Marsha P. Johnson LGBT+ Icon Profile.
- Virtual Insanity
- Oct 22, 2018
- 2 min read

A little insight into the life and legacy of lgbt rights activist, Marsha P Johnson.
24th August 1945 – 6th July 1992
Marsha P. Johnson was an avid LGBT rights activist and one of the leading figures present at the Stonewall riots in 1969, an event that ultimately lead to the American Gay Liberation movement.
Initially Marsha P. Johnson went by Black Marsha until she decided on a name change, the P in Marsha’s name stands for “pay it no mind” as this was often her response when questioned about her gender identity.
Andy Warhol photographed Marsha as part of his series of polaroid pictures that he named Ladies and Gentlemen.
Johnson was a singer and performer as part of Hot Peaches, a New York based drag performance troupe. She was part of the troupe from 1972 until her death in 1992; her work with the group even brought her to London in 1990.
Along with her friend and fellow activist Sylvia Rivera, Johnson set up STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) and later STAR House. STAR was a group founded to house and feed homeless queer youth and sex workers in New York City. Marsha and Sylvia funded their organisation themselves, largely through sex work and STAR is considered a ground-breaking organisation that assisted in the gay liberation movement post Stonewall.
Marsha was also a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front, a collective consisting of a number of gay liberation groups that joined forces immediately following the Stonewall riots in order to fight for the equality and sexual liberation of all people.
During the height of the crisis the 80s and early 90s Marsha was a member of ACT UP, a revolutionary HIV/AIDS activist group who fought for medical research, more effective treatment and ultimately government policies that would positively impact the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS, it is also believed that at the time of her death Marsha was HIV positive.
Marsha’s death in 1992 was initially ruled a suicide, her body was found in the Hudson River in New York City 6 days after being reported missing. Her friends and family have continuously refused to accept Martha’s death was a suicide, believing the police at the time had no interest in discovering what really happened to her; most likely due to prejudice against her. In 2012 her case was reopened and is now the basis of a 2017 Netflix documentary The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson.
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson Official Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pADsuuPd79E
-Sara.
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