“History happens because of decisions that sometimes are very impulsive.” 

Legend has it that Johnson threw the first brick at the Stonewall Riots in 1969; though various parties–including sometimes Johnson–have contested the charge over the years, that brick nevertheless cemented Johnson’s reputation as a queer revolutionary. Founding groups like the Gay Liberation Front and Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, Johnson delved into AIDS-related activism in the ’80s as well. When challenged about gender, Johnson pointedly told busybodies that the middle initial “P” stood for “pay it no mind.”