![]() ![]() “The gay rights movement was not founded by the gays hanging out at Fire Island. The gay community was not willing to embrace her, and neither was the women’s liberation movement. “Back in 1970, 1971, there was some appreciation for drag queens, but not for what we know as transgender people today. She had a lot of anger, for many understandable reasons,” said Rich Wandel, a historian and archivist at New York City’s LGBT Community Center who knew Rivera. This is all part of the complicated persona that was Sylvia Rivera. “I lost my job, I lost my apartment for gay liberation… and you all treat me this way?” By the end of her tirade, she is leading the crowd in a chant of “Gay Power!” ![]() “I have been beaten, I have had my nose broken, I have been thrown in jail!” she shouts. She castigates the crowd for not caring about the rights of others. In one video that encapsulates Rivera’s contentious relationship with the larger gay community, she takes the stage at a rally in Washington Square Park in 1973 to a chorus of boos. Related Article: Transgender Latinos Fight For Equality Still, she rallied, protested, caucused, and got arrested in the name of what she believed in, earning her the title of “The Rosa Parks of the Modern Transgender Movement.” One time, when a the New York City Council was debating a gay rights bill behind closed doors, Rivera was arrested for trying to climb in a window – in a dress and high heels.īut as the gay rights struggle progressed, Rivera was increasingly left out of a movement that was concentrating on going mainstream. Rivera’s commitment to her causes knew no bounds. She was also an early member of groups like the Gay Activists Alliance and the Gay Liberation Front, which were the forerunners of today’s LGBT advocacy organizations. Johnson, Rivera founded STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) and opened a shelter for homeless transgender youth. With her friend and fellow activist Marsha P. That was the courage she bought to our movement.” Now, jail is not a hospitable place for anyone, but especially not for a transgender woman of color. “She (Rivera) was willing to go to difficult lengths to make her point about these issues,” Davis added. She used her outsider status to help make change.” “Sylvia was drawn to helping the poor, the homeless, people of color, gender non-conformists. “I think Sylvia’s role in gay history was that she was one of the first people to highlight that our movement needed to be more inclusive of people who did not fit in the mainstream,” said Carrie Davis, Chief Programs and Policy Officer at New York City’s LGBT Community Center. Sylvia Ray Rivera (front) and Arthur Bell at gay liberation demonstration, New York University, 1970. After the Stonewall riots, she became part of the nascent gay rights movement – at a time when transgender people were not necessarily welcomed. Yet living on the street also gave Rivera great empathy for others in the same situation. Some have called Rivera the "Rosa Parks" of the modern transgender movement, and her activism helped put the "t" in LGBT activism. Decades ago, the term “transgender” was not in common usage people who did not fit conventional norms were known as drag queens, transsexuals, transvestites, or “queers.” While many men and women chose to hide “in the closet,” Rivera was not among them she was wearing makeup to school in 4th grade. Rivera was forced to live life on the margins because she refused to conform to the gender norms of her time. Rivera once threw herself out of a moving police car to evade arrest. It was an unbelievably dangerous existence, not only because of the drugs and violence on the streets, but because of the continual threat of police brutality. At ten years old, Rivera was on her own in Times Square, eking out a living as a sex worker. Shortly afterwards, Rivera’s mother killed herself. Rivera’s stepfather threatened to kill her and her mother when Rivera was three. She was born in 1951 in New York to a Puerto Rican father and a Venezuelan mother. The recent movie Stonewall, based on the events of that fateful night, drew protests for “whitewashing” Rivera out of the story in favor of a fictional white character. Yet she remains little known, even within the LGBT community. While Rivera’s presence at this landmark event has been disputed, there is no denying that she was an LGBT civil rights pioneer. As drag queens fought back against a police raid at a gay bar on June 28, 1969, the New York Times reported, Rivera shouted out, “I’m not missing a moment of this – it’s the revolution!” Rivera helped lead the charge on the night of the Stonewall riots in New York City, considered the beginning of the LGBT rights movement. She was Sylvia Rivera, who occupies a unique place in LGBT history. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |