Johnson, Marsha P., 1945-1992

Marsha P. Johnson (August 24, 1945 – July 6, 1992), also known as Malcolm Michaels Jr.,[3][4] was an American gay liberation[6][7] activist and self-identified drag queen.[8][9] Known as an outspoken advocate for gay rights, Johnson was one of the prominent figures in the Stonewall uprising of 1969.[ Johnson was born Malcolm Michaels Jr. on August 24, 1945, in Elizabeth, New Jersey Johnson came out and said "my life has been built around sex and gay liberation, being a drag queen" and sex work.[20] Johnson initially used the moniker "Black Marsha" but later decided on the drag queen name "Marsha P. Johnson", getting Johnson from the restaurant Howard Johnson's on 42nd Street, stating that the P stood for "pay it no mind" Johnson was one of the first drag queens to go to the Stonewall Inn, after they began allowing women and drag queens inside; it was previously a bar for only gay men.[11] On the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, the Stonewall uprising occurred. While the first two nights of rioting were the most intense, the clashes with police would result in a series of spontaneous demonstrations and marches through the gay neighborhoods of Greenwich Village for roughly a week afterwards.[45]

Johnson has been named, along with Zazu Nova and Jackie Hormona,[46] by a number of the Stonewall veterans interviewed by David Carter in his book, Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution, as being "three individuals known to have been in the vanguard" of the pushback against the police at the uprising.[45][37] Johnson denied starting the uprising. In 1987, Johnson recalled arriving at around "2:00 [that morning]", that "the riots had already started" by that time and that the Stonewall building "was on fire" after police set it on fire.[11] The riots reportedly started at around 1:20 that morning after Stormé DeLarverie fought back against the police officer who attempted to arrest her that night.[45] Following the Stonewall uprising, Johnson joined the Gay Liberation Front and was active in the GLF Drag Queen Caucus.[48] On the first anniversary of the Stonewall rebellion, on June 28, 1970, Johnson marched in the first Gay Pride rally, then called the Christopher Street Liberation Day. One of Johnson's most notable direct actions occurred in August 1970, staging a sit-in protest at Weinstein Hall at New York University alongside fellow GLF members after administrators canceled a dance when they found out that it was sponsored by gay organizations. With Rivera, Johnson established STAR House, a shelter for homeless gay and trans youth in 1970, Shortly after the 1992 Gay pride parade, Johnson's body was discovered floating in the Hudson River.[5] Police initially ruled the death a suicide,[37] but Johnson's friends and other members of the local community insisted Johnson was not suicidal and noted that the back of Johnson's head had a massive wound.

The Stonewall Inn opened its doors as a gay bar in 1967 in Greenwich Village, a neighborhood on the west side of Manhattan. The Inn’s initial clientele were mostly white gay men, but by 1969 it catered to people from all walks of life. Puerto Rican and African American gay men, drag queens, and queer youth, many of whom were kicked out of or ran away from their homes, found solidarity at Stonewall. On June 24, 1969, the Public Morals squad of Manhattan’s First Police Division raided the Stonewall Inn. The famous African American transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson is credited as a leader of the Stonewall riots, and firsthand accounts report protesters throwing objects like pennies and beer cans in frustration at the cops.