Pride Month 2020 has been celebrated across the world during June. But as the month approaches its end, Google has made sure one key person of the LGBT+ community is remembered.
Who was Marsha P Johnson?
Marsha was part of the 1969 Stonewall Riots and is remembered as a pioneer of the LGBT+ movement in the US.
Marsha was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on August 24, 1945.
She then moved to New York City’s Greenwich Village after graduating high school in 1963.
While living in New York, Marsha changed her name from Malcolm Michaels Jr to Marsha P Johnson.
Elle Hearns, founder of the Marsha P Johnson Institute, said the P stood for Pay It No Mind.
This is how she replied when people asked about her gender.
At the age of 23 in 1969, Marsha played a big part in the protests following the police raid on the Stonewall Inn.
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During an interview in 1972, Marsha said: “We want to see all gay people have a chance, equal rights, as straight people have in America.
“Our main goal is to see gay people liberated and free and have equal rights that other people have in America.”
In 2019, New York City announced plans to build statues of both Marsha and her friend Sylvia in Greenwich Village.
The monuments were described as the “first permanent, public artwork recognising transgender women in the world”.
Marsha died in 1992 at the age of 46.
Her death was ruled as a suicide, but the circumstances around her death have been questioned by friends over the years.
As part of the celebration, Google said it is “donating $500,000 to the Marsha P Johnson Institute.”
This will help its fight to end violence against black trans women across the US.