33 Marsha P Johnson Quotes

Marsha P Johnson was an iconic and beloved activist who fought for equal rights and recognition of the LGBTQ+ community.

She performed drags and modeled for American film producer and director Andy Warhol. Born Malcolm Michaels Jr., Marsha took on the name Marsha P Johnson with the name Johnson coming from the Howard Johnson restaurant she frequented.

According to Marsha, her middle initial stood for "Pay It No Mind," which stood for her attitude towards the 'pop culture' society of her day. Even though Marsha P Johnson died mysteriously in the Hudson river in 1992, her quotes still have a significant impact on many in the queer community until this day.

Her legacy is one that would live on forever, and here are 33 of her wisest and most motivational quotes. These powerful words of wisdom can teach us all about the strength of standing up for what we believe in and fighting for a better world.

Whether you are a young person searching for inspiration and guidance, an adult looking to live by example, or a family trying to teach and inspire the next generation, Marsha P Johnson's quotes offer valuable life lessons to everyone.

Motivational Marsha P Johnson Quotes

"History isn't something you look back at and say it was inevitable; it happens because people make decisions that are sometimes very impulsive and of the moment, but those moments are cumulative realities."

"I'd like to see the gay revolution get started… If a transvestite doesn't say I'm gay, and I'm proud, and I'm a transvestite, then nobody else is going to hop up there and say I'm gay and I'm proud, and I'm a transvestite for them."

"Nobody promised you tomorrow."

"History isn't something you look back at and say it was inevitable."

"A drag queen is one that usually goes to a ball, and that's the only time she gets dressed up. Transvestites live in drag. A transsexual spends most of her life in drag."

"We have to be visible. We should not be ashamed of who we are." 

"A lot of times I've reached my hand out to people in the gay community that just didn't have nobody to help them when they were down and out."

Marsha P Johnson Quotes On Equality

"How many years has it taken people to realize that we are all brothers and sisters and human beings in the human race? I mean, how many years does it take people to see that? We're all in this rat race together!"

"You never completely have your rights, one person, until you all have your rights. And I feel as long as there's one gay person who has to walk for gay rights, all of us should be walking for gay rights."

"No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us."

"I think it's about time the gay brothers and sisters got their rights and especially the women."

"I don't think you should be ashamed of anybody you know that has AIDS. You should stand as close to them as you can and help them out as much as you can. I'm a strong believer in that, and that's why I try to do that for everyone I know has the virus."

"We have to be visible. We should not be ashamed of who we are."

"Gay sisters don't think too bad of transvestites. Gay brothers do."

"I was no one, nobody, from Nowheresville until I became a drag queen."

"I'll always be known for reaching out to young people who have no one to help them out, so I help them out with a place to stay or some food to eat or some change for their pocket."

Marsha P Johnson Quotes On Activism

"I don't know what I am if I'm not a woman."

"We just were saying no more police brutality. And we had enough of police harassment in the Village and other places."

"Darling, I want my gay rights now."

"As long as my people don't have their rights all across America, there's no reason for celebration." 

"I might be loopy; however, that doesn't make me fallacious."

"I don't think you should be ashamed of anybody that you know that has AIDS. You should stand as close to them as you can and help them out as much as you can. I'm a strong believer in that, and that's why I try to do that for everyone I know that has the virus."

"I may be crazy, but that doesn't make me wrong."

"Now they got two little nice statues in Chariot Park to remember the gay movement. How many people have died for these two little statues to be put in the park for them to recognize gay people?"

"There are a lot of gay transvestites who have been in jail for no reason at all."

"I know people think I'm a stupid little street queen out there begging for change cause there's nothing else she knows how to do."

"In 1969, I started wearing female attire full-time."

Marsha P Johnson Quotes From Her Speech

"They call me a legend in my own time because there were so many queens gone that I'm one of the few queens left from the '70s and the '80s."

"I'm still stuck in the Stonewall Inn in 1968. I never left the Stonewall Inn."

"Usually, I wear a short dress every day of the week."

"I always just do drag. I never do it seriously."

"As long as my people don't have their rights all across America, there's no reason for celebration."

"I started out with makeup in 1963 and 1964. In 1965, I was coming out more, and I was still wearing makeup, but I was still going to jail just for wearing makeup."

"STAR is a very revolutionary group. We believe in picking up the gun, starting a revolution if necessary. Our main goal is to see gay people liberated and free and have equal rights that other people have in America."

"I got lost in the music in 1963 at Stonewall... No! No, it was Stonewall - it was 1967 that I got lost. In 19 - oh my dear, Stonewall, I got lost at Stonewall. Heard it through the grapevine. 1969! I got lost in the music, and I couldn't get out."

"I got robbed once. A man pulled a gun on me and snatched my pocketbook in a car. I don't trust men that much anymore."