Marsha’s status as an icon extends beyond activism and into the arts. She was an inspiration to others and a creative in her own right. From her trendsetting DIY looks salvaged from New York’s dumpsters to her appearances with a downtown gay theater troupe, Marsha was immersed in the underground art world. In performances at home and abroad, she rarely sang on key and had to read her lines on stage. But still, audiences cheered her name and called for encores. Listen in as we explore Marsha’s style and artistry, along with the complex reality of being a muse to some of the biggest names in New York. Check out our Instagram @afterlives.pod to see the photos and videos we mention in this episode. Plus, check out Randy Wicker’s Flickr album to see even more of Marsha’s legendary looks. You can also listen to Marsha P. Johnons’s 1979 interview with Steven Watson courtesy of Artifacts at www.artifacts.movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode 4: Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries
“STAR is into two things very heavily. One is radical politics. And the second is prostitution.” At least that’s how one journalist in the 1970s described the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a group started by Marsha and fellow trans organizers. Life on the streets and with STAR meant freedom and friendship, but it could also be really tough. Marsha was candid about that. She wanted to build a better future for unhoused trans and gender nonconforming young people, and we’ll hear stories about what that looked like day to day, from parties and puppies to “liberating” food for the kids, as Marsha would put it. The STARs had big goals. But things came crashing down as quickly as they had started. As Marsha experienced life’s hardships, we’ll examine the toll it took on her mental health.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode 3: Who Threw the First Brick at Stonewall?
There’s no moment in queer history more celebrated than the Stonewall riots, which set off the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. There’s also no event that’s more hotly debated. To separate the truth from the myth, we first step onto the streets of Greenwich Village, a mecca of queer culture in the 60s. By all accounts The Stonewall Inn at the heart of the Village was a dump, but it was also the only place queer people could dance, making it an instant favorite among neighborhood hangouts. But how did one Saturday night at the bar change the course of history? And what was Marsha’s role in how it all jumped off? But wait, before you fast forward to Pride today and fade to the credits, we take a closer look at the organizing that followed the riots and the ways it excluded the very people who were on the front lines, people like Marsha. Check out our Instagram @afterlives.pod for additional content. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode 2: From Elizabeth to Times Square
A trip to Elizabeth, New Jersey, brings us into the heart of Marsha’s upbringing. We sit down with her sister, Jeannie, and her nephew, Al, to get a picture of Marsha’s childhood home and hear stories about the early ways Marsha dared to be different. We also learn about her hometown’s queer underground and the ways Marsha navigated her identity from an early age. By the time she graduated from high school, she had her sights set on New York City. She headed to Times Square in a time before the billboards and mascots, and the M&M store. Instead, she was strutting the streets where sex was bought and sold, finding community, and forming big dreams. Check out our Instagram @afterlives.pod for additional content. Plus, you can listen to Marsha P. Johnons’s 1979 interview with Steven Watson courtesy of Artifacts at www.artifacts.movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode 1: The Saint of Christopher Street
Watching Marsha P. Johnson get ready for a date feels like spying on a long lost auntie. On some level, that’s exactly who Marsha is as a mother in the fight for trans rights. But in her grainy home videos, she’s not a living legend. She’s just a human. Our debut episode cuts through myths and mysteries to uncover the complicated contradictions that made up Marsha’s life. Host Raquel Willis explores her own relationship with LGBTQ+ history and ancestors like Marsha, while friends of Marsha along with historians shed light on her story. We’re lucky that Marsha spoke for herself too and we’ll get to know her in her own words. Check out the photos we mention on our Instagram @afterlives.podSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Marsha P. Johnson is THE icon of the LGBTQ+ movement and one of the mothers of the fight for trans rights. Today, you can buy T-shirts emblazoned with her face or walk through a park named in her honor. This season on Afterlives, we hear from Marsha in her own words.
Afterlives is a documentary podcast series about trans lives we’ve lost and the ways their stories have reshaped our world. Host Raquel Willis brings Marsha’s story to life through rare archival interviews and intimate conversations with queer elders, friends, and historians. Legend says she threw the first brick at the Stonewall riots, setting off the modern movement for queer rights. Immortalized by Warhol and known as “The Saint of Christopher Street,” Marsha was also unhoused, surviving through sex work, navigating violence, and resisting with joy.
More than 30 years after her still-unsolved death in the Hudson River, Marsha’s voice resounds louder than ever. As trans rights face renewed threats, Afterlives celebrates Marsha’s story and reflects on her enduring power as a trans ancestor.
Brasil