Learn the story of Miss Major Griffin Gracie, a Transgender Rights Advocate, from Aaliyah Ei, a non-binary Xicana model, activist, and cannabis lover.

Aaliyah Ei, a non-binary Xicana model, activist, and cannabis lover, known on Instagram as @thelittlebeast sat down with us to tell to discuss the life and legacy of Miss Major Griffin Gracie.

79-year-old Miss Major Griffin-Gracie is a transgender human rights activist who has been braving the fight for marginalized folks for over 40 years now! Hailing from Chicago, Miss Major ended up in New York City in the early 60s, and through her work on the streets, she soon discovered the need for increased safety precautions for herself and her peers.

Miss Major was not only present, but helped lead the Stonewall Rebellion of 1969 with comrades Marsha P. Johnson and Silvia Rivera, where she suffered a broken jaw and was arrested during the uprising. Miss Major then went on to survive the riot at Attica State Prison, where more than half of the prisoners took control of the correctional facility, holding employees hostage until their 28 demands for better living conditions were discussed and, for the most part, subsequently fulfilled. In the 80s and 90s, Miss Major found herself in California, lending her time to the community impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Recently, Miss Major was Executive Director of the Transgender Gender Variant Intersex Justice Project, which “is a group of transgender, gender variant and intersex people—inside and outside of prisons, jails and detention centers– ​creating a united family in the struggle for survival and freedom.”

As well as being an activist, she is a mother to four and a godmother to many, and just last month, Miss Major announced that she and her partner Beck Witt have another child on the way! They live together happily in Arkansas, where she continues fighting for marginalized rights.

Through our collaboration with Aaliyah, High Herstory was able to make small donations to Gizelle Marie’s Black Sex Worker Relief Fund and Lunalovebad’s Black Trans/Queerfemme mutual aid support list. For more information on both resources, or to make your own donation to these causes, click here and here. May we all be inspired by Miss Major to become activists in our lives. Being a weed lover can help us to more deeply connect with ourselves and our connection to improving the lives of all human beings.