Last Updated on January 10, 2024 by Kittredge Cherry
Stormé DeLarverie was a biracial butch lesbian “drag king” entertainer and one of those credited with starting the Stonewall Rebellion that launched the modern LGBTQ liberation movement. She died on May 24, 2014 at age 93.
The LGBTQ people who resisted police at the Stonewall Rebellion (also known as the Stonewall Riots) are not saints in the traditional sense. But they are honored here as “saints of Stonewall” because they dared to battle an unjust system. Some were active in church, but they do not necessarily represent religious faith — they stand for the human spirit and faith in ourselves as LGBTQ people. They performed the miracle of transforming shame into pride.
The historical truth is complex and witnesses disagree about which individual triggered the uprising, when queer people fought back against harassment at New York City’s Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969. The most commonly named possibilities are all queer people of color: DeLarverie and two self-professed “drag queens”: African American Marsha P. Johnson and Latina Sylvia Rivera. All three have denied throwing the first punch or brick at the rebellion.
David Carter, author of the definitive book “Stonewall,” concludes that none of these three actually started the uprising in his well-researched 2019 article “Exploding the Myths of Stonewall” in the Gay City News.
And yet each of them has been called the Rosa Parks of the LGBTQ community. They have come to symbolize the moment when the LGBTQ community stopped accepting abuse and claimed the right to exist.
Stormé DeLarverie triumphed despite being bullied
Stormé DeLarverie (Dec. 24, 1920 – May 24, 2014) and many eyewitnesses say that her scuffle with police incited the crowd to action at the Stonewall Uprising. She was born to an African American mother and a white father in New Orleans.
DeLarverie appears with a pink circle — perhaps a pink halo — in a portrait from the “LGBTQ+ Icons” series by Andrew Ahern, an artist based in Manchester, England. Prints are available at the Andrew Ahern Art Etsy shop.
While growing up, DeLarverie was bullied and beaten for being biracial. Her jobs include riding horses in a circus, performing as a “drag king” entertainer, working as a bouncer for mobsters and lesbian bars. For 15 years before the Stonewall Rebellion, DeLarverie was the only “male impersonator” (as it was called then) in the Jewel Box Revue, the first racially integrated drag show in North America. She toured the black theater circuit and played such legendary venues as the Apollo Theater, Copacabana nightclub and Radio City Music Hall. DeLarverie was also photographed by Diane Arbus, renowned photographer of marginalized people. She died in her sleep at age 93 in Brooklyn, New York.
“Stormé DeLarverie: People of Pride No. 15” by Elijah Haswell
DeLarverie is included in the “People of Pride” project by Elijah Haswell, a queer transgender artist dedicated to accessible, inclusive non-fiction. The series celebrates historic LGBTQ+ Americans with cartoon-like portraits, boxes packed with fun factoids, and a quick quotation. Haswell began the series in 2018 and it was so popular that a “People of Pride” book was released in 2019 with redrawn illustrations and its own Kickstarter campaign.
A campaign called “Stormé DeLarverie deserves a New York City monument too!” is underway.
Links related to Stonewall
Book: “Stonewall: The Definitive Story of the LGBTQ Rights Uprising that Changed America” by Martin Duberman, classic re-released in 2019
Book: “The Stonewall Reader,” edited by New York Public Library, 2019
Book: “Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution” by David Carter
Video: “American Experience: Stonewall Uprising”
2015 book for teens: “Stonewall: Breaking Out in the Fight for Gay Rights” by Ann Bausum
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Top image credit:
A spotlight forms a kind of halo behind Stormé DeLarverie in a 1950s promotional photo for her performances with the Jewel Box Revue. (Wikipedia)
This post is part of the LGBTQ Saints series by Kittredge Cherry. Traditional and alternative saints, people in the Bible, LGBT and queer martyrs, authors, theologians, religious leaders, artists, deities and other figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people and our allies are covered.
This article was originally published on Q Spirit in May 2020, was updated with new material over time, and was most recently updated on May 29, 2023.
Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
Qspirit.net presents the Jesus in Love Blog on LGBTQ spirituality.
The TQ had nothing to do with neither the riots at Stonewall nor gay rights. Please stop using LGBT+ when writing about gay history.
You’re wrong Marsha P. Johnson a transgender woman was one of the biggest historical advocates for the queer community