Marsha P. Johnson, born on this day in 1945, was a civil rights activist, founding member of the Gay Liberation Front and the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (S.T.A.R.), and participant in the Stonewall Uprising of 1969.

Johnson was one of the first drag queens to go to the Stonewall Inn after they began allowing women and drag queens inside; it was previously a bar for only gay men.

On the early morning hours of June 28th, 1969, the Stonewall uprising occurred. While the first two nights of rioting were the most intense, the clashes with police would result in a series of spontaneous demonstrations and marches through the gay neighborhoods of Greenwich Village for roughly a week afterwards.

According to the New-York Historical Society, “While there are many conflicting stories about the uprising’s start, it is clear that Marsha was on the front lines. In one account, she started the uprising by throwing a shot glass at a mirror. In another, she climbed a lamppost and dropped a heavy purse onto a police car, shattering the windshield.” After Stonewall, Johnson became more involved in activism, helping found the Gay Liberation Front.

To help provide a home for vulnerable trans youth, Marsha and her friend Sylvia Rivera together formed the Street Transvestite Activist Revolutionaries (STAR). The first STAR House was in the back of a seemingly abandoned truck in Greenwich Village, housing nearly 24 people.

One morning, they returned to the truck just as its driver was pulling away with STAR residents sleeping inside, who were then forced to jump from a moving vehicle. Marsha and Sylvia then rented and fixed up a dilapidated building to house STAR residents for eight months before being evicted.

Shortly after a pride parade in 1992, Johnson’s body was discovered floating in the Hudson River. Police ruled the death a suicide, but Johnson’s friends and other members of the local community insisted Johnson was not suicidal and noted that the back of Johnson’s head had a massive wound.

Johnson was cremated and, following a funeral at a local church, friends released her ashes over the river.

The 2012 documentary “Pay It No Mind – The Life and Times of Marsha P. Johnson” heavily features segments from a 1992 interview with Johnson, filmed shortly before her death.

“Darling, I want my gay rights now”

  • Marsha P. Johnson

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  • Barbariandude [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    3·
    1 year ago

    I have a question! Are there any specific exercises that you think would help in equalizing power between right and left? I’ve always struggled with the fact that my right hand is very dominant, and it’s always been hard to make them sound similar.

    • Mokey [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      Just realize that people spend a lot of time working on making their hands sound similar. This question is definitely a rabbit hole and I’d have to see where you are at and what you’re doing to really assess. You really want to avoid tension or pain though, it shouldnt ever hurt to play and your grip should be loose, like holding a soft boiled egg. Not like a baseball bat.

      What you should do is have your right hand teach your left hand, make your left hand hold the stick the same way your right hand does.

      Try doing this:

      60 BPM, each click is a stroke alternating between Right and Left. Think about where the stick is in your hand, what knuckles and digits in your fingers are touching. You want your hands to look exactly the same or atleast 99%.

      Another thing you should do is sit at a chair with arm rest and lay your forearms on the rests with your hands off the rest. Raise your hand and let it relax, like drop your dead weight. Do not throw your wrist, or control the descent, just completely drop it.

      Highly highly recommended Material is Jojo Meyer’s Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer.

      • Barbariandude [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
        3·
        1 year ago

        You really want to avoid tension or pain though, it shouldnt ever hurt to play and your grip should be loose, like holding a soft boiled egg. Not like a baseball bat.

        No danger of that at all. I know how to hold a drumstick, this is a question of technique and drills, not how to do the absolute basics. EDIT: Thinking about it, yeah. You don’t know me, you don’t know how much time I’ve spent practicing, this is legit advice for a newbie. If I was very new to drumming, this would have been excellent advice.

        60 BPM, each click is a stroke alternating between Right and Left. Think about where the stick is in your hand, what knuckles and digits in your fingers are touching. You want your hands to look exactly the same or atleast 99%.

        I’ll give it a go!

        Another thing you should do is sit at a chair with arm rest and lay your forearms on the rests with your hands off the rest. Raise your hand and let it relax, like drop your dead weight. Do not throw your wrist, or control the descent, just completely drop it.

        I really don’t get this exercise. I’m happy to give it a go (what’s the worst that could happen?), but I don’t understand the upside.

        Highly highly recommended Material is Jojo Meyer’s Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer.

        First opportunity I get, I’ll watch it. Thanks for the recommendation :)

        • Mokey [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
          3·
          1 year ago

          The arm rest thing:

          So everyone understands 100% tension squeeze hard as possible but not everyone understands what it means to be 100% loose. Most people think they’re loose, but theyre not or not as nearly as much as they could.