Rosie Perez

And

could have jeopardized their livelihood as well.

And they didn't.

There were teachers that stood up for me because I was treated poorly in schools because I came from the child welfare system and the foster care system.

There's so many people that stood up for me and fought for me.

And that's what gives me the courage.

But also I have to tell you, it's because I am who I am.

I was born this way and I knew it from day one.

We have a suffragette in our lineage, which I never knew.

And I went, oh, well, that makes sense.

Yeah.

You know what I mean?

I just think that's who I am.

But I think most importantly, the reason why I pushed through my fears is because I've been stomped on.

I have been stomped on.

I've been forgotten about and everything like that.

And I don't want anybody else to feel that ever again.

It's a shitty place to live.

And there's a lot of people living in that place right now.

And when the AIDS movement came about and one of my good friends, my ex-boyfriend, passed away from AIDS, and before he passed, he told me, Rose, show up for the cause, not the cameras.