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How Did Silvia Rivera Influence The Stonewall Movement

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"The word is out. Christopher Street shall be liberated. The gays have had it with oppression." The Stonewall riots were arguably the most important event in US, LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) history. There might be some people you have heard of like Marsha P Johnson that rioted at Stonewall for a significant amount of time and helped lead the revolution. However, one of the most influential, significant, and yet unknown individuals to lead and participate in the riots was Silvia Rivera. Rivera's role was one of the most important activists during the inception of equality for the LGBT community because she incited the Stonewall riots, she continued on in her activism by being incredibly active as a leader in civil rights …show more content…

It's been debated on who exactly started the Stonewall Riots; however, Silvia Rivera certainly helped make the riots happen. Many say Silvia Rivera threw the first brick, but she actually claims herself that she threw the second molotov. This second molotov incited the riot as everyone followed Silvia after she made that brave decision. On top of that, she never left the riots, and continued to encourage others to protest. “Rivera said in an interview in 2001 that while she did not throw the first molotov cocktail at the police (a long-enduring myth), she did throw the second” (Rothberg 2021). If Silvia didn't follow after the very first molotov, others would not have had the bravery to riot. Humans tend to follow the crowd as a way to protect themselves. If a large group; of people saw only one person throwing a molotov, they will …show more content…

“The Gay Liberation Youth Movement in New York: "An Army of Lovers Cannot Fail" : Stephan Cohen : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive, 14 August 2019, https://archive.org/details/cohen-gylib. Accessed 23 March 2023.
K, Kristi. “Something Like A Super Lesbian: Stormé DeLarverie (In Memoriam).” Hello 40s (formerly the Kword), 28 May 2014, https://hello40s.com/2014/05/28/something-like-a-super-lesbian-storme-delarverie-in-memoriam/. Accessed 22 March 2023.
Miller, Shawn. “About | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Pride Month.” Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/lgbt-pride-month/about/. Accessed 23 March 2023.
Rothberg, Emma. “Sylvia Rivera.” National Women's History Museum, https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sylvia-rivera. Accessed 22 March 2023.
“Who was at Stonewall? | American Experience.” PBS, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/stonewall-participants/. Accessed 23 March 2023.
Wilson, Doric, and Edmund White. “Stonewall riots.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots. Accessed 23 March

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