Jaime Grant
Dr. Jaime M. Grant is no stranger to adversity and discrimination. She was kicked out of her family for being a lesbian. She’s “been fired for being too feminist, too queer… and even too activist.” But that hasn’t stopped Grant from being one of the fiercest advocates for the LGBTQ+ community of our time. Grant came of age in Boston during the feminist and racial justice movements in the 1980s. In graduate school, she discovered the work the Combahee River Collective did in Boston during the ’70s. “I could see that Black queer feminist theory and practice really held the keys to our collective liberation,” she tells GO. She credits her activist trajectory to her sobriety path, during which time she found strength and solace in others in recovery. “You never have to do ‘diversity outreach’ in recovery,” she says. The community, she says, includes folks from all ages, walks of life, races, and genders who come together to share love, acceptance, and faith. Grant has been working tirelessly for queer and racial liberation for decades. She is an activist and coach, and currently serves as research director for the National LGBTQ+ Women’s Community Survey. Her sexual empowerment workshop, Desire Mapping, has been produced around the world for 15 years. Much of her success and joy, she says, is possible thanks to her queer community. “I’ve grown the most incredible family of queer and trans beloveds I could ever have dreamed of,” Grant says. A sober mother of two, she lives and practices in Washington, D.C. –LC
