Esther Santos Short Biography

Esther Santos, of Dominican decent, is a lively retired social studies teacher and gay-rights activist. Santos immigrated from the Dominican Republic with her mother and father in 1956 at the young age of 6. They lived in New York city with her aunt and uncle until moving into their apartment in the Bronx. In high school, she was a star student and very active in extracurricular activities such as: track and cheerleading. After graduating, she attended New York University where she majored in education. In the popular New York nightclub Studio 54, Esther met her then life partner, now wife, Cynthia Ramirez. She then took a job at Brooklyn College Academy where she worked for twenty-five years as a social studies teacher. Santos now happily resides in Miami,Fl with Cynthia and their tea cup yorkie, Belladonna. Esther is on of the first openly gay members of her close knit, religious family. Growing up she believed she was the only one of her kind and that there was no one who could relate to her. Along with her is an uncle and younger cousin. She first had an attraction to the same sex at the age of twelve. Her name was Lisa and they …show more content…
These riots sparked a gay revolution and inspired Esther to become apart of the gay rights movement. She, along with hundreds of other radicals, joined together against the government to fight for equality, freedom, and respect. “We were considered to be a minority, along with the blacks and Hispanics. I guess you can say I was a double minority [laughter] being both gay and a Latino woman.” Not only were the homosexual community dealing with injustice, other racial movements were happening as well. The African American’s civil rights movement, Latino Chicano movement, and feminist movement were just a few of the most popular during that time. “I believe our shared interest of equality is what brought us together instead of further distancing ourselves like society had already done”