The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson Page #4

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to find out who the hell murdered Marsha,

while you f***ing people are standing here

not doing your f***ing jobs!

-Justice for Marsha!

-[Randy] Justice for Marsha!

My name is Sylvia Rivera,

and I'm giving permission

to have this filmed.

When I met Marsha,

I must've been 12 years old.

She was like a mother to me.

Marsha was an icon of the gay movement.

Marsha was known through the world.

Marsha and I, we were the liberators.

And the street people

and the drag queens were...

the vanguard of the movement.

We were the ones that stood the forefront

and fought the cops off.

And we're the ones that didn't mind

getting our heads bashed in.

When I first came to the Stonewall,

I was the only drag queen there,

just about.

I said, "Honey, what do you think,

I'm a boy or a girl?"

They didn't answer,

so I decided to go in. [chuckles]

'Cause it was a all-men's bar.

The Stonewall was

a very nice campy little bar

owned by the Mafia, you know.

Gay people were not allowed in bars.

The Mafia would pay off the cops.

Typical of that era.

It was hard being a drag queen back then

because they would take us into jail

for no reason at all.

We lived in an era that was unreal.

[indistinct chatter]

I was spaced out on black beauties

and scotch.

We would dance, my lover and I.

The next thing we know,

the lights came on and...

Hey, we're being raided.

Queens started being filed out

and being put into police cars,

and guns had been drawn.

Molotov cocktails were flying.

And I'm like, "Oh, my God,

the revolution is here. Thank God."

You've been treating us like sh*t

all these years?

Uh-uh. Now it's our turn.

[Marsha] When I got downtown,

the place was already on fire.

Sylvia Rivera and them were

over in the park having a cocktail.

And we were in the streets

turning over cars

and, oh, my dear, blocking traffic

and screaming and hollering

and everything.

I mean, there was a lot of bloodshed

that night.

And the movement started the next day.

[crowd shouting indistinctly]

[reporter] The world is having to notice

what it used to try to ignore.

Homosexuals no longer meekly melt away

under the blast of scorn,

ridicule or hatred.

Today's gay power people are struggling

for full economic and legal recognition

and acceptance.

[crowd chanting indistinctly]

-[reporter] Why are you here today?

-Darling, I want my gay rights now.

I think it's about time the gay brothers

and sisters got their rights.

-And especially the women.

-[reporter laughs]

Marsha was very good-natured.

She was funny. She laughed.

But that shouldn't be mistaken

for a lack of serious purpose

and political intent.

[Agosto Machado] Her mission in life is

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