Sylvia Rivera

Biography

Sylvia Rivera was a pioneering Latina-American transgender activist who fought tirelessly for the rights of the most marginalized members of the LGBTQ+ community. Born in New York City, Rivera had a difficult childhood and was homeless by the age of 11. She found community on the streets of the city, where she was taken in by a group of drag queens.

Rivera was a veteran of the 1969 Stonewall uprising, and her experiences there fueled her lifelong dedication to activism. Alongside her close friend Marsha P. Johnson, she co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a radical political collective that provided housing and support to homeless queer youth and sex workers in New York City.

Throughout her life, Rivera was a vocal critic of the mainstream gay rights movement, which she felt often excluded transgender people, people of color, and low-income individuals. Her impassioned 1973 speech at the Christopher Street Liberation Day Rally, where she fought for her place on stage to speak, is a testament to her fierce and unwavering commitment to inclusion and justice for all.