Remembering Marsha P. Johnson, Icon of Modern LGBTQ Rights Movement
On Saturday, we celebrated the birthday of LGBTQ rights pioneer and icon, Marsha P. Johnson. She would have been 79. Johnson will perhaps be best known as one of the names behind the Stonewall Uprising of 1969, which was a pivotal moment in LGBTQ+ history. The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village, was a frequent target of police raids. On the night of June 28, 1969, a raid led to an intense confrontation between patrons and law enforcement. Johnson, along with other LGBTQ activists, fought back against police brutality, marking a significant turning point in the struggle for LGBTQ rights. The uprising was not merely a spontaneous riot but a catalyst for the modern LGBTQ rights movement. According to this obituary from the New York Times, “although New York State downgraded sodomy from a felony to a misdemeanor in 1950, persecution of gay people and criminalization of their activities were still common. Same-sex dancing in public was prohibited. The State Liquor Authority banned bars from serving gay people alcoholic beverages. …