Trans History is OUR History: Remembering Our Mother, Saint Sylvia Rivera – July 2 1951 - February 19 2022
Today we Remember one of The Original Trancestor’s of our movement. Saint, Vanguard, Warrior, Friend & Co-Founder of STARR – Mother Sylvia Rivera.
In today's political climate, with the ongoing and aggressive erasure of trans identities, it is crucial to recognize that this is not new. The state and society has long worked to erase our history, well before the current administration.
In honor of Saint Sylvia’s life and legacy, let us remember that we are not without history. We are not without leaders doing work. Now more than ever we must remember, learn, and share our history—because it is ours to tell, ours to preserve, and ours to fight for.
Sylvia Rivera (July 2, 1951 – February 19, 2002) was an American gay liberation, and transgender rights activist who was also a noted community worker in New York. Rivera, who identified as a drag queen, participated in demonstrations with the Gay Liberation Front. Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson went on to establish STARR, the Strategic Transgender Alliance for Radical Reform in 1969. STARR’s great work continues under the guidance of Mariah Lopez Ebony, Aryah Lester and more…
STAR(R) was formed the moment the Stonewall riots did
There had never been a movement for gender queer folx
STAR(R) was originally called Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries
STAR(R) began work such as mutual aid; fighting for Trans prisoner rights, against police brutality and housing the homeless, in late 1969
After Sylvia and Marsha were pushed from the movement, STAR(R) went dormant for years
Much of the AIDS activist movement spawned in the 80’s, would not have been possible without the example and efforts of STAR(R) in the aftermath of Stonewall. The in your face style of organizing STAR(R) was known for, was copied by orgs such as ACT UP
Marsha’s death in 1992 devastated Sylvia’s. Her depression worsened and so did her drinking
During this period Sylvia was still fighting for the homeless and those dying from HIV/AIDS related illness; while homeless and suffering herself
In the late 90’s Sylvia was rescued from the streets by Rusty Moore and Chelsea Goodwin, a Trans couple in Brooklyn, NY
From the safety and stability of their home, STAR(R) was reborn
Diagnosed with terminal cancer, Sylvia re-emerged, ready to ensure the Trans rights movement would live on.
Sylvia also helped elevate the issue of Trans murder the public zeitgeist by organizing the first ever Trans Day Of Action in response to the death of Amanda Milan in NYC, in early 2002
During this period, she was connected to a group of youth —meeting at a youth drop-in space not far from Stonewall—fighting gentrification in the W Vill. In particular, they were fighting to save the Pier at Christopher street, and she helped them organize; thought them how to make noise and fight the system.
The group named themselves FIERCE-Fabulous Independent Educated Radicals for Community Empowerment, and is still in existence today
Sylvia also passed STAR(R) on to an new generation of Trans leaders through her adopted daughter, Mariah Lopez.
Mariah has refreshed and strengthened STAR(R), focusing on high impact policy and legal advocacy, and updating the name, to Strategic Trans Alliance for Radical Reform, or STARR
The Following excerpts are from Emma Rothberg, NWHM Predoctoral Fellow in Gender Studies, 2020-2022
The Stonewall Inn uprising was also a turning point in the visibility of the gay rights movement. The first pride parades started in 1970, but Rivera and other transgender people were discriminated against and discouraged from participating.
In 1973, Rivera participated in the Gay Pride Parade but was not allowed to speak, despite the amount of work and advocacy she had done. She grabbed the microphone anyway, telling the spectators and other marchers, “If it wasn’t for the drag queen, there would be no gay liberation movement. We’re the front-liners.” She was booed off the stage.
Throughout the 1970s, she frequently tangled with gay rights leaders who were hesitant to include transgender people in their advocacy work. The Gay Activist Alliance (GAA), which formed in response to Stonewall, frequently rejected the role transgender people—the majority of whom were people of color—had played in the uprising. Rivera also fought against the exclusion of transgender people from the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act in New York. The final bill passed in 2002 and prevents discrimination “on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, credit, and the exercise of civil rights.”
Along with Marsha P. Johnson, Rivera started the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) around 1971. The group became a space to organize and discuss issues facing the transgender community in New York City and they also had a building, STAR House, that provided lodgings for those who needed it. Rivera explained in 1998 that she and Johnson “decided it was time to help each other and help our other kids. We fed people and clothed people. We kept the building going. We went out and hustled the streets. We paid the rent.” Although only 19, Rivera became a mother to many of the residents of STAR House. While short-lived, STAR House was an important space for those who needed it.