships, then slip silently away. They never know what hit them.
For this dinner, I needed a disguise, in other words, a “duck blind.” When hunting ducks, the hunters have to blend into the environment, so they build a camouflage enclosure where they can see the ducks, but the ducks cannot see them. For this, I would wear my long evening gown that had no back. It’s also how spies blend into a fancy party. “My name is Bond. Jane Bond.” I was ready to do some shaking AND stirring. Of course, I probably blew my cover when I wore my “Trans and Proud” and “TAVA” buttons.
I knew that I would not get into the dinner without a ticket and I had no intention of buying one. However, they always had their Silent Auction before the dinner and you didn’t have to have a dinner ticket to go in there.
When I arrived at the Hyatt, two people were already handing out flyers and holding signs. Sir Jesse was outside and Anneliese was just inside the hotel door, handing out flyers as people came in. Others who arrived later were Jamie, Jae, Marisa, Dante, Betty and a friend of hers, Ghetto Gospel.
I heard earlier from Betty that on Thursday, May 1st, Joe Solmonese had a meeting with a half dozen transgender people here in Georgia . I wasn’t invited, nor was a few other transgender people who have worked at the national level, such as Dana Owings, Kristin Reichman and Cole Thaler from Lambda Legal. I’m willing to bet it was not accidental.
I was told that Joe “. . . apologized for misspeaking at Southern Comfort . . .” and that “. . . had he known what was going to have happen, he wouldn’t have said what he had said.” To me that translates to “HRC has no integrity when it comes to speaking to transgender people and I have the backbone of a jelly fish.” George Orwell would be so proud.
Once inside, I strolled into the Silent Auction like I belonged there. In reality, if HRC was more supportive of transgender people and their needs, then I would have indeed belonged there. But, I was nothing more than an interloper in the game of intrigue. Okay, so I’m getting a bit melodramatic.
The first thing that I noticed was that in a city that has a large population of African Americans, the crowd looked distinctly white and distinctly male. There were some attendees who were People of Color and there were attendees who were female, but where I saw the most diversity was with the “hired help” and the volunteers. Interesting enough, one of the dinner’s co-chairs (Ebonee Bradford) was an African American woman.
The theme for the evening was a Las Vegas casino, complete with the bright lights, Vegas showgirls and an Elvis impersonator. I mingled with the crowd, talking to various people there, some who openly admitted they were part of HRC’s organization. I spoke with one woman who touted HRC’s “wonderful” Corporate Equality Index, having no idea I would be the wrong person to try and convince their CEI was so “perfect.” I proceeded to point out that my 100% company screwed me over simply because I’m trans when I needed a medically necessary operation that others in the company can get.
I told the woman the bar for transgender medical issues was set so low that an ant could jump over it. HRC does that to falsely inflate the numbers on the 100% list and to placate the corporations by allowing them to medically mistreat their transgender employees, just as long as their gay and lesbian employees are treated fairly. Transgender people don’t need to be treated fairly, by HRC’s standards.
During my journey through “ Never-Never Land ,” I had a chance to speak to the Beast Master himself, Joe Solmonese. I was nice and I complimented him on how appropriate the casino theme for the dinner was. “This is such a perfect theme you have here, Joe. It’s all about gambling . . . and you’re gambling with people’s lives.” I suspect he didn’t appreciate that.
Of course, I wasn’t going to stop there. I informed him about the Transgender Veterans Survey, conducted by TAVA that had just ended and it had 827 responses to it. Besides the military and VA-related questions in the survey, we had a great deal of general questions. I said he needs to see how many of our transgender veterans were unemployed and under-employed, and how many have been discriminated on the job. It didn’t seem to faze him. Ask me if I’m surprised.
Interesting, the number of transgender veterans who took our survey far surpasses the number of responses on the questionable survey HRC conducted to see if transgender people should be in ENDA. Also, you have to factor in the small population our respondents came from to really get the impact.
Then I asked Solmonese why I didn’t get an E-mail inviting me to the meeting on Thursday. He said, “I don’t know who put that together.” Ah, really? Does he expect me to believe he’s that clueless on something as important as a meeting? He then asked me, “What did you hear of the meeting?” I responded by saying, “That it took place and I wasn’t invited.” Also, the media wasn’t invited. I guess he doesn’t want to take a chance of going on record with what he says to transgender people. I wonder why.
The one thing that really set me off was when I had a chance to speak with a person I thought was a friend. He is an effeminate gay man who is the partner of a lawyer who I know through SLDN and the American Veterans for Equal Rights. He proceeded to tell me about his four-hour session at the spa to get ready for the event. I told him I was there to educate people on the need for a fully inclusive ENDA.
He said, “Oh, I don’t support that at all. They said there aren’t enough votes with transgender people in the bill. Besides, we need a win.”
I was pissed. “So, you want a win on the backs of millions of transgender people?” He tried to say something, but I continued. “You are an effeminate gay man and without Gender Identity and Gender Expression in ENDA, you’re just as fucked as transgender people. You and butch lesbians will be screwed, just like me.” He didn’t respond to that. Besides, he had his sugar daddy, so to hell with everyone else. I walked away.
The best thing I found out was when I went back outside to join the protest. Betty, a member of the Atlanta Pride Committee, informed me that they just had a vote that day to turn down HRC’s offer to be a sponsor for this year’s Pride. In a year where the expenses have increased in putting on Atlanta Pride, they turned down $5000 from HRC because of their stance on ENDA. I always knew I loved the people on the Atlanta Pride Committee, but this made me love them even more. I hope others will take that stance with HRC at their pride events. Betty also informed me that a trans man will be the Grand Marshall for the Pride Parade.
So much for the Atlanta HRC Dinner. I may not have made an impact on many people, but a friend reminded me that every little bit helps. I want to express my appreciation to Jamie Roberts and Sir Jesse McNulty for putting this together. It’s people like them and the Atlanta Pride Committee who make me proud to live in Georgia.
The organizers of the first New England Transgender Pride March and Rally have announced the following lineup of speakers and performers for the event, scheduled for June 7, 2008 in Northampton, MA.
11:00 a.m. Assemble at Lampron Park
Noon March steps off
12:30 – 12:45 p.m. Marchers arrive at Armory Street Lot (behind Thornes Marketplace)
12:45 – 12:50 p.m. Welcome by MC Louis Mitchell and Proclamation by Mayor Clare Higgins
12:50 – 1:00 p.m Political official TBD
1:00 – 1:10 p.m. Miss Major (Grand Marshal; Transgender, Gender Variant, Intersex Justice Project)
1:10 – 1:20 p.m. Gunner Scott (Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition)
3:40 – 3:50 p.m. Imani Henry (Trans activist and performance artist)
3:50 – 4:00 p.m. Dr. Enoch Page (Associate Professor of Anthropology, UMass Amherst)
4:00 – 4:10 p.m. Cathy Worthley (MTF folksinger)
4:10 – 4:20 p.m. Ethan St. Pierre (TransFM Radio)
4:20 – 4:30 p.m. Donna Rose (TransEducate, resigned from HRC board over ENDA)
4:30 – 4:45 p.m. Kate Bornstein (Trans author, playwright, and performance artist)
4:45 – 5:00 p.m. All The Kings Men: Boston’s Drag Troupe
“Presenting our foremost transgender authors, along with 1969 Stonewall Rebellion veteran Miss Major, and several prominent trans activists and musicians on one stage may be unprecedented,” said Bet Power, a Trans Pride steering committee member. “It will certainly be an historic event, a pivotal day that the national, regional, and local transgender community is very much looking forward to. Trans people and our allies will be traveling from both coasts and locations in-between to march for our civil rights and celebrate our pride in who we are.”
Trans ally and steering committee member Alicia Jay stated, “It has been a powerful experience organizing with the trans community, and I feel very honored to be part of this event. It is crucial for trans allies to get involved in the growing trans civil rights movement, and support the right of all communities to stand up and be heard.”
New England Transgender Pride is seeking sponsors, donations from organizations and individuals, and volunteers to help on the day of the march. For more information or to participate, visit www.transpridemarch.org.
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Note: Speaker and performer bios and photos are available upon request.
TransGriot Note: As many of you probably noted, I'm one of the speakers for this event. The logo in this post is designed by artist Yohah Ralph and is on the t-shirts available for purchase for this historic event.
One of the neat things about being an activist and getting in the trenches to fight the good fight is that one of the benefits is getting invites to various events and parties. So earlier tonight I pulled out the formal clothes and my heels, got into diva mode and rolled over to the Ali Center with Dawn for the ACLU Kentucky-Fairness Dinner.
It was a fundraiser for both organizations and many of the liberal-progressive community peeps in Louisville and some from Lexington were in attendance. We also had several state and local politicians, judges, several U of L professors and a US senate candidate in attendance as well. Various people in the room were wearing either Clinton or Obama buttons since the primary election in Kentucky is May 20.
I got a chance to chat with Dr. Story again and had people thanking me for my role in fighting for the JCPS employment protections battle a few months ago, which I didn't expect. I had a few people complimenting me on my blog as well ad had another pleasant conversation with U of L law professor Sam Marcossin. I met him two weeks ago when I took part in a panel discussion the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Oppression sponsored on impeachment. I discovered during the conversation that he knew my mentor Phyllis Frye.
Small world moment, indeed. I had another one of those moments when during my conversation with Bob Cunningham I discovered he knew a friend of my uncle's back in Houston.
I had a lot of fun and enjoyed the stimulating, thought provoking conversations I had with the various people in the room and with my tablemates. I also enjoyed the view of the river and the city from the sixth floor dining room.
While the Muhammad Ali Center has been open almost two years, it was the first time I'd actually had a chance to visit the place, and from what I saw I'm going back on a future day off. I also had a great time tonight doing my small part in representing the transgender community as well.
The organizers of the first New England Transgender Pride March and Rally have announced a change in location for the rally. The march, which will step off at noon on June 7, 2008 from Lampron Park/Bridge Street School in Northampton, MA will proceed, not to Veterans Field, but to a rally in the Armory Street Lot behind Thornes Marketplace in downtown Northampton.
Veterans Field is unavailable due to re-seeding this year. The Armory Street Lot is the same location where Northampton Pride is held each May.
“We’re pleased with the new rally location, as it is more central in Northampton and more easily wheelchair-accessible than Veterans Field,” said Justin Adkins, a member of the Trans Pride steering committee. “We’ll be providing American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting for the entire event.”
The rally, which will begin at 12:30 p.m. and end at 5:00 p.m., will be headlined by Leslie Feinberg, a pioneering transgender writer whose books include Stone Butch Blues, Transgender Warriors, and Drag King Dreams; and Miss Major, a veteran of the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion and Lead Community Organizer of the Transgender, Gender Variant, and Intersex Justice Project, which advocates for the human rights of transgender prisoners. Several activists are slated to speak who will address proposed gender identity/expression anti-discrimination legislation in MA and CT, and the civil rights needs of transgender people in employment, education, housing, healthcare, and public accommodations. Featured performers will include the Boston-based drag troupe All The Kings Men and Joe Stevens of Coyote Grace.
New England Transgender Pride is currently seeking volunteer workers and sponsors for the event. Interested individuals and organizations may sign up online at www.transpridemarch.org, and groups that wish to march with their banners may register there, as well.
TransGriot Note: I've just accepted an invitation to speak at this upcoming historic pride march. Hope to see you there!
The National Black Justice Coalition is hosting its first annual OUT on the Hill Black LGBT Leadership Summit in Washington, DC, September 15-18.
The CBCF-ALC is an event I've wanted to attend for years because thousands of African American policy makers, organizers, and concerned citizens travel to our nation’s capitol for it. It's held at the Washington Convention Center and has more than 70 issue forums and 13 session tracks offered to address critical challenges facing Black communities, many led by CBC congressmembers.
This event will convene the nation’s top Black LGBT thought leaders, philanthropists and activists to participate in social action that empowers our communities while educating our Congressional leaders, the Obama Administration and federal agencies about our public policy concerns. 
