Lisa Cannistraci remembers gay rights activist Stormie DeLarverie
May 30, 2014, 01:06 PM
At a packed funeral home in the West Village, hundreds from the LGBT community attended a memorial service last Thursday night, May 30, 2014 to celebrate the life of Stormie DeLarverie. The openly gay black woman from New Orleans was remembered as much for her toughness as her open heart. She broke several barriers dressing as a male, and touring in a drag show in the 1940s and 50s. Friends say she threw the first punch at the Stonewall riots in the 1960s. She was 94. Lisa Cannistraci, her guardian later in life, remembers her friend. #gayrights #stonewall