Donna Rose (left), former Human Rights Campaign board member, with Mara
Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender
Equality, and Cat Turner, an SCC organizer. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)
Activist predicts Congress will soon ban trans, gay job bias Southern Comfort Conference time for political activism, living ‘authentic selves’
From
cross-dressers
to
transsexuals
to
transmen
to
genderqueer
young
people,
nearly
900
people
attended
the
18th
annual
Southern
Comfort
Conference
this
year,
as
the
nation’s
largest
transgender
conference
continues
to
diversify.
Mara
Keisling,
executive
director
of
the
National
Center
for
Transgender
Equality,
gave
the
keynote
speech
at
the
conference,
held
Sept.
30
to
Oct.
5
at
Atlanta’s
Crowne
Plaza
Ravinia
hotel.
Keisling
said
during
her
Oct.
4
speech
that
Congress
is
very
close
to
passing
a
version
of
the
Employment
Non-Discrimination
Act
that
would
include
both
sexual
orientation
and
gender
identity.
“We
are
so
close
to
winning,”
Keisling
said.
“We’re
already
at
the
point
where
they
want
to
know
us.
We’re
going
to
pass
ENDA
and
it
will
protect
all
of
us.
When
the
new
administration
comes
in,
I
believe
we
have
218
votes
[in
the
House]
and
close
to
60
votes
[in
the
Senate]
locked
down
—
it
will
be
a
no-brainer.
“It’s
going
to
pass
with
either
McCain
or
Obama
in
the
White
House,”
she
predicted.
Also
speaking
Oct.
4
was
Donna
Rose,
once
the
lone
transgender
member
of
the
Human
Rights
Campaign’s
board
of
directors,
who
resigned
her
post
last
year
after
HRC
announced
it
would
not
oppose
a
version
of
ENDA
introduced
by
gay
Rep.
Barney
Frank
(D-Mass.)
that
excludes
protections
based
on
gender
identity.
Frank
argued
that
there
were
not
enough
votes
to
pass
the
trans-inclusive
version,
and
suggested
moving
ahead
with
protections
based
on
sexual
orientation
while
continuing
to
educate
lawmakers
on
transgender
issues.
Frank’s
bill
eventually
passed
in
the
House
but
has
not
been
voted
on
in
the
Senate.
At
the
2007
Southern
Comfort
Conference,
HRC
President
Joe
Solmonese
was
a
keynote
speaker
and
promised
the
crowd
HRC
would
support
only
a
trans-inclusive
ENDA.
HRC’s
decision
to
not
oppose
Frank’s
version
of
ENDA
led
many
gay,
lesbian,
bisexual
and
transgender
organizations
to
speak
out
against
HRC’s
actions
and
accuse
the
national
gay
organization
of
betraying
the
transgender
community.
“I
didn’t
ask
to
be
on
the
board
of
HRC
or
on
its
business
committee
—
and
I
didn’t
ask
Joe
to
break
promises,”
Rose
said
last
weekend
to
a
few
jeers
from
the
audience
at
the
mention
of
Solmonese.
“The
rights
for
all
is
the
only
option,”
Rose
added.
“When
I
left
that
organization,
I
did
it
with
flourish
—
there
was
no
hesitation.
Some
asked
me
wouldn’t
it
have
been
better
to
stay
and
try
to
work
from
the
inside.
No,
because
once
your
trust
has
been
broken,
it’s
hard
to
regain.”
HRC’s
actions,
said
Rose,
sent
a
message
to
society
that
transgender
people
are
“not
worthy.”
Rose
added
she
received
close
to
1,000
emails
from
people
who
supported
her
decision
to
resign
from
HRC’s
board,
but
it
was
one
simple
email
that
meant
the
most
to
her.
“It
said,
‘Welcome
home.’
And
I
am
home,
here
with
you.”
‘STILL
BLACK’
SCREENING
Southern
Comfort
offers
a
mix
of
educational,
social
and
support
events,
ranging
from
workshops
and
a
job
fair
to
outings
to
Atlanta
landmarks.
This
year,
the
conference
screened
a
documentary,
“Still
Black,”
directed
by
Kortney
Ryan
Ziegler,
which
looked
at
the
lives
of
several
black
transmen
through
intimate
interviews.
The
documentary
attracted
close
to
100
viewers
and
is
part
of
an
ongoing
effort
to
include
people
of
color
in
the
annual
event.
This
year
also
marked
the
first
year
SCC
held
a
people
of
color
reception.
One
subject
of
the
film,
Kylar
Broadus,
an
associate
professor
of
business
law
at
Lincoln
University
of
Missouri,
said
the
discrimination
he
faces
as
a
black
man,
not
just
a
black
transman,
is
almost
palpable
wherever
he
goes.
“We’re
looked
over
—
we
don’t
get
into
decision
making
positions
of
national
[GLBT]
organizations.
One
or
two
of
get
invited
to
the
table,
but
I
don’t
feel
like
this
is
a
major
concern
of
the
larger
movement
—
there
is
no
oppression
that
is
greater
than
another,”
he
said.
Everett
Thompson
felt
a
personal
connection
to
Broadus
and
the
other
men
portrayed
in
the
film.
“This
is
one
way
to
begin
the
conversation,”
said
Thompson,
32,
who
helped
organize
the
effort
to
bring
the
film
to
SCC
and
works
for
Amnesty
International.
“I
think
for
me
as
a
black
transman,
the
psyche
of
these
people
[in
the
film]
and
what
that
looks
like
resonated
for
me,”
he
added.
“We
want
to
see
what
does
our
community
look
like
as
a
whole.
And
this
film
is
part
of
a
way
to
bring
black
transmen
in
particular
into
that
larger
picture.”
SAFE
SPACE
Monica,
68,
who
declined
to
give
her
last
name,
was
attending
her
10th
Southern
Comfort
...
The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by SOVO. We ask that you
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be removed.
Zoe Brain on 10/10/089:22 AM:
As there appears to be no plans by the DNC to introduce an inclusive ENDA, only an exclusive one (Source: Barney Frank), I don't see how this optimism is realistic.
Maybe if it was introduced it would pass, but as there's no plans to introduce it, how can it?
