Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, the revolutionary transgender activist who participated in the Stonewall Riots, died at 78 years old on Oct. 13.
Her death was announced by the House of gg, the Arkansas-based organization she founded to create healing spaces for Black trans people.
Known as “Mama” to many, Miss Major was a leading figure in the transgender liberation movement for more than five decades.
House of gg said she died at home in Little Rock surrounded by loved ones.
“Her enduring legacy is a testament to her resilience, activism and dedication to creating safe spaces for Black trans communities and all trans people,” House of gg’s statement said. “We are eternally grateful for Miss Major’s life, her contributions and how deeply she poured into those she loved.”
Griffin-Gracy was born on the South Side of Chicago in the 1940s and moved to New York City in 1962. There she became involved in the city’s drag and ballroom scenes and later participated in the 1969 Stonewall Riots.
Throughout her life, Miss Major centered her activism on the most marginalized in the LGBTQ+ community, especially Black trans women and those affected by incarceration, police brutality, poverty and HIV/AIDS.
“From Stonewall to her HIV activism to her support of so many transgender and gender nonconforming folks in the South, her legacy is powerful and lasting,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson.
In the early 1980s, Griffin-Gracy cared for people living with HIV in New York, and later helped lead San Francisco’s first mobile needle exchange program.
Griffin-Gracy also mentored incarcerated trans women and advocated for prison reform while leading the Transgender, Gender-Variant & Intersex Justice Project.
She founded the House of gg—also known as the Griffin-Gracy Educational and Historical Center—in 2019 to create a place of rest and healing for Black trans people and movement leaders in the South.
Griffin-Gracy recently revisited Chicago in 2024 when she was recognized by the Democratic National Convention’s LGBTQ+ Caucus during its meeting at McCormick Place.
She reflected on how much progress has been made since the Stonewall Riots, but spoke frankly while warning about the “bullshit” attacks President Donald Trump has made against transgender people.
“I’m not going back, I refuse to go back, and if he thinks we’re going back, fuck him,” Griffin-Gracy said at the time.
Griffin-Gracy also visited Chicago in 2023 for an intimate conversation at Brave Space Alliance, a Black- and trans-led organization on the South Side.
The visit was part of a tour of stops Griffin-Gracy was making around the country to call attention to rising anti-trans hostility around the country. She said the only way forward is together.
“Relax and feel the security of all of you together,” Griffin-Gracy said at the time. “You’re part of a group—a family—so count on that and feel it in your heart and soul. Believe in one another and fight together.”
Griffin-Gracy is survived by her longtime partner, Beck Witt; three sons, Asaiah, Christopher and Jonathon; her many “daughters,” including Janetta Johnson; sisters Tracie O’Brien and Billie Cooper; Thom Jeffress; and countless members of the community shaped by her mentorship and love.
This is a developing story.