Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries

Several groups emerged out of the Stonewall riots and organized to fight for gay liberation and inclusion. Sylvia Rivera (pictured left) was an early member of the Gay Liberation Front, out of which she and Marsha P. Johnson (pictured center) formed Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) to address issues faced by street people, trans people in prison, poor/homeless youths, and other marginalized people who were not being adequately supported or represented by the other LGBTQ organizations.

Marsha "Pay it no mind" Johnson (August 24, 1945 – July 6, 1992) was a familiar face and powerful voice in gay liberation and trans rights activism.

Power to the people

Sylvia Rivera (July 2, 1951 – February 19, 2002), a Latina trans woman, worked tirelessly for the rights of the marginalized LGBTQ community in New York.

The activist collective STAR was founded in 1970 by Johnson and Rivera to support homeless trans youth, sex workers, and other marginalized members of the LGBTQ community.

“I was a radical, a revolutionist. I am still a revolutionist. I was proud to make the road and help change laws and what-not...no matter what it takes.” – Sylvia Rivera

"I was no one, nobody, from Nowheresville until I became a drag queen. That's what made me in New York, that's what made me in New Jersey, that's what made me in the world." – Marsha P. Johnson

Community control of Bellevue

Rivera pictured at the Gay Liberation Front's 1970 protest against gay conversion therapy (which included the use of shock treatment) at Bellevue Hospital.

Marsha P. Johnson is revered today as "The Saint of Christopher Street" for her contributions to history and to the LGBTQ community.

All power to the people

Rivera and bisexual rights activist Brenda Howard (far left) pictured at Gay Liberation Front's 1970 Bellevue Hospital protest.