Marsha P. Johnson

Marsha P. Johnson

Drag Queen, AIDS Activist, and Founder of the Gay Liberation Front

Born as Malcolm Michaels Jr. on August 24, 1945, gay rights activist, AIDS activist, and self-proclaimed drag queen Marsha P. Johnson is attributed with being one of the largest influencers on the events of the Stonewall Riots in June of 1969. She adopted the stage moniker of "Marsha P. Johnson" following her move to New York in the mid 1960s, and began a career as a sex worker in order to maintain a living. Known for putting flowers in her hair (which she would often receive for free by sleeping under tables at flower markets in Greenwich Village), Marsha P. Johnson defied expectations for drag during her time, as she was too poor to participate in the "high drag" fashions that included designer jewelry and expensive clothing. She used the terms gay, transvestite, and drag queen interchangably during her lifetime to describe her identity, and has been cited by some modern scholars as gender-conforming. She maintained an active career performing in drag shows and modeling for artists such as Andy Warhol until the time of her death in 1992. Marsha'a body was found floating in the Hudson River, and her death is a suspected murder and hate crime. The case remains open, and was not adequately investigated at the time. 

Marsha P. Johnson's name has been easily and quickly associated The Stonewall Inn throughout the development of modern history, and for several valid reasons. When the nightclub first opened its doors to accept women and drag queens (in addition to their previous patronage solely of gay men), Marsha P. Johnson was among the first to perform there, and continued to do so for years to come. She is also credited with being among the first individuals to take action against the violent police raids during the night of the Stonewall Riots, and was described by David Carter (who interviewed her for his book Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution) as one of "three individuals known to have been in the vanguard. Marsha P. Johnson shares this distinction with Zazu Nova and Jackie Hormona. 

Following the Stonewall Riots, Marsha P. Johnson dedicated much of her to LGBTQ+ and AIDS activism. She was among the founding members of the Gay Liberation Front, and worked to help organize the first Prdie march on the 1 year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. She further went on to found STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) with close friend and fellow activist Sylvia Rivera, dedicated time to the ACTUP group's fight to spread awareness for and breakdown the stigma of AIDS, and eventually founded STAR House, which sevred to provide food and shelter to homeless transvestites in NYC. Throughout her years of activism, Marsha P. Johnson staged events such as sit-ins, protests, and fighting back against discrimination towards LGBTQ+ individuals by NYPD. 

Her life and works have been memorialized in the 2012 documentary Pay it No Mind - The Life and Times of Marsha P. Johnson, for which she was interviewed at length shortly before her death, and the 2017 documentary The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson.