marsha p johnson speech transcript

Please try again. Marsha was part of a growing community of LGBTQ youth who sought acceptance in New York City. I mean, how often does that happen? In a 1992 interview, Johnson said "I was no one, nobody, from Nowheresville until I became a drag queen.. Lee: I always wonder, and I had been a police reporter for a long time, so I've covered all kinds of crimes. You know, when I had this recent conversation with my brother, I left the conversation, you know, I was angry and I was tearful 'cause it does hurt. Marsha P. Johnson was a proud and outspoken member of the LGBTQ+ community before it was popular to be so. It feels like a different time. Were all in this rat race together! Marsha P. Johnson, I may be crazy, but that dont make me wrong. Marsha P. Johnson, I dont think you should be ashamed of anybody you know that has AIDS. All Rights Reserved. Special thanks to Eric Marcus, founder and host of the podcast Making Gay History, for the use of his 1989 interview with Marsha P. Johnson. AMERICAN IDENTITY AND CITIZENSHIP; ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE, Major support for Women & the American Story provided by, Lead support for New-York Historicals teacher programs provided by, In 1975, artist Andy Warhol crossed paths with Marsha and photographed her for his. Content Warning: This resource addresses physical and sexual violence. I'm Trymaine Lee. series. While the genesis of the Stonewall Inn uprising remains shrouded in myth, theres no doubt Johnson was a key figure leading the events of June 28, 1969 some even credit her with throwing the shot glass heard around the world that started the rebellion. Hope y'all enjoy the long holiday weekend. Honey, I promise you, I'm not. And so Black women in general have had to fight against this restrictive idea of womanhood that has been contingent on a white bourgeois imagination. She was beaten for doing so and, after being attacked on a school playground in sixth grade by another student, suspended from school for a week. I never do it seriously. Marsha P. Johnson, We have to be visible. You know, and so when I think about the murders of Black trans women at the hands of Black cis men, I'm very particular about how and when and where I have those conversations because inevitably what is happening to us will be used in the service of white supremacy against Blackness writ large. Silvia Rivera died of liver cancer in St. Vincents Manhattan Hospital in 2002 at the age of 50. Johnson was involved in the early days of both but grew frustrated by the exclusion of transgender and LGBTQ+ people of color from the movement. A term to describe people who wear clothes designed for the opposite sex. How are you gonna support transforming our families, having those hard conversations with our elders? And from those earliest days, people had concerns about Black folks, brown folks, people who are incarcerated, and of course trans people because we were seen as not in line with some of the assimilationist goals of many of those early movement figures. Oportunidades Iguales Para Las Mujeres En El Trabajo y La Educaccion, Womens Strike for Equality, New York, Fifth Avenue, 1970, Eugene Gordon photograph collection, 1970-1990. Gertrude Kasebier (photographer), Zitkala Sa, Sioux Indian and activist, c. 1898. [5] The parks updates will include a litany of updated facilities such as a public restroom and an educational hub. A man pulled a gun on me and snatched my pocketbook in a car. With public installations already being implemented, the plan is to complete renovations by 2021. New-York Historical Society Library. 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. And I think that we have to be able to hold that. To learn more about Randy Wicker and Marsha P. Johnson, click here to access the episode notes from our original episode featuring the two activists. New-York Historical Society Library. 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 Sylvia Rivera Law Project continues her legacy, working to guarantee all people are free to self-determine their gender identity and expression, regardless of income or race, and without facing harassment, discrimination, or violence. The intersection of Christopher and Hudson streets in Greenwich Village, two blocks from The Stonewall Inn, was renamed Sylvia Rivera Way. In 2015, a portrait of Rivera was added to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., making her the first transgender activist to be included in the gallery. There's only one thing they want to get up your dress. 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. Much of Marshas life story has been pieced together through interviews featured in the documentary. Sylvia Rivera. National Womens History Museum. The term transgender wasnt commonly used in Marshas lifetime, but she identified as a transvestite, gay and a drag queen and used she/her pronouns. The first Gay Pride Parade took place in 1970 and a series of gay rights groupsincluding the Gay Liberation Front, a more radical organization, and the Gay Activist Alliance, a more moderate and focused spin-off groupemerged. She spoke publicly about it and told people she hoped they would not be afraid of those who had the disease. The Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA), New York State Office of the Attorney General,https://ag.ny.gov/civil-rights/sonda-brochure. Are we seeing a little bit of that now? Well never share your email with anyone else. The film stars Mya Taylor as Johnson and Eve Lindley as Rivera.. The church was so full that the crowd spilled into the street. I walked down 58th Street and the young ones were calling from the sidewalk, 'Sylvia, Sylvia, thank you, we know what you did. Transpeople were more likely to be homeless and targeted by police. A performance artist who typically dresses up like a woman for entertainment purposes. She wanted to protect young transpeople living on the street by giving them a home. Lee: Raquel, thank you so much for your time. 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. [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. We went out and hustled the streets. Emma Rothberg, Sylvia Rivera, National Womens History Museum, 2021. Rivera had an incredibly difficult childhood. Hey, Marsha. But Johnson spent much of her life being ostracised by society. What tensions existed within the gay liberation movement? I think about the Stonewall riots, and there were important Black trans folks who were on the front lines during that queer militant uprising back in 1969 against the New York Police Department. Lee: You know, I don't want to either/or it or make it too reductive or too simple. As the gay liberation movement became increasingly white, middle class, and cisgender, STAR reminded everyone that transgender and gender non-conforming people deserved equal rights too. Not long after arriving in New York, 17-year-old Marsha met 11-year-old Sylvia Rivera. I will say this was a joy. Marsha P. Johnson. National Womens History Museum. Abigail Adams was an early advocate for women's rights. Unidentified African American woman in uniform, 1861. Willis: Right. In 1970, Sylvia came to Marsha with an idea. At her funeral, hundreds of people showed up at the church; it was so crowded that people stood on the street. They fixed up the building and paid rent for nearly eight months. An infectious disease that attacks a persons immune system and can be difficult to treat. She also continued to engage in sex work, not knowing any other way to make money, and continued to get arrested. I'm a senior and I'm a certified Johnny Byrum fan. What was Marshas role in the Stonewall uprising, and how did it shape the rest of her life? Cihak and Zima (photographer), Ida B. Wells-Barnett, ca. Chicago Rothberg, Emma. Willis: The way that I navigate these spaces shifts. They thought it was more likely that Marsha was a victim of an attack. And it also of course extends to folks who are nonbinary or gender nonconforming who straddle all of these struggles. 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. The first STAR House was in the back of an abandoned truck in Greenwich Village. 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.. Mostly white cisgender gay men, but also cisgender lesbians as well. Along with Marsha P. Johnson, Rivera started the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) around 1971. When a Warhol screen-print of Marsha went on display in a Greenwich Village store, Marsha took some friends to see it. She also reconciled with the gay rights movement that was now expanding to embrace the LGBTQ+ community. Not long after moving to New York, then 17-year-old Johnson met 11-year-old Sylvia Rivera. To learn more, check out the vocabulary resource guides from. I also think about our institutions. In 1975, artist Andy Warhol crossed paths with Marsha and photographed her for his Ladies and Gentleman series. While short-lived, STAR House was an important space for those who needed it. Because as a Black trans woman, you telling me you want to abolish the police or you telling me you want to abolish prisons, that you want to defund the police doesn't necessarily put me completely at ease because I know that I could still be and am likely to be harmed by men in our communities, particularly Black cishet men. The store owners called her riffraff and threw her out. History isnt something you look back at and say it was inevitable, it happens because people make decisions that are sometimes very impulsive and of the moment, but those moments are cumulative realities. Marsha P. Johnson, How many years has it taken people to realize that we are all brothers and sisters and human beings in the human race? We have an issue particularly in media where we often get to be either victims, of course, and not alive, or we're a superstar or celebrity. Marsha described Lee: Like, it's hard to know in the moment. She said in a 1989 interview that, Before gay rights, before the Stonewall, I was involved in the Black Liberation movement, the peace movementI felt I had the time and I knew that I had to do something. After this experience, Rivera left New York City and activism behind for a bit. I think about just two days after George was murdered, Tony McDade was murdered in Tallahassee, Florida, a Black transgender man. Into America is produced by Isabel Angel, Allison Bailey, Aaron Dalton, Max Jacobs, Barbara Raab, Claire Tighe, Aisha Turner, and Preeti Varathan. Marsha P. Johnson was born on August 24, 1945, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. 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? Well never share your email with anyone else, Susan Devaney, Marsha P Johnsons Activism Matters Now More than Ever,. Chien-shiung Wu (1912-1997), professor of physics at Columbia University, 1963. Willis: I think class affects all of it. Marsha taught Sylvia how to apply makeup, live on the street, and look out for trouble. And I think for me as an activist, I take it also to be like, "Is what I'm doing even working? 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 became a drag queen. After a boy sexually assaulted her, she stopped wearing the clothes she loved and felt most comfortable in. Wilchins, Riki, A Woman for Her Time,The Village Voice, February 26, 2002,https://www.villagevoice.com/2002/02/26/a-woman-for-her-time/. But life didnt start out fearlessly for Johnson. So is it proximity, or is there actually a different dynamic happening there? 6 June 2020. Rivera was born in New York City in 1951 to a father from Puerto Rico and a mother from Venezuela. University of Chicago Library, Special Collections Research Center. Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. Regardless of the true nature of her death, she was a victim of violence, including police brutality, throughout her life. Lee: By the time Marsha died in 1992, people rarely talked about her role in the movement. All they think about is getting up your dress, anything to get up that dress of yours. She took on the name "Black Marsha," and eventually added on her famous middle initial and took her last name from a Howard Johnson restaurant she frequented. Dissident News has received the exclusive full transcript for the entirety of the RFK announcement speech. Lee: How do you move through these movement spaces that, you know, the bounds of white supremacy are still there? Rights for LGBTQ+ people were limited and sometimes ignored completely. They were not only angered by the police raid but also the oppression and fear they experienced every day. Marsha P. Johnson was born on August 24, 1945, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Solly, Meilan, New York City Monument Will Honor Transgender Activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, Smithsonianmag.org, June 3, 2019,https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-york-city-monument-will-honor-transgender-activists-marsha-p-johnson-and-sylvia-rivera-180972326/. Johnson: And Sylvia Rivera and them were over in the park having a cocktail. I mean, I think things have definitely shifted in the last few years of my career. Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor: Culinary Anthropologist, Towards Hawaiian Sovereignty: Legacy of Dr. Haunani-Kay Trask, Dr. Wangari Maathai: The story of a leader in social, environmental, and political activism and first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Chronicles of American Women: Your History Makers, Women Writing History: A Coronavirus Journaling Project, We Who Believe in Freedom: Black Feminist DC, Learning Resources on Women's Political Participation, Defying Expectations: Unsung Hero: Marsha P. Johnson and the Stonewall Riots, https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/who-was-marsha-p-johnson, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-york-city-monument-will-honor-transgender-activists-marsha-p-johnson-and-sylvia-rivera-180972326/, https://www.out.com/out-exclusives/2017/8/24/power-people-exploring-marsha-p-johnsons-queer-liberation, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked-marsha-p-johnson.html?mtrref=&mtrref=undefined&gwh=7FAC77AD0450CB8215713140B8184F62&gwt=regi&assetType=REGIWALL, https://wams.nyhistory.org/growth-and-turmoil/growing-tensions/marsha-p-johnson/#:~:text=After%20graduating%20high%20school%2C%20Marsha,to%20questions%20about%20her%20gender, www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/marsha-p-johnson, www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/Sylvia-Rivera, https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/marsha-p-johnson-statue-bust-christopher-park. WebHappy Birthday, Marsha! The group became a space to organize and discuss issues facing the transgender community in New York City and they also had a building, STAR House, that provided lodgings for those who needed it. Rivera ran away from home at age 11 and became a victim of sexual exploitation around 42nd Street. You know, I thought that we were at a point where we were past a lot of his misgivings or misconceptions about transness. How can food be used as a form of cultural memory & resistance? (CHEERING). The first pride parades started in 1970, but Rivera and other transgender people were discriminated against and discouraged from participating. Lee: That was Raquel Willis, a Black trans activist and director of communications for the Ms. Foundation. Rivera later said of Johnson, she was like a mother to me. As Johnson had done for herself, she encouraged Rivera to love herself and her identity. In front of a crowd at that rally for Black trans lives, she had this to say. When a Warhol screen-print of Marsha went on display in a Greenwich Village store, Marsha took some friends to see it. Hey, Luke. 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. You can't say that it's about having a particular set of chromosomes. especially the women. A veteran of the 1969 Stonewall Inn uprising, Sylvia Rivera was a tireless advocate for those silenced and disregarded by larger movements. Marsha was often alone with strangers in hotel rooms and cars. I really appreciate it. [4]The transgender women at Stonewall were pushed out of the gay rights movement. She started Transy House, modeled off STAR House, in 1997 in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Nicols Enrquez de Vargas (artist), Portrait of Sor Juana Ins de la Cruz, ca. And they never forget it. I think about how Black cis women like Breonna Taylor so often fall under the radar of a zeitgeist that prioritizes men regardless of your racial or ethnic background. Marsha spent most of her life without a permanent home. 2022. Currently, LGTBQ+ monuments are not among the Citys public statues. Thank you. May 31, 2022 6:30 AM. So you can't really say that womanhood is based in the ability to procreate as a woman. Unknown photographer, A Typical Boomer Family, ca. What and who does she represent and why is this important? Is it a dropping of ego? She also did not have a permanent home during this time, and bounced around sleeping at friends homes, hotels, restaurants, and movie theaters. Oops! (LAUGH) Or is it too tough? A decade later, Sylvia lost her battle to cancer. How do you actually navigate those spaces? There are plenty of cis women who don't check off a lot of criterias that are considered womanhood. It was about the oppression and fear they felt every single day. Trymaine Lee: Last month, in the middle of Pride, thousands of people gathered in Brooklyn, New York for a rally for Black trans lives. Throughout her life, she fought against the exclusion of transgender people, especially transgender people of color, from the larger movement for gay rights. WebMarsha P. Johnson: The way I winded up being at Stonewall that night, I was having a party uptown. You know, at every level there's a systemic transphobia that is not being addressed. I'm not too friendly with them. Episode So it is hurtful, but I don't have the luxury of giving up. Marsha P. Johnson. National Womens History Museum. The story of a transgender activist who participated in the Stonewall Uprising and fought for equal rights. Lets take a journey through a deeply inspiring and Lee: I think people have a pretty decent grasp of lesbian, gay, bi. But the fight for protection and inclusion back then is so similar to the fight we are seeing today. Willis: I don't think so. She questioned where transgender people fit in. Lee: We got COVID-19, white supremacy, uprisings. Lee: Marsha P. Johnson was one of those women. Wells, Anna Julia Cooper were sidelined as Black women. And it was an impressive sight. Though she struggled with mental health issues, Johnson was beloved for her charismatic persona. No matter how marginalized you are, you can still be an oppressor. What does this make you think and feel? You know, we need the community organizers, and activists, and all those types of stories as well, and we don't often get that. You may wish to start with a screening of. In 1973, Rivera participated in the Gay Pride Parade but was not allowed to speak, despite the amount of work and advocacy she had done. Together, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera continue to inspire the fight for justice that has not been won. My name is still in story. 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. It was not easy to live on the margins. IE 11 is not supported. Leonard Fink / LGBT Community Center Archive. Johnson, an African American self-identified drag queen and activist, was also battling exclusion in a Young trans women like Marsha were particularly vocal that night because they felt they had nothing to left to lose. Johnson and Rivera arrived at Stonewall around 2am where, Johnson said in a later interview, the place was already on fire, and there was a raid already. (LAUGH) I almost don't have time to tweet on some days 'cause I'm so busy. Steve Lickteig is executive producer of audio. And that's part of why I have an issue with the way that we have framed violence as simply something that happens from the state, something that happens from police officers who are white that overwhelmingly happens to cisgender heterosexual men. I am a senior. Lee: We're in this moment here where there is so much energy around the Black Lives Matter movement. It was written, directed, and produced by Tourmaline and Sasha She was identified as male at birth. And so in the wake of the Stonewall riots, there was an entire web of nonprofit organizations that sprang out of that, right? No quote encapsulates .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Marsha P. Johnson more than Pay It No Mind. After all, thats what she said her middle initial stood for. Shes said that the town had zero tolerance for LGBTQ people and as a Having difficulty finding employment, Johnson turned to sex work. She was arrested over 100 times. Rivera, a Puerto Rican transgender girl, and the two became instant friends. Then when you get pregnant or something, they don't even want to know you., On Paying It Forward: Ill always be known [for] reaching out to young people who have no one to help them out, so I help them out with a place to stay or some food to eat or some change for their pocket. Our executive producer is Ellen Frankman. Throughout the 1970s, Johnson became a more visible and prominent member of the gay rights movement. For example, dancing with a person of the same sex as well as cross-dressing were illegal. A monument dedicated to Marsha P Johnson, the late African-American transgender activist and pioneer, will be unveiled in New York in 2021. Lee: I want to ask you though. I think when you're close to people it does hurt in a particular way. I just recently had a really hard conversation with my brother. That night, police officers raided the gay bar. Looking for more quotes? Willis: I think that we need all the allies. But in the 1950s and 1960s, LGBTQ peoples rights were strictly limited. If you walked down Christopher Street, Marsha would receive you in the manner of a gracious host. STAR House then moved to a dilapidated building, which they tried to fix up, but the group was evicted after eight months. By Source, Fair use,https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38099161. Marsha P. Johnson was one of the most prominent figures of the gay rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s in New York City. Johnson is also now the subject of many documentaries. The story of a leader in social, environmental, and political activism and first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Throughout Greenwich Village, she was known as Saint Marsha. Locals admired her ability to truly be herself. We lose a lot of nuance there. You know, I think about how more work needs to be done at our colleges and universities, in our Greek organizations, in our professional organizations, in the Congressional Black Caucus. Jarena Lee, 1849. In 1990, Marsha contracted AIDS. I don't trust men that much anymore., On the Fight for Freedom: No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us., On Her Reputation: I know people think Im a stupid little street queen out there begging for change cause theres nothing else she knows how to do., On Gender Roles: I'm very comfortable around straight men. Willis: It does hurt. Her partner, Julia Murray, was with her at the time of her death. Invite students to research recent activism around the extreme violence that trans women of color continue to face. The new monuments and dedicated state park mark powerful steps toward recognizing and amplifying the voices of people who have changed history in their fight for equality, but much remains to be done. Her friend Johnson brought her to the hospital and helped her get healthy again. We fed people and clothed people. reinc: The story of a company founded by four US Womens National Team soccer players seeking to challenge norms and inspire lasting progress. What is it, do you think? So it has been intentional, and it is still intentional today. 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. Chicago Rothberg, Emma. Trans women, particularly women of color, were regular targets of hate crimes. But when it comes to this kind of allyship, especially when we're talking about Black people, right, what does it take? Johnson enjoyed wearing clothes made for women and wore dresses starting at age five. In 2020, New York State named a waterfront park in Brooklyn after Marsha. She actively spoke out about the transphobia in the early gay rights movement. Describe Marshas and Sylvias friendship. Thank you for having me. And I think that we do a disservice by allowing folks who lead Black liberation movements to envision liberation as contingent on one identity or one experience. Lee: Speaking of white women, that's a perfect segue. Though her life was cut tragically short, Marsha's legacy remains an inspiration to us all. Original music by Hannis Brown. And I think what is consistent unfortunately is the sidelining of our voices and the sidelining of our experiences and work. Jen Carlson, Activists Install Marsha P. Johnson Monument in Christopher Park, Gothamist, August 25, 2021, https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/marsha-p-johnson-statue-bust-christopher-park, The Marsha P. Johnson Institute, https://marshap.org/, By Emma Rothberg, Ph.D. | Associate Educator, Digital Learning and Innovation. 'Cause we're all caught up in it. Since the term transgender wasnt used during her time, she identified as gay, transvestite and as a drag queen, using the pronouns she/her.

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