Legendary Transgender Activist Miss Major Dies at 78

"As a caretaker, she was known for getting Black trans women off the street and housed when they faced poverty and violence."

"As a fierce advocate for trans rights, she was known for demanding that LGBTQ+ people focus on protecting the most vulnerable among them, like women being policed and incarcerated for trying to survive."

"But her family relationships extended beyond blood; according to the House of gg, she is also survived by Janetta Johnson, successor of the Miss Major Alexander L. Lee TGIJP Black Trans Cultural Center, and her sisters Tracie O'Brien and Billie Cooper."

"She was 78, according to the statement, although she doubted official records of her birth and believed she was in her 80s."

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy was a Black transgender activist, caregiver, and veteran of the 1969 Stonewall uprising. She got Black trans women off the street and housed them when they faced poverty and violence. She pushed LGBTQ+ communities to protect the most vulnerable, including women policed and incarcerated for survival. She founded and led The House of gg, a nonprofit retreat and educational center for trans leaders. She died at home in Little Rock, Arkansas, on October 13, surrounded by loved ones, and was listed as 78 though she believed she was in her 80s. She had recent hospitalizations and hospice care after a bloodstream infection and suffered a second stroke in 2019. She is survived by longtime partner Beck Witt Major, child Asiah Wittenstein Major, other children she raised, Janetta Johnson, and sisters Tracie O'Brien and Billie Cooper.

Read at Capital B News