Sylvia Rivera

"Trans people deserve respect. Period."

"I've never been afraid to speak my mind."

"We need to love ourselves first before we can love others."

"The system was not built for people like me, and that's okay."

"I am who I am, take it or leave it."

"My life is my legacy. My story is my power."

"We fight because we have to. Because our lives depend on it."

"I've lost friends to the streets, and that breaks my heart."

"But I keep fighting because they deserve to be remembered."

"Trans liberation is about freedom for all."

"I never had much money, but I had dignity."

"The streets don't care about your identity. You have to fight for it anyway."

"I've been called every name in the book, and I'm still here."

"We are not statistics. We are people."

"My voice matters. And so does yours."

"I've lived more in my years than most people do in a lifetime."

"That's what makes me who I am - my experiences, my struggles, my victories."

"We need to build a world where trans people can thrive."

"I'm not asking for permission to exist. I'm telling you I exist."

"Street queens, homeless people, trans people - we are the revolution."

"I've always believed in the power of community."

"When you have nothing, you have everything to fight for."

"I don't regret my life. Every moment made me who I am."

"The future belongs to the ones who fight for it."

"I was born a rebel and I'll die a rebel."

"Our stories matter. We matter."

"I've seen the worst of humanity and the best."

"Love wins. It always does."

"We are soldiers in a war for our own existence."

"I never wanted to be a role model, I just wanted to survive."