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Creator
DeLarverié, Stormé, 1920-2014
Call number
Sc MIRS DeLarverié 2015-01
Physical description
5 audio_recordings. 8 video_recordings
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Stormé DeLarverié audio and moving image collection, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division, The New York Public Library
Sponsor
An anonymous donor funded preliminary processing for this collection. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supported a research library-wide grant for the digitization, and funded the Schomburg for the description and production of the finding aid as part of The Next Century of Black Studies Project.
Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division
Access to materials
Appointment preferred: Request an in-person research appointment.

Nightclub singer and gay rights activist Stormé DeLarverié (1920-2014) was known for performing as a male impersonator in the Jewel Box Revue, a drag performance troupe, and for her role in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. The collection consists of five audio recordings and eight videos relating to DeLarverié's life and career, dating from circa 1975 to 2010, including the short documentary Stormé: The Lady of the Jewel Box by Michelle Parkerson.

Biographical/historical information

Nightclub singer and gay rights activist Stormé DeLarverié (1920-2014) was known for performing as a male impersonator. She also fought police during the Stonewall Uprising, which jumpstarted the gay rights movement in 1969.

DeLarverié was born in 1920 in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a Black woman and her white employer. DeLarverié did not know her birthday, and celebrated it on December 24. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, before going on to perform as a male impersonator, as drag kings were then known. From 1955 to 1969, DeLarverié performed with the Jewel Box Revue, one of the first racially integrated drag performance troupes in the US, at venues around the world including the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. She organized the music, ran the show, and acted as the master of ceremonies for their variety showcase, 25 Men and 1 Girl.

In 1969, DeLarverié left the Jewel Box Revue and began working as a bouncer for LGBTQ clubs and bars. DeLarverié is credited with throwing the first punch during the Stonewall Uprising, and she became known for patrolling the streets of Greenwich Village, looking out for its LGBTQ residents and drag artists. She was a member of the Stonewall Veterans Association since the organization's founding in 1969, serving on their executive committee, as chief of security, as ambassador, and as vice president from 1998 to 2000. DeLarverié was a fixture at the Village's annual Pride March. She died in 2014 at the age of 93.

Scope and arrangement

The collection consists of five audio recordings and eight videos relating to Stormé DeLarverié's life and career, dating from circa 1975 to 2010. The collection includes the short documentary Stormé: The Lady of the Jewel Box by Black lesbian filmmaker Michelle Parkerson, as well as production stills on video. The original format of the audio recordings was open reel, with many items containing two parts.

The Stormé DeLarverié audio and moving image collection is arranged in three series:

  • SERIES I: STORMÉ: THE LADY OF THE JEWEL BOX
    1985

    The series contains four videos, organized chronologically. They include Stormé: The Lady of the Jewel Box, a short documentary about DeLarverié's life, performance career, and role in the gay rights movement by Black lesbian filmmaker Michelle Parkerson, as well as production stills on video, and an abbreviated, alternate version of the film.

  • SERIES II: PERFORMANCES
    circa 1975-1999

    The series contains three videos, organized alphabetically. Two videos feature DeLarverié singing on stage. One is a compilation of performances by the drag artist Electra St. Jill, addressed to DeLarverié.

  • SERIES III: COLLECTED
    circa 1955-2010

    The series contains five audio recordings and one video on which DeLarverié does not appear. They are organized alphabetically by title. Recordings include music by jazz artists Louis Armstrong and Fletcher Henderson, as well as one compilation video by animator Joseph Bennet.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Lisa Cannistraci and Michele Zalopany, 2015.

Processing information

Collection inventoried by Crystal Rangel. Collection processed and described by Lyric Evans-Hunter, archivist. Finding aid published in 2025.

Separated material

See the Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division for the Stormé DeLarverié papers, Sc MG 901.

See the Photographs and Prints Division for the Stormé DeLarverié photographs, SCP 186079.

Using the collection

Location

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Third Floor

Access to materials

Appointment preferred: Request an in-person research appointment.