You’re right; so much is different now. There are so many young folks that are owning their identities at single-digit ages. What were the dynamics of your family and how did you understand yourself as a kid?

At that point it was, as it is now, a matter of survival. It’s interesting to think about when I was younger — the constraints and the way I had to negotiate through in order to maintain breathing every day. My family would say, “Oh, that boy is acting way too femme, chile” or “You need to beat the ‘shim’ out of him.” They tried, but you know us trans people are some tough sons of bitches. We don’t take that shit, especially the Black girls. We understand what we’ve had to go through as a culture and as a people. It becomes a matter of standing up for who we know we are. It’s not that we believe we’re this or that. We know that’s who we are. When the dust settles, I want my trans girls and guys to stand up and say, ‘I’m still fucking here!’

You grew up on the South Side of Chicago. Do you have any family still there that you see?

Well, everyone else is dead. My father’s family was small and my mother’s family was large. All of my aunts are gone. I may have some cousins here and there. Of course, they’re not going to keep up with me. As I was living my life, I didn’t have time to hold connections to people who would rather I die than breathe and be successful.

You’ve lived in a lot of places, but you most recently moved from San Francisco to Little Rock for your current project. What is it and how did you come up with the name, House of GG?

The technical name is Griffin-Gracy Historical Retreat and Educational Center, but that’s a lot for people to remember. When I came up, there were houses that developed in New York, like the House of Crystal Labeija and the House of Xtravaganza. They started in order to help the younger girls who were on the street. They helped them learn the things they needed to do to survive, like how to negotiate with the cops and what to do if they got busted. I thought in honor of them and all they’ve done and tried to do, I would keep the thought and feeling of them alive with the House of GG. I want it to be a retreat where I can bring the girls here and help to create a sense of family for our community.

We saw each other about a month and a half ago at the Creating Change conference, when you received the Susan Hyde Award for Longevity in the Movement. I know that was complicated because you talked about the weirdness of having white, cis gay people honoring you in that way after all of these years.

Yeah, these white, over-privileged, entitled, stick-up-their-ass motherfuckers who hate us, nudge each other when they see us, talk about us as we walk by no matter what city we live in. It’s not that all of them are bad. There’s about three out of the thousand that have some sense and respect people for who they are. I had a lot of personal issues over this. I said in my speech, ‘It took 40 years for me to get up here. You motherfuckers are late.’ They want to rant and rave and act like, “Oh this is the thing to do!” Miss Major is not your token. You need a token? Well, go to the subway and buy one and get on a fucking bus. In accepting the award, I wanted to make sure that I stood up for my community and who I am [by letting] them know that they have been doing this shit to me since I was a kid and it hasn’t stopped. The only reason they don’t do it to me now is because I’m an older woman.