The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson Page #2

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It sent Scott into a drink

It sent Caesar, Cleopatra

And caused Ilium to sink

[audience laughing]

Now let's not be pessimistic

I say love is worth a try

Make no mistake, unless it's fake

The price you pay is high

The price you pay is high

The price you pay is...

High

[audience cheering and applauding]

[man] Encore! Encore!

-[Victoria] Hi, Randy. Remember me?

-[Randy Wicker] Hi.

Yes. You look very familiar.

-Yes. How are you? I like your shirt.

-Fine. And yourself?

You got the same button, huh?

-Yeah, how do you like that?

-How are you?

-Well, come on in the living room.

-Okay.

[Randy] As you see,

Marsha's a big part of my life.

[Victoria] Yes, I know.

In my opinion, I want that picture someday

to be in the Schomburg Museum.

They call her "Andy Warhol model,

prostitute, starring actress and saint."

-Where'd you meet Marsha?

-Uh...

I had a kid who lived with me,

who was like an adopted son, Roy.

That's a picture of Roy and Marsha

right there.

And one night, it was, like,

five degrees outside.

He said, "Could Marsha come

and sleep on the living room floor?"

So Marsha came in that night

and stayed for the next 12 years.

[Victoria] What do you think

happened to her?

Well, it certainly was not suicide.

That was an insult to the family.

No way could Marsha in any way

have committed suicide.

But let's face it.

The police department,

they had made up their mind.

"This case is over with.

We don't wanna be bothered.

'Cause this is a nobody.

This isn't a person."

Let me ask you a question.

Would you be able to give us any contacts

or information that you may have?

[siren wailing in distance]

[Randy humming]

I have worked

to make this place more accessible.

[continues humming]

Somewhere I have a printout

of the names and contacts

that I consider to be

the best leads. [grunts]

Oh, okay. Yeah. I found that.

We began down at the river.

-[indistinct chatter through speakers]

-[Victoria] Who's "we"?

A group of Marsha's friends.

Maybe 20 people.

And this was the...

[Randy over speakers]

And the police have written us off

as marginalized citizens.

[Victoria] That was the memorial

at the pier.

That was where her body laid

and damaged the sidewalk.

[through speakers] Well, I just meant...

What we're really here today to talk about

is what we're gonna do

about this loss of a national treasure,

this icon of the gay community,

this fire at Stonewall.

[man] The cops aren't doing their job.

They're just sitting on their fat asses.

We have to send a message to these people.

We demand justice here.

Join us. Sixth precinct is not

doing their job again.

We want some answers!

I knew Marsha.

Marsha was the happiest person I knew.

[male protester] Yeah. Yes, she was.

[protesters] Do their job! Do their job!

Do their job! Do their job!

[Joe Cooper] We know that this wasn't

a suicide.

You guys closed your books on it

and decided,

because she's a marginal citizen,

that you weren't going to do

anything about it.

We don't agree with that,

and we want you guys

to do your f***ing jobs.

My name is Randy Wicker.

I was the deceased's roommate.

I think the problem is that,

first, it's been classified as a suicide,

and I came to believe that

there was a good chance of foul play

'cause she was talking about

the Mafia after her

and in a very bad state.

And we may never know what happened.

But we wanna see

this investigation proceed

in an orderly and thorough manner.

And that the investigation will continue

to accumulate evidence

if new evidence does become available.

I don't think that it's possible

for you to schedule a meeting

that will resolve this problem

to your satisfaction today.

I don't think that's possible.

We want justice here,

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

going about spreading peace and goodwill.

Giving license to, "You don't have to be

dressed up in a suit."

You can express yourself.

She became, to me, like a bodhisattva.

A holy person who would wander the Village

in whatever adornment she wanted,

being at peace.

How will this affect your job?

Darling, I don't have a job.

I'm on welfare.

I have no intentions of getting a job

as long as this country discriminates

against homosexuals.

[man] Right on.

[protesters chanting] Justice!

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