Marsha P. Johnson
| Marsha P. Johnson | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Malcolm Michaels, Jr. August 24, 1945 Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | July 6, 1992 (aged 46) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | AIDS Activist, Gay Activist, Transgender Activist, Drag Queen |
Marsha P. Johnson (August 24, 1945 – July 6, 1992) was an American drag queen, sex worker, and gay liberation activist. A veteran of the Stonewall riots, Johnson was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey and was a popular figure in New York City's gay and art scene from the 1960s to the 1990s. Later in life Johnson became an AIDS activist with ACT UP.
One of the city's best known drag queens and street queens, Johnson has been identified as one of the first to fight back in the clashes with the police amid the Stonewall riots. In the early 1970s, Johnson and close friend Sylvia Rivera co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR); together they were a visible presence at gay liberation marches and other radical political actions. In the 1980s Johnson continued her street activism as a respected organizer and marshall with ACT UP. With Rivera, Johnson was a "mother" of STAR House, getting together food and clothing to help support the young drag queens, trans women and other street kids living on the Christopher Street docks or in their house on the Lower East Side of New York.
Once, appearing in a court the judge asked Marsha, "What does the 'P' stand for?", Johnson gave her customary response "Pay it No Mind." In 1974 Marsha P. Johnson was photographed by famed artist Andy Warhol, as part of a "ladies and gentlemen" series of polaroids featuring drag queens. Johnson was also a member of J. Camicia's international, NYC-based, GLBT performance troupe, Hot Peaches (which has been compared to the similar, San Francisco troupe, The Cockettes).
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