For the next few months, I will be posting about queer topics and issues for my LGBTQ History class. For my first post, I want to tell you about transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson. Marsha was a leader and pioneer of the LGBTQ rights movement in the 1960s. Loved and known around the world, Marsha was often called the “Queen of Greenwich Village.” Greenwich was the site of the Stonewall Riot, which some believe Marsha helped to incite, some even claiming she threw the first shot glass and shattered a window of the Stonewall Inn. While many in the Gay Liberation Movement focused on wanting to live peacefully in a society in which they were accepted, Marsha focused on helping the most marginalized among the queer community- homeless transgender people. Marsha worked tirelessly and selflessly to help as many homeless people as possible, walking the streets to hand out fliers, raising money and awareness, and even turning her home into a shelter for those who had nowhere else to go. Marsha’s efforts have only recently begun to receive widespread recognition, and many who are learning her story are inspired by her commitment to helping others.
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Photo courtesy of Netflix.
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