Transgender Equality

Before I begin this blog I would like to say that this blog post is in no way intended to offend anyone of any gender. This entry was written as an outlet to discuss the topic of transgender people and poses questions that deal with equal rights for transgender people. The entry looks at various areas of discrimination against transgender persons as a way of addressing the issues they face and examining how the public views this discrimination and if they feel it is justified.

Should Transgender people have the same rights as other citizens?

For many people, the answer to that question is a quick and obvious yes, but for far more people than you would like to believe the answer is a definite No!  Many would ask, why not? All humans should have the same rights, unless those rights have been evoked due to a crime or other offense committed by that person. But for many people the transgender lifestyle is still a taboo topic and the thought of accepting this lifestyle as a normal way of living is unacceptable.

After all, the decision to live your life as something other than what you were born as is merely that, a decision…right? It has been said over and over again that being transgender is not normal and that often deceptive lives many transgender people live is the cause of much of the harsh and sometimes deadly treatment they receive.

Memphis News (The Good, The Bad…The Ugly) 9.29.10

Once a week I will  post a compilation entry  of Memphis news!

The Good

• Running throughout the month of October at the National Civil Rights Museum will be series of community hosted films and conversations  on topics of freedom. Each host community is presenting a series of conversation-provoking films, followed by an open dialogue. The audience will discuss freedom in response to the films, moderated by guest speakers specifically related to each program.  Here is more info on The National Civil Rights Museum & The Freedom Series.
• Principal Rita White of Riverwood Elementary Charter School is the winner of this year’s National Distinguished Principal Award. Her campaigning in Washington D.C., talking to congressional leaders about education reform, her advocacy for the children and her strategy to develop successful students, put her on the map. Congratulations Principal White!
• Douglass K-8 School in North Memphis is a 2010 Blue Ribbon School of Excellence winner. The school has been recognized by the federal government for boosting student achievement and test scores. The school which sits in a high poverty area, has increased its student proficiency in reading and math from 67% to 90% from 2004 to 2009.  On November 15th, the principal and several of her staff members will travel to Washington D.C. to pick up their plaque and to meet the President of the United States.
• The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock and the Regional Medical Center in Memphis are now part of Arkansas’ statewide trauma-care system. The trauma system will help avoid taking patients to hospitals that can’t treat their specific injury.  More on the statewide System trauma care system.
• The Tri State Defender  is accepting nominations for its Second Annual Men of Excellence Awards now through October 8.  The annual event recognizes 50 African-American men who motivate and inspire others through their vision and leadership, exceptional achievements, and participation in community service. 

The Bad

•  Recently a good Samaritan was shot after he went to the rescue of a 12-year old boy that was being robbed of his moped by two men. The Good Samaritan was shot in the hand and in the liver. He has undergone surgery and is expected to have a full recovery. The suspects have not been captured.
• Within a two-week period two women have been attacked and almost raped in the same downtown parking garage. The garage  is usually very busy  is often used by downtown office workers and U of M Law School students. The first attack was stopped by a passerby and the second attack was seen and stopped by a security guard. Two separate men have been arrested for the attacks; Darius Wright for the first , and Bernard Richmond for the second attack.
• Recently the news media obtained photos of two women posing and having fun on Memphis Police T-3 scooters. The photos were taken in downtown Memphis. Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin is furious over the photos and says that he hopes the officers were not involved because that behavior is against police policy. He hopes that the ladies snapped the photos while the policemen were maybe handling a call. The Memphis Police are investigating this incident.

The Ugly

• The Lester Street murder trial began Monday.  Jurors will hear State Prosecutors lay out the details of a crime so gruesome it has been labeled the worst mass murder in Memphis history. Alleged mass murderer Jessie Dotson is accused of brutally murdering   6 people in March of 2008. The victims include: four adult victims, Cecil Dotson (Jessie Dotson’s brother), Cecil’s girlfriend, Marissa Rene Williams, Cecil’s friend, Hollis Seals and Seals’ girlfriend, Shindri Roberson. The child victims were Cemario Dotson, 4, and Cecil Dotson II, 2 — and the three injured children — Ceniyah Dotson, 2 months at the time of the attack, Cedric Dotson, 5, and Cecil Dotson Jr., 9 — all are children of Cecil Dotson. Click here to read more about the Lester Street Mass Murders and to follow the trial.
• Investigators have searched the apartment of  Shakara Dickens to find evidence related to the disappearance of Dickens’s 9 month old daughter Lauryn who she reported missing September 15, 2010. Dickens stated that she handed her daughter over to a stranger and neglected to get the woman’s name or contact information. Weeks later Dickens is now in custody and a FEMA dog has detected the odor of decomposing human remains in the apartment lived in by Dickens and the baby. However, the dog did not find any human remains. Shakara Dickens is in police custody charged with child neglect, endangerment and false reporting.