Celebrating Pride Month: Kiara St. James, Trailblazing Advocate for Transgender Rights
Attribution: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit, License CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons, without change
In honor of Pride Month, we highlight the life and work of Kiara St. James (1977–2026), a beloved community leader whose advocacy reshaped New York law and advanced protections for transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals. As a co-founder and executive director of the New York Transgender Advocacy Group (NYTAG), St. James devoted her life to challenging systemic inequities and securing meaningful legal protections for marginalized communities.
Path to Advocacy
Kiara St. James was born in Beaumont, Texas, and experienced significant hardship from a young age, including family rejection and time in foster care. After moving to New York City in the 1990s, she became immersed in the city’s queer community, particularly among transgender women of color, many of whom faced barriers to housing, healthcare, and employment.
St. James’ path into activism began through her involvement with organizations such as Housing Works, where she engaged in grassroots organizing around HIV services and community support. These early efforts helped shape her approach to advocacy—one rooted in lived experience, community leadership, and a commitment to addressing both legal inequities and the broader social conditions facing transgender individuals.
Landmark Legal Achievements
In 2014, St. James co-founded NYTAG, creating a platform dedicated to advancing policy reform and empowering transgender leaders. With NYTAG, she was a driving force behind the passage by the New York legislature of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) in 2019, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or expression in areas such as employment, housing, and public accommodations.
St. James additionally helped advocate for the repeal of a longstanding statute commonly referred to as the “walking while trans” law (Section 240.37 of the New York Penal Law), which outlawed “loitering for the purpose of engaging in prostitution.” For decades, this law had been used to disproportionately target transgender women—particularly women of color—based on perceived gender identity and expression. After years of sustained advocacy by St. James and her collaborators, the law was repealed in 2021.
St. James also contributed to the creation of the Lorena Borjas Transgender and Gender Non-Binary Wellness and Equity Fund, a statewide initiative designed to address economic and health disparities within the transgender community. The legislative reforms she championed translated into tangible improvements in people’s lives.
Legacy
Kiara St. James’ legacy is one of transformative advocacy and enduring impact. Through her leadership, New York enacted critical legal protections that have improved the lives of transgender individuals and set a precedent for other jurisdictions. St. James inspired a generation of advocates by centering the voices of those most affected by injustice.
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