Zazu Nova

Nova was born in Syracuse, New York, in the late 1940s. She was raised religious and kept her Unitarian beliefs throughout her life. By the time she left Syracuse, Nova had been sent to prison on several occasions for unknown reasons. She moved to New York City in 1965 with dreams of finding success as a playwright on Broadway or at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. In New York City, Nova worked on Christopher Street as a prostitute, often in drag under the name "Zazu Nova, Queen of Sex," and participated in the downtown art scene. At the time, she wore women's clothes as frequently as men's and was known for her platinum afro, long boots, and short miniskirt. Nova soon became friends with queer performers Marsha P. Johnson and Agosto Machado. She later moved to the Upper West Side. == Activism ==

Stonewall riots Although Nova was not in the Stonewall Inn on the first night of the riots, David Carter's Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution identifies Nova as one of the "three individuals known to have been in the vanguard" of the pushback against the police, alongside Marsha P. Johnson and Jackie Hormona. Several eyewitness accounts also mention her leading role in the uprising. She joined the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) and was involved in the first issue of Come Out!. == Legacy ==

Nova disappeared in the mid-1970s, her friends and fellow activists unsure whether she had died or left New York. Despite never reappearing, she is remembered as one of the people said to have "thrown the first brick" at the Stonewall uprising. This change, as well as additional removals of transgender-related terminology from the webpage, led to significant backlash and protests at the Stonewall National Monument in New York. == Notes ==