Today we salute Storme Delarverie, lesbian, singer, entertainer and woman of color said to have thrown the first punch to incite the 1969 Stonewall Riot. [1] Dubbed the “Rosa Parks” of the gay civil rights movement, she continued to play an active role in the movement in the 80’s and 90’s, as a member of the Stonewall Veteran Association, volunteer street parole officer in Manhattan. [2] Delarverie also did benefit performances to raise money for battered women and children. [3] While history records the events of June 28, 1969, as the Stonewall Riots, according to Delarverie, “It was a rebellion, it was an uprising, it was a civil rights disobedience — it wasn't no damn riot.” [4]
To learn more about Storme Delarverie, visit
https://www.them.us/story/drag-king-cabaret-legend-activist-storme-delarverie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm%C3%A9_DeLarverie