TFA Director Meets With National Representatives

On Monday, February 1, 2010, a group of community leaders met with Congresswoman and Subcommittee Chair Sheila Jackson Lee, Congressman and Chairman of the Judiciary Committee John Conyers, Jr., Congressman Steve Cohen and Mayor Lee Brown at College of Nursing at Prairie View A&M. The meeting was organized by Sheila Jackson Lee to ensure that the community could voice their concerns about hate crimes legislation, a fully inclusive ENDA and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

(L to R: Cohen, Conyers and Lee)

Both Conyers and Lee extended their condolences to the family of Myra Ical, a Houston transgender woman who was recently murdered. All voiced strong support for a fully inclusive ENDA.

(L to R: Cristan Williams, Burton Bagby-Grose, Cohen and Conyers)

The Representatives expressed support for equal rights - specifically and inclusive ENDA - and asked the community to ensure that their representatives know that there is support for such a bill. The Representatives went on to encourage the community to be prepared to push back against the wildly inaccurate, inflammatory and homo/transphobic statements that will be portrayed when an inclusive ENDA bill is introduced.

(L to R, Top: Mayor Lee Brown, Steve Cohen, GLBT Center President Tim Brookover, TFA Director Cristan Williams, GLBT Political Caucus President Kris Banks L to R, Bottom: TG Unity Committee Chair Rose Wall, Sheila Jackson Lee, John Conyers, Jr., Burton Bagby-Grose and his daughter, Rosalee)

(L to R: Tim Brookover, Rose Wall, Burton Bagby-Grose and his daughter Rosalee, Cristan Williams and Kris Banks)

Myra Ical: An Update

Photos

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Videos

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Developments

Below are developments and will be updated as new information becomes available.

Houston Murder Victims

It was reported that over the past decade that the Houston area has suffered 7 unsolved transgender murders. With the assistance of a reporter from the Houston Chronicle, it was discovered that 2 of the murders had been resolved and that the perpetrator of the crimes had been captured.  Unfortunately, the Houston area still has 5 unsolved murders.

Myra’s Case

It was learned that even though it had rained the night previous to Myra’s murder, HPD did not bother to take shoe castings. During the memorial a tip identified a homeless man that goes by the name of "Laos Jack" as a person of interest since he possessed intimate knowledge of the crime. After working with the TG community, HPD issued a Crime Stoppers flyer using Myra’s correct name.

Myra’s wake was held on Saturday, January 30, 2010.

Reports

Advocate.com	GLAAD	HRC
Dallas Voice	KHOU Ch. 11	Pride Houston
Houston Press*	Socialist Worker	Equality Texas
Houston Independent Media	Houston Chronicle*	Houston Chronicle
ABC Ch. 13	NBC Ch. 2

*Report does not use industry standards when reporting and may be insulting.

Monday Memorial for Myra Ical: What You Need to Know

As of 9 PM, we have more than 160 confirmed attendees. This number does not account for all of those who are coming from the churches, membership organizations (GLBT Caucus, Pride Houston, HRC, NGLTF,etc) or the nonprofit organizations that will be in attendance. This vigil will likely be the largest TG action in Houston’s history.

“The Time For Silence Has Ended”

Please bring something to make a lot of noise!

• Many City of Houston officials, local and national organizations as well as faith based organizations are making official statements about the Myra’s passing as well as the media’s treatment of her brutal murder.

• A large condolence card will be available for attendees to sign. The card will be sent to Myra’s parents.

• Candles will be provided.

• We will have a limited number of whistles to hand out.

• Attendees will be given a ribbon to wear around their arm or wrist.

• Attendees are encouraged to bring home-made signs.

• Parking is along the side streets.

• After the vigil, attendees are encouraged to attend the Monday night TG support group and/or a post-event panel discussion, both located at 7:30 in the Havens Center located at 1827 West Alabama (about 2 miles from the vigil location and next to the Chocolate Bar).

Add your voice to the call for justice and respect!

What: Memorial & Vigil for Myra Ical

When: 6PM, Monday, January 25

Where: Field located at the 2200/2300 block of Garrott at Richmond.

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Memorial For Local TG Murder Victim

As many of you know, one of our local community members was brutally murdered last weekend. Myra Ical’s partially clothed body was found Monday, January 18. This was a particularly brutal murder and HPD confirmed that she went down fighting for her life. Every news report* has characterized the victim as a cross-dressing man who was in an area known for drugs and prostitution. The media coverage seems Orwellian considering that the Detective in charge of the case pointedly informed me that “There is absolutely no evidence to support the notion that drugs and/or prostitution was in any way involved with the murder.” Yet, reports continue to insinuate the opposite.

I want to invite all of you to attend a candlelight vigil to be held on Monday, January 25 at 6 pm to honor Myra Ical, whose body was found last Monday in the 4300 block of Garrott St near Richmond Avenue.

The memorial will include two moments of silence, one for Ms. Ical and another for the 6 transgender Houstonians who have been murdered since 1999 whose crimes remain unsolved, as well as a moment of noise-making to recognize that it is silence that allows the perpetrators of crime to go unpunished.

The time for silence has ended

Houston Police have no leads in the case. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Transgender Foundation of America at 713-520-8586.

The Memorial will be held at the site where Ms. Ical’s body was found, at the vacant lot at 4300 Garrott. Attendees are encouraged to bring noisemakers. Candles will be provided.

After the memorial, you are encouraged to attend the HTGA meeting scheduled for 7:30 at our new location in the Havens Center located about 2 miles from the memorial site: 1805 W. Alabama, Houston

RSVP on FaceBook:

Site 1 or Site 2

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*Examples of Disrespectful Reporting:

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Roberta Cowell’s Story

The TG Archive has acquired a rare original 1st edition 1955 paperback copy of “Roberta Cowell’s Story”. The TG Archive acquired the original hardback 1954 edition in March 2009.

Acquired on 12/10/2009: Original 1955 Roberta Cowell’s Story - Front Cover.

Roberta Cowell, (May 21, 1921), was the first known British male-to-female transsexual to undergo sex reassignment surgery.

Original 1955 Roberta Cowell’s Story - Back Cover.

Born Robert Cowell, he was a Spitfire pilot in World War II and a racing driver after the war. She had a vaginoplasty on May 15, 1951 via a surgical method invented and performed by Dr. Harold Gillies. This occurred 2 years before Christine Jorgensen’s surgery in Denmark. Roberta Cowell’s surgical transformation and friendship with the female-to-male transsexual Michael Dillon (more about Dillon under book additions), also operated on by Dr. Harold Gillies, is documented in the book “The First Man-Made Man” by Pagan Kennedy.

Note: The TG Archive has in its collection rare 1st edition works of Dr. Harold Gillies. “The First Man-Made Man” by Pagan Kennedy is also a part of the TG Archive.

TG Historical Archive Committee

If you would like to be a part of the TG Archive Committee, please sign up during one of the meetings at the TG Center. TFA is continuing to aggressively seek out and acquire items of historical significance to the transgender community.

TFA Director Named One of Jenny Jones’ Heroes

Cristan Williams, the Director of TFA, was named one of “Jenny’s Heroes” on Monday, December 7, 2009. Ms. Jones will provide the Houston Transgender Library and Archive $5000.00 worth of new books about transgender issues.

Ms Jones writes, “It turns out that Cristan was a fan of the Jenny Jones Show so when I called her, she was very excited about the grant and also about hearing from me personally. Cristan said she used to watch my show for inspiration and to know she was not the only one out there who felt different. I told her about the first time a transgender was in the audience and asked a question on the air, joking that we all survived! Cristan is putting together her list of books to start shopping and with a little luck, these books may come in time for Christmas. What a great gift they will be for the center, and what a great gift Cristan is to the transgender community.”

The new additions to the library will be available to the public when the TG Center moves to our new location in the first quarter of 2010.

If you would like to send your thanks to Ms. Jones for her donation to the Houston Transgender Community, please send your email to info@tgctr.org . More information about Jenny’s Heroes is available here:

Jenny Jones

Examiner

Trans Talk

HTGA: A Review By A UH Student

What follows are the impressions of a University of Houston student who sat in on an HTGA meeting (AKA, “The Monday Night Meeting”). The meeting was held on Monday, December 7, 2009:

Last night after work, I went to the Havens Center to observe a support group for the transgender community. It was raining and traffic was terrible, and at first I considered changing my plans and going straight home on such a dismal, dreary night, but somehow my car just headed over towards the center anyway.  I wondered what I might learn from this group and would any of it be new. I wondered if I might know anyone who would be attending the group that evening. I worried that I would feel different and out of place and would be made to feel unwelcome. How ironic.

Once inside, a lovely lady wearing a lavender blouse and a lilac head scarf, smiled and asked if she could help me. I introduced myself as a student and asked if it would be okay for me to join them, and she promptly invited me to sit with the group. We chatted amongst ourselves for about thirty minutes and got to know each other just a little bit, and then the meeting was called to order. The lady who had welcomed me was also the group moderator. I was very touched by the mission statement that she read; it was simple yet eloquent.

After some general comments by the moderator the floor was opened to the group for individuals to discuss various issues and situations. The topic was “greatest fears and desires”. It was heart-wrenching to listen to some of these people describe their fears, which mostly related to losing their current employment or never being loved. Some felt they were not lovable, and clearly were in an incredible amount of emotional distress and pain. I thought for a moment about feeling unworthy of being loved and my heart felt very heavy. Something I had taken completely for granted my whole life is the very same thing that these wonderful humans had been denied by those who should have given it freely, without question or judgment, and without making them believe they had to earn it. How does a transgender person earn the love of his or her parents and family? In most cases the answer is to conform to their parents’ desires and social norms, even if it means being untrue to themselves and their gender identity. Obviously this can lead to a great deal of emotional stress and internal turmoil.

The group members were in various stages of transition and it was fascinating to hear their interactions as they discussed and compared doctors and therapists with whom they are working. Some were very excited and seemed ready to move forward to the next phase of their transition, either with surgery, electrolysis or mental health counseling, but not everyone was happy with their “trans” status. In fact two of the group members were quite distraught and anxious on this particular evening. Other members of the group have successfully transitioned but continue to face issues of acceptance and discrimination at work, in society at large, and in their personal lives. Depression and anxiety seem to be common and several group members acknowledged that even though they are largely content with their lives as they transition, they are still susceptible to very dark episodes and must fight daily to avoid buying into the negativity that often surrounds them and succumbing to depression.

I heard the words “acceptance” and “tolerance” used several times during the meeting and it really made me think. The idea that some people need to be convinced to “tolerate” other human beings is really quite distressing. Isn’t kindness, dignity and respect a set of basic human rights to which everyone is entitled and with which everyone deserves to be treated?

I feel very blessed to have been given an opportunity to have just a tiny glimpse into the daily lives of this amazingly strong and courageous group of  people and I am extremely grateful that this group welcomed me and allowed me to hear their stories.  In life, everyone has a story, and every story deserves to be heard. Every life is valuable and is to be celebrated, and every person is more than just a sum of their parts. My experience at the Havens Center was both heart-wrenching and heartwarming and it’s an experience I would have regretted forever had I missed it.

Billy Lee Tipton

The TG Archive has acquired a rare original 1957 LP of Billy Tipton Sweet Georgia Brown. This was the first of only two recordings Mr. Tipton produced. The TG Archive acquired his other recoding, "Billy Tipton Play Hi-Fi on Piano" on October 24, 2008.

Acquired on 11/30/2009: Original 1957 Billy Tipton Sweet Georgia Brown LP - Front Cover.

Billy Lee Tipton (born as Dorothy Lucille Tipton, (December 29, 1914 - January 21, 1989) was an American jazz pianist and saxophonist. Tipton became the subject of public interest after his death when it was revealed that Tipton was a transman.

TG Historical Archive Committee

If you would like to be a part of the TG Archive Committee, please sign up during one of the meetings at the TG Center. TFA is continuing to aggressively seek out and acquire items of historical significance to the transgender community.

TGs & Cancer: Paying it Forward

Currently, we are raising money to help a transgender cancer survivor. Your support helps to ensure that she doesn’t become homeless and that she has the medications she needs!

A member of the transgender community (we’ll call her Jill) was living full time and was diagnosed with advanced cancer. Her health quickly deteriorated working became impossible. Jill asked her family if she could stay with them while she underwent her cancer treatments. Jill’s family told her that she had two choices: 1.) Die, or 2.) allow the family to burn all of her female clothes, allow the family to shave her head, allow the family to have the tattoos Jill had removed put back on, change her name from Jill to Jack and have her ID changed from female to male. In short, her family required Jane to transition back to male in order to have a home while she fought advanced cancer.

Since Jill had no other support, she transitioned back to male and over time, beat her cancer. As quickly as she could, Jack went to the Transgender Center, received case management and began to attend the support groups. Jack created a plan of action for transition and began the process of reclaiming her life. Unfortunately, Jill’s plan was derailed when her employer laid her off. Additionally, she isn’t able to seek help from her family since they had learned that Jack was becoming Jill once more. The Transgender Center helped Jill get into a transgender housing program that begins the end of September. Additionally, the Transgender Center will help her into college. Since Jill needed to get through one month before being able to access the transgender housing program that begins the end of September, the TG Center worked with Jill to help her find new employment.

Unfortunately, she got some bad news fromMD Anderson’s cancer doctors this week and will need to undergo a month-long series of new treatments beginning Monday, August 17th. The hours-long treatments will make working impossible for her. With no income and no family support, she is now in a desperate situation.

The TG Center is taking up a collection to help Jill make it until she is able to enter the new transgender housing program in September. Jill needs medication, gas to get back and forth to MD Anderson and help with bills for 4 weeks. The TG Center will use the donated money to directly pay the expenses while she undergoes treatments at MD Anderson over then next 4 weeks. She will otherwise live in her car until the housing program starts.

Please help today! Any amount can help and will be put to good use! If you don’t have anything to give, please tell others about this situation and raise awareness!

We need 1,000 to keep housed and medically treated. Since a generous organization has offered to match every buck donated from the community, we are only looking for $500 in support from the community.

Donating $25 will turn into $50.

Please donate whatever you can today!

Donate on FaceBook | Make a PayPal Donation

For more information, please contact the TG Center at 713-520-8586.

Trans Yoga Class

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The Transgender Center is happy to announce that Robin Mack, a certified massage therapist and Hatha Yoga instructor, will begin holding yoga classes at the TG Center beginning September 10th. The Hatha Yoga class will meet on the 1st, 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month from 6:30 - 7:30 PM in the upstairs meeting room.

 

According to Robin, Yoga is "… a great practice that centers people back into their body and breath. The mindful stretching combined with breathing opens up the muscles offering flexibility and more range of motion. This overall practice leaves the class with an emotional high that grounds the students for the rest of the day."

 

At the end of the class, a basket will be passed for donations. Students will need to bring a yoga mat:

For more information, please contact the TG Center at 713-520-8586.

TG Yoga info on Facebook