2/18/2023 0 Comments Storme de laverieHer friends say that communication with the aforementioned groups has been inadequate and a source of frustration, and they feel powerless to improve her situation. SAGE, an advocacy group for elderly members of the LGBT community, has also been offering assistance. Vincent’s went bankrupt and closed abruptly, she was transferred to the nursing home. She remained at the hospital as doctors ascertained her ability to care for herself. With no one in her life legally able to make health care decisions, she was given a court appointed a guardian: the Jewish Association for Services for the Aged (“JASA”). Friends say that she had a long term relationship with an aerialist and burlesque performer, but that was “a long time ago.” No next of kin has been located, and she no domestic partner. DeLarverie was shaking and dehydrated, and she was taken to and treated at the nearby St. In March, Farrell, who lived next door to DeLarverie at the Hotel Chelsea, found DeLarverie disoriented and, uncharacteristically, asking for help. Mark Twain, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Jack Kerouac, Uma Thurman, and Anthony Kiedis are just a few of the writers and entertainers who have resided in the building. Protected by New York City as a cultural preservation site and historic building of note, it housed legends and was itself the subject of legends. Her home for decades was the Hotel Chelsea, a building rich with history and one that, over the span of over a century, housed a string of artists, writers, entertainers, and colorful characters. One would never imagine that a gay civil rights icon, an entertainer who graced the stages of The Apollo and Radio City Music Hall, and one who gave so much of herself to the community would live out the final years of her life alone in such a lifeless and drab environment. Fans were nailed into makeshift wooden planks that hung precariously from walls and ceilings. The sheen of the walls seemed like paper that had turned yellowish grey with age. The interior of the facility was reminiscent of an institution. Last week I went with a friend of hers, Hilary Farrell, to visit her in the nursing home, and what I saw was saddening. She also missed the Pride March, an absence that was so unusual and conspicuous that it attracted New York Times reporters to the nursing home to inquire and report about her condition and whereabouts. I was told that the nursing home would not let her leave the premises. I was hoping to chat with her about her experience as a queer gender-bending woman in entertainment and her role in the Stonewall Rebellion. DeLarverie continues to hold the title of Ambassador of the S.V.A. During Pride Weekend on June 26th, I went to a STONEWALL Veterans’ Association (“S.V.A.”) meeting, where she was scheduled to appear. Now 89 years old, she resides in a sparsely furnished room on the sixth floor of a nursing home in Brooklyn. She was the subject of at least three documentaries, including Stormé, which was produced by her friend Sam Bassett and was screened on Jat Webster Hall and Stormé: Lady of the Jewel Box, currently screening at The Crossing Boundaries Exhibit in Manhattan. Radio City Music Hall, the Apollo Theater, and the Copacabana are a few of the venues where she has graced the stage, either with the Jewel Box Revue or as the frontwoman of various bands. She was also a singer who toured the country as the cross-dressing emcee of the famed Jewel Box Revue, in which she was the only female performer. Some have referred to her as “the Gay Community’s Rosa Parks.” She fought the police during the Stonewall Rebellion in 1969 and has been identified by many - and has identified herself - as the legendary “Stonewall Lesbian” whose assault by the police became the pivotal moment in the street disturbances that spurred the crowd to action. The name Stormé DeLarverie may not ring a bell, but it should. Despite anything else you’ve read, DeLarverie is the brave, butch lesbian who incited the Stonewall Revolution, and her legacy deserves to be honored. Editor’s introduction: Back in 2010, four years before her death, AfterEllen was fortunate enough to interview Stormé DeLarverie.
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