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Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson

Today for Women’s History Month we are honoring activists Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson for their contributions to the rights and safety of the LGBTQ+ community. 

Rivera and Johnson both rose to prominence during the Stonewall Inn Riots of 1969. The Stonewall Inn was a bar in New York City that was popular among the city’s gay, lesbian, and transgender communities (1). On that June night in 1969 Rivera and Johnson became active in fighting back the police that raided the bar. In those days, raids such as those were common place -- every state except Illinois had Anti-Gay laws in place and police often profiled people of the community, leading to harassment, assault, and arrests (2).

That night, the police had chosen the Stonewall Inn to raid and the bar’s patrons grew furious. While Johnson is often credited as throwing the first brick at police that started the riots, she asserted that she arrived at the bar after the riot was underway (3). Rivera was also there that night and the nights after as the conflict continued, being credited as throwing the second, not the first, Molotov Cocktail at the police. Both women were key leaders in the multi-day riot, but despite this, a year later when the first pride parade was organized, the women were discouraged from participating due to their gender identity lying outside the typical gender binary. In fact, in the 1973 pride parade she was quoted as saying to the crowd, “If it wasn’t for the drag queen, there would be no gay liberation movement. We’re the front-liners.” (4)

The world at this time was not ready to accept transgender individuals or the community itself, so Rivera and Johnson took matters into their own hands. Together in 1970 Rivera and Johnson founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries or STAR and just after, STAR House, which proved food, shelter, clothes, and education for transgender youth in New York City. The women became like mothers to the trans youth of the area, taking them in and providing for them when no one else would. Rivera and Johnson paid for the house themselves, doing sex work at night to get the money needed (5). Until very recently the only real ways for transgender women to make money was as a performing drag queen or through sex work (6). STAR House was the first LGBTQ+ youth shelter in the country and took care of many before unofficially dissolving in the mid-1970s (7).

Johnson and Rivera were instrumental in creating what we now know as the gay rights movement of today. They were there “on the front lines” fighting for LGBTQ+ recognition in the world and creating homes to support LGBTQ+ youth. This Women’s History Month, take a moment to remember their contributions and revel in the progress still being made today.

(3),  Brown, Dalvin. “Marsha P. Johnson: Transgender Hero of Stonewall Riots Finally Gets Her Due.” USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, June 28, 2019. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2019/03/27/black-history-marsha-johnson-and-stonewall-riots/2353538002/.

(2) Lopez, German. “Police Used to Raid Gay Bars. Now They March in Pride Parades.” Vox. Vox, June 14, 2017. https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/6/14/15768274/police-lgbtq-pride-stonewall.

Nguyen, Ashley, and Claire Breen. “Today, Learn the Name of at Least One Influential Woman You've Never Heard of. Here Are 31 Options.” https://www.thelily.com. The Lily, March 26, 2019. https://www.thelily.com/today-learn-the-name-of-at-least-one-influential-woman-youve-never-heard-of-here-are-31-options/.

(1) Pruitt, Sarah. “What Happened at the Stonewall Riots? A Timeline of the 1969 Uprising.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, June 13, 2019. https://www.history.com/news/stonewall-riots-timeline.

(4) Rothberg, Emma. “Sylvia Rivera.” National Women's History Museum. National Women's History Museum, 2021. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sylvia-rivera.

(5), (7) “Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries Found Star House.” Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries found STAR House | Global Network of Sex Work Projects. NSWP Global Network of Sex Work Projects. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.nswp.org/timeline/street-transvestite-action-revolutionaries-found-star-house.

(6) TikTok, 2022. https://www.tiktok.com/@bitterbettysux/video/7059876333572066607?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7078736015071905326.

[nkuhistoryspot]

Welcome!

We’re a student worker-run blog for the NKU History Department. This blog is where you will find our longer form posts about historical topics of our choosing, and it’s our hope that we can express why we’re so passionate for history. History isn’t just about memorizing timelines; it helps us understand how humans have arrived to the point that we’re at today, and it brings greater insight to the connections among cultures and events of the world. We want to dig deep into the history that we might not have heard about in school and find out what it means for ourselves.

As W.E.B. Du Bois has said: “We can only understand the present by continually referring to and studying the past, when any one of the intricate phenomena of our daily life puzzles us, when there arises religious problems, political problems, race problems, we must always remember that while their solution lies in the present, their cause and their explanation lie in the past.”

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Shirley Chisholm

 Photo: National Women’s History Museum 

Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to Congress, serving in the House of Representatives for New York’s twelfth district from 1969 to 1983.[1] Born on November 30, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York, to two immigrant parents. Her father, Charles St. Hill, was a factory worker from Guyana, and her mother, Ruby Seale St. Hill, was a seamstress from Barbados.[2] Her father and mother worked a lot to support their family, leading to Chisholm to be sent to live with her grandmother in Barbados at three years old.[3] Living in Barbados for most of her formative years, Chisholm received much of her early education in Barbadian schools, which used traditional British teachings, such as, reading, writing, and history. Chisholm credited much of her academic success on this type of early education. Returning to Brooklyn at 10 years old, Chisholm attended New York public schools, attending Girls’ High School, where she excelled.[4] Her excellence in school gave her scholarships to several distinguished universities, but because she was unable to afford room and board, Chisholm attended Brooklyn College and lived at home. At Brooklyn College, Chisholm was encouraged to pursue a political career, working with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, but after graduating Cum Laude in 1946, she became a nursery school teacher.[5] Chisholm earned her Master’s Degree in early childhood education from Colombia University in 1951 and by 1960, she was a consultant for the New York City Division of Day Care.[6]

           Her political career began in 1964 when she was elected to the New York State Legislature, being the second African American to do so.[7] During her time in the State Legislature, Chisholm sponsored fifty bills, eight of which were passed. Some of the most successful of those bills were ones that gave assistance to poor students to go into higher education, provided employment insurance to personal and domestic employees and reversed a law that made it so female teachers lose their tenure while out on maternity leave.[8] After serving in the State Legislature for four years, Chisholm set her sights on the Federal Government.

           In 1968, Chisholm won against Civil Rights leader James Farmer for New York’s twelfth district’s seat in Congress. Chisholm’s career in Congress, lasting from 1969 to 1983, saw her fighting for racial and gender equality, the end of the Vietnam War, and more. She served on several House committees, such as Agriculture, Veteran’s Affairs, Rules and Education, and Labor.[9] Chisholm fiercely fought for her district, even protesting her appointment to the Forestry Committee because it had no importance to the people of her district.[10] Chisholm was also a fierce advocate for women’s rights, fighting for a woman’s right to choose and speaking against traditional professional roles of women, such as secretaries, teachers, etc. Chisholm co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971, which recruits, trains, and supports pro-choice women candidates for office.[11]And Chisholm’s work was far from over, in fact, she wanted to do more on a bigger platform…the presidency.

           In 1972, Chisholm became the first woman and first African American to seek the nomination for one of the two major political parties. Chisholm sought the Democratic Party’s nomination, but faced discrimination all the way through. Chisholm was blocked from being in any televised debates, having to take legal action in order to get just one speech.[12] She was able to enter the primaries of twelve states, winning twenty-eight delegates, and receiving 152 first ballot votes at the Democratic National convention.[13] Her campaign was focused on civil rights, police brutality, the Judicial system, gun control, drug abuse, and much more.[14] Though she did not win the nomination, Chisholm did not let it slow her down, serving ten more years in congress, before retiring in 1983.

           After retiring from Congress, Chisholm became a professor at Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts, teaching politics and women’s studies.[15] In 1985, Chisholm confounded the National Political Congress of Black Women, which helps facilitate the educational, political, economic, and cultural development of African American Women, in 1984.[16] She retired from teaching in 1987, moving to Florida in 1991. In 1993, President Bill Clinton nominated her to be the Ambassador of Jamaica, but she had to decline because of ill health.[17] Chisholm continued to write and lecture, writing two books, Unbought and Unbossed, and The Good Fight, until her death in 2005. Chisholm left a massive legacy for people of color and women that is still felt to this day. Without her hard work and perseverance, we would not be where we are today.

 Bibliography

“Home.” National Congress of Black Women - Los Angeles Chapter. Accessed February 14, 2022. https://ncbwinclac.org/.

 “Our Mission.” National Women’s Political Caucus. Accessed February 11, 2022. https://www.nwpc.org/about/.

 “Shirley Chisholm Biography.” Encyclopedia of World Biography. Accessed February 11, 2022. https://www.notablebiographies.com/Ch-Co/Chisholm-Shirley.html.

 “Shirley Chisholm: CSU.” The California State University. Accessed February 14, 2022. https://www.calstate.edu/impact-of-the-csu/alumni/Honorary-Degrees/Pages/shirley-chisholm.aspx.

 Michals, Debra. “Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005).” National Women’s History Museum. PWC Charitable Foundation. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/shirley-chisholm.

 [1] Debra Michals, “Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005),” National Women’s History Museum, PWC Charitable Foundation, 2015, https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/shirley-chisholm.

[2] Michals, “Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005).”

[3] “Shirley Chisholm Biography,” Encyclopedia of World Biography, accessed February 11, 2022, https://www.notablebiographies.com/Ch-Co/Chisholm-Shirley.html.  

[4] “Shirley Chisholm Biography,” Encyclopedia of World Biography.

[5] Michals, “Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005).

[6] Michals, “Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005).

[7] Michals, “Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005).

[8] “Shirley Chisholm Biography,” Encyclopedia of World Biography.

[9] “Shirley Chisholm Biography,” Encyclopedia of World Biography.

[10] “Shirley Chisholm Biography,” Encyclopedia of World Biography.

[11] “Our Mission,” National Women’s Political Caucus, accessed February 11, 2022, https://www.nwpc.org/about/.

[12] Michals, “Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005).

[13] “Shirley Chisholm: CSU,” The California State University, accessed February 14, 2022, https://www.calstate.edu/impact-of-the-csu/alumni/Honorary-Degrees/Pages/shirley-chisholm.aspx.

[14] “Shirley Chisholm Biography,” Encyclopedia of World Biography.

[15] “Shirley Chisholm Biography,” Encyclopedia of World Biography.

[16] “Home,” National Congress of Black Women - Los Angeles Chapter, accessed February 14, 2022, https://ncbwinclac.org/.

[17] “Shirley Chisholm Biography,” Encyclopedia of World Biography.