City announces Miss Major as headliner of the 10th annual Trans Equity Summit

July 30, 2025
Neighborhood & Community Relations

With momentum building between City staff and community partners involved in planning the 2025 City of Minneapolis Trans Equity Summit organizers today announce a “major” program update. Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, iconic transgender activist and veteran of the 1969 Stonewall riots, will headline the Aug. 11 event as keynote speaker. The 10th annual Trans Equity Summit will celebrate and bring together the trans and gender non-conforming community at the McNamara Alumni Center on the University of Minnesota campus.

Miss Major

"We are still here!" said Miss Major, referring to the transgender community. “I’m looking forward to sharing my story with the Twin Cities and being in community with everyone.”

Miss Major’s career has centered on activism to uplift transgender women of color, particularly those who have been previously incarcerated. Her experience drove her to care for people with HIV/AIDS in the 1980s and later founded San Francisco’s first mobile needle exchange. In September 2024, Miss Major was honored with Yale’s James Robert Brudner ‘83 Memorial Prize, which is awarded to an accomplished scholar, artist or activist whose work has made significant contributions to the LGBTQ+ communities. Miss Major is the founder of House of gg, an organization that supports and nurtures leaderships of transgender men and women of color living in the south. She is also the author of Miss Major Speaks, a book about her life’s activism. You can read more about her on websites like www.houseofgg.org and www.missmajor.net. 

“We are blessed to have the wisdom, advocacy and inspiration that Miss Major brings to each space she enters,” said Council Member Andrea Jenkins, Ward 8. “Miss Major is a veteran of the Stonewall riots for LGBTQ liberation, but her work did not end there. She founded the Transgender Intersex Justice Project in San Francisco to help incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals re-enter into society. She continues to bring the fierce urgency of now in all she does, and we’re delighted to welcome her to the 10TH Trans Equity Summit.”

“Trans Equity and Intergenerational Power”

The theme for this year’s event is “Trans Equity and Intergenerational Power: Strengthening the Future by Honoring Our Past.” The summit is free to attend, but registration is encouraged at this link. A day’s worth of events will include a panel discussion on the state of the transgender movement. Moderated by Council Member Jenkins, the confirmed panelists will include:

The City is partnering with various community groups in the planning, including Sequeerity, Our Space, Formation Healing Arts, Quorum and more. There will also be different workshops and breakout sessions on career development, employment rights and more:

  • Know your rights – facilitated by Ash Tifa Consulting
  • Organizing, advocacy and policy updates for trans rights in Minnesota - facilitated by Kat Rohn of OutFront Minnesota
  • Name and document changes - facilitated by CB Baga of Maslon LLP
  • Youth space – facilitated by youth-serving organizations

The Trans Equity Summit also welcomes several local performances during the opening keynote, lunch and closing ceremony. The day’s events will also include a career fair, resource fair, community wellness clinic and a holistic healing space.

Participants and attendees can learn more information on the Trans Equity Summit at the Facebook event page. Metro Transit is also offering free rides to and from the summit. Click here to download a free pass.

 

Share