Sylvia Rivera

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, The Cardinal will feature prominent and historical Hispanic Americans, living or dead, who have worked toward change, advancement, and/or world peace. Some of them are heroes, and some are unsung heroes who deserve recognition, and have made a contribution to society.

Helen Nguyen, Staff Writer

October 8, 2024

Sylvia Rivera was known for gay liberation, transgender activist, and an advocate for the homeless.

Rivera was a tireless advocate to those silenced and disregarded in the larger movements. She spent her life fighting against the exclusion of transgender people, especially transgender people of color, and from the larger movements for gay rights. She faced racism and discrimination for being a transgender latina by mostly white males so she started working with homeless teens then co-founding the militant group and shelter, STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries). She was embraced as a key figure in the LGBTQ+ movement in the 1990s. Her legacy has made organizations such as the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. The organization works to ensure that people are free to self-determine their gender identity and expression regardless of their race.

“But in these struggles, in the Civil Rights movement, in the war movement, in the women’s movement, we were still outcasts,” said Rivera. “The only reason they tolerated the transgender community in some of these movements was because we were gung-ho, we were front-liners. We didn’t take no sh– from nobody. We had nothing to lose.”

Rivera’s relentless work was to pass civil rights protection for transgender people in New York. Her advocacy in the 1970s with the Gay Bill of Rights made her the only person to be arrested in the petition drive. At the age of 17, she decided to take her own part in the famous Stonewall Riots to protest a police raid of the gay bar. This event became one of the major acts of the gay liberation movement and furthering the agenda, she co-founded the group, the Gay Liberation Front. It was only in 1970 where her activism began she not only fought for the rights of gay people but also the drag queens like herself in her movements.

“If it wasn’t for the drag queen, there would be no gay liberation movement,” expressed Rivera.

About the Contributor

Helen Nguyen, Staff Writer

Helen Nguyen is currently a sophomore at Hoover High during the 24-25 school year for her education.

When she graduates, she looks forward to attending a community college for her first few years then transferring into a university. She has hopes of becoming a future nurse. She’s always had social anxiety and she has always been anti-social. Though, she is learning to be comfortable around others and learning how to be more open. She’s working on getting out of her comfort zone and letting herself loose.

Some things about Helen, She has an older brother who also attended Hoover High and graduated as class of 23’ as being a part of the ALMA academy. Now, she herself is also in the ALMA academy as a class of 27’. She loves going out, hanging around friends, spending time with family, and she enjoys playing badminton. She dislikes being in crowded areas with loud noises, she fears spiders and bugs, and summer has never really been her season, she hates the mosquitoes.

The majority of her family was born and raised in Vietnam, this includes her brother. She states that when they moved here to San Diego, it made her the only family member to be born and raised apart from Vietnam. Her family moved here to San Diego because it was easier for them to make a living and provide. Since the covid pandemic, she’s sad to haven’t been able to go back to Vietnam to visit her other family members. She hopes to be able to travel again soon.