The Stonewall riots of the 1960s are considered an important part of the gay rights movement. For this, many transgender women had to fight against the police. One of these transgender was Jazu Nova. Who fought for the rights of gays and transgender in her decade.
Life of Jazu Nova before Stonewall
Until 1969, Jazu Nova used to work on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, the same street as Stonewall. Jazu Nova was raised in upstate New York. Jazzu Nova was raised in a strong religious environment. Jazu Nova was completely committed to the Unitarian religion until adulthood.
Jaju Nova was 6 feet tall. She had large hands and broad shoulders. Jazu Nova had to go to jail many times for unknown crimes. Once, Jazu Nova and his friends were surrounded by five men who yelled transphobic abuse and derogatory comments at them. Jazu Nova realized that the men were there to beat him up. Jazu Nova reached into his pocket and pulled out a heavy chain and swung it vigorously. This made the five men flee.
What happened during the Stonewall uprising
On June 28, 1969, police raided Stonewall. This raid was different from other raids. In previous raids, patrons had fled when police beat people. This time, patrons did not flee but gathered in the street and harassed officers who were putting people in police vans. At the same time, Jaju Nova and several other LGBTQ people joined the growing crowd and taunted police officers as they arrested their friends and neighbours.
This time the debate was about something different. This time the Stonewall uprising was triggered by a significant moment. It was clear that the crowd was agitated by the police beating people. When a cop punched a lesbian woman in the head to put her in a police van, a group of people started yelling at him. Then the crowd threw bottles and coins at the police. When that didn’t stop the fighting, the crowd picked up bricks and stones and started throwing them at the police officers. Most of the people involved in the fight were transgender women and drag queens.
The police then called in more reinforcements for backup. When more police arrived, the police attacked the protesters together and the crowd fled in all directions. Police dispersed the group for the night, but more protests and violence were seen over the next several days.
Jazu Nova’s activism after Stonewall After the Stonewall battle, Jaju Nova became a founding member of an organization for LGBTQ youth in 1970. Jaju Nova worked hard for this organization. Thus, Jaju Nova fought many times with government officials for transgender rights. Jaju Nova helped LGBTQ people get their rights to a great extent and always stood with them.
