Today, 1945, radical, Black, LGBTQ activist Marsha P Johnson was born in New Jersy. Johnson was co-founder of STAR, an organization that provided shelter for homeless queer and trans youth. Johnson was known as the "mayor of Christopher Street" for being a welcoming presence in the streets of Greenwich Village. Beginning in 1987, she was an AIDS activist with ACT UP.
In 1992, Johnson's body was found floating in the Hudson River. While initially ruled a suicide by the New York City Police Department (NYPD), controversy and protest followed the case, resulting in it eventually being re-opened as a possible homicide.
Oh yes, I remember hearing of her story.. I find it hard to believe she committed suicide given her bodacious personality - her skin tone made it easy to dismiss her death as a suicide. I still don't buy it!
I remember during my brief NYU days passing many of the historical spots related to the Stonewall Uprising - there was a cool little spot on Christopher Street, my date at the time, introduced me to.. We both had no idea of how historical that place/area was.. We both also had no idea how important a role the Black Gay presence was in the uprising. Just being truthful.
I think, in today's culture, Marsha Johnson would be pegged a 'Trans', but the controversy still persists. RIP.
Her name doesn't ring a bell,...She/he(photo below) was a member of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) and co-founded the radical activist group Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries.
Not easy, just being Black alone is already an issue in this world,... indeed Black members of the LGBTQ community are not only seen as "other" due to their race, but also due to their sexuality, so they sometimes face both racist and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. No wonder he was assassinated. Wonder who killed him? Could be some Black folks!! Some Black Americans are "ultraconservative". "Gayism" doesn't represent the traditional ideas or values of Black America.
I,too, have memories of walking on Christopher Street, gm. Also, I, too, had not a clue of the historical significance of some of the structures.
Even in the late 70's it had a gay population that was in the early days of the coming out stage.
I recall a second-hand shop that caught my eye. In the window was a beautiful leather coat that had an 8-dollar sales tag on it.
I went in to purchase it, and the blatantly gay African American salesperson rapped it up and said to me, "that will be $800.00." "WTF", I said, "I thought it was 8.00.
He very gayishly rolled his eyes and yanked the coat out of the fancy shmanshy bag.
He then angrily pranced to the window and placed it back there. Ha!!!
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Oh yes, I remember hearing of her story.. I find it hard to believe she committed suicide given her bodacious personality - her skin tone made it easy to dismiss her death as a suicide. I still don't buy it!
I remember during my brief NYU days passing many of the historical spots related to the Stonewall Uprising - there was a cool little spot on Christopher Street, my date at the time, introduced me to.. We both had no idea of how historical that place/area was.. We both also had no idea how important a role the Black Gay presence was in the uprising. Just being truthful.
I think, in today's culture, Marsha Johnson would be pegged a 'Trans', but the controversy still persists. RIP.
😆😁😂...I completely believe this story.. Its a Christopher Street story.. It's an nyc village story.. It's a central Harlem story(had a strong drag queen culture there).. It's a Washington Square Park story..(first time I saw Alicia Keys - corn rows with boyish clothing styles; that's before the music industry changed her).. So yes, I did hang out in the Village..big fun for sure.
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