Major! Page #9

And I can't do the things

I used to do at 35,

but I can still chase the boys

I like to have

and still do the things

I need to do, and still have

good, enjoyable,

long-lasting, wonderful sex.

Just cause there's snow

on the roof honey don't mean

that the fireplace is out.

Adjusting to being older

and going through all the sh*t

that you have to go through

just to survive,

have medical coverage, eat,

live somewhere decent,

get around

and about comfortably,

negotiate through society

and be okay.

They don't tell you

that it's gonna be

hard as f***ing hell.

For someone who's taught us

so much and has survived

this long and who's not

done it for personal glory

or money.

And like, a b*tch

is broke you know.

She hasn't built up a nice 401K.

How do we think about

our mandates to take care

of our elders who have

taken such good care of us.

And if Miss Major has

a building named after her,

she damned well better have

a place to live.

How do we make sure

that the rest of her life

is as comfortable

as she's made us powerful.

I want her to be taken care of,

and to you know, to not have

to worry about things.

And to have people to lean on.

I think in our communities

that's one of the saddest things

is the isolation

and the loneliness of aging.

I feel very fortunate to be

a 71 year-old proud

transgender woman, hoorah.

And it would be really nice

if I had some girlfriends

my age for us to sit

and talk about the bullshit

that they tried to pull

on us back in 69, 65, 62.

For me, when somebody dies,

I always feel that

if it's someone that shouldn't

have died at the time

that a part of me

died with them.

Just because no matter

what you believe,

we're all a part of each other.

Period.

How many of you know

you're a vessel full of power?

Can we get this

turned down some?

Is it possible?

Cause I'm loud anyway.

You can hear me?

Yes!

Ok.

I am troubled

but not distressed

Perplexed,

but not in despair

I'm a vessel full of power

I've got a treasure

none can compare

Persecuted,

but not forsaken

Cast down,

but not destroyed

I'm a vessel

Hallelujah!

full of power

I've got a treasure,

from the Lord

The loss of any girl is

just really, really rough.

And then to realize

that it doesn't have to be

murdered or beaten up

because someone disapproves

of who they are,

but through neglect and uncaring

and doctors who don't

really take care of us.

It's kind of like a societal

killing spree, indirectly.

That they just feel as if

well whatever they do to us,

we deserve,

we've asked for this.

It builds and adds up.

If you let it, it will

carry you away,

so you have to just figure out

what your sense of grieving is,

and then work with it,

and keep them in your heart,

cherish the memories

that you do have.

And if it's sad and you need

to cry then go through

whatever it is, and then

get up that next day,

get your sh*t together

and go out there

and just be who you are

because that will make somebody

pay for what they've done

to the girls

who aren't here

to do that anymore.

You have to go forward for them,

is what I try to do.

Keep going forward, because

we ve got to make a difference.

Let your light shine bright

Don't ever give up the fight

you chose to be,

so why not be free?

Yeah, I'm not from

San Francisco, and coming

into this space

as Celebrity Grand Marshal.

Sure, yeah, yeah.

How would you advise me

for the five minutes

that I do have to speak?

What would you advise me

to say as someone

who is from here,

what do you think that

these people need to hear?

They need to know that

we have substance,

we have meaning,

that this is only

a step forward.

This isn't the change

that we deserve yet.

In this congratulatory thing

that you're giving me,

realize that it is not

where it needs to be,

where we're going to push it

to be and the community's

going to help us all get there.

No girl is gonna be left behind,

and we're not throwin'

any b*tches under the bus.

And you all are so powerful

and articulate

and marvelous and wonderful.

And true spirits and souls,

you know.

Just knowing that you exist

is such a blessing

for me, personally.

So... I love you all so much.

Thanks, baby.

Thank you so much.

Ladies and gentlemen

Celebrity Grand Marshal,

Janet Mock!

Make a round of applause

for her.

Forty-five years ago today,

our forbearers, gays

and lesbians, low-income queers,

homeless youth, fly drag queens,

and fierce trans women

fought to live

their lives openly, safely,

and without restrictions.

Legend says that in 1969

Marsha P. Johnson threw

a Molotov cocktail into

the crowd kicking off

the Stonewall Uprising.

Others say it was actually

Sylvia Rivera throwing

a brick at the police

that served as a catalyst

for our liberation.

Regardless, it was

unapologetic trans people

who helped ignite our movement

forty-five years ago

and I am proud

to be a product

of their resilience,

their fearlessness

and their brilliance.

Yesterday I was lucky enough

to share an afternoon

with Miss Major Griffin-Gracy.

I sat at her side

and realized that

she was and has always

been the answer.

It was Miss Major who told me

to never forget

that I am trans just as much

as I am Black,

just as much as I am a woman.

It was Miss Major who taught me

to center my sisters in my work.

She has always centered us,

those of us most forgotten

by LGBT movement leaders.

For decades Miss Major,

with little resources,

no pay or accolades has

taken care

our sisters working

on the streets, our sisters

searching for mothers.

She is the blueprint

for our liberation

and has ensured that

the path that I walk on,

that we all walk on is

less rocky because she exists.

We must never forget that

Stonewall was not a parade;

it was a police riot.

We must never forget

that whole communities

of low-income trans

and queer folk were fighting

for their lives that night.

Our siblings are still

fighting HIV/AIDS,

our sisters are still

banished to the darkness

of street corners, our people

are still being locked away

and hunted down.

We must remember.

We must remember.

We must remember.

The memories of this day,

of all of you standing here

will serve as an enduring

reminder of our legacy

of resilience, of where

we are now and how far

we must move

and journey together.

Hey.

OK, first and foremost,

Ma Major, you know

there's nothing but love.

I'm here as a Black trans woman.

I'm still f***ing here.

What.

I'm still here.

I'm still here

Through it all,

I'm still f***ing here.

I'm still here!

I'm still f***ing here.

I'm still f***ing here.

I'm still f***ing here.

The dust hasn't settled...

but I'm still here.

I'm still f***ing here.

I'm still f***ing here.

Trans Latinas!

Aqui estamos!

I am still here.

I'm still freaking here.

I'm still f***ing here.

I'm still f***ing here.

And I'm not going

any f***ing where.

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