It’s always fun to talk about my research into trans history and how to bring it into the classroom in a way that will excite and challenge students. I got to do that recently as a part of a panel on the Queer Pasts project at the Organization of American Historians conference. I talked about my digital exhibit on the Transvestite/Transsexual Legal Committee, Chicago’s first formal trans organization. This exhibit is designed to be easy for instructors to bring straight into the classroom, with a contextualizing essay and a set of screen-reader accessible primary source resources. Our panel also gathered for a conversation recorded by the JAHPodcast that you can listen to below.
I really hope that this digital exhibit and podcast help bring to life trans pasts for students and illustrate some of the challenges of researching trans history. If you use either in your classroom, post a comment and let me know!
Recently, the Zinn Education Project asked me if I would be willing to contribute to their “This Day in History” teaching resources and I immediately said yes. I’ve been inspired by Howard Zinn since childhood; his politically engaged research and teaching represents exactly the kind of work I try to do. The Zinn Education Project carries on his legacy by sharing resources designed for K-12 teachers, but easily adaptable to the college level. I’m really flattered to be a part of a project that is incredibly important in the context of rising fascism, christian nationalist and white supremacist attacks on inclusive and accurate curriculum, and the privatization of public schools.
“A beautiful story of friendship, bravery, and the courage to stand up to be yourself and do what is right.” Tatiana Quiroga, Director of Family Equity & Diversity, Family Equality
“When we share books like this with young people…we can beginto set them on a path of acceptance and understanding.” Mike Rawls, children’s librarian and blogger at thebookwrangler.com
“[A] beautiful, resourceful, informative and important addition to trans history.” Dr. Wenn B. Lawson (PhD) CPsychol AFBsS
Through lush illustrations and sizzling prose, Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution! tells the story of Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, two trans women of color who sparked the modern LGBTQIA2 movement.
Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson meet in 1969 as homeless transgender girls of color. Sylvia longs for change, saying, “Someday we’ll be able to wear whatever we want. People will call us by our chosen names and we’ll never go hungry.” Together, they make history during the Stonewall Rebellion, kick-starting the movement for acceptance of queer and trans youth. Sylvia and Marsha help transgender girls by sharing what they have in abundance: friendship. Today, they are still remembered, showing that best friends can change the world.
Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution! is a picture book perfect for children, their parents, and any trans person who didn’t get to see themselves reflected in children’s literature. It’s not too late to read the stories you deserve and share them with the kids you love.
Joy Michael Ellison is a queer and non-binary trans writer, whose creative writing has appeared in Lunch Ticket, the Baltimore Review, Story Club Magazine, and many other places. They are also a PhD candidate researching transgender history and the recipient of a Yuyi Morales Merit Scholarship from the Children’s Picture Book Academy. They are the creator of If We Knew Trans History, a public history blog through which they have been sharing information about Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson for years. Joy believes that telling the stories of our past is integral to healing, transformation, resistance, and survival.
Teshika Silver is an illustrator whose vivid, intricate art work lovingly depicts the lives of people of color and the work of revolutionary movements. Tesh uses both traditional media and digital programs to create pieces that are both captivating and magical. She is a teaching artist at the Hyde Park Art Center where she works closely with youth. She strives to create work that uplifts, heals and promotes the resilience of marginalized people.
We care about representing our community with honesty, humor, respect and historical accuracy. Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution! will help you have important conversations about gender, sexuality, and race with the children in your life.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we are working hard to promote this title. We are available for online readings, digital library visits, virtual book signings, and guest blogging, as well as live workshops for kids and parents. Please contact us and we’ll create an event together.
Resources for Parents and Teachers
Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution! is the perfect way to start a conversation with kid about important topics like gender, activism, police, and social justice. We have created resources that will help you talk to the children you love, even if you don’t know much about Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson.
A day I have been working towards for years is finally here: my picture book Sylvia and Marsha, Best Friends is available for purchase. Order your copy now!
Image: Sylvia and Marsha walk arm in arm down Christopher Street
Finally, A Picture Book about the Trans Women of Color who Started Pride
Through lush illustrations and sizzling prose,Sylvia and Marsha, Best Friendstells the story of Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, two trans women of color who sparked the modern LGBTQIA2 movement.
Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson meet in 1969 as homeless transgender girls of color. Sylvia longs for change, saying, “Someday we’ll be able to wear whatever we want. People will call us by our chosen names and we’ll never go hungry.” Together, they make history during the Stonewall Rebellion, kick-starting the movement for acceptance of queer and trans youth. Sylvia and Marsha help transgender girls by sharing what they have in abundance: friendship. Today, they are still remembered, showing that best friends can change the world.
Sylvia and Marsha, Best Friends is a picture book perfect for children, their parents, and any trans person who didn’t get to see themselves reflected in children’s literature. It’s not too late to read the stories you deserve and share them with the kids you love.
Get your copy by backing our Kickstarter now. We only have 30 days to make this book a reality, so don’t delay. We need your help to share this story with the kids who need it.
I never expected the best new queer film I’ve watched this year to be about Emily Dickinson, but Wild Nights with Emily was a balm for my heart.
Directed by Madeline Olnek and starring Molly Shannon, Wild Nights with Emily busts every myth about the great American poet. In this film, Emily Dickinson is no modest and maudlin recluse. Instead, it draws on a rich cache of primary evidence to depict Dickinson as she was: an ambitious queer woman with a biting wit.
Wild Nights upends the trope of the isolated, cruel genius, which has plagued other recent biopics about queer historical figures. Instead, Wild Nights depicts Dickinson’s lifelong love for her sister-in-law Susan Ziegler. Ziegler played the role of friend, lover, editor, inspiration, and intellectual equal for Dickinson. By showing how Zeigler was quite literally erased from Dickinson’s writing, Wild Nights skillfully reveals the homophobia inherent in depictions of queer historical figures as loveless and tragic.
I loved Wild Nights in part because it filled with me with the same giddy joy I felt as a college student when I discovered that there were plenty of queer people in the literary cannon; Walt Whitman, Truman Capote, and James Baldwin just couldn’t be out in my high school any more than I could. Wild Nights, however, also provided enough surprises and substance to hold my intellectual interest.
Thanks to Shannon’s performance and Olnek’s writing, Wild Nights is hilarious in a way that not only honors Dickinson, but also breathes new life into the lesbian costume drama genre. If you like movies about queer women, you may have watched many a frock flick. From recent films like Carol to older dramas like Tipping the Velvet, most of these films are charming, but they can also be predictable, twee, and one dimensional. At their worst, costume dramas about queer women get their emotional power from dramatic descriptions of homophobia that may be somewhat historically accurate, but certainly aren’t affirming. Wild Nights, instead, manages to make its characters feel contemporary while remaining true to the complicated situations they negotiated.
Wild Nights with Emily is a remarkable, groundbreaking film that never had a shot at getting its due. It played at Columbus’ Gateway Film Center for a measly 10 days. Nonetheless, I’m certain this film will live on like so many queer women’s movies before it. Stuffed onto library shelves and the recesses of streaming platforms, surely nerdy queer teens will find Wild Nights. I imagine them singing “Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me” to the tune of Amazing Grace, just like we once did. Their laughter will be all the more gleeful for knowing the truth about Dickinson.
Joy Michael Ellison 