“Honey, I don’t care if I never have nothing ever’ till the day I die. All I want is my freedom.”
Marsha P. Johnson, a black trans woman who was known for pioneering a movement that has had incredible long lasting systematic change. During the so called Stonewall riots (riots which broke out after the police had once again raided the lgbtq bar Stonewall Inn) in 1969, she was one of the first to begin resisting the police. Without her and other black lgbtq+ folks, we wouldn’t be celebrating pride. #HappyPrideMonth ✨
1. Sure, Marsha didn’t throw the first to throw shoes or Molotov cocktails. She still participated and started one of the first trans organizations in the country! She wasn’t the *first* but still had a major influence on the riots and subsequent organizing.
2. She dropped a purse full of bricks on a police car. That’s queen shit right there. Not “completely fabricated” at all.
On this day in 1969, a series of demonstrations by members of the LGBTQ community against police took place at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, later to be known as the Stonewall riots. To commemorate this watershed moment for LGBTQ rights, artist Cary Leibowitz designed Stonewall Yarmulke (Shalom Independence: July 4, 1776 - June 27, 1969) custom-made skullcaps now part of the Jewish Museum collection. A symbol of traditional Jewish observance, the yarmulkes become a canvas for the expression of various social and political ideas from domestic politics to Holocaust remembrance to gay pride.
✨ Marsha P. Johnson (1945 - 1992) was a transwoman and activist and veteran of the Stonewall riots of 1969. She formed STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), a street activist group, alongside Sylvia Rivera, helped support trans and gay homeless kids and was an AIDS activist during her later years. She was once asked in court what the “P” in her name stood for, and she answered “Pay It No Mind.” Her body was found in the Hudson River, and even though it was ruled as a suicide, it is not clear how she passed away. Rest in Power, Marsha P. ✊
In the All Things Considered piece, we hear activist and comedian Robin Tyler addressing the crowd at a rally. She declares that gay and lesbian people are not responsible for the violence committed against them.
“…and they dared to call us violent. Well they don’t have to tell us about violence because they have violated us since the beginning of time. They have violated us in prisons, they have violated us in mental institutions and by behavior modification; they have alienated us from our parents and taken away our children. And they have told us, one of the worst violations of all, that closets stand for privacy and not for prison. So don’t tell us about violence!”
– Robin Tyler, 1979
Gay rights activism and support has evolved over the years, from well before the Stonewall riots to the Pride rallies and marches happening throughout America in 2019.
Evan Wolfson, a proponent of marriage equality since the 1990’s, speaks about how the gay rights movement was able to grow its support:
“In order to really succeed, it was not about just simply asserting our own and talking to ourselves. We had to find a way of bringing the majority of others - who are, of course, the majority - to a better understanding of who we are and a more capacious understanding of freedom.”
June is pride month and we as a community need to remember that our history was not a peaceful history. We did not shy away from punching police officers and destroying property because the police sure as hell did not shy away from beating and raping and killing us and raiding our bars and businesses. We did not shy away from breaking the law because our very existence was against the law. And we cannot forget that working class lgbt people of colour, especially black gays and lesbians, were and still are fundamental in the fight against the pervasive system of homophobia that still exists today. Remember and acknowledge them, and remember and acknowledge that we would not have our rights if not for riots and revolutions.
Storme DeLarverie in 1994, lesbian, woc, believed to have thrown the 1st punch in defence against police violence, at the Stonewall Riots-an event that lead to the 1st Pride March. “She walked the streets of Manhattan like a gay superhero,” Photo by Michelle V. Agins ♀️️
A leader of the Stonewall Riots. According to several eyewitnesses, Marsha was the one who “really started it”. She was “in the middle of the whole thing, screaming and yelling and throwing rocks and almost like Molly Pitcher in the Revolution or something”
Dedicated her life to activism:
Co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (later renamed Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries)
Ensured that the young drag queens, trans women and other street kids on Christopher Street were fed and clothed. Marsha also housed them whenever she could.
In the 1980s, she was an activist and organizer in ACT UP.
Stormé DeLarverie
Also a leader in the Stonewall Riots - has been identified as the “butch lesbian that threw the first punch” against the police officers.
Several eye-witnesses recollections also recognize her as the cross-dressing lesbian that yelled “why don’t you guys do something” at the bystanders that evoked the reaction from them that helped make Stonewall a defining moment in history.
Unofficially worked at gay bars who otherwise couldn’t afford security.
Bayard Rustin
Was a leading strategist of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement between 1955-1968:
The formidable behind the scenes figure of the civil rights movement who organized the March on Washington
Through his influence, the civil rights leadership adopted a non-violent stance.
Is and was often overlooked in African-American history because of the public’s discomfort with his sexual orientation.
Supported LGBTQ rights and movements.
Was posthumously awarded Rustin the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy
Another leader in the Stonewall Riots.
Has been involved in community efforts since 1978. She has worked at local food banks, provide services for trans women suffering from addiction or homelessness. During the AIDS epidemic she also provided healthcare and funeral services.
Is currently serving as the Executive Director for the Transgender GenderVariant Intersex Justice Project, working to assist transgender persons who are disproportionately incarcerated under a prison-industrial complex.
Alvin Ailey
At the young age of 22, Alvin AIley became Artistic Directer for the Horton Dance Company where he choreographed as well as directed scenes and costume designs.
Formed the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in 1958 but continued to choreograph for other companies.
Ailey’s signature works prominently reflects his Black pride.
Is credited for popularizing modern dance.
Was also posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.
