A DC beer company will be honoring Marsha P. Johnson for Pride this year

The beers with the Marsha P. Johnson art
Photo: Maggie Dougherty/DC Brau

A beer company will be honoring Marsha P. Johnson for D.C.’s pride this year.

The Washington Blade announced that DC Brau would be making 28,000 limited edition cans of Brau Pils with artwork by Maggie Dougherty. The art shows Marsha “Pay it no mind” Johnson, a prominent New York City transgender, AIDS, and homelessness activist.

Johnson, who was called the “mayor of Christopher Street” for her work in Greenwich Village, played a prominent role in the Stonewall Riots and co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) with Sylvia Rivera.

Related: What happened to trans pioneer Marsha P. Johnson?

“Maggie’s design cuts to the core of what this project has always been about for us, celebrating the beauty, love and diversity of the LGBTQ community here in DC and beyond,” said DC Brau CEO Brandon Skall.

“We are thrilled the public vote jibed with what we feel is the perfect way to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Stonewall and the golden birthday of our partners at The Washington Blade.”

“This design celebrates the progress that’s been made since Stonewall while remembering how much more work needs to be done,” Dougherty said. “The flowers on the label are for those blooms that Marsha was known to wear in her hair, as well as 27 pansies representing the 27 trans deaths that took place in 2018 and early 2019.”

Proceeds from the beers will go to SMYAL, an LGBTQ youth organization in D.C., and The Blade Foundation, which supports LGBTQ journalism.

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