Pride Month is celebrated in June to commemorate the Stonewall riots, that occurred on June 28, 1969. On this day, in New York’s Greenwich village, at the Stonewall Inn, people fought against the police aggressive raid, starting the riots that later on, brought to the community the rights we celebrate today.
In Pride Month we celebrate the years of struggle for civil rights and the ongoing pursuit of equal justice to LGBTQ+ community. And there is no better way to celebrate history and the fight for equal rights than keeping the memory of the people who resisted that time to bring the color of the pride we carry today. In this article, get to know five personalities that made and are still making history.
Stormé DeLaviere
Stormé DeLaviere was born in New Orleans in 1920, kid of an African American woman and a white man. She was the only “male impersonator” in the “Jewel Box Revue” during the 50’s and 60’s – the period’s only racially integrated drag troupe. She lived for several years at the Chelsea Hotel, and several documentaries explored DeLarverie’s drag persona and her career as a guardian of the Village, acting as a bouncer at the neighborhood’s gay bars. Stormé was revolutionary in fashion too, wearing suits even when the New York Laws did not permit that.
In the night of june 28, DeLaviere was at the Stonewall inn bar, and when the police started the violence, they caught a mysterious drag king and hit him in the head. The drag king shouted to the crowd to do something, and they did.
Her friend Lisa Cannistraci, a legal guardian and owner of a lesbian bar in the Village, told The New York Times after her death in 2014 that “nobody knows who threw the first punch, but rumor has it she did, and she said she did”.
Stormé passed away in 2014, at 93 years old, surrounded by the ones she spent her life protecting.
Marsha P. Johnson
Marsha was a black trans woman and drag queen artist known in the New York nightlife scene. Born in Malcolm Michaels, in 1945, she was in the front lines during the protests that happened during the six nights after June 28, and was fundamental in the fight for the rights of the community.
She was the creator of the Gay Liberation Front, one of the first groups to join the fight for the end of persecution of diversity, and created the first shelter for homeless trans people, S.T.A.R (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) with her friend, also a drag queen, Sylvia Riviera.
Together, they made history in the fight for trans rights. After a life dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights, on July 6, 1992, her body was found in the Hudson River, days after that year’s Gay Pride Parade. The case was quickly closed and ruled a suicide. Netflix in October 2017, published a documentary talking about Marsha’s life and death.
Harvey Milk
Born in may 22, 1930, Harvey Milk was an activist and politician and the first openly gay men elected to public office in the US state of California – in an era marked by repression, prejudice and the silencing of non-normative ways to live. Holding a position on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, he protected the working class, and was the great responsible to bring down the Briggs Initiative, which aimed to prevent homosexual teachers from teaching in public schools.
Unfortunately, Harvey’s journey ended fast, just a year later, when he was assassinated by Dan White, one of his colleagues on the City Council.
Paulo Gustavo
Paulo Gustavo was a Brazilian actor, comedian, director and presenter. He became known in Brazil in 2013 with the monologue Minha Mãe É Uma Peça. Born in october 30, 1978, Paulo lived his infancy in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, with his mom and sister. In his most famous work he narrates his experiences in his family, through the eyes of his mother, Déa Lucia Amaral.
Openly gay, he married in 2017. They were about to have twins, named Gael and Flora, through a surrogate mother, but unfortunately the babies died in a miscarriage – two years after their loss, the couple finally had their kids, Romeu e Gael.
The comedian passed away after complications on the treatment of COVID, in 2021.
Chappel Roan
Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, better known as Chappel Roan, has been taking the international pop music scene by storm with her flamboyant looks and impressive vocals. Born in february 19, 1998, in Missouri, US, Chappel identifies as a lesbian demisexual woman, and sings openly about her experiences in relationships with other women.
Heavily influenced by drag queens, her music performance style have been attracting especially the LGBTQ+ community, for her references in looks and lyrics. Her most popular album is The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
Despite the controversies surrounding her interactions with paparazzi and reporters, Chappel Roan is an authentic artist and a great representation for the LGBTQ+ community nowadays.
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The article above was edited by Camilly Vieira.
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