Marsha P Johnson
Day 24 of #BlackHistoryMonth Black Theory:
Marsha P Johnson
“History isn’t something you look back at and say it was inevitable. It happens because people make decisions that are sometimes very impulsive and of the moment, but those moments are cumulative realities.”
“We want to see all gay people have a chance, equal rights, as straight people have in America….Our main goal is to see gay people liberated and free and have equal rights that other people have in America. We’d like to see our gay brothers and sisters out of jail and on the streets again. There are a lot of gay [trans folks] who have been in jail for no reason at all, and the reason why they don’t get out is they can’t get a lawyer or any bail. when you’re
picked up for loitering and you don’t have a police record, a lot of times they let you go, and they
let your police record build up, and then they’ll go back there and look at it—and then they give
you a lot of time. That’s how they work it down there at the courthouse. Like my bail was $1,000,
because I have a long record for prostitution, and they refused to make it lower than $500. So
when I went to court they told me they’d let me go if I pleaded guilty to prostitution. That’s how
they do it, they tell you ahead of time what you’re going to get. Like before you even go before
the judge, they try to make an agreement with you, so that they can get your case out of court,
you know.” Rapping with a Street Transvestite Revolutionary: An Interview with Marsha P. Johnson
“We can help as soon as we get money. I have the names and addresses of people that are in jail, and we’re going to write them a letter and let them know that we’ve got them a lawyer, and have these lawyers go down there and see if they can get their names put on the calendar early, get their cases put out of court, make a thorough investigation.” Rapping with a Street Transvestite Revolutionary: An Interview with Marsha P. Johnson“I think if [trans folks] don’t stand up for themselves, nobody else is going to stand up for [trans folks]. If a [trans person] doesn’t say I’m gay and I’m proud and I’m [trans], then nobody else is going to hop up there and say I’m gay and I’m proud and I’m [trans] for them, because they’re not [trans]. The life of a [trans person] is very hard, especially when she goes out in the streets.” Rapping with a Street Transvestite Revolutionary: An Interview with Marsha P. Johnson
Links:
Interviews -
https://thespiritwas.tumblr.com/post/18201180869/rapping-with-marsha-p-johnson
https://teachrock.org/wp-content/uploads/Document-Set-2-Marsha-P-Johnson.pdf
Videos -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjN9W2KstqE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo0nYv9QIj4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PtYpEv2Eto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS3AgmMCIsI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59toCMoI13Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhWTNYiUT0k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe_jEFXK9jU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8ApwtrYWDk
Audio -