remembering miss major
November is Trans Awareness Month and Nov. 20th is Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy photographed by Mickalene Thomas for OUT Magazine and at San Francisco Pride in 2014 photographed by Quinn Dombrowski.
On this Trans Day of Remembrance, we honor a MAJOR force in the movement for Trans liberation: Black trans author, activist, and organizer, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, whose contributions to the trans community will carry on well after her passing this past October.
Miss Major’s work spanned generations, while continuing to inspire new ones through nurturing intergenerational community connections well into her later years:
Standing up for Queer and Trans rights at the 1969 Stonewall Riots, working on behalf of incarcerated Trans people as director of the @tgijusticeproject, driving San Francisco’s first mobile needle exchange, creating the House of GG to offer a safe and transformative space for Transgender women in the South, and as a Drag Performer.
As we approach the holiday season amidst escalating anti-trans legislation, and triggering topics may literally come to the table, we continue to celebrate CHOSEN FAMILY, a major principle throughout Miss Major’s life and work.
“If your mother doesn’t treat you right, pick another Mother.” - Miss Major Griffin-Gracy
Miss Major, 78, passed away on October 13, 2025 in the comfort of her home and surrounded by loved ones in Little Rock, Arkansas.
For more on Miss Major:
📺WATCH: ‘The Personal Things’ by Tourmaline and Micah Bazant
📰READ:
Activist Miss Major Recounts the First Night at the Stonewall Riots by Raquel Willis - OUT MAGAZINE
📖READ:
‘Miss Major Speaks: Conversations with a Black Trans Revolutionary,’ a Memoir (available at Octavia’s Bookshelf).