Zohran Mamdani honors trans activist Sylvia Rivera, says NYC will be a pro-trans “sanctuary city”. The New York City mayoral candidate gave his followers an important history lesson while pledging to fight the president’s transphobic attacks.
Source: southpawFA
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>New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani honored trailblazing Hispanic transgender activist Sylvia Rivera in a new campaign ad in which he pledged to “deploy hundreds of lawyers” to fight Donald Trump’s anti-trans attacks and make New York City a sanctuary city for trans people.
>“It was here on the physical margins of our city that they found a home,” Mamdani said of Rivera in the ad. “She arrived here at the age of 11, where she immediately landed in the center of the gay rights movement. She befriended the legendary Marsha P Johnson, protested at Stonewall, and led marches for equality. But even among the queer community, trans New Yorkers were excluded. Rivera and others were discouraged from walking in Pride, their participation erased from Stonewall history.”
>Mamdani noted that the “cruelty” Rivera faced caused her to develop a substance abuse problem and face homelessness, stating, “When she had nowhere left to turn, she would sleep here [upon the Christopher Street Piers], waves lapping nearby.”
>Indeed, Rivera’s one-room dwelling on the pier had a floor mattress, a dresser, and a small side table with a candle burning “for the saints,” *LGBTQ Nation* [reported last year](https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/06/frank-kameny-sylvia-rivera-are-heroes-but-their-deaths-reveal-a-sad-truth-about-queer-elders/). With no heat, electricity, or running water, her dwelling’s walls were made of tarps and linens roped onto concrete slabs, pallets, bookshelves, and discarded doors. Outside was an open-air living room with covered couches and a weather-worn wicker coffee table. In nearby cabinets, Rivera stored jugs filled with fire hydrant water for “whore baths.”
>“Yet no matter what hardships she faced, Sylvia Rivera advocated for others,” Mamdani said.
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Mamdani is a profile in courage, indeed! This brought joy to my eyes to read. So thankful to see people like Mamdani & AOC rise up to fight for equality.
>He noted that Rivera co-founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), an organization that helped feed and house trans youth. Rivera continued advocating for these same communities and pushing for trans inclusion in city and statewide non-discrimination bills up to her final days. Mamdani’s ad also included footage from [Rivera’s iconic 1973 Gay Pride Rally speech](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb-JIOWUw1o) in which she scolded transphobic gays and lesbians while passionately speaking out for trans-allyship.
>Near the end of his two-minute video honoring Rivera’s activism, Mamdani said, “Since taking office, Donald Trump has waged a scorched-earth campaign against trans people. The man with the most power has expended enormous energy targeting those with the least.”
>“New York will not sit idly by while trans people are attacked,” he continued. “We will deploy hundreds of lawyers to combat Trump’s hate, make New York City an LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city, and create the office of LGBTQIA+ affairs to allocate millions for youth and adult housing programs as well as gender-affirming care.”
For those unaware, watch the FX Docuseries Pride. They go through the decades from the 50s to the 2000s, and they discuss the legacy of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. They touch on how even during the Lavender Scare trying to exterminate them, trans people have always been fighting for the equality of gay, lesbian, asexual, queer, and everyone. We can’t abandon our trans friends ever. They are our beloved friends who have been fighters for us all to be our true selves.
I love that he’s not just making promises, but also educating his followers. Knowledge is power
Here’s the campaign commercial: https://youtu.be/bEvVSpN0BXg?si=R3Ui5_z2BlwWmt_V
Highlighting Rivera specifically shows he really knows his stuff. People usually lazily repeat the myth of Marsha Johnson “throwing the first brick” which she herself routinely denied and honestly…it’s a generational thing but within queer circles Johnson still has a bit of a tarnished legacy for spending her later years spreading a lot of misinformation about hormone therapy. What they specifically did and especially Rivera’s contributions often go understated.
Good for him.
*8 dishevelled interns are working overtime as we speak, trying to spin this as a radical-left communist jihad against American values.*
The infinite wisdom of right-wing media never fails to amaze me. These buffoons wouldn’t know integrity if it hit them in the head.
Doesn’t sound like sharia law to me. The Republican narrative about him is falling apart before our eyes!
If I was trans I would be actively working to get out of this shitty country
(( https://www.storme-delarverie.com/ ))
The sanctuary city proposal is very important. I know trans people that have literally fled to NYC because they feel it’s one of the few places that will protect them.
That’s a cool idea!
Would he support this in Uganda?
Mamdani is a fucking national treasure.
Remember: Rivera died homeless and unemployed from transphobic social, professional, and legislative attitudes. She died in 2002. Think of how many people you personally know who were alive during that time. This isn’t old history, this is current. We have made some progress, but a lot of it is being erased. Learn and spread our stories. We have a lot to tell. If you don’t know who Rivera was, start at the documentary, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson. She’s featured, along with other trans activists, to tell their stories and tell a larger story about the early movement. Make sure you have tissues and whatever else you like to have when digesting really heartbreaking information. Spoiler: it’s not a happy ending
This is how it’s done, and I won’t vote for anyone who doesn’t act like this I won’t vote for anyone who isn’t forward and enthusiastic about “abolish ICE” either
Dems need to shape the fuck up
I hope this guy wins. I hope he’s super successful. I hope he has good security