Marsha “Pay It No Mind” Johnson was an activist for the LGBTQ+ community and was involved in a number of important moments for the community. RRP is honoring Marsha as our first activist spotlight for a number of reasons listed in this blog. But, we also want to highlight the fact that June is Pride month. RRP stands with the LGBTQ+ and QTIPOC community, and although Pride month is just one month. Honoring the community should be something we do every day of the year. Marsha had created a landing pad for many and forced the conversation about LGBTQ+ visibility since the 1960s. Although Marsha’s life was taken in 1992, her legacy as a leader, advocate, and activist live on in U.S. history.
Although Marsha’s life of activism was life long, her most notable social justice work was in Stonewall Uprising in 1969. On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn which was a New York gathering spot for the Gay community in the 60’s, had been the location of a massive movement. After a few Stonewall LGBTQ+ people were arrested, the community had enough with unfair police treatment against them. Protests had erupted in the streets of New York, and the news had labeled it an “uprising.” “Marsha as one of the main instigators of the uprising and thus, some have recognized her as the vanguard of the gay liberation movement in the United States.” Stonewall was a notable moment for the community and is also the reason why Pride month takes place in June.
Marsha P. Johnson had been a cornerstone of activism. She founded that Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries (STAR) which became the “fixture in the community, especially in their commitment to helping homeless transgender youth.” STAR provided services to the homeless LGBTQ+ population in New York City, Chicago, California, and England. STAR eventually ended in the 1970’s.
The Marsha P. Johnson Institute was founded after Marsha’s life was taken from her in 1992.
Marsha P. Johnson Institute Mission Statement
“The Marsha P. Johnson Institute (MPJI) protects and defends the human rights of BLACK transgender people. We do this by organizing, advocating, creating an intentional community to heal, developing transformative leadership, and promoting our collective power.
We intend to reclaim Marsha P. Johnson and our relationship as BLACK trans people to her life and legacy. It is in our reclaiming of Marsha that we give ourselves permission to reclaim autonomy to our minds, to our bodies, and to our futures. We were founded both as a response to the murders of BLACK trans women and women of color and how that is connected to our exclusion from social justice issues, namely racial, gender, and reproductive justice, as well as gun violence.”
The institute continues Marsha’s legacy and has 10 core values that the institute functions by.
1. Black Trans-led
2. Wholeness
3. Commitment
4. Self-Determination
5. Excellence
6. Abolition
7. Integrity
8. Community Knowledge
9. Passion
10. Collaboration
To donate to the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, please click here: https://marshap.org/donate/
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