Drag queen and bisexual, transgender activist. She was a founding member of both the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance. With her close friend, Marsha P. Johnson, Rivera co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries - S.T.A.R., a group dedicated to helping homeless young drag queens and and trans women of color.
Rivera was born and raised in New York City and lived most of her life in or near the city. She was of Puerto Rican and Venezuelan descent.
She was abandoned by her birth father, José Rivera early in life and became an orphan after her mother committed suicide when Rivera was three years old. Rivera was then raised by her Venezuelan grandmother, who disapproved of Rivera's effeminate behavior, particularly after Rivera began to wear makeup in fourth grade. As a result, Rivera began living on the streets at the age of eleven. She was taken in by the local community of drag queens, who gave her the name, "Sylvia."
Sylvia was an American gay liberation and transgender activist and drag queen. She was a founding member of both the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance. With her close friend Marsha P. Johnson, Rivera co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a group dedicated to helping homeless young drag queens and trans women of color.
Rivera's activism began during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955 to 1968) and continued through the anti-war movement during the Vietnam war (the mid-1960s) and second-wave feminist movements (mid-1960s). Rivera stated she was a regular patron of the Stonewall Inn and that she was present during the Stonewall Riots in 1969, when gay men, lesbians, bisexual people, drag queens, street people, and trans people rose up against what started as a routine raid by the police.
Rivera also became involved in Puerto Rican and African American youth activism, particularly with the Young Lords and Black Panthers. Rivera's struggles did not relate exclusively to gay and trans people, as they intersected with issues of poverty and discrimination faced by people of color.
Rivera was born and raised in New York City and lived most of her life in or near the city. She was of Puerto Rican and Venezuelan descent.
She was abandoned by her birth father, José Rivera early in life and became an orphan after her mother committed suicide when Rivera was three years old. Rivera was then raised by her Venezuelan grandmother, who disapproved of Rivera's effeminate behavior, particularly after Rivera began to wear makeup in fourth grade. As a result, Rivera began living on the streets at the age of eleven. She was taken in by the local community of drag queens, who gave her the name, "Sylvia."
Sylvia was an American gay liberation and transgender activist and drag queen. She was a founding member of both the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance. With her close friend Marsha P. Johnson, Rivera co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a group dedicated to helping homeless young drag queens and trans women of color.
Rivera's activism began during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955 to 1968) and continued through the anti-war movement during the Vietnam war (the mid-1960s) and second-wave feminist movements (mid-1960s). Rivera stated she was a regular patron of the Stonewall Inn and that she was present during the Stonewall Riots in 1969, when gay men, lesbians, bisexual people, drag queens, street people, and trans people rose up against what started as a routine raid by the police.
Rivera also became involved in Puerto Rican and African American youth activism, particularly with the Young Lords and Black Panthers. Rivera's struggles did not relate exclusively to gay and trans people, as they intersected with issues of poverty and discrimination faced by people of color.
Drag queen and bisexual, transgender activist. She was a founding member of both the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance. With her close friend, Marsha P. Johnson, Rivera co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries - S.T.A.R., a group dedicated to helping homeless young drag queens and and trans women of color.
Rivera was born and raised in New York City and lived most of her life in or near the city. She was of Puerto Rican and Venezuelan descent.
She was abandoned by her birth father, José Rivera early in life and became an orphan after her mother committed suicide when Rivera was three years old. Rivera was then raised by her Venezuelan grandmother, who disapproved of Rivera's effeminate behavior, particularly after Rivera began to wear makeup in fourth grade. As a result, Rivera began living on the streets at the age of eleven. She was taken in by the local community of drag queens, who gave her the name, "Sylvia."
Sylvia was an American gay liberation and transgender activist and drag queen. She was a founding member of both the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance. With her close friend Marsha P. Johnson, Rivera co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a group dedicated to helping homeless young drag queens and trans women of color.
Rivera's activism began during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955 to 1968) and continued through the anti-war movement during the Vietnam war (the mid-1960s) and second-wave feminist movements (mid-1960s). Rivera stated she was a regular patron of the Stonewall Inn and that she was present during the Stonewall Riots in 1969, when gay men, lesbians, bisexual people, drag queens, street people, and trans people rose up against what started as a routine raid by the police.
Rivera also became involved in Puerto Rican and African American youth activism, particularly with the Young Lords and Black Panthers. Rivera's struggles did not relate exclusively to gay and trans people, as they intersected with issues of poverty and discrimination faced by people of color.
Rivera was born and raised in New York City and lived most of her life in or near the city. She was of Puerto Rican and Venezuelan descent.
She was abandoned by her birth father, José Rivera early in life and became an orphan after her mother committed suicide when Rivera was three years old. Rivera was then raised by her Venezuelan grandmother, who disapproved of Rivera's effeminate behavior, particularly after Rivera began to wear makeup in fourth grade. As a result, Rivera began living on the streets at the age of eleven. She was taken in by the local community of drag queens, who gave her the name, "Sylvia."
Sylvia was an American gay liberation and transgender activist and drag queen. She was a founding member of both the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance. With her close friend Marsha P. Johnson, Rivera co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a group dedicated to helping homeless young drag queens and trans women of color.
Rivera's activism began during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955 to 1968) and continued through the anti-war movement during the Vietnam war (the mid-1960s) and second-wave feminist movements (mid-1960s). Rivera stated she was a regular patron of the Stonewall Inn and that she was present during the Stonewall Riots in 1969, when gay men, lesbians, bisexual people, drag queens, street people, and trans people rose up against what started as a routine raid by the police.
Rivera also became involved in Puerto Rican and African American youth activism, particularly with the Young Lords and Black Panthers. Rivera's struggles did not relate exclusively to gay and trans people, as they intersected with issues of poverty and discrimination faced by people of color.
Bio by: Pat McArron
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