Sunday, November 23, 2008

Transgender Day of Remembrance



Ten years ago, Rita Hester was killed and the newspapers reported her death at first as a man having been stabbed to death and later as a transvestite. But her friends and loved ones stood strong, speaking out that Rita needed to be remembered in death, and she chose to be remembered in life, as the woman she was. And so Transgender Day of Remembrance was born.

Each year in Arizona we gather outside the State Capitol to remember those transgender people killed around the world. Many of whom this year were women of color, and some of whom were killed by their own governments and whose murders were covered up. I will be bringing an altar with incense so that people can light a stick of incense for those lost but whose names can not be read because they are unknown. Please join us tomorrow night and light a candle in memory of those whose light has been snuffed out, but whose memory will go on, and in the hope of a future in which people can be open and honest about who they are without fear of death or attack.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Angel Action & TDoR

November 22nd hundreds gathered at Glendale Community College's performance arts center to support the college for putting on the Larame Project.

GCC decided to perform the Larame Project in honor of the 10 year anniversary of the death of Matthew Shephard. They were told that a church preaching hate of gays would show up to protest the event, the same church whose pastor is represented in the play, the Larame Project. Instead, all you could see outside GCC's Performing Arts Center were hundreds of students, H.E.R.O.s and other supporters. Sometimes standing silently in memory of matthew shephard and the very first angel action which took place at his funeral...sometimes singing Amazing Grace or some other hymnal, these people shared the love.

Thank you to the students and faculty of GCC for standing firm and holding their play despite the threat of Fred Phelps attendance. And thank you to those two lovely ladies in the back working lights and sound who so often go unnoticed.


Here are some of my favorite photos from before during and after our Angel Action for the Larame Project:



Transarchist Pride outside the Larame Project
Don't forge the Transgender Day of Remembrance

November 21st About 100 students, faculty, and community members gathered at ASU to remember those who have been killed for their gender presentation or identity. In the forground of the photo to the left are 2 local students, Kam and Fred hold their lit candles in memory of those lost.

This is an annual gathering held each November around the world, and the Sisters were honored to participate in ASU's touching memorial. We found ourselves welcomed afterwards by several students. Thank you for making us feel so welcome Kendall, Kyle, Fred, Kam, Gavin, Antonio, et al!!

Join me at the Arizona State Capitol Sunday Nov 23rd at 5 PM or visit transgenderdor.org to find a Transgender Day of Remembrance near you and light a candle for those known and unknown


Wednesday, November 19, 2008

AZ Transgender Day of Rememberance

November 23rd, at 5:30 PM please join me at the state capitol as I stand side by side with our community remembering those we have lost in 2008:

Here is a list of those who are known. There are also 2 Iraqi women who are currently not shown on this list who died just like Ali, executed for being trans.

Kellie Telesford
Location: Thornton Heath, UK
Cause of Death: Strangled
Date of Death: November 21, 2007
Kellie was strangled to death with a scarf, by 18 year old Shanniel Hyatt, who then covered the body of 39-year-old Kellie Telesford with a white blanket - with the brown furry scarf used to choke her still bound tightly round her neck. Hyatt said he killer her after discovering she had a penis.


Brian McGlothin (Liked to dress in Women's clothes)
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Cause of Death: Shot in the head with an automatic rifle by Antonio Williams who is serving a six year sentence. Brian was 25 years old.
Date of Death: December 23, 2007


Gabriela Alejandra Albornoz
Location: Santiago, Chile
Cause of Death: Attacked and stabbed
Date of Death: December 28, 2007


Patrick Murphy (Found Dressed in Women's clothes)
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Cause of Death: Shot several times in the head
Date of Death: January 8, 2008
Patrick was 39 years old.


Stacy Brown
Location: Baltimore, MD
Cause of Death: Shot in the head
Date of Death: January 8, 2008
Stacy was 30 years old.


Adolphus Simmons
Location: Charleston, SC
Cause of Death: Shot to Death (Aldophus was 18 yrs. old)
Date of Death: January 21, 2008


Fedra (a known transvestite)
Location: Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Cause of Death: Was found lying face up in a pool of blood; cause of death was not reported.
Date of Death: January 22, 2008


Ashley Sweeney
Location: Detroit, Michigan
Cause of Death: Shot in the head
Date of Death: February 4, 2008
The age of Ashley Sweeney is unknown, she was only described as a young transgender woman in a press release.


Sanesha (Talib) Stewart
Location: Bronx, NY
Cause of Death: Stabbed to Death
Date of Death: February 10, 2008
Sanesha was 25 years old.


Lawrence King
Location: Oxnard, California
Cause of Death: Shot to death by a classmate because he was openly gay and liked to wear women's clothes. (Lawrence King was 15 years old.)
Date of Death: February 12, 2008


Simmie Williams Jr.
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Cause of Death: Shot to death, Simmie was found wearing women's clothing. (Simmie was 17 years old.)
Date of Death: February 22, 2008


Luna (no last name reported)
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Cause of Death: Brutally beaten to death and tossed into a dumpster.
Date of Death: March 15, 2008


Lloyd Nixon
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida
Cause of Death:Repeatedly beat in the head with a brick.
Date of Death: April 16, 2008
Lloyd was 45 years old.


Felicia Melton-Smyth
Location: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Cause of Death: brutally stabbed to death by Francisco Javier Hollos, who said he killed her because she would not pay for sex. Felicia was an HIV activist on vacation from Wisconsin.
Date of Death: May 26, 2008


Silvana Berisha
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Cause of Death: Stabbed to Death
Date of Death: June 24, 2008


Ebony (Rodney) Whitaker
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Cause of Death:Shot (Ebony was 20 yrs. old)
Date of Death:July 1, 2008


Rosa Pazos
Location: Sevilla, Spain
Cause of Death: Was found in her apartment, she had been stabbed in the throat.
Date of Death: July 11, 2008


Juan Carlos Aucalle Coronel
Location: Lombardi, Italy
Cause of Death severely beaten causing fractures to the head and face before being run over by a car.
Date of Death July 14, 2008
Juan Carlos was 35 years old.


Angie Zapata
Location: Greeley, Colorado
Cause of Death: She was found in her home with two severe fractures in her skull. Angie was murdered by 31 year old Alan Ray Andrade. Angie was 18 years old.
Date of Death: July 17, 2008


Jaylynn L. Namauu
Location: Makiki Honolulu, Hawaii
Cause of Death: Stabbed to Death
Date of Death: July 17, 2008
Jaylynn was 35 years old.


Samantha Rangel Brandau
Location: Milan, Italy
Cause of Death: beaten, gang raped and stabbed numerous times before being left for dead.
Date of Death: July 29, 2008
Samantha was 30 years old.


Ruby Molina
Location: Sacramento, California
Cause of Death: Drowned
Date of Death: September 21, 2008
Ruby's naked body was found floating in the American river.
She was 22 years old.


Aimee Wilcoxson
Location: Aurora, Colorado
Cause of Death: undetermined (Police have yet to reveal cause)
Date of Death: November 3, 2008
Aimee was found dead in her bed. She was 34 years old.



Duanna Johnson
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Cause of Death: Shot
Date of Death: November 9, 2008
Duanna was found dead in the middle of the street. She was 42 years old.


Dilek Ince
Location: Ankara, Turkey
Cause of Death:Shot in the back of the head
Date of Death: November 11, 2008


Teish (Moses) Cannon
Location: Syracuse, New York
Cause of Death: Shot
Date of Death: November 14, 2008
Teish was 22 years old.


Ali
Location:Iraq
Cause of Death:executed for being transgender
Date of Death:2008, Month is Unknown
Video of Ali before she was executed: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2tDVtjQNfQ

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Making a joyful noise unto the Larame Project

Come see the Larame Project at Glendale Community College Performing Arts Center, 7:30 PM this Saturday, for $8 each ticket!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Equal Rights Rally and a Night for Sister Bearie

Thank you again to everyone who came out and stood up for equal rights be you straight, lesbian, gay, bi, tri, transgender, a purple monkey in a dinosaur suit, or otherwise. (Well OK, maybe some people don't support purple monkeys)

I showed up early as usual with Guard Spiketakiss, Patch and Sister Rhea Treavor to see how I could help out, and followed this man and his Pride flag over to where people were handing out signs (I'd brought extras and some extra equal rights tshirts which I forgot to give out, doh!)

Although Guard Spiketakiss started out the day watching over a lone Sister, we were soon joined by Sisters Honey, Felicity, Ora Lee, and Postulant Raisa Brow.



Eventually the place filled up and over 4000 Phoenix residents of all walks of life, gathered to march from the Cesar Chavez Memorial to the State Capitol and back. Along the way I ran into Sisters Odora and Frankly, chanting along with the crowd. It was quite a long march but the shouts of the large crowd enjoyed the dance of the echo, bouncing off the buildings so that nobody doubted we were there.

My favorite chant of the day, "A people, united, can never be divided!" and it is so true. I sent some of my pictures in to Humans for Equality. Some of which you can see right now on the Gender DiverCity blog. I will upload the rest of my pictures and videos from the rally to azsisters.org and my youtube page today. And if you want to stand up and say you believe all people should have equal rights, send in a picture of yourself with your words about equal rights to humans4equality@gmail.com


After the rally, many of the Sisters headed over to Cherry Bar for Vanilla's Christmas Puddin drag show, the second part of Sister Bearie's Novice Project and 3 part fund raiser for Logans Playground. Logan's Playground is a wonderful resource for children with or affected by HIV and AIDS. You can learn all about them at https://www.logansplayground.org/About___Us.html

The first part was a costume party and drag show called the Witch's Ball, the second was last night, and the third will be in December at Exposed Gallery. So far each and every one has been amazing.

I especially loved the Witch's ball, and I'm sure I would have loved last night just as much if I hadn't been up since 3:30 am preparing for the day's events! LOL as it was I bearly managed to keep my eyes open and ask the people entering for their toys. Thank goodness Novice V'gina Dentata and Aspirants Bear and Wayne were there with me to keep reminded me of what we were doin!

It was a special night not only because we brought in extra funds and toys for kids with or affected by HIV/AIDS, but also because Sister Bearie D'licious took her vows right there in front of bear and country. Sister Odora lead her in the vows, which several of the Sisters there spoke along with, reinstating our vows, while Atopa and Oralee placed the new veil on her head (which somehow quickly became covered in lights, feathers and a wig....and soon after several different colored veils rained down upon her from the other black veil members of the house.

Welcome to fully professed life Sister Bearie Delicious! I know you will continue to bring many wonderful things to the Grand Canyon Sisters, and the community we serve.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

4000 strong and growing

Phoenix, I love you. Today it was clear that Phoenix is not a gay city, nor a straight city, it is a diverse city. A community united can never be divided. I am told there were over 4000 people there including some very powerful speakers who I tried to capture on video. Here are some videos and pictures from today. (Edit: Final total was over 5000)

I have sent some of the pictures I took today to humans4equality@gmail.com and they will be up on http://genderdivercity.blogspot.com soon.








And with that, I will leave you with this thought:

It's all about love, babeh!

Dearest Community,

At a time where we literally are feeling slapped in the face by anti-gay legislation around the Nation, The LGBTQI and Straight Allies are pulling together like never before. In some ways this is reminicent of the 80's when people took to the streets to Act Up and fight AIDS.

Today we will see a nationally coordinated rally for Equal Rights. I believe it will be an outpouring of LGBTQI and others standing together like never before to say, "You can't legislate love, wake up America and realize that you are not living up to the American ideal of equal rights, freedom and protection for all." Go to jointheimpact.org to learn more.

The honest truth is that many in our community are angry, and although that anger is being channeled in positive directions for the most part, there have been the rare moments when someone boils over and loses it on some person spewing their particular brand of hate. But love conquers all my friends, and make no mistake, this is all about love. Therefor we SHALL overcome!

I urge you to stand with your friends, neighbors and loved ones tomorrow in NON-violent protest and loving education.

Here in Phoenix people will be rallying together for Equal Rights for all at Cesar Chavez Memorial, today at 11:30 am. That's at 200 W. Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ. And I encourage you to be there with your loved ones to stand together hand in hand, showing our love to the world, even those who hate us. For they can not legislate our love. We will stand strong, and we will overcome.

And later on in the day if you're needing some encouragement and recouperative time, stop by the Alternative Health Coffee Shop/1 Voice Community Center at 6 PM and listen to Miss Myllie share Herstory. For if there was ever a time in our state when we need to be reminded of history, it is now.

Or drop by the Cherry bar or Club Forbidden where they are having some amazing events. Buy a drink, have some fun and support local charities.

But most importantly: whatever you do tomorrow,
spread love not h8.


Blessings, indulgence and loving light,
Sister Mischif

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Let us learn from our Herstory



See you Saturday (this Saturday, the 15th) at 11:30 at Cesar Chavez Memorial for the protest, but let it not end there.

Don't forget that Miss Myllie will be at Alternatives Health and Wellness aka 1 Voice Community Center at 6 PM this Saturday. This woman has so much to share. Let us learn from Herstory! (history)

Better educated, better armed. Besides, she's an amazing speaker and if there's any time Phoenix needs to hear a positive and affirming life story it's NOW!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Stop the H8 Rally



Click on the picture above for a full size version and pass it around!

Monday, November 10, 2008

What a Night! We Shall Overcome



Guard Spiketakiss and I arrived early to meet up with Luis and the other organizers, get ourselves settled, and find out what they needed us to do. They were very organized with boxes of candles already in protective cups, sign up sheets, and someone coming who would perform acoustically.

Right away we were assigned to get people to fill out info on a sign up sheet.

We were soon joined by many others including Sisters Odora, Honey, Novice Bearie D'licous, Postulant Raisa, friends from AZ Trans Alliance, Central Arizona Gender Alliance, Phoenix boys of Leather, APAH, and many more. Some, like Kenneth and his partner wore arm bands with a pink triangle that said 2nd Class on it. Others brought huge signs with various slogans they found personally powerful. I was content to sit with the sign up sheet while I chanted alternately demanding "equal rights now" and "sexy men now" which got quite a chuckle out of those standing nearby.


It was wonderful meeting new people, and seeing so many friends, and truly inspiring to see the passion which people spoke their minds.

The next rally will be this Saturday the 15th, at 11:30 AM at the Cesar Chavez Memoriall. More details to come.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Candle Light Vigil Mourning the Passing of Prop 102

Tomorrow I will be joining the candle light vigil mourning the passing of Prop 102. I pray people will see the error of their ways.
See the following email from Luis for details:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear Friends,

As you know Tuesday was a sad day for Arizona, and the feeling that rushed through every GLTB Arizonan was one of sadness, despair and ultimate frustration. We need to do something about this, and now. There is no time like the present; we need to infuse the hope back into Arizona.

The community needs an outlet, somewhere to come together and feel as though they are being heard. A venue where the tears can flow, for the ground we lost on Tuesday. But after those tears it will be a place that will be filled with hope, a place that will allow us to come together and speak of where we will go from here. The upcoming road may be harder, longer, and steeper, but we shall overcome.

I feel at least we need to have a community gathering, possibly a candlelight vigil to recognize the people and families that our state constitution now does not, along with infusing some hope about the future into the mix. Something to make the community feel embraced and heard, to give them hope and the strength to continue the battle for equality.

-Meg Sneed and Luis Garcia

Date: Monday, November 10, 2008
Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: Camelback and Central
City/Town: Phoenix, AZ
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Even if you can not attend tomorrow, wear a pink triangle that says 2nd class citizen.

This country's constitution protects against discriminating, it seems bizarre to see AZ, CA and FL passing a proposition to change their constitution to ADD IN discrimination! You can not discriminate against one group's marriage. Not only can love not be legislated, but it's equivalent to saying "Blacks can't vote but white's can." or "Women don't have freedom of speech but men do. " So tomorrow I will be there to lend a support to my community and spread hope for change.

Blessed be,
Sister Mischif

"We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy."
The Great Martin Luther King Jr.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Burning Bush for Burnside

Sometimes people ask me why I became a Sister. And last night a large part of why I became a Sister was able to be lived out. It's not the only reason, but one large piece of what I love is personal connection. Last night Sister Felicity, myself and some friends went over to Alternatives Health and Wellness Center (also known as 1 VCC) and had some delicious Italian sodas.

While we were there, I had a wonderful conversation with a lovely latino man and his friend about who Sisters are, and what we do. They asked if we knew Harry Hayes...and being me, I wasn't sure who they meant. They then asked if I knew the history of the Radical Faeries, and I said yes some of the founding Sisters were radical Fae.

The Radical Faeries were in fact founded by John Burnside and his partner... and thanks to the miracle of modern technology, I was able to pull my cell phone out, google Radical Faery founders and find out that they were meaning Harry Hay. It was a wonderful reminder, and I want to pay all due respect here to the co-founders of the Radical Faeries for all the light and love they brought into the world.

Then today I received a phone call from Sister MP who was getting ready to meet up with one of the founders of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and head out to the Burnside Mermorial. I wish I could have gone with them.

But I'd like to think that Harry Hay and John Burnside were there watching over Sister Felicity, myself and all our fabulous Burning Bush Drum Circle friends last night as we banged away on our drums, danced, spun fire, and shared space together.

Blessed be to all the Faery folk out there. May you find peace, love and joy on your path, and equal rights in this strange land we live.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Today's the Day - VOTE



This is your chance to tell the government what you think, what you want, and who you want to do it. Use your voice. Go Vote.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Remembering the October BINGOs

October is one of my favorite months with all the opportunities to dress up and play, but it also provided a wonderful opportunity for the Grand Canyon Sisters to raise funds for a local organization who really has done so much for people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS in the South West, South West Center for HIV/AIDS.



I haven't found the time to upload all the pictures from last month yet, tho you can see many on azsisters.org, but I thought I'd share some of my favorites from BINGOs de los Muertos, which was all the more fun for me, as I had a blast preparing by making and decorating home made mini sugar skulls and painting my face like a sugar skull. What a fun way to remember those who have passed and invite them to join the fun for the night! The altar Sister Odora and everyone put together was amazing.

And Sister Honey finally got her black veil (and every other color under the rainbow)