2/18/2023 0 Comments Storme stonewallShe was particularly vocal, however, about queer homeless people of color - who she felt were being left behind by a gay community that only wanted to assimilate into the mainstream. Rivera took to activism early, before the Stonewall Riots, and was active in the Civil Rights Movement and protested against the Vietnam War, and was involved in youth activism with the Young Lords and Black Panthers. Ray Rivera left home at the age of 10 to become Sylvia. In one interview she stated, as a response to the gender identity question: “I am Sylvia Rivera. She would alternate between referring to herself as a gay man, a gay girl, a drag queen, a street queen, and a transvestite (while that was still the popular term in usage, anyways.) Consistently, however, she shirked labels whenever possible. Rivera developed a very, very fluid sense of gender identity throughout her life. She was taken in by a group of drag queens, who gave her the name Sylvia that she would carry for the rest of her life. This disapproval became even worse when Rivera began to wear makeup in the fourth grade - as a result, she was living on the streets at eleven years old, surviving only by making money through sex work. And so she was raised by her grandmother, who vocally disapproved of how effeminate “Ray” was. Her mother committed suicide - orphaning the young Rivera at only three years old. Her father, Jose Rivera, abandoned the family. Sylvia was given the name Ray Rivera when she was born on Jand was of both Puerto Rican and Venezuelan heritage. Though we view her as a hero and champion for our community now, she was not always looked on so fondly. She was 93 years old.Of all of the heroes of the LGBTQIA+ community who fought for us at the Stonewall Riots, I personally think that Sylvia Rivera may have had the most important impact on our community - however, she may also be the most controversial. On April 24, 2014, DeLarverie was honored by the Brooklyn Community Pride Center for her “fearlessness and bravery” and was presented with a proclamation from New York City Public Advocate Letitia James.Īfter a long struggle with dementia, DeLarverie died in her sleep on in a Brooklyn nursing home. She was also featured in a film directed by Michelle Parkerson: Stormé: The Lady of the Jewel Box. honored DeLarverie at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture. She lived at the famous Hotel Chelsea throughout this period, and continued her vigilance against anti-gay and anti-black prejudice until she was 85. She patrolled gay clubs and bars on lower Seventh and Eighth avenues on the lookout for intolerance. DeLarverie participated in the organization, and was a regular part of the pride parades in New York City, New York and other locales for the rest of her life.įrom the 1980s through the 1990s, DeLarverie worked as a singer and a bouncer. From 1998 to 2000, she served as the organization’s Vice-President. She was active in the organization, holding the offices of Chief of Security, and Ambassador. Two weeks after the rebellion, DeLarverie was part of the official formation of the Stonewall Veteran’s Association on July 11, 1969. DeLarverie was opposed to calling Stonewall a riot: “a rebellion, an uprising, a civil rights disobedience,” she said, but definitely not a riot. Either way, DeLarverie was a large part of what is seen as the catalyst for the protests that set off the gay rights movement. While some witnesses say that DeLarverie threw the first punch, and she made the claim as well, there were many people involved in the uprising which made it difficult to determine who the instigator was. Notably, the Jewel Box Revue was the first integrated drag revue, and drew crowds of both black and white audiences, even performing at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.ĭeLarverie is best known for possibly throwing the first punch of the Juprising at Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. The revue featured men dressed in drag while DeLarverie was the only male impersonator in the show. DeLarverie grew up in the South, but eventually her parents married and the family moved to California.ĭeLarverie spent the years between 19 as the MC of the Jewel Box Revue, a touring variety performance showcasing both black and white entertainers. Stormé was born to an African American mother who was a servant to a white homeowner, her father. She celebrated her birthday on December 24, but she was not certain of her true date of birth. Stormé DeLarverie, a gay rights activist best known for her part in the Stonewall uprisings, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1920.
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