Felicia Elizondo

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Felicia Elizondo
Felicia Flames at Transform California launch.jpg
Felicia "Flames" Elizondo speaks at a Transform California launch event.
Born(1946-07-23)July 23, 1946[1][2]
San Angelo, Texas, U.S.
DiedMay 15, 2021(2021-05-15) (aged 74)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Known forLGBTQ activism
Websitefeliciaflames.com

Felicia Elizondo (July 23, 1946 – May 15, 2021) was an American transgender woman with a long history of activism on behalf of the LGBT community. She was a regular at Gene Compton's Cafeteria in San Francisco during the time of the Compton's Cafeteria riot, a historic LGBT community uprising.[3]

Early life[]

Assigned male at birth in San Angelo, Texas, Elizondo struggled with bullying, molestation, and gender identity issues.[2][3][4] Her father, a sheepherder, died when she was three years old.[2] From the age of five, she knew that she was "different".[2] At age 14, she moved to San Jose, California, with a gay man, and began to spend time in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco in her teens.[5]

At age 18, Elizondo joined the U.S. Navy and volunteered to serve in the Vietnam War, thinking she would either get killed or come to terms with her gender identity: "If the military doesn't make me a man, nothing will."[4][5] After serving in Vietnam for six months, she confessed that she was gay. She was interrogated by the FBI, and dishonorably discharged in 1965.[2][4] She later successfully petitioned to have her discharge changed to honorable.[2]

Elizondo speaking at an August 2016 event in San Francisco

Activism and career[]

In the 1960s, Elizondo was a patron of Gene Compton's Cafeteria in San Francisco, where the Compton's Cafeteria riot, an LGBT community uprising, occurred in 1966, three years before the Stonewall riots in New York City.[3] She was featured in Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria, a 2005 documentary co-directed and produced by Susan Stryker and Victor Silverman.[3][6]

Elizondo transitioned to female in 1974, while working as a long distance operator.[2][5] She worked at a number of other jobs, including receptionist, clerk, and nurse's aid.[2][5] She was also a sex worker for a time.[2][7] She performed as a drag queen for charity, and at gay clubs under the name Felicia Flames.[4][8]

Elizondo was diagnosed as HIV positive in 1987.[2][5] She worked for non-profit organizations, including P.A.W.S., Shanti Project, and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, that seek to improve quality of life for people living with serious illnesses.[8] She contributed panels to the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and helped raise funds for non-profits including Project Open Hand and the San Francisco LGBT Community Center.[3] As a Latina, she worked with other transgender women of color to combat racism in the community.[9]

Elizondo moved to San Francisco permanently in 1991.[2] In 2014, she worked with San Francisco supervisor Jane Kim to get the 100 block of Turk Street renamed to Vicki Mar Lane in honor of her late friend, drag performer .[10][11] In 2016, she again worked with Kim to rename the 100 block of Taylor Street to Gene Compton's Cafeteria Way.[12] Elizondo appeared at a number of events in 2016 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Compton's Cafeteria riot.[13]

Elizondo served as the lifetime achievement grand marshal in the 2015 San Francisco Pride Parade.[3][8]

Death[]

Elizondo died on May 15, 2021, in San Francisco, at 74.[14]

References[]

  1. ^ "Testimonies: Trans Lives Matter". First Congregational Church of Oakland. June 14, 2015. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Interview with Felicia Elizondo [6/29/2007]". Veterans History Project. American Folklife Center. June 29, 2007. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Sayed, Khaled (June 25, 2015). "Elizondo revels in lifetime of service". Bay Area Reporter. Archived from the original on January 14, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d "Two community leaders to be honored at SF Pride parade". KTVU. June 23, 2015. Archived from the original on September 24, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e Bajko, Matthew S. (April 24, 2014). "Transgender women reflect on a lifetime of change". Bay Area Reporter. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  6. ^ Pasulka, Nicole (May 5, 2015). "Ladies In The Streets: Before Stonewall, Transgender Uprising Changed Lives". NPR. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  7. ^ Hotchkiss, Sarah (July 21, 2016). "The Night That Trans Women Rioted for Their Rights at a Tenderloin Cafeteria". KQED. Archived from the original on September 13, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  8. ^ a b c Nahmod, David-Elijah (May 2, 2016). "With 50th Anniversary Approaching, Trans Activist Seeks Recognition For Compton's Riots". Hoodline. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  9. ^ Bajko, Matthew S. (April 25, 2014). "Ethnic Transgender Women Reflect on a Lifetime of Struggle and Change". New American Media. Archived from the original on October 14, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  10. ^ Meronek, Toshio (May 2014). "Trans community gets a public face" (PDF). Central City Extra. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  11. ^ Williams, Kale (April 23, 2014). "S.F. block named for trans icon Vicki Marlane". SFGate. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  12. ^ Bajko, Matthew S. (May 19, 2016). "Political Notebook: SF honors transgender history with street naming". Bay Area Reporter. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  13. ^ Hopkins, Brittany (July 25, 2016). "Tenderloin, GLBT Museums Host Events For 50th Anniversary Of Compton's Cafeteria Riot". Hoodline. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  14. ^ Laird, Cynthia (May 15, 2021). "Trans activist and AIDS survivor Felicia Elizondo dies". The Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved May 16, 2021.

External links[]

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