Marsha P. Johnson

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marsha P. Johnson (born August 24, 1945 in Elizabeth , New Jersey , † July 6, 1992 in New York City ) was an American drag queen , sex worker and activist of the LGBT movement. She was a popular figure in the New York gay and art scene from the 1960s and was involved in the Stonewall riots in 1969 . In the last years of her life she got involved with the association Act Up in raising awareness of AIDS .

Life

In 1966, Johnson moved from New Jersey to New York's gay and lesbian neighborhood Greenwich Village . There she drew attention to herself as a drag queen on the streets and later changed her official name from Malcolm Michaels to Marsha P. Johnson. When asked about the P in her name, she used to answer: “Pay it no mind”, also to ridicule the fact that others often talked about her gender identity. As Marsha P. Johnson, she wore eccentric clothes and hats, but sometimes continued to assume her male identity to Malcolm Michaels.

On June 28, 1969, she was at The Stonewall Inn , New York's gay club , when police raided the place , which led to violent clashes between the pub's visitors and the police. Johnson is said to have contributed significantly to the start of the unrest , together with Sylvia Rivera and other “street queens”. In 1970 she and Sylvia Rivera founded the activist group Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) to support homeless transgender people and drag queens. Johnson also became an activist on the Gay Liberation Front .

In 1974 she was the model for Andy Warhol in his Polaroid series Ladies and Gentlemen . She was also a member of Warhol's drag performance group Hot Peaches .

Johnson was found dead in the Hudson River on July 6, 1992 . Her death has been classified as a suicide by the police; Friends and acquaintances, however, expressed doubts about the classification. In 2002 the classification was reversed and the death declared "unexplained".

Honors

  • In 2018, the New York Times published a belated obituary for Johnson.
  • A large painted mural featuring Johnson and Sylvia Rivera was displayed in Dallas, Texas in 2019 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. The painting of "two pioneers of the gay rights movement" in front of a transgender flag is said to be the world's largest mural in honor of the transgender community.
  • On May 30, 2019, it was announced that Johnson and Sylvia Rivera will be honored with memorials in Greenwich Village, near the Stonewall Club in New York City . Construction should be completed by 2021. These Johnson and Rivera monuments will be the first in the world to honor transgender activists.
  • On June 30, 2019, Johnsen was posthumously honored as Grand Marshal of the New York Pride March .
    • On June 30, 2020, Johnson was honored with a Google Doodle on the 1st anniversary of being honored as Grand Marshal of the New York Pride March .

reception

The Trans singer Antony Hegarty named their band Antony and the Johnsons for her. The band's River of Sorrow song is dedicated to Marsha P. Johnson and alludes to the cause of her death.

On June 30, 2020, a Google doodle was dedicated to her.

On her 75th birthday in 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that East River State Park in Brooklyn would be renamed Martha P. Johnson State Park and that a memorial would be erected. This makes her the first LGBTQ person to be honored with the rededication of a state park.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d Tyler Born: Marsha “Pay it no Mind” Johnson. In: OutHistory.org. June 1, 2015, accessed June 23, 2020 .
  2. ^ Will Kohler: Gay History Month - Remembering Marsha P. Johnson: The Original Transgender Activist (1945-1992). In: Back2Stonewall.com. October 19, 2012, accessed June 23, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Photo: Marsha P. in London '90. In: NYC's Hot Peaches. Retrieved on June 23, 2020 (English, no date or photographer credit).
  4. ↑ bcbakkila: Video: The Transgender Heroines Who Started a Revolution: Video Series Explores Activists' Hidden History - and a Possible Murder. In: People.com . January 3, 2016, accessed June 23, 2020 .
  5. ↑ overlooked marsha p johnson. In: New York Times . March 8, 2018, accessed on August 22, 2020 .
  6. ^ Mural of Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia Rivera - the largest trans mural in the world - vandalized with mustaches. In: PinkNews. December 12, 2019, accessed on August 22, 2020 .
  7. ^ Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera Monuments Are Coming to NYC. In: Out . May 30, 2019, accessed on August 21, 2020 .
  8. ^ Two Transgender Activists Are Getting a Monument in New York. In: New York Times . May 29, 2019, accessed on August 21, 2020 .
  9. ^ Ageism is everywhere. We live in a culture that is obsessed with youth and looking young, as if the natural process of aging ... is something to be ashamed of. In: TheRoot. May 30, 2019, accessed on August 21, 2020 .
  10. ↑ a b c In honor of Marsha P. Johnson. In: Doodle . June 30, 2020, accessed on August 21, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Rebecca K. Uchill: Interview: Antony and the Johnsons. In: Velle. 2005, accessed on June 23, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Charlotte Maxwell: Marsha P. Johnson. In: LGBT History Month. August 4, 2016, archived from the original on September 19, 2016 .;
  13. ↑ Marsha P. Johnson: A very nice doodle for the US drag queen & LGBT activist - that's how it came about. In: GoogleWatchBlog. June 30, 2020, accessed June 30, 2020 .
  14. ^ Governor Cuomo Announces Dedication of East River State Park for LGBTQ Civil Rights Activist Marsha P. Johnson. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, accessed August 26, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Johnson, Marsha P.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American drag queen and LGBT activist
DATE OF BIRTH August 24, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Elizabeth , New Jersey
DATE OF DEATH July 6, 1992
Place of death New York City