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Allyson, Ivana and Sylvia on Parade at Stonewall
[Photo by Leigh McManus]
Sylvia Rae Rivera had her Gay wish come
true: get out of the institutional facility and lead the
"Stonewall 25 Anniversary March" with her long ago Stonewall
associates. "So Emotional", as the Gay-favorite song
bi Whitney
Houston
goes, describes this triumphant and reunited moment shown below in the
picture with two of the
legendary "Queens of Stonewall": Queen Allyson Allante and Sylvia
Rae Rivera. That's why they are together!!
Both are members of the legendary STONEWALL Veterans'
Association
("S.V.A."); Allyson the elected S.V.A. Spokesperson and Sylvia the
newly-added member of the S.V.A. Stonewall Committee. Just before the below photo was
taken,
both Stonewall legends had just given a very comprehensive and emotional
interview to two of The New
York Timesreporters,
among many other journalists from all around the World. Allyson
was holding back tears (thus without
her expected charismatic smile) and Sylvia clearly just released an
emotional
moment and slightly opened her mouth simply to exhale! Shown in
the photo below, Queen Allyson Allante, who
contributed, continued and greatly expanded the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual
and Transgender ("GLBT") movement for a quarter-of-a-century at this
point in 1994, is joined, since the outset of the "Spirit of
Stonewall March" down at The Stonewall Club site, by Sylvia Rae Rivera,
who had
been out of New York
City for about 20 or 21 years! Clearly, she couldn't have
gotten
anything done then. Sylvia was quick to tell you that she was
"tripping" for a lot of years. Nonetheless, to help out the
Stonewall veteran, the STONEWALL Veterans' Association sent Syvia an
S.V.A. check for living several
times a year. During the same period of Sylvia's NYC absence
is when the GLBT
community really got built up on top of the foundation established as
of
the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion. As shown in the photo, both
Allyson and Sylvia are sitting atop the back seat of the blue historic
1969
Cadillac "Stonewall Car" -- which led the entire historic "Spirit of
Stonewall March" and
right into historic Central Park! For Sylvia it was "...really
the happiest day of my life"! 
Emotional moment: Queen Allyson (muave) and Sylvia Rivera (yellow) leading "SW-25" March
[Photo by ACT-UP and S.V.A. member John O'Brien]
Sylvia Rivera was very calm and appreciative this special "Stonewall" day as she had just been freed from a controlled physical and mental situation institution, St. Joseph's in Westchester. She was now "clean and sober" -- free of drugs and alcohol. Sylvia was only released from the treatment hospital days before "Stonewall-25" thanks to the perservering and successful efforts of Randy Wicker and Williamson Henderson. And, thanks to Randy and Williamson, everything was taken care of for Sylvia -- including a temporary home (inconveniently in New Jersey by Randy) and a part-time job (conveniently in Greenwich Village by Williamson). Since the Stonewall veterans chose Allyson to speak on stage, Sylvia did not even have to worry about public speaking -- much less ranting or raving! Further, Randy gave Sylvia the money to buy a dress, lingerie, pumps, a wig, lashes and cosmetics whereas Williamson gave her a hundred dollar bill to have as her own spending money as well as am SVA-arranged facial, manicure and pedicure. Plus, via Williamson, he treated Sylvia, and many other Stonewall Vetz, to a five-course dinner after the march and rally and reunion. By the way, unlike Allyson, Sylvia, Beverly and Electra, all of the other "Girlz of Stonewall" such as Mary Twist, Yvonne Ritter, Eleanor Rigby, Ivana V and Terri V.D. made the big, non-united and disloyal mistake of marching in the 'official' bureaucratic march starting at the closed-on-a-Sunday United Nations building. They -- and thousands of other people -- were duped into falsely believing that the alternative "Spirit of Stonewall March" would not occur! They should have asked Williamson! After being invited by the STONEWALL Veterans' Association, many Stonewall veterans telephoned the S.V.A. whining that they didn't want to be left in the dust of a non-march? Too bad for them that, in the 'official' march, those legendary Stonewall girls literally had to hotly schlep in pump heels on the "Shoe Leather Expressway", not ride with grandeur and ease on "Gay Pride Boulevard" in an eye-catching classic Cadillac convertible also known as the "Stonewall Car". |
15 January
2012
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