Portrait of Sylvia Rivera (1951-2002) posing in front of her altar to Marsha P. Johnson (1944-1992), by Valerie Shaff, ca. 2000
In the early 1970’s Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson co-founded S.T.A.R., Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, an organization designed to achieve rights for her community, and provide social services to this largely ignored and stigmatized group. For a short while she and Marsha P. Johnson ran S.T.A.R. House which provided shelter for homeless young street queens. Lack of funds and problems with the certificate of occupancy for S.T.A.R. House, forced the abandonment of the venture at that time, but Rivera never lost the dream of creating a supportive and safe living space for young transgender people.
Rivera was greatly disillusioned with the desire of many early gay and lesbian activists to distance the gay movement from transvestites, drag queens, and other gender variant people, in spite of the fact that these people were often the “shock troops” for the entire gay community.
A veteran of the 1969 Stonewall uprising, Sylvia was a tireless advocate for all those who have been marginalized as the “gay rights” movement has mainstreamed. Sylvia fought hard against the exclusion of transgender people from the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act in New York, and was a loud and persistent voice for the rights of people of color and low-income queers and trans people.
CONGRATULATIONS to contributing artists Samantha Box, Gerard H. Gaskin, Sean Coleman, Michael Roberson, Robert Sember,Richard Renaldi, Andy Warhol, Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt, Carol Polcovar, Rich Wandel, Leonard Fink, Diana Davies, Vanguard Revisited Project, The Hear Me ROAR! Project and Whose Streets, Our Streets! It was your great work that helped make these legacies visible.
THANK YOU Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson! THANK YOU Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art and the Fresh Fruit Festival! THANK YOU to everyone who voted!
And to the past, present and future queer young people on the street, WE SEE YOU, WE HEAR YOU, YOU MATTER!
Looking to Sylvia Rivera’s ‘Queens in Exile, the Forgotten Ones’ as a blueprint, the exhibition explores the powerful personal histories, creativity and activism of LGBTQ street-involved youth from Stonewall to today. Through oral history, photography, archival footage and submitted pieces, the show engages the voices of Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson, San Francisco’s Vanguard youth, young people at Larkin Street Services and Sylvia’s Place, the House/Ballroom community and more in an intergenerational conversation that reflects the incredible resilience and important contributions of queer homeless and transitional young people.
#QueersInExileExhibit
*If you can’t make the show or museums just aren’t your thang, the curator partnered with Whose Streets, Our Streets, a website and smart-phone enabled tour highlighting sites of queer resistance in NYC, to create an exhibition feature that allows people to connect with spaces of LGBTQ homeless youth history from the show, outside of the museum! Launching at the start of the exhibition. Check it out!
On the 44th Anniversary of the Stonewall rebellion, we THANK the QUEER HOMELESS YOUTH who helped spark the riots and have fought in the movement that has brought deep change to the lives of LGBTQ folks all around the world!
Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson, Jackie Hormona and the many, many INVISIBLE others, we honor you!!
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Connect with the personal histories, creativity and activism of queer street-involved youth from Stonewall to today, during the Queers in Exile: the Unforgotten Legacies of LGBTQ Homeless Youth exhibit at Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art.
1. Sure, Marsha didn’t throw the first to throw shoes or Molotov cocktails. She still participated and started one of the first trans organizations in the country! She wasn’t the *first* but still had a major influence on the riots and subsequent organizing.
2. She dropped a purse full of bricks on a police car. That’s queen shit right there. Not “completely fabricated” at all.
[Image Description: text overlaying image of Sylvia Rivera. Text reads: “What is the bedrock on which all of our diverse trans populations can build solidarity? The commitment to be the best fighters against each other’s oppression.” ~ Leslie Feinberg, Trans Liberation]
At that time, NYC’s Bellevue Hospital followed prevailing thought that sexuality and gender identity that did not correspond to a narrow and binary view of normative behaviors was a sign of mental illness. Like many institutions they practiced Electroshock Therapy to “cure”bisexual as well as gay/lesbian people and mistreated LGBTQ patients who were simply there for routine medical complaints.
“the meaning of Stonewall has shifted as the assimilations in favor of a ‘we’re just like them’ gay politics have struggled against the radical activists over the legacy of the riot and the broad, multi issue based activism which accompanied it.” ~“History or Myth? Writing Stonewall” by Benjamin Shepard in Lambda Book Report;Aug/Sep2004, Vol. 13 Issue ½
Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance2016. We remember. We will not forget. We will ally, flank and do whatever it takes to stand with trans folks, including the many bisexual+ trans people in the U.S. who face increased anti bisexual+ and anti transgender sentiments but still keep living, thriving and working to help us all b free.
In the name of the so many who came before, I send prayers up in the memory of Sylvia Rivera, trans bi+ Latinx icon FOR ALL transgender, nonbinary and gender nonconforming people in the world.
I hope that they, and my own beautiful nonbinary child, experience every day in the love they deserve.
I pray that the times the T in LGBT experience hatred or discomfort become rare, but *when* it does happen that trans people are quickly be surrounded in love and in light, with an explicitly anti-racist and a delightfully pro trans soft place to heal.
I pray as well that more and more cisgender people begin to celebrate the awesomeness of trans and nonbinary experience, for we should be a more grateful people to so often be blessed with bravery beyond measure.
I, and my family, personally pledge to more frequently open my home, heart and wallet to ensure that safety under the rule of the D.
I hope you all, including those unnamed, find yourself surrounded with more work that uplifts every intersection of your being, and that you get to laugh and live in love every day of your life. You deserve to.
Thank you for blessing my life both personally and professionally, and I pray that the bi+ community is more frequently seen at your side in pride. ~~Faith Cheltenham, President BiNet USA
Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson New York City December 20, 1970
image description: a black & white photograph of sylvia rivera and marsha p. johnson marching with a large banner on a crowded new york street. the banner reads, “street transvestites action revolutionaries.” there is a large star also on the banner.
STAR was an organization co-founded by the two, run from 1970–1973. STAR provided housing and resources to homeless LGBT youth and sex workers, and developed much of the intersectional politics in activism at the time. the money used to keep STAR running usually came out of their own pockets.
High resolution 18″ X 24″ poster of an Apsáalooke badé, Osh-Tisch (1854-1929, on the left), and their wife photographed in 1877. “Decolonize Your Luvvv” honors Indigenous Queer & Trans cultures that were respected and honored prior to European-led Genocide, Heteropatriarchy, Religion, & Colonization.
The photograph shows Osh-Tisch (Apsáalooke translation: “Finds Them and Kills Them”), and their wife in 1877. During the time period the photograph was taken, Osh-Tisch was one of the last remaining Apsáalooke badés (which would be the Western equivalent on a Trans person), and was respected and accepted within traditional Apsáalooke culture. In spite of being married to a woman, as a means to maintain balance in Apsáalooke society, Osh-Tisch was not prevented from living their life out romantically with other men.
In background of the photograph is an inserted tile image of Marsha P. Johnson & Sylvia Rivera taken at the Christopher Street Liberation Day, Gay Pride Parade, NYC. June 24, 1973. Johnson & Rivera were veterans of the Stonewall Rebellion, founders of S.T.A.R. (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), and are honored as role models for contemporary Queer/Trans rights movements.
As with all our posters, feel liberated to print out, wheatpaste, repost/regram, and disseminate at will!
Sylvia Riviera was a passionate, Venezuelan-Puerto Rican, LGBT Woman, sex worker, and trauma survivor with a loud & persistent voice for the rights of people of color and low income queer/transgender people. If you have a moment, check out these links for more information about her story:
Every day in June, I will be posting an illustration that highlights an LGBT+ activist who I believe everyone should know. This series will be in no way comprehensive, & will include a multitude of identities, races, sexualities, and genders. My goal is to bring some awareness to those who have paved the way for this to be a month of celebration.
Queer history was probably not included in your grade school curriculum—but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist! Part of being a good ally (that’s you, parents!) is learning about the history, hardships, and celebrations that the LGBTQ community has experienced, and remembering all the contributions made by queer folks throughout history.
That’s why, throughout Pride month, we will be highlighting LGBTQ activists, artists, and politicians who have played powerful roles in shaping our politics, our culture, and our history. We are kicking off our short series with activists, because it is important to remember and honor Pride’s roots in radical activism. So with that in mind, check out these four inspiring activists who were pioneers of the early LGBTQ movement.
Marsha P. Johnson, 1945-1992
Marsha P. Johnson was a black, trans, gay activist and drag queen. Johnson is perhaps most well-known for her participation in the Stonewall riots in June of 1969, where violence broke out when police raided New York City’s Stonewall Inn in an attempt to arrest the gay and transgender patrons there. The riots lasted for several days and sparked the gay rights movement where Johnson played an important role in fighting for the rights of gay and transgender people. Following the riots, Johnson joined the Gay Liberation Front, one of the first LGBTQ advocacy organizations in the U.S. She also co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (S.T.A.R.), which advocated on behalf of young trans people; helped start and run the S.T.A.R. House, a homeless shelter for gay and trans street kids; and was actively involved in ACT UP, an HIV/AIDS activist group. As a queer, poor, gender non-conforming person of color who struggled with mental illness and homelessness, Johnson’s legacy of intersectional activism within the LGBTQ community was integral to the movement, and she remains an inspiration for many activists today.
Sylvia Rivera, 1951-2002
Sylvia Rivera was a gay, trans, Latina social justice activist and drag queen of Puerto Rican and Venezuelan descent. Her activism started in the civil rights, anti-war, and feminist movements in the 1960s before she became an important figure in the gay rights movement as well. A close friend of Marsha P. Johnson, she co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries and S.T.A.R. House, a homeless shelter for gay and trans youth. She was also an early member of the Gay Activists Alliance and the Gay Liberation Front and fought for legal protections for LGBTQ people, including the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act and the later Transgender Rights Bill. Throughout her life she was critical of the mainstream gay rights movement’s exclusions of people of color, trans people, and sex workers in order to appease the “respectability” of mainstream culture. Her legacy reminds us that even with the progress that the LGBTQ community has made, we must continue to fight for the respect, inclusion, and celebration of ALL queer identities, including those that have been marginalized within the larger movement.
Bayard Rustin, 1912-1987
Bayard Rustin was a black gay man and an important figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. He was an advocate of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience and was an early organizer of the 1947 Freedom Ride that protested racial segregation in the South. Later, Rustin was a close advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. and a key organizer of the March on Washington (where MLK gave his famous “I Have A Dream” speech). In his later career, Rustin became involved with the Democratic Party, labor unions, and gay rights activism. Rustin’s sexual orientation, as well as his earlier connections with the Communist Party, meant that he took a behind-the-scenes seat in the Civil Rights movement to avoid controversy. Therefore, recognizing his important contributions to history and to the fight for equality is all the more important today.
Brenda Howard, 1946-2005
Brenda Howard was a bisexual feminist woman and an important figure in shaping the modern LGBTQ rights movement. Howard’s activism began in the anti-war movement of the 1960s and soon expanded to the feminist and gay rights movements as well. Her work with other activists in coordinating the rally commemorating the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots and in popularizing the term “Pride” to describe the event earned her the unofficial title of the “mother of Pride.” Howard planned and participated in LGBTQ activism throughout her life, and was active in organizations including the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights, ACT UP, and Queer Nation. She helped to found the New York Area Bisexual Network as well as the first Alcoholics Anonymous chapter for bisexual individuals, helping to address the gap in resources available to bisexual people. Her activism and dedication were key in making the LGBTQ movement what it is today.
We must remember that the LGBTQ community has the rights and access to resources that it does today because of the activism of people like this. We are able to march during Pride Month because of the people who came before us, and we owe it to them to remember their legacies and to continue the ongoing fight for justice and equality for the LGBTQ community.
Want to learn more but don’t know where to start? We recommend checking out:
Sylvia Rivera calling out gays and lesbians for their trans exclusion in 1973 at the Christopher Street Liberation Day rally (x)
Rivera lied repeatedly about being at Stonewall and was even called out for it by Malcolm Michaels Jr., a gay activist best known by his drag persona, Marsha P. Johnson, who also didn’t arrive until after the riots had started. (And went by both pronouns, FYI.) Stormé DeLarverie, a butch lesbian, is the one who actually sparked the riots.
The reason Rivera was being booed at the event pictured here was because she stormed the stage during lesbian activist Jean O’Leary’s speech, took the microphone from her, and called her a bitch. O’Leary was critical of misogyny within the gay community, specifically drag culture and men who do insulting impersonations of women for money.
I’m not denying that Rivera did important work, because the STAR House was important, but there’s a reason lesbians want to #GetTheLOut. We’re done hearing twisted narratives that erase and demonize lesbian pioneers who prioritized female liberation.
op you look like a damn fool
“This was illustrated during the 1973 Stonewall rally when, moments after Barbara Gittings exuberantly praised the diversity of the crowd, feminist activist Jean O'Leary protested what she perceived as the mocking of women by cross-dressersanddrag queens in attendance. During a speech by O'Leary, in which she claimed that drag queens made fun of women for entertainment value and profit, Sylvia RiveraandLee Brewster jumped on the stage and shouted ‘You go to bars because of what drag queens did for you, and these bitches tell us to quit being ourselves!’"
How typical is it that tumblr acts like this guy is the poor innocent victim being mistreated by women, when the truth is he rightfully got booed for pulling a Kanye to trash on women?
Both Latine/x Heritage AND LGTBQ+ History Month mean honoring the legacies and resilience of our queer and trans ancestors. Thank you to our wonderful community collaborator, @maitexnazario for creating this beautiful mural! This mural will be split in three parts, celebrating three different queer and trans Latine/x ancestors. Today, we honor Sylvia Rivera and her legacy of relentless care and dedication to her community. Sylvia Rivera was a trans woman, s*x w*rker and activist born in New York in 1951. Daughter of a Venezuelan mother and Puerto Rican father, she was one of the main pillars in the revolts that occurred at the Stonewall bar in New York in 1969, at the age of 17. She was often silenced and pushed out of predominately white, gay and lesbian activism spaces due to her radical activism. She had always centered queer and trans people of color, creating a safe space for s*x w*rkers, homeless youth, and those caught in the prison system. She was one of the founders of the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance and, together with her great friend Marsha P. Johnson, helped to found STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries). Rivera passed away in 2002 due to liver cancer. She left behind a legacy of fighting for the rights of different marginalized identities such as transgender people, people of color and people on the street, no matter the sacrifices.
On a JetBlue flight yesterday and a series of questions came up on the screen. One was: “Who is the "mother of pride”? –Sylvia Rivera –Marsha P. Johnson –Brenda Howard
To see THESE three bisexual & trans names up on a JetBlue screen 10000 feet up in the air !!!
![bihistorygroup: [Know Your Bisexual History]: Photos from joint Street Transvestite Action Revolutio](https://64.media.tumblr.com/dab9dbb7cc9019c8079ae95eede7e59a/tumblr_mwovuolHcn1t37nr2o2_500.jpg "bihistorygroup: [Know Your Bisexual History]: Photos from joint Street Transvestite Action Revolutio")
![bihistorygroup: [Know Your Bisexual History]: Photos from joint Street Transvestite Action Revolutio](https://64.media.tumblr.com/07d40cac5ff0f0ca87d6db8ee4c94166/tumblr_mwovuolHcn1t37nr2o6_r1_640.jpg "bihistorygroup: [Know Your Bisexual History]: Photos from joint Street Transvestite Action Revolutio")
