5 Transgender Activists Who Blazed A Trail For The LGBT Community

From: NewNowNext

 In the past several years the trans community has achieved increased visibility and protections—with advocates like Laverne Cox, Janet Mock, Chaz Bono and Carmen Carrera raising awareness and changing perceptions. But the doors they walked through were pushed open by pioneers who faced an even less inviting environment.

In celebration of Pride month and Logo’s Trailblazers special on June 26, we present 5 transgender activists who blazed a trail for all of us.

Watch Logo’s Trailblazers Special, June 26 at 9 pm

Sylvia Rivera

Sylvia Rivera started her activism at the 1969 Stonewall riots and never stopped speaking out for the queer community, especially poor and minority trans people.

In 1970 Rivera marched in the original Christopher Street Liberation Day March and worked to get the New York City Gay Rights Bill passed. In the years that followed, she and Marsha P. Johnson co-founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), fighting for the rights of this disenfranchised community.

Called the “conscience” of the LGBT community, Rivera was arrested countless times at demonstrations for political causes like Soul Force, the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization, and the NYC Homeless Coalition, in addition to protests on behalf of transgender rights. She fought tireless to ensure that drag queens, trans men and women and other non-gender-conforming people wouldn’t be thrown under the bus by assimilationist gays looking for a quick fix.

In her later years, Rivera became an active in the the Metropolitan Community Church of New York, directing its food-service and trans-outreach programs. She received lifetime achievement awards from numerous groups and, in 2000, was invited to speak at World Pride in Rome. Even on her deathbed in 2002, Rivera fought for her community—meeting with members of the Empire State Pride Agenda to push for the inclusion of trans rights in the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination bill facing the New York State Legislature.

Her legacy continues with the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, which protects minority and low-income members of the trans community from discrimination and violence.