Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries

, or STAR, was a mutual aid and activist organization started in 1970 by Sylvia Lee Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson. The organization fought for gay liberation, advocated for incarcerated queers, and took steps to provide food, shelter, and mutual aid for homeless trans and Gender non-conforming youth and sex workers in New York.

History
STAR began after the founders attended a sit-in at New York University's Weinstein Hall in on September 25, 1970. The University had refused to allow the Gay Student Union to hold dances it had planned twice, and the sit-in was held for several days before the University called in the Tactical Patrol Force to violently evict the protestors, who were forced to abandon the action. STAR founders were angry at the abandonment of the sit-in, saying "You people run if you want to, but we're tired of running. We intend to fight for our rights until we get them."

Using money earned through their own street work, Rivera and Johnson went on to found the first home to address the needs of young transvestite street workers in New York, providing food, shelter, and other mutual aid.

Resources
Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) Research Guide