Women’s History Month: Sylvia Rae Rivera

[Shana A]

Women's History Month: Sylvia Rae Rivera

    March 5, 2012
    Danny Olvera

http://xqsimagazine.com/2012/03/05/womens-history-month-sylvia-rae-rivera/

Sylvia Rae Rivera is possibly one of the best-known transgender women of all time. A co-founder of the Gay Liberation Front and STAR (Street ->-bleeped-<- Action Revolutionaries), she dedicated her entire life to help empower homeless trans and queer youth while advocating for the rights of trans people in New York City and throughout the country.

Born on July 2, 1951 to a Puerto Rican father and Venezuelan mother in New York City, Sylvia knew first hand the plight that many homeless LGBTQ youth faced. Orphaned at the age of 3 when her mother committed suicide, she was initially raised by her maternal grandmother. However, at the age of 10, Sylvia ran away from home to escape a grandmother who did not accept her for her gender variance. On the street, Sylvia learned to survive, along with other homeless trans and queer youth by hustling.

Sylvia is probably best-known for having participated in the queer uprising at the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969. She is often credited with having thrown the first Molotov cocktail at police that fateful night.