CONTRIBUTION: In memory of Monica K. Roberts

On October 5, 2020, our university community, our city, and our nation suffered a tragic loss with the death of Monica Roberts. We are writing to offer our condolences and to share in the grief of all of our community members who knew and admired Monica. 

Monica, who came to prominence through her groundbreaking blog TransGriot, was a nationally-recognized pioneer in fighting for the rights of transgender people. She was also a Houstonian and a frequent supporter of our university community, as well as a graduate of the University of Houston main campus. Her death was the result of natural causes.

Violence against trans people, particularly transwomen of color, is often accurately described as having reached epidemic proportions. Because of the prejudices and biases at work in reporting incidents of violence against trans and gender non-conforming people, many violent and even fatal encounters are unreported or incorrectly reported. Monica’s major project was conducting careful, painstaking research to ensure that the lives of trans people were memorialized, their names documented, and their identities celebrated.

 Monica showed us, clearly, that trans people of color belong in every room where decisions are being made– in the Houston GLBT Caucus, in the media, on mayoral task forces, in the Black Lives Matter movement. She was a visionary who described herself as “a proud unapologetic Black trans woman speaking truth to power and discussing the world around her.” We were fortunate to learn from her, to be led by her, and to benefit from her profound, culture-changing work.

Our community has lost an intrepid journalist, a courageous advocate, and an essential voice, and it is incumbent upon us to become even more vocal about the full inclusion of all community members in our work. 

As faculty, we pledge to take the following actions to reiterate our active inclusion of our trans and gender non-conforming community members; we ask our colleagues and administration to join us:

1. We will include our preferred pronouns in our email signatures and Zoom nametags
2. At the beginning of each semester, we will ask our students to introduce themselves, and we will use the names and pronouns students use for themselves
3. We will advocate for inclusive facilities, including all-gender bathrooms, for all community members
4. We will offer information to our students regarding correcting their names in Blackboard and advocate for this information to be included in the university’s Blackboard information pages
5. We will be open to new or new-to-us ways to support trans community members
6. We will use our voices, our power, and, immediately, our ballots to advocate for and celebrate trans community members

Signed,

• Andrea Baldwin, Lecturer, Communication, she/her
• Sarah Costello, Associate Professor of Art History and Humanities Program Director, she/her
• Maria F. Curtis, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Cross-Cultural & Global Studies, she/her
• Anne Gessler, Clinical Assistant Professor of First-Year Seminar and Humanities, she/her
• Beth Hentges, Associate Professor of Psychology and Chair of Psychology, she/her
• Amanda Johnston, Associate Professor of Psychology and Undergraduate Psychology Program Director, she/her
• Heather Kanenberg, Associate Professor of Social Work, she/her
• Angela Kelling, Assistant Professor of Psychology, she/her
• Christine Kovic, Professor of Anthropology and Chair of Social and Cultural sciences, she/her
• Isabelle Kusters, Assistant Professor of Public Health, she/her
• Amy Lucas, Associate Professor of Sociology, she/her
• Anne Marcoline, Associate Professor of Literature and Literature Program Director, she/her
• Beth Matusoff Merfish, Associate Professor of Art History, she/her
• Georgina Moreno, Assistant Professor of Psychology, she/her
• Christal Seahorn, HSH Interim Associate Dean, Associate Professor of Writing, she/her
• Shreerekha Subramanian, Associate Professor of Humanities and Chair of the Department of Liberal Arts, she/her
• Christine Walther, Associate Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Program Director, she/her

I was shocked to hear about the death of a pioneer, leader, friend, and unapologetic speaker of truth, Monica K. Roberts.  I had known Monica about seven years.  We met working together during the Creating Change Conference, one of the largest LGBTQ conferences in the nation.  We served on the host committee when it was held in Houston.

She was a force.  Always advocating for the marginalized.  Whether it was working on an equal rights ordinance in Houston, the Equality Act at the nation’s capital, or rallying for reform following the death of Trayvon Martin, Monica was front and center, because she believed it took all of us to do this work.  Further, the “seats at the table” needed to reflect what our society looks like, which included Black people, Trans people, and Trans people of color.

I am going to miss her.  Her laugh was infectious.  Her knowledge of Houston’s rich history and her willingness to share it.  Her courage to come out and live her authentic life, and work till the day she died to ensure the next generation of Trans kids may have it just a bit easier.

We still have a long way to go to achieve full equality for LGBTQ people, particularly Trans people.  But Monica’s work helped pave the way and knock down doors to get us there.

Sleep Well and Rest in Power, Monica.

Kim Watson, UHCL alumna