MARSHA P.
JOHNSON
alcolm Michaels, Jr. left his home in Elizabeth,
New Jersey to transform into "Black Marsha" on
the train into New York. Survival after a permanent
move there in 1966 was difficult. At times she waitressed or
panhandled, but mostly she worked the streets. Along the
way Black Marsha became Marsha P. Johnson. When she was
asked by a judge what the "P" stood for, she retorted "Pay
it no mind" - which was the philosophy of her incandescent
life. Marsha P. Johnson was an activist, self-identified drag
queen, performer, and survivor. She was a prominent figure in
the Stonewall uprising of 1969 where any number of actions
have been attributed to her legend - including shimmying
up a lamppost to drop a heavy weight that shattered a police
car's windshield. In spite of all she had endured, Marsha
was a bright light of love and acceptance in a world that was
anything but welcoming.
INFLUENCIAL PEOPLE
M
"History isn't
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."
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