Today would have been the 60th birthday of the mother of the trans and gay rights movement, Sylvia Rae Rivera and it's a bittersweet moment as we celebrate the day she was born in New York City in 1951.This birthday anniversary dawns with transpeople in New York state facing another long, hot frustrating summer of dealing with the fact that GENDA lopsidedly passed the New York Assembly for the fourth consecutive session, but once again died in the New York Senate.
I had the pleasure of meeting her in May 2000 and having a long conversation with her about the then state of the trans community. I have a pretty good idea of what her reactions would be to this news if we were still blessed to have her around.
She'd be pissed, and Trans Nation and trans peeps in New York need to be thinking about this situation in WWSD terms
What Would Sylvia Do?
What would she do? Be in people's faces inside and outside our community fighting tooth and nail to get GENDA passed by any means necessary. Sylvia's legacy demands nothing less than our best efforts to do that and replicate her fighting spirit in our own locales and at a national level.
And it would be a fitting birthday present to have GENDA be New York state law by this time next year.
Happy birthday Sylvia. You are missed.
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