Stormé DeLarverie

Stormé DeLarverie, born 1923 in New Orleans, was a prolific LGBTQ+ and civil rights activist, drag performer, and butch lesbian. She began a career performing as a singer before working as a bouncer for several lesbian bars in New York City. From there, she was known as the “guardian of the lesbians in The Village” in Greenwich, and was known for de-escalating conflict and protecting the vulnerable both in and out of work. Some accredit her with being the crux of the Stonewall uprising, as witness testimony stated a drag king was being arrested for violating a clothing law, and tensions escalated. However, she herself did not confirm nor deny these speculations.

The daughter of a wealthy white man and his African American servant, DeLarverie often faced harassment from other children. "The white kids were beating me up; the Black kids were. Everybody was jumping on me...for being a negro with a white face." Later in life, she organized and performed at benefits for battered women and children, saying "Somebody has to care. People say, 'Why do you still do that?' I said, 'It's very simple. If people didn't care about me when I was growing up, with my mother being black, raised in the south...I wouldn't be here".