Victoria Cruz, one of the matriarchs of New York City’s transgender community, has died. She was 79 years old.
It was 57 years ago that out trans Latinas witnessed history at Stonewall, witnessing the birth of what was first called the gay rights movement and then working tirelessly to help those targeted because of their orientation, identity, or medical status, changing the personal history of thousands of New Yorkers.
Cruz became an advocate for victims of violence in New York City after being a victim of violence himself. Thirty years ago, she was repeatedly harassed and sexually assaulted by co-workers at a Brooklyn nursing home.
“I was very angry. I was very angry,” Cruz said. vanity fair in 2017 A profile promoting Netflix movies, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson. On that day in 1996, four women grabbed her breasts and crotch and hurled slurs at her. She said the attack shattered her ability to navigate the world as a woman.
“The worst part was not being able to feel the ground beneath me.” It got so bad that one day she started bringing a knife to work to protect herself and prepare to fight back, but she decided against violence herself. A friend introduced her to an anti-violence project in New York City.
Not only did she find support there, but the organization also helped her file a police report. This triggered the Protest outside nursing homeAs, new york daily news It was reported in 1997 and two of the four colleagues were arrested. They were found guilty of harassment in one of the first trials in New York state to hold them legally responsible for anti-trans violence.
Christine Quinn, who later became the first woman and first openly gay speaker of the New York City Council, took her on as a volunteer and eventually hired her to work on NYCAVP’s front desk and hotline.
Cruz spent 17 years at the nonprofit helping others, with a particular focus on domestic violence. However, as new york times According to , her role in the LGBTQ+ community there was known far beyond her formal title.
“People would come into the office and just ask for Miss Vicki,” said Katherine Shugrue-dos Santos, the organization’s former deputy executive director. “They wouldn’t reveal their names. They wouldn’t tell anyone else. She was really trusted by the community.”
Cruz understood better than most the intersecting threats that transgender people face, from housing discrimination to workplace harassment, because she had experienced it and survived it. Her expertise has become a go-to source for thousands of transgender New Yorkers.
NYCAVP created a poster featuring her image.
New York City Anti-Violence Project
Cruz was born in Guanica, Puerto Rico, one of 11 children. as vanity fair According to reports, she moved with her family to Red Hook, Brooklyn, when she was a child. A bout of measles left her with a thick cataract in one eye, and her nieces and nephews joked, “Vicky has one blue eye and one brown eye!”
She graduated high school with a cosmetology license and began her career as a cosmetologist. Doctors on Manhattan’s 28th Street gave hormone injections and pills like Cruz to young trans women and watched their breasts and hair grow. “He was a pioneer,” she told Vanity Fair. “Once I started looking authentic enough, I started going to bars and hanging out.”
Mr. Cruz, a small man, credited his size with repeatedly evading arrest at a time when his taller transgender friends were often detained by police raiding West Village hangouts. “All you could hear in this area next to the truck was ‘Run police!’ or ‘Run police! camarones! At the time, sodomy and cross-dressing were illegal in New York City, and police patrolled at night for gays and lesbians, especially black and Latinx trans women.
“I knew Marcia,” Cruz said. vanity fairof course, refers to Marsha P. Johnson. The two were at the Stonewall Inn early on Saturday, June 28, 1969. Police had raided Mafia-run gay bars multiple times, including on Tuesday that week. But that night, transgender, gay and lesbian people inside fought back with bottles and bricks.
Cruz was out with her Canadian boyfriend, Frankie, one of the bar’s bouncers. As the violence escalated, he told her to go home. When she returns in the morning, the bar is abandoned and a standoff is in progress. It lasted six days, but for Cruise it was over. She took beer signs and other memorabilia home, as well as the bar’s dog Rusty. times Reported.
However, her career has only just begun. Friends of Johnson and Cruz — Sylvia Rivera As the movement gained momentum, we stood up to ensure that transgender people were represented and remembered.
NYC Pride 2018 Photo Credit: Kati Ennis www.out.com
In 2018, Cruz joined survivors of school shootings. Emma Gonzalez (now called “X”), Artist, Kaia Nadira, Writer, 2025 out 100 award winner Tik MilanTwo Spirit artist Ty Dafoe, Stonewall bartender Tree Sequoia, and this reporter were on the lead float. Community heroes who participated in the New York City Pride March.
Dawn Ennis (left) and Victoria Cruz at NYC Pride 2018. Cinematography: Kati Ennis www.out.com
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
