Marsha P Johnson

There are figures in history that are starting to be forgotten. Marsha P Johnson is one of those figures and this is a shame. If you don't know Marsha's name you have heard about one of her most historic fights. She was at Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969 when the infamous riots began. There are those (sometimes Marsha herself) that claim that Marsha started the riot by throwing a drink or rock depending on who you ask. If she did or did not start the riot is really of no matter what does matter is Marsha was a presence in the early gay movement.
Marsh P Johnson was born in Patterson, New Jersey on June 27, 1947 with the male name of Malcolm Michaels Jr. Marsha was a drag queen and transgender activist when nobody was saying anything about much about either topics in "polite" society. Marsha was in your face and a lot of fun. Often sleeping in friends with jobs apartments during the day and out all night on the streets of Greenwich Village. Marsha was a Warhol model, an actress, a sex worker and an activist. Johnson along with fellow transgender activist Silvia Rivera started an organization called "Street Transvestite Action  Revolutionaries" or STAR.  In a house in Manhattan's Lower East side they gave clothes, food and support to young drag queens and transgender youth. 
Marsha was no saint but was not a criminal just living a life that was outside of society. Once when arrested and in front of a judge she was asked what the "P" in Marsha P Johnson stood for her answer was as per usual "Pay It No Mind".
Marsha P Johnson's life came to a sad and tragic end when her body was found floating in the Hudson River not far from the West Village Piers shortly after the 1992 Pride Celebration in Manhattan. The NYPD declared her death to be a suicide but that notion never panned out with those who knew her. She was not thought to be at all suicidal and is believed to have been harassed and thrown into the river. 
To learn more about Marsha and see interviews with her and her contemporaries the documentary "Pay It No Mind, the Life and Times of Marsha P Johnson" by Michael Kasino and Richard Morrison is a must see. The nearly one hour documentary gives a wonderful window into her life and her times.