The Stroll (2023) Movie Script
The first time
I ran away from home, I was 15.
As soon as I moved to New York,
I was working at a coffee shop.
When I decided to transition,
I was fired.
And that is how I found out
about The Stroll.
I was doing sex work there.
There were
no other opportunities
for trans women at the time.
I spent almost ten years
of my life out there.
It was fun at first. I was like,
"Oh, I'm making more money
than I'm making in my job."
Please.
Then I started doing
the weekend ho thing,
and then it just became, like...
...an everyday thing.
It's been good for me in a way,
you know what I'm saying?
Because I've been able to eat.
I've been able to live.
I've been able to survive.
Some filmmakers were doing
a documentary,
so I had cameras following me,
and these videos,
majority of the time
I was on cocaine.
And I think in that clip
right there, I was explaining
how exhausted I was
of the every day
just living to do this.
When I was approached to be
a subject of a documentary,
I knew that that could be
a segue way into filmmaking.
But what I discovered
is that didn't have control
over my own story.
And so it really motivated me
to start my journey
as a director.
I was determined to make a film
about The Stroll.
I wanted to know the history
of how long trans women
had been coming into the area,
and for how long sex work
has been a part of our story.
We were pushed out
of the neighborhood years ago
and now you don't see us
here anymore.
My mission was to tell
this story before we're gone.
I felt that I could get it right
if I was the one to tell it.
Egyptt interview,
A camera. Take one.
Welcome, Egyptt.
Um, I'm so excited to speak
to you today about our history.
For somebody who has so much
lived experience
that the little time
that I was out there,
you know, I can't even
encompass half of the stuff
that you've been through
and the history that you're
gonna share with us.
I'm so honored to have you
sitting here with us right now.
Well, I feel so blessed
to be here to tell my story,
because a lot of times
when they do stories like this,
they cut out the good parts
on the true meaning
of what we had to go through.
Some of it is traumatic.
Um, some of it was happy,
some of it was sad,
but overall it was an experience
and history
that needs to be told.
Izzi interview,
A cam. Take one.
I want you to be comfortable.
- Right.
- Your regular self.
It's just me and you having
our everyday conversation,
- you're telling me stories.
- Okay.
I consider myself
to be of transgender experience
because I spend half of my life
as a transgender woman
and half of my life
as a non-binary boy.
For me,
life as a young trans person
was very difficult.
It was a whole different
kind of learning process
for me and everybody around me.
Coming from a prominent
Black family, middle class,
um, my dad was a mason,
had a lot of rules
and regulations
around masculinity.
I was the child that didn't
want to play football,
didn't want to mud roll,
didn't want to do any of that.
I wanted to jump rope,
cut up the curtains
and turn them
into evening gowns.
That was me. I was the child
that got caught
in high heels all the time.
I started at an early age.
Growing up, for me,
being in a household,
there was specific gender roles.
The women cooked,
the men worked.
The kitchen was, like,
specific for the women,
and, um, for me,
my mom would let me in there
with all my sisters.
I was the only male born
one that was allowed there.
Even though my grandmother
was affirming,
my other siblings weren't.
My aunts and uncles,
they didn't understand.
My community in the neighborhood
that I grew up in,
was very harmful.
We're siblings.
Biological sisters.
One hundred percent.
I'm the oldest.
And a lot of people
don't believe us,
but we are literally siblings.
Don't breathe.
Being Pentecostal, my uncle
was the pastor of our church.
There was a lot of pressure
in being the stereotypical,
cisgender heterosexual male
for them.
Our family
did not give us the tools
necessary for us
to grow healthily.
My mother always told me,
never let anyone tell
you can't do something.
And when they told me
that I had to leave
because of all of this,
I said, "You always told me,
'never let no one tell
you can't do something.'"
I ran away.
I ran away to save my life.
I ran away so I could breathe.
I ran away to get the hell away
from those people.
I ran away for peace of mind,
for safety.
Yes,
I had to sleep on the train.
Yes, I was homeless.
I'd rather the A train
than that house
with all that pomp
and circumstance
and all of the "religion."
I was safer in the street
than I was ever
in that household.
It was 1983.
I was on my own.
I was transitioning
at this time.
Back then, being a trans woman,
unless you had your ID changed
and Social Security card,
you couldn't just walk
into a place and get a job.
Some people choose sex work
because they want to.
Some choose it
because they had no choice.
A lot of us back then
did not have a choice
because jobs
were not accessible to us.
At that time,
people were not hiring
people that looked like me.
So girls did
what they had to do,
and that was to go
to the Ho Stroll.
I would say every borough
had a stroll
where the girls would work.
The Stroll
in the Meatpacking District
was nothing
but transwomen down there.
It was a place where
the young gays, the older gays,
cross-dressers,
trans women, drag queens,
they can go and make money.
So the tricks knew
what they was getting
because
that was the only people
that hustled down
in the village.
Every queer young person knew
that Christopher Street
in the Village was the gay mecca
of New York City.
- Hey, girl!
And the further west you went,
the more empty it became.
There you could see queer people
having fun
and being sexually free.
By the water, there were
these dilapidated piers
where you would see gay men
having sex.
And in the center of it all
was this ten-by-12-block radius
called the Meatpacking District.
We called 14th Street
The Stroll,
and that was our turf.
The Meatpacking District
was not a neighborhood
people came to.
You never walked
into this neighborhood.
There was a very defined
dividing line at Eighth Avenue.
I am a long-time resident
of the Meatpacking District.
I have a gallery
in the Triangle Building
and everybody
knows this building
'cause it's in the middle
of the street.
This space
was in The Village Voice.
Eighteen hundred square feet
with a wood-burning fireplace.
I called somebody who I knew
lived in the building,
and I said, you know,
"What is it like down there?
You know, it looks really grimy.
It looks really dangerous.
Everybody says it's dangerous."
And she said,
"It's not dangerous at all.
It's wonderful.
It stinks because
it is the Meatpacking District
and there's blood and inedibles
and meat all around.
But besides that,
it's a great neighborhood."
People wouldn't even
walk through it.
People walked through
the meat market back then,
they-- they held their nose.
I mean, you had to be one of us
to get used to the odors.
Without a doubt,
it was its own little city.
And every building
had a meat company in it.
Back then you would
have to be careful,
when you were
walking down the street,
you couldn't walk too close
to a truck
because the meat
would come flying off.
That's how fast
the trucks were unloaded.
Just the amount of meat
that was cut here.
Back then, to me,
it was just
the most amazing place.
Well, the first time I came here
was when I was driving a taxi.
I was born up in the Bronx,
so I had all these questions
about my sexuality
that I was trying
to come to terms with,
and I discovered
The Meatpacking District.
You have all these fetish bars,
fetish clubs,
underground events,
brick factories,
and falling apart buildings
and empty lots.
The life, the light,
the shadows.
It was such a film noir
kind of atmosphere,
and that's what I wanted
to capture with my camera.
There were prosties here
almost 24/7.
Uh, they would conduct
their business in parked cars
right on the street,
and the prosties would often
hang out under the elevated
West Side Highway,
and, y'know,
wait for passing johns.
The S&M bars, the hookers,
the meatpackers.
That's what was down here.
When I first went out there,
it felt like we were going
through a secret passage.
I just saw
all these beautiful women,
and I was like, "Oh, my God,
what is all these girls
doing out here?
They so beautiful."
I remember one particular night,
this girl asked me to block her
while she fixed her tuck.
I said, "Tuck,"
I said, "What is that?"
And this girl looked nice.
So while she was fixing
her tuck,
I turned around and I looked,
and I said, "Oh, my God,
you have a penis."
She was like,
"I'm a trans woman."
And I said, "This is what
all these girls out here are?"
I said, "Oh, my God,
I want to do this. This is me."
I said, "I... I got to do this."
I remember, like, when I first stepped on
to 14th Street, when we came
around that corner
and all I seen were,
like, it felt like hundreds
of trans women were out there.
But I remember it was...
I saw you, and Ceyenne,
and a bunch of other girls.
And it was just amazing,
like, to see
strong Black trans women.
Yeah.
This is what started my journey
because I wanted to be that.
And I used to watch the girls.
And then it was when I came
to the decision,
I was like,
"I'm going to...
...you know, transition." And...
Because I had seen everybody
so confident in themselves.
And so I was able to draw that
out of myself.
So when I first stepped
on to that Stroll,
it empowered me to be like,
"If they can live
their life like this,
then I can live my life
like this too."
Right here, the picture
was taken back there...
- Oh, really?
-...the reflection of the--
-It was water.
- Okay.
The coat opened out--
It was taken right there.
Wow.
Because there was nobody back here
- but me and the photographer.
- Okay.
I was gonna let you
see the goods for free, baby.
You can't see it for free, girl.
But I didn't have
all this va-va-la-voom then.
But, um, I have arrived now.
Thank you.
I can't believe it's still here.
I'm reminiscing.
This was my favorite
little corner right here.
This is where I worked at.
I didn't allow no one
in that corner.
- Oh, my God. I'm right here.
-Oh, she loves the trucks.
I used to-- We used to take them
back here, look,
because sometimes the people
would forget to lock the trucks,
because there was nothing
in the back of the trucks
but funky meat
that ain't there no more,
so we would take the clients
right back here.
Don't get stuck
back there, honey.
Oh, no, baby.
Big Mama's in charge now,
she gets stuck nowhere, darling.
-Open the door.
-Yeah. I'm not touching it now.
But, you know, back then,
we would open up the door
and take a client back,
that was like the hotel room.
You know, the guy's back there.
And do what Mother does best.
The Stroll mothers.
They was the ones who took us
under their wing.
These girls showed me the ropes.
These girls showed me
what streets to stay safe on,
what not to do,
so that the minute
I got off on 14th Street
on the PATH train
and I started walking,
and you could hear
the clickety-clack of the heels.
I knew that was Ceyenne,
I knew Nicole
was around the corner.
I knew where everybody was at.
It was just the banter,
the allure of just having
that, "How's tricks, girl?"
"Oh, it's late...
oh, it's late for you,
not for me, girl.
You should go home."
Just the cattiness of it.
Like, these girls taught me
how to survive.
In the middle of West Side Highway,
that people today
call the High Line,
was the train tracks.
When I first went out there
with one of my girlfriends,
I was petrified.
I mean, she's walking up
and down the street,
calling cars,
and I'm like,
"What are you doing?"
She said, "This is how
we're going to make some money."
People are tooting their horns at me,
and people trying to get me
in their cars
and I kept saying no.
Until she said,
"Girl, the only way
you're gonna get money,
you have to get in a car.
Go do what you gotta do.
Don't let them make you do
anything you don't want to do."
I've had clients
that want me to do
some of the weirdest things.
But let me tell you
about this client.
This client was weird.
This guy
would do pretend blowjobs
and pretend sex and pay me
-for prete-- Yes.
-For dollar?
Yes, I remember. I remember now,
he was very, like, hygienic.
He was practicing
social distancing
before it became a trend.
Yeah, I was--
This mortician guy, right,
and he would date me
and I would go up to his house
and I would sit
in his stairwell,
it was like a 100 dollars in,
like, three minutes,
maybe less than three minutes,
because all he did was take me,
spin me around, and by the time
I came back this way,
he had already nutted
on the floor and I left.
One of my first nights out there,
I went with this guy to a hotel,
and I was like, "Okay, so...
um-- I'm going to be a bottom
for you." Whatever, whatever.
Is it okay if I explain it?
- Girl, you're fine.
- Okay.
Pegging, they call it pegging
today, but...
Okay.
In my mind, being on 14th Street
when I was a beginner,
nobody told me
the... the ifs and outs about,
"Okay, you're a trans woman,
you use your tool,
or, your wand."
I figured out
that I was very well-endowed,
which I didn't really look
at my private parts, so...
That played... That played
a lot in my life with...
'cause-- because I used
to make so much money.
And how old were you when you
first went out to The Stroll?
Um, I think I was 15. Fifteen.
The first time
that I've ever seen The Stroll,
stepping back, was scary.
I'm not gonna lie.
It gave me anxiety.
I was having a panic attack
because I didn't wanna
have sex with people.
That wasn't really
what I was interested in.
But I had no clue
on how to get money
at 15 years old
on the street.
So that's where I ended up.
I cried.
I cried like a baby.
First time I had to do
sexual acts
with someone for money
and he told me to get out.
The first time,
I was traumatized
because this man wanted me
to do some sexual act
with him for money.
And I knew
what I was going to do.
But it's--
when you actually do it
the reality sets in,
"What are you doing?"
And it was terrifying.
Right, 'cause like,
I'm not really
attracted to this man.
Not at all.
Because you got to realize,
you have all different shapes,
colors and sizes.
I've gotten in cars with people
with the worst thing
I've ever seen
in my entire life.
It was like, "Oh, my God."
But those Benjamins
sounded great.
I remember,
it was a warm night.
And I was feeling myself. I was.
This young man
pulled up in a car
and he was mad cute.
And I thought to myself,
"Elizabeth, you deserve
a little bit of fun time.
So go ahead. Have your fun."
I remember him taking me
to the side
of St Vincent Hospital.
Went to go perform on him.
And that's when I heard
the back door
is open to the car.
Next thing I know,
he punched me out.
And between all three of them...
...assaulted me and robbed me.
I ran into St. Vincent Hospital,
into the ER waiting area.
I was just literally assaulted
and I was screaming for help.
And the security guard
told me that I had to leave,
that I couldn't be there.
And I remember...
basically telling him,
"You know what, fuck you,"
picked up my strap,
one of my straps,
and walked out
and walked to The Stroll crying.
You know,
whether it was from the police
who chased you and beat you up,
and wanted to force you
to have sex,
whether it was from the john
who didn't have enough money
and you knew he was short,
so you was trying to get away
from him,
but he wanted you
to finish the job.
A lot of the guys knew
where we populated at,
and sometimes
that became very unsafe.
I had a little bit of everything
in my pocketbook.
Mace, hammer, you name it.
I learned to defend myself
because I was always
in close proximity of violence.
There was a lot of times
where I came into danger.
Then that's when I became
the Battle Bot.
You know, you wasn't gonna
take my money.
You wasn't gonna beat me up.
I was gonna get you
before you got me.
Wonder Woman
is this all-powerful woman
who can handle anything.
I call 'em
my Wonder Woman powers
because I have to deal
with crazy people,
when I'm getting in
and out of your car.
I don't know where you're going
to be at.
You don't know
what their motives are.
You don't know
what type of mood they're in.
So you have to be able
to think that fast.
And I love
that you call it Wonder Woman,
because I used to call it
Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
And I'm out here slaying
all these dicks.
If I ever got in trouble
with one person, a guy,
every girl that was
on The Stroll was there.
The girls stuck together
more then
and protected each other.
Especially
when we were in danger.
Because if one was in trouble,
we all were in trouble.
And that, I miss that part
about the rallying together
to protect each other.
- Oh, he is cute!
- Look, they ready.
Hey, boo.
- Uh-uh. No.
- No!
No, we're talking about our lives.
We're talking about our lives...
out here before this
became this.
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
Oh!
He said, "I remember that."
I'm sure you do.
What's your name?
- Bob.
- Bill.
Bill? Bob Reg, Bob Regular?
Still got it.
Wait, you gotta get
in the mirror.
That bitch has still got it.
You got to tell them.
Come on, baby. Check your face.
What did you say?
The diva will what?
Will succeed.
Pump. Pump.
The diva will succeed.
You know this is huge.
And you ain't probably
take this trip in a minute.
I remember, with The Vault.
And RuPaul.
Remember when RuPaul
used to be out here?
And she used to film her videos
with the tricks?
Located in
Manhattan's Lower West Side.
The meat market is filled
with transvestite hookers
by night.
I ought to know because
I live right around the block.
I asked some of the girls,
boys, girls, whatever.
If I could, you know,
take a look
inside of their world.
Let's go see what's going on.
Maybe I'll get lucky.
Maybe I'll make my rent money.
Come on, you guys.
I was looking
for footage for the doc,
that's when I seen the clip.
When I was researching,
I was starting
with transgender hookers.
And that wasn't the right word.
The right word
was transvestite hookers.
Do you have a boss?
Do you work for yourself?
Oh, yeah, for myself, of course.
Are you ever scared
out here on the street?
Yeah. Huh. Sometimes it's hard,
you know? Sometimes...
Sometimes people get
really rough, though.
And, uh, you know,
I have been in some--
my purse has been stolen
several times, though.
But it's very much
to be careful.
You carry some mace
or something in your purse,
honey, and you've got to mace
these motherfuckers
'cause they crazy.
Ru should have known better.
I felt like, from her tone
that this was lighthearted
and a joke for her.
I've had to talk
to people or be with people
who I didn't necessarily know
and I had to be friendly
with them, you know?
And that's the hooking sense.
And so what's the difference?
I guess the difference is
I didn't have to go down
on those people,
but if you ask me...
...it's almost the exact same.
I love it.
I may have to change my vocation.
The reality of homelessness
and transitioning
and trans life in general.
It was r-- it was difficult.
Because we got shunned
from society.
We couldn't find work
without having to revert back
to presenting as cis.
The longer you are there,
it becomes more
like a dead-end street.
I had to sleep
in a movie theater.
And being like...
"I'm a trans woman,
a homeless trans woman
sleeping in this
movie theater, like,
this is as close to Hollywood
I'm gonna get."
But I refused to let the world
beat me down.
Back then,
we just took our punches.
We've been taking them
for decades.
The sixth precinct is located
in Greenwich Village,
where many homosexuals live.
It also encompasses
a parking area for trucks
under the West Side Highway
along the Hudson River.
The trucks are a known
gathering spot
and solicitation area
for homosexuals
who use the trucks
for sexual acts.
Certain acts committed
by homosexuals,
uh, such as dressing in drag,
hanging around the trucks,
as we refer to it
in the sixth precinct,
and certain-- As we term it,
unnatural acts
or which may be committed
on the street.
Do you think
that has really helped
the image of the homosexual?
I absolutely, 100 percent,
wholeheartedly think
that the sixth precinct
of the NYPD had full,
utter contempt
towards the trans community.
I had a total of 68 arrests.
-If I'm not mistaken.
-Oh, wow.
You know, I passed through
a lot of experience
with the NYPD.
Especially sixth precinct.
Tasty Tuesdays
and Tasty Thursdays.
It's funny that y'all
called it that
because we called it TNT.
You... You know, there was times
that the girls already knew
the schedule
and it would be empty.
So, I guess once they seemed
to have been emptied,
the girls started getting
the hang of the lock up days.
That's when they started
switching it around
and lock you up on a Friday.
You didn't want
to get locked on a Friday
- because then that's all weekend in jail.
- Yep.
You know, the days that you know
that you're gonna spend
the weekend in the bullpens.
Yeah, I've made
those mistakes a few times.
Yeah.
You had to stay busy
to avoid the police.
You had to, like,
stay on the move.
And sitting, sitting on a car,
smoking a cigarette, maybe,
acting like I'm talking
on a phone that don't work...
...and that kept me alive.
"Walking While Trans"
is a piece of legislation
that allowed sex workers,
especially trans sex workers,
to be stop-and-frisk
for decades.
I was arrested many times
just going to the store
to get bread, for example,
and police officers
would arrest me
under the suspicion
that I was loitering
for purposes of prostitution.
You would sit in a police vehicle,
a half a block to a block away.
You would have
a set of binoculars.
All right. You would focus in
on a particular area.
While you're focusing
on that particular area,
you write down the time
you started looking.
As vehicles make the turn,
depending on where it is,
either the he/she
or transvestite waves him down
or they stop
and have a brief conversation.
That's one, it repeats again.
That's two.
It repeats a third time.
That's three.
After the third time,
we will slowly drive up.
One of us will exit
out of the radio car.
The other will drive past.
And we'll basically close in,
and put the individual
under arrest.
Put the individual in the back
of the police car,
take it to another location,
put it in a van
as a holding area.
Then we will go back
and repeat it,
depending on how many girls
we're gonna take in that night.
Last Sunday night
that just passed,
we locked up six females...
the rest of the night,
the whole area was clear...
which basically lets them know
that we're not playing around
and we'll be out again
and we'll lock them up again.
Until they get the message
and realize
that 14th Street
is not prostitution.
A lot of my clients were officers,
a lot of my client-- COs,
officers, all of it.
One, he used to drive
a paddy wagon.
He was a Black guy,
and he would pick me up
and we would go
right on the West Side Highway.
You know, so he wasn't shy
about what he was doing.
Two days ago,
there was an officer.
And he turned trick with me
and he said that he was--
he's all for it,
and he wanted it
to be legalized.
He was a nice officer.
Very cute, if I must say.
How'd you pick him up,
was he on duty?
No he was off duty,
in a gorgeous car.
He was in a stingray.
I was gasping
when I found out
he was an officer.
I actually gave fellatio
to a very beautiful, beautiful,
beautiful young Black man
who was a cop.
And after I was done
doing his deed, he arrested me.
I drive around here,
but, uh, I don't go out.
Why d'you drive around here?
'Cause I lock 'em up
on occasion.
They used to come around
in different type of vehicles
to count the girls
on The Stroll.
We didn't know who's who.
You know, everybody's a client.
Everybody's a trick.
So we would not notice that
and then the paddy wagon
would come like 15 or 20 minutes
later to swipe us all up.
When the police were around,
the girls would scream, "Mag,"
like the TV show Magnum P.I.
Once you heard "Mags,"
then you would see
the girls dipping and dodging
under trucks and around corners.
The police would scramble
the girls
by driving the squad cars
on top of the sidewalk,
blaring their sirens
to chase us out of the area.
And after the cops went away,
the girls would reemerge
from under the trucks
and get back to work.
Some nights
you may get arrested,
spend the night in jail,
get a little community service,
and then we'd be back
on The Stroll
the very next night.
We can't just be
normal people that work.
They will categorize us
as sex workers first
before employers,
employees, before anything.
We will be drug addicts,
whores, and prostitutes
before we're...
I hope their tires bust.
...specifically homosexuals,
uh, on the street,
possibly fondling each other
in a-- in an unlawful manner.
A lot of my time
I would go to the library
to rest and have some kind
of shelter over my head.
And so I would find myself
researching.
I was always into history,
specifically trans history,
and I would always talk
to the older girls on The Stroll
about the '70s and '80s.
And then one day
I met Sylvia Rivera.
I said, "Are we happy?"
When I first met Sylvia Rivera
in the summer of 2000,
I wish I had just paid
a little bit more attention.
Sylvia was a sex worker
and activist
who had been around for decades.
She was one of the initiators
of the Stonewall riots.
I think Sylvia being
out on the streets
and having to fend for herself
at such an early age,
she saw herself
in many of our shoes,
in many of our situations.
She is the icon.
She was like the mother
of the community,
her and Marsha.
Marsha and Sylvia founded STAR,
Street Transvestite
Action Revolutionaries,
the first trans sex workers
rights organization.
Marsha and I both grew up
at a very early age
on Times Square.
Marsha was seven years
my senior,
and we had seen the suffering
from the '60s into the '70s
of the trans youth
and the gay youth
being homeless,
because, um,
we'd either run away
or either we get kicked out
from our home.
I think the gay community wanted
to be accepted
into mainstream society
to show people that homosexuals
are just like everybody else.
So when you have trans
and gender nonconforming people,
it just makes things
a little bit
more difficult to explain.
Y'all all better quiet down.
Y'all tell me go and hide
my tail between my legs.
I will never longer
put up with this shit.
I have been beaten,
I have had my nose broken,
I have been thrown in jail.
I have lost my job,
I have I lost my apartment
for gay liberation.
And you all treat me this way?
What the fuck's wrong
with you all?
Think about that.
Sylvia was like a blueprint,
you know, seeing her up there
on that stage, getting hoarse,
screaming at everybody.
I knew that there was
a need for that.
And if she could do it,
I could do it.
Or at least try.
The mainstream
lesbian and gay community
drove Sylvia and Marsha crazy
because they put themselves
on the line to fight
for gay liberation and power.
After all they fought for,
they were pushed to the side.
Gay America does not care.
They don't care about their own.
We did. We did, when we -- in 1970.
We had to build them,
we did everything.
We fucking fed, we fed children.
We took care of children.
Damn it! This is my history.
This was literally
a dilapidated pier
with holes in it.
There was nothing here
for years.
- Nothing.
- And then you had this
whole, like, area
with Sylvias encampment.
'Cause this-- I can't even tell
what it is anymore.
Oh, that's right.
But basically
where we're at, right,
standing right here
is where the encampment was.
It used to be
where a lot of homeless
queer youth
used to spend the night.
Didn't have anywhere to go.
They knew this was
like a safe place
to be able to congregate,
sometimes spend the night
and sleep here.
I actually spent
several nights in this.
We've all spent the night
on this thing.
-At some point.
-Yeah.
I was on the pier
where we literally had huts.
People started making more
and more and more.
You had single room ones.
You had three bedroom ones.
That's how big they got.
They was like
your own apartment.
This is my little segment of the house,
because Vinny and Tom
live on that side.
You can go in.
You know, it's, you know,
very decor, you know,
we have a film crew. You know,
we have it dressed up.
Down there was Shady Brook Lane.
We had like five or six
other houses down there
with another open kitchen.
We had a Thanksgiving dinner,
and we had Christmas here
one year.
And, um,
we had lots of fun here.
It became a village of people
taking care of each other.
This our neighborhood.
Excuse me.
Dont be going in my house!
One day,
policemen came over.
They gave us a certain date.
"On that date,
were putting gates up."
This is when they said,
"You guys have to leave."
I, Rudolph William Giuliani.
"Do solemnly swear."
Do solemnly swear...
"That I will support the
the constitution of the Unit..."
With the pledge to fight crime
and the city's nagging deficit,
Rudolph Giuliani
took the oath of office
as the 107th mayor of New York.
Giuliani, a former US attorney
and the first Republican elected
in nearly two decades,
narrowly defeated incumbent
David Dinkins on a platform
to take back
New York's dangerous streets.
American cities
can't survive as we know them
if they remain so violent.
The era of fear has had
a long enough reign.
The period of doubt
has run its course.
New York is in the middle
of its worst recession
for 50 years.
But the economy
isn't the key issue here.
The one issue today that
obsesses New Yorkers. Crime.
Rudy Giuliani brought in
Broken Windows Policing.
Broken windows theory
is basically that,
where there is disorder there--
it will lead to violent crime.
So, they basically elided things
like graffiti, loitering,
boomboxes, sex work,
with rape and murder.
So when you see graffiti,
someone's gonna
get raped and murdered.
This is not true.
It's been debunked,
but in the dominant imagination
of the ruling class,
disorder has to be destroyed
to keep us safe.
If one window is left broken,
the theory goes,
others are shattered.
Pretty soon,
the entire building,
the entire neighborhood, decays.
Where we seen
back in the '70s and '80s,
girls were getting arrested
sporadically,
Giuliani literally came for us
in ways that we've never
seen before.
We were taken out of a place
of freedom
and put into a place
where we were cattle.
Christopher Street became
his target.
42nd Street became his target.
These were known places
where we could thrive
and survive.
We want to show people
improvement in the quality
of their life, that things
are getting better for them,
that things are safer,
quieter, more peaceful.
A city that they can use
and enjoy.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Washington Square Park
is now closed.
This is where I live
and I don't like to see this
and I don't like
to deal with this.
So if they can-- can crack down
on that and get rid
of some of that stuff,
I'd be very pleased.
The police aim
to please with their crack down.
This week they showed off
the kind of new equipment
which cost the department
half a million dollars.
Night vision cameras,
miniature tape recorders,
noise meters.
Officers in Greenwich Village
have written nearly
2000 summonses since March.
People without IDs are brought
to the precinct station,
and those who fail to show
in court are tracked down.
If you don't respond,
if you just throw it
in your drawer
and forget about it,
it comes back as a warrant
for your arrest.
You stop doing it
for a while,
it comes back just as bad
if not worse than before.
You have to keep after it.
It's like a police state
in a way,
sometimes the way
they just stop people at will.
Racist, sexist, anti-gay!
Giuliani, go away!
Racist, sexist, anti-gay!
Giuliani, go away!
Quality of life initiatives
made you ask, "Whose life?"
Because these were initiatives
that were supposed to "clean up"
the neighborhoods
by removing people
who were unwanted
by the homeowners,
the affluent taxpayers.
They wanted to get rid
of things like...
...squeegee people,
panhandlers,
young people hanging out,
pretty much anybody of color
who was not in a uniform.
I mean,
it was profoundly racist,
and also very anti-poor.
You know,
during the AIDS epidemic,
a lot of gay-owned buildings
became available
because the owners died,
and a lot of them
were bought by wealthy,
straight people.
And then there were
some affluent queer people
who hated the women
on The Stroll.
You know, they treat them
like they're ants
or something, right?
They just wanna
clear off the street.
Those are the people
who think that the queer youth
in the West Village
should just magically disappear
because it's their neighborhood.
Never mind the fact
that the young people were there
decades before
the wealthy people were.
I live in-- in an apartment
on Christopher Street.
We are in danger.
We residents are in danger.
I have to sleep at night.
The immediate need
is for more regular police.
Exactly.
We have to get this under control.
The trannies were out
on the street 24/7.
It was really
a very bad situation.
They would do their business
inside cars.
Sometimes parked right in front
of a residential building.
You'd walk out of your door
at 7:00 am,
and there'd be
two people having sex.
Uh, not the kind of thing
that anybody
should really be subjected to.
The problem is they were using
our streets as their bedrooms.
I voted for Giuliani
because I thought
he was the right man
for the job,
and having him on our side
definitely was a plus.
In the '90s, I remember
there was this old man
that always used to walk
past me,
and he used to be,
"Ah, look at you,
you're so disgusting.
You don't have on any clothes.
You're terrible."
I remember one day this fool
came out with, like,
20 other people,
and they had picket signs,
and they were like,
"We want you
out of our neighborhoods.
Get out of our neighborhoods,
transvestite bitch."
"Tr--" And they cursed me out,
but I used to put
my middle finger up
and get in the car still,
or go down the steps
by their house.
I didn't give a shit.
I didn't care, honey.
Okay.
We started a group
called Villagers Against Crime.
We collected money
from the neighborhood,
and we used it
to purchase three
large professional banners.
So, there was a banner
facing the eastbound traffic
that was coming on 12th Street.
Uh, another banner facing
the southbound traffic here,
and another one also
on Washington Street
a few blocks north.
The banner said, in big letters,
"Johns and hookers beware.
We note license plates,
inform your job and home."
In those days, you could contact
the motor vehicle department,
and for a small fee,
get the name
and address of the owners.
So some of my neighbors
would note
the plates of the johns,
and they would call them up...
...and they would say,
"Mr. Smith,
some of my neighbors...
HARRY: ...have seen you
in the neighborhood,
dealing with prostitutes.
They've told me
that if they see you again,
they're gonna call your wife,
they're gonna call your employer
and they're gonna call
your neighbor."
People would say,
"Oh, prostitution,
that's a victimless crime,
isnt it?"
And wed point it out that no,
the people living
in the neighborhood,
we were actually the victims.
Elizabeth,
you're very protective
of your little sister.
Did you bring her to New York?
I did. You want me to...?
-Yeah.
-Um...
my sister was struggling out
in California.
One day I called her,
we were talking on the phone
and she expressed to me
that she had been
on the night news.
And, uh...
...I asked her why
and it's because
she was getting ready
to jump off
of a freeway overpass.
And no one
in the family knew about it.
There was a lot of things
that I was going through in LA,
I was working on The Stroll
in Santa Monica Boulevard.
Um, I had pimps
pushing up on me.
I was getting robbed
every other night.
I almost got killed by a john
who dragged me
for half a block in his car
and almost ran me over.
So and then also just being
new to my transition,
it was like,
I was having a hard time
with the, um,
turning of the backs
from the family.
I felt...
as her older sister,
a sense of responsibility,
and at the same time,
I felt like...
I left her there by herself.
I felt guilty.
Me, my sister,
and my friend Desire
were returning back
from our trip
to go pick up my sister.
And when we arrived in New York,
at Port Authority...
the person that I had ran into,
I remember they were like,
"Hey, Elizabeth, how you doing?"
And just--
The next thing
out of their mouth is,
"Did you hear what happened?"
And I said, "What?"
"Amanda Milan was murdered
just a couple of nights ago."
And this person is explaining
it to me, and I could just see
that look on my sister's face...
What happened to Amanda Milan...
was every trans woman's
worst nightmare.
She was at the Port Authority.
She had gotten into a verbal
altercation with some man,
and he stabbed her in the neck.
But that wasn't
the worst part of it.
The worst part
is that all the people
that were standing
out there watching,
laughing and cheering
because she was a trans woman,
refused to help her...
and she bled out and died.
Two people
passing this fence on Wednesday
thought they were looking
at a scarecrow.
When they looked closer,
they realized it was
the savagely beaten body
of a young man
who had been tied to the fence
and left to die in the cold.
The victim, 22-year-old
Matthew Shepard,
a student
at the University of Wyoming.
Police say he was attacked
because he's gay.
Sometimes,
when terrible tragedies strike us,
they bring us
to our senses in a way
that would never otherwise
be the case.
And I think the horrible death
of Matthew Shepard
helped to sober the country up.
This is an amazing turnout.
What happened
to Matthew Shepard, I fell for.
I marched with the people.
Everybody was right behind him.
- Shame! Shame! Shame!
- Back up.
Protect the streets!
You had straight people,
high school kids, all ready
and willing to get maced
and hit by police officers.
But Matthew Shepard
wasn't even from New York.
They were just giving him
a vigil in New York.
One of our sisters died.
Amanda Milan was killed
in cold blood in the street.
Literally in front of cameras
and cab drivers,
witnesses, people walking.
And when it was time
to give her the proper send-off
to make people aware
of this tragedy,
no one wanted to show up.
Very few. And it was only us.
It was only the sisters.
It was only anybody
who could understand her story.
We were on the front line...
...with the gay and lesbian community,
marching and fighting
for equality.
We-- We knew we were freaks
to them
because the only time
we were recognized
was when they had events,
when they had parties,
when they needed to make money.
Then we were of value.
But you're not doing
anything to help me
from getting attacked.
At the end of the day,
that's not community.
With the Amanda Milan actions,
when we had
the event take place...
who showed up?
Two-hundred people.
It's a... It's a damn shame.
It hurts me to see that,
no matter how hard we organize,
and we organize,
and e-mail and...
and only 200 people show up.
It's a disgrace.
It could have been me.
It could have been
one of my friends.
And so that kind of was like,
we need to start advocating
for ourselves.
I went to that rally
and I met up at MCCNY,
and that was when I met
the legendary
Octavia St. Laurent.
("AMAZING GRACE"
BY MAHALIA JACKSON PLAYING)
I remember we started walking.
We did this whole procession
up Eighth Avenue,
and Octavia singing
like she was Shug Avery.
Then we get
to the Port Authority,
and we all stood
where Amanda was killed.
...Grace
How sweet...
Amanda Milan's memorial
was a turning point
for the trans community.
We began to mobilize
and have rallies
to make people understand
that our lives matter.
I believe in us
getting our rights,
or else I would not be out there
fighting for our rights.
Amanda Milan's death
reinvigorated Sylvia Rivera,
and brought her
out of retirement.
And that's what made me realize
that I can be an activist too.
And the best way for me
to be a part of the movement
was through storytelling.
To make people understand
the reality of our lives.
I wanted to archive the movement
that was building between
trans women and sex workers.
We were gaining visibility,
but we didn't know that
another tragedy would strike...
one that changed everything.
I was on The Stroll
headed to court
when the first plane hit.
The thing I remember the most,
it just smelled like smoke...
...and ash and death.
New York City
came to a standstill.
Everyone was in shock.
And we didn't know
how we were gonna
continue to survive out there.
There was a yellow tape
that was stretched out
across 14th Street
that I used to cut through.
The Stroll was unrecognizable,
there were no dates
coming in and out.
I still sit and wonder
how I survived that time
'cause it lasted
for a couple of years.
When they finally let down
the barriers,
the cars weren't coming
as frequently.
And when the dates
started to return,
the dates weren't
as generous as they used to be.
9/11 made it even more
difficult to survive
because there was nothing.
There was no resources
or anything.
And for somebody
who's homeless on the streets
and needed to rely on sex work,
baby, I was pissed,
because now our money
has been severely cut off.
We didn't know
how long it was gonna be
for The Stroll
to pick back up again.
That was it for a lot of years,
maybe two or three years,
'cause it was bad.
9/11 kind of shut things down,
and forced things
to the Internet,
because there was no other way.
Welcome.
At night,
I would be on The Stroll,
and during the day, I would be
in the Internet cafes,
every day.
And there we began...
...to make ads and post pictures
in the chat rooms
to solicit clients.
So, I learned about marketing,
promotion and graphic design.
Back then we had no choice...
...but to hustle.
It actually kicked
in the door for safety.
I can tell you
from my own personal story,
I was protected by being able
to screen a client,
by being able to pick
and choose a client,
by being able to take
my street sex work
into fetish work,
so I would not be arrested,
and turn it into computer work.
And I didn't even know
how to work a computer,
child, but I learned it.
There was a lot
of learning in that process too.
The Stroll was kind of like,
"Okay, you can go to The Stroll,
but you can actually
now do this from your home
on the computer."
The time did change
and so did the girls.
For about a year it was as if
the entire city
was holding its breath,
and then all of a sudden
everything just geared up.
I'm urging people to vote
for-- for Mike Bloomberg.
I think Mike Bloomberg
is ideally, uh, qualified
to run the city at this very,
very critical time.
Uh, Mike's business background,
the fact that he is
a self-made man
who's, uh, had enormous success
in business,
qualifies him to be
mayor of New York City
at a time in which businesses
are considering
leaving the city.
I think Bloomberg
is gonna be good for the city
because Giuliani spoke
so highly of him,
and because Giuliani
is so popular,
he must know
who's gonna do a great job.
After September 11th,
we definitely need
more commerce
and more business in New York.
And I think, as a billionaire,
I don't know
what he's gonna be like
as a politician,
but I think as a businessman,
he'll help New York.
We will rebuild, renew,
and remain the capital
of the free world.
What was happening
in terms of gentrification
had been happening
for several years,
but when Bloomberg
became the mayor,
and after 9/11,
it was as if gentrification
went on steroids.
The Meatpacking District
isn't what it used to be.
And to-- for perspective,
when Hogs opened in 1992,
rent was 3,000 dollars a month.
- Uh, and think about it.
- That's incredible.
I mean, 20 years ago,
that area was not an area
where anyone wanted to live in.
I wonder what part,
like, Sex and the City
played with that,
because Samantha moved
to Meatpacking District,
it was still pretty sketchy
when she moved there,
but kind of like--
Yeah,
the transvestites
- were on the streets.
- Exactly!
Now it's a whole --
totally different neighborhood.
It was inevitable
that the decline
of the urban meatpackers came.
I'm one of the seven
remaining meatpackers
in the Gansevoort Market here.
There used to be two or 300
meatpackers down here,
employing at least 1500,
2000 people,
and now there's just seven of us
employing about 125.
And I will tell you,
all those old meat guys
that were down here
that were the big guys
in the industry
and sold so much meat,
none of them would ever believe
what happened
to this neighborhood.
IVY:
There wasn't a gradual change.
It was a big change economically
of who came
into the neighborhood.
It was shocking.
It was such an extreme jump
from being
this gritty film noir,
inviting environment
where you could
really do anything,
to all of a sudden,
it felt like Madison Avenue
was moving in.
The whole luxury apartments,
the whitewashing of everything,
the kind of erasing
of the culture.
It was a big change.
It's really disorienting, right,
to walk down a street
you've walked down
a hundred thousand times,
and feel struck by a sudden
sense of disorientation,
of feeling like, "I don't know
quite where I am anymore."
And, "Am I on the right street?
Am I in the right neighborhood?
Is this...
Is this the same city?
Is this the same me?"
One of the ways memory works
is it relies on triggers.
So, remember when you were there
and who you were with,
and then you have
a chain of associations,
but that chain is broken
and destroyed
when that place is gone.
So, we lose ourselves.
Then we lose our sense
of connection
and ongoingness
when that happens.
When Bloomberg became the mayor,
things started to change fast.
Those older girls
that I was out there
on the streets talking to
were no longer there.
Bloomberg started a program
called Operation Spotlight,
a "three strikes
and you're out" system.
If you got over three arrests
for prostitution,
then you can be sent away
longer than a year.
Bloomberg was able to clean up
the Meatpacking District
by sending the girls to jail.
I spent a lot of my 20s
on Rikers Island,
New York City's largest jail.
It's a horrible
and disgusting place.
People are just piled up
on one another.
You have people telling you
when to shower, when to eat,
and when to go to bed.
You don't have rights.
Going to Rikers, honey,
was a whole 'nother ball game,
'cause as soon as you go
into the six building,
back then,
I'm not going to lie, like,
it would be a lot
of hate speech.
As soon as they bring us
off the... the bus,
and we're in our little
tight skirts and our heels.
"Oh, look at these
fuckin' faggots," da da da da...
Come up,
put your hands up here...
Let me see that ring.
-Is that a wedding ring?
-Yes, it is.
All right, leave it on.
You're good. Put your hands up.
All that is ass and tits.
Don't worry about it, man,
go over there,
go over there,
ass and tits, all right.
How did you do that to yourself?
Implants, Daddy.
- Really?
-Yes.
When did you do that?
About three years ago.
So when they house you,
they house you
with all the other men?
Yeah.
Gay housing, quarter mile down
the corridor of building five.
You have to sign papers.
When you go into Rikers Island
in the receiving room,
you can request to be placed
in alternative
lifestyle housing.
And that was the place where
all your girlfriends would be.
All the queens would be there,
everybody you knew was always
in gay housing.
They separated the queens
and the gay boys
from the population.
My name is Shante
and this is my little...
my little home
for my little short stay
while I'm here.
You know,
my family takes care of me.
They... They don't knock me
about my sexual preference.
Um, I have something
I would like, uh,
for you to see.
A little bit
of how I dress on the streets.
This is my everyday effect.
You know,
that's how I like to dress.
That's me and my male friend.
This is how
I dress on the street.
On the street,
I dress as a woman.
This is where
I hang my jackets at.
My suede, my silk.
Gap, of course.
Have a nice day.
I think I've been to Rikers about 30 times,
the longest time
was eight months.
If you keep accruing charges,
you can be sent away longer
upstate to prison.
What led to my incarceration?
Selling drugs.
I sold everything from cash,
ass to grass.
If I could sell it, I sold it.
Right. After a while,
you get tired
of being face down, ass up.
After a while, you get tired
of hanging from the chandelier,
dropping down
and getting your eagle on.
I had made a sale
to an undercover,
and that's how I ended up
going to prison.
You're up in the mountains,
away from your city
where all you see is redneck.
All you see is chewing tobacco
and them calling you nigger.
And ain't a damn thing
you can say about it.
I was young.
I was afraid.
I was gonna be raped.
And I turned into a monster.
How it is to survive
as a trans woman in jail,
it's a sub world
within the world.
It's like a microcosmic world
of oppression.
I realized that people
didn't respect peace.
They respected violence.
So I became
a very violent person in jail.
And I was ready to fight
and stab anything
that came near me.
When you cut someone
or you stab someone in jail,
that's a case.
They add that on to your time,
and that's why
you keep getting more time.
My original sentence
was five to seven.
So, imagine five flat
to seven flat.
I did 14.
Well after 14 years in prison,
I was released in 2012.
They just give you a bus ticket,
and whatever you have
in your commissary,
and you're on your own.
I knew to go back,
like, you know where to go.
So, I'm getting onto this bus
and I started seeing
all these pretty stores.
It was very hard for me
to understand what was going on
around me.
The community is not there.
Vanessa was one of the girls
who I hung out with.
I was like,
"Yo, you heard such and such?"
"Uh-uh, baby, she dead."
"What?"
"Oh, no, she gone." "What?"
Josie? Dead.
Nunie? Dead.
Vanessa? Dead.
Melissa? Dead.
These people are gone now.
Now, they got all these
fancy shoe stores down there.
And what is it, the High Line?
The only "high line" we had
was a crack pipe on the pier
next to the water.
That's the only thrill you got.
The world was digital.
What the hell is an iPhone?
When I went to jail,
we had the beepers.
It was still some of the same
but the money had changed.
The price of pussy went down.
I ain't got time for that.
So I knew
I couldn't survive like that.
Before I just decided to, like,
I can't do this anymore.
I couldn't. I'm almost 50.
So, it took a lot for me
to walk away
from the thing that--
the very thing
that saved my life.
The Stroll was over.
This rain, to me,
kind of represents
all of the tears of the girls
who didn't make it to see today.
I like to think that they're
giving me their blessings
from above.
I think about...
all of the girls
that used to sleep up here.
Back in the day,
this whole row was encampments.
Girls living
in cardboard boxes.
And I just can't believe
how many times I had to
go to jail...
...for this High Line park
to be built.
Do you remember
when we used to walk down here,
and all the neighbors
used to stare at us,
-and we used to be...
-Mm-hmm.
-And we would just be pumping.
-...runway.
-And they would look at us
like we were circus freaks...
-Pumping.
...but you could tell
they enjoyed it.
I remember the girls
would be on this corner,
lined up against this wall.
Right.
I would be standing right here.
-Just perched like...
-Perched.
Looking for a date.
Sometimes, we used
to just go up to the cars.
- Yes.
- Look, Kristen.
Yes. Let me call a date.
Or give him the very...
I could just imagine
Josie as she was,
- you know, out in a scandal--
- And walking up to the cars like nothing.
She would come down the street
and she would have
all this body.
-Right.
-She would be in like--
you know,
her ass out up to here,
like, "How you doing, baby?"
And she would come back
with a bag of money.
Josie was...
...the true meaning
of a trans woman sex worker.
She would show everybody
how it's done.
What do you think she would
think about today though, like?
I think, today,
Josie would still be here
right now, making her money.
She was out here
a very long time,
I think longer than any of us
has been out here.
And I could only imagine
being 12, 13 years old,
having to come out
into the streets
because your family
don't accept you
to have to sex work to survive.
I can't stop thinking about,
like, I see all these people
walking around,
and it reminds me
of the people
that were standing
in their place back in our day
that are no longer here.
A lot of people
lost their lives...
trying to survive here
on this corner.
Today, were at this point
of liberation and visibility
and everybody's got talking
about trans issues.
And act like
-it's something new.
-Hold on, I can't.
I cant.
Oh, my God. I can't...
...then I come here
and I feel fucked up.
I can't even believe it.
It's like,
the things we had to do.
I hate this place.
I fucking hate this place.
Let's go.
Come on, let's go home.
From back then, from the '80s...
let's say there was
a thousand girls.
Today, living from that era,
it may be five.
Oh, my God.
It might be five of us
left from then
that was out on The Stroll
because everybody's gone.
Trans women don't...
get to live past 35 or 40.
So, if you were here
and you made it...
to live that beyond,
you are tremendously blessed,
and you have changed
the dynamics of the system.
And you must. You must.
Even in your depression.
You owe it
to every trans woman before you,
and everyone after you,
to keep moving and keep pushing.
The trans community has always
been in survival mode forever,
and it is important
that we all get
an opportunity to...
thrive.
I believe that
the gay rights movement
has consistently left us behind,
and it took trans people
and sex workers
to start our own fight.
As a sex worker,
as a person who live
...for 30 years, exchanging sex
for anything that I needed,
I want to remind you all
that we cannot
forget sex workers.
We've been gatekeeped
from the smallest windows
in society to the highest.
Black trans women
are now in the fight
and we won't go away.
Black trans lives matter!
Black trans lives matter!
Across the country,
where we're seeing an escalation
of policing,
an escalation of laws
targeting trans people.
Many places...
...have some criminal law
that is about indicating
that one is a sex worker.
And these are, broadly speaking,
the laws, uh, in New York
and around the country
that have been referred to as
the "Walking While Trans" laws.
What these laws essentially
make a crime
is looking like you're going
to engage in sex work.
Things like talking
to people in cars,
walking down the street,
congregating with others.
Very unclear, vague,
overbroad set of laws
that for decades
have been used just to target
and harass largely
trans women of color.
Trans rights are human rights!
I believe that change
is often reflected
in legislation.
Black trans lives matter!
Welcome back to Capital Tonight.
I'm Susan Arbetter.
Advocates are calling
for the repeal of a bill
that's been used to arrest
transgender women of color.
TS Candii, a Black trans woman,
who on a summer afternoon
in 2017 was smoking
outside her apartment
when a police officer
approached her.
He threatened to arrest her
under this very section 240.37,
unless she performed
oral sex on him.
Bring the bill to vote now!
Bring the bill to vote now!
- We are ready...
- We are ready...
- ...to repeal...
-C ...to repeal...
- ...the Walking...
- ...the Walking...
- ...While Trans....
- ...While Trans....
- ...ban.
- ...ban.
New tonight,
Governor Cuomo has signed
a measure repealing parts
of the so-called,
"Walking While Trans" law.
It was passed in the '70s
to prohibit loitering
for the purpose of prostitution.
An act to repeal
Section 240.37
of the penal law,
- ayes forty five, May 16.
- The bill is passed.
The most important part
of all of this
is like people like me
and people like everybody here
that identify as trans
are gonna be able
to see themselves reflected
in this important point
of the city,
and say, "Me as a trans person,
I see myself reflected.
Me as a person of color,
I see myself reflected.
Me as a former sex worker,
I see myself reflected."
Today, sex workers
are finding a way
to express their needs,
and to ask for the solutions
that they need for themselves.
I didn't want to work
for another agency
that was gonna govern my work,
or my thoughts, or my dreams,
or my wishes for my community.
I wanted to do that
and have ownership of my own.
You took part
in a very iconic moment
at the Brooklyn March.
We had started a fundraiser
exactly three days
before the liberation march.
In three days time,
the numbers blew my face off.
Black trans lives matter!
Black trans lives matter!
Black trans lives matter!
We're whores!
I am the founder of GLITS Inc.,
that's "Gays and Lesbians Living
in a Transgender Society."
I named it that
because we have
always been last.
That's not gonna happen
anymore, we're first.
We have never had equity
in the city of New York.
Motherfuckers, we do now.
We made it here.
We're buying equity.
For every girl that's died,
the police need
to be ashamed of themselves.
For every time
we had to bury one of ours,
they need to be ashamed
of themselves.
You're looking at a Black,
international whore, baby.
It's me.
And I'm selling me to save you.
(I AM HER
BY SHEA DIAMOND PLAYING)
Theres an outcast
In everybodys life
-And I am her
-I am her
Theres a shadow
In everybodys front door
-And I am her
-I am her...
As a young,
homeless trans woman
sleeping in movie theatres,
I never thought
I would have the power
and ability to make films.
I am so proud
that the girls are happy,
and I wanted to give
them the opportunity to shine.
All that glitters isn't gold
At least that's
What I've been told...
The system never
gave us resources.
We created the resources
by telling our stories,
by standing out there
and rallying.
I am my own liberation.
It wouldn't be
The worst thing
That I ever did
It's a hell of a world
That we're living in
James 2:10
A sin is a sin...
When people say
that there's no honor
amongst hoes,
they told a fucking lie,
because for The Stroll
for us back then,
there was nothing but honor,
and protect a girl
who was walking down
that back street.
There's an outcast
In everybody's life
-And I am her
-I am her...
A lot of these new girls,
they don't know about
what we have done for them.
We paved the way.
We fought to be where we are.
No matter how much
my future changes,
14th Street
will always be a part of me.
Oh, you know I am her
I am shame, she is me
We get down...
To live 20 years on a ho stroll,
being homeless, being on drugs,
doing what I had to do,
and I survived all of it,
I feel that
I am that Wonder Woman.
And I am here today
at the age of 60.
There's an outcast
In everybody's life
-And I am her
-I am her...
After 20 years,
we're still connected.
We always look out
for one another.
Through all of our
shared experiences,
our sisterhood still thrives.
And I am her...
You can take the girl off of The Stroll,
but you can't take The Stroll
out of the girl.
I ran away from home, I was 15.
As soon as I moved to New York,
I was working at a coffee shop.
When I decided to transition,
I was fired.
And that is how I found out
about The Stroll.
I was doing sex work there.
There were
no other opportunities
for trans women at the time.
I spent almost ten years
of my life out there.
It was fun at first. I was like,
"Oh, I'm making more money
than I'm making in my job."
Please.
Then I started doing
the weekend ho thing,
and then it just became, like...
...an everyday thing.
It's been good for me in a way,
you know what I'm saying?
Because I've been able to eat.
I've been able to live.
I've been able to survive.
Some filmmakers were doing
a documentary,
so I had cameras following me,
and these videos,
majority of the time
I was on cocaine.
And I think in that clip
right there, I was explaining
how exhausted I was
of the every day
just living to do this.
When I was approached to be
a subject of a documentary,
I knew that that could be
a segue way into filmmaking.
But what I discovered
is that didn't have control
over my own story.
And so it really motivated me
to start my journey
as a director.
I was determined to make a film
about The Stroll.
I wanted to know the history
of how long trans women
had been coming into the area,
and for how long sex work
has been a part of our story.
We were pushed out
of the neighborhood years ago
and now you don't see us
here anymore.
My mission was to tell
this story before we're gone.
I felt that I could get it right
if I was the one to tell it.
Egyptt interview,
A camera. Take one.
Welcome, Egyptt.
Um, I'm so excited to speak
to you today about our history.
For somebody who has so much
lived experience
that the little time
that I was out there,
you know, I can't even
encompass half of the stuff
that you've been through
and the history that you're
gonna share with us.
I'm so honored to have you
sitting here with us right now.
Well, I feel so blessed
to be here to tell my story,
because a lot of times
when they do stories like this,
they cut out the good parts
on the true meaning
of what we had to go through.
Some of it is traumatic.
Um, some of it was happy,
some of it was sad,
but overall it was an experience
and history
that needs to be told.
Izzi interview,
A cam. Take one.
I want you to be comfortable.
- Right.
- Your regular self.
It's just me and you having
our everyday conversation,
- you're telling me stories.
- Okay.
I consider myself
to be of transgender experience
because I spend half of my life
as a transgender woman
and half of my life
as a non-binary boy.
For me,
life as a young trans person
was very difficult.
It was a whole different
kind of learning process
for me and everybody around me.
Coming from a prominent
Black family, middle class,
um, my dad was a mason,
had a lot of rules
and regulations
around masculinity.
I was the child that didn't
want to play football,
didn't want to mud roll,
didn't want to do any of that.
I wanted to jump rope,
cut up the curtains
and turn them
into evening gowns.
That was me. I was the child
that got caught
in high heels all the time.
I started at an early age.
Growing up, for me,
being in a household,
there was specific gender roles.
The women cooked,
the men worked.
The kitchen was, like,
specific for the women,
and, um, for me,
my mom would let me in there
with all my sisters.
I was the only male born
one that was allowed there.
Even though my grandmother
was affirming,
my other siblings weren't.
My aunts and uncles,
they didn't understand.
My community in the neighborhood
that I grew up in,
was very harmful.
We're siblings.
Biological sisters.
One hundred percent.
I'm the oldest.
And a lot of people
don't believe us,
but we are literally siblings.
Don't breathe.
Being Pentecostal, my uncle
was the pastor of our church.
There was a lot of pressure
in being the stereotypical,
cisgender heterosexual male
for them.
Our family
did not give us the tools
necessary for us
to grow healthily.
My mother always told me,
never let anyone tell
you can't do something.
And when they told me
that I had to leave
because of all of this,
I said, "You always told me,
'never let no one tell
you can't do something.'"
I ran away.
I ran away to save my life.
I ran away so I could breathe.
I ran away to get the hell away
from those people.
I ran away for peace of mind,
for safety.
Yes,
I had to sleep on the train.
Yes, I was homeless.
I'd rather the A train
than that house
with all that pomp
and circumstance
and all of the "religion."
I was safer in the street
than I was ever
in that household.
It was 1983.
I was on my own.
I was transitioning
at this time.
Back then, being a trans woman,
unless you had your ID changed
and Social Security card,
you couldn't just walk
into a place and get a job.
Some people choose sex work
because they want to.
Some choose it
because they had no choice.
A lot of us back then
did not have a choice
because jobs
were not accessible to us.
At that time,
people were not hiring
people that looked like me.
So girls did
what they had to do,
and that was to go
to the Ho Stroll.
I would say every borough
had a stroll
where the girls would work.
The Stroll
in the Meatpacking District
was nothing
but transwomen down there.
It was a place where
the young gays, the older gays,
cross-dressers,
trans women, drag queens,
they can go and make money.
So the tricks knew
what they was getting
because
that was the only people
that hustled down
in the village.
Every queer young person knew
that Christopher Street
in the Village was the gay mecca
of New York City.
- Hey, girl!
And the further west you went,
the more empty it became.
There you could see queer people
having fun
and being sexually free.
By the water, there were
these dilapidated piers
where you would see gay men
having sex.
And in the center of it all
was this ten-by-12-block radius
called the Meatpacking District.
We called 14th Street
The Stroll,
and that was our turf.
The Meatpacking District
was not a neighborhood
people came to.
You never walked
into this neighborhood.
There was a very defined
dividing line at Eighth Avenue.
I am a long-time resident
of the Meatpacking District.
I have a gallery
in the Triangle Building
and everybody
knows this building
'cause it's in the middle
of the street.
This space
was in The Village Voice.
Eighteen hundred square feet
with a wood-burning fireplace.
I called somebody who I knew
lived in the building,
and I said, you know,
"What is it like down there?
You know, it looks really grimy.
It looks really dangerous.
Everybody says it's dangerous."
And she said,
"It's not dangerous at all.
It's wonderful.
It stinks because
it is the Meatpacking District
and there's blood and inedibles
and meat all around.
But besides that,
it's a great neighborhood."
People wouldn't even
walk through it.
People walked through
the meat market back then,
they-- they held their nose.
I mean, you had to be one of us
to get used to the odors.
Without a doubt,
it was its own little city.
And every building
had a meat company in it.
Back then you would
have to be careful,
when you were
walking down the street,
you couldn't walk too close
to a truck
because the meat
would come flying off.
That's how fast
the trucks were unloaded.
Just the amount of meat
that was cut here.
Back then, to me,
it was just
the most amazing place.
Well, the first time I came here
was when I was driving a taxi.
I was born up in the Bronx,
so I had all these questions
about my sexuality
that I was trying
to come to terms with,
and I discovered
The Meatpacking District.
You have all these fetish bars,
fetish clubs,
underground events,
brick factories,
and falling apart buildings
and empty lots.
The life, the light,
the shadows.
It was such a film noir
kind of atmosphere,
and that's what I wanted
to capture with my camera.
There were prosties here
almost 24/7.
Uh, they would conduct
their business in parked cars
right on the street,
and the prosties would often
hang out under the elevated
West Side Highway,
and, y'know,
wait for passing johns.
The S&M bars, the hookers,
the meatpackers.
That's what was down here.
When I first went out there,
it felt like we were going
through a secret passage.
I just saw
all these beautiful women,
and I was like, "Oh, my God,
what is all these girls
doing out here?
They so beautiful."
I remember one particular night,
this girl asked me to block her
while she fixed her tuck.
I said, "Tuck,"
I said, "What is that?"
And this girl looked nice.
So while she was fixing
her tuck,
I turned around and I looked,
and I said, "Oh, my God,
you have a penis."
She was like,
"I'm a trans woman."
And I said, "This is what
all these girls out here are?"
I said, "Oh, my God,
I want to do this. This is me."
I said, "I... I got to do this."
I remember, like, when I first stepped on
to 14th Street, when we came
around that corner
and all I seen were,
like, it felt like hundreds
of trans women were out there.
But I remember it was...
I saw you, and Ceyenne,
and a bunch of other girls.
And it was just amazing,
like, to see
strong Black trans women.
Yeah.
This is what started my journey
because I wanted to be that.
And I used to watch the girls.
And then it was when I came
to the decision,
I was like,
"I'm going to...
...you know, transition." And...
Because I had seen everybody
so confident in themselves.
And so I was able to draw that
out of myself.
So when I first stepped
on to that Stroll,
it empowered me to be like,
"If they can live
their life like this,
then I can live my life
like this too."
Right here, the picture
was taken back there...
- Oh, really?
-...the reflection of the--
-It was water.
- Okay.
The coat opened out--
It was taken right there.
Wow.
Because there was nobody back here
- but me and the photographer.
- Okay.
I was gonna let you
see the goods for free, baby.
You can't see it for free, girl.
But I didn't have
all this va-va-la-voom then.
But, um, I have arrived now.
Thank you.
I can't believe it's still here.
I'm reminiscing.
This was my favorite
little corner right here.
This is where I worked at.
I didn't allow no one
in that corner.
- Oh, my God. I'm right here.
-Oh, she loves the trucks.
I used to-- We used to take them
back here, look,
because sometimes the people
would forget to lock the trucks,
because there was nothing
in the back of the trucks
but funky meat
that ain't there no more,
so we would take the clients
right back here.
Don't get stuck
back there, honey.
Oh, no, baby.
Big Mama's in charge now,
she gets stuck nowhere, darling.
-Open the door.
-Yeah. I'm not touching it now.
But, you know, back then,
we would open up the door
and take a client back,
that was like the hotel room.
You know, the guy's back there.
And do what Mother does best.
The Stroll mothers.
They was the ones who took us
under their wing.
These girls showed me the ropes.
These girls showed me
what streets to stay safe on,
what not to do,
so that the minute
I got off on 14th Street
on the PATH train
and I started walking,
and you could hear
the clickety-clack of the heels.
I knew that was Ceyenne,
I knew Nicole
was around the corner.
I knew where everybody was at.
It was just the banter,
the allure of just having
that, "How's tricks, girl?"
"Oh, it's late...
oh, it's late for you,
not for me, girl.
You should go home."
Just the cattiness of it.
Like, these girls taught me
how to survive.
In the middle of West Side Highway,
that people today
call the High Line,
was the train tracks.
When I first went out there
with one of my girlfriends,
I was petrified.
I mean, she's walking up
and down the street,
calling cars,
and I'm like,
"What are you doing?"
She said, "This is how
we're going to make some money."
People are tooting their horns at me,
and people trying to get me
in their cars
and I kept saying no.
Until she said,
"Girl, the only way
you're gonna get money,
you have to get in a car.
Go do what you gotta do.
Don't let them make you do
anything you don't want to do."
I've had clients
that want me to do
some of the weirdest things.
But let me tell you
about this client.
This client was weird.
This guy
would do pretend blowjobs
and pretend sex and pay me
-for prete-- Yes.
-For dollar?
Yes, I remember. I remember now,
he was very, like, hygienic.
He was practicing
social distancing
before it became a trend.
Yeah, I was--
This mortician guy, right,
and he would date me
and I would go up to his house
and I would sit
in his stairwell,
it was like a 100 dollars in,
like, three minutes,
maybe less than three minutes,
because all he did was take me,
spin me around, and by the time
I came back this way,
he had already nutted
on the floor and I left.
One of my first nights out there,
I went with this guy to a hotel,
and I was like, "Okay, so...
um-- I'm going to be a bottom
for you." Whatever, whatever.
Is it okay if I explain it?
- Girl, you're fine.
- Okay.
Pegging, they call it pegging
today, but...
Okay.
In my mind, being on 14th Street
when I was a beginner,
nobody told me
the... the ifs and outs about,
"Okay, you're a trans woman,
you use your tool,
or, your wand."
I figured out
that I was very well-endowed,
which I didn't really look
at my private parts, so...
That played... That played
a lot in my life with...
'cause-- because I used
to make so much money.
And how old were you when you
first went out to The Stroll?
Um, I think I was 15. Fifteen.
The first time
that I've ever seen The Stroll,
stepping back, was scary.
I'm not gonna lie.
It gave me anxiety.
I was having a panic attack
because I didn't wanna
have sex with people.
That wasn't really
what I was interested in.
But I had no clue
on how to get money
at 15 years old
on the street.
So that's where I ended up.
I cried.
I cried like a baby.
First time I had to do
sexual acts
with someone for money
and he told me to get out.
The first time,
I was traumatized
because this man wanted me
to do some sexual act
with him for money.
And I knew
what I was going to do.
But it's--
when you actually do it
the reality sets in,
"What are you doing?"
And it was terrifying.
Right, 'cause like,
I'm not really
attracted to this man.
Not at all.
Because you got to realize,
you have all different shapes,
colors and sizes.
I've gotten in cars with people
with the worst thing
I've ever seen
in my entire life.
It was like, "Oh, my God."
But those Benjamins
sounded great.
I remember,
it was a warm night.
And I was feeling myself. I was.
This young man
pulled up in a car
and he was mad cute.
And I thought to myself,
"Elizabeth, you deserve
a little bit of fun time.
So go ahead. Have your fun."
I remember him taking me
to the side
of St Vincent Hospital.
Went to go perform on him.
And that's when I heard
the back door
is open to the car.
Next thing I know,
he punched me out.
And between all three of them...
...assaulted me and robbed me.
I ran into St. Vincent Hospital,
into the ER waiting area.
I was just literally assaulted
and I was screaming for help.
And the security guard
told me that I had to leave,
that I couldn't be there.
And I remember...
basically telling him,
"You know what, fuck you,"
picked up my strap,
one of my straps,
and walked out
and walked to The Stroll crying.
You know,
whether it was from the police
who chased you and beat you up,
and wanted to force you
to have sex,
whether it was from the john
who didn't have enough money
and you knew he was short,
so you was trying to get away
from him,
but he wanted you
to finish the job.
A lot of the guys knew
where we populated at,
and sometimes
that became very unsafe.
I had a little bit of everything
in my pocketbook.
Mace, hammer, you name it.
I learned to defend myself
because I was always
in close proximity of violence.
There was a lot of times
where I came into danger.
Then that's when I became
the Battle Bot.
You know, you wasn't gonna
take my money.
You wasn't gonna beat me up.
I was gonna get you
before you got me.
Wonder Woman
is this all-powerful woman
who can handle anything.
I call 'em
my Wonder Woman powers
because I have to deal
with crazy people,
when I'm getting in
and out of your car.
I don't know where you're going
to be at.
You don't know
what their motives are.
You don't know
what type of mood they're in.
So you have to be able
to think that fast.
And I love
that you call it Wonder Woman,
because I used to call it
Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
And I'm out here slaying
all these dicks.
If I ever got in trouble
with one person, a guy,
every girl that was
on The Stroll was there.
The girls stuck together
more then
and protected each other.
Especially
when we were in danger.
Because if one was in trouble,
we all were in trouble.
And that, I miss that part
about the rallying together
to protect each other.
- Oh, he is cute!
- Look, they ready.
Hey, boo.
- Uh-uh. No.
- No!
No, we're talking about our lives.
We're talking about our lives...
out here before this
became this.
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
Oh!
He said, "I remember that."
I'm sure you do.
What's your name?
- Bob.
- Bill.
Bill? Bob Reg, Bob Regular?
Still got it.
Wait, you gotta get
in the mirror.
That bitch has still got it.
You got to tell them.
Come on, baby. Check your face.
What did you say?
The diva will what?
Will succeed.
Pump. Pump.
The diva will succeed.
You know this is huge.
And you ain't probably
take this trip in a minute.
I remember, with The Vault.
And RuPaul.
Remember when RuPaul
used to be out here?
And she used to film her videos
with the tricks?
Located in
Manhattan's Lower West Side.
The meat market is filled
with transvestite hookers
by night.
I ought to know because
I live right around the block.
I asked some of the girls,
boys, girls, whatever.
If I could, you know,
take a look
inside of their world.
Let's go see what's going on.
Maybe I'll get lucky.
Maybe I'll make my rent money.
Come on, you guys.
I was looking
for footage for the doc,
that's when I seen the clip.
When I was researching,
I was starting
with transgender hookers.
And that wasn't the right word.
The right word
was transvestite hookers.
Do you have a boss?
Do you work for yourself?
Oh, yeah, for myself, of course.
Are you ever scared
out here on the street?
Yeah. Huh. Sometimes it's hard,
you know? Sometimes...
Sometimes people get
really rough, though.
And, uh, you know,
I have been in some--
my purse has been stolen
several times, though.
But it's very much
to be careful.
You carry some mace
or something in your purse,
honey, and you've got to mace
these motherfuckers
'cause they crazy.
Ru should have known better.
I felt like, from her tone
that this was lighthearted
and a joke for her.
I've had to talk
to people or be with people
who I didn't necessarily know
and I had to be friendly
with them, you know?
And that's the hooking sense.
And so what's the difference?
I guess the difference is
I didn't have to go down
on those people,
but if you ask me...
...it's almost the exact same.
I love it.
I may have to change my vocation.
The reality of homelessness
and transitioning
and trans life in general.
It was r-- it was difficult.
Because we got shunned
from society.
We couldn't find work
without having to revert back
to presenting as cis.
The longer you are there,
it becomes more
like a dead-end street.
I had to sleep
in a movie theater.
And being like...
"I'm a trans woman,
a homeless trans woman
sleeping in this
movie theater, like,
this is as close to Hollywood
I'm gonna get."
But I refused to let the world
beat me down.
Back then,
we just took our punches.
We've been taking them
for decades.
The sixth precinct is located
in Greenwich Village,
where many homosexuals live.
It also encompasses
a parking area for trucks
under the West Side Highway
along the Hudson River.
The trucks are a known
gathering spot
and solicitation area
for homosexuals
who use the trucks
for sexual acts.
Certain acts committed
by homosexuals,
uh, such as dressing in drag,
hanging around the trucks,
as we refer to it
in the sixth precinct,
and certain-- As we term it,
unnatural acts
or which may be committed
on the street.
Do you think
that has really helped
the image of the homosexual?
I absolutely, 100 percent,
wholeheartedly think
that the sixth precinct
of the NYPD had full,
utter contempt
towards the trans community.
I had a total of 68 arrests.
-If I'm not mistaken.
-Oh, wow.
You know, I passed through
a lot of experience
with the NYPD.
Especially sixth precinct.
Tasty Tuesdays
and Tasty Thursdays.
It's funny that y'all
called it that
because we called it TNT.
You... You know, there was times
that the girls already knew
the schedule
and it would be empty.
So, I guess once they seemed
to have been emptied,
the girls started getting
the hang of the lock up days.
That's when they started
switching it around
and lock you up on a Friday.
You didn't want
to get locked on a Friday
- because then that's all weekend in jail.
- Yep.
You know, the days that you know
that you're gonna spend
the weekend in the bullpens.
Yeah, I've made
those mistakes a few times.
Yeah.
You had to stay busy
to avoid the police.
You had to, like,
stay on the move.
And sitting, sitting on a car,
smoking a cigarette, maybe,
acting like I'm talking
on a phone that don't work...
...and that kept me alive.
"Walking While Trans"
is a piece of legislation
that allowed sex workers,
especially trans sex workers,
to be stop-and-frisk
for decades.
I was arrested many times
just going to the store
to get bread, for example,
and police officers
would arrest me
under the suspicion
that I was loitering
for purposes of prostitution.
You would sit in a police vehicle,
a half a block to a block away.
You would have
a set of binoculars.
All right. You would focus in
on a particular area.
While you're focusing
on that particular area,
you write down the time
you started looking.
As vehicles make the turn,
depending on where it is,
either the he/she
or transvestite waves him down
or they stop
and have a brief conversation.
That's one, it repeats again.
That's two.
It repeats a third time.
That's three.
After the third time,
we will slowly drive up.
One of us will exit
out of the radio car.
The other will drive past.
And we'll basically close in,
and put the individual
under arrest.
Put the individual in the back
of the police car,
take it to another location,
put it in a van
as a holding area.
Then we will go back
and repeat it,
depending on how many girls
we're gonna take in that night.
Last Sunday night
that just passed,
we locked up six females...
the rest of the night,
the whole area was clear...
which basically lets them know
that we're not playing around
and we'll be out again
and we'll lock them up again.
Until they get the message
and realize
that 14th Street
is not prostitution.
A lot of my clients were officers,
a lot of my client-- COs,
officers, all of it.
One, he used to drive
a paddy wagon.
He was a Black guy,
and he would pick me up
and we would go
right on the West Side Highway.
You know, so he wasn't shy
about what he was doing.
Two days ago,
there was an officer.
And he turned trick with me
and he said that he was--
he's all for it,
and he wanted it
to be legalized.
He was a nice officer.
Very cute, if I must say.
How'd you pick him up,
was he on duty?
No he was off duty,
in a gorgeous car.
He was in a stingray.
I was gasping
when I found out
he was an officer.
I actually gave fellatio
to a very beautiful, beautiful,
beautiful young Black man
who was a cop.
And after I was done
doing his deed, he arrested me.
I drive around here,
but, uh, I don't go out.
Why d'you drive around here?
'Cause I lock 'em up
on occasion.
They used to come around
in different type of vehicles
to count the girls
on The Stroll.
We didn't know who's who.
You know, everybody's a client.
Everybody's a trick.
So we would not notice that
and then the paddy wagon
would come like 15 or 20 minutes
later to swipe us all up.
When the police were around,
the girls would scream, "Mag,"
like the TV show Magnum P.I.
Once you heard "Mags,"
then you would see
the girls dipping and dodging
under trucks and around corners.
The police would scramble
the girls
by driving the squad cars
on top of the sidewalk,
blaring their sirens
to chase us out of the area.
And after the cops went away,
the girls would reemerge
from under the trucks
and get back to work.
Some nights
you may get arrested,
spend the night in jail,
get a little community service,
and then we'd be back
on The Stroll
the very next night.
We can't just be
normal people that work.
They will categorize us
as sex workers first
before employers,
employees, before anything.
We will be drug addicts,
whores, and prostitutes
before we're...
I hope their tires bust.
...specifically homosexuals,
uh, on the street,
possibly fondling each other
in a-- in an unlawful manner.
A lot of my time
I would go to the library
to rest and have some kind
of shelter over my head.
And so I would find myself
researching.
I was always into history,
specifically trans history,
and I would always talk
to the older girls on The Stroll
about the '70s and '80s.
And then one day
I met Sylvia Rivera.
I said, "Are we happy?"
When I first met Sylvia Rivera
in the summer of 2000,
I wish I had just paid
a little bit more attention.
Sylvia was a sex worker
and activist
who had been around for decades.
She was one of the initiators
of the Stonewall riots.
I think Sylvia being
out on the streets
and having to fend for herself
at such an early age,
she saw herself
in many of our shoes,
in many of our situations.
She is the icon.
She was like the mother
of the community,
her and Marsha.
Marsha and Sylvia founded STAR,
Street Transvestite
Action Revolutionaries,
the first trans sex workers
rights organization.
Marsha and I both grew up
at a very early age
on Times Square.
Marsha was seven years
my senior,
and we had seen the suffering
from the '60s into the '70s
of the trans youth
and the gay youth
being homeless,
because, um,
we'd either run away
or either we get kicked out
from our home.
I think the gay community wanted
to be accepted
into mainstream society
to show people that homosexuals
are just like everybody else.
So when you have trans
and gender nonconforming people,
it just makes things
a little bit
more difficult to explain.
Y'all all better quiet down.
Y'all tell me go and hide
my tail between my legs.
I will never longer
put up with this shit.
I have been beaten,
I have had my nose broken,
I have been thrown in jail.
I have lost my job,
I have I lost my apartment
for gay liberation.
And you all treat me this way?
What the fuck's wrong
with you all?
Think about that.
Sylvia was like a blueprint,
you know, seeing her up there
on that stage, getting hoarse,
screaming at everybody.
I knew that there was
a need for that.
And if she could do it,
I could do it.
Or at least try.
The mainstream
lesbian and gay community
drove Sylvia and Marsha crazy
because they put themselves
on the line to fight
for gay liberation and power.
After all they fought for,
they were pushed to the side.
Gay America does not care.
They don't care about their own.
We did. We did, when we -- in 1970.
We had to build them,
we did everything.
We fucking fed, we fed children.
We took care of children.
Damn it! This is my history.
This was literally
a dilapidated pier
with holes in it.
There was nothing here
for years.
- Nothing.
- And then you had this
whole, like, area
with Sylvias encampment.
'Cause this-- I can't even tell
what it is anymore.
Oh, that's right.
But basically
where we're at, right,
standing right here
is where the encampment was.
It used to be
where a lot of homeless
queer youth
used to spend the night.
Didn't have anywhere to go.
They knew this was
like a safe place
to be able to congregate,
sometimes spend the night
and sleep here.
I actually spent
several nights in this.
We've all spent the night
on this thing.
-At some point.
-Yeah.
I was on the pier
where we literally had huts.
People started making more
and more and more.
You had single room ones.
You had three bedroom ones.
That's how big they got.
They was like
your own apartment.
This is my little segment of the house,
because Vinny and Tom
live on that side.
You can go in.
You know, it's, you know,
very decor, you know,
we have a film crew. You know,
we have it dressed up.
Down there was Shady Brook Lane.
We had like five or six
other houses down there
with another open kitchen.
We had a Thanksgiving dinner,
and we had Christmas here
one year.
And, um,
we had lots of fun here.
It became a village of people
taking care of each other.
This our neighborhood.
Excuse me.
Dont be going in my house!
One day,
policemen came over.
They gave us a certain date.
"On that date,
were putting gates up."
This is when they said,
"You guys have to leave."
I, Rudolph William Giuliani.
"Do solemnly swear."
Do solemnly swear...
"That I will support the
the constitution of the Unit..."
With the pledge to fight crime
and the city's nagging deficit,
Rudolph Giuliani
took the oath of office
as the 107th mayor of New York.
Giuliani, a former US attorney
and the first Republican elected
in nearly two decades,
narrowly defeated incumbent
David Dinkins on a platform
to take back
New York's dangerous streets.
American cities
can't survive as we know them
if they remain so violent.
The era of fear has had
a long enough reign.
The period of doubt
has run its course.
New York is in the middle
of its worst recession
for 50 years.
But the economy
isn't the key issue here.
The one issue today that
obsesses New Yorkers. Crime.
Rudy Giuliani brought in
Broken Windows Policing.
Broken windows theory
is basically that,
where there is disorder there--
it will lead to violent crime.
So, they basically elided things
like graffiti, loitering,
boomboxes, sex work,
with rape and murder.
So when you see graffiti,
someone's gonna
get raped and murdered.
This is not true.
It's been debunked,
but in the dominant imagination
of the ruling class,
disorder has to be destroyed
to keep us safe.
If one window is left broken,
the theory goes,
others are shattered.
Pretty soon,
the entire building,
the entire neighborhood, decays.
Where we seen
back in the '70s and '80s,
girls were getting arrested
sporadically,
Giuliani literally came for us
in ways that we've never
seen before.
We were taken out of a place
of freedom
and put into a place
where we were cattle.
Christopher Street became
his target.
42nd Street became his target.
These were known places
where we could thrive
and survive.
We want to show people
improvement in the quality
of their life, that things
are getting better for them,
that things are safer,
quieter, more peaceful.
A city that they can use
and enjoy.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Washington Square Park
is now closed.
This is where I live
and I don't like to see this
and I don't like
to deal with this.
So if they can-- can crack down
on that and get rid
of some of that stuff,
I'd be very pleased.
The police aim
to please with their crack down.
This week they showed off
the kind of new equipment
which cost the department
half a million dollars.
Night vision cameras,
miniature tape recorders,
noise meters.
Officers in Greenwich Village
have written nearly
2000 summonses since March.
People without IDs are brought
to the precinct station,
and those who fail to show
in court are tracked down.
If you don't respond,
if you just throw it
in your drawer
and forget about it,
it comes back as a warrant
for your arrest.
You stop doing it
for a while,
it comes back just as bad
if not worse than before.
You have to keep after it.
It's like a police state
in a way,
sometimes the way
they just stop people at will.
Racist, sexist, anti-gay!
Giuliani, go away!
Racist, sexist, anti-gay!
Giuliani, go away!
Quality of life initiatives
made you ask, "Whose life?"
Because these were initiatives
that were supposed to "clean up"
the neighborhoods
by removing people
who were unwanted
by the homeowners,
the affluent taxpayers.
They wanted to get rid
of things like...
...squeegee people,
panhandlers,
young people hanging out,
pretty much anybody of color
who was not in a uniform.
I mean,
it was profoundly racist,
and also very anti-poor.
You know,
during the AIDS epidemic,
a lot of gay-owned buildings
became available
because the owners died,
and a lot of them
were bought by wealthy,
straight people.
And then there were
some affluent queer people
who hated the women
on The Stroll.
You know, they treat them
like they're ants
or something, right?
They just wanna
clear off the street.
Those are the people
who think that the queer youth
in the West Village
should just magically disappear
because it's their neighborhood.
Never mind the fact
that the young people were there
decades before
the wealthy people were.
I live in-- in an apartment
on Christopher Street.
We are in danger.
We residents are in danger.
I have to sleep at night.
The immediate need
is for more regular police.
Exactly.
We have to get this under control.
The trannies were out
on the street 24/7.
It was really
a very bad situation.
They would do their business
inside cars.
Sometimes parked right in front
of a residential building.
You'd walk out of your door
at 7:00 am,
and there'd be
two people having sex.
Uh, not the kind of thing
that anybody
should really be subjected to.
The problem is they were using
our streets as their bedrooms.
I voted for Giuliani
because I thought
he was the right man
for the job,
and having him on our side
definitely was a plus.
In the '90s, I remember
there was this old man
that always used to walk
past me,
and he used to be,
"Ah, look at you,
you're so disgusting.
You don't have on any clothes.
You're terrible."
I remember one day this fool
came out with, like,
20 other people,
and they had picket signs,
and they were like,
"We want you
out of our neighborhoods.
Get out of our neighborhoods,
transvestite bitch."
"Tr--" And they cursed me out,
but I used to put
my middle finger up
and get in the car still,
or go down the steps
by their house.
I didn't give a shit.
I didn't care, honey.
Okay.
We started a group
called Villagers Against Crime.
We collected money
from the neighborhood,
and we used it
to purchase three
large professional banners.
So, there was a banner
facing the eastbound traffic
that was coming on 12th Street.
Uh, another banner facing
the southbound traffic here,
and another one also
on Washington Street
a few blocks north.
The banner said, in big letters,
"Johns and hookers beware.
We note license plates,
inform your job and home."
In those days, you could contact
the motor vehicle department,
and for a small fee,
get the name
and address of the owners.
So some of my neighbors
would note
the plates of the johns,
and they would call them up...
...and they would say,
"Mr. Smith,
some of my neighbors...
HARRY: ...have seen you
in the neighborhood,
dealing with prostitutes.
They've told me
that if they see you again,
they're gonna call your wife,
they're gonna call your employer
and they're gonna call
your neighbor."
People would say,
"Oh, prostitution,
that's a victimless crime,
isnt it?"
And wed point it out that no,
the people living
in the neighborhood,
we were actually the victims.
Elizabeth,
you're very protective
of your little sister.
Did you bring her to New York?
I did. You want me to...?
-Yeah.
-Um...
my sister was struggling out
in California.
One day I called her,
we were talking on the phone
and she expressed to me
that she had been
on the night news.
And, uh...
...I asked her why
and it's because
she was getting ready
to jump off
of a freeway overpass.
And no one
in the family knew about it.
There was a lot of things
that I was going through in LA,
I was working on The Stroll
in Santa Monica Boulevard.
Um, I had pimps
pushing up on me.
I was getting robbed
every other night.
I almost got killed by a john
who dragged me
for half a block in his car
and almost ran me over.
So and then also just being
new to my transition,
it was like,
I was having a hard time
with the, um,
turning of the backs
from the family.
I felt...
as her older sister,
a sense of responsibility,
and at the same time,
I felt like...
I left her there by herself.
I felt guilty.
Me, my sister,
and my friend Desire
were returning back
from our trip
to go pick up my sister.
And when we arrived in New York,
at Port Authority...
the person that I had ran into,
I remember they were like,
"Hey, Elizabeth, how you doing?"
And just--
The next thing
out of their mouth is,
"Did you hear what happened?"
And I said, "What?"
"Amanda Milan was murdered
just a couple of nights ago."
And this person is explaining
it to me, and I could just see
that look on my sister's face...
What happened to Amanda Milan...
was every trans woman's
worst nightmare.
She was at the Port Authority.
She had gotten into a verbal
altercation with some man,
and he stabbed her in the neck.
But that wasn't
the worst part of it.
The worst part
is that all the people
that were standing
out there watching,
laughing and cheering
because she was a trans woman,
refused to help her...
and she bled out and died.
Two people
passing this fence on Wednesday
thought they were looking
at a scarecrow.
When they looked closer,
they realized it was
the savagely beaten body
of a young man
who had been tied to the fence
and left to die in the cold.
The victim, 22-year-old
Matthew Shepard,
a student
at the University of Wyoming.
Police say he was attacked
because he's gay.
Sometimes,
when terrible tragedies strike us,
they bring us
to our senses in a way
that would never otherwise
be the case.
And I think the horrible death
of Matthew Shepard
helped to sober the country up.
This is an amazing turnout.
What happened
to Matthew Shepard, I fell for.
I marched with the people.
Everybody was right behind him.
- Shame! Shame! Shame!
- Back up.
Protect the streets!
You had straight people,
high school kids, all ready
and willing to get maced
and hit by police officers.
But Matthew Shepard
wasn't even from New York.
They were just giving him
a vigil in New York.
One of our sisters died.
Amanda Milan was killed
in cold blood in the street.
Literally in front of cameras
and cab drivers,
witnesses, people walking.
And when it was time
to give her the proper send-off
to make people aware
of this tragedy,
no one wanted to show up.
Very few. And it was only us.
It was only the sisters.
It was only anybody
who could understand her story.
We were on the front line...
...with the gay and lesbian community,
marching and fighting
for equality.
We-- We knew we were freaks
to them
because the only time
we were recognized
was when they had events,
when they had parties,
when they needed to make money.
Then we were of value.
But you're not doing
anything to help me
from getting attacked.
At the end of the day,
that's not community.
With the Amanda Milan actions,
when we had
the event take place...
who showed up?
Two-hundred people.
It's a... It's a damn shame.
It hurts me to see that,
no matter how hard we organize,
and we organize,
and e-mail and...
and only 200 people show up.
It's a disgrace.
It could have been me.
It could have been
one of my friends.
And so that kind of was like,
we need to start advocating
for ourselves.
I went to that rally
and I met up at MCCNY,
and that was when I met
the legendary
Octavia St. Laurent.
("AMAZING GRACE"
BY MAHALIA JACKSON PLAYING)
I remember we started walking.
We did this whole procession
up Eighth Avenue,
and Octavia singing
like she was Shug Avery.
Then we get
to the Port Authority,
and we all stood
where Amanda was killed.
...Grace
How sweet...
Amanda Milan's memorial
was a turning point
for the trans community.
We began to mobilize
and have rallies
to make people understand
that our lives matter.
I believe in us
getting our rights,
or else I would not be out there
fighting for our rights.
Amanda Milan's death
reinvigorated Sylvia Rivera,
and brought her
out of retirement.
And that's what made me realize
that I can be an activist too.
And the best way for me
to be a part of the movement
was through storytelling.
To make people understand
the reality of our lives.
I wanted to archive the movement
that was building between
trans women and sex workers.
We were gaining visibility,
but we didn't know that
another tragedy would strike...
one that changed everything.
I was on The Stroll
headed to court
when the first plane hit.
The thing I remember the most,
it just smelled like smoke...
...and ash and death.
New York City
came to a standstill.
Everyone was in shock.
And we didn't know
how we were gonna
continue to survive out there.
There was a yellow tape
that was stretched out
across 14th Street
that I used to cut through.
The Stroll was unrecognizable,
there were no dates
coming in and out.
I still sit and wonder
how I survived that time
'cause it lasted
for a couple of years.
When they finally let down
the barriers,
the cars weren't coming
as frequently.
And when the dates
started to return,
the dates weren't
as generous as they used to be.
9/11 made it even more
difficult to survive
because there was nothing.
There was no resources
or anything.
And for somebody
who's homeless on the streets
and needed to rely on sex work,
baby, I was pissed,
because now our money
has been severely cut off.
We didn't know
how long it was gonna be
for The Stroll
to pick back up again.
That was it for a lot of years,
maybe two or three years,
'cause it was bad.
9/11 kind of shut things down,
and forced things
to the Internet,
because there was no other way.
Welcome.
At night,
I would be on The Stroll,
and during the day, I would be
in the Internet cafes,
every day.
And there we began...
...to make ads and post pictures
in the chat rooms
to solicit clients.
So, I learned about marketing,
promotion and graphic design.
Back then we had no choice...
...but to hustle.
It actually kicked
in the door for safety.
I can tell you
from my own personal story,
I was protected by being able
to screen a client,
by being able to pick
and choose a client,
by being able to take
my street sex work
into fetish work,
so I would not be arrested,
and turn it into computer work.
And I didn't even know
how to work a computer,
child, but I learned it.
There was a lot
of learning in that process too.
The Stroll was kind of like,
"Okay, you can go to The Stroll,
but you can actually
now do this from your home
on the computer."
The time did change
and so did the girls.
For about a year it was as if
the entire city
was holding its breath,
and then all of a sudden
everything just geared up.
I'm urging people to vote
for-- for Mike Bloomberg.
I think Mike Bloomberg
is ideally, uh, qualified
to run the city at this very,
very critical time.
Uh, Mike's business background,
the fact that he is
a self-made man
who's, uh, had enormous success
in business,
qualifies him to be
mayor of New York City
at a time in which businesses
are considering
leaving the city.
I think Bloomberg
is gonna be good for the city
because Giuliani spoke
so highly of him,
and because Giuliani
is so popular,
he must know
who's gonna do a great job.
After September 11th,
we definitely need
more commerce
and more business in New York.
And I think, as a billionaire,
I don't know
what he's gonna be like
as a politician,
but I think as a businessman,
he'll help New York.
We will rebuild, renew,
and remain the capital
of the free world.
What was happening
in terms of gentrification
had been happening
for several years,
but when Bloomberg
became the mayor,
and after 9/11,
it was as if gentrification
went on steroids.
The Meatpacking District
isn't what it used to be.
And to-- for perspective,
when Hogs opened in 1992,
rent was 3,000 dollars a month.
- Uh, and think about it.
- That's incredible.
I mean, 20 years ago,
that area was not an area
where anyone wanted to live in.
I wonder what part,
like, Sex and the City
played with that,
because Samantha moved
to Meatpacking District,
it was still pretty sketchy
when she moved there,
but kind of like--
Yeah,
the transvestites
- were on the streets.
- Exactly!
Now it's a whole --
totally different neighborhood.
It was inevitable
that the decline
of the urban meatpackers came.
I'm one of the seven
remaining meatpackers
in the Gansevoort Market here.
There used to be two or 300
meatpackers down here,
employing at least 1500,
2000 people,
and now there's just seven of us
employing about 125.
And I will tell you,
all those old meat guys
that were down here
that were the big guys
in the industry
and sold so much meat,
none of them would ever believe
what happened
to this neighborhood.
IVY:
There wasn't a gradual change.
It was a big change economically
of who came
into the neighborhood.
It was shocking.
It was such an extreme jump
from being
this gritty film noir,
inviting environment
where you could
really do anything,
to all of a sudden,
it felt like Madison Avenue
was moving in.
The whole luxury apartments,
the whitewashing of everything,
the kind of erasing
of the culture.
It was a big change.
It's really disorienting, right,
to walk down a street
you've walked down
a hundred thousand times,
and feel struck by a sudden
sense of disorientation,
of feeling like, "I don't know
quite where I am anymore."
And, "Am I on the right street?
Am I in the right neighborhood?
Is this...
Is this the same city?
Is this the same me?"
One of the ways memory works
is it relies on triggers.
So, remember when you were there
and who you were with,
and then you have
a chain of associations,
but that chain is broken
and destroyed
when that place is gone.
So, we lose ourselves.
Then we lose our sense
of connection
and ongoingness
when that happens.
When Bloomberg became the mayor,
things started to change fast.
Those older girls
that I was out there
on the streets talking to
were no longer there.
Bloomberg started a program
called Operation Spotlight,
a "three strikes
and you're out" system.
If you got over three arrests
for prostitution,
then you can be sent away
longer than a year.
Bloomberg was able to clean up
the Meatpacking District
by sending the girls to jail.
I spent a lot of my 20s
on Rikers Island,
New York City's largest jail.
It's a horrible
and disgusting place.
People are just piled up
on one another.
You have people telling you
when to shower, when to eat,
and when to go to bed.
You don't have rights.
Going to Rikers, honey,
was a whole 'nother ball game,
'cause as soon as you go
into the six building,
back then,
I'm not going to lie, like,
it would be a lot
of hate speech.
As soon as they bring us
off the... the bus,
and we're in our little
tight skirts and our heels.
"Oh, look at these
fuckin' faggots," da da da da...
Come up,
put your hands up here...
Let me see that ring.
-Is that a wedding ring?
-Yes, it is.
All right, leave it on.
You're good. Put your hands up.
All that is ass and tits.
Don't worry about it, man,
go over there,
go over there,
ass and tits, all right.
How did you do that to yourself?
Implants, Daddy.
- Really?
-Yes.
When did you do that?
About three years ago.
So when they house you,
they house you
with all the other men?
Yeah.
Gay housing, quarter mile down
the corridor of building five.
You have to sign papers.
When you go into Rikers Island
in the receiving room,
you can request to be placed
in alternative
lifestyle housing.
And that was the place where
all your girlfriends would be.
All the queens would be there,
everybody you knew was always
in gay housing.
They separated the queens
and the gay boys
from the population.
My name is Shante
and this is my little...
my little home
for my little short stay
while I'm here.
You know,
my family takes care of me.
They... They don't knock me
about my sexual preference.
Um, I have something
I would like, uh,
for you to see.
A little bit
of how I dress on the streets.
This is my everyday effect.
You know,
that's how I like to dress.
That's me and my male friend.
This is how
I dress on the street.
On the street,
I dress as a woman.
This is where
I hang my jackets at.
My suede, my silk.
Gap, of course.
Have a nice day.
I think I've been to Rikers about 30 times,
the longest time
was eight months.
If you keep accruing charges,
you can be sent away longer
upstate to prison.
What led to my incarceration?
Selling drugs.
I sold everything from cash,
ass to grass.
If I could sell it, I sold it.
Right. After a while,
you get tired
of being face down, ass up.
After a while, you get tired
of hanging from the chandelier,
dropping down
and getting your eagle on.
I had made a sale
to an undercover,
and that's how I ended up
going to prison.
You're up in the mountains,
away from your city
where all you see is redneck.
All you see is chewing tobacco
and them calling you nigger.
And ain't a damn thing
you can say about it.
I was young.
I was afraid.
I was gonna be raped.
And I turned into a monster.
How it is to survive
as a trans woman in jail,
it's a sub world
within the world.
It's like a microcosmic world
of oppression.
I realized that people
didn't respect peace.
They respected violence.
So I became
a very violent person in jail.
And I was ready to fight
and stab anything
that came near me.
When you cut someone
or you stab someone in jail,
that's a case.
They add that on to your time,
and that's why
you keep getting more time.
My original sentence
was five to seven.
So, imagine five flat
to seven flat.
I did 14.
Well after 14 years in prison,
I was released in 2012.
They just give you a bus ticket,
and whatever you have
in your commissary,
and you're on your own.
I knew to go back,
like, you know where to go.
So, I'm getting onto this bus
and I started seeing
all these pretty stores.
It was very hard for me
to understand what was going on
around me.
The community is not there.
Vanessa was one of the girls
who I hung out with.
I was like,
"Yo, you heard such and such?"
"Uh-uh, baby, she dead."
"What?"
"Oh, no, she gone." "What?"
Josie? Dead.
Nunie? Dead.
Vanessa? Dead.
Melissa? Dead.
These people are gone now.
Now, they got all these
fancy shoe stores down there.
And what is it, the High Line?
The only "high line" we had
was a crack pipe on the pier
next to the water.
That's the only thrill you got.
The world was digital.
What the hell is an iPhone?
When I went to jail,
we had the beepers.
It was still some of the same
but the money had changed.
The price of pussy went down.
I ain't got time for that.
So I knew
I couldn't survive like that.
Before I just decided to, like,
I can't do this anymore.
I couldn't. I'm almost 50.
So, it took a lot for me
to walk away
from the thing that--
the very thing
that saved my life.
The Stroll was over.
This rain, to me,
kind of represents
all of the tears of the girls
who didn't make it to see today.
I like to think that they're
giving me their blessings
from above.
I think about...
all of the girls
that used to sleep up here.
Back in the day,
this whole row was encampments.
Girls living
in cardboard boxes.
And I just can't believe
how many times I had to
go to jail...
...for this High Line park
to be built.
Do you remember
when we used to walk down here,
and all the neighbors
used to stare at us,
-and we used to be...
-Mm-hmm.
-And we would just be pumping.
-...runway.
-And they would look at us
like we were circus freaks...
-Pumping.
...but you could tell
they enjoyed it.
I remember the girls
would be on this corner,
lined up against this wall.
Right.
I would be standing right here.
-Just perched like...
-Perched.
Looking for a date.
Sometimes, we used
to just go up to the cars.
- Yes.
- Look, Kristen.
Yes. Let me call a date.
Or give him the very...
I could just imagine
Josie as she was,
- you know, out in a scandal--
- And walking up to the cars like nothing.
She would come down the street
and she would have
all this body.
-Right.
-She would be in like--
you know,
her ass out up to here,
like, "How you doing, baby?"
And she would come back
with a bag of money.
Josie was...
...the true meaning
of a trans woman sex worker.
She would show everybody
how it's done.
What do you think she would
think about today though, like?
I think, today,
Josie would still be here
right now, making her money.
She was out here
a very long time,
I think longer than any of us
has been out here.
And I could only imagine
being 12, 13 years old,
having to come out
into the streets
because your family
don't accept you
to have to sex work to survive.
I can't stop thinking about,
like, I see all these people
walking around,
and it reminds me
of the people
that were standing
in their place back in our day
that are no longer here.
A lot of people
lost their lives...
trying to survive here
on this corner.
Today, were at this point
of liberation and visibility
and everybody's got talking
about trans issues.
And act like
-it's something new.
-Hold on, I can't.
I cant.
Oh, my God. I can't...
...then I come here
and I feel fucked up.
I can't even believe it.
It's like,
the things we had to do.
I hate this place.
I fucking hate this place.
Let's go.
Come on, let's go home.
From back then, from the '80s...
let's say there was
a thousand girls.
Today, living from that era,
it may be five.
Oh, my God.
It might be five of us
left from then
that was out on The Stroll
because everybody's gone.
Trans women don't...
get to live past 35 or 40.
So, if you were here
and you made it...
to live that beyond,
you are tremendously blessed,
and you have changed
the dynamics of the system.
And you must. You must.
Even in your depression.
You owe it
to every trans woman before you,
and everyone after you,
to keep moving and keep pushing.
The trans community has always
been in survival mode forever,
and it is important
that we all get
an opportunity to...
thrive.
I believe that
the gay rights movement
has consistently left us behind,
and it took trans people
and sex workers
to start our own fight.
As a sex worker,
as a person who live
...for 30 years, exchanging sex
for anything that I needed,
I want to remind you all
that we cannot
forget sex workers.
We've been gatekeeped
from the smallest windows
in society to the highest.
Black trans women
are now in the fight
and we won't go away.
Black trans lives matter!
Black trans lives matter!
Across the country,
where we're seeing an escalation
of policing,
an escalation of laws
targeting trans people.
Many places...
...have some criminal law
that is about indicating
that one is a sex worker.
And these are, broadly speaking,
the laws, uh, in New York
and around the country
that have been referred to as
the "Walking While Trans" laws.
What these laws essentially
make a crime
is looking like you're going
to engage in sex work.
Things like talking
to people in cars,
walking down the street,
congregating with others.
Very unclear, vague,
overbroad set of laws
that for decades
have been used just to target
and harass largely
trans women of color.
Trans rights are human rights!
I believe that change
is often reflected
in legislation.
Black trans lives matter!
Welcome back to Capital Tonight.
I'm Susan Arbetter.
Advocates are calling
for the repeal of a bill
that's been used to arrest
transgender women of color.
TS Candii, a Black trans woman,
who on a summer afternoon
in 2017 was smoking
outside her apartment
when a police officer
approached her.
He threatened to arrest her
under this very section 240.37,
unless she performed
oral sex on him.
Bring the bill to vote now!
Bring the bill to vote now!
- We are ready...
- We are ready...
- ...to repeal...
-C ...to repeal...
- ...the Walking...
- ...the Walking...
- ...While Trans....
- ...While Trans....
- ...ban.
- ...ban.
New tonight,
Governor Cuomo has signed
a measure repealing parts
of the so-called,
"Walking While Trans" law.
It was passed in the '70s
to prohibit loitering
for the purpose of prostitution.
An act to repeal
Section 240.37
of the penal law,
- ayes forty five, May 16.
- The bill is passed.
The most important part
of all of this
is like people like me
and people like everybody here
that identify as trans
are gonna be able
to see themselves reflected
in this important point
of the city,
and say, "Me as a trans person,
I see myself reflected.
Me as a person of color,
I see myself reflected.
Me as a former sex worker,
I see myself reflected."
Today, sex workers
are finding a way
to express their needs,
and to ask for the solutions
that they need for themselves.
I didn't want to work
for another agency
that was gonna govern my work,
or my thoughts, or my dreams,
or my wishes for my community.
I wanted to do that
and have ownership of my own.
You took part
in a very iconic moment
at the Brooklyn March.
We had started a fundraiser
exactly three days
before the liberation march.
In three days time,
the numbers blew my face off.
Black trans lives matter!
Black trans lives matter!
Black trans lives matter!
We're whores!
I am the founder of GLITS Inc.,
that's "Gays and Lesbians Living
in a Transgender Society."
I named it that
because we have
always been last.
That's not gonna happen
anymore, we're first.
We have never had equity
in the city of New York.
Motherfuckers, we do now.
We made it here.
We're buying equity.
For every girl that's died,
the police need
to be ashamed of themselves.
For every time
we had to bury one of ours,
they need to be ashamed
of themselves.
You're looking at a Black,
international whore, baby.
It's me.
And I'm selling me to save you.
(I AM HER
BY SHEA DIAMOND PLAYING)
Theres an outcast
In everybodys life
-And I am her
-I am her
Theres a shadow
In everybodys front door
-And I am her
-I am her...
As a young,
homeless trans woman
sleeping in movie theatres,
I never thought
I would have the power
and ability to make films.
I am so proud
that the girls are happy,
and I wanted to give
them the opportunity to shine.
All that glitters isn't gold
At least that's
What I've been told...
The system never
gave us resources.
We created the resources
by telling our stories,
by standing out there
and rallying.
I am my own liberation.
It wouldn't be
The worst thing
That I ever did
It's a hell of a world
That we're living in
James 2:10
A sin is a sin...
When people say
that there's no honor
amongst hoes,
they told a fucking lie,
because for The Stroll
for us back then,
there was nothing but honor,
and protect a girl
who was walking down
that back street.
There's an outcast
In everybody's life
-And I am her
-I am her...
A lot of these new girls,
they don't know about
what we have done for them.
We paved the way.
We fought to be where we are.
No matter how much
my future changes,
14th Street
will always be a part of me.
Oh, you know I am her
I am shame, she is me
We get down...
To live 20 years on a ho stroll,
being homeless, being on drugs,
doing what I had to do,
and I survived all of it,
I feel that
I am that Wonder Woman.
And I am here today
at the age of 60.
There's an outcast
In everybody's life
-And I am her
-I am her...
After 20 years,
we're still connected.
We always look out
for one another.
Through all of our
shared experiences,
our sisterhood still thrives.
And I am her...
You can take the girl off of The Stroll,
but you can't take The Stroll
out of the girl.