Friends on the Fringes

Friends on the Fringes. People of Marsha's time who fought for equality and equity. , Miss Major Griffin-Gracy (b. 1946) has fought for justice for the transgender community since the 1960s, currently as the director of the House of GG, a retreat center for trans and gender non-conforming leaders from across the U.S. South., Stormé Delavierie (1920-2014, center) was a drag king performer at Radio City Music Hall and the Apollo Theater, and founded the Stonewall Veterans Association after taking park in the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion. DeLarverie continued her advocacy throughout her life, and is known as a gay superhero for personally ejecting abusive people from gay-friendly environments., Bubbles Rose Lee (dates unknown) was instrumental in acquiring the STAR House building. Lee is pictured here, right of Sylvia Rivera who is holding a shopping bag, during the 1970 New York University protests that led to STAR's founding., Salsa Soul Sisters raised their voices at a rally in Central Park in 1976. As the first organization in the U.S. dedicated to lesbians of color, Salsa Soul Sisters was founded by Rev. Delores Jackson and others through bar meetings that preceded the events of Stonewall., Randy Wicker (b. 1938) is credited as the leader of one of the earliest known demonstrations for gay rights in 1964. Wicker (left) gave Marsha P. Johnson a home from 1980-1992. At the 1992 Gay Pride Parade in New York City, Randy and Marsha carried this AIDS Quilt patch, honoring David Combs, Randy's lover of 18 years, for whom Marsha was a dedicated caregiver., Sylvia Rivera (1951-2002, right) resisted police at the Stonewall Rebellion and advocated vehemently for TLGBQ+ rights for decades. Along with Marsha P. Johnson, Rivera founded STAR (now known as STARR: Strategic Trans Alliance For Radical Reform) and STAR House. Rivera and Johnson were considered inseparable.