Marsha P. Johnson

Marsha P. Johnson at the Christopher Street Liberation Day March, 1974. Photo by Leonard Fink. Center Archive.

Marsha was a revolutionary Black transgender sex worker. She is known for playing an integral part in the Stonewall Uprising of 1969, and was known throughout the queer community as a “drag mother” who supported the struggling youth of New York City’s West Village. She warmed many hearts with her contagious smile and generous personality, and could frequently be found in the West Village chatting with the locals adorned in a crown of flowers. 

During her lifetime the mainstream LGBTQ+ liberation movement often outcast people like Marsha in favor of white, cisgender icons. Today, much work has been done to correct this narrative and recognize Marsha as a key figure.

Cecilia Gentili

Cecilia Gentili is an advocate, organizer, performer, and storyteller. Like Marsha, she is known for being both a warm, caring personal mentor and a fierce activist on behalf of trans people, sex workers, and all LGBTQ+ New Yorkers who are more likely to face discrimination and violence.

Cecilia focuses her efforts on the intersections of sex work, trans liberation, immigration rights, and incarceration issues. She has done years of direct service and policy work for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers—including here at The Center! Her leadership has helped New York to pass multiple laws that support survivors of sex trafficking, combat transphobic policing, and ban discrimination on the basis of gender identity & expression.

Sylvia Rivera

Sylvia Rivera at Gay Liberation Front’s Demonstration at Bellevue Hospital, 1970. Photo by Richard C. Wandel. Center Archive.

Sylvia Rivera was a civil rights leader during the Stonewall Uprising and the decades afterward. Her unwavering advocacy for sex workers, street youth, and transgender people pushed back against harmful New York City policies and the limitations of the mainstream LGBTQ+ liberation movement. She criticized the City and the movement’s tendencies to center white, cisgender gay and lesbian experiences to the exclusion of trans and gender nonconforming people of color.

Sylvia also founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) in 1970, which established a support network for New Yorkers whose needs were being excluded. This organization, which she led alongside Marsha P. Johnson, was dedicated to providing food, shelter, and affirming space to young trans people and people on the streets. 

Mariah Lopez

Photo courtesy of Mariah Lopez.

Mariah Lopez is the executive director of Strategic Transgender Alliance for Radical Reform (STARR). As Sylvia’s adopted daughter, she carries on Sylvia’s legacy with STARR continuing to provide for the immediate needs of the trans, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary (TGNCNB) community. 

Mariah works for justice not only through her role at the helm of STARR, but also through her individual activism. She has personally lobbied and litigated New York City agencies for better treatment and support of TGNCNB New Yorkers in many aspects of their lives. She has advocated for several important issues including healthcare access, housing for incarcerated people, improving the quality of LGBTQ+ shelters in New York City, the preservation of trans New York history, and much more.