Searching for Marsha — Unpublished

graphic by Lauryn Alejo / background image by chnlrdt

I remember the day clearly. It was a warm, fall New York afternoon with the sun occasionally peeking through the low hanging clouds to greet those below. Both tourists and locals were walking the streets of Manhattan, enjoying the warm feeling of summer hopefully never retreating into fall. Despite the cloud coverage preventing most of the sun’s rays from gracing us with their presence, a warm breeze filled the city making it easy to wonder if winter may ever come. I spent a large sum of my Sunday afternoon walking along the Hudson River, the body of water where the pioneering transgender activist for the Gay Rights Movement, Marsha P. Johnson, was found dead on July 6, 1992. Her body was found floating in the river somewhere along the Christopher Street Pier on the West side of Manhattan. As I progressed up from the lower end of the city, closer to the alleged site of her death, I wondered if I would find some kind of recognition for Marsha. I thought she deserved a memorial as marvellous and extraordinary as she is described to be by the ones who knew her. Marsha was known for both her internal and external radiance, expressed through her fantastic and vibrant outfits and head pieces. She was described as beautiful inside and out, with a smile, I have no doubt, lit up a room. When asked what the P in Marsha P. Johnson stood for, she would say “Pay it no mind”, the least bit ironic as Marsha barely, if ever, paid any attention to the hate she endured from society for simply being herself. Marsha “Pay it no mind” Johnson was on the front lines in New York, fighting against oppressive policing and for the rights of both the gay and transgender communities. She was also the founder of one of America’s first safe spaces for transgender and homeless youth.

After learning about the many great achievements Marsha had accomplished with little recognition, I have come to notice that there is a gap in the representation and awareness of members of the LGBTQ+ community. Despite society’s progression so far, there is still immense work needed to ensure that discrimination and hate against LGBTQ+ no longer exists in our society. Such hate and discrimination that Marsha endured during her lifetime. I learned about the infamous Marsha P. Johnson in a gender study class offered by my University the previous year. I had knowledge of both the Stonewall Riots and the Gay Rights Movement in and around the 1960s and 70s, however, I was unaware of the fact there is a face to these movements, this being Marsha P. Johnson’s. Through my professor, I was transported to the world that Marsha lived in and educated on the colossal impact she made for the transgender and gay communities in New York, and the rest of America. Along with her close friend and great ally, Sylvia Rivera, together both women became key figures in the Gay Rights Movement and the Stonewall Riots in New York, motivating and fighting alongside each other for what they believed in until the days they died.

As I continued my walk, I reflected on these two transgender women, and a disheartening idea of never having known who they were before taking a course, breached my mind. If before my gender study class, I had never known about Marsha and Sylvia, there is most likely a significant amount of people like me, unaware of the amazing things these two women accomplished and who they were. Another reason why I hoped there would be a memorial for Marsha somewhere along the Hudson, or if not there, somewhere deeper in the city. Life for Marsha being a black, transgender woman living from 1945 to 1992 at a time of widespread animosity towards transgender individuals, would have been extremely challenging. Yet despite the hatred and poverty she endured, she still fought for and stood up for what she believed in. To bring this topic full circle to recent events, when learning about Marsha we were informed about the NYPD’s failure to protect the transgender community in New York. Marsha, like many other transgender individuals in the city during the 60s and 70s, was working as a prostitute. Due to discrimination, many of them were unable to get jobs, turning to the streets as a means of income. During this time there were reoccurring murders and disappearances of these sex workers because of their sexual identity. Despite the constant cries for help from the transgender community, the NYPD did little to eliminate and investigate the disgusting hate crimes and murders against transgender individuals. Granted, this occurred many years ago, it does not in any circumstance mean that issues such as these have been eliminated. I think recent events in America speak for themselves as being evidence enough for the injustice that still festers in American police forces. Moreover, in Canada the complete disregard for murdered and missing Indigenous women’s cases still goes on today, proving the racial and discriminatory bias that is still active in police task forces is not just in America but also in Canada, and perhaps elsewhere in the world.

Once I made it to the Christopher Street Pier, I was slightly relieved but also disappointed to find only a tiny upside-down triangle mounted to a poll as recognition for Marsha and her death. Neither marvellous nor extraordinary. The sign was titled “Queer Spaces” and coloured light pink. Marsha’s given name – Malcolm Michaels - and her changed name, Marsha P. Johnson, was printed on the sign, along with her birth and death years. It stated that despite a quick verdict by the NYPD as suicide, many of Marsha’s friends and family thought otherwise. After a campaign by The New York Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, Marsha’s death would be ruled as a “drowning of an unknown nature.” Many still to this day believe that she was murdered, as her body was discovered to have a wound on the back of her head. I was disillusioned to see only a tiny sign erected to memorialize Marsha. I stood on the pier looking over the edge down into the green murkiness of the water searching for answers, although I saw only my reflection staring back at me. At that moment I knew I was going to have to search further to uncover the questions I had. I needed to understand why only a tiny sign was left to remember Marsha. Why, after so many years, was there still nothing more built in Marsha or Sylvia’s honour? After doing some research I was pleased to find answers to some of my questions. I was happy to learn that New York City is dedicating a memorial to both Marsha and Sylvia in Greenwich Village a block from the infamous Stonewall Inn, where the resistance against the police raid on June 28th, 1969 occurred. It is to be paid for out of $10 million allocated for new public artworks and is part of the city’s efforts to help close a gender gap in public art and lack of commemoration towards LGBTQ+ individuals in the city. I was at peace with this, and happy that people would be educated on Marsha and Sylvia’s amazing journey towards equality without having to take a university course. I am happy that there will be more than just a small sign and that this memorial will become a stepping stone towards equality for the LGBTQ+ community. Discovering that there is going to be a proper memorial for Marsha makes me hopeful for the future. It proves to me that people are beginning to become more aware and more accepting of everyone and we are moving forwards in eliminating hate and discrimination from our society. With current events, the removal of many confederate memorials within America leaves room and opportunity for memorials dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community and other minority groups that need to be recognized. This will present America with the opportunity to present needed change and education to its citizens. Even though a monument might seem like an extremely small step in a massive issue, I believe that even something as much as recognition for members of the LGBTQ+ community can go a long way in educating those that are not. I believe that with education comes liberation.