marsha p johnson speech transcript

You know, at every level there's a systemic transphobia that is not being addressed. And yet we have to contend with the fact that even if there was a clear story, which there rarely is for any victim, particularly if you're Black, he would not have gotten any more attention from most people because people have a bias against trans folks. In 2021, New York City will unveil a monument to Rivera and Johnson. That interview originally appeared on his show, Making Gay History. [2]Two Transgender Activists Are Getting a Monument in New York NASA on The Commons, via flickr, Home / Growth and Turmoil, 1948-1977 / Growing Tensions / Life Story: Marsha P. Johnson. I'm Trymaine Lee. We can educate you, learn the history. I was involved with that.. 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. It wasnt commonly used until the 1990s. Darling, I want my gay rights now. Shes said that the town had zero tolerance for LGBTQ people and as a According to NYC Mayor, Bill de Blasio, "putting up statues doesn't change everything, but it starts to change hearts and mindswe want to honor them because they lived their truth and they made history.[4] In addition to the monuments, Marsha P. Johnson State Park (previously East River State Park) in Brooklyn, NY has become the first state park in the state of New York to be dedicated to an LGBTQ person and a Trans woman of color. There are plenty of cis women who don't check off a lot of criterias that are considered womanhood. 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. She wanted to protect young transpeople living on the street by giving them a home. Thank you. In a 1992 interview, Johnson said "I was no one, nobody, from Nowheresville until I became a drag queen.. As one of the leaders of the Stonewall Inn uprising, the Black transgender woman was an early activist for LGBTQ+ rights in New York City. She was an advocate As they watched their kids jump from a moving truck, Marsha and Sylvia realized they needed a real home. Black trans women continue to face disproportionate levels of violence. Acronym for Auto Immune Deficiency Disorder. Marsha described herself as a gay person, a transvestite, and a drag queen. You know, I thought that we were at a point where we were past a lot of his misgivings or misconceptions about transness. 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. So you can't really say that womanhood is based in the ability to procreate as a woman. Apr 21, 2023. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. And I think that we have to be able to hold that. May 31, 2022 6:30 AM. Life Story: Marsha P. Johnson (1945-1992), Women & the American Story, New-York Historical Society, https://wams.nyhistory.org/growth-and-turmoil/growing-tensions/marsha-p-johnson/#:~:text=After%20graduating%20high%20school%2C%20Marsha,to%20questions%20about%20her%20gender. It will be the citysand according to New York City, the worldsfirst monument dedicated to transgender individuals. Religious Experience and Journal of Mrs. Jarena Lee: giving an account of her call to preach the gospel, frontispiece. Marsha P. Johnson: The way I winded up being at Stonewall that night, I was having a party uptown. 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. Willis: Of course. Note: Marshas life story includes a large amount of vocabulary that may be unfamiliar to teachers and students. STAR House then moved to a dilapidated building, which they tried to fix up, but the group was evicted after eight months. Who Is Trans TikTok Influencer Dylan Mulvaney? . But Johnson spent much of her life being ostracised by society. Johnson: And Sylvia Rivera and them were over in the park having a cocktail. I think the first thing people need to do is really sit down and analyze themselves, answer what their insecurities are around anything, you know, but particularly around gender. In 2020, New York State named a waterfront park in Brooklyn after Marsha. Marshas friends and acquaintances strongly disagreed. Photo by Leonard Fink, Courtesy LGBT Community Center National History Archive, Leonard Fink, Courtesy of The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. 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. A progressive social reformer and activist, Jane Addams was on the frontline of the settlement house movement and was the first American woman to wina Nobel Peace Prize. Looking for more quotes? And so for me it's been very important to always be a Black trans woman when I come into spaces. Their tireless efforts continue to resonate as issues surrounding the health, safety, and autonomy of Black, Brown, and Indigenous Trans women are still challenged. The police officers ruled her death a suicide. But I will say I don't think that this is just a moment for Black trans people. The riots had already started, and they said the police went in there and set the place on fire. So if we're gonna say we're getting rid of prisons, we're defunding the police, which I support, we have to be just as much or maybe more invested in building up the consciousness of our people to be able to actually hold those people who commit harm and abuse accountable in the ways that we need them to be held accountable. When they could no longer pay, they were evicted. We have to be having a holistic conversation on violence that not only talks about state violence but it also talks about the violence in our own homes, in our communities. She spoke publicly about her diagnosis and how people should not be afraid of those with the disease in a June 26, 1992 interview. 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. If you walked down Christopher Street, Marsha would receive you in the manner of a gracious host. She started Transy House, modeled off STAR House, in 1997 in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Overwhelmingly, Black people are around other Black people, right? 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. A man pulled a gun on me and snatched my pocketbook in a car. Hope y'all enjoy the long holiday weekend. Marsha P. Johnson was a proud and outspoken member of the LGBTQ+ community before it was popular to be so. 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. Marsha P. Johnson was born on August 24, 1945, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. They fixed up the building and paid rent for nearly eight months. The Gay Activist Alliance (GAA), which formed in response to Stonewall, frequently rejected the role transgender peoplethe majority of whom were people of colorhad played in the uprising. 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. You can't say that it's about having a particular set of chromosomes. The Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA), New York State Office of the Attorney General,https://ag.ny.gov/civil-rights/sonda-brochure. A term to describe people who wear clothes designed for the opposite sex. Cihak and Zima (photographer), Ida B. Wells-Barnett, ca. I got a chance to talk with Raquel Willis, a Black transgender activist and the director of communications for the Ms. Foundation, a nonprofit fighting for women's rights. So there's no way to talk about us getting to liberation without talking about Black trans people. And I think for me as an activist, I take it also to be like, "Is what I'm doing even working? We should not be ashamed of who we are. Marsha P. Johnson, Id like to see the gay revolution get started If a transvestite doesnt say Im gay and Im proud and Im a transvestite, then nobody else is going to hop up there and say Im gay and Im proud and Im a transvestite for them. Marsha P. Johnson, Darling, I want my gay rights now! Marsha P. Johnson. Abigail Adams was an early advocate for women's rights. 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. In 2020, New York State named a waterfront park in Brooklyn for Johnson. What was Marshas role in the Stonewall uprising, and how did it shape the rest of her life? She was given a place of honor in the 25th Anniversary Stonewall Inn march in 1994. Sylvia Rivera. National Womens History Museum, 2021. By following year, the first gay pride parades took place, and Johnson and Rivera founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) to house, feed and clothe young transgender people. 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/. Are we seeing a little bit of that now? Johnson, like many other transgender women, felt they had nothing to lose. How are you gonna support transforming our families, having those hard conversations with our elders? But then the fact that she had the energy to use her platform to demonize trans people, demonize a more marginalized group of women is problematic to me, but it's also emblematic of white womanhood. 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. 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. Unknown photographer, A Typical Boomer Family, ca. 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. I would love for there to be a massive mobilization of allies of Black folks. To wear clothes typically associated with a different sex and is most commonly used to describe men who wear make-up and womens clothing. Her father was absent and her mother died by suicide when Rivera was 3 years old. They rented a dilapidated building with no electricity or running water. Like, does one feed the other, especially when it comes to Black trans lives? She never let her personal setbacks stop her advocacy. The best email in your inbox.Filled with the days best good news. A person who does not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth. especially the women. In June of 2019, just as New York City was entering their month of Pride celebrations, the City announced its plans to build two monuments honoring the late Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera for their lifelong commitment to ending oppression for marginalized communities. 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. Though she struggled with mental health issues, Johnson was beloved for her charismatic persona. An infectious disease that attacks a persons immune system and can be difficult to treat. And when that doesn't happen, I mean, you're being dehumanized on two levels. And I didn't get downtown till about 2:00. We don't really talk about how we have our own conceptions of which victims are worthy of our empathy. She also reconciled with the gay rights movement that was now expanding to embrace the LGBTQ+ community. Not long after arriving in New York, 17-year-old Marsha met 11-year-old Sylvia Rivera. Screen excerpts from this film so that students can hear directly from Marsha and the people in her life. Something went wrong while submitting the form. Willis: The way that I navigate these spaces shifts. After this experience, Rivera left New York City and activism behind for a bit. After graduating high school, Marsha moved to New York City with only $15 and a bag of clothes. It was about the oppression and fear they felt every single day. (CHEERING). Lee: How much does class play in all this? Lee: Raquel, thank you so much for joining me. ", On Mental Health: I may be crazy, but that don't make me wrong., On Distrust: I got robbed once. It feels like a revolution. But in this moment, in the fight for trans equality, is it more important to grow allies in the Black community or allies with other women? When a Warhol screen-print of Marsha went on display in a Greenwich Village store, Marsha took some friends to see it. Soon, Marsha was attending rallies, sit-ins, and meetings of the newly formed Gay Liberation Front. Jen Carlson, Activists Install Marsha P. Johnson Monument in Christopher Park, Gothamist, August 25, 2021. reinc: The story of a company founded by four US Womens National Team soccer players seeking to challenge norms and inspire lasting progress. Once in New York, Johnson returned to dressing in clothing made for women and adopted the full name Marsha P. Johnson; the P stood for Pay It No Mind, a phrase that became her motto. 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. The first STAR House was in the back of an abandoned truck in Greenwich Village. or a search for the Black Trans Lives Matter movement. Lee: By the time Marsha died in 1992, people rarely talked about her role in the movement. She also found work waiting tables and performing in drag shows. Marshas life dramatically changed when she found herself near the Stonewall Inn in the early hours of June 28, 1969. And so when I think about womanhood, we have to be expansive with all of these gender categories. Unidentified African American woman in uniform, 1861. How Nan Goldin Waged War Against Big Pharma, How the Greensboro Four Began the Sit-In Movement, Biography: You Need to Know: Bayard Rustin, Biography: You Need to Know: Sylvia Rivera, Biography: You Need to Know: Dorothy Pittman Hughes. 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. She also continued to engage in sex work, not knowing any other way to make money, and continued to get arrested. Her lavish outfits were often made from thrift store finds, gifts from friends, and items she found on the street. 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. That is just another element of patriarchy. Police then reclassified the case as a drowning from undetermined cause, but the LGBTQ+ community was furious that the police refused to investigate further and that many press outlets did not cover her death. But how are you finding joy in this moment? Abrams is now one of the most prominent African American female politicians in the United States. Thank you for joining the Goodnewsletter! In 1970, Johnson and Rivera founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), an organization dedicated to sheltering young transgender individuals who were shunned by their families. The two also began STAR House, a place where transgender youth could stay and feel safe. I think its about time the gay brothers and sisters got their rights especially the women., On Embracing Her Identity: Id like to see the gay revolution get started If a transvestite doesnt say 'Im gay and Im proud and Im a transvestite,' then nobody else is going to hop up there and say 'Im gay and Im proud and Im a transvestite' for them., On Human Rights: You never completely have your rights, one person, until you all have your rights. 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. We lose a lot of nuance there. The monuments are dedicated to their legacy and to share their stories for generations to come. Date accessed. Abrams is now one of the most prominent African American female politicians in the United States. Willis: Of course. She was assigned male at birth. But do we have a good enough holistic nuance view of that violence? With public installations already being implemented, the plan is to complete renovations by 2021. We fed people and clothed people. And you said, "Let today be the last day that you ever doubt Black trans power.". After her high school graduation, she moved across the Hudson River to New York City in 1963 with only a bag of clothes and $15. University of Chicago Library, Special Collections Research Center. And that's just not okay. She noted that many people had to die in order for two statues to be erected. Johnson became known as much for her activism as for her attention-grabbing wardrobe, often complete with red plastic heels, colorful wigs and flowers and fruit in her hair. I just recently had a really hard conversation with my brother. Johnsons father worked on the General Motors Assembly Line in Linden, NJ and her mother was a housekeeper. 1893-1894. Why do you think Marshas life has started to gain more attention in recent years? As the fifth of seven children of a General Motors assembly line worker and a housekeeper, Johnson was about five years old when she began wearing dresses, but was often harassed by other children. What were the circumstances around Marshas death? Why do you think they were so close? Ask them to think about the kind of monument or memorial they would want to create for Marsha, based on her life story. The first pride parades started in 1970, but Rivera and other transgender people were discriminated against and discouraged from participating. Smithsonian Institute Archives Image # SIA 2010-1509. She was an advocate for drag queens, people of color, and transgender people, fighting for their right to be seen and heard.. Lee: You know, I guess it was maybe two weeks ago now at the Black Trans Lives Rally in Brooklyn, we were actually driving home to Brooklyn and it was like I'd never seen (LAUGH) almost that many people. In 2019, New York City announced that Marsha P. Johnson, along with Rivera, would be the subject of a monument commissioned by the Public Arts Campaign She Built NYC. The monument will be the first in NYC to honor transgender women. I mean how many years does it take people to see that? I'm not too friendly with them. During Marshas lifetime, the term transgender was not commonly used. Marsha described But I'll be honest. She brought some serious thoughts to this gay audience. Show more Show more Chicago Rothberg, Emma. After a boy sexually assaulted her, she stopped wearing the clothes she loved and felt most comfortable in. She believed no one should hustle or live on the streets, but she knew no other way to survive. Police are treating her death as a homicide. Though her life was cut tragically short, Marsha's legacy remains an inspiration to us all. Marshas whole life seemed to be a balance between popularity and exclusion. During Marshas lifetime, the term transgender was not commonly used. She began dressing almost exclusively in womens clothes and adopted the full name Marsha P. Johnson. As one of few women and Asian musicians in the jazz world, Akiyoshi infused Japanese culture, sounds, and instruments into her music. In another, she climbed a lamppost and dropped a heavy purse onto a police car, shattering the windshield. Lee: And I don't want to necessarily use the word hurt. At one point, Rivera attempted suicide. In 1970, Sylvia came to Marsha with an idea. 6 June 2020. Always sporting a smile, Johnson was an I actually think we're more powerful when we have numbers. I've also been planting and reminding myself through gardening indoors, I guess, that regardless of what happens, growth is still possible. However, young Marsha enjoyed wearing clothing made for girls. (LAUGH) I almost don't--, Lee: Right. She sometimes lived with friends. Now they are getting a statue in New York What and who does she represent and why is this important? The full episode transcript for Into Black Trans Liberation.
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