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!