Marsha P. Johnson & Sylvia Rivera
Marsha P. Johnson & Sylvia Rivera were self-proclaimed drag performers and vibrant, indelible figures in Greenwich Village Street life. These women were prominent figures in the Stonewall Uprisings, but their service to the entire Queer movement & community were endure. They emerged from the Stonewall Uprising in 1969 as leaders in the Gay Liberation Movement, and together they founded STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), that served housing to homeless and transgender youth. Johnson and Rivera knew first hand that many transgender people turn to sex work after being rejected by their families and discrimination in finding work, facing the added hardships and dangers of being unhoused. Johnson and Rivera opened the first LGBTQ+ (Lesbian Gay Transgender Bisexual Queer) youth shelter in North America, and these trailblazers became the first Trans women of color to lead an organization in the United States.
"History isn't something you look back at and say it was inevitable, it happens because people make decisions that are sometimes very i mpulsive and of the moment, but those moments are cumulative realities." Marsha P. Johnson
Both women continued to be persistent voices for the rights of people of color and low-income queer and Trans communities for the remainder of their lives; Marsha’s life was cut short in 1992, though the details of her death remain a mystery. A decade later, Sylvia lost her battle to cancer. Both women are honored at The Stonewall National Monument In New York’s dedicated state park to honor the voices of people who have changed history in their fight for equality. Marsha P. (Pay it no mind) Johnson & Sylvia Rivera’s tireless service continue to inspire the fight for justice that has not been won.
“I was a radical, a revolutionist. I am still a revolutionist…I am glad I was in the Stonewall riot. I remember when someone threw a Molotov cocktail, I thought, “My god, the revolution is here. The revolution is finally here!” Sylvia Rivera