Born Malcom Michaels Jr., Marsha P. Johnson had a difficult upbringing. Between her being raised Christian and the cruel kids at school, she often felt she had to hide who she really was. She was born on August 24, 1945, in Elizabeth, NJ. Her father was a worker on the General Motors assembly line, and her mother was a housekeeper. From a young age, Marsha was religious and went toattended Mount Teman African Methodist Episcopal Church. She started to wear dresses when she was about five years old but was reprimanded by her parents and quickly stopped. The kids at school were not much better and harassed her constantly. One boy even went as far as to sexually assaultedassault her. Shortly after graduating from Thomas A. Edison high schoolHigh School, she moved to New York City with only “$15 and a bag of clothes”.