“Saint” Marsha P. Johnson and “Mother” Sylvia Rivera:
Resistance and Liberation

Eyes of past Transgender Women of color and early Activists for Transgender & Gay Rights,
from the Still I Rise series

LED Neckpiece, emiko oye © 2025
Collaboration with Matt Cantu for LED components

Repurposed, recycled and chromed LEGO®; Argentium and sterling silver; found & reworked metal chain necklace, crystal rhinestone necklace and earrings, plastic beads; crystal rhinestone trim; sterling silver plated & non plated nylon coated stainless steel wire; recycled steel label; stainless steel screws and nuts; LED filament, AAA Battery Holder with JST PH connector,10 Ohm resistor, 2 AAA rechargeable batteries

Full neckpiece dimensions in inches: 5 W x 20.5 H x 2.75 D
Neckchain dimensions: 1.5 W x 0.187 – 0.37 D x 21” inside circumference


Marsha P. Johnson

Marsha P. Johnson. Right photo by Leee Black Childers, NYC Pride March. July 1982

About Marsha P. Johnson
1945-1992

Marsha P. Johnson was an activist, self-identified drag queen, performer, and survivor. She identified variously as gay, as a transvestite, and as a “queen” (referring to the term drag queen). According to Susan Stryker, a professor of gender and sexuality studies at the University of Arizona, Johnson’s gender expression could be described as “nonbinary gender” in the absence of Johnson’s use of the term transgender, a term that was not widely used at the time.

She was a prominent figure in the Stonewall uprising of 1969. Marsha went by “BLACK Marsha” before settling on Marsha P. Johnson. The “P” stood for “Pay It No Mind,” which is what Marsha would say in response to questions about her gender.