Sylvia Rivera

Quick Facts

Full Name	Sylvia Rivera
Occupation	Activist
Date Of Birth	Jul 2, 1951(1951-07-02)
Age	73
Date Of Death	February 19, 2002, Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center, New York, NY
Birthplace	New York
Country	United States
Horoscope	Cancer

Sylvia Rivera Biography

Sylvia Rivera is one of the most popular and richest Activist who was born on July 2, 1951 in New York, United States.

I left home at age 10 in 1961. I hustled on 42nd Street. The early 60s was not a good time for drag queens, effeminate boys or boys that wore makeup like we did. Back then we were beat up by the police, by everybody. I didn’t really come out as a drag queen until the late 60s when drag queens were arrested, what degradation there was. I remember the first time I got arrested, I wasn’t even in full drag. I was walking down the street and the cops just snatched me. People now want to call me a lesbian because I’m with Julia, and I say, “No. I’m just me. I’m not a lesbian.” I’m tired of being labeled. I don’t even like the label transgender. I’m tired of living with labels. I just want to be who I am. I am Sylvia Rivera. Ray Rivera left home at the age of 10 to become Sylvia. And that’s who I am.

Johnson was Rivera’s friend and ally. Their discussions led to activism and in 1970, Rivera and Johnson co-founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR). STAR offered services and advocacy for homeless queer youth, and fought for the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act in New York. SONDA prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, credit, and the exercise of civil rights.

Sylvia Rivera Net Worth

Sylvia Rivera is one of the richest Activist from United States. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Sylvia Rivera 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

Sylvia Rivera (July 2, 1951 – February 19, 2002) was a Latina American gay liberation and transgender rights activist, prominent as an activist and community worker in New York. Rivera, who identified as a drag queen, participated in demonstrations with the Gay Liberation Front.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

Sylvia Rivera height Not available right now. Ana weight Not Known & body measurements will update soon.

Who is Sylvia Rivera Dating?

According to our records, Sylvia Rivera is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Sylvia Rivera’s is not dating anyone.

Relationships Record : We have no records of past relationships for Sylvia Rivera. You may help us to build the dating records for Sylvia Rivera!

In 1973, Rivera famously spoke at a gay rights rally after she and Johnson were reportedly banned for making other gay activists “look bad”. Afterwards, she told anyone who would listen that she was involved in the Stonewall riots, to which Johnson replied, “Sylvia, you know you weren’t there”, after which Rivera was silent. When the Stonewall riots occurred, Rivera was only 17 years old and according to Bob Kohler, who was there on the two nights of the riots, “always hung out uptown at Bryant Park” and never came downtown. Johnson told gay rights historian Eric Marcus in 1987 that in the hours prior to her arriving downtown to join the other protesters at the riots, she had a party uptown and mentioned that “Rivera and them were over in the [Bryant] park having a cocktail.” Kohler told Carter that, although Rivera had not been at the uprising, he hoped Carter would nonetheless portray her as having been there. Another Stonewall veteran, Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt, claimed that he wanted to add her “so that young Puerto Rican transgender people on the street would have a role model.” Kohler and Rivera had a discussion over what to include in the book and denied Rivera’s requests to be portrayed as being the one to throw the first molotov cocktail, throwing the first brick, and having thrown the first bottle, only allowing Rivera to be portrayed as someone who had “thrown a bottle” as opposed to being “the first”. Randy Wicker, who was part of the more assimilationist Mattachine Society and was an early critic of the violent, militant tactics used by Johnson and other Stonewall veterans, said Johnson had told him that Sylvia was not at Stonewall “as she was asleep after taking heroin uptown”. Rivera would also claim to have been involved in Puerto Rican and African American youth activism, particularly with the Young Lords and Black Panthers.

Facts & Trivia

Ana Ranked on the list of most popular Activist. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in United States. Sylvia Rivera celebrates birthday on July 2 of every year.

In early July 1992, shortly after the New York City Pride March, Johnson’s body was found floating in the Hudson River off the West Village Piers. Police promptly ruled Johnson’s death a suicide, despite the presence of a head wound. Johnson’s friends and supporters, Rivera included, insisted Johnson had not been suicidal, and a people’s postering campaign later declared that Johnson had earlier been harassed near the spot where her body was found. In May 1995, Rivera tried to commit suicide by walking into the Hudson River. That year she also appeared in the Arthur Dong documentary episode “Out Rage ’69”, part of the PBS series The Question of Equality, and gave an extensive interview to gay journalist Randy Wicker in which she discussed her suicide attempts, Johnson’s life and death, and her advocacy for poor and working- class gay people made homeless by the AIDS crisis.

What is Sylvia Rivera's legacy?

Rivera’s legacy has led to organizations like the Sylvia Rivera Law Project , which “works to guarantee that all people are free to self- determine their gender identity and expression, regardless of income or race.” The SRLP provides much-needed legal services for those who cannot afford representation.

How did Sylvia Rivera become famous?

Sylvia Rivera
Occupation| Activist, Caterer, Entertainer
Known for| Gay liberation, transgender activist, advocate for the homeless.

How did Sylvia Rivera make a difference?

A veteran of the 1969 Stonewall Inn uprising, Sylvia Rivera was a tireless advocate for those silenced and disregarded by larger movements. Throughout her life, she fought against the exclusion of transgender people, especially transgender people of color, from the larger movement for gay rights.

What are some accomplishments of Sylvia Rivera?

Sylvia Rivera (1951-2002) was a Puerto Rican American transgender activist. Most commonly known as one of the inciters of the monumental Stonewall Riots in New York City , she was also a founding member of both the Gay Liberation Front and later the Gay Activists Alliance also in New York City.

Who was Zazu Nova?

Zazu Nova, a black transgender woman , sits on top of a table at a Gay Liberation Front meeting in 1970. Zazu was identified by many eyewitnesses as the person who may have thrown the legendary “first brick” at the Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969.