Trans Universe

By Monica F. Helms

As I get older, I am starting to understand the viewpoint of my parent’s generation and those who are older then them. I have to take drugs to combat high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and now I’m experiencing leg and joint problems. But, I take comfort in what my elders like to say, “At least you’re still alive.” I’m thankful for that.

In the recent passage of the anti gay marriage amendment in California, Proposition 8, I have seen literally hundreds of gay and lesbian people make statements to the effect of saying they feel a total loss of equality. In a state that has passed every single protection they can for LGBT people, including ones no other state has elsewhere, they see the passage of Prop 8 as a death nail to their total equality. Yet, they don’t seem to appreciate all they do have that makes them far more equal and protected then any other LGBT person in the country. They should be thankful for that.

Maybe it’s time to remind Californians what they do have, “straight” from the Equality California website. Since there were so many pieces of legislation, I only listed the bill number and the title. If you wish to read the details on each bill, please click on the link to the year.

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Guest Blogger: Vanessa Edwards Foster

(Originally posted on Trans Political, July 23, 2008)

Vanessa Edwards Foster is the former President & Co-Founder, National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC) President, Texas Gender Advocacy & Information Network (TGAIN) Former President & Screening Committee Chair, Harris County Women’s Political Caucus National level Alt. Delegate 2004, National level Delegate 2008 to Dem. Convention Election Judge 1999-2005 Former President, Texas Assn. for Transsexual Support (TATS) Former President, Gulf Coast Transgender Community Former Treasurer & Screening Committee Co-Chair, Houston Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus Former Secretary, Montrose Counseling Center. Volunteer Coord, City Councilmember Annise Parker (1st Lesbian elected to Houston political office)

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” — Chinese Proverb

The rumors have been flying for some time, and even recently Donna Rose noted on her blog about meeting with Joe Solmonese with HRC. One might think she’s going there to give them a piece of her mind (or another piece as she’s already made public her opinions post-ENDA).

As it turns out, that’s not the case. A friend of mine there locally reported of the upcoming San Francisco HRC Banquet and its accompanying protest from the bay area’s GLBT community in a show of strength. Of course, we recently received a press release of HRC holding up their current Business Council trans person, Diego Sanchez as speaker (fresh from testimony on Capitol Hill.) It wasn’t the press blurb over Diego that really got my attention, but the report that another trans person was working hard to be the trans keynote there: Donna Rose. Per the note, she was trying to be “the bridge between the two parties” by addressing the banquet.

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Guest Post by Rebecca Juro

Rebecca “Becky” is probably one of the top trans bloggers in the country, with articles that appear in some of the most visible LGBTQ blogs on the Internet, including The Bilerico Project. She also hosts her own talk show, “The Rebecca Juro Show,” on QMORadio, Thursdays at 7 PM. Becky has been one of my inspirations in starting my own blog.

If there’s anything you can count on the city of San Francisco for when it comes to LGBT rights and community support, it’s that even when they’re not on the very leading edge of something, they’ll still do it bigger, better, and more fabulously than anywhere else. New York, Philadelphia, and several other major cities have had protests and demonstrations against the Human Rights Campaign at their local fundraising events, but what’s waiting for HRC in San Francisco on July 26th, when they hold their next fundraising dinner in that city, is likely to make the rest look like a warmup act.

Guest posting by Angela Brightfeather

Angela has been an activist for the transgender community is some form or another for the last 42 years. Some of our community’s activists weren’t even born then. She has been on the board of NTAC, It’s Time, North Carolina and the several other organizations too numberous to mention. Currently, she serves as the Vice President of the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) and is one of its Co-Founders. Also, Angela is one of my closest friends.

It was my great privilege to attend the recent hearings held in Washington, DC this week on Transgender Unemployment, as the representative from the Transgender American Veterans Association, TAVA. My thoughts are fresh from the hearing and my sense of having to be there to witness an historic moment in our community was more than justified.

I pleasure myself sometimes in thinking that I am a person of vision. Only those who have been active in the Transgender Community for a few years may understand it. In my fondest visions of the past concerning our community, I would have to be the Transgender reincarnation of Nostradamus to have been able to predict our community giving testimony at a Congressional Hearing about Trans Unemployment problems. We all know that this is at the heart of so many of our long list of problems.

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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.

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The following was an E-mail response from Pastor Paul Turner, the Senior Pastor for Gentle Spirit Church, Atlanta, GA to an invitation to the Atlanta HRC Dinner, May 3, 2008. Read after the break.

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I decided to post this because of a recent article my friend Monica Roberts posted about finding out that Gabrielle Pickett was murdered in 2003. She was the twin sister of Chanelle Pickett who was murdered in 1997. The loss upset her so much that she wrote an article for her blog called “I’m Pissed.”

In 2004, the Atlanta Pride Committee had a contest to write a true story about someone in the LGBT community and I was moved to write one about my friend Alice, who took her life after being unemployed for 15 months and was turned away from from homeless shelters for being a transgender woman.

I wrote this story at the initial length they asked for and they accepted it. However, they wanted me to trim it by a few hundred words, so I did. After that, they wanted me to trim it even more and completely remove the ending. That I wouldn’t do. The ending IS the story. I hope Joe Solmonese gets to read this.

(The following is a first person account of the last fifteen months of my friend, Alice Johnston’s life, as if she may have told it. The events in this actually happened. – MFH –)

ALICE
by Monica F. Helms

I stared at the television screen in disbelief as one of the World Trade Center buildings crumbled into dust, then the next one. The horror I witnessed would haunt me for the rest of my life and the news estimated that over 3000 people lost their lives that day. What they didn’t say – or know – was how many more lives would become impacted by that fatal day. I would soon find out that I, Alice Johnston, would be one of them. (more…)

Since this article will find its way to various non-trans-specific blogs, I should begin with describing what an Educational Initiative is and a little history behind them.  The EI was a creation of long-time activist, Angela Brightfeather when she was the Chair of the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition’s Activism Committee.  Her idea came about in 2001, when the transgender community was having difficulty convincing the Human Rights Campaign to support inclusion in ENDA.  Déjà vu all over again?

An EI is NOT a protest in spite of what many may think.  It is a true, educational opportunity to allow transgender people to speak directly with HRC’s supporters and put a face on an issue that many have no idea about.  The original purpose came out of anger and a hope to put a dent into HRC’s income at a place that they get their most money, at their local dinners. (more…)