Miss Major Speaks
Conversations with a Black Trans Revolutionary
By Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Toshio Meronek | Publisher: Verso Books
About the book
2024 Stonewall Honor Award for Nonfiction
The future of Black, queer, and trans liberation explored by a legendary transgender elder and activist
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy is a veteran of the infamous Stonewall Riots, a former sex worker, and a transgender elder and activist who has survived Bellevue psychiatric hospital, Attica Prison, the HIV/AIDS crisis and a world that white supremacy has built. She has shared tips with other sex workers in the nascent drag ball scene of the late 1960s, and helped found one of America’s first needle exchange clinics from the back of her van.
Miss Major Speaks is both document of her brilliant life–told with intimacy, warmth and an undeniable levity-and a roadmap for the challenges black, brown, queer and trans youth will face on the path to liberation today.
Her incredible story of a life lived and a world survived becomes a conduit for larger questions about the riddle of collective liberation. For a younger generation, she warns about the traps of ‘representation,’ the politics of 'self-care,' and the frequent dead-ends of non-profit organizing; for all of us, she is a strike against those who would erase these histories of struggle.
Miss Major offers something that cannot be found elsewhere: an affirmation that our vision for freedom can and must be more expansive than those on offer by mainstream institutions.
Editions of Miss Major Speaks
- Paperback
- ISBN 9781839763342
- EBook
- ISBN 9781839763366
Read an Excerpt
2024 Stonewall Honor Award for Nonfiction
The future of Black, queer, and trans liberation explored by a legendary transgender elder and activist
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy is a veteran of the infamous Stonewall Riots, a former sex worker, and a transgender elder and activist who has survived Bellevue psychiatric hospital, Attica Prison, the HIV/AIDS crisis and a world that white supremacy has built. She has shared tips with other sex workers in the nascent drag ball scene of the late 1960s, and helped found one of America’s first needle exchange clinics from the back of her van.
Miss Major Speaks is both document of her brilliant life–told with intimacy, warmth and an undeniable levity-and a roadmap for the challenges black, brown, queer and trans youth will face on the path to liberation today.
Her incredible story of a life lived and a world survived becomes a conduit for larger questions about the riddle of collective liberation. For a younger generation, she warns about the traps of ‘representation,’ the politics of 'self-care,' and the frequent dead-ends of non-profit organizing; for all of us, she is a strike against those who would erase these histories of struggle.
Miss Major offers something that cannot be found elsewhere: an affirmation that our vision for freedom can and must be more expansive than those on offer by mainstream institutions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Miss Major Speaks about?
2024 Stonewall Honor Award for Nonfiction
The future of Black, queer, and trans liberation explored by a legendary transgender elder and activist
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy is a veteran of the infamous Stonewall Riots, a former sex worker, and a transgender elder and activist who has survived Bellevue psychiatric hospital, Attica Prison, the HIV/AIDS crisis and a world that white supremacy has built. She has shared tips with other sex workers in the nascent drag ball scene of the late 1960s, and helped found one of America’s first needle exchange clinics from the back of her van.
Miss Major Speaks is both document of her brilliant life–told with intimacy, warmth and an undeniable levity-and a roadmap for the challenges black, brown, queer and trans youth will face on the path to liberation today.
Her incredible story of a life lived and a world survived becomes a conduit for larger questions about the riddle of collective liberation. For a younger generation, she warns about the traps of ‘representation,’ the politics of 'self-care,' and the frequent dead-ends of non-profit organizing; for all of us, she is a strike against those who would erase these histories of struggle.
Miss Major offers something that cannot be found elsewhere: an affirmation that our vision for freedom can and must be more expansive than those on offer by mainstream institutions.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Miss Major Speaks?
Biography, Literature and Literary studies > Biography and non-fiction prose > Biography: general
Where can I read a sample of Miss Major Speaks?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781839763342
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Miss Major Speaks?
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Toshio Meronek
Who is the Publisher of the book Miss Major Speaks?
Verso Books
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Miss Major Speaks is available as paperback(ISBN 9781839763342) and ebook(ISBN 9781839763366)
Where can I buy Miss Major Speaks online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Miss Major Speaks from below
Where can I buy Miss Major Speaks?