I went nuclear last year when there was a historic committee hearing on transgender issues and not one African-American transgender person was invited to participate.

There was another historic gathering of importance to GLBT people that took place on Monday. It was in the wake of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that took place June 28, 1969.

This time the host was none other than the POTUS, and it took place in the building at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue that my ancestors helped construct with their unpaid labor.

So did the white transgender community learn its lesson from last year and make sure in the twelve transgender people that were selected to be there, there was some African-American representation?

Nope.

It seems that Miss Major (and several other Stonewall veterans - I don't know their skin color or trans/cis status) were on the guest list but didn't make it through the Secret Service background check. A few other African-American trans folk were also vetted but didn't make the cut either. I'm not sure if you were on the list or not.

The reason given by the Secret Service was that the denied potential guests had police records beyond simply activist demonstrations and the like. As you've talked about in previous posts, African-American transwomen are more likely to be bound up in the sex for money trade and have a high incidence of prostitution and drug-related charges. (To be clear - I'm not placing a value judgement on that; I'm just trying to provide background.)

Apparently the first few Stonewall veterans - including everyone - were denied access because of their legal charges. They were scrambling a few days before the event to find someone - anyone! - that was at Stonewall that could attend. Eventually they found a couple men who could pass the Secret Service background check.