Episode 30- The Legacy of Julio Rivera of Jackson Heights

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Episode Description- On July 2, 1990, Jackson Heights resident Alan Sack had stopped while walking home to speak with a friend after parting ways with his life partner Julio Rivera about 20 minutes earlier near Public School 69 on 78th Street when they were approached by a panicked man yelling that a man was being murdered in the nearby school yard. The group started running in the direction of the school yard and what they would find would alter not only the lives of the group but would lead to the first prosecutions and convictions for a hate crime in New York State and spur a flurry of pro-LGBTQ changes across the state and the nation. 

Original Publication Date: June 9, 2024

Episode Sources

Brown, D. (2002, October 16). Suspect in '90 gay slaying killed in Mexico. Retrieved from QNS: https://qns.com/2002/10/suspect-in-90-gay-slaying-killed-in-mexico/#google_vignette


Fried, J. (1991, November 21). 2 Accomplies Guilty of Murder in Gay Bashing Case in Queens. Retrieved from The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/21/nyregion/2-accomplices-guilty-of-murder-in-gay-bashing-case-in-queens.html


Good Caper Content. (2023). Shine a Light on Hate. New York Homicide.


Martinez, A. (2021, June 25). 30 Years Later: Reflections on Julio Rivera’s Life and Death. Retrieved from The Latinx Project: https://www.latinxproject.nyu.edu/intervenxions/nbsp30-years-later-reflections-on-julio-riveras-life-and-death#:~:text=The%20organizing%20that%20local%20LGBT,gay%20life%20and%20social%20service


Miller, J. (2023, August 15). How NYC Man’s 1990 Murder Became State’s First Anti-Gay Hate Crime Conviction. Retrieved from Oxygen True Crime: https://www.oxygen.com/new-york-homicide/crime-news/julio-rivera-murder-hate-crime-conviction-anti-gay


Moore, J. (2023, June 9). Remembering Julio Rivera, whose murder gave rise to Queens Pride Parade to increase visibility in Jackson Heights. Retrieved from CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/julio-rivera-queens-pride-parade/


Shpuntoff, R. (Director). (2016). Julio of Jackson Heights [Motion Picture].


Tracy, M. (2024, April 30). New York State approves bill to broaden hate crimes law. Retrieved from Gay City News: https://gaycitynews.com/new-york-state-approves-bill-broaden-hate-crimes-law/