Subscribe to LA Public Press to get stories like this in your inbox every week. Nearly 50 years before RuPaul brought drag ...

Sir Lady Java wasn't just a trailblazer; she was my second mother. Like so many trans girls, I saw myself reflected in her strength, grace, and unapologetic authenticity. For a young trans girl ...

Sir Lady Java, a pioneering transgender performer and activist who boldly challenged discriminatory laws and police harassment as a star of the Los Angeles nightclub scene in the 1960s, died Saturday ...

In the 1960’s, a raven-haired and svelte drag performer was one of the hottest acts in L.A.’s nightclub scene. Sir Lady Java, an openly trans woman of color, had a popular dance and comedy routine ...

At first, it was lonely being Sir Lady Java. She was a drag singer, an actress, an erotic dancer and a stage-patter comedian in mid-1960s Los Angeles before there was much of an open gay, lesbian or ...