Google celebrates trans pioneer and activist Marsha P. Johnson with one of its homepage “doodles” today, June 30, and made a donation to end violence against trans women. Johnson was a leader in the Stonewall riots of 1969 and with her friend and fellow trans pioneer Sylvia Rivera founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, an organization that advocated for homeless LGBTQ young people.
Writes Google: “Over 50 years later, Pride continues to be a protest for equity, visibility, and justice. For as much progress as the movement has brought, there is still more work to do. Google.org is donating $500,000 to the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, which works to end violence against Black and Black Latinx trans womxn across the United States and create a world where everyone is safe, valued, and treated with human dignity. This funding, which builds on Google's recent commitment to support LGBTQ+ community organizations around the world, will provide direct cash assistance to Black trans people through the organization's COVID-19 relief efforts. The Marsha P. Johnson Institute is fiscally sponsored by the Social Good Fund.”