Transgender activist Miss Major Griffin-Gracy dies at 78

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Long-time transgender activist and central Arkansas local Miss Major has died. She was 78 years old.

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy died on Monday in Little Rock, according to a post announcing her passing.

“Miss Major fought tirelessly for her people, her love as vast and enduring as the universe she knew herself to be a part of,” the post read. “She was a world builder, a visionary, and unwavering in her devotion to making freedom possible for Black, trans, formerly and currently incarcerated people as well as the larger trans and LGB community.”

Miss Major, a long-time LGBTQ+ activist, is known for her participation in the Stonewall riots in 1969, an event that is often cited as the beginning of the Gay rights movement.

In 2019, her organization, House of gg, founded The Oasis in Little Rock, which the House of gg website describes as “a sanctuary designed for comfort and community.”

The Human Rights Campaign shared a statement Monday following news of Griffin-Gracy’s passing.

“All of us at HRC feel a profound sense of loss at the passing of Miss Major Griffin-Gracy,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in part. “She held many roles throughout her life: prison reform and civil rights activist, HIV outreach and prevention educator, executive director, executive producer. To many, though, she was best known as ‘Mom’ — as she mentored and looked over so many younger trans women in the community.”