Preach, Rev. Tweed!

This is a message faith based homophobes and transphobes here in the USA, Bermuda and the rest of the world definitely need to hear. 

Bermuda has recently tabled an amendment to its 1981 Human Rights Act that would add sexual orientation (but not gender identity) as a protected class against discrimination on the island. 

Predictably Bermuda's faith based haters let fly on Friday with a statement that is purported to express the position of the AME church about the pending legislation, but upon further review it was determined that the statement was unauthorized and does not represent their official position on the 2013 Human Rights Amendment.

“The AME Church opposes legislation that threatens the traditional family structure and erodes Bermuda society as a whole. This amendment does both.

“Since the Bible is clear that a relationship involving sexual intimacy is to be between a man and a woman within the bounds of marriage, legislation that endorses homosexuality violates God’s Word and gives up a Christian’s conscientious obligation to obey it.

“The AME Church believes that all people are made in God’s image, including those affected by same sex attraction. The Church will defend human dignity because of the Church’s commitment to godly principles. However, the AME Church unapologetically resists this amendment and appeals to those of like-mind to do the same.”

On Sunday Rev. Nicholas Tweed, the pastor of St. Paul AME Church in Hamilton blasted that statement from his pulpit and told his congregation in his sermon that it is unchristian to deny people their rights as human beings..

“The last time I checked, I don’t recall Jesus saying that some sin is better or more acceptable than other sin,” said Rev. Tweed. “I don’t recall Jesus saying it’s okay to lie but for heaven’s sake, don’t be lesbian.

“I don’t recall a text saying it’s okay to drink and be a whoremonger, just don’t be gay.”

The AME church also has a long history of social justice activism, and Rev. Tweed's father, the Rev. Dr. Kingsley Tweed was one of the leaders of a 1959 movie theater boycott that ended formal segregation in Bermuda 

According to the Bermuda Royal Gazette, Rev Tweed's sermon also contained some pointed criticisms of the May 16 national gathering for prayer.comments of Bishop Lloyd Duncan of the New Testament Church of God,   Duncan implored the Government “to exercise biblical caution, and spiritual restraint,” referring to its intention to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination as saying it would be a “lethal mistake.”

Rev Tweed said: “We can see the irony of our discomfort. For example this past week, we saw celebrated a great gathering which declared to Bermuda that we were united in prayer. But the irony is that everybody wasn’t invited. I didn’t see no Muslims there, I didn’t see any Buddhists there or folks that may practice other religions that have an equal place in the social fabric of Bermuda

“In other words, it was a loose conglomerate of folk that at least in theory share the same point of view. And then the same folk that gathered together to declare the sins of their fragmentation and disunity were the same folk that used the opportunity designed to bring us together, to drive the nails and wedges of deeper fractures in our community by sending a message to say that we don’t believe that everybody ought to be included or protected by the Human Rights bill.

“The criteria for being protected is not really whether you are black, white, gay, straight, transgender, crossdresser; the criteria is if you are human, you ought to be protected and as folks that have been the victims of over 300 years of discrimination, it's a strange irony that we cannot get together even with the folks that was discriminating against us and talk about who shouldn’t be in.”

Preach Rev Tweed, preach!

27,072 People (And Counting) Say Let Damian Walk In Black Robes

The pressure is mounting on Archbishop Michael Sheehan and Superintendent Murphy in this now viral story of Albuquerque, NM St. Pius High School senior Damian Garcia's simple request to walk in his graduation in a black cap and gown being denied. 

Received an e-mail from Torrey Moorman who spearheaded the MoveOn.org petition on Damian's behalf that has now garnered as of the moment I'm compiling this post 27,072 signatures toward their new goal of 30,000 signatures. 

Monica;

We have called Superintendent Murphy's phone and said: "We want you to know that we hold you and the entire Archdiocese in the Light. We are fully aware of how difficult this must be for Archbishop Sheehan who grew up being taught if you have a penis you are a boy, and if you have a vagina you are a girl."

"Unfortunately, just as the human genome project has proven unequivocally that there is no genetic variation between the races, science is proving gender and sexuality are not so simply defined. We fully appreciate that growth is uncomfortable and extremely difficult."

"William posted a photo stating: If you want to change, you have to be willing to be uncomfortable. All growth is uncomfortable, whether it is the growing pains of bones growing faster than muscle, or the pain of accepting a new definition of human sexuality. We respect your difficulties and hold you in love and Light as you go through this difficult time. We have faith that Archbishop Sheehan will make the right decision in Christ's love: To allow Damian to walk with his graduating class in black robes."

We encourage everyone to give Archbishop Sheehan and Superintendent Murphy this message. The message that decisions made out of love, instead of fear, pave the way to a loving and peaceful planet.

Sincerely,
The Moorman family, Cat Provost, and the Garcia family

All the school and the Archdiocese of Santa Fe had to do was simply let Damian walk.  To prevent such drama in the future they need to consider the possibility of having every future graduate of St. Pius High wear the same color cap and gowns.

But nope, since the Roman Catholic Church has been conducting a decade long holy war aimed at trans people and the transphobia injected into the Vatican by Paul McHugh has now filtered down the chain of command from Rome, they now have a PR mess on their hands. 

It also makes them look like bigoted and petty faith based trans oppressors to Albuquerque and the rest of the world and reinforces the disturbing decade long pattern of the Roman Catholic Church being hostile to trans people.

As I said in the comment I posted when I signed the petition: 

This is a no brainer situation.   Damian identifies as a male, has been presenting as one for over a year, and his classmates, faculty and family recognize him as one.

You only graduate from high school once, so why not let Damian walk in the black male gown?

You still have time to change that negative perception by letting Damian walk in a black cap and gown.

But the clock's ticking..

What Would Spelman College Do In This Trans Feminine Student Situation?

“Schools should be focused on building our next generation of leaders, not discriminating against them." Calliope Wong

I had an interesting conversation with Samantha Master the other day about getting HBCU's to recognize that Black TBLG students exist.   HBCU law schools are ahead of the game when it comes to having non discrimination policies that included gender identity and expression but the HBCU main campuses that host these law schools surprisingly don't. 

We discussed how it would be in their best short and long term interests to ensure their campuses were open, inclusive and affirming places for TBLG students and they needed to get busy enacting policies and procedures to make that happen.   And yes, as a group they also needed to improve on the sorry situation of having only one of the 105 HBCU's (Bowie State University) having a dedicated LGBT center on campus.

Our conversation turned to transteen Calliope Wong and her recently being turned down twice by Smith College for enrollment while hypocritically allowing transmen to matriculate on campus if they transition after they have been admitted.  Smith College according to Dean of Admissions Debra Shaver and HuffPo Gay Voices has put together a committee to look at the issues that affect trans applicants. 

The Smith committee will begin its work at the start of the 2013-14 academic year in September and includes students.   The students involved on this committee have indicated that Smith would stop using the gender marker on FAFSA applications when evaluating trans students for admission.

While I hope the situation at Smith is substantive change and has a positive resolution for future trans applicants to the college, mine and Samantha's HBCU centric discussion put me in 'What if?' hard solid thinking mode. 

What would happen if you flipped the racial script and instead of Calliope Wong, had a bright African-American trans feminine student named Kendra Nicole Williams in this mix?  

Kendra wants to attend the elite African-American women's HBCU Spelman College because it's her dream school and applies.  She transitioned at age 14 and has a supportive family who helped her live her trans teen feminine life.   Kendra excelled academically in her high school and has begun the process of changing her identity documents. 

But because her family doesn't have a spare $20K in the bank genital surgery is out of the question right now because they see it as a bigger priority to use whatever extra money they have to help Kendra get the quality college education she needs.   


How would Spelman handle that situation I just outlined?  Would Kendra be accepted into the Spelman Class of 2017 with open arms or would they fumble the ball just as badly as Smith did?  

Atlanta based Spelman, which was founded in 1881, is one of the oldest historically Black women's colleges in the nation. I chose Spelman for this thought exercise because it is analogous in its elite status to Smith. in addition to it being among the nation's top ten best women's colleges as ranked by Forbes magazine, it has prestigious notable alumni and faculty.

For the sake of this exercise in hard solid thinking, let's assume Spelman fumbled the ball and refused to admit Kendra for the same reason Smith did.  It denied admission to Kendra based on a mismatched FAFSA gender code.   How much media negativity do you think Spelman would get right now because of that decision? 

I submit it would be ten times worse than what Smith got.   

In those media stories roasting Spelman over the coals you would see the ''Blacks are more homophobic' meme repeatedly come up in whatever stores they chose to write about it in addition to pointing out they are across the street from all-male Morehouse College and talking about its homophobic fails over the years.  

The mainstream media seems to take perverse pleasure in flipping the journalistic middle finger at POC trans women, and you can bet their penchant for doing so would come into play here.

Don't even get me started about the Black gossip blogosphere and the transphobic ignorance they gleefully display on a regular basis.  You can count on a few hip hop formatted radio station morning shows jumping into this transphobic media mix and yours truly having to spend a few weeks putting some outlets on blast for the negative and sensationalistic reporting that some newspapers of record would aim at Kendra just for grins in addition to asking Spelman what's up with not admitting Kendra?

And to tweak the hard solid thinking on trans issues still further, what if the Kendra student in my earlier example was a cis female who enrolls and a year later transitions to male?   I have heard of this situation occurring at Smith and other Seven Sisters institutions but haven't heard if it has occurred at Spelman yet.

What would Spelman do when (not if) that happens?  Do they have non-discrimination policies and support structures in place to make it a welcoming environment for that now transmasculine student?

So let's end the 'What If' exercise for now and move on to the known quantities about Spelman.  Beverly Daniel Tatum, the current Spelman president has a well earned reputation of being a supportive ally on the SGL issues.  Spelman has been ahead of the curve in terms of being a role model for HBCU's that embrace tackling LGBT issues.   

In addition to Spelman having AFREKETE, the highly regarded LGBT and ally organization on its campus, it was the host campus for the groundbreaking Audre Lorde Historically Black College and University Summit on April 29, 2011.   The one day summit was spearheaded by Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall, the founding director of the Women’s Research and Resource Center, attended by representatives of nine HBCU campuses from across the nation and was enthusiastically supported by President Tatum.

It focused on LGBT issues within African-American and HBCU communities and included a session on LGBT organizing paneled by the Human Rights Campaign's Deputy Director for Diversity Donna Payne and National Black Justice Coalition CEO Sharon J. Lettman-Hicks.  

But I don't know as of yet what President Tatum's stances are concerning trans issues and I would love to have that conversation with her.  Spelman despite being the undisputed leader on LGBT issues in HBCU collegiate world still as of this writing doesn't have a dedicated LGBT resource center on its campus like Bowie State does..   

I believe that in my earlier example, based on the groundbreaking work that Spelman is already doing that my fictional trans student Kendra would be admitted.   She might have a few issues she'd have to deal with like what would happen if she wanted to pledge one of the Divine Nine sororities on campus or the possibility of somebody transphobically tripping in the dorms because of her pre-operative status, but in terms of getting a quality education in an HBCU setting as a trans student, she'd probably be in the best place for it on paper.

Trans students will bring some issues to the table that may seems daunting to a women's college but are manageable with thoughtful preparation, clear enforced policies and procedures, and established support systems.  Most importantly, they have administrations that make it crystal clear discrimination aimed at trans and SGL students will not be tolerated.     


What I said to close out my 'HBCU's Better Recognize Black TBLG Students Exist' post still applies a year later. 

HBCU's need to send the unmistakable message to their faculty, current and future students, alumni, and the communities they serve that discrimination against LGBT students on HBCU campuses will not be tolerated.   HBCU's need to show they have inclusive and welcoming campuses, and they are willing to include LGBT students in their ongoing missions to uplift the race through educational achievement.

I believe that Spelman and the other Black HBCU women's colleges such as Bennett are taking what happened recently at Smith as a cautionary tale.  I hope they are engaging in hard solid thinking to avoid the public relations nightmare Smith fell into because of the lack of admissions procedures and policies in place for trans feminine students.  

Based on the work they've already done, I'm confident Spelman will be prepared for the inevitable day when a Black trans woman comes application in hand to fulfill her dream of getting an education on their distinguished HBCU campus and become one of the exceptional Black women Spelman College has produced for over a century.  

Kim Coco Iwamoto Being Honored As A Harvey Milk Champion Of Change

The White House will honor ten TBLG officials on Harvey Milk Day and one of them will be a girl like us.

Kim Coco Iwamoto, who is serving her first term on the state of Hawaii's Civil Rights Commission and previously served the state as an elected member of the Hawaii State Board of Education, is one of the people being honored on Wednesday, Harvey Milk's birthday as a Harvey Milk Champion of Change

The White House Champions of Change program was established in 2011 to spotlight ordinary citizens who are doing extraordinary things for to their community, their country, and their fellow citizens.  In that tradition, the Harvey Milk Champions of Change highlights a small group of TBLG state and local elected and appointed officials who have demonstrated a strong commitment to both equality and public service.

In addition to Kim Coco Iwamoto, the other Harvey Milk Champions of Change for 2013 are:

• Simone Bell – Georgia State Representative, Atlanta, GA
• Angie Buhl O’Donnell – South Dakota State Senator, Sioux Falls, SD
• Karen Clark – Minnesota State Representative, South Minneapolis, MN
• Michael A. Gin – Mayor of Redondo Beach, Redondo Beach, CA
• John Laird – California Secretary of Natural Resources, Santa Cruz, CA
• Ricardo Lara – California State Senator, Long Beach, CA
• Kim Painter – Johnson Country Recorder, Iowa City, IA
• Chris Seelbach – Cincinnati City Council Member, Cincinnati, OH
• Pat Steadman – Colorado State Senator, Denver,

Congratulations to Kim Coco and the other 2013 Harvey Milk Champions of Change for receiving this high honor. 

Anti-Trans SB 1218 Is DEAD!

We TBLG Texans just keep finding ways to kill these anti-trans and anti-LGB bills in the Lone Star State despite the best efforts of our conservafools and Teapublican legislative members to pass them.  

I received the good news about SB 1218 being on life support on Saturday morning, but just to be sure I wanted to wait until the midnight deadline passed until I started doing the happy dance about its demise.  

Last year it was SB 723, and this year it was SB 1218.   While I was concerned after hearing this unjust bill passed out of the Texas Senate, I knew one thing in the Texas trans community's favor was this bill may not have enough time to go through the legislative process in the Texas House.

I was also hoping that the great karma we've lately had concerning international trans marriage wins in Malta and Hong Kong would rub off on us here, too

The unjust bill had to get passed out the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee on which we had several powerful allies.   It's a nine member committee, so they need six members to constitute a quorum to conduct official business.  SB1218 also had the hurdle of if it had passed out of committee it had to do so yesterday and be placed on the House calendar by midnight May 21 or it died for the session.

So ding dong, that anti-trans bill is dead.  We get to exhale, celebrate for a minute, and then prepare for the Teahadists to come after trans Texans ability to marry again in the 2015 session unless they lose control of one or both chambers in the 2014 election cycle, the governor's chair or all of the above.

I suggest y'all get busy registering people to vote in the 2014 election cycle now so we can take the Texas legislature back and pass some progressive legislation in the 84th Texas legislature when it's gaveled into session in January 2015. 

The 41 List Of TBLGQ Latino/a People Has Girls Like Us On It!

In 1901 a clandestine Mexico City party was raided and 41 people were arrested.   Half of those 41 people were dressed as women (and some of those 20 or 21 people were probably girls like us)   They were publically paraded by the police and sent off to slave labor camps simply for being gay, trans and bisexual.   Those that survived the ordeal had their names put on a list that condemned them and their families to a lifetime of ridicule and shame.

The arrest also unfortunately occurred at a time in Mexico when curiosity about sexuality was rising and set in motion a chain of events that combined with the negative media coverage led to a movement that led to the birth of the concept of homosexuality in Mexico.   It also led to the number 41 gaining a negative connotation in Mexican culture  

Honor 41.org  in conjunction with MALDEF, the nation’s leading Latino legal civil rights organization created a list to recognize outstanding TBLGQ Latino/a leaders.   The 41 List celebrates the Latina/o TBLGQ community and demonstrates how far the community has come in the over 100 years since that despicable incident.  

Those featured on The 41 List represent a diversity of professional backgrounds, age groups, genders, geographic regions, and Latino backgrounds that make up our community. They are all role models for our community and for future Latina/o LGBTQ generations. 

I'm happy to note that on the 2013 list girls like us Bamby Salcedo, Arianna Inurritegui Lint and Maria Roman are on it.  When I find the full list of names I'll post it to TransGriot. . 

While I'm happy three of my trans Latina sisters (and two I personally know) were honored on this list, I was disappointed that some of my trans Latino brothers like Mark Angelo Cummings and Yosenio Lewis just to name two are missing.  

Nominations will be taken in the fall for the 2014 edition of the 41 List.  I hope that when I compile my 2014 post about this list, it not only has Latino transmasculine representation, but more Latina trans women on a list to honor and spotlight outstanding TBGLQ Latina/o people.   

Clock Ticking Toward Major 2013 Texas Lege Deadline

The 83rd session of the Texas legislature ends on May 27 and we are rapidly approaching a major legislative deadline at midnight.   All bills that passed the House or Senate and made it to the opposite chamber committees must be voted out of them and be placed on the House or Senate legislative calendars before midnight or they die for this session. 

So yep, the clock is ticking on the unjust SB 1218 bill.    It's still stuck in the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee and showing In Committee status.  

As a reminder of why I'm calling it an unjust bill, it attempts to strip trans people of their ability to marry by prohibiting anyone from obtaining a marriage license with a document that lacks a photo.  One of the approved documents we can use to get a marriage license in Texas is an affidavit of sex change.

It must be voted out today and placed on the House calendar or else it dies for this session.

Tick, tick, tick, tick.   

Die, SB 1218 Die!

Let My People Pee In Scotland

Here we go again with cis people tripping about a trans woman peeing in the ladies room.  The latest report of this BS comes from Scotland.

Hannah Leith has been transitioning full time for less than a year and after doing some window shopping around noon local time handled her business in the ladies room at the Paisley Centre.

She has done this countless times since starting her transition, but on this occasion  Leith was stopped by an overzealous security guard who obviously isn't aware of the 2010 Equality Act.  She was advised by the guard someone filed a complaint about her using the bathroom and told she was only to use the men's or disabled toilets.  

When she pointed out the Equality Act says otherwise, the guard responded with if she attempted to use the female bathrooms she would be banned from the center.

Leith went on to say to PinkNews.com.uk:“It was not made clear whether a staff member or a member of the public had made this complaint… I have lived full-time as a woman since last August and this disgusts me.”

FYI, the 2010 Equality Act (as the radfems are painfully finding out) bars discrimination based on gender reassignment, sex and sexual orientation. 

Leith went to a nearby library and printed out the pertinent sections of the Equality Act in an attempt to civilly discuss the matter with mall management but no one was available.   She was stopped by a different Paisley Centre security guard when she attempted to use the bathroom again.

UK Stonewall and the Scottish Transgender Alliance were appalled by the news and pointed out in the Pink News article that “refusal to allow use of sanitary facilities appropriate to the gender in which the person is living”, is in breach of the Equality Act.

It's also a breach of common sense, decency and humanity.   Let my people pee, Scotland!.

Rev Sally McClain Retires

Those of you who have been long time readers of TransGriot know that the blog not only started in Louisville, but through May 2010 chronicled some of my Bluegrass State life as a Texan in exile.

One of the people that I talked about in various blog posts who was a big part of my Louisville life and  my evolving faith journey was my pastor at Edenside Christian Church, the Rev. Sally McClain.  

I first met her approximately 48 hours after arriving in Louisville in late September 2001.  I was still reeling emotionally and depressed about my move from Houston, the series of seismic level events in my life starting that February which precipitated my relocation.  I was also spending a lot of my time in my new locale pondering my future and my 40th birthday that was a mere 8 months away.  

Dawn had me hop in her car and took me to meet the pastor of her church and at the time I didn't know anybody yet in Da Ville besides the Fairness peeps, my housemates, and my new next door neighbors.

When I walked into Sally's office, it did wonders for my mood that day.   You gotta love a pastor that has a stuffed Cartman doll on her bookshelf and who Dawn nicknamed 'Mustang Sally' because at the time she took over the leadership of Edenside she was driving a Ford Mustang.  

A few days later after visiting her Edenside office the Louisville AIDS Walk happened, and I joined the Edenside crew as we walked from the Belvedere starting point in downtown Louisville across the Clark Bridge to Indiana and back.  

I had so much fun that day with the folks there I started attending Sunday services at Edenside since the Highlands neighborhood in Da Ville that surrounded the church reminded me a lot of Montrose.

Edenside eventually grew on me until I joined the church a few months later in 2002.  You have to love a church like Edenside that in addition to being actively involved in the Highlands neighborhood and the Louisville community, hosted art shows in its building, hosted a concert by one of our members who was a jazz vocalist, had an HIV/AIDS memorial service and has the Louisville Scottish Association Bagpipe band pop in from time to time.

And oh yeah, did I forget to mention a certain DJ spinning Christmas tunes with soul as part of our church's contribution to the Bardstown Road Aglow event the first Saturday in December that kicks off the holiday season in the Highlands? 

She also led by example.  She's on the advisory board for the WHAS-TV Crusade For Children, one of the major charity fundraising events in the area.  Before I left for Texas she'd become a regular panelist on WHAS-TV's The Moral Side Of The News. 

As the Cartman doll on her bottom bookshelf demonstrated, Rev. Sally also has a wicked sense of humor she''d unleash at times. As a proud UK alum during basketball season no Louisville and Indiana fan in our congregation was safe whenever they lost their annual games to the Cats.

I loved the fact she could say in a 20-30 minute sermon what it would take most Black minsters 45 minutes to an hour to dramatically pontificate on.  I also loved the fact my Louisville church later officially became an open and affirming one.

I also loved the fact Edenside services started at 10:40 AM, included weekly communion and we were done by 11:45 AM.  Most times I was back home by noon unless we were having a post service church dinner or event.  

Yesterday the retirement service was held for Rev. Sally at Edenside.  We tried to arrange it so I could come to Louisville and 'sliiiiide into Edenside' for this event as a surprise for her but it didn't work out. 

Then again, the news of me being back in Jefferson County wouldn't have stayed a surprise long either.

With all the stuff I been juggling lately I didn't think about simply writing a statement about what my time at Edenside meant to me that pretty much coincided with Sally's tenure at the church for Dawn to read until it was way too late to do so.. 

She not only helped me start to get over being depressed about being there but helped me get acclimated to life in Kentuckiana as a member of Edenside.   I got the chance to find my speaking voice again as a worship leader and meet some new people who became my friends during the what turned out to be eight years I lived there.  Her sermons got me thinking about a lot of social justice issues that fueled my activism while I was there and sometimes fueled my social justice during my Texan in exile days.

And it was a two way street.  I was the DJ for her son Derek's wedding.  I also gave her the advice after she asked my opinion about her first Moral Side of The News telecast to be fearless in making her points.  As the only female panelist on the show at the time, the boys ganged up on her during her first appearance.    

Just as things changed and time moved on after I left Houston, the same is true for my 105 year old church.   Some of the members I met when I arrived in 2001 and later joined the church have either moved on, moved out of state like I did or are not in this plane of existence.  Edenside's building is unfortunately for sale as well and Sally is retiring.

But the 1000 miles between me and Edenside didn't keep her from checking on me from time to time or sending me her and the Edenside family's condolences when my father was gravely ill last March and eventually passed away.

Congratulations on your retirement, you've earned it.  While I'm sure the Edenside church family will miss you doing those weekly thought provoking sermons, spending quality time with the grandkids and getting to travel for stuff other than church related events will be a bonus.
 
And I'll not only stay in touch, but give you at least 48 hours warning the next time I'm headed to the Louisville area.

This Week In The 2013 Texas Lege-Week Ending May 17

The 2013 Texas Legislative session is rapidly drawing to a close. But until the session ends on May 27 and the legislators are all headed back home, as the passage of SB 1218 in the Texas Senate demonstrates, we marginalized people can't relax with this Teapublican majority in control and having a governor willing to sign whatever they pass.

We must continue to have an eye turned toward Austin, and here's Equality Texas Legislative Specialist and Field Organizer Daniel Williams to break it down for you what happened during this ugly legislative week for TBLG Texans. 

Let Damian Walk In Male Cap And Gown MoveOn.org Petition

A MoveOn.org petition has been created by Torrey Moorman in support of Albuquerque, NM transteen Damian Garcia.

The petition was created with the goal of getting St Pius High School to allow Damian to walk in his rapidly approaching May 22 graduation in the  black cap and gown for male students.

Here's what I posted when I signed the petition, which has over 20,000 signatures at the time I compiled this post
: 
This is a no brainer situation.   Damian identifies as a male, has been presenting as one for over a year,and his classmates, faculty and family recognize him as one.

You only graduate from high school once, so why not let Damian walk in the black male gown?

Why not indeed, St Pius High School?  Your transphobic resistance to doing the decent and right thing and trying to hide behind the policy excuse only makes you look more bigoted to the rest of the world and reinforces the disturbing decade long pattern of the Roman Catholic Church being hostile to trans people.

TransGriot Update: The petition reached its goal of 25,000 signatures and is now shooting for 30,000.

Reconciling Ministries ChurchQuake Scholarships For LGBTQ Kids Of Color

One of the wonderful people I got to meet during last year's GLAAD National POC Media training event last summer was Dr. Pamela Lightsey.

She is one impressive woman on many levels.  She is the Associate Dean of Community Life and Lifelong Learning and Clinical Assistant Professor of Contextual Theology & Practice at Boston University.  In addition, she is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and is the Co-Chair of the American Academy of Religion's Womanist Approaches to Religion & Society Group. 

The UMC's Reconciling Ministries seeks to 'mobilize United Methodists of all sexual orientations and gender identities to transform the Church and the world into the full expression of Christ's inclusive love'. 

I'm definitely down with that program as a 'Big C' Christian, and Pamela sent me this information about their upcoming 'ChurchQuake' national convocation taking place the weekend of August 30-September 2 in Chevy Chase, MD.    

Reconciling Ministries is offering 4 full scholarships for "ChurchQuake" to LGBTQ young adults who identify as persons of color and wish to participate in this event.  United Methodist affiliation is not a prerequisite though UMC members will be given primary consideration for the four available scholarships .

If you wish further information about the Church Quake scholarship opportunity, you can phone Dr Lightsey at 617-353-3051 or fax her at 617-353-3061.

Israeli School Firing Award Winning Trans Teacher For Coming Out

The international trans community discovered thanks to Dana International's 1998 Eurovision win that transpeople exist in Israel.

Because of the subsequent media attention Dana, other Israeli trans women and the Paper Dolls documentary garnered, Israel on the surface has the reputation in the international trans community of being the most trans friendly spot in the Middle East compared to its regional neighbors. 

But disturbing news is coming out of that nation that is making people in the international trans community question the trans friendly perception.

This one also concerns me as a proud teacher's kid.

According to Gay Star News, an award winning mathematics teacher named Marina is facing dismissal after she openly talked to her students about being a trans woman.

Marina has been and outstanding teacher and mentor for the last three years and says that Israel’s Center for Educational Technology (CET) wants her fired for merely discussing her gender identity.

Marina is justifiably shocked that this is happening especailly since there have been no complaints filed against her.  She pointed out in a Channel 2 Israel interview: ‘I tried to explain that I am a human being just like they are and that it has no bearing on me being professional, and they need to accept people as they are’


She also pointed out ongoing work with pupils includes small talk, and she refuses to hide her identity, ‘coming out should encourage teachers to come out to students to teachers so that neither teachers nor students feel ashamed of themselves’.

Eran Dey of Israel’s LGBT community Facebook page, told Gay Star News: ‘I think transgender people are the least well treated out of the LGBT community in Israel. Employees make their life a living hell if they even manage to make it through a job interview, due to prejudice.


'I find it crucial for cases like Marina’s to go before court to ensure that future employers in Israel would treat transgender and genderqueer people with dignity, equality and respect’.

Yadin Sapir, chair of Ha’vanaa, an organization dedicated to fighting against homophobia and transphobia told Gay Star News: ‘It is particularly insulting to hear a claim as if she wasn’t ‘qualified’ to speak with her students; a claim that hints that the fact she’s a transgender woman is ‘embarrassing’ to CET and requires a ‘special qualification’ when it comes to being discussed with students.

‘This highlights the need not only to bring the institution to court but also to conduct diversity training to employers in Israel’.

Puerto Rican Senate Passes Trans Inclusive Rights Bill

TBLG Puerto Ricans got some welcome news to celebrate the IDAHOT with as Senate Bill 238, the proposed trans inclusive anti-discrimination bill passed the Puerto Rico Senate on a 15-11 vote after several contentious hours of debate and determined opposition from the island's religious leaders..

The bill submitted by Senator Ramon Luis Nieves would ban anti-TBLG discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations and government services in the US territory based on real or perceived gender identity or sexual orientation. 

The bill’s passage also comes three days after San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz mandated the Puerto Rican capital’s police department to equally apply the island's current domestic violence laws, regardless of the reported victim’s sexual orientation.

The mayor also signed a second executive order that bans discrimination against San Juan's municipal employees based on their sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.

Senate Bill 238 isn't the only bill the island's TBLG community is watching.   House of Representatives Bill 488 seeks to extend existing domestic violence protections to any person regardless of their marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity.

Amnesty International says that lawmakers have a “historic opportunity” to end discrimination against Puerto Rico’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community.

“The approval of these two laws would be a big step for justice and equality for an important sector of Puerto Rico’s population, which to date has fallen victim to institutionalized discrimination,” said Pedro Santiago, director of Amnesty International Puerto Rico.

“These two measures would expand the protection of rights for LGBTI people in Puerto Rico. Our legislators should be brave enough to overcome prejudice when making new laws. Human rights are not a matter of choice but of justice, and all people are entitled to enjoy them regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Santiago.

The passage of these bills would also be welcome news for Puerto Rico's trans community, which endured a horrific spike in anti-trans violence and murders on the island several years ago.

Senate Bill 238 moves on to the Puerto Rican House of Representatives for its approval before it hits Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla's desk for his signature

Shut Up Fool Awards-IDAHOT 2013 Edition

Today is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, which is being celebrated with events in over 100 countries.   Kinda appropriate we're discussing that subject since the TERF's have been crying White Women's Tears lately.   They're getting confronted  by peeps in or who were formerly part of the Deep Green Resistance movement about their off the charts virulent TERF transphobia injected into it by Lierre Keith and Derek Jensen that is contaminating the movement to the point that people refuse to host their events because of it.    Typical TERF's, pissing off people and making enemies wherever they go.

Transphobia stinks.   So does homophobia and biphobia.   

Speaking of somthing that stinks besides the TERF's, let's segue to what y'all really came over here for, to find out this week's Shut Up Fool Award winner.  

Every Friday I shine a bright spotlight on the fool, fools or group of fools that deserve to be called out for their over the top hypocrisy, bigotry, incompetence and mind numbing stupidity.

Let's get started with this week's honorees shall we?

Honorable mention number one is the unnamed superintendent at St Pius X HS in Albuquerque, NM who is hatin' on Damian Garcia by forcing him the wear the white female graduation robe instead of the black graduation robe male students wear. 

At least they won't be as transphobically shady as Red Lion HS was to Isaak Wolfe (we hope). 

If you're going to be a transphobic bigot, don't hide in in the closet, be proud of it since hating on trans people has been a proud tradition of the Roman Catholic Church since 2003.

Honorable mention number two goes to Gwyneth Paltrow for comparing herself to RuPaul in a USA Today interview.   You better work on learning the difference between a transperson and a drag queen.   You also need to know that in trans circles, comparing yourself to RuPaul is NOT a compliment.

Honorable mention number three goes to Rep Kevin Cramer (R-ND) who claimed in a recent commencement speech at University of Mary's that Roe v. Wade was the reason for the Aurora and Sandy hook school shootings.   Guess what his rating is from the NRA?    

Honorable mention number four goes to Kansas Board of Education member Steve Roberts (R) , who in the name of pushing against 'political correctness'  (God, I hate that conservaterm) uttered the N-word at a recent board meeting, and is now trying to defend the indefensible. 


This week's Shut Up Fool Award winner is Rep. Trey Radel (R-FL).  This conservafool parted his lips to proclaim his love of Public Enemy and its conservative message?  

These fools will say anything in their DOA campaign to reach out to African-American voters.  Not only is Trey not 'Fighting The Power', he's in bed with the Koch Brothers.

I guess Trey didn't know that PE founder Chuck D is a Sunni Muslim, once had a radio show on Air America Radio with Lizz Winstead and Rachel Maddow, and PE's song list contains such conservative fare as 'Pollywannnacracka', 'Anti-N****r Machine', '911 Is a Joke', and 'By The Time I Get To Arizona'



What next Trey?  Is your straight outta Cape Coral azz going to claim you're a fan of NWA?

Chuck, please slap this conservafool back into reality for daring to co-opt PE's straight up unmistakeably Afrocentric pro-Black message.

And oh yeah, Rep. Trey Radel, shut up fool!

 

Yes Stealth People, You DO Have A Responsibility To The Trans Community

'I believe that the old WPATH, then HBIGDA requirement that transgender people fade away into society is a major factor in causing many of the acceptance problems that we are grappling with now.'   TransGriot  September 9, 2008   'Stealth Was A Mistake' 



Once again the old Stealth vs Out argument cropped up in an unexpected place   It surfaced in the middle of a GLAAD website comment thread discussing the media coverage of a May 8 story concerning ABC News producer Dawn Ennis coming out as trans. 

One of the comments in that thread led Jillian Page to write a blog post entitled 'Why Most Transitioned People Don't Carry The Transgender Torch.'.  The thrust of that post I respectfully disagree with because I have seen this selfish 'I don't have any obligation or responsibility to the trans community' sentiment expressed far too often by predominately white and late transitioning trans women.  

When Jillian 'I'm A Woman' Page and her like minded ilk find themselves being discriminated against in their zeal to keep chasing that pseudo cis privilege, how fast do you think they'll come running to the same trans community they diss for support in fighting the anti-trans discrimination aimed at them?  

I'll tell you.  Faster than the late Olympian Florence Griffith-Joyner ran the 100 meters. 

The point is yes, transwomen are women and I agree with Jillian on that point.  But where I part company with her and the stealth crowd is acknowledging the reality that we're also women with a trans history that never goes away no matter how long it has been since we transitioned. 

To remix what my shero Rep Barbara Jordan once said for trans consumption, 'It is a burden of Black transpeople that we have to do more than just talk."

Transpeople have attempted the futile chase for pseudo cisprivilege by hiding in stealth ever since Christine Jorgensen stepped off the airplane from Denmark 60 years ago. Where did that get us as a community?

I grew up as a teen in the 70's not knowing our trans history, who our role models were, much less as a person of color whether there were transpeople who shared my ethnic heritage until I was in early adulthood.  

Stealth robbed me, the transkids of my generation and those who grew up in the 80's of all that and the secure knowledge that we are part of something greater than ourselves in terms of membership in a worldwide trans community.

You cannot fight for your human rights as a community from the closet or if far too many members of it are selfishly sitting on the sidelines unwilling to push back against your oppressors or the injustice shoveled your way.


It's not an accident that when transpeople started becoming out, proud, visible, open about their lives and the issues that plague this community, and organized to fight for justice and trans equality the legislative and legal wins followed.

Carrie Hirsch said this in the discussion we had on my Facebook page about that page blog post that triggered my response to it. 

Our history does not go away. It may be less of a focus in our day to day, but being Trans will always be there. Nothing to be ashamed of. To be proud of one's past, one must be proud of themselves.

Yeah, you do have a responsibility to the trans community to do what you can to help move trans rights forward.  I guess you'd feel differently about the subject if you'd come out of your mother's wombs as marginalized persons and experienced the micro and macroaggressions of bigotry and discrimination in your everyday lives.  

To me it's a disgraceful spitting on the graves of Christine Jorgensen, Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson and the long list of trans people who were out there on the front lines doing the education and taking the slings and arrows so you stealth 'I'm a woman now' trans people can deny you ever were trans.  

May I remind you the societal space you have in your lives to be able to sit comfortably on your couches and not care about the trans community is paid for with the shed blood of Black and Latina trans women who died trying to live their lives and be the women they were meant to be.

If trans kids like Jazz are stepping up, showing up and showing out  as they do their part to push the trans rights envelope forward, you selfish stealth trans adults have no excuse not to do so.

Yes, everyone who transitions is obligated to uphold and honor the trans legacy of struggle by doing something to advance the cause of trans human rights in their locales, their nations and around the world.  

How you do that is your choice.   But sitting on your behinds and doing nothing is the wrong course of action.

TransGriot Note: Photo is of Ajita Wilson, a trans movie actress of the 70's and 80's and August 1981 JET Beauty of the Week whose trans status was undisclosed until her 1987 death

New Jersey Teens Create A White Girl Club

Guest post from Renee of Womanist Musings 

I recently came across a story about a group of teens who created a White Girl's Club. The club became so popular that it quickly spread to other schools. Apparently, a group of these young women showed up at school on PI day wearing shirts identifying them as members of this club with a teachers permission no less. The teens communicated using Instagram and Twitter.  

 Another Franklin High School club member commented the club members aren’t offending anyone and tells others to “stfu.”

When another girl commented that the postings were offending people, a club member responded that they weren’t offending anyone.

“You’re choosing to take offense to statements that weren’t about you in the first place,” a club member responded.

Twitter postings by this student included comments such as “Al Sharpton ain’t gonna save your ass now” and “Sometimes I wonder if I crossed a line, but then I remember I’m white and I can do whatever the (expletive) I want.”That same girl sent out a tweet saving “Africa this way” with a arrow pointing down. (source)

Thankfully, the school board is disbanding the club and demanding that those involved get counseling.  The local NAACP is apparently going to investigate the club.  There are some parents speaking out about the club itself, but I am more interested in the parents of the teens involved in the club itself.  You see, attitudes like this don't just develop over night; they are carefully nurtured for years and represent a society which uplifts Whiteness in every agent of socialization.  The families of these girls in particular let them down because they didn't not confront their White privilege and in fact encouraged them to believe and promote their undeserved White privilege.

A White Girl's club is certainly not needed anywhere in North America.  Unsurprisingly, many of the comments on the linked article seek to defend the teams by claiming hypocrisy citing the possible intervention of the NAACP.  A group dedicated to the advancement of Blacks is seen as racist by many of the commenters. Groups like the NAACP can only be deemed problematic by those refuse to admits the historic privilege which Whiteness has lived with for centuries and how this privilege has negatively impacted the lives of POC.  They absolutely refuse to acknowledge that ongoing inequalities exist and claim that the pendulum has swung so far that Whiteness is now in fact systemically under attack.

 In recent years, we have seen an upswing in students wanting to form clubs to support Whiteness, which suggests that youths are being taught that Whiteness is under threat. What they perceive as a threat is actually a fear of a loss of privilege.  The irony is that this loss of privilege is largely in the mind because Whiteness still exists with massive social power and White people can always count on the colour of their skin to grant them access, opportunities, power, and wealth, relative to POC in the exact same circumstance. These children are being taught that they will not be able to benefit from their Whiteness like generations before them.

The idea that Whiteness is a stigmatized and oppressed group is pervasive despite how ridiculous it is. Look for example at some of the comments on, 'White Girls Club' at Franklin High School forced to go to counseling:

notmyidea

How is it the BET ( Black Entertainment Television ) channel exist's with no trouble,but the moment something associated with white people its a big problem? Double standard me thinks...

Eric F

So a group dedicated to "Colored People" is upset and sitting in judgement of a group dedicated to White Girls? Hypocrisy of the highest order. This "counseling" BS needs to be refused by the parents. We don't want your political correctness social engineering garbage.

Tremley

These girls are racial aware! They are more educated on race than most people here making comments! White women who have minority spouses are 12.4 Xs more likely to be murdered by them. Vey little chances of that happening to these girls.

Bob Backlund

So other groups can have appreciation months, tv channels I.e. bet, have groups like NAACP which is all a okay but if a group of girls not harming anyone or inciting violence or harm towards others is in need for counseling because they are proud of their heritage?

Wow.

Ralphie

If a group of students started a Black Girls' Club, or a Muslim Girls' Club, or a Lesbian club, no one would dare touch them.

As disturbing as these comments are, they are hardly surprising.  I want to focus on Ralphie's comments because though short, they are very illustrative.  No matter what marginalized group we are talking about, they are always attacked when they organize. Every June straight people line up to complain about not having a straight pride parade. Despite the fact that POC are under represented in the media, television stations which focus on marginalized people are attacked as being racist. Marginalied people organizing, communing and supporting each other is threatening because that means we aware and not content to accept a second class status.  These groups are necessary for our survival, our progress and our mental health. Every marginalization is stronger in numbers and dominant groups know this and that is why they are continually under attack.

When dominant groups form clubs such as the White Girl Club they are reacting to a perceived loss of privilege.  They are ignorant of how power really works and that is why they twist themselves into knots to justify their actions.  They talk about the idea that there is social pressure to be ashamed and guilty about the historical actions of their group and a need to stimulate feeling of pride to counteract this. They talk about the perceived social pressure to conform.  What they refuse to understand is that this isn't about historical guilt or shame but the ways in which they continue to dominate the social world and oppress out groups. One need not feel ashamed for ancestors who engaged in slavery but one should feel shame for continuing to benefit from it, and not pushing for equality.

No powerful group in history has ever willingly capitulated or taken responsibility for their actions.  These groups represent a form of resistance to change. They will continue to gather and propagate outmoded forms of thinking simply because it benefits them. So when these powerful groups attempt to pacify us by telling us how much better things have gotten, we simply need to look to groups like this to see how far we have to go.

Albuquerque Catholic HS Forcing Transman To Wear Female Graduation Gown

In our latest episode of School Administrators Being Transphobic Jerks, we head west to Albuquerque, NM and Saint Pius High.

Damian Garcia is a senior at the Catholic run high school who transitioned and had a legal name change last year.  He is recognized as a male student by his parents, family, fellow students, faculty and teachers. 

“I look at him and I call him my son. That's how he wishes to be acknowledged is as a male,” said father Luis Garcia in a KRQE-TV 13 interview.  .

But Damian's birth certificate still has the wrong gender code on it despite the name change.  The superintendent of the school, reflecting the decade old anti-trans hate injected into the Catholic Church by Dr. Paul McHugh, is seizing on that to force Damian to walk in his graduation in a white robe.  

For some reason Saint Pius HS in its graduation ceremony has male students wear black gowns and female students wear white ones.  Of course Damian wants to wear the gender appropriate gown for him, the black one.

Graduation gown a problem for transgender student

“I just want to walk in my black robe, nice and proud and have that memory to look back on with my family and friends,” said Damian. “I would rather not walk than to embarrass myself by wearing a female robe.”

His father agreed with him. “All you want in life is to see your kids happy and healthy. You never want to see them suffer or being ridiculed or be made fun of,” Luis said.

Your high school graduation should be one of the happiest times in your young life, and the Saint Pius school  superintendent is sapping the joy out of this occasion for Damian by being a transphobic jerk.

Maybe it's time for Saint Pius to consider having everyone wear the same color graduation gown so this doesn't happen again.

Audrey Mbugua's Fight For Her Kenyan Document Recognition

One of the missions of TransGriot I take seriously as a child of the African Diaspora is to relentlessly point out trans people exist on the second largest continent on our planet and the Mother Continent for humanity.  

One of the things that's a common thread across the world in our trans human rights struggle is getting documentation to match our new identities.  In some places it's a simple process to get that changed, while in others you have to fight tooth and nail and sometimes litigate it just to get it done.

One of the persons finding themselves in the fighting tooth and nail category is someone whose videos and writings I've highlighted on TransGriot before in Audrey Mbugua. 

Audrey transitioned in 2001 and she's in the news in her native Kenya because she's having to take the Kenya National Examinations Council to court in order to recognize her gender change and make the necessary documentation corrections to reflect who she is now.   KNEC is resisting her request to change her KCSE certificates, and it's negatively impacting her ability to find employment. 

'I have made several requests to the Kenya National Examinations Council to change the name on my KCSE certificate to reflect my true identity in vain," she said in a Kenyan Daily Post interview.

In her lawsuit she has named the Kenyan Attorney General and KNEC as defendants, and it goes to trial on May 28.

Good luck sis, and hope you prevail.

Anti-Trans SB 1218 Passes Texas Senate

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If you're wondering why I can't stand Republifools and why I've been posting Daniel Williams' Texas legislative updates since the 2013 session started, it's because Republicans continue to demonstrate a shamelessly inexhaustible ability and desire to oppress people

Knowing that the clock is ticking toward the end of the regular session of the 83rd Texas Legislature, the Republifools have all of a sudden gotten busy trying to pass their anti-TBLG hate legislation before they hit the May 21 deadline dates for when those bills can't be considered by the other chambers.

The Dallas Voice reports that the Texas Senate passed SB 1218 yesterday that takes dead aim at the Texas trans community.   One of the documents you can currently can use to get a marriage license in the Lone Star State is an affidavit of sex change.

Well, no thanks to Texas state Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) and her co-sponsor Sen Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound) our ability to marry an opposite sex partner in this state may have just taken a hit.   She sponsored SB 1218, which prohibits anyone from obtaining a marriage license with a document that lacks a photo. 

And what document that is on the approved list of those you can use to get a marriage license in Texas fits that criteria?    If you said the affidavit of sex change, go to the head of the class.  Back in the 2011 session Sen Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands) sponsored SB 723, which only went after the affidavit of sex change and we got the unjust bill killed.

This time the conservafools were sneakier about how they went about their transphobic legislative oppression.   Sen. Campbell claims that her intent was to make people show photo ID before they can get a marriage license, but we heard that same bull feces laden excuse when they passed their voter suppression act in 2011 that got spiked by the DOJ.  

This is another straight up unconstitutional attack on the ability of Texas transpeople to get married to the opposite gender, and yep, Texas has one of those odious anti-same gender marriage amendments contaminating its constitution.

All is not lost Texas trans folks.  The bill has to pass the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee and make it on the House calendar before May 21.   Daniel Williams and Equality Texas are watching what's going on in addition to working to slow it down so it misses that deadline and gets killed for the session. 

I'll be keeping an eye on this unjust bill and letting you know if it's time Texas trans community for us to be agents of our own liberation again.

And you peeps that live in Sen Campbell's and Sen Nelson's districts can thank them for their transphobia by voting them out of office.

Trans People Got Erased By Rachel Maddow

I've repeatedly made the point in this blog how important it is for us to know our trans history.  We need to have a working knowledge of it not only just for our own sakes, but to empower our trans kids, keep us from being erased in the media and frankly, so we are armed with the knowledge to rebut any lies coming from our detractors.

Former Minnesota resident Katrina Rose points out that while watching a Rachel Maddow Show story last night discussing the Minnesota gay marriage fight, while talking about the 1993 landmark gay rights bill she neglected to mention exactly why it was a landmark bill in the early 90's. 

It was a landmark bill because it was trans inclusive in an era when we trans folks were gleefully getting thrown under the legislative bus so often by the GL community we could tell by the tire tracks the brand name of the tires that ran over us.

I’m not demanding a dissertation from Rachel.  I’m not even saying there was a need to go into his opposition to trans-inclusion in 1975 or his being on board with inclusion when a bill finally passed in 1993. 

But if you are contextualizing Minnesota in the wake of it becoming the twelfth state with same-sex marriage rights, you do have to do the bare minimum of pointing out that it was the first with trans-inclusive civil rights.

Yes, Rachel.  You do indeed have to.

So, Rachel…

I’m saddened that I have to ask this: Why didn’t you?

You did mention the 1993 law.

Yeah, I'd like to know the answer to that question myself.  Here's Kat's ENDAblog 2.0 post. 

And let's see if the fact the 1993 bill was trans inclusive makes it to a future Maddow show Department of Corrections segment

Race In The Transgender Community Podcast

On Monday I had the honor and pleasure of being part of a Prism Radio podcast show with two people from the Louisville portion of my life.  

Holly Knight has 70 episodes of this Blogtalk radio show under her belt since June 2010.

For Episode 71 she invited the TransGriot and Jaison Gardiner (AKA Nephew) to tell it like it T-I-S is about 'Race In Transgender Community' and how it affects the transitions of person of color on multiple levels.

Once again it was one of those shows in which we needed more than the 90 minutes we had allotted to break down this topic.  You know neither Jaison or I are shy about speaking our minds either..  

It's now posted and you can listen to it here if you missed the live podcast.