The Story of Miss Major and Ms. Sharyn: A Legacy of Love, Sisterhood, and Liberation

The Story of Miss Major and Ms. Sharyn

A Legacy of Love, Sisterhood, and Liberation

The pair of friends first met in the 1980s, at a conference buzzing with life and purpose. Two tall, radiant women — standing proud in a world that often tried to make them small. Miss Major and Ms. Sharyn were elegance and power personified, commanding every room they entered. That night, after the long day, they slipped off their high heels, walking barefoot back to the car, laughing like old friends. Somewhere in that moment — between the laughter, the exhaustion, and the freedom of sore feet — a sisterhood was born.

From that day on, wherever Miss Major went, Ms. Sharyn followed. Whether as coworkers, activists, sisters, or simply two women holding up the world together — the pair of friends were inseparable. Bound not just by friendship, but by purpose.

Miss Major had always been a mother to her community — a hero to trans women long before the world ever used the word “activist.” Her love was radical. Her care, uncompromising. She opened her doors to girls who had nowhere else to go — offering food, shelter, a bed to rest in, or a firm hand to keep them accountable. Her spaces were sanctuaries. In San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, she called this program “GG’s,” a place where girls could gather, find warmth, and simply be.

But Miss Major had a dream — one she did not speak of often. She wanted a place for her people to rest, to retreat, to remember their worth. A place where trans folks could reconnect with joy, community, and peace.

Miss Sharyn heard that dream and carried it like a mission. Together, Miss Sharyn and Miss Major began to shape it — a vision that would soon become The House of GG.

When Ms. Sharyn (after a week of diligent research and writing) put the final plan on paper and showed it to Miss Major, tears filled her eyes. After a lifetime of fighting for others, she could finally see her dream take physical form.

The pair of friends searched far and wide for the right place — but nothing felt right until they found a quiet property in Little Rock, Arkansas. When Ms. Sharyn asked Miss Major what she thought, she smiled — but Sharyn wanted her to feel it deep in her soul. And when Miss Major said, “Yes, this is the one,” they bought it.

That's how the House of GG - the Griffin-Gracy Educational Retreat & Historical Center - was born. Not just a building, but a sanctuary. A compound for rest, relaxation, and reclamation. Soon after, the property next door became available — perfect timing, divine timing — and the two claimed that too.

It became a refuge under the Southern sky, where trans people could gather around a fire, look up at the stars, and exhale the weight of survival.

Last week, as Ms. Sharyn sat in the yard, she felt a quiet awe. The air was still, the dream was alive, and the space radiated peace — just as the pair of friends had imagined all those years ago. She remembered the two of them, sitting together in a living room, eating sunflower seeds, talking about what freedom could look like if they finally gave themselves permission to dream. And now, here it was — alive, breathing, real.

When Miss Major convinced Ms. Sharyn to move from Dallas to Little Rock, she made sure her sister was cared for. One day she called, saying, “Guess what? I found you a house — rent and expenses paid for six months — right across the street from me.” Ms. Sharyn laughed and said yes. For a year, the two of them lived across from each other — sisters in proximity, purpose, and spirit.

Miss Major and Ms. Sharyn opened an office on Spring Street in downtown Little Rock, with a window view of the Capitol building. The building became more than an office — it was a home base for trans youth and elders alike. A safe haven that carried their shared energy of love, resilience, and care.

Then came 2019. Within a week of each other, Ms. Sharyn was diagnosed with cancer and Miss Major suffered a stroke. Two sisters — two warriors — both healing at once. They decided to close the office and focus on healing, bringing their work home with them.

Soon after, life led Ms. Sharyn back to California to be near her brother, whose health was failing. There, she was offered a leadership position at TGIJP, the organization Miss Major had co-founded years before - another full-circle moment in their intertwined story. Surrounded by love, Ms. Sharyn cared for her brother until his passing, then continued her work for another year.

But one day, her heart spoke. It called her back to her home.

Home wasn’t Dallas anymore.
Home wasn’t California anymore.
Home was Little Rock — the place where dreams had taken root, where sisterhood had turned into legacy.

So she returned — to Little Rock and to the House of GG, to the land that held her story, and to the home she and Miss Major built together — not just for themselves, but for generations to come.

Because the House of GG is more than a dream.
It is a legacy.
A testament to love that endures.
A home for those who dare to be free.