
Marsha “Pay it No Mind” Johnson (1945-1992) was a Black trans woman whose activism was critical in the push for LGBTQ rights. During the 1969 Stonewall Riots, she climbed a lamppost and dropped a brick onto a police car, shattering the windshield. Marsha was rumored to have thrown the first shot glass that incited the Stonewall Riots, a claim that was disputed amongst the community.
Regardless, she was an instrumental figure in the fight for civil rights, working along other activists such as Sylvia Rivera and Stormé DeLarverie. Marsha helped found gay advocacy groups Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) & Gay Liberation Front (GLF). She also joined ACT UP fighting to end the AIDS pandemic.
In 1992, shortly after a pride parade, Marsha was found dead in the Hudson River. Police claimed it was suicide, despite outrage from her peers. At the time, 18% of anti-gay violence in NYC was from police themselves.
LGBTQ+ rights are once again being attacked under America’s rapidly evolving fascist government. While the transgender community is facing a political push to eradicate our very existence, the vital place Black trans people occupy within the LGBTQ+ community MUST NOT be erased or overlooked.
Stand with the queer community in celebrating Marsha P Johnson’s legacy. #TransRights #BlackHistoryMonth
(art by jem zero)