Marsha P. Johnson

Marsha (Pay it no Mind) Johnson [1945 - 1992] was born as Malcolm Michaels, Jr. in 1945 in Elizabeth, NJ, and re-born as Marsha P. Johnson in New York City in 1966. Johnson was one of the first who resisted police during the Stonewall riots — demonstrations that followed a raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village, on June 28, 1969. In the following days, she led a series of protests and riots demanding rights for gay people. The first anniversary of the protests prompted the first gay pride parade in 1970. Johnson co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a shelter for homeless gay and trans kids, including trans women. Until her death in 1992, Johnson sought to provide food, shelter and a sense of acceptance to all gender nonconforming people. Marsha is honored as a drag queen, actress, Stonewall pioneer, Andy Warhol model, and, most importantly, a revolutionary activist for the trans and gender-nonconforming community.