Legendary transgender activist and Stonewall veteran Miss Major Griffin-Gracy died on Monday at the age of 78. Miss Major was a feisty, spirited woman who helped light the flame for LGBTQ+ rights for decades to come. If you haven’t had the chance to read the book Miss Major Speaks: Conversations With a Black Trans Revolutionary, which features a number of interviews with Miss Major transcribed by Toshio Meronek, I highly recommend it. It’s a powerful reminder that trans people have always been here and that the fight has been ongoing for a long time.
The legendary activist’s death was announced by House of GG, also known as the Griffin-Gracy Retreat and Educational Center, which she founded. “It is with profound sadness that House of gg announces the passing of our beloved leader and revolutionary figure in the TLGBQ liberation movement, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy,” writes the House of GG in a Facebook post. “Miss Major, 78, passed away on October 13, 2025 in the comfort of her home and surrounded by loved ones in Little Rock, Arkansas. Her enduring legacy is a testament to her resilience, activism, and dedication to creating safe spaces for Black trans communities and all trans people–We are eternally grateful for Miss Major’s life, her contributions, and how deeply she poured into those she loved.”
Miss Major was one of the participants in the famous Stonewall uprising of 1969 where members of the LGBTQ+ community stood up against a police raid and subsequent harassment at the Stonewall Inn in New York’s Greenwich Village. The uprising became the basis of the LGBTQ+ rights movement in decades to come, and it’s the reason we celebrate Pride month in June, as the uprising began in the early hours of June 28, 1969.
According to Advocate, Miss Major also became an advocate for prison reform after being forced into men’s prisons and meeting Frank “Big Black” Smith, one of the advocates of the rebellion in Attica Correctional Facility in New York State. In the 1980s, she became deeply involved in the AIDS crisis and started the home health care agency Angels of Care to care for victims of the debilitating illness. After relocating to San Francisco, she became a health educator with an organization called the Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center. In San Francisco, she also started a drop-in center for trans people called GiGi’s Place.
Miss Major was a true advocate for the queer community, and her life is a testament to the enduring spirit of our community and how we must look out for each other. In these dark days for the LGBTQ+ community, and particularly for the trans community, remember the words Miss Major spoke to the LGBTQ+ Caucus at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 2024:
“I’m not going back. I refuse to go back. And if (Trump) thinks we’re going back, fuck him in his ass.”
Photo courtesy of social media
