Marsha P. Johnson was a phenomenal woman, a revoutionary born far ahead of her time. She and many others turned an uneventful Saturday night into the beginning of the gay liberation movement in New York City sparking a worldwide movement. Over the last few years, her legend has grown as historians have memorialized her legacy online and in film. It’s difficult to encapsulate all the oddities of a person like Marsha P. Johnson in words, she is an almost indescribable figure, but I will attempt to paint the picture.

Birth of an Icon

Marsha P. Johnson was born Malcolm Michaels Jr. on August 24th, 1945, in Elizabeth City, NJ. She was the fifth of seven children (special mention to her mother for really figuring out childbearing.) In between pregnancies her mother was a housekeeper and her father worked at an assembly line. Things were difficult for Marsha’s family, being black and poor anytime in American history has been extraordinarily difficult. While challenging, Marsha’s childhood life was somewhat traditional. She graduated from Thomas Edison High School in 1963 and immediately moved to NYC, which by modern standards would be considered a bit cliché.

Feminine Goddess Energy

It’s unclear as to when Malcolm started going by Marsha, but by the time she ended up in NYC, she was fully embracing her true feminine goddess energy. During this time there were not often terms to describe transgendered people such as Marsha, so the terms “drag queen”, “transvestite” and “woman” were used interchangeably. Marsha spent most of her life living in the streets, often sleeping in the flower district and resorting to escorting to feed and clothe herself.

Stonewall Rising

On the early Saturday morning of June 28, 1969, at the tender age of 23, Marsha shot to gay stardom by leading the vanguard of resistance to an illegal police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar. It was common for people deemed as queer or homosexual to be harassed and extorted by police for merely existing, a practice that continues today.

Marsha radically fought back against the police, helping to form barricades against the militant police force. She also was rumored to have been responsible for smashing a heavy weight through the windshield of a police vehicle. That rumor can be neither confirmed nor denied. These riots are now infamously known as The Stonewall Riots.

This radical resistance was the spark that led to the gay rights movement in NYC which continued the next day.
Along with being one of the leaders of the Stonewall Riots, Marsha, along with a long time friend and fellow activist Sylvia Rivera, began STAR which was the nation’s first transgendered activist organization. STAR provided housing and resources to marginalized transgendered persons living in NYC. While Johnson and Rivera had very little resources to keep this operation funded, what little they had they poured back into the program. Both of these figures were also heavily involved with community organizing bringing structure and relief to the LGBTQ community at a time when they needed it most. Johnson helped organize not only the first gay pride parade but was a member of the activist groups Gay Activists Alliance and Gay Liberation Front.

During this time Marsha caught the attention of a rather well known artist by the name of Andy Warhol. In 1974, he invited her to his place in Union Square, The Factory, and produced his legendary “Ladies and Gentlemen” portraits.

Johnson suffered from mental illness, homelessness, and hundreds of incarcerations throughout her life. Her very existence was criminalized in New York City and Marsha spent years in jail without probable cause. This persecution continued throughout life until her tragic death July 6th, 1992. The police declared her death a murder but many believe foul play was involved.

Marsha P. Johnson’s impact and advancement of the gay rights movement is just now starting to be understood. The risks she took during Stonewall inspired an entire generation of activists and gay leaders to fight back, not just in words, but with action against an oppressive regime.