Marsha : the joy and defiance of Marsha P. Johnson / Tourmaline.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

'Thank god the revolution has begun, honey.' Rumour has it that after legendary Black transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson threw the first brick in the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, she picked up a shard of broken mirror to fix her make-up. This fearless moment embodies both the beauty and violence of the early LGBTQ+ rights movement - and the fabulous, tenacious charisma of Marsha herself. Yet despite the fact that Marsha's work as a gay liberation activist and drag queen helped spark the progress and continued protest we see today, there has been no definitive record of her life, loves, and lessons. Until now. Written with verve and sparkling prose, Black trans leader Tourmaline brings this iconic, scandalous, vital justice warrior to life in full colour for the first time. Through nearly two decades of research and unprecedented access, Tourmaline has become Marsha's leading archivist. This book will take readers into Marsha's childhood in New Jersey in the 1950s, to her dramatic and essential activism from the Stonewall Riots to the AIDS crisis, to her life creating radical art from the humblest means. Marsha was not just an activist - she was an artist and a performer, a lover and a mentor, a mischievous and transgressive queen. Her larger-than-life presence leaps out of every page. Adorned with her signature flower crown, she was a street fashion icon. She performed with RuPaul and with the internationally renowned drag performance troupe The Hot Peaches. She was muse to countless artists from Andy Warhol to the band Earth, Wind, and Fire. And she continues to inspire countless artists and activists today. Marsha didn't wait to be freed; she declared herself free and told the world to catch up. Marsha honours the fullness of her life and will give this remarkable figure her rightful place in history. Her story promises to inspire readers to live as their most liberated, unruly, vibrant, and whole selves.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (1)
• Chapter 1 Marsha, the Jersey Kid (17)
• Chapter 2 Marsha, the Times Square Hustler (39)
• Chapter 3 Marsha, the Stonewall Rioler (69)
• Chapter 4 Marsha, the STAR Activist (101)
• Chapter 5 Marsha, the Downtown Performer (147)
• Chapter 6 Marsha, the AIDS Care Worker (187)
• Chapter 7 Marsha, Crossing the River Jordan (215)
• Chapter 8 Marsha, the Legacy (241)
• Acknowledgments (259)
• Photograph Credits (265)
• Notes (267)
• Index (299)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Artist and filmmaker Tourmaline debuts with an illuminating biography of Marsha P. Johnson, a central force in the Stonewall uprising and nascent LGBTQ+ rights movement. Tourmaline recreates Johnson's lesser-known early years, from her childhood in racially segregated Elizabeth, N.J., with a "revered" mother who still wouldn't let her "wear girls' clothes" to her youth spent hustling in Times Square, "where trans people came to survive and thrive together." Tourmaline depicts the 1969 police raid on the Stonewall Inn with cinematic intensity, portraying Johnson as akin to "a woman fighting the British in the Revolutionary War." The uprising galvanized Johnson's activism, leading to her participation in other protests, her caregiving for those with AIDS, and her cofounding of STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries). The book masters the complex balance of "joy alternating with... profound sadness" inherent in Johnson's life, which, despite the defiant resilience of her own statements ("I'm like a cat... I've been almost killed a million times now"), was rife with struggles with housing, medical care, disability, loss, and violence. Her still-unresolved death--Johnson was found in the Hudson River in July 1992 and her death was quickly ruled a suicide--was "emblematic of the way... trans lives have been seen as disposable by the state," Tourmaline sharply observes. It's a poignant portrait of a figure whose "greater sense of freedom" still inspires. (May)

Kirkus Book Review

A queen's legacy. Drawing on interviews and archival sources, Tourmaline, an artist, Black transgender activist, and Guggenheim Fellow, celebrates trans icon, sex worker, and activist Marsha P. Johnson (1945-92). Born Malcolm, she grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where she first tried on her sister's and mother's clothing at age 5. In high school, she escaped to New York City on weekends, finding a thriving community of trans people in Times Square and the West Village. She said, "That's what made me in New York, that's what made me in New Jersey, that's what made me in the world: when I became a drag queen, I started to live my life as a woman." She finally moved to New York in 1963 and changed her name to Marsha. It was a tense time to be queer: Cross-dressing and homosexuality were criminalized, making trans people victims of persecution and violence. In 1969, this oppression erupted in the Stonewall Riots, at which Marsha stood in the forefront of defiance. She joined the Gay Liberation Front and co-founded STAR: Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, dedicated to advocating for young trans people. Tourmaline charts Marsha's transition, which involved hormone replacement therapy, and her successful career as an entertainer. With makeup, beaded jewelry, flowered crown, and glitzy fashion, she cut a memorable figure. Her "groundbreaking commitment to queer glamour and performance," Tourmaline writes, "paved the way for Black gender-bending, sexually transgressive superstars like Prince and RuPaul." She was a caring friend, devoting herself "to small, daily acts of beauty," but she was also troubled: Besides recurring depression, she was HIV positive and suffered from chronic pain from a bullet in her back that could not be removed (a client--a shame-filled taxi driver--shot her after their encounter). Her death at age 47 may have been suicide or murder. In a well-researched biography, Tourmaline makes a persuasive case for remembering her. A warm homage to a pioneering activist. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.