Celebrating Marsha P. Johnson
During Women’s History month at The PEACE Program, we are celebrating Women from the past and present, focusing on uplifting Black and Indigenous, Queer and Trans Women in politics, social justice, law, motherhood, education and more.
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Marsha P. Johnson
From the National Women’s History Museum, excerpt by Emma Rothberg, Ph.D.
“Marsha P. Johnson was one of the most prominent figures of the gay rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s in New York City.
Always sporting a smile, Johnson was an important advocate for homeless LGBTQ+ youth, those effected by H.I.V. and AIDS, and gay and transgender rights.
Why is Marsha P. Johnson relevant today?
There are sweeping Anti-Trans and Anti-Women legislation popping up throughout the United States right now. As of this writing, the ACLU is tracking 378 anti-LGBTQ bills in the U.S. From the censorship of queer and trans performers, to the elimination of gender affirming care for youth (and in some cases adults), to the outright call for the genocide of transgender people, this oppression is not new. Marsha P. Johnson was a fervent advocate of queer and trans rights and as a Black Trans Woman, she saw the applications of white supremacy and divisiveness even within her own movement.
“Johnson was involved in the early days of both [the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activist Alliance] but grew frustrated by the exclusion of transgender and LGBTQ+ people of color from the movement. She actively spoke out about the transphobia in the early gay rights movement.”
-From the National Women’s History Museum, excerpt by Emma Rothberg, Ph.D.
What Marsha P. Johnson stood for is still as vibrant as ever. Marsha P. Johnson stood up for her truth, advocated for liberation for her community, and called for the uplifting of society towards a more just and inclusive future. In order to do that now, we must go back to the roots of white supremacy culture, its values, and its structures… because not all cultures, values, and societal structures have embedded such violence against women and such hatred toward various gender identities. Many original inhabitants, traditional peoples, and ancestral, Indigenous cultures around the world celebrate, empower, and honor people, not because of a particular body they were born into or how they identify or express themselves, but because of their inherent humanity above all else.
Marsha P. Johnson matters because of her humanity. We can celebrate her bravery and her courageous activism, but that is not why she matters. She matters because of her humanity and that’s someone we all have in common with her, and we must remember it. Especially now, we need to center each others’ humanity, especially those whose humanity is systematically targeted.
The Montessori Connection
Our mission at The PEACE Program is to support adults supporting children in the most critical years of human development. That means the adults at home and the adults at school. We work with a cross section of adults with the aim that by supporting and empowering them, they can in turn support and empower the children in their care.
Montessori education is a tool for liberation. It is a tool toward peace and so much of the work toward peace can be done in these first six essential years of development. BUT, these are the years we often have little to no support. This lack of support and information often leaves us living out - subconsciously - the same parenting approach of our parents. And that was true for our parents, and their parents, and their parents before them. This is how culture is passed and yes, this is how racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, and so many other power-centered frameworks are passed on.
The number one parenting and teaching style for the first six years is “power over”: physical power over, cognitive power over, emotional power over, provide (rewards) or withhold (punishments) power over. Even when we try not to leverage our power over our children, in the tense moment of parenting or teaching, we fall back on our roots. And in those tense moments, the child, who is also in a fragile moment, is primed to tag and remember these moments of oppression, of “power over”, and begin to bury that training deep into their subconscious.
There is another way.
The Montessori framework is not well understood, but the good news is that its simple: “Understand the development the child is trying to do, and then prepare yourself and your spaces so they can do the development they are trying to do.” As adults, we are blocking the child’s developmental path 9 times out of 10 if we don’t understand it or know what to expect from it.
So, the first step is to get a quality resource to understand the development the child is trying to do. At The PEACE Program, we have built out Masterclass program to be this resource so that you get human-to-human connection in the face of everything that is going on in the world. We can combat injustice with community. We can stand up against oppression with knowledge. And we can make a huge difference on the next generation when we understand the development the child is trying to do, and prepare ourselves and our spaces so they can do the development they are trying to do.
Join us at join.thepeaceprogram.org
Children's Books:
Books are essential to the child’s linguistic development. They are also an important space for children to see the world through someone else’s experience. In the sea of possible books to choose for children, however, there are ways to find high-quality literature and one of the best places to start is by finding books with children’s authors and illustrators. It might sound obvious, but there are a fair amount of books in the children’s section that do not have an author or illustrator listed. Talented authors and illustrators are out there creating wonderful stories for children who will want to hear them again and again (and thus make it a good literary experience). So, both the author and the illustrator matter. And because books offer this essential space to see the world through someone else’s experience, representation is a key factor in a good children’s library. And thus, we need to interrogate our book selection and book purchasing for maximum authentic representation.
“Books about white children, talking bears, trucks, monsters, potatoes, etc. represent nearly three quarters (71%) of children’s and young adult books published in 2019.”
Due to systemic racism (and sometimes interpersonal racism), books by Black and Indigenous authors and/or illustrators make up a very small percentage of published books (in 2019, this was just 5.7% compared to 83.2% of books by white authors and illustrators) and only 11.9% of books in 2019 even featured a Black primary character. And even worse, many books that feature characters who are Black, Indigenous, and of the Global Majority are still written and illustrated by white authors and illustrators. And this is a serious problem in the fight against white supremacy because of the racist history of white people creating “caricatures” of Black, Indigenous and People of the Global Majority in cartoons and other illustrations that feed into violent stereotypes and continuous oppression. Your book selection matters to the child and to supporting Black and Indigenous authors!
Support Black-Owned Businesses:
Purchase from local Black-Owned Bookstores. Google Black-Owned Bookstores near you. Then, go to Bookshop.org to find that bookstore and purchase your books from them online.
Places to Get Book Recommendations from Black Creators:
About The PEACE Program
Our Montessori Masterclass lives into our values of self-reflection, self-care, responsiveness to being/becoming Anti-Bias / Anti-Racist, and a deep commitment to the whole child within the whole family. We offer a holistic program meant to provide inclusive, practical, and supportive guidance for parents & educators from birth to six.
