# Stormé DeLarverie

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_Stormé Delarverie, N.Y.C., 1961_

**Most people have heard of Stonewall.**
**Far fewer have heard of Stormé DeLarverie.**

 Yet Stormé was one of the people who helped ignite the uprising that would change LGBTQ+ history forever.

Today, names like **Marsha P. Johnson** are rightly recognised around the world. Stormé’s name, however, is often missing from the conversation. But long before Stonewall, Stormé had already spent a lifetime refusing to accept the place society had chosen for her.

![IMAGE@2x-10.jpg](https://gaybible-strapi-spaces.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/5b054ac295a7d097ea793105fd5f8c62.jpg)
_youngest known images of Stormé_

Born in New Orleans in 1920, Stormé entered **a world divided by race, gender and class.** Her father was white. Her mother was Black. In the segregated American South, that alone was enough to make life difficult.

Stormé later spoke about being **attacked and beaten** by white children because of her mixed-race background. She grew up learning that simply **existing could make you a target.** Those experiences helped shape the fierce, uncompromising person she would become.

![IMAGE@2x-3.jpg](https://gaybible-strapi-spaces.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/9d763d495455fb509bcbaf4ceee1513f.jpg)
_Stormé performing with the Jewel Box Revue_

As a young adult, Stormé found freedom in performance. She joined the legendary **Jewel Box Revue,** one of America’s most successful drag shows. The troupe toured the country under the slogan:

“25 Men and One Girl.”

**The “one girl” was Stormé.**

![IMAGE@2x-13.jpg](https://gaybible-strapi-spaces.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/d7f7b7d3f5bdd94cb9a1923bdca9e83b.jpg)
_Stormé after her performance, 1950's_

While the other performers were drag queens, Stormé often performed in tailored suits and masculine clothing, becoming one of the most **recognisable drag kings of her generation.** At a time when people could be arrested simply for wearing clothing that didn’t match society’s expectations, Stormé made a career out of **breaking those rules.**

![IMAGE@2x-12.jpg](https://gaybible-strapi-spaces.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/c46a8e8dad8451543af02b56f3131597.jpg)
_Stormé with drag queen performer, 1950's_

By the time Stonewall happened in 1969, Stormé was already used to standing her ground.

**She had spent her entire life doing exactly that.**

# The Night Stonewall Fought Back

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_Stonewall Riots – June 28, 1969_

In the early hours of 28 June 1969, **police raided the Stonewall Inn in New York City.**

Police began arresting patrons who didn’t comply with New York’s so-called “gender-appropriate clothing” rules. **Among those being arrested was Stormé DeLarverie.**

![IMAGE@2x-2.jpg](https://gaybible-strapi-spaces.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/5cfa44f9e91170de249ee3ea79ac6330.jpg)
_Stonewall Riots – June 28, 1969_

Witnesses later described her as **handcuffed, bleeding from the head and refusing to cooperate.**

As officers dragged her towards a police wagon, she reportedly turned to the growing crowd and shouted:

## “Why don’t you do something?”

Many people later pointed to **that moment as the spark that transformed a crowd of spectators into participants.**

**A routine police raid became a confrontation.**

**A confrontation became an uprising.**

**And the uprising became Stonewall.**

![NEW (1).jpg](https://gaybible-strapi-spaces.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/91e71f5924383f45ce7127caaba692d7.jpg)
_Stonewall Riots – June 28, 1969_

# The First Punch

More than fifty years later, one question still sparks debate: **Who threw the first punch at Stonewall?**

Many accounts credit Stormé DeLarverie. Stormé herself also maintained that she was the person who threw it.

![IMAGE@2x-5.jpg](https://gaybible-strapi-spaces.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/dd621ac0298057827fbe15de607af64e.jpg)
_Stormé Delarverie, N.Y.C., 1960'S_

Historians continue to debate the exact sequence of events from that night, and different witnesses remember different details. **But what isn’t disputed is that Stormé fought back.**

**Her resistance became part of the story that helped launch the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.**

# The Village Guardian

Stonewall was only one chapter of Stormé’s life.

![PROTECT (1).jpg](https://gaybible-strapi-spaces.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/24ada99554e1025f77b4ceb59990c5a5.jpg)
_Stormé DeLarverie in 1986 outside Cubbyhole Bar_

For decades afterwards, she became a **protector of New York’s queer community.** She regularly walked the streets of Greenwich Village, keeping an eye out for people facing harassment, violence or discrimination.

Stormé was known for **carrying a concealed weapon** and wasn’t afraid to step in when someone needed help.

Over time, her reputation became legendary.

Locals gave her a nickname:

## “The Village Guardian.”

Many people later said Stormé was exactly the person you wanted nearby when trouble started.

![IMAGE@2x-5.jpg](https://gaybible-strapi-spaces.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/dd621ac0298057827fbe15de607af64e.jpg)
_Stormé DeLarverie_

# A Legacy Worth Remembering

Marsha P. Johnson became one of Stonewall’s **most celebrated figures.**

Stormé DeLarverie became one of its **most forgotten.**

![IMAGE@2x-6.jpg](https://gaybible-strapi-spaces.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/9dd41cc0d767a9afa7e5b26cb419fa92.jpg)
_Stormé DeLarverie at 90_

Yet her influence can still be felt today. Every drag king who takes to a stage, every queer person who refuses to shrink themselves to fit society’s expectations, and every activist who stands up against injustice walks a path that people like **Stormé helped create.**

**Stormé DeLarverie died on 24 May 2014 at the age of 93.**

![IMAGE@2x-8.jpg](https://gaybible-strapi-spaces.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/a53ddf09817b396da36dd5532178bab5.jpg)
_Stormé DeLarverie at 90_

More than half a century after Stonewall, her story remains **one of the most remarkable — and overlooked — stories in queer history.**

**History remembers Stonewall. It should remember Stormé too.**

A Note On History
_There are many different accounts of Stonewall’s first moments. In telling Stormé’s story, we’ve chosen to give particular weight to Stormé’s own recollections and testimony. We believe the people who lived this history should be trusted to tell it._

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The lesbian drag king who threw the first punch at Stonewall

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