Becoming a Black Man

by Daisy Hernández
COLORLINES
Jan/Feb 2008

Louis Mitch ell expected a lot of change when he began taking injections of hormones eight years ago to transition from a female body to a male one. He anticipated that he’d grow a beard, which he eventually did and enjoys now. He knew his voice would deepen and that his relationship with his partner, family and friends would change in subtle and, he hoped, good ways, all of which happened.

What he had not counted on was changing the way he drove.
Within months of starting male hormones, “I got pulled over 300 percent more than I had in the previous 23 years of driving, almost immediately. It was astounding,” says Mitchell, who is Black and transitioned while living in the San Francisco area and now resides in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Targeted for “driving while Black” was not new to Mitchell, who is 46 years old. For example, a few years before transitioning, he had been questioned by a cop for simply sitting in his own car late at night. But “he didn’t really sweat me too much once he came up to the car and divined that I was female,” Mitchell recalls.

Now in a Black male body, however, Mitchell has been pulled aside for small infractions. When he and his wife moved from California to the East Coast, Mitchell refused to let her drive on the cross-country trip. “She drives too fast,” he says, chuckling and adding, “I didn’t want to get pulled over. It took me a little bit longer [to drive cross country] ‘cause I had to drive like a Black man. I can’t be going 90 miles an hour down the highway. If I’m going 56, I need to be concerned.” As more people of color transition, Mitchell’s experience is becoming an increasingly common one[...]

Sign-On Letter in Response to Victoria Arellano's Death in ICE Custody

Julie L. Myers
Assistant Secretary
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Department of Homeland Security
425 Eye Street, NW
Washington, DC 20536


Re: Victoria (a.k.a. Víctor) Arellano [A: 77991267]



Dear Ms. Myers,



We, the undersigned organizations, write to you today to express our
outrage over the July 20, 2007 death of Victoria (a.k.a. Victor)
Arellano in the San Pedro detention center. Victoria's death was
excruciating and needless. Her requests for her AIDS medication were
deliberately and repeatedly denied, as were her fellow detainees'
increasingly desperate pleas to staff to take her to the hospital.



When Victoria was sent to San Pedro in May, she was taking the
antibiotic dapasone to prevent pulmonary infections from developing
into pneumonia. At San Pedro, she was denied the medication despite
the known consequences of discontinuing this antibiotic: the onset of
treatment-resistant pneumonia within a few weeks. Indeed, Victoria's
health deteriorated rapidly to the point where the pain was so great,
she would scream if anyone tried to move her. She complained of severe
nausea, headaches, cramps, and back pain. She was vomiting and
suffering from diarrhea. Her care was left to the men detained with
her. They administered cold compresses to bring down her fever and
took turns taking her to the bathroom when she was too weak to get
there by herself. Seventy of them signed a petition appealing for
medical care for Victoria.



A week before her death, she was taken to the infirmary and given
amoxicillin. Again, the standard of care for people living with AIDS
was ignored. Amoxicillin is ineffective against meningitis and
AIDS-related lung infections. When Victoria returned from the
infirmary, she began vomiting blood. Once again, her fellow detainees
put themselves on the line to demand medical attention for Victoria.
She was finally taken to a hospital, but was returned to the detention
center less than 24 hours later. By the time she was taken to another
hospital, it was too late. She died shackled to her bed in the ICU.
Her mother reports her body was wracked by pneumonia and meningitis.



With everything to lose - with their own futures uncertain - the men
detained with Victoria Arellano met the brutality and the calculated
negligence of ICE with profound humanity. They cared for her; they
advocated for her; they even consoled her mother when she lost her
child. We have credible information that some of these men have been
transferred out of San Pedro, possibly to prevent them from
participating in an investigation and/or in retaliation for their role
in trying to save Victoria.



Although she was born male, Victoria had been living and identifying
as a woman for years. It is not appropriate to house women, such as
Victoria, in a male dormitory. ICE must revise its policies to ensure
that transgender women are placed with other women in female
facilities. While we are grateful for the care given to her by the men
she was housed with, other transgender women have not been so lucky.
It is widely known that they are at increased risk of assault when
placed with the male population. In Victoria's case, it was the guards
who harassed her. Further, another transgender testified at the
National Prison Rape Elimination Commission in Los Angeles in December
2006 that she had been raped by an official at San Pedro.



Victoria's was not the only foreseeable, preventable death to have
occurred in ICE detention. Hers wasn't even the first in San Pedro.
Media reports indicate that since 2004, at least 65 people have died
in ICE detention. The guidelines for medical care contained in the
Department of Homeland Security's Detention Operations Manual (DOM)
are insufficient and unenforceable. Far from providing a recognized
standard of care, ICE fails to meet even its own standards of
providing "primary medical care, and emergency care." Facilities the
size of San Pedro are required to make medical personnel available to
see detainees who request medical services in a clinical setting at
least five days per week. Victoria, like many others, was not given
this access and had to wait much too long before she received any
care.



The DOM further states that following a clinical evaluation, if an
HIV-positive person in detention "manifests symptoms requiring
treatment beyond the facility's capability, the provider will
recommend the detainee be transferred to a hospital, or other
appropriate facility for further medical testing, final diagnosis, and
acute treatment as needed?HIV positive detainees should be
hospitalized until any acute treatment deemed necessary is completed."



In response to the glaring violations of current DHS/ICE guidelines
and of Victoria Arellano's human rights, we seek the implementation of
new policies that meet appropriate standards of care and that are
reviewable and transparent to the public.



We, the undersigned organizations, call on the Department of Homeland
Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to:



* Implement revised standards that are enforceable and legally
binding in all ICE/DHS detention facilities, regardless of whether
said facilities are operated by the federal government, private
companies, or state/county/local agencies. Detainees, their families,
and their representatives must have legal recourse when these
standards are violated.



* Provide effective internal and external oversight of
detention conditions and treatment of detainees. This would include
the establishment of an ombudsman, ongoing monitoring and frequent
inspections with subsequent reports released to Congress and made
available to the public.



* Immediately rectify any and all breaches of detention
standards, including denial of medical care.



* Increase the availability of medical personnel to see
detained individuals who are in need of care, regardless of whether or
not a detainee has made a formal request for care. Currently,
facilities with over 200 detainees are only required to schedule "sick
calls" five days a week, while facilities with fewer than 50 detainees
need only provide access to medical personnel one day a week. This is
grossly insufficient.



* Strengthen the DHS/ICE national detention standards to comply
with human rights principles.



* Ensure that treatment regimens, including medication for
HIV/AIDS and related infections and hormone therapy for transgender
detainees are not interrupted.



* Adhere to international covenants and treaties mandating the
humane treatment of all detainees, including the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights.



* Pursue non-custodial alternatives (e.g., parole, supervised
release to family members, regular reporting requirements, bond
options) for immigration detainees, particularly for those individuals
whose health or personal safety would be imperiled by detention.



* End the practice of prolonged and indefinite detention, which
is a violation of both international and U.S. law.



* Publicly report all deaths that occur in ICE custody, refer
them immediately to the Office of the Inspector General for
investigation, and make the results of each inquiry available to the
public as soon as it is complete.



* End the practice of placing immigration detainees with the
general inmate population.



* Ensure that the safety of detainees, particularly transgender
detainees is the paramount consideration when deciding whether to
place an individual with the male or female population. Solitary
confinement must not be considered a viable option.



* Grant transgender detainees the right to choose to be housed
in a facility that corresponds with their gender identity, regardless
of which sex is listed on their legal documents and/or regardless of
their birth-sex.



* Revise the DOM to address the particular needs of gay men,
lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender men and women, including health
and safety issues.



* Train all staff in all facilities where ICE detainees are held to
comply with these standards and safeguard the inherent dignity of
all persons.

We are bringing this matter to the attention of our elected
officials and we urge you to take prompt and necessary action to prevent
further threats to health and loss of life among immigrants in ICE
detention.



Sincerely,




African Services Committee


AIDS Action Council


amfAR


Bienestar


Gay Men's Health Crisis


Immigration Equality


Latino Commission on AIDS


Less AIDS Lesotho


National Association of People With AIDS


National Center for Lesbian Rights


New York Immigration Coalition


Sylvia Rivera Law Project


Transgender Law Center

Vigil for Victoria Arellano, transgender immigrant killed by ICE neglect

Friday, August 31, 2007
By: Carlos Alvarez

Los Angeles

Immigrant and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights organizations participated in a Los Angeles vigil for Victoria Arellano, a transgender immigrant afflicted with HIV/AIDS who died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. The action took place at the downtown federal building on Aug. 29.

Arellano, 23, died on July 20 after ICE agents denied her access to AIDS medication that would have saved her life. The vigil was organized by Bienestar, a service oriented organization that deals with issues of HIV/AIDS care in the LGBT and Latino communities. mobilized for and attended the vigil[...]

Dead detainee's family alleges medical mistreatment

Victor Arrelano's relatives say the AIDS patient was denied medical treatment while in federal immigration custody in San Pedro.

By Greg Krikorian, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 11, 2007
The family of a 23-year-old AIDS patient who died in custody at an immigration detention center in San Pedro will file a wrongful death claim against the U.S. government on grounds that Victor Arrelano was improperly denied vital medical treatment.

The allegation of mistreatment comes three weeks to the day after Arrelano, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, died at a San Pedro hospital.

"What happened here is simply an outrage," Roman Silberfeld, the family's attorney, said Friday. "This is someone who never should have been permitted to get to this state of decline when relatively simple meds, if available and properly administered, would have avoided this tragedy."

The death was one of three to come to light this week involving immigration detainees across the U.S. And the fatalities underscore what prison reform advocates have decried as an inadequate, even dangerous, medical system for the nearly 30,000 undocumented immigrants in custody nationwide.

"Based solely on what I have heard so far about the Los Angeles case, I am incredibly disturbed but unfortunately not surprised," said Tom Jawetz, staff attorney for the National Prison Project of the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington, D.C. "We have been in touch with detainees, advocates and attorneys around the country and there is no question that the No. 1 complaint my office receives about detention facilities is poor medical care."

Although they would not discuss individual cases because of privacy issues, immigration and health services officials Friday defended the level of medical care provided to detainees at dozens of facilities in the country.

A Washington spokeswoman for the Division of Immigration Health Services said that on an average day, about 15,000 detainees are screened by division staff, while thousands of other detainees receive contracted medical care at county jails and other detention facilities.

Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for the regional office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, meanwhile, said the agency spends more than $98 million annually providing medical and dental care to detainees. "We want to emphasize the fact that when illegal aliens are in ICE custody, they receive an array of healthcare services," Kice said.

But attorneys and others familiar with the Arrelano case said it is only the most egregious and recent example of a pattern of medical neglect at immigration detention facilities.

Arrelano, a transgender person who went by the name Victoria, had been deported to Mexico in 2003 and was in detention since mid-May pending an immigration hearing to determine whether she would again be returned to Mexico.

During her stay, according to attorneys involved in the case, Arrelano's physical condition deteriorated to the point that her fellow detainees implored the staff to provide medication and other care. One source close to the case recalled how other detainees repeatedly saw Arrelano vomiting blood and were left to clean it up themselves.

Eventually, when her condition became critical, Arrelano was transferred to a San Pedro hospital and died several days later. At the time of her death, according to attorneys in the case, Arrelano was shackled to her bed.

Kice said she could not discuss specifics of the case but explained that when immigration detainees are taken to outside medical facilities for treatment, the security measures are determined by the circumstances of a case, including the condition of a patient and prior criminal history.

Family attorney Silberfeld said the poor treatment of Arrelano was evident in that more than 70 detainees signed a petition urging that she receive immediate medical care. "These are people who are on the verge of being deported and have their cases pending and yet they stand up to the government that could kick them out and say, 'This is wrong,' " Silberfeld said. "To me, that is a pretty powerful statement."

Lorri L. Jean, chief executive of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, said her office was "heartbroken" by word of Arrelano's death because she had been a patient at its AIDS clinic as recently as two years ago and was "certainly nowhere near death" when she was being treated at the facility.

"Given today's medications, people with HIV at the stage that Victoria was at do not decline that quickly," Jean said. "And I have no doubt in my mind that Victoria died because she was denied the medications that she needed to stay alive."

Jean said she and her staff will raise their concerns about Arrelano's death and the San Pedro facility with U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) during a meeting with him Monday.

greg.krikorian@latimes.com

Brazil to provide free sex-change operations

Brazil's public health system will begin providing free sex-change operations in compliance with a court order, Health Ministry officials said Friday.

Ministry spokesman Edmilson Oliveira da Silva said the government would not appeal Wednesday's ruling by a panel of federal judges giving the government 30 days to offer the procedure or face fines of $5,000 a day.

''The health minister was prompted by the judges' decision,'' Silva said. ''But we already had a technical group studying the procedure with the idea of including it among the procedures that are covered.''

Federal prosecutors from Rio Grande do Sul state had argued that sexual reassignment surgery is covered under a constitutional clause guaranteeing medical care as a basic right.

On Wednesday the 4th Regional Federal Court agreed, saying in its ruling that ''from the biomedical perspective, transsexuality can be described as a sexual identity disturbance where individuals need to change their sexual designation or face serious consequences in their lives, including intense suffering, mutilation and suicide.''

Health Ministry leaders said it would be up to local health officials to decide who qualifies for the surgery and what priority it will be given compared with other operations within the public health system.

Patients must be at least 21 years old and diagnosed as transsexuals with no other personality disorders and must undergo psychological evaluation for at least two years, the ministry said.

Gay activists applauded the decision.

''Transsexuals represent about 0.001% of the Brazilian population, but for this minority, sexual reassignment surgery is a question of life and death,'' said Luiz Mott, founder of the Bahia Gay Group. ''It is unjust and cruel to argue that the health system should concern itself with other priorities.''

So far the measure has not prompted any opposition.

Brazil's public health system offers free care to all Brazilians, including a variety of surgeries and AIDS medications. But long lines and poorly equipped facilities mean that those who can afford it usually choose to pay for private hospitals and clinics.

The health ministry said that since 2000, about 250 sexual reassignment surgeries considered experimental have been performed at three university hospitals.

Brazil is generally more tolerant of homosexuality than other Latin American countries, and transvestites are featured prominently in celebrations like Carnival, but discrimination still exists. (Michael Astor, AP)

Justice Now's statement about Tumi McCallum

It is with great sadness that we write to our allies
and friends about the recent death of one of our
former interns, Tumi McCallum. We hope to shine some
light on the person Tumi was, particularly given the
extremely limited discussion of her life in media
coverage of her death.

Tumi came to Justice Now through a class she took with
Julia Sudbury at Mills College.
While working with us, she provided invaluable
assistance to people in women?s prisons in a number of
extremely important ways. As an advocate, she provided
a vital lifeline to the outside for people in prison.
She corresponded with people in women?s prisons facing
severe and life-threatening medical problems,
providing them with crucial information and advice.
Even after completing her required hours for school
credit, Tumi
continued her work with Justice Now, far surpassing
what was initially required. Her commitment combined
with her skills allowed her to take on more complex
work.

Tumi advocated on behalf of a woman in prison who was
in need of medical treatment but had been told by
prison staff that nothing could be done for her.
Tumi?s strong conviction that this was untrue led her,
as an undergraduate, to research the law and determine
that the prison was in fact unfairly denying
treatment. Tumi also
advocated for a women in prison suffering extreme
medical neglect and identified her as a person who
might qualify for alternative sentencing. If
successful, this is a process that would allow the
woman to be resentenced and released from prison.
Because of Tumi?s identification of this woman?s
situation, Justice Now currently is working to secure
her release.

Tumi was a brilliant writer and a passionate advocate,
all of which was tucked behind a humble and patient
demeanor. She always had a smile on her face, and she
approached all of her work with tremendous energy and
careful attention. Through our Human Rights
Documentation Program, she focused on the issue of
hepatitis C and collaborated with a woman inside to
write an opinion-editorial to accompany the upcoming
release of our report on the pandemic of hep C in
prison. As an example of her dedication and
sensitivity, though the California Department of
Corrections refused to allow her to visit the prison
because she possessed a South African passport, she
took on the challenge of taking the words of a woman
with whom she could not visit face-to-face and turning
them into a powerful article. Because she took great
care to consider all available information from the
woman inside, even without meeting her she was able to
write a piece that our colleague inside felt fully
represented her.

As someone who had experienced living under a police
state as a child in South Africa, she had a
long-standing understanding of policing and
imprisonment, which, she argued, ?worked at oppressing
my community instead of making it safe and protecting
it.? She was born at the end of the Apartheid system
and was on the run with her family from the police,
who were pursuing her mother for her activism against
Apartheid for many years. She drew parallels between
those experiences, the prison industrial complex in
the United States, and the treatment of Black people
in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, all of which
fueled her passion for racial justice. She was fully
committed to social justice work, in particular the
struggle against the PIC. As she wrote in the last
line of her letter requesting an internship at Justice
Now, ?[this] is the ideal place for me to begin my
activism against the policing system and to end
violence against our communities.?

Tumi had plans to come back to Justice Now in the fall
and had expressed her conviction that this was to be
her life?s work. Her sharp political insights, her
intense commitment to social justice, her quiet
assuredness, and her generous spirit are a great loss
to all of us. She will be greatly missed, and we join
her family, friends, and the larger community of
social justice activists of which she was a part, to
honor her life.

In solidarity and in hope for a world without violence
in all its forms,

all of us at Justice Now

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

[from Philly Sound]

When I worked at Giovanni's Room Bookstore there were multiple murders of trans-brothers, trans-sisters, and each time the police did nothing. Here it is 2007 and the police are still doing nothing! It's hard to see where the crime against these people stops, does it stop with the murderer, or continue with the police?

There's going to be an organizing meeting this Friday. Anyone who can be there, please BE THERE! It's time we say we've HAD ENOUGH! Below is the e-mail, report, and contact for Savannah, hope to see you there, CAConrad

CALL OUT FOR SUPPORT TO DEMAND JUSTICE FOR ERICA KEEL

THIS FRIDAY, MAY 11TH, 4pm, at 12O1 LOCUST ST
OPEN PLANNING MEETING

On March 22nd of this year, Erica Keel, a 20-yr-old African American trans woman, was fatally run over at Broad and Thompson streets in North Philadelphia. According to witness accounts, the driver in question intentionally ran over Erica four times after ejecting her from his car. A medical examiner's report supports these accounts. However, the police have ruled Erica's death an accident and have refused to conduct an investigation. The driver, Roland Button, fled the scene but was later apprehended by police. He has yet to face criminal charges, including "hit and run." When friends of Erica, who are themselves trans, questioned police officials about the classification of Erica's death as an "accident," they were asked to disclose their "birth" names and were told they were "trying to make something out of nothing."

As community members and allies, we are asking for your support in challenging police injustice by demanding a thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding Erica's death. Our efforts to demand justice for Erica are part of building a larger strategy to address state violence against trans youth of color in Philadelphia.

Please join us THIS FRIDAY at 4pm at the Washington West Project, 1201 Locust St, to help plan a demonstration.

For more information contact Savannah: 267-879-1339
Or e-mail at: n_hornback@yahoo।com