Tuckahoe NY Pride

Sylvia Rivera was a pioneering LGBTQ+ activist whose advocacy centered transgender rights, street-involved youth, and people excluded from mainstream gay and lesbian politics. A Puerto Rican and Venezuelan New Yorker, Rivera helped spark the modern movement after the 1969 Stonewall uprising and later co-founded STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) to provide shelter and support for homeless queer and trans young people. In 1973 she relocate to Tarrytown, where she and her lover ran a catering business. Rivera, a transgender woman and gender-nonconforming activist, challenged organizations that sidelined trans communities, insisting that liberation include those most marginalized. Her public speeches and organizing helped shape later trans justice movements and broaden the aims of LGBTQ+ civil rights.

Quote: “If we want to survive, we need to keep us safe—every last one of us.”

Photo credit Valerie Shaff