Kiara St. James

Kiara St. James ( – May 8, 2026) was an African-American transgender activist. She was the co-founder and executive director of the New York Transgender Advocacy Group.

Life and career St. James was born in 1973 or 1974, and grew up in Beaumont, Texas. Her family was Christian fundamentalist, and she experienced condemnation and "a lot of gender policing" during her childhood when she wanted to play with girls instead of boys. In 1999, during a period of living at a homeless shelter on Ward's Island, St. James was invited to take a Housing Works bus to Washington, D.C., to join a rally for HIV funding. This trip inspired her to get further involved in activism, and she honed her skills in advocacy while working in the Housing Works donation warehouse in Queens.

She helped advocate for the successful passage of New York's Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA) in 2002 In 2020, City & State included St. James in the Pride Power 100 list of the most influential people in the New York City LGBTQ community. The following year, St. James succeeded in her work with other activists to end a New York City loitering law known as the "Walking While Trans" law, as trans women were disproportionately targeted. and the national advisory board for the Transgender Law Center's Positively Trans program. During Transgender Awareness Week in 2023, St. James was honored by the New York City Comptroller, Brad Lander. In 2022, she was diagnosed with anal cancer, and was hospitalized for months.

St. James died of cancer in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 8, 2026. New York governor Kathy Hochul was among those offering condolences, calling St. James "a champion for the LGBTQ+ community", and stating that she was "proud to know her and to fight alongside her".