Sylvia Rivera

Sylvia Rivera was an iconic figure in the American gay liberation and transgender rights movements, whose life was marked by both harrowing struggle and relentless activism. Born on July 2, 1951, in New York City to a Puerto Rican father and a Venezuelan mother, she was orphaned by the age of three after her mother’s suicide and later fled an abusive home at ten, surviving on the streets by hustling and engaging in survival sex. The drag‑queen community, especially her lifelong friend Marsha P. Johnson, became her chosen family, and together they founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) in 1970, a pioneering organization that offered shelter, advocacy, and hope to homeless queer youth. Rivera’s activism spanned decades: she fought within the Gay Liberation Front, the Gay Activists Alliance, and later challenged mainstream LGBTQ groups for their exclusion of trans and low‑income people, famously delivering the “Gay Power!” speech at the 1973 Christopher Street Liberation Day Rally. Her relentless advocacy extended to demanding inclusion in anti‑discrimination legislation, protesting the marginalization of drag queens, and championing the rights of incarcerated LGBTQ individuals, all while confronting personal battles with substance abuse, homelessness, and later liver cancer. Rivera’s legacy endures through numerous memorials, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, and cultural tributes that celebrate her as a mother of the movement and a tireless voice for the most vulnerable. Her story remains a powerful reminder of the intersectional fight for justice in the LGBTQ community.