LGBTQ+ Activists
In honor of Pride Month, I would like to highlight two influential women who paved the path of the LGBTQ+ movement in New York City: Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera.
Marsha P. Johnson was an influential transgender figure in the gay rights movement, advocating for many issues that still plague our society today. She was an activist for homeless LGBTQ + youth, gay and transgender rights, and people affected by H.I.V. and AIDS. She grew up in a Christian, African-American working class family in New Jersey. Shortly after she graduated from high school, she moved to New York City with less than $20. In New York she was able to openly express herself in feminine clothes and changed her name. However, it was challenging living in New York with suppressed rights and little money. She turned to sex work and soon became a drag queen.
Shortly after her move, she met Sylvia Rivera and soon their lives would be changed. Sylvia was a Puerto Rican transgender girl who was taken in by the loving arms and care of Marsha. Marsha helped Sylvia to embrace her identity and to love herself. On June 28, 1969, the two were at the Stonewall Inn while it was raided by police and set fire to. Johnson and Rivera were on the front lines of the riots. They protested against the constant oppression they faced in their lives.
After the uprising at the Stonewall Inn, the gay rights movement slowly started to take off, but Marsha was angered by the movement’s exclusion of transgender people and LGBTQ+ people of color. Due to the rising transphobia in the movement, Johnson and Rivera established the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR). Their organization focused on providing shelter and safety for transgender youth. They launched STAR House, where transgender youth could stay. Their work in providing shelter and care for ostracized communities was of great importance to them as they experienced these struggles firsthand.
Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera are regarded as two of the most prominent figures in the American LGBTQ+ rights movement. Together they advocated for the inclusion of trnagender voices in the broader struggles for equality and are still heralded today by many.
Source: https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/marsha-p-johnson
