Although resistance to the raid truly started inside the bar itself, the real riot on the street is often said to have begun with a woman many have identified as DeLarverie. DeLarverie was at the Stonewall Inn working as a bouncer when the police raid began in the early morning hours. 1969, however, was the year the most truly secured her place in queer history. Her career as a performer would be explored in the 1987 documentary Stormé: The Lady of the Jewel Box.ĭeLarverie continued performing with the Jewel Box Revue until 1969, becoming quite well known and influential in drag culture. DeLarverie was noted particularly for having a strinkingly handsome appearance as a boy - which inspired a lot of other lesbians of the time to begin wearing traditionally masculine clothing as well. Audience members would attempt to “guess the girl,” ultimately being surprised during a song entitled “Surprise with a Song” that the girl was actually DeLarverie, who was often sporting a mustache and a tailored suit. ![]() In 1955, began touring as the MC and the only drag king in the Jewel Box Revue - the first racially integrated drag show, appearing regularly at the Apollo Theater. DeLarverie carried a photo of Diana with her for the rest of her life. She entered into a relationship with a dancer named Diana, who she was with for about 25 years until Diana’s death in the ’70s. In her teenage years, she joined the circus - getting a job riding jumping horses for Ringling Brothers Circus, until she was injured in a fall and was unable to resume the work.ĭeLarverie realized she was a lesbian around the age of 18. (I’m not sure why you’d pick that if you’re given a choice, but I guess we can’t all have June birthdays…) As a kid, DeLarverie was bullied constantly. DeLarverie’s exact date of birth was never exactly known, so she celebrated it on December 24. ![]() Sometimes called “the Rosa Parks of the gay community,” Stormé DeLarverie was a butch lesbian who’s arrest is often credited as the moment that sparked the Stonewall Riots - despite being quite adamant that “it was a rebellion, it was an uprising, it was a civil rights disobedience – it wasn’t no damn riot.”ĭeLarverie was born in 1920 to a white man and a black woman - who worked as a servant for her father’s family.
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