. Here are 14 quotes from Johnson that capture her spirit and endless passion for LGBTQ+ rights: On Coming of Age: I was no one, nobody, from Nowheresville until I Emma Rothberg, Sylvia Rivera, National Womens History Museum, 2021. Johnson: We just were saying, "No more police brutality," and, oh, "We had enough of police harassment in the Village and other places." She began performing with the drag group, Hot Peaches. She attracted the attention of many, including the pop artist Andy Warhol who included her in a series of prints in 1975 entitled Ladies and Gentlemen. In an interview Johnson did for a 1972 book, she said her ambition was to see gay people liberated and free and to have equal rights that other people have in America. She wanted to see her gay brothers and sisters out of jail and on the streets again. In another interview, she said as long as gay people dont have their rights all across Americathere is no reason for celebration. In 1980, she was invited to ride in the lead car of the Gay Pride Parade in New York City. New York State still persecuted gay people and frequently criminalized their activities and presence. She returned to the city in 1992 after the death of Johnson. WebMarsha P. Johnson was one of the most prominent figures of the gay rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s in New York City. It's not entirely different from how women and girls of all experiences face not being seen as competent, intelligent, brilliant, and capability of leadership. I don't think any of us have the luxury of focusing on one group or the other. 1989-1990. And people don't want to say that because I think there's this idea that the biggest enemy is white supremacy, but that is a fallacy. And when that doesn't happen, I mean, you're being dehumanized on two levels. Reyes, Raul A., A Forgotten Latina Trailblazer: LGBT Activist Sylvia Rivera, NBC News, October 6, 2015,https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/forgotten-latina-trailblazer-lgbt-activist-sylvia-rivera-n438586. The troubles she experienced as a child followed her into adulthood. She was excited about the work but frustrated at how white gay men and lesbians dominated the conversation. Her father was absent and her mother died by suicide when Rivera was 3 years old. A performance artist who typically dresses up like a woman for entertainment purposes. Despite her popularity, Marsha also lived a life of poverty and danger. Rivera had an incredibly difficult childhood. The first pride parades started in 1970, but Rivera and other transgender people were discriminated against and discouraged from participating. As he entered activism, community organizing, and politics, Milk became known as a champion of the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, minorities, immigrants, women, and children. When they could no longer pay, they were evicted. In 2019, New York City announced that Marsha P. Johnson, along with Rivera, would be the subject of a monument commissioned by the Public Arts Campaign She Built NYC. The monument will be the first in NYC to honor transgender women. I got a chance to talk with Raquel Willis, a Black transgender activist and the director of communications for the Ms. Foundation, a nonprofit fighting for women's rights. Johnson, an African American self-identified drag queen and activist, was also battling exclusion in a movement for gay rights that did not embrace her gender expression. Lee: Raquel, thank you so much for joining me. Johnson described herself as a gay person, a transvestite, and a drag queen and used she/her pronouns; the term transgender only became commonly used after her death. Once, she was even shot. Subscribers get each new issue of the Goodnewspaper mailed to their home, get exclusive discounts for do-good brands, fill the world with more good news, and more. [5]Brooklyns East River State Park renamed in honor of late LGBTQ activist and trans icon Marsha P. Johnson, Download the official NPS app before your next visit, "From the Vault: Sylvia Rivera & Marsha P. Johnson, 1970," Making Gay History Podcast, Marsha P. Johnsons Activism Matters Now More Than Ever, Site Renderings for Marsha P. Johnson State Park, LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History, "These transgender icons will be the first to get statues in the US", "'The Death And Life Of Marsha P. Johnson' Shows Fight For Social Justice Isn't Finished", "Two Transgender Activists Are Getting a Monument in New York", Marsha P. Johnson, a black transgender woman, was a central figure in the gay liberation movement, Two Transgender Activists Are Getting a Monument in New York, These transgender icons will be the first to get statues in the US, The transgender women at Stonewall were pushed out of the gay rights movement. Since then, Marsha has become an icon of the transgender community. Screen excerpts from this film so that students can hear directly from Marsha and the people in her life. She noted that many people had to die in order for two statues to be erected. Pride Month: Who was Marsha P. Johnson and why were they so We have to be having a holistic conversation on violence that not only talks about state violence but it also talks about the violence in our own homes, in our communities. Astronaut Ellen Ochoa, mission specialist, carries her son Wilson Miles-Ochoa following the STS-96 crew return at Ellington Field. 13 Powerful Marsha P. Johnson Quotes - Biography You know, we need the community organizers, and activists, and all those types of stories as well, and we don't often get that. We don't really talk about how we have our own conceptions of which victims are worthy of our empathy. Like, does one feed the other, especially when it comes to Black trans lives? Speaking of white women, (LAUGH) and as we know that white women played a role in white supremacy and have always played a reinforcing role in that and also a role in the patriarchy, right? Smithsonian Institute Archives Image # SIA 2010-1509. She grabbed the microphone anyway, telling the spectators and other marchers, If it wasnt for the drag queen, there would be no gay liberation movement. Johnson was outspoken about the risks of tackling the Mob; her roommate at the time had been lobbying to have officials with alleged Mafia ties removed from the I never do it seriously. Marsha P. Johnson, We have to be visible. [4]The transgender women at Stonewall were pushed out of the gay rights movement. It was difficult for Marsha to find work. She was often abused by clients and arrested by the police. ' In 2001, she was marching in New York City Pride Parades and living in Transy House. WebMarsha was an eccentric woman who was known for her exotic hats and jewelry which stood out to the public and attracted attention to her. For Black trans lives especially, is this a time? She was arrested over 100 times. Raquel Willis: There's this idea that because we are having an openly different gender experience, that we deserve the abuse that we may receive. The Historic New Orleans Collection, acc. I think some people try to. Willis: And so let today be the last day which you ever doubt Black trans power. Invite students to. Marsha P An acronym that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer and is an umbrella term for the community of people whose gender and sexual identities exist outside of heteronormative expectations. Like, we all carry insecurities about our gender, about who we are and who we're supposed to be in the world. NASA on The Commons, via flickr, Home / Growth and Turmoil, 1948-1977 / Growing Tensions / Life Story: Marsha P. Johnson. The Importance of Dialogue, Development and Acceptance The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson. Abigail Adams was an early advocate for women's rights. My name is Todd Bishop. I think when you're close to people it does hurt in a particular way. Are you Black first? But I don't know if we'll even completely know we're in a revolution probably until maybe it's almost over, right? To learn more, check out the vocabulary resource guides from GLAAD: Transgender glossary and LGBTQ glossary. [2]Two Transgender Activists Are Getting a Monument in New York The raid on Stonewall galvanized the gay rights movement. Assigned male at birth, Johnson grew upin an African American, working-class family. My name is still in story. And that's also something that Black cisgender and straight people need to understand as well. Now they are getting a statue in New York, Brooklyns East River State Park renamed in honor of late LGBTQ activist and trans icon Marsha P. Johnson. Franois (Franz) Fleischbein (artist), Portrait of Betsy, 1837. [3]These transgender icons will be the first to get statues in the US [5] The parks updates will include a litany of updated facilities such as a public restroom and an educational hub. And I didn't get downtown till about 2:00. But Johnson spent much of her life being ostracised by society. A person who was assigned male at birth but identifies as a woman. Lee: How much does class play in all this? Dunlap, David W., Sylvia Rivera, 50, Figure in Birth of the Gay Liberation Movement,New York Times, February 20, 2002,https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/20/nyregion/sylvia-rivera-50-figure-in-birth-of-the-gay-liberation-movement.html. In 1990, Johnson was diagnosed with H.I.V. Marsha was neither the first nor the last trans woman of color to be a victim of violence. 2021.www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/Sylvia-Rivera. On July 6, 1992, Johnsons body was found in the Hudson River. At the time, 1992 was the worst year on record for anti-LGBTQ violence according to the New York Anti-Violence Project. They rented a dilapidated building with no electricity or running water. Nearly 24 young people called the truck home. Willis: I think that we need all the allies. And so when I think about womanhood, we have to be expansive with all of these gender categories. No matter how marginalized you are, you can still be an oppressor. (LAUGH) Or is it too tough? You can't say that it's about having a particular set of chromosomes. reinc: The story of a company founded by four US Womens National Team soccer players seeking to challenge norms and inspire lasting progress. A lot of times Ive reached my hand out to people in the gay community that just didnt have nobody to help them when they were down and out., On Her Own Legacy: They call me a legend in my own time, because there were so many queens gone that Im one of the few queens left from the 70s and the 80s., .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Afeni Shakur. We can educate you, learn the history. Willis: The way that I navigate these spaces shifts. She began dressing almost exclusively in womens clothes and adopted the full name Marsha P. Johnson. Please try again. You might know King as the wife of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., however, her legacy extends far beyond the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s.. According to NYC Mayor, Bill de Blasio, "putting up statues doesn't change everything, but it starts to change hearts and mindswe want to honor them because they lived their truth and they made history.[4] In addition to the monuments, Marsha P. Johnson State Park (previously East River State Park) in Brooklyn, NY has become the first state park in the state of New York to be dedicated to an LGBTQ person and a Trans woman of color. And we saw just from the turnout for the Rally for Black Trans Lives that there is momentum there also. A progressive social reformer and activist, Jane Addams was on the frontline of the settlement house movement and was the first American woman to wina Nobel Peace Prize. Her activism led her to become one of the most influential figures in the gay liberation movement. 'Cause it's like you're only cherished if you're dead, or you're only cherished if you can be in the spotlight and in some ways serve this desire of a cis person for you to be a spectacle, right, so they can add another layer of distance to you. "Don't you got money to make?". TRANSCRIPT It was not easy to live on the margins. What challenges did she face there? That night, police officers raided the gay bar. Sometimes, the strangers were violent. . is a 2017 fictional short film that imagines the gay and transgender rights pioneers Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera in the hours that led up to the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City. Immediately after graduating from Thomas A. Edison High School, Johnson moved to New York City with one bag of clothes and $15. I walked down 58th Street and the young ones were calling from the sidewalk, 'Sylvia, Sylvia, thank you, we know what you did.
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