DECEMBER 23 - MISS MAJOR GRIFFIN-GRACYMiss Major is a veteran of the Stonewall Rebellion and a survi

DECEMBER 23 - MISS MAJOR GRIFFIN-GRACY

Miss Major is a veteran of the Stonewall Rebellion and a survivor of Attica State Prison, a former sex worker, an elder, and a community leader and human rights activist. She is simply “Mama” to many in her community. If history is held within us, embodied in our loves and losses, then Miss Major is a living library, a resource for generations to come to more fully understand the rich heritage of the Queer Rights movement that is so often whitewashed and rendered invisible.

Miss Major’s personal story and activism for transgender civil rights intersects LGBT struggles for justice and equality from the 1960s to today. At the center of her activism is her fierce advocacy for her girls, trans women of color who have survived police brutality and incarceration in men’s jails and prisons. Miss Major is currently the executive director of the San Francisco-based Transgender GenderVariant Intersex Justice Project (TGIJP), advocating for trans women of color in and outside of prison.

Text for today’s post was taken from the website for MAJOR! - a documentary exploring the life and campaigns of Miss Major Griffin-Gracy.