Growing up in the 1920’s, Stormé DeLarverie was bullied for being Black “with a white face.” Her father said she had to face her truth – or else she’d be running from it her whole life. Choosing to stop running was her first protest. But it wouldn’t be her last.
In her twenties, DeLarverie moved to New York and began performing in drag. New York had strict laws against “crossdressing” in public. But DeLarverie dressed however she wanted in protest. Police arrested her – but she refused to comply.
In what became a six-day resistance known as the Stonewall Rebellion, it was DeLarverie’s resistance to her arrest outside of the Stonewall Inn that incited onlookers to fight against police. “I walked away with an eye bleeding but [the officer] was laying on the ground, out!” She stated.
Stonewall became one of America’s largest protests for LGBTQ rights and against police brutality, and transformed LGBTQ rights in the United States.
The discrimination that DeLarverie and other members of the LGBTQ community faced – and continue to face – are a form of body policing, and affect us all.
Stonewall became one of America’s largest protests for LGBTQ rights and against police brutality, and transformed LGBTQ rights in the United States. The discrimination that DeLarverie and other members of the LGBTQ community faced – and continue to face – are a form of body policing, and affect us all.