Monica Roberts, a towering advocate for transgender rights in Houston and beyond, dies
Monica Roberts was Houston through and through.
She loved the Texans. She loved Megan Thee Stallion. But to most in the city and far beyond, she was a relentless advocate for transgender rights and a constant source of inspiration.
Roberts died Monday. The well-known writer, blogger and advocate was found in the parking lot of the west Houston building where she lived and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her friend and fellow trans advocate Dee Dee Watters announced the news Thursday on Facebook and went live for a brief update.
"I just ask that you all please pray for the family, please pray for myself. I don't know how to put it in words," Watters said with tears in her eyes. "Check on your friends. Check on the people that you love. Make sure they know that you love them. We have to be there for each other. I'm lost right now. I don't know what to do."
Monica Katrice Roberts, 58, was initially identified by police as the victim of a possible hit-and-run, but on Friday the Houston Police Department said in a release that after further investigation and an autopsy by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, officials had "determined Roberts suffered a medical emergency and was not the victim of a hit and run crash."
Her mother, Mable, said she had been feeling short-winded before Monday and the family had encouraged her to get tested for COVID-19.
During a Friday Facebook Live, Watters said services for Roberts, including a wake, funeral and celebration of life, will be Oct. 23-25. There will also be a virtual component.
Roberts, who began her transition in her early 30s, was frustrated by the lack of coverage of trans people of color. She started the TransGriot blog in 2006. She was one of the first bloggers to correctly identify transgender murder victims across the country. Other outlets often looked to her work for guidance.
Last year, Roberts told The Daily Beast that she took on the task because "I got tired of them being disrespected in death."
"When you deliberately misgender a victim," Roberts said, "then you're delaying justice for that trans person who has been murdered."
She was influential nationwide because her work changed the way transgender lives are represented in the media and because she was a mentor to younger transgender writers and advocates.
She was also known for her strong persona. She described herself on her blog as a "proud unapologetic Black trans woman speaking truth to power and discussing the world around her."
Roberts was one of the original board members of Mayor Sylvester Turner’s LGBTQ Advisory Board. He called her "a powerful voice for transgender rights."
"Monica walked every hall of government with professionalism, grace, and toughness to ensure transgender individuals and everyone in the LGBTQIA+ community would not be forgotten or overlooked," Mayor Turner said in a statement. "Each time I saw Monica at events, you could not miss her confident stature, and she was not shy to call things out directly."
City Hall, under Mayor Turner's order, was lit up in the colors of the transgender flag — pink, white and blue — Friday night in Roberts' honor.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez called Roberts "a trailblazer and leader" in a tweet.
U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia said in a statement that Roberts was "a giant in the movement for the rights and dignity of the transgender community."
"It was the honor of my life to fight alongside her, when in 2017 we pushed back against the transphobic bathroom bill in the Texas Senate. She gave me strength during difficult moments in that fight, and she inspired me to be a better ally each and every day," Garcia said. "In honor of our dear Monica, I won't stop fighting until all Americans can live safely, peacefully and reach their full potential."
Just this month, Roberts earned an armful of honors in OutSmart magazine's Gayest & Greatest Readers' Choice Awards. She was named most prominent trans female activist, most valuable trans female volunteer, favorite local LGBTQ blogger and favorite national LGBTQ blogger/vlogger.
She was the first trans person to win the Don Hrachovy Lifetime Achievement Award, given by the Houston GLBT Caucus, earlier this month. TransGriot also won the 2014 GLAAD Media Award for outstanding blog. Roberts was a founding member of the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition.
Eric Edward Schell photographed Roberts for the Pride Portraits campaign and says she served as a constant source of power.
"Monica Roberts was one of the first black trans women that I ever met who was out. (We) sat for over an hour and talked about her her story, most of which was about her gender identity," Schell recalls. "Because of that day my own gender identity journey began."
Roberts was born in Houston in 1962. She graduated from Jones High School in 1980 and then from the University of Houston in 1984.
Roberts started her transition in 1993 while working for an airline and said she encountered several forms of discrimination, according to GLAAD.
"While returning home from work in my airline uniform, a passenger made anti-trans comments while walking down the aisle of the airplane to their seat," Roberts recalled.
"I have no regrets and feel my life began the moment I decided to transition. I wouldn't trade the life I have now for my life prior to 1994. Let's face it, I've been to the White House, met interesting people, given speeches, talked to politicians and college students about our issues. I've lived an interesting life since 1994 and I am happy. I am happy in my own skin."
