Coming into class, I had already heard about the Stonewall Riots. I knew that those riots were the staple event that helped to give rise to the Gay Rights Movement and helped to make it huge. I had heard about it from my friends that told me about the drag queens and the transgender people that were at the forefront of the actual riots. I learned that they were all pretty much people of color that were the ones leading it. I also knew that after the riots, the people that started benefiting from it were white cis gay males and lesbians. I even knew that they weren’t including drag queens or transgender people into the movement, especially people of color, which is why they formed their own groups. What I did not know was that these LGB people were throwing drag queens and transgender people under the bus and were working with other groups to attack and demean drag queens and transgender people. I also did not know that the reason that Stonewall Riots were the leading act that caused the movement, because they were easy to celebrate even though there were other riots that also happened. I also did not know the extent of why the police did raids in these bars, because of the laws that were in place that targeted drag queens and transgender people. It is really sad that they had to go through so much back then, even from their own people, but at least now people are starting to recognized drag queens and transgender people. We still have a long way to go though in order to make up for everything we had to put our own people through.
I knew a little bit of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, because many of my friends who are part of the LGBTQ+ community as well have told me some of the history regarding them. I know that they were part of the Stonewall Riots and I was told they one of them was the first one to throw the object that started the riot. They were pretty involved with the Gay Rights Movement, but after the riots, they started to focus more on bringing awareness of transgender people into the movement. I remember watching the video of Sylvia Rivera interrupting a Pride event, because she was denied the possibility to speak at the event and she wanted people to know transgender people have been in the forefront of the movement but continued to not be recognized. I also went to the Stonewall Inn in NYC and I saw pictures of both Marsha and Sylvia that were hung to be recognized for their work.