Marsha P. Johnson

When Marsha P. Johnson's body was pulled from the Hudson River on July 6, 1992, just days after Sylvia Rivera's birthday, hours after the 4th of July- there were no major headlines. There was no swarm of reporters or fanfare in the streets. Marsha was considered by police as another unhoused, mentally ill, sex worker who lost her life to the streets. They declared her death a suicide and closed the case away in a drawer. Of course community didn't forget her, she was the Queen of Christopher Street. Her activism for Trans women, throw away youth, HIV/AIDs, her role in the Stonewall Riots, her work with Sylvia that created STAR and gave people homes and saved countless lives. Her performances, modeling for Warhol and the tattered couture she wore famously was legend. Is Legend. Her death brought Sylvia Rivera back to the work and her death haunted her every day there after.

It wasn't until March of 2018 that the New York Times published her much deserved and incredibly late obituary (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked-marsha-p-johnson.html), a memorial built for the celebrity that she deserved to be (that maybe in her mind she always was) and gave majesty to her legacy. Like magic as the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots circled around, Sylvia and Marsha's names and importance floated to the surface from the depths of the Hudson once again. Now you rarely hear mention of Stonewall without their names being synonymous but that certainly wasn't always the case. Today on the anniversary of the discovery of her body just feet away from where she spent so much of her life and left such an indelible impact, we say her name. 34 years later, we say her name. Today as you travel through the world and reflect on her legacy, make sure you say her name. #marshapjohnson