Goin' to North Carolina. Why Do I Feel Like A "Freedom Rider"?

In NO WAY am I comparing what Transgender people are going through in North Carolina to what Black Americans went through before and during the Civil Rights Movement. And arguably, today.

However, having shown my oldest child the great Jackie Robinson biopic "42" before I came out to family, work, neighborhood and town - so she could get an idea of how ugly people CAN BE to others they've not met before or do not understand - I never actually thought that a few scenes in the movie could be played out in my own life some day. Fortunately, my life has been blessed and nothing like the abuse heaped on Jackie Robinson or even other Transgender people.

In less than forty-eight hours, my little family and I will be heading down I-95 through Virginia towards Charlotte, North Carolina to visit family for a previously scheduled Easter vacation trip. Yes, the Antebellum South.

When arranging this trip a few months ago, our intention was to reconnect ourselves with some family members who have kids who are our own kids' ages and for some of our Carolina relatives to meet the real me for the first time and see how happy we are together. In actuality, this trip will include the first family dinner for me and my little family since I came out as Transgender eight months ago. As I have two older siblings with their own families living locally and we weren't invited for Christmas to their homes or at any other time since... this is a BIG trip for us.

North Carolina Governor McCrory (R)

North Carolina Governor McCrory (R) and the HB2 bill casts a long shadow on this road trip. The Charlotte Ordinance was to take effect this Friday when we arrive in the Queen City. Total karmatic coincidence?

Yes, I am worried and admittedly stressing out more than I probably should.

We have planned out our stops a bit and will stay in Richmond, VA overnight to break up our drive to North Carolina. I found this really cool App/Google Maps site with NC Safe Bathrooms on it: http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/29/online-map-for-north-carolina-transgender-bathrooms/ and will be consulting it. Virginia doesn't have such an App, but Richmond is the state capital of Virginia and we are staying at a major chain hotel.

We'll be staying with family for the two nights in Charlotte, so we shouldn't have to worry much about public restrooms unless we have to stop at a rest area or some other government office/entity. Or we go to a restaurant or business where the owner/manager takes issue to our same-sex marriage or my totally cool trans-ness.

The great Black American Freedom Riders and Black North Carolinians could not avoid trouble in North Carolina because of the way they looked and where they came from. I only have to worry about going to the ladies room and making sure my walk, talk, look and gestures are all what is expected. At most, I could be ticketed for a misdemeanor and unless I resist a law enforcement officer's direction - I'll be able to move along without much trouble. But I look pretty harmless, I'm not looking for trouble and my wife and kids will be with me. Though, something is stirring in me to fight, lead and help our fellow Transgender men and women in North Carolina while I am there.

Perhaps the best way that I can help is to just be a good example of "regularity" and try to meet/change the minds (if needed) of my relatives' friends and neighbors. Where they live is a hamlet full of Yankees so that shouldn't be hard. I will keep my eyes and ears open and if I see any, I will thank the local businesses supporting me and my Transgender Tribe.

I'll do my best, keep my head clear and try to represent us well. Just like Jackie Robinson, whom our oldest child is doing a book report on for school (total coincidence!). God works in mysterious ways, but I didn't think my kids would ever get to see discrimination up close and personal.


My job ends in six weeks and no bites on my resume... we'll see. If you pray over the next few days, please do include my family and our brave Tribal members in North Carolina and everywhere else. Take care.

A Sad Day in North Carolina

 

North Carolina is a strange State and a great State (most of the time). Today, it is a sad State. I have many fond childhood memories of summers there when staying with a Marine family member. It is a State with a good number of excellent universities and a better than good public school system. It has many nice, genuine people from across all walks of life (white, black, rich, middle-class, Yankee, Southerner, Dookie, Statie, Chapel Hiller, Mountain folk, shorepeople, urban, country). Don't buy into the country-bumpkin stereotypes of North Carolinians so easily when reading media stories, but nevertheless... there are more than a few such bumpkins and as Gomer Pyle would say, "Surprise, surprise, surprise!" - There will be some hell to pay for the NC legislators who railroaded this atrocious bill through.  

North Carolina ain't Arkansas. Folks there know right from wrong and even if a majority would ultimately support laws against Transfolks... there is a process to be had. Today, that didn't happen.

Sign NCTE's Petition and call Governor McCrory's office.  This dirty deed needs to be undone.

So sad...


From the National Center for Transgender Equality website on this Wednesday, March 23, 2016:

In Shocking Action, North Carolina Legislature Passes Anti-Trans Bill in Under 9 Hours: Bill Now Sitting on Governor’s Desk

By: 

Mara Keisling

Today was a sad and shameful day in Raleigh.

I joined transgender North Carolinians and our allies in the state capitol to stand against a bill that was set to barrel through the legislature in a one-day special session. We huddled in the hallways and prepped for testimony, having only found out the text of the bill in the morning, and not knowing whether or not the legislature would listen to any of us. 

The bill, introduced this morning, hijacks local governments’ power to govern their cities and villainizes LGBT people, especially trans North Carolinians. The legislature used Charlotte’s ordinance as an excuse to pass a sweeping anti-LGBT bill, which limits trans students’ ability to use the restroom at school, as well as all trans people in public buildings.

We fought hard to make our case. Trans North Carolinians and their families made powerful and emotional appeals to fairness, equality, and common sense. But most of the legislators’ minds were already made up—and those who questioned its goals or unintended effects had little chance to mount a debate.

Legislative leaders have talked about overturning Charlotte’s ordinance all month, but the bill did way more than just that. It creates new requirements forcing anyone using public buildings, including trans students in public schools and colleges, into the wrong restrooms. It takes away local governments’ power to pass any public accommodation nondiscrimination policies, regardless of whether they affect restrooms. And it prohibits local governments from regulating workplace conditions, like wages and work hours, or the wellbeing of minors in the workplace. This bill doesn’t only affect LGBT people. For example, the bill overturns local nondiscrimination protections for veterans from nondiscrimination in public accommodations.

As numerous legislators who voted “no” said today, they were simply not ready to understand the far-reaching consequences of this bill. But instead of giving legislators and the public the time to carefully consider this bill, its supporters rushed through the legislative process in a matter of hours. In sharp contrast with the careful deliberation before the Charlotte nondiscrimination ordinance was passed—an open debate that spanned over a year, including in a city-wide election—members of the House Judiciary Committee were given only five minutes to review the bill before launching into debate. Legislators had no time to consult with their constituents or research the impact of this law. 

And few members of the North Carolina public even had the chance to hear what the bill said before it passed into law. Sexual assault survivors and advocates, major businesses, and labor unions have all spoken out against this law, but today their voices were ignored. We prepared many trans people and allies to speak at the hearings, but unfortunately, only a handful were able to speak.

This hasty process is not what democracy looks like. By running roughshod over the democratic process, legislators did a serious disservice not just to trans and LGBT people, but all residents of North Carolina.

We have been working hand-in-hand with state advocates and other national organizations to stop this bill from becoming law. We will all continue to fight this hateful bill until it is defeated. We will continue to elevate the voices of fair-minded North Carolinians to persuade Governor McCrory to do the right thing and use his veto pen. He has 30 days to do so.

Please sign this petition right now and urge the Governor to meet with transgender people and their loved ones, and to veto this catastrophic bill.