• How Did Marsha P. Johnsons Affect The Community Around Her?

How did Marsha P. Johnsons values affect the community around her?

Marsha P. Johnsons was known throughout the LGBTQ+ community for the impact she had on the community in her time and the present. During the 1900’s LGBTQ+ wasn't known or accepted, people viewed it as wrong and disgusting. Many religions like Christianity which is what Marsha P. grew up with, cried and threw so much hate at anything close to LGBTQ+. Civil rights were also still a problem, and mixed in with LGBTQ+ if you were part of both communities you were bound to get a lot of hate and even violence thrown your way. People of the LGBTQ+ community would hide who they were, in fear they would get hurt by being themselves. Many people in these communities would live on the streets,

Many safe places were gay bars, they were accepted and where a lot of the community could gather safely “However Gay bars at the time were often raided by police, for engaging in homosexual activities”(Marsha P. Johnson). At the time homosexual activities were very illegal and frowned upon for same-sex love. They could go to secret places, but most of the time, people would go undercover as Homosexual and find these places and rat them out to the cops. The cops didn't get them out but beat, arrested, etc the people in the bar. This was very common as many people were out to get their community and remove it from their world. They viewed the community as sinful, but in feeling reality it wasn't sinful at all. When going into the problems the community faced we must look at Religions, as they affected a lot of the community. Marsha grew up Christian and her church often discriminated against and hated the LGBTQ+ community for being who they are because they thought it was sinful “Johnson had a faith-based background and retained her belief in Christianity despite the churches shunning of Queer people”(Marsha P. Johnson). Religion is a big part of people's lives and is a big issue when their religion turns on them for who they are. Marsha isn't believed what she and her people were doing was wrong and kept her religion to get back at the curches to

Marsha gave everything to give other young Transgender and LGBTQ+ youth to live a better life than she had and find out who they were without all the hatred “Using the money they earned from sex work, Johnson and best friend Sylvia Rivera eventually started the STAR house which provided safe sleeping accommodations for members of the trans community”(Marsha P. Johnson). Marsha and Sylvia gave all the money towards STAR instead of to themselves, because they felt that helping others is better than leaving them like the world did to