DOCSLIB.ORG

The Year 1969 Marked a Major Turning Point in the Politics of Sexuality

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Year 1969 Marked a Major Turning Point in the Politics of Sexuality The Gay Pride March, begun in 1970 as the In the fertile and tumultuous year that Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade to followed, groups such as the Gay commemorate the Stonewall Riots, became an Liberation Front (GLF), Gay Activists annual event, and LGBT Pride months are now celebrated around the world. The march, Alliance (GAA), and Radicalesbians Marsha P. Johnson handing out flyers in support of gay students at NYU, 1970. Photograph by Mattachine Society of New York. “Where Were Diana Davies. Diana Davies Papers. which demonstrates gays, You During the Christopher Street Riots,” The year 1969 marked 1969. Mattachine Society of New York Records. sent small groups of activists on road lesbians, and transgender people a major turning point trips to spread the word. Chapters sprang Gay Activists Alliance. “Lambda,” 1970. Gay Activists Alliance Records. Gay Liberation Front members marching as articulate constituencies, on Times Square, 1969. Photograph by up across the country, and members fought for civil rights in the politics of sexuality Mattachine Society of New York. Diana Davies. Diana Davies Papers. “Homosexuals Are Different,” 1960s. in their home communities. GAA became a major activist has become a living symbol of Mattachine Society of New York Records. in America. Same-sex relationships were discreetly force, and its SoHo community center, the Firehouse, the evolution of LGBT political tolerated in 19th-century America in the form of romantic Jim Owles. Draft of letter to Governor Nelson A. became a nexus for New York City gays and lesbians. Rockefeller, 1970. Gay Activists Alliance Records. friendships, but the 20th century brought increasing legal communities. The Year The vision put forward by the Radicalesbians took root The 1970s witnessed a gay and lesbian renaissance with its own and medical regulation of homosexuality, which was The Mattachine Society, founded in 1951, and the Daughters of Bilitis, and flowered into a dynamic lesbian feminist movement considered a dangerous illness. This repression reached literature, music, politics, and erotic presence. Lesbian, gay, founded in 1955, were early attempts to provide protective social networks across the nation. of Gay its peak in the 1950s; during the Cold War period, gays, Gay Liberation Front. Draft platform bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activists won of Gay Liberation Front, July 11, 1970. and outlets for political activism. Then, in 1969, the small International Gay Information Center. lesbians, and transgender people were seen as a corrupt, major political victories, such as the removal of homosexuality lurking menace, easily used as pawns by communists. flames of resistance that activists around the Liberation from the American Psychiatric Association’s list of mental disorders, and country had been tending and fanning for decades applied public pressure to combat negative stereotypes of homosexuality. Among the many activist groups that worked to archive finally erupted into a mass political movement However, many challenges persist today, such as bans on military service Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) history and marriage for gays, police entrapment, and the struggle of transgender was the International Gay Information Center (IGIC), sparked by the Stonewall Riots of June 28, in which which grew out of the History Committee of the Gay people for civil rights. Activists Alliance (GAA). The IGIC archives operated as gay men and drag queens openly—and unexpectedly—took to the streets in Gay “Be-In,” Sheep Meadow, Central Park, 1970. a community-based repository until 1988, when the response to a police raid on a gay bar in Greenwich Village. Inspired by recent Photograph by Diana Davies. Diana Davies Papers. organization’s directors gave the collection to The New York Public Library. The IGIC archives, along with other tumultuous changes in American culture—the African American civil rights archives and collections subsequently donated to the movement, the women’s movement, the protests against the Vietnam War, Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee. Library, comprehensively document the gay and lesbian “C.S.L.D. Invites You to ... Gay Parade,” 1970s. civil rights struggles in New York since the 1950s and and the emergence of the International Gay Information Center. have made NYPL one of the most important archives of hippie youth subculture— LGBT history in this country. All the materials reproduced here are drawn from these historic collections in the gays and lesbians emerged Lavender Menace action; Rita Mae Brown Based upon the exhibition 1969: The Year of Gay Liberation, originally on view at The New York Library’s Manuscripts and Archives Division. at right, 1970. Photograph by Diana Davies. with a slogan: “Gay Power!” Diana Davies Papers. Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, New York, NY. Curated by Jason Baumann Coordinator of Collection Assessment & LGBT Collections The New York Public Library Support for The New York Public Library’s Exhibitions Program has been provided by Celeste Bartos, Martha Shelley at the Oscar Wilde Mahnaz Ispahani and Adam Bartos, Jonathan Altman, and Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III. Memorial Bookshop, 1969. Photograph by Diana Davies. Diana Davies Papers. Child holding poster “But Would You Want Your Daughter to Marry One?,” 1970. Photograph by Initial funding for The New York Public “Ida,” member of the Gay Liberation Diana Davies. Diana Davies Papers. Front and the Lavender Menace, 1970. Library’s LGBT initiative was provided by Protestor at Weinstein Hall demonstration for Mattachine Society of New York. Photograph by Diana Davies. Diana Davies the rights of gay people on the New York . “Penalties for Sex Offenses in the United Papers. University campus, 1970. Photograph by Diana States—1964.” Mattachine Society of New York Davies. Diana Davies Papers. Records. Gay Liberation Front members picketing Time, Inc., 1969. Stonewall Inn, 1969. Photograph by Diana Davies. Photograph by Diana Davies. Diana Davies Papers. © The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations, 2009 Diana Davies Papers. Photographs by Diana Davies © Diana Davies.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Jun Jul. 1970, Vol. 14 No. 09-10
    Published bi-monthly by the Daughters of ONCE MORE WITH FEELING Bilitis, Inc., a non-profit corporation, at THE I have discovered my most unpleasant task as editor . having to remind y. 'i P.O. Box 5025, Washington Station, now and again of your duty as concerned reader. Not just reader, concern« ' reader. Reno, Nevada 89503. UDDER VOLUME 14 No. 9 and 10 If you aren’t — you ought to be. JUNE/JULY, 1970 Those of you who have been around three or more years of our fifteen years n a t io n a l OFFICERS, DAUGHTERS OF BILITIS, INC know the strides DOB has made and the effort we are making to improve this magazine. To continue growing as an organization we need more women, women . Rita Laporte aware they are women as well as Lesbians. If you have shy friends who might be President . jess K. Lane interested in DOB but who are, for real or imagined reasons, afraid to join us — i t h e l a d d e r , a copy of WHAT i w r ■ ’ '^hich shows why NO U N t at any time in any way is ever jeopardized by belonging to DOB or by t h e LADDER STAFF subscribing to THE LADDER. You can send this to your friend(s) and thus, almost surely bring more people to help in the battle. Gene Damon Editor ....................... Lyn Collins, Kim Stabinski, And for you new people, our new subscribers and members in newly formed and Production Assistants King Kelly, Ann Brady forming chapters, have you a talent we can use in THE LADDER? We need Bobin and Dana Jordan wnters always in all areas, fiction, non-fiction, biography, poetry.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultivating the Daughters of Bilitis Lesbian Identity, 1955-1975
    “WHAT A GORGEOUS DYKE!”: CULTIVATING THE DAUGHTERS OF BILITIS LESBIAN IDENTITY, 1955-1975 By Mary S. DePeder A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in History Middle Tennessee State University December 2018 Thesis Committee: Dr. Susan Myers-Shirk, Chair Dr. Kelly A. Kolar ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I began my master’s program rigidly opposed to writing a thesis. Who in their right mind would put themselves through such insanity, I often wondered when speaking with fellow graduate students pursuing such a goal. I realize now, that to commit to such a task, is to succumb to a wild obsession. After completing the paper assignment for my Historical Research and Writing class, I was in far too deep to ever turn back. In this section, I would like to extend my deepest thanks to the following individuals who followed me through this obsession and made sure I came out on the other side. First, I need to thank fellow history graduate student, Ricky Pugh, for his remarkable sleuthing skills in tracking down invaluable issues of The Ladder and Sisters. His assistance saved this project in more ways than I can list. Thank-you to my second reader, Dr. Kelly Kolar, whose sharp humor and unyielding encouragement assisted me not only through this thesis process, but throughout my entire graduate school experience. To Dr. Susan Myers- Shirk, who painstakingly wielded this project from its earliest stage as a paper for her Historical Research and Writing class to the final product it is now, I am eternally grateful.
    [Show full text]
  • Student Organizations by Brett Genny Beemyn
    Student Organizations by Brett Genny Beemyn Encyclopedia Copyright © 2015, glbtq, Inc. Entry Copyright © 2004, glbtq, inc. Reprinted from http://www.glbtq.com Although students attracted to others of the same sex had developed semi-private meeting places and informal social networks at many colleges and universities since at least the early twentieth century, the first formally recognized gay student organizations were not established until the late 1960s. But the success of these early groups, along with the inspiration provided by other college-based movements and the Stonewall riots, led to the proliferation of gay liberation fronts on campuses across the country by the early 1970s. At many colleges and universities, these organizations were male-dominated, prompting lesbians to demand greater inclusion and often to form their own groups. In the 1980s and 1990s, bisexual and transgender students likewise sought recognition, both within and separate from lesbian and gay organizations. At the same time, high school and junior high school students have begun to organize Gay- Straight Alliances, enabling even younger glbtq people to find support and better advocate for their needs. Early Student Groups The first student gay rights organization, the Student Homophile League, was formally established at Columbia University by Stephen Donaldson (born Robert Martin) in 1967. Donaldson had been involved in the New York City chapter of the Mattachine Society, but when he arrived at Columbia, he could not find any other openly glbtq people and was forced by school administrators to move out of his residence hall after his roommates complained about living with a bisexual man.
    [Show full text]
  • Sexual Controversies in the Women's and Lesbian/Gay Liberation Movements
    University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 1985 Politics and pleasures : sexual controversies in the women's and lesbian/gay liberation movements. Lisa J. Orlando University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses Orlando, Lisa J., "Politics and pleasures : sexual controversies in the women's and lesbian/gay liberation movements." (1985). Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014. 2489. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/2489 This thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. POLITICS AND PLEASURES: SEXUAL CONTROVERSIES IN THE WOMEN'S AND LESBIAN/GAY LIBERATION MOVEMENTS A Thesis Presented By LISA J. ORLANDO Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS September 1985 Political Science Department Politics and Pleasures: Sexual Controversies in the Uomen's and Lesbian/Gay Liberation Movements" A MASTERS THESIS by Lisa J. Orlando Approved by: Sheldon Goldman, Member Philosophy \ hi (UV .CVvAj June 21, 19S4 Dean Alfange, Jj' Graduate P ogram Department of Political Science Lisa J. Orlando © 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 All Rights Reserved iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following friends who, in long and often difficult discussion, helped me to work through the ideas presented in this thesis: John Levin, Sheila Walsh, Christine Di Stefano, Tom Keenan, Judy Butler, Adela Pinch, Gayle Rubin, Betsy Duren, Ellen Willis, Ellen Cantarow, and Pam Mitchell.
    [Show full text]
  • OUT of the PAST Teachers’Guide
    OUT OF THE PAST Teachers’Guide A publication of GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network Page 1 Out of the Past Teachers’ Guide Table of Contents Why LGBT History? 2 Goals and Objectives 3 Why Out of the Past? 3 Using Out of the Past 4 Historical Segments of Out of the Past: Michael Wigglesworth 7 Sarah Orne Jewett 10 Henry Gerber 12 Bayard Rustin 15 Barbara Gittings 18 Kelli Peterson 21 OTP Glossary 24 Bibliography 25 Out of the Past Honors and Awards 26 ©1999 GLSEN Page 2 Out of the Past Teachers’ Guide Why LGBT History? It is commonly thought that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered (LGBT) history is only for LGBT people. This is a false assumption. In out current age of a continually expanding communication network, a given individual will inevitably e interacting with thousands of people, many of them of other nationalities, of other races, and many of them LGBT. Thus, it is crucial for all people to understand the past and possible contributions of all others. There is no room in our society for bigotry, for prejudiced views, or for the simple omission of any group from public knowledge. In acknowledging LGBT history, one teaches respect for all people, regardless of race, gender, nationality, or sexual orientation. By recognizing the accomplishments of LGBT people in our common history, we are also recognizing that LGBT history affects all of us. The people presented here are not amazing because they are LGBT, but because they accomplished great feats of intellect and action. These accomplishments are amplified when we consider the amount of energy these people were required to expend fighting for recognition in a society which refused to accept their contributions because of their sexuality, or fighting their own fear and self-condemnation, as in the case of Michael Wigglesworth and countless others.
    [Show full text]
  • Presidential Documents Vol
    42215 Federal Register Presidential Documents Vol. 81, No. 125 Wednesday, June 29, 2016 Title 3— Proclamation 9465 of June 24, 2016 The President Establishment of the Stonewall National Monument By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Christopher Park, a historic community park located immediately across the street from the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City (City), is a place for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community to assemble for marches and parades, expres- sions of grief and anger, and celebrations of victory and joy. It played a key role in the events often referred to as the Stonewall Uprising or Rebellion, and has served as an important site for the LGBT community both before and after those events. As one of the only public open spaces serving Greenwich Village west of 6th Avenue, Christopher Park has long been central to the life of the neighborhood and to its identity as an LGBT-friendly community. The park was created after a large fire in 1835 devastated an overcrowded tenement on the site. Neighborhood residents persuaded the City to condemn the approximately 0.12-acre triangle for public open space in 1837. By the 1960s, Christopher Park had become a popular destination for LGBT youth, many of whom had run away from or been kicked out of their homes. These youth and others who had been similarly oppressed felt they had little to lose when the community clashed with the police during the Stone- wall Uprising. In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, a riot broke out in response to a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, at the time one of the City’s best known LGBT bars.
    [Show full text]
  • The Stonewall Riots 2/5/16 10:34 PM Page Iii DM - the Stonewall Riots 2/5/16 10:34 PM Page V
    DM - The Stonewall Riots 2/5/16 10:34 PM Page iii DM - The Stonewall Riots 2/5/16 10:34 PM Page v Table of Contents Preface . vii How to Use This Book . xi Research Topics for Defining Moments: The Stonewall Riots . xiii NARRATIVE OVERVIEW Prologue . 3 Chapter 1: Homophobia and Discrimination . 9 Chapter 2: The LGBT Experience in New York City . 23 Chapter 3: Raid on the Stonewall Inn . 37 Chapter 4: Growth of the LGBT Rights Movement . 53 Chapter 5: The AIDS Crisis and the Struggle for Acceptance . 65 Chapter 6: Progress in the Courts . 79 Chapter 7: Legacy of the Stonewall Riots . 95 BIOGRAPHIES Marsha P. Johnson (1945–1992) . 107 Stonewall Riot Participant and Transgender Rights Activist Frank Kameny (1925–2011) . 111 Father of the LGBT Rights Movement Dick Leitsch (1935–) . 116 LGBT Rights Activist and New York Mattachine Society Leader v DM - The Stonewall Riots 2/9/16 2:06 PM Page vi Defining Moments: The Stonewall Riots Seymour Pine (1919–2010) . 120 New York Police Inspector Who Led the Stonewall Inn Raid Sylvia Rivera (1951–2002) . 123 Stonewall Riot Participant and Transgender Rights Activist Craig Rodwell (1940–1993) . 127 Bookstore Owner, Activist, and Stonewall Riot Participant Martha Shelley (1943–) . 131 LGBT Rights Activist and Witness to the Stonewall Riots Howard Smith (1936–2014) . 135 Journalist Who Reported from Inside the Stonewall Inn PRIMARY SOURCES A Medical Journal Exhibits Homophobia . 141 The Kinsey Report Explodes Myths about Homosexuality . 143 Lucian Truscott Covers the Stonewall Riots . 149 Howard Smith Reports from Inside the Bar . 154 Media Coverage Angers LGBT Activists .
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter Six: Activist Agendas and Visions After Stonewall (1969-1973)
    Chapter Six: Activist Agendas and Visions after Stonewall (1969-1973) Documents 103-108: Gay Liberation Manifestos, 1969-1970 The documents reprinted in The Stonewall Riots are “Gay Revolution Comes Out,” Rat, 12 Aug. 1969, 7; North American Conference of Homophile Organizations Committee on Youth, “A Radical Manifesto—The Homophile Movement Must Be Radicalized!” 28 Aug. 1969, reprinted in Stephen Donaldson, “Student Homophile League News,” Gay Power (1.2), c. Sep. 1969, 16, 19-20; Preamble, Gay Activists Alliance Constitution, 21 Dec. 1969, Gay Activists Alliance Records, Box 18, Folder 2, New York Public Library; Carl Wittman, “Refugees from Amerika: A Gay Manifesto,” San Francisco Free Press, 22 Dec. 1969, 3-5; Martha Shelley, “Gay is Good,” Rat, 24 Feb. 1970, 11; Steve Kuromiya, “Come Out, Wherever You Are! Come Out,” Philadelphia Free Press, 27 July 1970, 6-7. For related early sources on gay liberation agendas and philosophies in New York, see “Come Out for Freedom,” Come Out!, 14 Nov. 1969, 1; Bob Fontanella, “Sexuality and the American Male,” Come Out!, 14 Nov. 1969, 15; Lois Hart, “Community Center,” Come Out!, 14 Nov. 1969, 15; Leo Louis Martello, “A Positive Image for the Homosexual,” Come Out!, 14 Nov. 1969, 16; “An Interview with New York City Liberationists,” San Francisco Free Press, 7 Dec. 1969, 5; Bob Martin, “Radicalism and Homosexuality,” Come Out!, 10 Jan. 1970, 4; Allan Warshawsky and Ellen Bedoz, “G.L.F. and the Movement,” Come Out!,” 10 Jan. 1970, 4-5; Red Butterfly, “Red Butterfly,” Come Out!, 10 Jan. 1970, 4-5; Bob Kohler, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” Come Out!, 10 Jan.
    [Show full text]
  • Gay Activists Alliance by Linda Rapp
    Gay Activists Alliance by Linda Rapp Encyclopedia Copyright © 2015, glbtq, Inc. Entry Copyright © 2004, glbtq, inc. Reprinted from http://www.glbtq.com The Gay Activists Alliance was formed in 1969 with the goal of working through the political system to secure and defend the rights of gay men and lesbians. The founders of the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) were members of the Gay Liberation Front who had become dissatisfied with the direction that the organization had taken. The Gay Liberation Front had allied itself with the Black Panther Party and was active in the movement against the war in Vietnam. Its leaders preached a radical political agenda, including the overthrow of capitalism. Arthur Evans, Jim Owles, and Marty Robinson were among the first activists to consider a break with the Gay Liberation Front. In December 1969 they convened a group of approximately twenty people in the New York apartment of Evans's lover Arthur Bell and organized their new association. Other original members included Kay Tobin Lahusen, Vito Russo, and Morty Manford, whose parents, Jeanne and Jules Manford, founded P-FLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). A central tenet of the GAA was that they would devote their activities solely and specifically to gay and lesbian rights. Furthermore, they would work within the political system, seeking to abolish discriminatory sex laws, promoting gay and lesbian civil rights, and challenging politicians and candidates to state their views on gay rights issues. Owles was chosen to be the first president of the GAA. The political tactics of the GAA included "zaps"--public confrontations with officials that sought to draw media attention.
    [Show full text]
  • ''One" Not Obscene Book Reviews Letters
    FEBRUARY 1958 50c HELEN P. BRANSON TELLS REASONS Whx Homosexuals Don’t Get Married (Page 8) ’’ONE" NOT OBSCENE SAYS U. S. SUPREME COURT (Page 4) BOOK REVIEWS LETTERS Casting a Spotlight on Human Sox Problom s — For THINKING ADULTS ■ nattachf ne O ffici Of THf S04*D Of DI«ECrO*S inattachine ^rittg, M.. Copyright1 295S by the Matlacbine Society, incorporated FOURTH YEAR OF PUBLICATION-UATTACHIHE REVIEW founded January 1955 Mauaebint Foundation establisbid 1950; M<tttacbine*Society, Inc., ebartered 2954 OBSCENITY NEEDS TO BE DEFINED Volume IV FEBRUARY 1958 Number 2 The declaration by the U. S. Supreme Court that ONE magazine is not obscene (see page 4) is a victory for freedom of expression everywhere in the U. S., and not a gain for the 'homosexual press' Comtemt» alone. ARTICLES Changing times, changing attitudes and the general progress of human civilization call for old standards to be examined critically VICTORY FOR ONE by John Logan.........................................4 from time to time. The vague old bogey of obscenity is one of HOMOSEXUALS AS I SEE THEM by Helen P. Branson.. 8 these and within the past year or so sponsors of censorship on ob­ ENIGMA UNDER SCRUTING by Sexology Research Staff..14 scenity grounds have been called to task mote than once, but the right of Federal and State governments to judge and ban obscene SHORT FEATURES material has been upheld, as we believe it should be (see MATTA’ COURT RELEASES KINSEY MATERIAL..................................5 CHINE REVIEW. July 1957). We believe that ONE and MATTACHINE agree that freedom to CUSTOMS’ SEVEN-YEAR ITCH IS SCRATCHED............6 publish educational information, in an interesting and readable SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF SEX..........7 form, on the subject of sex variation is a genuine service in the ARMY REVIEWS RISK DISCHARGES.......................................14 interest of truth, justice and human well-being.
    [Show full text]
  • Female Authorship in the Slumber Party Massacre Trilogy
    FEMALE AUTHORSHIP IN THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE TRILOGY By LYNDSEY BROYLES Bachelor of Arts in English University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 2016 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS May, 2019 FEMALE AUTHORSHIP IN THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE TRILOGY Thesis Approved: Jeff Menne Thesis Adviser Graig Uhlin Lynn Lewis ii Name: LYNDSEY BROYLES Date of Degree: MAY, 2019 Title of Study: FEMALE AUTHORSHIP IN THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE TRILOGY Major Field: ENGLISH Abstract: The Slumber Party Massacre series is the only horror franchise exclusively written and directed by women. In a genre so closely associated with gender representation, especially misogynistic sexual violence against women, this franchise serves as a case study in an alternative female gaze applied to a notoriously problematic form of media. The series arose as a satire of the genre from an explicitly feminist lesbian source only to be mediated through the exploitation horror production model, which emphasized female nudity and violence. The resulting films both implicitly and explicitly address feminist themes such as lesbianism, trauma, sexuality, and abuse while adhering to misogynistic genre requirements. Each film offers a unique perspective on horror from a distinctly female viewpoint, alternately upholding and subverting the complex gender politics of women in horror films. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................1
    [Show full text]
  • Sylvia Rivera 7/2/1951 – 2/19/2002
    SYLVIA RIVERA 7/2/1951 – 2/19/2002 Gay civil rights pioneer Sylvia Rivera was one of the instigators of the Sylvia Rivera, then a 17-year-old drag queen, was among the crowd that gathered outside the Stonewall Inn the night of June 27, 1969, when the New York police raided Stonewall uprising, an the popular Greenwich Village gay bar. Rivera reportedly shouted, “I’m not missing a event that helped launch minute of this, it’s the revolution!” As the police escorted patrons from the bar, Rivera the modern gay rights was one of the first bystanders to throw a bottle. movement. After Stonewall, Rivera joined the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) and worked energetically on its campaign to pass the New York City Gay Rights Bill. She was famously arrested for climbing the walls of City Hall in a dress and high heels to crash a closed-door meeting on the bill. In time, the GAA eliminated drag and transvestite concerns from their agenda as they sought to broaden their political base. Years later, Rivera told an interviewer, “When things started getting more mainstream, it was like, ‘We don’t need you no more.’ ” She added, “Hell hath no fury like a drag queen scorned.” Born Ray Rivera Mendosa, Sylvia Rivera was a persistent and vocal advocate for transgender rights. Her activist zeal was fueled by her own struggles to find food, shelter and safety in the urban streets from the time she left home at age 10. In 1970, Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson co-founded STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) to help homeless youth.
    [Show full text]