Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson

Award-winning artist, filmmaker, and activist Tourmaline follows up her 2017 short documentary Happy Birthday, Marsha! with this nonlinear but compelling biography of Black trans icon Marsha P. Johnson (1945–1992), which beautifully captures the love and power within the LGBTQIA+ community. Johnson is best-known for being the person who threw the first brick at the Stonewall riots in 1969 and creating the STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) organization with fellow activist Sylvia Rivera in 1970. However, this biography is abundant with stories about other things in Johnson’s life, such as the Angels of Light and the many people she influenced, including Andy Warhol. Tourmaline does not shy away from tales of jail, addiction, and violence that continue to affect people on the streets and the trans community. This book does not sugarcoat anything, from HIV/AIDS to the terrible things that people have done to LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities.