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Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a esteemed transgender rights activist and longtime grassroots leader who participated in the legendary Stonewall riots, left us this Monday, according to her organization.

The acclaimed activist died at her home in Little Rock, Arkansas, with loved ones by her side. She was 78 years old, and the specifics surrounding her death were not provided.

A Lifetime of Advocacy

Miss Major was known as one of the United States' most prominent trans rights elders, spearheading efforts in the struggle for transgender equality for more than five decades. In her later life, she provided a sanctuary for trans and gender-nonconforming people in her Arkansas community, while continuing to travel the country to support transgender causes and meet with emerging trans leaders and other queer community builders.

Miss Major, often referred to by her first name, was widely regarded as an unapologetic champion for the empowerment of African American transgender women, fighting for communities that have faced widespread bias and violence and have been overlooked by the broader gay rights movement.

An Adoptive Parent

She was considered a mother to trans women nationwide, some of whom are prominent leaders themselves. She once mentioned that she ceased keeping count after adopting 20 daughters.

Her catchphrase, “I’m still fucking here!”, reflected the positivity and wit she infused into her advocacy work and became a unifying statement for the fortitude of African American transgender individuals – a encouragement to exist meaningful, extended lives in a world that seeks to erase and eliminate the community.

Formative Years and Challenges

Miss Major was a native of Chicago. Her parents, a post office worker and salon manager, took her to her first drag performance but did not support her when she related to the performers. Her family placed her in asylums as a teenager to “get the gay outta me”, and her mother burned her dresses, she recounted in her 2023 book, Miss Major Speaks.

She went on to perform in the Jewel Box Revue, a theatrical performance in Chicago, helped by a teacher named Kitty who gave her a wig, taught her makeup skills and encouraged her to accept her true self.

Riots and Legacy

Pushed out of higher education in Minnesota for being trans, she ended up in New York, where she supported herself via adult services. Some of her first organizing efforts was stemmed from the networks of sex workers who collaborated to keep themselves safe from authorities and violent clients.

Miss Major described enduring frequent police brutality, including on June 28, 1969, when the New York City police raided the Stonewall tavern in the West Village, the infrequent safe space that she said accepted trans people.

She and others fought back, and Miss Major recalled being knocked unconscious and imprisoned. “The cops assault you until you collapse. Everybody that resisted them went through that. It wasn’t pretty. It was a riot. We were struggling to stay alive. It was so sad,” she stated in a recent discussion.

The Stonewall rebellion sparked the Pride movement and were recognized as the genesis of the present-day queer activism, but the Black and brown trans women participating in the uprising were cast aside by the mainstream activism that followed.

“We battled without gain. It’s a shame the way it turned out. We initiated the uprising and what did we get? Nothing. Nothing,” she said, recalling that LGBT figures were “ashamed to be seen with us|embarrassed to associate with us|unwilling to stand beside us}.”

Jail Time and Activism

During a following incarceration in a New York prison, Miss Major became a mentee of Frank “Big Black” Smith, who had led a major prison uprising and instructed her principles of organizing, and how “you can’t throw anybody under the bus|you must not abandon anyone|no one should be sacrificed}”, a advice that shaped her subsequent activism, she explained.

Later Work and Legacy

In the eighties, Miss Major created the Guardian Angels, a group of trans women who served as caretakers for men lost to the AIDS crisis, with programs in California and New York. In San Francisco, she became an respected local figure, managing the city’s first mobile needle exchange van and running a drop-in center for trans sex workers, despite opposition from its associated charity.

Miss Major went on to direct the Transgender Justice Project, a initiative that combats mistreatment of transgender individuals of color in detention and gives aid during re-entry. One of her adopted daughters, now leads the organization, which today is called the TGIJP Black Trans Center.

Later Life and Enduring Legacy

In her final decade, Miss Major suffered repeated health challenges, yet she carried on with her advocacy through the her final organization, which she also called Telling It Like It Fuckin’ Is (Tilifi). The organization brings trans leaders to her colorful Little Rock guest house, called the Oasis sanctuary, to create a sanctuary for rest and relaxation.

“I’ve gotta make joy here, because it doesn’t exist in the normal world,” Miss Major said during a recent interview. “They want us to live in the 1950s. No. Get off our fucking backs and let us live … I know the world I would like to live in. It’s in my head, but I try my best to live it now.”

Miss Major is left behind by her devoted companion; her three sons, Asaiah, Christopher, and Jonathon; and her “many daughters”.

“She was a world builder, a forward-thinker, and steadfast in her devotion to ensuring liberation for Black, trans, formerly and currently incarcerated people. Because of her, countless new possibilities have been created for all of us to thrive – today and for future eras,” the organization stated. “While her bodily form has transformed, we have gained an immensely powerful ancestor and there is no doubt that she is and always will be with us – directing, shielding, and affirming us that she is ‘still fucking here!’”