marsha p johnson speech transcript

And we were all out there. WebToday, historians and former friends of Marsha describe her as a trans woman. And we saw just from the turnout for the Rally for Black Trans Lives that there is momentum there also. 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. Sylvia Rivera. National Womens History Museum, 2021. Even when she found work waiting tables or performing in drag shows, she still made most of her money as a sex worker. Sylvia Rivera. National Womens History Museum. Willis: I think class affects all of it. The store owners called her riffraff and threw her out. Who Is Trans TikTok Influencer Dylan Mulvaney? Marsha P. Johnson As we celebrate Earth Day this year, may we reflect on the wise words of environmentalists, climate activists, faith leaders, lovers of nature, and the youth of the world. In front of a crowd at that rally for Black trans lives, she had this to say. She gave people clothes and food, even though she had little of her own. In 2020, New York State named a waterfront park in Brooklyn after Marsha. Soul Poem Written and Performed By Marsha P. Johnson According to her nephew, Johnson always maintained a close but fraught relationship with her family back in New Jersey. And I didn't get downtown till about 2:00. They rented a dilapidated building with no electricity or running water. She was an advocate Johnson, like many other transgender women, felt they had nothing to lose. The first pride parades started in 1970, but Rivera and other transgender people were discriminated against and discouraged from participating. Religious Experience and Journal of Mrs. Jarena Lee: giving an account of her call to preach the gospel, frontispiece. One morning, they returned to the truck just as it was pulling away with STAR residents sleeping inside. 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. What opportunities did she find? "Read Stamped from the Beginning," right? It happens because people make decisions that are sometimes very impulsive and of the moment, but those moments are cumulative realities., On Equality: How many years has it taken people to realize that we are all brothers and sisters and human beings in the human race?, On Motivation: Darling, I want my gay rights now. And you said, "Let today be the last day that you ever doubt Black trans power.". Lee: Marsha P. Johnson was one of those women. It's not entirely different from how women and girls of all experiences face not being seen as competent, intelligent, brilliant, and capability of leadership. So it is hurtful, but I don't have the luxury of giving up. Now they are getting a statue in New York I really appreciate it. Lee: Are we seeing that? 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. The best email in your inbox.Filled with the days best good news. And I didn't get downtown till about 2:00. Please try again. She was the fifth of seven children born to Malcolm Michaels Sr. and Alberta Claiborne. And it's just a reminder that we've been here and it's a reminder we're gonna be here. She actively spoke out about the transphobia in the early gay rights movement. . And when that doesn't happen, I mean, you're being dehumanized on two levels. It is said those who threw the first brick on You really can't have either one without the other. I mean, I think things have definitely shifted in the last few years of my career. You may wish to start with a screening of. Initially ruled a suicide, many friends questioned that conclusion and suspected foul play. Willis: I think that we need all the allies. Devaney, Susan, Who Was Sylvia Rivera? 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. (LAUGH) But is her name and folks who came after her and worked alongside her, are those names forgotten, overlooked by accident, by intent? Along with Marsha P. Johnson, Rivera started the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) around 1971. Johnson also became an AIDS activist, later revealing in a 1992 interview that she had been HIV-positive for two years. 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. Marsha taught Sylvia how to apply makeup, live on the street, and look out for trouble. Marshas whole life seemed to be a balance between popularity and exclusion. Rivera ran away from home at age 11 and became a victim of sexual exploitation around 42nd Street. Is there a confluence there? We kept the building going. 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. [3] These will be the first permanent monuments dedicated to Transgender women in the state of New York. Well never share your email with anyone else, Susan Devaney, Marsha P Johnsons Activism Matters Now More than Ever,. On July 6, 1992, Johnsons body was found in the Hudson River. Marsha P. Johnsons Best Friend Was A Fellow Pioneer,Vogue UK, June 13, 2020,https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/who-was-sylvia-rivera. "Don't you got money to make?". 1890. We can educate you, learn the history. But I'll be honest. And the circumstances around his case admittedly are very murky. She realized that the fastest way to make money was to hustle. This meant working as a sex worker; The work, due to stigmatization of sex workers, was incredibly dangerous. I mean, I wish I could say yes, but Black cis folks are not doing enough. Ask them to think about the kind of monument or memorial they would want to create for Marsha, based on her life story. Overwhelmingly, Black people are around other Black people, right? WebMarsha P. Johnson: The way I winded up being at Stonewall that night, I was having a party uptown. You can't say that it's about having a particular set of body, you know, thinking of the many women I know who have had hysterectomies, right? WebMARSHA P JOHNSON SAVES BOY Randolfe Wicker 633 views 10 years ago Trans Women of Color and the Stonewall Riots Rachel Simon 1.7K views 7 years ago After this experience, Rivera left New York City and activism behind for a bit. or a search for the Black Trans Lives Matter movement. Since the term transgender wasnt used during her time, she identified as gay, transvestite and as a drag queen, using the pronouns she/her. To learn more, check out the vocabulary resource guides from. I'm Trymaine Lee. Silvia Rivera died of liver cancer in St. Vincents Manhattan Hospital in 2002 at the age of 50. So is it proximity, or is there actually a different dynamic happening there? Together, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera continue to inspire the fight for justice that has not been won. says peoples pronouns should Trymaine Lee: Last month, in the middle of Pride, thousands of people gathered in Brooklyn, New York for a rally for Black trans lives. So you can't really say that womanhood is based in the ability to procreate as a woman. Screen excerpts from this film so that students can hear directly from Marsha and the people in her life. 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. Throughout Greenwich Village, she was known as Saint Marsha. Locals admired her ability to truly be herself. MARSHA P Since then, Marsha has become an icon of the transgender community. As they watched their kids jump from a moving truck, Marsha and Sylvia realized they needed a real home. Their tireless efforts continue to resonate as issues surrounding the health, safety, and autonomy of Black, Brown, and Indigenous Trans women are still challenged. 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. The story of a leader in social, environmental, and political activism and first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. My name is Todd Bishop. 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. Our executive producer is Ellen Frankman. I think about our media outlets and how often we don't have spaces like this, Trymaine, where a Black trans woman can come on and be in dialogue with a Black cis man about the state of the world. How do you actually navigate those spaces? Pride Month: Who was Marsha P. Johnson and why were they so Much of Marshas life story has been pieced together through interviews featured in the documentary. Protest Leader: Black trans power matters. Abrams is now one of the most prominent African American female politicians in the United States. In the 1970s, Johnson experienced a series of mental health breakdowns and spent time in and out of psychiatric hospitals. Encourage them to search for articles about the Marsha and Sylvia statue in New York City, Marsha P. Johnson state park in Brooklyn, and more. While short-lived, STAR House was an important space for those who needed it. Willis: It does hurt. Like, it's hard to know in the moment. Photo by Leonard Fink, Courtesy LGBT Community Center National History Archive, Leonard Fink, Courtesy of The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. 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/. How are you gonna support transforming our families, having those hard conversations with our elders? The P stood for Pay It No Mind. To her, this was a life motto and a response to questions about her gender. Lee: Black trans women in particular have been an important of the gay rights movement since the Stonewall uprising in 1969 in New York City. Willis: No, I think that we have to find pockets of joy. She sometimes lived with friends. And then the last thing I'll say is, you know, you brought up the contours of womanhood. 1893-1894. Thank you. How can food be used as a form of cultural memory & resistance? I feel like what fuels a lot of the violence that may happen from Black men towards Black women comes from an innate feeling of not being man enough for whatever reason. 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 So, I mean, there are so many ways in which the argument against trans women being women also erases swaths of cisgender women who don't have those particular experiences. [2]Two Transgender Activists Are Getting a Monument in New York Transpeople were more likely to be homeless and targeted by police. Rivera said in a 1995 interview with The New York Times of participating in this parade, the movement had put me on the shelf, but they took me down and dusted me offStill, it was beautiful. Rivera said in an interview in 2001 that while she did not throw the first Molotov cocktail at the police (a long-enduring myth), she did throw the second. June 7, 1999. The first STAR House was in the back of an abandoned truck in Greenwich Village. Marsha P. Johnson at the First Christopher Street Liberation Day March, 1970. She was sometimes homeless and living on the streets but almost always present for decades. Honey, I promise you, I'm not. Willis: I don't think so. Rivera, a Puerto Rican transgender girl, and the two became instant friends. [4]The transgender women at Stonewall were pushed out of the gay rights movement. She was 46. The LGBTQ community was furious the police did not investigate her death. She never let her personal setbacks stop her advocacy. After a boy sexually assaulted her, she stopped wearing the clothes she loved and felt most comfortable in. 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. And I think for me as an activist, I take it also to be like, "Is what I'm doing even working? Oops! Lee: You know, of course we've had this conversation around feminism and other movements before, whether women who are part of the movement are Black first or are they women first, gender first.

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