politics, literature, and LGBTQ+ activism. In 1973, when the New York City Pride march organizers banned drag queens (including Johnson) from participating, she and Rivera marched ahead of the parade.Įxplore more Pride photos from the Ron Simmons Photography Collection in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, which includes several hundred color slides, most related to U.S. Together, Rivera and Johnson started STAR House for LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness, with a focus on supporting people of color. The GAA's leadership often rejected the role transgender people-many of them people of color-played in Stonewall. But Rivera, who was a transgender woman and Latina, faced discrimination from established gay rights organizations like the GAA that were predominantly led by white men. Rivera was also involved in Stonewall, and the experience led her to campaign with the Gay Activist Alliance (GAA) for a city nondiscrimination law. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution acquisition made possible through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
Photograph of Sylvia Rivera (with Christina Hayworth and Julia Murray) by Luis Carle, 2000. There was a stigma attached to homosexuality in decades past that made most gays suppress or hide.
