#christopherstreet

Marsha P Johnson, self identified drag queen and gay liberation activist, & central figure in the 1969 Stonewall uprising, snapped here by Hank O’Neal, Christopher Street, NYC June 1977.

O’Neal had taken several rolls of film from his doorstep over the years he lived on Christopher Street, and some time later Allen Ginsberg, sifting through these while visiting O’Neal, started improvising fictitious captions for each. These were published as “Gay Day: The Golden Age of the Christopher Street Parade 1974-1983“ published by Abrams, but sadly went out of print soon after. Worth tracking down if you can find it.

On Marsha’s Allen wrote:  “If I keep dressing up like this I’ll save the world from nuclear apocalypse, but will anyone love me for it? I’ll have to save the world anyway. I know what looks good.”

42 years ago today, the Christopher Gay Liberation Day Parade took place in New York City. This image shows two legendary transgender activists, Marsha P. Johnson (August 24, 1945 – July 6, 1992) and Sylvia Rivera (July 2, 1951 – February 19, 2002).

In 1971, Rivera and Johnson formed Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), the first political organization dedicated to fostering and supporting the rights of trans people in the United States. STAR gave food and shelter to the homeless and transgender youth, many of whom were, like Rivera and Johnson, low-income people of color who lived out on the West Side piers in Manhattan. Living on the streets and engaged in survival sex, Johnson, a self-identified drag queen, suffered from mental illness and was arrested more than 100 times and shot once. At the time of the gay liberation movement after the Stonewall Rebellion, trans people and sex workers, especially those of color like Johnson and Rivera, were marginalized within the gay community, even while they played a key role in the movement. (summarized from Cruising the Dead Riverand Wikipedia)

“The limited visibility of this queer history of the piers reflects the persistent exclusion of this trans community from many of the predominantly gay spaces and activist groups in the West Village at the time.” (p.148)

Together, Johnson and Rivera advocated for queer and transgender youth and fought for the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act in New York. The Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, credit, and the exercise of civil rights.

New York City has announced the installation of a permanent monument to honor the legacy of Johnson and Rivera, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2021. (New York Times, Julia Jacob, March 29, 2019).

Image: Sylvia Rivera (holding banner) and Marsha P. Johnson (far left) at the Christopher Gay Liberation Day Parade, New York, June 24, 1973

Marcia P Johnson, self identified drag queen and gay liberation activist, snapped here by Hank O’Neal, Christopher Street, NYC June 1977. O’Neal had taken several rolls of film from his doorstep over the years he lived on Christopher Street, and some time later Allen was sifting through these while visiting O’Neal one afternoon and just started improvising fictitious captions for each. This eventually got turned into a book “Gay Day: The Golden Age of the Christopher Street Parade 1974-1983“ published by Abrams, but sadly went out of print soon after. Worth tracking down if you can find it.

On Marcia’s he wrote:  “If I keep dressing up like this I’ll save the world from nuclear apocalypse, but will anyone love me for it? I’ll have to save the world anyway. I know what looks good.”