St. Sylvia Rivera
Sylvia Rivera (July 2, 1951 – February 19, 2002) was an American gay liberation and transgender rights activist who was also a noted community worker in New York. Rivera, who identified as a drag queen, participated in demonstrations with the Gay Liberation Front.
With close friend Marsha P. Johnson, Rivera co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a group dedicated to helping homeless young drag queens, gay youth, and trans women.
A Note from the Artist
Sylvia is often remembered for her fierce advocacy and her indomitable resolve, often in opposition to her gay and lesbian contemporaries who marginalized her voice, labeled too radical or confrontational. When depicting Sylvia, I was struck by the predominance of images of her expressing anger, whether shouting in a march or raising her fist at a protest. I wanted to find a way to depict the gentler side of Sylvia that we rarely got to see. I chose star flowers for her halo as a nod to the organization she started with Marsha P. Johnson, S.T.A.R.