Sylvia Rivera

Sylvia Rivera
Rivera, in the "gay camp" at the Christopher Street Piers c. 2000
Born	Ray Rivera (1951-07-02)July 2, 1951 New York, New York, U.S.
Died	February 19, 2002(2002-02-19) (aged 50) New York, New York, U.S.
Cause of death	Liver cancer
Nationality	American
Known for	Gay liberation and Transgender activist, advocate for the homeless.

Sylvia Rae Rivera (July 2, 1951 – February 19, 2002) 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 was born and raised in New York City and lived most of her life in or near the city. She was born as Ray Rivera and 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 and worked as a prostitute. She was taken in by the local community of drag queens, who gave her the name, "Sylvia."

Rivera's activism began during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–68) and continued through the anti-war movement during the Vietnam war (mid-1960s) and second-wave feminist movements (mid-1960's). 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. At least one Stonewall historian, David Carter, has questioned Rivera's links with the Stonewall Inn and the protests based on contradictory statements she made as well as testimony relayed to him by early gay rights activists, including Marsha P. Johnson who denied Rivera was present at the riots. Rivera also became involved in Puerto Rican and African American youth activism, particularly with the Young Lords and Black Panthers.