How the Progressive Left — Not MAGA — Erased Black Trans History in NYC

And why this Fourth of July weekend is the perfect opportunity to resist.

Let me state from the jump: this is not a MAGA apologist piece. I am a liberal trans woman of color, a democratic socialist, and the daughter of trans icon Sylvia Rivera. If you knew Sylvia — or her best friend Marsha — you know their brand was speaking truth to power. That is what this piece is: democracy in action. I am here to convince you that progressives must do far more to protect trans history than they have done thus far. In fact, they — not MAGA — whether intentionally or not, have erased some of New York's most precious historic resources.

The Democratic Party, and now the DSA's progressives — currently led by their savior, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani — have done more to erase and minimize Black trans history than MAGA ever could. That is not up for debate. Progressives have been quietly sweeping aside crucial trans historic sites and ephemera here in New York for over a decade. The only question is: what are you — what are we — going to do about it?

In the fall of 2025, Mamdani and his campaign leaned heavily on Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson's images and messaging to secure the progressive vote. His campaign lifted their voices for campaign ads without checking with either of their families — only to turn around and forget the most important dates in their lives, and deaths, once in office.

Two Dates America Forgot

July 2nd — the date on which the Continental Congress voted, way back in 1776, to break away from Great Britain, the day that gave us the original "No Kings" mantra — happens to be Sylvia Rivera's birthday. She was born right here in New York City in 1951.

Fun fact: many of the authors of the Declaration believed it was July 2nd, not the 4th, that would be celebrated as Independence Day, since that was the day the colonies engaged in their first collective act of democracy as a new republic, formally agreeing to separate from England. Sylvia Rivera, mother of the modern trans rights movement, could well have shared a birthday with the nation itself. Instead of celebrating the birth of one trans icon, many now mark the Fourth of July mourning the death of another.

Marsha P. Johnson — another world-famous trans American, Sylvia's best friend and fellow Stonewall veteran — died in New York City on July 4, 1992. Independence Day. Her body was discovered floating in the Hudson River two days later, on July 6th.

How do we not highlight their fated connections to this year's 250th anniversary celebrations?

The Promise and Contradiction of America, Personified

Sylvia and Marsha represent the best of this country. They were, in many ways, the O.G.'s of "intersectional" social justice work, straddling multiple movements at once. The original STAR, which they founded, was an amalgamation of the women's liberation, civil rights, Black power, anti-war, labor, LGBT rights, and Puerto Rican independence movements — rolled into one.

Sylvia and Marsha were out championing healthcare and housing for all, a decent wage, organized labor, and the protection of LGBT youth and sex workers a full half-century before this fresh-faced class of political elites was even born. Maybe they should put a little more respect on their names.

When Sylvia and Marsha first took to the streets, the nation was fighting an unpopular war in Vietnam. Those who criticized the federal government were branded unpatriotic, placed under surveillance, and made to face retaliation. The American Dream felt like an American joke. The America of the '60s and early '70s felt a lot like today.

Like many young people in 2026, Sylvia and Marsha were up against what must have felt like impossible odds: a country in turmoil, cops roving American cities unchecked, brutalizing peaceful protesters and bystanders alike with impunity, carting people off to jail on trumped-up charges. Still, they refused to give up — finding common cause with iconic groups like the Young Lords and the Black Panther Party, and breaking with mainstream civil rights organizations that often banned trans people outright.

But you won't hear a word of this crucial history this weekend. And it isn't just the Trump and Mamdani administrations that have contributed to the erasure of trans history in recent years. There is plenty of blame to go around.

A Bipartisan Failure — Without a Red Hat in Sight

President Obama had a chance to protect and preserve the Black trans history of the Piers in New York City after they were nominated for federal protection under his 2014 study of LGBT landmarks. The Piers could have been designated on their own, or as part of the larger story of Stonewall. Instead, his administration ignored clear language in the National Historic Preservation Act that plainly defines places like the Piers as eligible for protected status. I personally penned a letter to the president and received a polite, personalized reply that acknowledged the Piers and their history. Still, in 2016, Obama — America's first Black president, whose LGBT staffers all walk in Sylvia and Marsha's footsteps — chose to protect Stonewall alone. A stroke of a pen could have saved both.

In 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo acknowledged Marsha P. Johnson at a glitzy HRC fundraiser, bringing the crowd to its feet by announcing that the State would honor her with a park. The governor — a proud Democrat and self-styled champion of marriage equality and trans rights — honored Marsha with her very own former garbage dump turned state park in Brooklyn, a borough she is never known to have visited. The move all but erased her memory from the waterfront at Hudson River Park.

Soon after, the New York State Department of Parks and Historic Preservation under Cuomo — read that again — offered up the very Piers where Marsha died to private developers, who have since installed a man-made beach on the spot. Not so much as a plaque exists there today to tell the public they are standing on ground of enormous significance. Nice job, Cuomo.

Not a red hat in sight. No Trump executive orders, no MAGA talking points. Just good old-fashioned New York Democrats.

Cuomo's successor, Kathy Hochul — a lauded Democrat and the State's first female governor — was actually sworn into office on what would have been Marsha's 76th birthday: August 24, 2021. Some symbolism — certain coincidences — jumps out and bites you on the nose.

Shortly after assuming office on Marsha's birthday, the newly minted Governor Hochul issued a short statement on Twitter acknowledging Marsha's contributions to New York. Since then, she has not taken a single step to protect or defend Sylvia's or Marsha's history for future generations. In fact, she sent attorneys to court to ensure that construction damaging and threatening the sites associated with both women was allowed to continue. Under Hochul, the beach project was completed — and the site where Marsha died was destroyed.

By every indication, Mamdani and this new wave of DSA hopefuls seem intent on treating LGBT history and trans icons as tokens and campaign props. Like Hochul, Obama, and Cuomo before him, Mamdani has continued a long tradition of trans historic erasure and marginalization. But these women were not footnotes. They did not play supporting roles. They are main characters in the story of America, and they should be treated as such.

The Chance We Missed — and the One We Still Have

In 2026, New York had a truly unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence while uplifting the fight for trans rights.

What should have been Sylvia's 75th birthday on July 2nd, and the 34th anniversary of Marsha's passing on July 4th, should be marked forever — across New York and the nation — with block parties and somber reflection, with festive light shows and storytelling that keeps their history alive, right alongside every other event this week. We had a chance to ensure the media covered our most celebrated figures alongside the so-called founders. Instead, these women will not receive the recognition they deserve. Thanks to the Mamdani–DSA machine, we missed our chance — and we won't have another for at least a quarter century.

But there is good news. Like this great nation, like our democracy itself, it is the people — everyday people like you, like me, like Sylvia and like Marsha — who determine our future.

Historic preservation — ensuring the stories and ephemera of our vanguards endure — is part of the American story. Always has been. We can have monuments and parks honoring America's great trans revolutionaries. We just have to demand them. Such monuments must be carved with the tools of democracy: showing up for the campaigns that bring about change, and pressing public officials like Mamdani and Hochul to keep their promises to Sylvia, Marsha, and the many others whose lives and talents have contributed to this great patchwork of ideas.

Sylvia and Marsha's legacies burn as bright and as vibrant as any fireworks show to grace the sky this weekend. So with our nation in turmoil, and trans rights and history under attack, choose to honor the founding mothers of the modern LGBT movement this Independence Day — true patriots who embodied the highest ideals of freedom and independence.

— Mariah Lopez