Muammar Al Khadafi

One of the things that has been foremost on my mind ever since I transitioned in 1994 and I was painfully aware of was the negative images of African descended transwomen.  We were already working from a visibility and  knowledge deficit not only in my own community, but the rainbow community as well.

One of the things I resolved to do was change that negative perception of us, and I was determined to role model that finer specimen of womanhood that Sharon Davis talked about in her 1987 book.

While it has taken some time, my African descended transsisters are finally making headway in that department.  We're beginning to get the message out that there are African American transwomen who are aiming higher in terms of how we project ourselves to the world as our chocolate trans history continues to be revealed to us.

Our elder stateswomen are stepping out of the shadows, telling their stories and providing us with the guidance and mentoring that we've needed for a long time to ground us.  As we received that grounding combined with our spirituality, the transwomen of my generation are in a better position to pick up that leadership torch, mentor our younger counterparts and learn lessons from our younglings as well.  

As we fight to overcome the shame, guilt and self esteem issues that plague us at times, we must work to debunk the negative PR images we've been saddled with and relentlessly focus on how we accentuate our positive aspects to the world.   We also must be cognizant of the negative perceptions of us inside the African-American community and work to overcome them.

We transwomen desire true sisterhood with our cis sisters, but not in a devalued junior partner sense.  That sisterhood must be based on respect for our humanity.  We share a common history and cultural bond, and the sooner you realize that the sooner we can get to work building mutually beneficial relationships that benefit both parties. 

We find ourselves in the Black trans community slowly but surely building sisterhood and community that will serve us well in the future.  However, we must still keep reaching out to those transwomen who haven't gotten with the program and who haven't clued in to the fact that this is a new decade requiring a new attitude and a new paradigm in terms of being an African descended transwoman.  

As we own our power, that positive attitude and desire to aim higher as African descended transwomen is taking hold in our ranks.  It demands that we not only represent ourselves to the best of our abilities, but step up to the challenge of being compliments to Black womanhood and not considered detriments to it.

I am gratified to see some of my young transsisters who are part of our most information laden and tech savvy generation already role modeling in their own lives what I'm expressing in this post, and it's not too late for the rest of us to aim higher and make adjustments in our own lives where they are necessary.

So let's aim higher Black transwomen.  Let's become more concerned about how we present ourselves to the world.  We need to work to be judged by the best we produce, not the worst in addition to working diligently to shatter myths and destroy stereotypes about us..  

Let's not only be better sisters to each other, but work tirelessly to build sisterhood in our ranks and across the Diaspora.  Trans younglings, respect and value your trans elders and the wisdom they have to pass on to you, and at the same time we trans elders need to open our hearts and minds and listen to what you have to say. 

Lets not ever forget the transsisters we tragically lost along the way as we get to this pivotal moment in our history as African descended transpeople.

Lucy Craft Laney said in 1880 that "Black women are the regenerative force to uplift the race."

It's past time for Black transwomen to aim higher and not only be the regenerative force to uplift ourselves and the trans community, but our Black BLG/SGL one, the Black community, our nations we inhabit across the Diaspora and the world.

TransGriot Note: women in the photos are Janet Mock, Cheryl Courtney-Evans and Tona Brown

Something for you TransGriot readers and right wing haters who surfed over here to ponder on your way to Sunday services

If Jesus were around in our time, I don't think He'd be attending a megachurch or hanging out with the 1% of the country screwing the other 99% of it.

And yeah, He'd be a little upset about it too.

One of my favorite quotations is something Frederick Douglass once said on April 14, 1876.

He stated that 'Truth is beautiful and proper at all times and in all places.' and it most certainly is.

One of the things I've learned throughout my life and my time as an activist, especially in spaces where I tend to be the lone POC in those spaces and any others I happen to inhabit is to fearlessly speak my mind and my truth. 

There were times when I bit my tongue in some situations and regretted it, because when I got a chance to do some hard solid thinking and ponder the situation, my input at that particular time would have injected a much needed African descended perspective in that particular discourse and I was upset because I didn't do so at that time.

The point is as African descended transpersons, we don't have many of us out there as spokespeople authoritatively articulating the views of our people, and we need to take advantage of those opportunities when we get them.  

Since people see me as an iconic leader, I'm going to own it, name it and claim it.  I can't, don't and won't worry about whether I'm going to be liked or not for speaking my mind. 

One of the tenets of leadership, especially in the African American community is speaking truth to power.  Being a Black trans leader means that in order for me to be an effective advocate for my community, I have to challenge status quo thinking and policies. 

Neither am I going to sugar coat what needs to be said to make it palatable for people who wish to keep certain negative memes about my people going for their benefit or to ignore or erase my existence.

As I've said more than a few times on this blog, the 2K10's are shaping up to be a new decade of awakening and discovery in terms of how the Black trans person seems themselves.  We have our trans Talented Tenth beginning to own their power.   We have trans African American kids either fresh out of college or currently matriculating in them.  We have veteran leaders like myself who are looking at the current trans landscape and lousy situation we find ourselves in as transpeople of African descent and aren't liking what we see. 

We want and deserve better for ourselves and our people.  That means in order to achieve that goal, I and others are going to be speaking up and exercising power in ways that doesn't fit with the 'all marriage all the time' groupthink of the white GL community, nor are we going to be sitting quietly as we are erased from trans community discourse, trans history or the leadership ranks of the trans community.

If you don't like that, tough.  You've had ample opportunity on your own to correct the problem and failed to do so.  It's past time for African descended transpeople to express ourselves due to our experiences as African-Americans in ways and policy stances that are Afrocentric in character.

Whatever policy stance we support in our minds need to have visible benefits not only for our downtrodden trans slice of the community, but the trans community in total.  

And then there's just factoring in the reality of life as a person of color.  We're going to be hated whether we speak our minds or we don't, so we might as well give our haters a damned good reason to despise us for. I'm going to lower my stress level by saying what I was thinking and getting it off my chest.

So when push comes to shove, whether it's a panel discussion, a community forum, a radio show or podcast, on this blog or any others I have the honor of guest posting on, I'm going to speak my truth.