🌈 Belief Backpack Heroes: Sylvia Rivera – An LGBTQ+ Trailblazer

Faithfully Explore! with Laura

Some people change the world by being loud.

Some change it by being kind.

And some change it by refusing to disappear.

In this powerful Belief Backpack Heroes episode, we meet Sylvia Rivera a transgender activist who helped spark the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement and devoted her life to protecting the most vulnerable members of her community.

Through age-appropriate storytelling, interactive movement, and thoughtful reflection, children learn what words like transgender, LGBTQ+, ally, and equal rights mean and why they matter.

What We Explore in This Episode

✨ Sylvia’s childhood in the Bronx and her courage to be herself

✨ The events of the Stonewall Uprising

✨ How Sylvia and Marsha P. Johnson co-founded STAR to support homeless LGBTQ+ youth

✨ What it means to stand up for fairness... even when others disagree

✨ How kids can practice allyship and inclusion in everyday life

🎒 Belief Backpack Takeaway

This week we pack:

1. Courage to be ourselves
2. Compassion for people who are left out
3. The bravery to speak up when something is unfair
4. Pride in who we are

Sylvia believed that “none of us are free until all of us are free.” Together, we explore what that means for families, classrooms, and communities today.

Perfect For

1. Families raising kind, inclusive kids
2. Classrooms exploring civil rights and social justice
3. Conversations about identity and fairness
4. Pride Month learning
5. Belief Backpack Heroes series listeners

Thank you for exploring with us. Stay curious, stay kind, and keep building bridges of understanding. 🌈

Some people change the world by being loud.

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Some change it by being kind and some

change it by refusing to disappear.

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Hello Explorers.

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Welcome to Faithfully Explore.

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I'm Laura, and today we're meeting

a real life hero from our Belief

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Backpack Heroes series people from

history who teach us how to be

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brave, caring, and true to ourselves.

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Our hero today is Sylvia Rivera.

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Sylvia was a trailblazer.

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Someone who went first when things

were unfair, so others could follow.

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She stood up for herself and for

people who were often ignored.

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She was an LGBTQ+ activist and

one of the first transgender

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leaders fighting for equality.

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If some of those words

are new, that's okay.

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We'll explore them together.

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By the end of our journey, you'll

see why Sylvia Rivera's story

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belongs in our Belief Backpack

packed with courage, compassion,

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and the power of being yourself.

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So take a deep breath, zip up

your backpack, and let's explore.

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Faithfully Explore! Intro:

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faithfully Explore!

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is the name.

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Learning together is our aim.

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Beliefs around the globe we'll track,

filling up our Belief Backpack.

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Laura: In a neighborhood in the

Bronx, New York, a little child

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named Sylvia was born in 1951.

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Sylvia's mom was from Venezuela,

and her dad was from Puerto Rico.

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So Sylvia grew up with Latina

heritage, but life wasn't easy for her.

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When Sylvia was very little, her father

left and her mother passed away, so

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she had to live with her grandmother.

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Sylvia was assigned

male when she was born.

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People called her a boy back then.

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But as Sylvia grew, she felt

inside that she was a girl.

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She loved trying on dresses and makeup,

imagining herself as a beautiful girl, but

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Sylvia's grandmother didn't understand.

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In those days, most people

didn't understand or accept

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boys who wanted to be girls.

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Her grandmother, even scolded and

hurt Sylvia for dressing differently.

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That's so sad, isn't it?

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No one should be hurt

for being themselves.

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child: Why would anyone be mad about

Sylvia addressing how she liked.

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Laura: That's a good question.

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Sometimes people fear or dislike

things they don't understand.

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Sylvia's grandma thought a boy

should only dress and act like a boy,

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but Sylvia knew who she was inside

and she was being true to herself.

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By the time Sylvia was in sixth

grade, around 11 years old,

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life at home was unbearable.

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Kids at school even picked

on her for looking feminine.

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One day, Sylvia decided she couldn't

stay where she wasn't accepted, so she

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ran away from home at only 11 years old.

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Can you imagine?

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11 is so young.

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That's like a fifth grader

having to live on their own.

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She wandered the streets of

New York City with no home and

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no family to take care of her.

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It was very tough.

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She often didn't have enough to

eat or a safe place to sleep.

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But guess what?

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Sylvia was strong and hopeful.

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Even during those hard times, she

found a new family among other

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people who felt like she did.

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In the Times Square area, she

met a group of drag queens.

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These were often men who dressed in

dazzling dresses, wigs, and makeup

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to express themselves or perform.

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They were bright, bold, and welcoming.

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These new friends took

Sylvia in and protected her.

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They understood what it

felt like to be different.

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In fact, they helped her

choose the name Sylvia.

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With their love, Sylvia felt safe

to be who she truly was, a girl

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and a budding drag queen herself.

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She finally had people who accepted her.

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Even though Sylvia's new life was still

hard, she never lost her kind heart.

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She knew what it felt like to be lonely

and hurt, so she promised herself

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she'd help others like her someday.

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Now, let's fast forward to

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Sylvia is 17 years old, a teenager.

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Imagine it's just past midnight in

Greenwich Village, New York City.

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You hear music and laughing pouring

out of a place called the Stonewall

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Inn, a special gathering spot

where LGBTQ+ people, lesbian, gay,

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bisexual, transgender, queer, and

others can dance and be themselves.

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Back in the 1960s, it was one of the

few places they felt safe because

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being openly gay or transgender

was not accepted by most people and

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even against the law in some ways.

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Can you believe that people could

get arrested just for wearing clothes

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that didn't match the gender, others

thought they should be, or for

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loving someone of the same gender?

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That was very unfair.

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Sylvia is inside the Stonewall Inn

with her friends, enjoying the music.

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Suddenly bang, the doors burst

open police officers rush in.

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They shout that they're raiding the place.

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That means shutting it down.

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The music stops.

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Everyone goes quiet and tense.

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These police have done this before.

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They've come in and arrest

people just for being LGBTQ+.

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Normally people would be scared

and some would try to run away.

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But this night is different.

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Sylvia and her friends are

tired of running and hiding.

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They've done nothing

wrong by being themselves.

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Why should they be treated like criminals?

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As the police start roughly grabbing

people, someone shouts, "no more!"

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Others cheer and push back.

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A crowd gathers outside the bar.

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Sylvia runs outside with them.

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Sylvia hears people all around

her calling out for freedom.

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The noise is loud.

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The moment feels tense.

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She might feel nervous.

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She's also feeling something new.

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Courage.

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She's surrounded by her community.

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People standing close together,

refusing to be silent anymore.

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The police expected everyone to be

scared and go home, but Sylvia and

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her friends stood their ground.

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More and more people joined in.

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They pushed the police back into the bar

and kept them from arresting more people.

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It was chaos.

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But in that chaos was pride and unity.

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The protests continued not just

that night, but for several nights

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in a row all along the street.

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Sylvia was there through it all.

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She later remembered not even going

home or sleeping for six nights.

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At one point during those

protests, Sylvia exclaimed, "I'm

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not missing a moment of this.

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It's the revolution."

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Revolution.

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That's a big word.

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It means a huge change, like turning

the world upside down to make it better.

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Sylvia felt like this was the beginning

of a huge change for her community.

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child: Wow.

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She really stayed up all

night for almost a week.

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Laura: She sure did.

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That's how passionate and brave she was.

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That week in 1969, which we now call the

Stonewall Uprising was a turning point.

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It's often considered the birth of

the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.

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People like Sylvia said, no more hiding.

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We deserve to be treated

fairly and with respect.

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And they inspired thousands

of others to speak up too.

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The next year, 1970, people organized the

first Pride parade in New York City to

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remember what happened at Stonewall and to

celebrate people being openly themselves.

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Today, Pride parades happen all

over the world every year with

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rainbow flags, music and dancing.

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All because of those brave

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Let's pause for a fun break

to get our bodies moving and

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feel some of Sylvia's courage.

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Imagine your shoulder to shoulder

with Sylvia at a peaceful march.

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Stand up straight and

tall like a super hero.

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Feel that courage in your chest.

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Now, put your arms on

your hips in a power pose.

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Take a deep breath in and out.

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Next, march in place.

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Lift your knees one by one as if you're

marching for something really important.

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You can even chant softly.

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Be proud, be brave with each step.

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Be proud, be brave.

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Be proud.

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Be brave.

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Finally reach one arm up like

you're holding a big flag that

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has all the colors of the rainbow.

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Wave your arm and imagine those colors

shining above you, showing pride.

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Keep marching for a few more seconds.

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5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and stop.

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Woo.

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Do you feel your heart beating?

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That little march was our way to stand

tall like Sylvia take a deep breath

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and let's jump back into Sylvia's

story because her fight wasn't over

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after Stonewall it was just beginning.

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After the excitement of

Stonewall, Sylvia became even

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more determined to help people.

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She had a big heart, especially for folks

who were homeless like she had been.

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She knew many transgender people

and kids who had been kicked

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out of their homes needed help.

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Sylvia had a friend, Marsha P Johnson, a

drag queen who was like a mother to her.

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Together, Sylvia and Marsha

decided to take action.

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In 1970.

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They started a group with a

very special name S.T.A.R.

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which stood for Street Transvestite

Action Revolutionaries.

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In those days, the word transvestite

was used for people who dressed or

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lived as a different gender, similar

to what we mean by transgender today.

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That word is less used now.

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We'd just say transgender

woman in Sylvia's case.

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S.T.A.R.

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was all about helping.

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It became a community where

transgender and gay youth could come

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together, talk about the problems

they faced, and demand respect.

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But Sylvia and Marsha did

more than just have meetings.

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They realized a lot of their friends

had no safe place to live, just

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like Sylvia had struggled with.

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So you know what those

two amazing friends did?

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They actually opened a

house for those kids.

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They rented a building

and called it the S.T.A.R.

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House.

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Imagine a cozy but messy house full of

laughter and people being themselves.

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Sylvia was only 19, but she

became like the mom of S.T.A.R.

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House.

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She and Marsha welcomed any young

person who needed shelter, food, or

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even just a hug and understanding.

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During the day, Sylvia and Marsha

would go out to earn money however

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they could to earn cash, to pay for

food, rent, and clothes for everyone.

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It wasn't easy.

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Sometimes they barely had enough,

but Sylvia never gave up on her kids.

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She knew exactly what it felt like

to be cold, hungry, and alone,

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and she didn't want anyone else to

feel that way if she could help it.

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For a couple years, S.T.A.R.

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House was a lifesaver

for many LGBTQ+ youth.

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Picture, a teenager who had

been sleeping in the park now,

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getting a warm meal at S.T.A.R.

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House or a place to sleep

safely because of Sylvia.

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Sylvia created a Rainbow family

where everyone was accepted.

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This was one of the first shelters

specifically for LGBTQ young people ever.

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Talk about being a trailblazer!

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Even though S.T.A.R.

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House eventually ran out of money

and had to close, the idea Sylvia

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started that everyone deserves shelter

and love kept inspiring others.

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Today, there are many shelters and

organizations that help LGBTQ+.

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All following the S.T.A.R.

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example.

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Sylvia's activism didn't

stop with S.T.A.R..

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She kept on fighting for

fair laws and respect.

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Sometimes even the larger gay and lesbian

community didn't treat transgender

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people nicely or include them.

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Can you believe that after all

Sylvia and others did at Stonewall?

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Some groups wanted to ignore them

because they were different, or they

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thought transgender issues would

make it harder to win overall rights.

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That hurt Sylvia's feelings a lot.

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But it also made her

angry in a positive way.

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It fueled her to speak up louder.

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One time in 1973, a few years

after Stonewall, Sylvia was

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at a big rally during Pride.

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The organizers didn't

want her to go on stage.

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They were happy to have a parade,

but they weren't letting people

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like Sylvia, a trans drag queen

and Latina person have a voice.

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So what do you think Sylvia did?

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This feisty woman grabbed

the microphone away.

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She stood in front of thousands of people

and passionately shouted that trans

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people and drag queens deserved respect.

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She famously told the crowd, "If

it wasn't for the drag queen, there

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would be no gay liberation movement.

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We are the front liners."

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By front liners, she meant the brave

ones at the very front of the fight.

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Some people in the crowd booed

her, which is so sad because

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she was telling the truth.

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She and her friends had been on the

front line, but Sylvia didn't back down.

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She spoke her truth anyway.

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After that, Sylvia actually stepped

away from her activism for a little

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while feeling hurt that the movement she

helped start wasn't always kind to her.

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But you know what?

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Sylvia's story didn't end there.

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In the 1990s, a new generation

of activists begged her to

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come back and lead them.

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They said, Sylvia, we need you.

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And Sylvia came back.

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She continued to speak at events, telling

young people to keep fighting for everyone

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in the LGBTQ+ rainbow, not just some.

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Sylvia believed no one

should be left behind.

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She often reminded people that

fighting for equality isn't just

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about yourself, it's about everybody.

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She had a powerful message that none of

us are free until all of us are free.

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In other words, if one group is

still being treated unfairly,

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we all need to keep working

until everyone is safe and free.

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Isn't that a beautiful idea?

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It's like saying we're

all in this together.

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Before we wrap up our adventure,

let's play a quick game to see what

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we remember about Sylvia's story.

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It's game time.

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Number one, true or false.

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Sylvia Rivera ran away from

home when she was 11 years old.

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That is true.

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Sylvia left home at 11 because her

family didn't accept her and she

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found a new family on the streets

who loved her for who she was.

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Number two, Sylvia was a

leader in fighting for the

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rights of which community?

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A.

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Muslims

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B, LGBTQ+ people.

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C Astronauts.

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The answer is B LGBTQ+ people.

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Sylvia fought for lesbians, gay, bisexual,

transgender, queer, and questioning folks.

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All the people under the rainbow umbrella

to be treated fairly and with respect.

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Number three, fill in the blank.

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Sylvia co-founded a group called S.T.A.R.

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which provided food and

shelter to blank in need.

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Can you remember what that blank is?

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S.T.A.R.

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helped homeless LGBTQ+ youth in need young

people who had no other safe place to go.

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Sylvia and her friend Marsha,

gave them a home and hope.

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Number four, what famous event did

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A, the first moon landing.

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B, the Stonewall Uprising, or

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C, A Broadway musical

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B, the Stonewall Uprising.

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She was right there when the crowd

stood up to the police at the

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Stonewall Inn and it kicked off

the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.

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Number five.

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Sylvia believed you should

never be blank of who you are.

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She believed you should never

be ashamed of who you are.

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She wanted everyone to feel

proud to be themselves.

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Good job explorers.

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You've packed so much knowledge

into your brain and heart today.

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What's inside our belief

backpack this week?

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Sylvia's Life teaches us so

much about compassion, courage,

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and standing up for others.

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So today we're filling our Belief Backpack

with tools we can use every single day.

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Being an ally, that means a supportive

friend, to people who are different

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from us is something that we can

all do, no matter how old or young.

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Sylvia cared for the people who

were left out, we can do that too.

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If you have a friend or a classmate

who seems different or who others

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leave out, be the one to reach out.

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Something as simple as a smile or

inviting them to play at recess

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can make a huge difference.

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Include everyone in

games and conversation.

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Sometimes being a friend means

having bravery just like Sylvia did.

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If you see someone being bullied

or hear others saying mean things.

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Try to be brave and speak up.

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You could say something

like, "Hey, that's not nice.

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Let's be kind".

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Or you can get a teacher or adult to help.

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It takes courage to do

that, but you can do it.

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Being courageous doesn't

mean you're not scared.

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It means you do the right

thing, even if you are afraid.

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Sylvia once stood up in front

of a crowd that was booing.

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That was super scary, but she

did it because it was right.

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You can channel a bit of Sylvia's

courage whenever you defend a

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friend or stand up to unfairness.

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One of Sylvia's core messages

was, be proud of who you are.

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She lived that message.

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Even when people told her

to be ashamed, she refused.

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She said, we should not

be afraid of who we are.

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Being true to yourself means liking

yourself for who you are and also

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letting others be who they are.

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Think about what makes you, you.

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Maybe you love painting or you

feel happiest in cowboy boots,

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or maybe you have a unique laugh.

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Those things are awesome.

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Never let anyone make you feel bad

about the things that make you unique.

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And the flip side is if you meet someone

who's different, celebrate them too.

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The world would be so boring if

everyone were exactly the same.

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Alright, explorers carry these

treasures with you this week, and

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let Sylvia's story guide the way

you treat yourself and others.

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As we finish up, let's remember

that Sylvia Rivera's spark is

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still shining in the world today.

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Thanks to her, many more people felt

brave enough to live openly and kindly.

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In fact, there is even an organization

named after her, the Sylvia Rivera

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Law Project that continues her work

fighting for transgender people

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who need legal help and support.

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Isn't it cool how one person's

kindness and bravery can ripple

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out and create big waves of change?

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Thank you for joining me and exploring

the story of the amazing Sylvia Rivera.

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She was truly a trailblazer who believed

in a world where everyone can shine.

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And I believe each of you can

be trailblazers of kindness in

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your own schools and communities.

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See you next time on Faithfully Explore.

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Stay curious, stay kind, and keep

exploring that wonderful world around you.

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Faithfully Explore! Outro:

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Faithfully Explore!

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is about you.

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Let's grow kinder together it's true!