The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson Page #9

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-is really just the peeling of skin.

-Okay.

But it's just normal separation of skin.

[Al] I don't think it was a suicide.

It could've been an accident.

It could've...

They said the pier was dilapidated.

He could've stepped through

a hole in the pier.

Or people could have been following him,

and because there was no evidence

of any type of trauma to the body,

that don't mean they beat him up

and threw him in the water.

They could've chased him, scared him,

and he also fell through the pier.

[Dr. Michael] Yes, that certainly

brings up the issue of homicide,

because if somebody's being chased...

and runs in front of a car,

or accidentally falls into the water,

runs into the water,

that would be called a homicide.

Well, we have documentation

where she was frantic, being followed.

Credible person giving this report

to our agency,

and then wasn't even investigated.

[Dr. Michael] Well, there's no, um...

statute of limitation on homicide,

and that goes beyond my pay grade.

[Victoria] Something's wrong.

We keep on running into a brick wall

whenever we deal with the city.

Every time I spoke to a cop,

and they just brushed me off.

Something's wrong.

Every time I made a call,

"You have to do this and this and this."

Something's wrong.

Why this particular case?

I think maybe we should go up

one step higher,

and maybe seek some assistance

from someplace outside of New York City

to just look over what we have here.

You know, it's obvious that

the police are not cooperating with this.

Well, we don't have an endless pot

of people or time or resources.

And so, I'm not really sure

what is involved in that.

You know, just today, you all were

at the trial for Islan Nettles.

I mean, there are so many cases,

and so many have not had any resolution.

We've had, in the last couple of months,

a number of murders across the country.

When trans lives are under attack,

what do we do?

[protester] Stand up, fight back.

[reporter 1] Eight transgender women

across the country

have been murdered in the last 34 days.

There have been more than

400 people murdered in the past decade.

[reporter 2] Transgender women

face the most severe violence

within the LGBTQ community.

A transgender woman was found

strangled to death.

Police say she was stabbed several times.

[reporter 3] In street lingo, it was a

curb stomp. He was dressed as a woman.

[Jennifer] And shame on the media

for calling us men dressed

in women's clothing.

Shame on the media for that.

This cannot go unanswered.

I say, hands off my sister.

Do we not deal

with the immediate needs there

to go back and spend the time

to investigate this case?

Or even, like, what does that mean?

[Victoria] What does that mean?

Justice for Marsha.

[protesters chanting]

Keep your hands off my sister!

Keep your hands off my sister!

Keep your hands off my sister!

[Victoria] And justice for so many others.

The visibility that we can do something

about a case that's been cold,

and then seeking justice,

if not for the family,

but for the community.

-I know--

-Because this is part of our history.

It is part of our history.

I completely believe that.

And I'm also worried about the future.

[protesters chanting]

Keep your hands off my sister!

Keep your hands off my sister!

Keep your hands off my sister!

Keep your hands off my sister!

Keep your hands off my sister!

[helicopter blades whirring]

[sniffles]

[shudders and exhales]

[sniffles]

Whatever happened,

it must have been around here.

We live as who we are.

This is us. This is us being at home.

I don't know,

we just want to be ourselves.

The women we are, inside-out.

Right? Am I wrong?

-[Rusty] She's right. Very wise of her.

-[giggles]

It started out,

it was just Chelsea and me.

And, um, then,

people just started to come.

We started to think of ourselves as,

you know, this was the house

that Sylvia and Marsha had.

And we really looked at STAR House

as our reference point.

[Rusty] Aw, there they are.

I have to get this picture.

She'd been homeless, and she'd been living

on a pier, and that sort of thing.

And I said, "Hey, you're not homeless.

I got a place.

Long as I got a place,

you're not homeless."

She didn't move in right away,

but she started coming around.

She'd do some work in the backyard,

do some work around the house

in lieu of paying rent.

...went around the streets.

We have to help one another.

We really do. It's important.

The people in the house

really related to Sylvia.

She mothered them, in a way,

and gave advice.

She talked with them.

But when she sobered up,

then she was much better with them.

Just like cold turkey.

Bang, no more drinking.

[crowd applauding]

We have to remember,

we must continue to fight this government

because this government is the one

that's going to keep us divided

at all time.

[crowd applauding]

[Rusty] That's when she got back

into her role, I think,

as an activist in the community.

And all of a sudden, we noticed

people were coming up and saying,

"You're Sylvia Rivera, aren't you?

I thought you was dead!"

I began to realize that

she really had a lot of projection

in the community.

[crowd cheering]

[in French] It's a huge party,

and its mission

is to fight against discrimination.

[news anchor] In the streets of Rome,

World Gay Pride gathered 200,000 gays,

transgender people and lesbians

from Italy, as well as America,

France and Germany.

[crowd cheering]

It really gives me great

pleasure to be here in representation

of the gay liberation movement

and the transgender movement

all the way from the United States.

[crowd cheering]

I didn't think 31 years ago

that I would have so many children,

but I'm proud to have liberated you.

Viva and love Pride,

and continue your struggle

all around the world!

[crowd cheering]

[crowd chanting]

[Sylvia] The crowd went crazy.

At one point in between my speech,

they started calling me

a living myth in Italian.

Mistica. Mistica.

Oh, my God, it's hard.

Then people were coming up

and kissing my hand,

and then giving me the double kiss,

and going through the whole scenario

with the little bit of English

that they knew.

"Thank you for what you did at Stonewall."

I was really emotional

about the whole thing.

-Guess what?

-[Rusty] What?

Guess where Mother has keys to now, then?

To the church.

-[Rusty] To the church?

-Mother got a job at church.

[Rusty] What are you doing?

-[Sylvia] Bagging up food and whatnot.

-And are they paying you?

-[Sylvia] Yes.

-[Rusty] No kidding.

I can go home and say that

I've actually tried to make a difference.

[Rusty] That's what marriage does to you.

-She's made me an honest woman.

-[Rusty] Really? That's good.

I mean, me of all people, Sylvia Rivera,

had the keys to a church.

[all laughing]

[news anchor]

Sylvia Rivera was 50 years old

when she died of liver cancer last week.

Virtually up until the moment she died,

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