Marsha P. Johnson was a Black trans woman, a self-identified drag queen, and a LGBTQ+ rights activist who spent the majority of her life fighting for equality. She was a very powerful woman and served as a mother figure to drag queens, trans women, and homeless youth off Christopher Street in New York City.

Johnson was a lead in the Stonewall uprising in June 28, 1969 along with Sylvia Rivera, then later established the Street Transvestite (now Transgender) Action Revolutionaries (STAR), which is a group committed to helping homeless transgender youth in New York. Johnson dedicated much of her life to helping others, despite suffering several mental health breakdowns that meant she was in and out of psychiatric hospitals. In 1962, she was interviewed for a book, and Johnson said her ambition was ¨to see gay people liberated and free, and to have equal rights that other people have in America¨.

The pioneering activists, Marsha and Sylvia, were concerned about the dangers faced by transgender people who were often forced into prostitution to support themselves, according to the New York Public Library. In addition, she was also an AIDS activist, attending protests by and meetings of ACT UP, the AIDS advocacy organization, and a tireless advocate for AIDS patients, she herself was diagnosed with HIV in 1990. Her passion, perseverance and hope when facing such oppression is why her story resonates to this day, even when many of the battles she fought are not yet won. She died on July 6, 1992, and since then, her life has been celebrated in many books, documentaries, films and protests.