American LGBTQ rights activist Sylvia Rivera
Credit: © Justin Sutcliffe, AP Photo

Today, March 31, 2023, is International Transgender Day of Visibility. On this day, people around the world celebrate transgender voices. Transgender is a term for individuals whose identity or self-expression does not match their assigned gender. At a time when transgender rights are in the news and on the dockets throughout the United States, it is important to look at activists who have fought to protect the rights of transgender individuals, such as Sylvia Rivera.

Sylvia Rivera was an American activist for LGBTQ rights. LGBTQ is an abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning. Rivera is remembered for being a leader during the Stonewall uprising, a series of demonstrations for gay rights that took place in New York City in late June and early July 1969. Rivera was a drag queen (cross-dressing performer) and a transgender woman.

Rivera advocated on behalf of drag queens, homeless queer youth, and imprisoned gay people, groups sometimes overlooked by mainstream LGBTQ advocates. Rivera focused on the intersectional aspects of poverty, race, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Intersectionality refers to the ways in which different kinds of discrimination can interact and affect one another.

Rivera participated in a riot at the Stonewall Inn in June 1969, after police officers attempted to close the bar, which served primarily gay and transgender customers. In 1970, Rivera joined with the American transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson to found the Street Transvestite (later changed to Transgender) Action Revolutionaries (STAR). STAR had a variety of missions, including helping homeless transgender youth, advocating for sexual freedom, and allying the gay rights movement with other civil rights movements. Rivera also worked to help pass New York’s Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA). The law, which went into effect in 2003, prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, employment, education, and a variety of other areas.

Ray Rivera Mendoza was born on July 2, 1951, in New York City and assigned the male gender. Rivera grew up in the care of a grandmother who disapproved of Rivera’s often gender-defiant behavior, such as wearing makeup. Because of her continued expression and exploration of feminine qualities, Rivera became homeless by age 11. To survive, Rivera worked as a prostitute. She found a community among New York City’s drag queens and adopted the name Sylvia. Rivera died on Feb. 19, 2002.