I've been backlogged in a number of video posts recently, but it seemed appropriate to share this video today, on the first day of 2020 Pride Month, sharing a story of the power of Marsha P. Johnson:
Marsha P. Johnson was a black, transgender woman at the forefront of the Stonewall Riots in 1969. Along with Sylvia Rivera (another transgender woman of color), they led many efforts in New York City to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, including the development of the organization, STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries). Johnson was mysteriously found dead in 1992. Her death was ruled suicide, but the cause of death is still uncertain.
Although the history of the Stonewall Riots is cloudy in terms of exact details, that one revolution as well as the continued advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights in NYC were led by two transgender women of color. Let us not forget the power of the revolution started by Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera.
Thank you to Aiden Kim Feltkamp for the powerful text as well as Hannah Goodwillie, Liz Hanna, Joy Wang, Madeleine Xiang Woodworth, and Chloë Schaaf for their musicianship.