Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera

Friends united in the struggle for liberation Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera were early pioneers of queer rights before, during, and after Stonewall. Marsha and Sylvia were great organizers who understood the importance of accessibility and mutual aid. Their D.I.Y. ethics of protest challenged the earliest corporate pride events, and created the blueprint for anti-capitalist queer joy. From providing safe spaces for trans youth through the STAR (Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries) house, to pushing back against gay assimilation, and refusing to stand for the whitewashing of the Stonewall Riots that erased the contributions of Black and Brown trans folx, Marsha and Sylvia paved the way one radical act at a time.

Read Marsha's biography here.

Watch Marsha's documentary here.

Read about Sylvia's life here.

Read about Marsha, Sylvia, and STAR here.

Combahee River Collective

After attending a black feminist conference and leaving more disillusioned than radicalized in 1973, Barbara Smith, Beverly Smith, Demita Frazier and other Boston-based feminsts created the Combahee River Collective. Named after a slave rebellion led by Harritet Tubman, the CRC honored their freedom fighting ancestors by being an unapologetically black, lesbian, feminist, and socialist collective. The CRC understood the power of forging relationships with like-minded black feminsts across the country and supporting their own local community. The collective advocated to end gender-based violence and socioeconomic injustice in Boston, and organized Black Feminist Retreats to spend quality time with their comrades from around the US. The Combahee River Collective literally wrote the Black feminist handbook, and we thank them for all their action and dreaming.

Read the Combahee River Collective statement here.

Sista Grrrl Riots

Honeychild Coleman, Tamar-Kali Brown, Simi Stone, and Maya Sokora all recognized each others creative talents as Black punk women, but the underground scene in New York during the late 90s wasn't as hip to it. The four grrrls changed that by booking, producing, and performing at their own events called Sista Grrrl Riots. The Riots were D.I.Y. to their core, queer, and feminist at the forefront, creating safe spaces by and for other Black punk grrrls. The Riots were pivotal in changing the landscape of the New York music scene for the better by paving the way for the next generation of Sista Grrrls. Everyone from James Spooner and Afropunk to Stiffed and Santigold can credit the importance of the grrrls who dared to riot on Valentine's Day in 1998.

Read about the Sista Grrrl Riots here.

Here's some contemporary people, places, and events that inspire us.

Muchacha Fanzine does incredible work to decolonize punk and feminism through zines, and is the founder of feminist punk collective Xingonas in the Pit, who organizes accessible punk events, like Black and Brown Punk Fest SATX.

BubbleTeaGrunge is a collective whose mission is to uplift and support poc/queer/femme artists. BTG was founded by Cecil Yang of Cat Crash. The BTG pledge is as follows: I pledge to uplift those who never had a chance/To light the way for those behind me/But most of all, I pledge, to never let gatekeeping motherf*ckers like/YOU get in my way!

Zines4Queers is a queer Black zine duo, press, and distro led by founder Julie Elliston (aka Irie Ingénue)and co-founder Oumou Sylla (of ConnectWithOumou). Founded in Los Angeles, California in 2022, Z4Q has grown into a home for DIY publishing, zine education, and creative community. As hosts of the inaugural black zine fest LA (2024), they’re keeping that energy going with pop-ups, their online shop, their good mail club (on patreon) and whatever paper chaos they dream up next. Their mission? Keep print alive, keep it weird, keep it ours.

Hello Barkarda, an arts & culture project organized to see, support, and value historically and presently marginalized communities through digital and print media, analog art forms, and programming, was founded in 2021 by Christine Pasalo Norland (she/her), a pinay storyteller, cultural worker, and artist interested in interrupting dominant narratives. Isang Mahal is Hello Barkada's annual compzine that features commissioned work from contributing intersectional BIPOC writers, cartoonists, and artists exploring themes of wholeness. Christine zines, block and letterpress prints, stamped butones/buttons, group panels, and zine workshops explore interconnectedness, memory, recovery, and agency.

Punks for Palestine SD/Anarcho Clown hosts fundraiser and community events for global liberation. Here is a statement from the creator, Picanto, about what they do: My instagram is currently @anarcho_clown but I originally created it as @punksforpalestinesd as a response to the harrowing silence of so-called punks around the issue of global imperialism. The epidemic of the poser, taking on the aesthetics of alternative culture while remaining silent or even supporting totalitarianism, is an opportunity for the new generation of punks to respond with clarification that Punk is an inherently anti-establishment political movement. Through the page, I (and many others I have endless gratitude towards) were able to create intentional spaces to educate and fundraise around Palestine. Living in the “U.S.” means our communities are engulfed in the imperial core. We have the task to connect, in defiance of the intentionally-crafted “loneliness epidemic,” for survival and building stronger communities that defy the spaces defined by governments. I believe that if more people felt emboldened to create the spaces they crave, a feeling of autonomy would be regained. In a world set to make us feel powerless, encouraging us to choose silence and complicity, it’s more important than ever to feel autonomous. Since I’ve moved out of the “U.S.” last year, I’ve been trying to adapt to my new political environment. In the country I live, any public demonstrations against the government are violently dispersed. Social media posts have been used to disappear citizens. As a foreigner, I have certain protections that a local would not. Instead of jail, I would likely be deported. Harassment and torture are possible in either scenario. I no longer have access to fundraise in-person for USD, a limitation that overwhelmed me with guilt as I’m no longer able to financially support the people and groups I was able to when I lived in the “U.S.” I moved because of a powerful, inexplicable feeling— I was following a track laid out for me. While my soul constantly affirms this complete uproot, I sometimes still worry if I made the right decision, especially when I remember the community I left behind. Living here has connected me to new opportunities for liberatory work. I affirm that the most valuable thing we can do, no matter where we are, is to embrace human-ness. Real art. Raw vulnerability. Shared space. I’m currently doing this through the archetype of the clown. I’m currently navigating my virtual existence and how to will move off of the spyware known as Meta. Till then, I’ll continue to try to use it as a tool for connection.

Libuelula Books & Co. is a queer, BIPOC independent bookstore nestled in the heart of Barrio Logan, San Diego. The shop is a community-centered space dedicated to representation, accessibility, and empowerment through literature and the arts.

DreamWorldGirl Zine is a multimedia publication rooted in nostalgia, with the goal of celebrating all things girlhood! DWG was founded by Daphne Bryant.

C.L.M. (Chinga La Migra) Fest throws shows to fund humanitarian work for immigrant rights and mutual aid. We run on DIY ethics and practice shared autonomy in our spaces. Using music for social change and not for profit.

Flor Hernandez Zarate is a writer and creative living on unceded Kumeyaay lands. She is the creator of Cempazuchitl's Library, a community storytelling project and zine distro. Through community workshops she is able to facilitate spaces of dreaming and world building. Currently, she is a student at the University of San Diego where she is researching Indigenous food sovereignty. Growing up a diasporic Zapoteca, her work invests in memory keeping for the future generations to come.

Riot Grrrl Forever is a DIY feminist space based in LA that pays homage to the original spirit of Riot Grrrl while making room for where we are today. Every month they hold Grrrl Gatherings where they teach zine making workshops, offer materials for protest signs, talk about music and the local scene, as well as platform anyone that has something to say.