1 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. The Stonewall Uprising started on June twenty eighth, 2 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:10,360 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty nine, or fifty six years ago today. On 3 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: the day that we are publishing this episode, we talked 4 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:16,960 Speaker 1: about this Center episode on Sylvia Rivera, which first came 5 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:21,160 Speaker 1: out on October eighth, twenty fourteen. That is today's classic, 6 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: and since it is more than ten years old, we 7 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: just really feel compelled to note that language has evolved 8 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:29,960 Speaker 1: about some of the things that are part of this episode, 9 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,640 Speaker 1: like how to talk about homelessness and addiction, and whether 10 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:38,000 Speaker 1: Stonewall is best described as a riot and uprising, a rebellion, 11 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 1: or some other term. At this point, there are people 12 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 1: who feel really passionately that Stonewall should be described as 13 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: more of an uprising, and ones who feel just as 14 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:53,160 Speaker 1: strongly that Stonewall was a riot. So enjoy and also 15 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: happy Pride. 16 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 2: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 17 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:10,320 Speaker 2: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy B. 18 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 2: Wilson and I'm Holly fromy SO. Today's subject, which is 19 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:18,080 Speaker 2: transgender activist Sylvia Rivera, is often compared to Rosa Parks 20 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 2: like I would say seventy percent of the articles that 21 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:25,360 Speaker 2: I read researching this episode compared her to Rosa Parks. 22 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:29,679 Speaker 2: Rosa Parks, as you probably know, became famous in part 23 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 2: for refusing to give up her bus seat on a 24 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 2: segregated bus, and Sylvia Rivera became famous in part for 25 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 2: purportedly throwing the first bottle at a police officer during 26 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:45,760 Speaker 2: the Stonewall Riots. But really, Rosa Parks and Sylvia Rivera 27 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 2: almost could not be more different from each other. Rosa 28 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 2: Parks's case was chosen specifically to try to overturn a 29 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 2: bus segregation in Montgomery, Alabama, precisely because she seemed really polite. 30 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 2: She was married, she was soft spoken, she went to church, 31 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 2: and she had no criminal records, so basically there was 32 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:09,119 Speaker 2: nothing in her background that might turn white people off 33 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:12,080 Speaker 2: to the idea that she deserved the same basic civil 34 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 2: rights that they did. Sylvia Rivera, on the other hand, 35 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 2: has a lot more in common with Claudette Colvin, who 36 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:21,919 Speaker 2: was also arrested for refusing to give up a seat 37 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 2: on a segregated bus in Montgomery. But Claudette Culvin did 38 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,519 Speaker 2: not become the household name that Rosa Parks did because 39 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:32,799 Speaker 2: she was an unmarried, pregnant teenager who had a reputation 40 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:37,000 Speaker 2: for being a troublemaker. Civil rights leaders deliberately didn't pursue 41 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:38,920 Speaker 2: her case because they knew it would be a hard 42 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 2: one to win. They held out for a more so 43 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 2: called respectable plaintiff instead, And that brings us to Sylvia Rivera. 44 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 2: In the years immediately after the Stonewall Riots, she campaigned 45 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 2: bravely and stridently and vocally for the rights of gay 46 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:58,839 Speaker 2: and transgender people. Although the term transgender, which is used 47 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:01,920 Speaker 2: to describe people whose gender and identity doesn't match up 48 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 2: with the sex that they were assigned when they were born, 49 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:07,959 Speaker 2: that word had not been coined yet. But Sylvia was 50 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 2: also loud and aggressive and angry and poor, sometimes even homeless. 51 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:15,120 Speaker 2: She had a history of sex work and drug addictions. 52 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 2: Her mannerisms were really flamboyant, in your face. So when 53 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:22,799 Speaker 2: the gay rights movement started trending towards so called respectability, 54 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 2: Sylvia got really pushed to the sidelines, along with a 55 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:29,520 Speaker 2: lot of other transgender people. She refused to be put 56 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,359 Speaker 2: in a box, and so she wound up being excluded 57 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:34,520 Speaker 2: from the very movement that she was fighting for, and 58 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 2: she was for decades pretty much forgotten about So before 59 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 2: we get started, there's a word of caution about this story. 60 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 2: Because Sylvia ran away from home when she was only eleven. 61 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 2: Some of the events that happened to her, especially in 62 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:51,160 Speaker 2: her young life, are disturbing. So parents and teachers, before 63 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 2: you share this with young people, I recommend listening to 64 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 2: it yourself first. And as a second note, some of 65 00:03:57,840 --> 00:03:59,840 Speaker 2: the language that was used at the time that so 66 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 2: lived and that she used about herself isn't the preferred 67 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:07,040 Speaker 2: language that we use today, and we'll sort of point 68 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 2: out those as they come up. So now that you've 69 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 2: been worn, we will jump in as we usually do, 70 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:17,200 Speaker 2: at the very beginning. Sylvia was born on July second 71 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,479 Speaker 2: of nineteen fifty one. Her mother was Venezuelan and her 72 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:25,679 Speaker 2: father was Puerto Rican. Sylvia's mother committed suicide by eating 73 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 2: rat poison when Sylvia was three. She also tried to 74 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 2: kill Sylvia at that time, but Sylvia survived and went 75 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 2: on to be raised by her grandmother, Viahita. Viahita raised 76 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 2: both Sylvia and Sylvia's half sister. Viahita was essentially functioning 77 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:46,600 Speaker 2: as a single parent. Her husband had abandoned her and 78 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 2: Sylvia's father, who had also abandoned the family was not 79 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 2: paying child support. Sylvia's grandmother was also very strict. Although 80 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 2: she taught Sylvia to cook and to sew and to knit, 81 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:01,479 Speaker 2: she really did I did not like it when Sylvia 82 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:06,800 Speaker 2: started wearing girls clothes. Biahita would punish Sylvia, sometimes physically, 83 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 2: for wearing makeup and for dressing in girls clothing, and, 84 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:13,760 Speaker 2: as Sylvia described in the oral history Making History the 85 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 2: Struggle for gay and Lesbian equal Rights nineteen forty five 86 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:20,119 Speaker 2: to nineteen ninety, her grandmother would say, quote, we don't 87 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,479 Speaker 2: do this. You're one of the boys. I want you 88 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 2: to be a mechanic, and Sylvia would answer, no, I 89 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 2: want to be a hairdresser, and I want to wear 90 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:32,599 Speaker 2: these clothes. From Sylvia's point of view, her grandmother also 91 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:34,919 Speaker 2: didn't like her because her skin was too dark. She 92 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 2: had heard her grandmother say that she wanted a white 93 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 2: granddaughter instead, and the struggle between the two of them 94 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,200 Speaker 2: went on until, at the age of ten, Sylvia tried 95 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:46,920 Speaker 2: to commit suicide by taking her grandmother's pills. She wound 96 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 2: up instead in the hospital for two months. Sylvia also 97 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:54,360 Speaker 2: faced bullying and harassment at school and in the neighborhood. 98 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 2: As well. The other children and their neighbors didn't like 99 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:01,560 Speaker 2: her wearing girl's clothing, and they didn't like her effeminate mannerisms. 100 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:06,360 Speaker 2: Feeling lonely, isolated, and desperately at odds with everyone around her, 101 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:09,600 Speaker 2: Sylvia left home at age eleven. The straw that really 102 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:12,159 Speaker 2: broke the camel's back was seeing how others treatment of 103 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 2: her was affecting her grandmother. Even though their relationship was 104 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:19,599 Speaker 2: often contentious and strained and even violent, Sylvia did not 105 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:22,599 Speaker 2: like seeing her grandmother suffer over the way people talked 106 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 2: about her. After she ran away, Sylvia went to forty 107 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:29,239 Speaker 2: second Street in New York City, which was a haven 108 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:32,920 Speaker 2: for cross dressers and street walkers. She had no other 109 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:35,520 Speaker 2: means to support herself, and so she turned to sex work. 110 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 2: And I want to make it clear that there are 111 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 2: people who choose to go into sex work, but at 112 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:42,279 Speaker 2: this time, Sylvia was eleven and she had no other options. 113 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:46,080 Speaker 2: The area's drag queens pretty much adopted her, and they're 114 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:49,159 Speaker 2: the ones who gave her the name Sylvia. Sylvia was 115 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:52,360 Speaker 2: arrested frequently, and her grandmother would come and bail her 116 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:56,480 Speaker 2: out a few days. Shy of Sylvia's eighteenth birthday. She 117 00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:59,039 Speaker 2: went to the Stonewall Inn for the first time, and 118 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 2: this was June twenty eth eighth of nineteen sixty nine. 119 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 2: The Stonewall Inn was, like many of New York's bars 120 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 2: that catered to the Gate community at the time, owned 121 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 2: by the mafia. Homosexuality was a crime, and so was 122 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 2: cross dressing, so pretty much the only people who were 123 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 2: willing to operate businesses that catered to this demographic were 124 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 2: also themselves criminals. Gay bars were rated on a regular basis. 125 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 2: Standard operating procedure was that the police would come in, 126 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 2: they would make arrests and confiscations. They would then collect 127 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 2: a payoff, and then they would leave and padlock the 128 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:35,720 Speaker 2: door behind them. Not long after the police had gone, 129 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:38,720 Speaker 2: members of the mafia would come by cut the padlock off. 130 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 2: They would then restock the alcohol supply and business would 131 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:45,239 Speaker 2: start right back up. So for the people who didn't 132 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:47,640 Speaker 2: wind up getting arrested, it was more of a hassle 133 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 2: and an interruption to their evening's revelry than anything else. 134 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 2: For people who did get arrested, it could be way 135 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 2: way harder, not just for the fact that they were 136 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 2: taken to jail, but often in they were then taunted 137 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:06,680 Speaker 2: and sometimes beaten and sometimes assaulted by other people who 138 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 2: were in the jail. On June twenty eighth, when the 139 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 2: police came in, most of the patrons went to the 140 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 2: park across the street to wait, and they were tired 141 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:17,800 Speaker 2: of being hassled. A lot of people say that this 142 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:20,800 Speaker 2: was because it was the same week that Judy Garland died, 143 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 2: and that doesn't seem through the oral histories to actually 144 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:29,280 Speaker 2: add up necessarily. But yeah, it's more a point a 145 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:33,920 Speaker 2: coincidence than a cause and effect situation. Right At some point, 146 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 2: somebody started throwing coins at the police officers, yelling things 147 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 2: like here's your payoff, come get some more, and then 148 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:47,360 Speaker 2: things started to escalate. People started throwing bottles and Molotov cocktails. 149 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 2: Sylvia is widely cited as the first to do this, 150 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 2: but near the end of her life she really worked 151 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:55,240 Speaker 2: to try to dispel this idea, saying that she was 152 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 2: in fact the second to throw a bottle. Soon, the 153 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:02,839 Speaker 2: police were pinned down inside the bar with the protesters outside, 154 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:06,800 Speaker 2: and the riot went on until reinforcements arrived and dispersed 155 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 2: the crowd. The Stonewall riot wasn't remotely the first event 156 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:13,520 Speaker 2: in the modern gay rights movement. It wasn't even the 157 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:17,360 Speaker 2: first riot in an establishment that was frequented by LGBT people. 158 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:21,840 Speaker 2: An early earlier example was a riot at Cooper's Donuts 159 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:25,439 Speaker 2: in Los Angeles in nineteen sixty five, and in that event, 160 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:28,840 Speaker 2: drag queens and gay men, many of them black or Latino, 161 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 2: fought back against police, first by throwing donuts, which sounds 162 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:34,560 Speaker 2: sort of funny, and then with hand to hand fighting, 163 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:38,439 Speaker 2: much less funny. In San Francisco, a picket protest among 164 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:42,240 Speaker 2: LGBT protesters turned into a riot at Compton's Cafeteria in 165 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 2: nineteen sixty six. But Stonewall really did act as a 166 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 2: sort of tipping point in a rallying cry. It's definitely 167 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:53,080 Speaker 2: the most famous today for sure. So there are several 168 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:55,839 Speaker 2: things about the riots and Sylvia's presents there that are 169 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:59,200 Speaker 2: caused for debate today. One is just how much of 170 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:02,079 Speaker 2: the Stonewall Ends clientele was made up of cross dressers 171 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:05,360 Speaker 2: and transgender people. Now, as we mentioned before, the term 172 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:08,760 Speaker 2: transgender had not really been coined at this point in history, 173 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:12,480 Speaker 2: but when it was coined about ten years later, a 174 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:15,839 Speaker 2: lot of the people who had identified as cross stressers 175 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 2: or as transvestites at the time, then went on to 176 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 2: identify as transgender. So we're going to keep talking about 177 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:27,800 Speaker 2: both cross dressers and transgender people both for the rest 178 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:29,959 Speaker 2: of the episode, because there are two different things. Cross 179 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:33,080 Speaker 2: Dressing is about the clothes you have on and transgender 180 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:36,280 Speaker 2: is about your gender expression, so your expression of the 181 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:42,000 Speaker 2: gender that you are inwardly versus the clothes that you 182 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:45,960 Speaker 2: have on your body. In Sylvia's own words, cross dressers 183 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 2: could only get and if they knew somebody, because cross 184 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:51,959 Speaker 2: dressers were really frequently targeted by the police, so a 185 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:53,800 Speaker 2: lot of businesses felt like it was too much of 186 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:57,439 Speaker 2: a hassle to deal with them. Other people have characterized 187 00:10:57,520 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 2: the Stonewell In as a haven for cross dressers and 188 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:04,480 Speaker 2: for transgender people, and there are reputable historians on both sides. 189 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:08,920 Speaker 2: Another bone of contention is actually whether Sylvia herself was 190 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:12,960 Speaker 2: even there. She says she was, and of course she's 191 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:16,679 Speaker 2: often credited with being the first bottle thrower, but historians 192 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:19,960 Speaker 2: have not been able to corroborate her presence there through 193 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 2: eyewitness accounts. In the end, it doesn't necessarily matter how 194 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:28,760 Speaker 2: many transgender patrons the Stonewall In had or whether Sylvia 195 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:31,679 Speaker 2: was actually there that night. What does matter is that 196 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 2: Sylvia and the rest of the cross dressing and transgender 197 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 2: community became vocal, aggressive campaigners for the rights of gay 198 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:42,680 Speaker 2: me in, lesbians, bisexuals, and all manner of people who 199 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:46,360 Speaker 2: just didn't conform to gender norms. They were, in many 200 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:49,040 Speaker 2: ways the people who were the most visibly on the 201 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:52,040 Speaker 2: forefront of the fight for equality and for civil rights. 202 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:55,480 Speaker 2: And we're going to talk more about what happened after 203 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 2: Stonewall right after a word from our sponsor. If that 204 00:11:58,679 --> 00:12:10,400 Speaker 2: is cool with Tracy, it is. Sylvia Rivera had already 205 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,840 Speaker 2: been active in racial equality and anti war causes before 206 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:18,200 Speaker 2: the Stonewall riot, and after the riot she immediately passionately 207 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:21,320 Speaker 2: turned her attention to the growing movement for gay rights. 208 00:12:21,679 --> 00:12:24,560 Speaker 2: Two gay rights organizations formed in New York in the 209 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:27,480 Speaker 2: wake of the riot. That was the Gay Activists Alliance 210 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:30,240 Speaker 2: and the Gay Liberation Front, and Sylvia was active in 211 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:34,560 Speaker 2: both of those groups. As part of the Gay Activists Alliance, 212 00:12:34,679 --> 00:12:37,360 Speaker 2: Sylvia petitioned the city of New York for an anti 213 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:41,240 Speaker 2: discrimination bill, and she was arrested while trying to get signatures. 214 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:44,200 Speaker 2: When she appeared before the judge, he immediately let her go, 215 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:47,200 Speaker 2: he recognized that with all of the social turmoil that 216 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:49,120 Speaker 2: was going on in the United States at that point, 217 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:52,199 Speaker 2: it would be a really unwise pr move for him 218 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:55,400 Speaker 2: to jail someone who was getting signatures for a petition. 219 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:59,160 Speaker 2: Sylvia also testified before the city Council to try to 220 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:03,000 Speaker 2: get the bill pass. However, as the bill was being negotiated, 221 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:06,720 Speaker 2: others in the gay community agreed to drop protections for 222 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,000 Speaker 2: cross dressers from the bill in the hope that it 223 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 2: would be more likely to pass. Sylvia and many of 224 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:15,320 Speaker 2: the other cross dressing and transgender citizens of New York 225 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:18,920 Speaker 2: felt really deeply betrayed by this. They had been working 226 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:23,360 Speaker 2: campaigning and getting arrested and sometimes facing abuse and violence 227 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,240 Speaker 2: and sexual assault in jail once they had been arrested 228 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:29,560 Speaker 2: fighting for these causes, and at this point it felt 229 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 2: like they had done this for a cause that had 230 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 2: then turned their back on them. And it didn't help 231 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:39,240 Speaker 2: that the bill minus discrimination protections for gender expression did 232 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:42,120 Speaker 2: not actually pass until fifteen years later, so that would 233 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:45,440 Speaker 2: have been nineteen eighty six, so this concession really in 234 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:48,920 Speaker 2: the end, was not much of a help. Along the way, 235 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,959 Speaker 2: the Gay Activist's Alliance specifically dropped rights for the cross 236 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:58,760 Speaker 2: dressing communities from its mission entirely. Consequently, after being excluded 237 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 2: from other gay rights organisms, Sylvia and her longtime friend 238 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:07,080 Speaker 2: Marcia P. Johnson co founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries 239 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:11,200 Speaker 2: or STAR in the fall of nineteen seventy. Essentially, the 240 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:14,360 Speaker 2: cross dressing and transgender community had begun to feel excluded 241 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:17,240 Speaker 2: by other gay and lesbian rights organizations, and so they 242 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:20,560 Speaker 2: formed their own. As a side note to a lot 243 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:25,680 Speaker 2: of people today, the word transvestite has connotations that are offensive, 244 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 2: so people a lot of people prefer the word cross dresser, 245 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:30,320 Speaker 2: but at the time it was a word that they 246 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:34,480 Speaker 2: were using to talk about themselves frequently. Yeah, you also 247 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:37,280 Speaker 2: hear drag, which is in there and they O, right, 248 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 2: get a little fuzzy. And there's still ongoing debate over 249 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:42,920 Speaker 2: you know, terminology and who should use what to some 250 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:47,520 Speaker 2: degree that's still being worked out. Yes, so, uh, we're 251 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:49,560 Speaker 2: not at all using those terms to be disrespectful, but 252 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:52,200 Speaker 2: because that's those are the words that Sylvia and Marcia 253 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:56,240 Speaker 2: were using to describe themselves. So Sylvia and Marcia's next 254 00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:59,120 Speaker 2: step was to start what was known as STAR House, 255 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:01,240 Speaker 2: and this was an hour outreach effort for the so 256 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:04,920 Speaker 2: called street queens. These were young, homeless gay youth, many 257 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:08,440 Speaker 2: of whom later went on to identify as transgender, and 258 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:12,200 Speaker 2: many of whom were also people of color. And they 259 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:15,440 Speaker 2: originally operated Starhouse out of the back of a truck, 260 00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:18,960 Speaker 2: and then they started renting a building at two thirteen 261 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,960 Speaker 2: East Second Street and they fixed that up and there 262 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:26,040 Speaker 2: they provided shelter, food, and guidance for homeless transgender youth 263 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:29,960 Speaker 2: and Sylvia and Marcia really became mother figures for these kids. 264 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:32,280 Speaker 2: They had a dance to try to raise some money 265 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:35,440 Speaker 2: to fund their operation, but for the most part, Sylvia 266 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:38,320 Speaker 2: and Marcia kept the place running by doing sex work. 267 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 2: They tried to protect all of the young people who 268 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:42,960 Speaker 2: were in their care from being involved in the sex 269 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:46,160 Speaker 2: trade at all. However, many of the youth wound up 270 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:52,640 Speaker 2: helping Starhouse's efforts by stealing food, and eventually, you know, 271 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:55,960 Speaker 2: this is not really a workable business model. So Starhouse 272 00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:58,800 Speaker 2: was evicted from the property for non payment of rent. 273 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:01,800 Speaker 2: And before they left, they took the refrigerator and they 274 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:04,120 Speaker 2: destroyed all of the improvements that they'd made in the 275 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:06,800 Speaker 2: building out of a sort of turn about as fair 276 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:10,640 Speaker 2: play mindset, and I feel like, we should point out 277 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 2: that the reason that they were having to turn to 278 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:15,720 Speaker 2: stealing and sex work to fund their operations is because 279 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:19,320 Speaker 2: their entire lives at this point were not only illegal, 280 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 2: but also specifically targeted by the police and other people 281 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:25,720 Speaker 2: for harassment. So that was sort of what it had 282 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:28,800 Speaker 2: come to by being excluded from so many other social 283 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:31,880 Speaker 2: organizations that were working to help homeless people and others 284 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:35,000 Speaker 2: in New York. Yeah, it certainly was not like a, oh, 285 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:39,160 Speaker 2: we don't want to pursue legitimate means of gaining money. 286 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:42,520 Speaker 2: They just did not have opportunities to do so, right, 287 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 2: and that continues to be a problem in a lot 288 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:48,920 Speaker 2: of areas today. Throughout this time, Sylvia was also active 289 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:52,320 Speaker 2: in other radical organizations as well, including the Black Panther 290 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:54,920 Speaker 2: Party and the Young Lords, which is a Puerto Rican 291 00:16:55,080 --> 00:17:00,200 Speaker 2: nationalist activism group. In nineteen seventy three, Sylvia I was 292 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:03,240 Speaker 2: supposed to speak at Christopher Street Liberation Day, which was 293 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:08,000 Speaker 2: a festival to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. However, 294 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:11,240 Speaker 2: radical feminists tried to keep Sylvia from the stage because 295 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:15,600 Speaker 2: they viewed her wearing women's clothing as sexist. In particular, 296 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:19,760 Speaker 2: activist Gino Leary, a former nun and lesbian feminist, spoke 297 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 2: out against Sylvia taking part. Sylvia's response was to physically 298 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:27,760 Speaker 2: grab the microphone and to talk anyway with a lot 299 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:32,399 Speaker 2: of vigor and profanity behind her words. She spoke very 300 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:36,000 Speaker 2: candidly and angrily about how the gay community was benefiting 301 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:39,760 Speaker 2: from the cross dresser's work, while simultaneously excluding them from 302 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:43,320 Speaker 2: their successes as her payment. I do want to note 303 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:46,679 Speaker 2: that Gino Leary went on to soften her views about 304 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:49,520 Speaker 2: cross dressers and transgender people later in her life. I 305 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:53,240 Speaker 2: don't want to paint her as a terrible person who 306 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:57,280 Speaker 2: went around depressing other people. She did later on express 307 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:02,600 Speaker 2: embarrassment and shame that she had really basically kicked people 308 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:05,879 Speaker 2: who were already down. Yeah, and the drag queens that 309 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:08,399 Speaker 2: were supposed to perform at this rally were also barred 310 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:13,159 Speaker 2: from performing. After this incident, Sylvia moved to Terrytown, New 311 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 2: York and lived with a boyfriend. Since she was no 312 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:18,719 Speaker 2: longer in the city, she became less prominent in its 313 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:21,400 Speaker 2: civil rights and gay rights efforts, but she did make 314 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:24,040 Speaker 2: her way back every year for the parades and festivals 315 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:28,080 Speaker 2: that commemorated the end of the Stonewall riot. In the interim, 316 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:31,720 Speaker 2: she led a relatively quiet life. She mostly worked food 317 00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:35,800 Speaker 2: service jobs for a while, but eventually, unfortunately, she began 318 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:41,160 Speaker 2: abusing drugs again and wound up homeless, and journalists who 319 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:44,920 Speaker 2: were working to chronicle the gay rights movements earlier years 320 00:18:45,119 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 2: and transgender people's contribution to the gay rights movement found 321 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:50,679 Speaker 2: her living on the streets in New York in the 322 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:54,760 Speaker 2: early nineteen nineties. This actually marked her return to activism 323 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:57,080 Speaker 2: and to the public eye, which we'll talk about after 324 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:08,800 Speaker 2: another brief ad break. It's tricky to talk about some 325 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:11,119 Speaker 2: of the issues that are in today's episode because the 326 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:15,120 Speaker 2: terminology that we used to talk about it today, some 327 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:18,640 Speaker 2: of it was coined basically halfway through Sylvia Rivera's life. 328 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:23,560 Speaker 2: It's also tricky to talk about Sylvia Rivera's identity specifically, 329 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:27,919 Speaker 2: because she really really resisted the idea of labels for 330 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:29,840 Speaker 2: a lot of her life. She referred to herself as 331 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:32,280 Speaker 2: a transvestite, and as we said earlier, that's a word 332 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:34,880 Speaker 2: that a lot of people don't prefer to be used anymore. 333 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:39,000 Speaker 2: The term transgender came around about halfway through her life, 334 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:42,760 Speaker 2: but she wasn't totally comfortable calling herself that. Towards the 335 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:45,000 Speaker 2: end of her life, she said quote, I'm tired of 336 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:48,000 Speaker 2: being labeled. I don't even like the label transgender. I 337 00:19:48,119 --> 00:19:50,679 Speaker 2: just want to be who I am. I'm living the 338 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,840 Speaker 2: way Sylvia wants to live. But despite her lack of 339 00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:58,080 Speaker 2: affinity for labels, Sylvia was undoubtedly an advocate for rights 340 00:19:58,119 --> 00:20:01,800 Speaker 2: and protections for transgender people throughout the last ten years 341 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:05,240 Speaker 2: or so of her life. We talked earlier about Sylvia 342 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:09,879 Speaker 2: founding the organization Star with Marcia P. Johnson. Marsha's body 343 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:12,720 Speaker 2: was actually found in the Hudson River in nineteen ninety two. 344 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 2: Police originally said that it was a suicide, but they 345 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:20,320 Speaker 2: eventually opened a homicide investigation. And when I say eventually, 346 00:20:20,359 --> 00:20:23,200 Speaker 2: I mean two decades later. At the time of her death, 347 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:25,960 Speaker 2: Sylvia and other friends of Marcia's had said that she 348 00:20:26,119 --> 00:20:29,040 Speaker 2: was not suicidal and that they had witnessed her being 349 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:32,359 Speaker 2: harassed by someone near where her body was found. Shortly 350 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:36,520 Speaker 2: before her death. In nineteen ninety four, Sylvia was asked 351 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:40,520 Speaker 2: to lead the twenty fifth anniversary Stonewall March. That same year, 352 00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:44,680 Speaker 2: she advocated for Martin Duberman's publishers to translate his LGBT 353 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:49,399 Speaker 2: history book Stonewall into Spanish, but according to her, she 354 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:51,640 Speaker 2: was told it would not sell well in quote third 355 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:56,560 Speaker 2: world countries in Latin countries. In her last years, she 356 00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:59,520 Speaker 2: and her partner Julia Murray lived and work at a 357 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:02,840 Speaker 2: place called Transy House. This is a collective and shelter 358 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:06,040 Speaker 2: for transgender youth, and they joined this collective in nineteen 359 00:21:06,119 --> 00:21:10,040 Speaker 2: ninety seven. In nineteen ninety eight, Sylvia was arrested during 360 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:12,800 Speaker 2: a memorial for Matthew Shepherd in New York. So if 361 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:16,159 Speaker 2: you are not familiar with his story, Matthew Shepherd was 362 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:19,120 Speaker 2: a student at the University of Wyoming at Laramie who 363 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:22,199 Speaker 2: was tortured, tied to a fence post, and left to 364 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:25,000 Speaker 2: die as part of an anti gay hate crime. He 365 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 2: wound up dying of his injuries a few days after 366 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:30,080 Speaker 2: he was found tied to the fence post. According to 367 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:33,600 Speaker 2: Sylvia's own account, a police officer basically spread the word 368 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:36,720 Speaker 2: to arrest her first because she was known for being 369 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:41,760 Speaker 2: very vocal at these kinds of demonstrations. In nineteen ninety nine, 370 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:45,239 Speaker 2: Sylvia spoke at the World Pride Rally in Rome. In 371 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:49,280 Speaker 2: two thousand, another trans woman named Amanda Milan was stabbed 372 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 2: in the neck and killed on forty second Street. Sylvia 373 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:57,000 Speaker 2: organized a series of rallies and protests surrounding her death. 374 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:00,240 Speaker 2: In the trial of her killers, Sylvia continued to be 375 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:03,480 Speaker 2: really vocal about the schism between the gay community and 376 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:06,320 Speaker 2: the trans community in the years before her death, and 377 00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:09,359 Speaker 2: about a year before she died, at a talk given 378 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:12,280 Speaker 2: before the Latino Gay Men of New York, she said, yes, 379 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:14,960 Speaker 2: we can adopt children. All well and good, that's fine. 380 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:17,199 Speaker 2: I would love to have children. I would love to 381 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:20,200 Speaker 2: marry my lover over there, she pointed to Julia Murray. 382 00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:23,200 Speaker 2: But for political reasons, I will not do it, because 383 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:25,000 Speaker 2: I don't feel that I have to fit in that 384 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:28,720 Speaker 2: closet of normal straight society which the gay mainstream is 385 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:32,639 Speaker 2: going towards. In the same speech, she described the trans 386 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:36,840 Speaker 2: community's participation in the gay rights movement this way quote. 387 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:39,920 Speaker 2: We were determined that evening, that evening, being the night 388 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:42,240 Speaker 2: of the Stonewall riots, that we were going to be 389 00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:46,320 Speaker 2: a liberated, free community, which we did acquire that. Actually, 390 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:49,880 Speaker 2: I'll change the WII. You have acquired your liberation, your 391 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:54,520 Speaker 2: freedom from that night. Myself, I've got Explative deleted, just 392 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:57,080 Speaker 2: like I had back then, but I still struggle, and 393 00:22:57,119 --> 00:22:59,600 Speaker 2: I still continue the struggle. I will struggle till the 394 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:02,080 Speaker 2: day I die. And my main struggle right now is 395 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:05,280 Speaker 2: that my community will seek the rights that are justly hours. 396 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:09,240 Speaker 2: In the last year of her life, Sylvia campaigned for 397 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:13,040 Speaker 2: New York Sexual Orientation Non Discrimination Act, which is also 398 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:16,679 Speaker 2: referred to as SONDA, and that act prohibits discrimination on 399 00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:21,480 Speaker 2: the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation in employment, housing, 400 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:26,320 Speaker 2: public accommodations, education, credit, and the exercise of civil rights. 401 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:31,960 Speaker 2: It includes protections for transgender people. Sylvia was not exaggerating 402 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:33,720 Speaker 2: when she said that she was going to work until 403 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:37,120 Speaker 2: she died for this. Her last meeting about SONDA, when 404 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:40,160 Speaker 2: she met with city officials for the last time, took 405 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,119 Speaker 2: place in a hospital bed when she was an in 406 00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:47,080 Speaker 2: stage liver disease and a great pain. She died on 407 00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:50,359 Speaker 2: February nineteenth, two thousand and two, of liver disease at 408 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:53,840 Speaker 2: the age of fifty one. SONDA was signed into law 409 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:58,160 Speaker 2: on December seventeenth of that same year. On November fourteenth 410 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:00,600 Speaker 2: of two thousand and five, the City of New York 411 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:03,439 Speaker 2: named the corner of Christopher and Hudson streets in the 412 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 2: West Village. Sylvia rivera way today the Silvia Rivera food 413 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:12,000 Speaker 2: pantry which is under the auspices of the Metropolitan Community 414 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:14,959 Speaker 2: Church of New York, which serves a working poor as 415 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,520 Speaker 2: well as people with HIV through a specialized pantry program 416 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:23,159 Speaker 2: that's designed for people on anti retroviral therapies. These are 417 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:26,320 Speaker 2: higher in protein and easy to prepare. It also provides 418 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:30,560 Speaker 2: nutritional information and kind of meal guidance for all of 419 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:35,480 Speaker 2: the populations that it serves. Sylvia's Place is a Metropolitan 420 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:39,480 Speaker 2: Community Church of New York services organization for homeless youth. 421 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:44,919 Speaker 2: Sylvia Rivera Law Project's work focuses on transgender intersects and 422 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:48,600 Speaker 2: gender nonconforming people, particularly those who are low income people 423 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:52,920 Speaker 2: and people of color. They provide legal services, public education, 424 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:57,880 Speaker 2: and advocacy for public policy reform. She had a big legacy. 425 00:24:58,359 --> 00:25:00,720 Speaker 2: She did have a big legacy, had big legacy that 426 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:06,960 Speaker 2: I think her name is not necessarily well known in 427 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:09,439 Speaker 2: the context of the gay rights movement unless you are 428 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:13,520 Speaker 2: pretty familiar with it. The oral history that we referenced 429 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:19,000 Speaker 2: making history, she is actually the only transgender person who's included, 430 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:21,760 Speaker 2: and she's referred to with male pronouns the whole time 431 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:24,480 Speaker 2: and is classified as a drag queen, which is she 432 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:28,719 Speaker 2: did call herself a drag queen, but that's kind of 433 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:33,280 Speaker 2: limiting and how she actually viewed herself well, I mean, 434 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:35,239 Speaker 2: since she was not a fan of the labels and 435 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:40,000 Speaker 2: she identified in her life as Sylvia. Yeah, a lot 436 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:45,720 Speaker 2: of drag performers will still maintain their you know, in 437 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:49,080 Speaker 2: many cases, the old school drag performers that were mostly 438 00:25:49,119 --> 00:25:53,480 Speaker 2: men and then presented as female for performance, they still 439 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:58,120 Speaker 2: maintained that male persona, whereas she did not at all totally. 440 00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:00,640 Speaker 2: One of the reasons that I there were a couple 441 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:02,879 Speaker 2: of reasons that I wanted to do this episode, and 442 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:08,200 Speaker 2: one is that I think the campaign for transgender rights 443 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,440 Speaker 2: has been increasingly present in the news over the last 444 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:15,359 Speaker 2: year or so. It's in terms of mainstream news coverage. 445 00:26:15,359 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 2: It's definitely not something that has been unknown. But when 446 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:24,119 Speaker 2: it comes to like the really mainstream news outlets, and 447 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:27,280 Speaker 2: the other is a lot of the things that Sylvia 448 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:30,600 Speaker 2: and the young people that she and Marsha were looking after, 449 00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:35,119 Speaker 2: you know, twenty years ago, a lot of those issues 450 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:37,720 Speaker 2: still really exist today. Like there are still a lot 451 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:42,119 Speaker 2: of homeless transgender youth who've basically been thrown out of 452 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:44,840 Speaker 2: their homes by their parents and don't really have anywhere 453 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:48,120 Speaker 2: else to turn. So I think her legacy is extremely important, 454 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:50,879 Speaker 2: not just for having been part of the gay rights movement, 455 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:55,480 Speaker 2: but for specifically when it comes to working with homeless 456 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:59,680 Speaker 2: young people who don't really have anywhere else to go. Yeah, 457 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:05,840 Speaker 2: extremely high risk community in terms of violence, falling into 458 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:14,919 Speaker 2: sex work, you know, just really being in at risk situations. 459 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:18,520 Speaker 2: Thanks so much for joining us on this Saturday. Since 460 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:20,600 Speaker 2: this episode is out of the archive, if you heard 461 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:23,440 Speaker 2: an email address or a Facebook RL or something similar 462 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:26,359 Speaker 2: over the course of the show, that could be obsolete now. 463 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:32,520 Speaker 2: Our current email address is History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 464 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:35,440 Speaker 2: You can find us all over social media at missed 465 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:38,520 Speaker 2: in History, and you can subscribe to our show on 466 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:42,800 Speaker 2: Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, and wherever else 467 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:48,200 Speaker 2: you listen to podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History Class 468 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:52,280 Speaker 2: is a production of iHeartRadio. 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