Essay On Sylvia Rivera - 1284 Words

Born as Ray Mendoza on July 2, 1951, was born of Puerto Rican and Venezuelan descent. She was given the name Sylvia Rivera by a local community of drag queens and spent her career fighting for solidarity between transgender people, queer people of color, homeless people, and sex workers. Sylvia Rivera was one of the â€Å"street queens† living in New York, and is known as one of the most famous street youth who fought back during the police raid at Stonewall. Modern day, Rivera has come to personify the aspirations and flaws of the modern gay liberation movement. Sylvia Rivera was a survivor of the streets. A part of a thrown away community of drag queens, sex workers, and trans folks; the people that fell between the crack of the gay and†¦show more content†¦After that instance, they started to listen. Rivera spent her time doing everything to try to get the bill to pass, including getting arrested. Yet over time, a struggle within the group arose when those who were in favor of a class-based agenda, like Rivera, who wanted a movement centered around issues of poverty and oppression, clashed with assimilation-focused leaders who suggested that the only thing wrong with the U.S. culture was that it was antigay (Shepard, 99). Rivera quickly learned that even amongst the most radical gay activist, they weren’t interested in the struggles of trans and gender non-conforming people. So, by 1970, she cofounded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) with Marsha P. Johnston, another transgender drag queen and trans act ivist. This was the first transgender rights organization, which served as a home for the street gay people, trans people of color, kids with no place left to go, and newcomers to the scene who needed to be taught about street survival. They were able to find a building at 213 Second Avenue which, and were able to clothe, feed, and shelter many queer youths in need. Transforming the space into a community education center, Rivera and Johnston would â€Å"hustle the streets† in order to keep the building going (Shepard, 99), but unfortunately due to financials struggles they were evicted after twoShow MoreRelatedLgbt History And The Modern Era1737 Words   |  7 Pages There are many topics prevalent shown throughout history. History books in today’s society highlight the majority of groups of people and historical events. This essay will prove that there is a problematic issue where LGBT lives and existences are being erased throughout history and the modern era. Throughout, it will be explained how these groups of people are being underrepresented within history, major wars, and the modern era. History covers a very broad spectrum of time, with recorded history