I often direct media attention I receive to highlight charities and social issues worldwide with my work’s overwhelming attention. Later I would turn into a human rights activist and campaign for social justice all over the country. This was an extremely controversial time in my career.
In 2019, several local organizations created a controversy between themselves and the local police. House of Chuck Magazine declined to attend Pride STL 2019. We blasted the organizations for not dedicating the event to Marcia P. Johnson, and Black Trans Lives Matter due to the overwhelming domestic violence and murders among the Transgender community each year. While St. Louis was at this war, we decided to attend The 50th Anniversary of Stonewall in New York.
In 1969, a Transgender POC woman named Marcia P. Johnson was the first celebrity to crash the Stonewall Riots and take charge. This iconic move started the LGBTQIA+ liberation movement, and members of The LQBTQIA+ Community protested in the streets the following day. As a result, Johnson started several LGBTQIA+ organizations and will forever be known as The Rosa Parks of The LGBTQIA+ Community. While in New York, House of Chuck Magazine placed flowers at The Stonewall Inn and covered the 50th Anniversary Parade.
In July 2020, the 28th anniversary of The Death of Marcia P. Johnson, “Controversy in STL: The Maximum Exposure Fashion Series” was created in dedication to Black Trans Lived Matter. This show featured dozens of members of the Transgender Community, including performers Zariah Principal, Dee Dee Young, Lady Essence, and Paula Douglass, along with Pride footage and photography gathered by House of Chuck Magazine from 2014 – 2020 and including the 50th Anniversary Stonewall Parade.
The Transgender community throughout my career has always protected and influenced House of Chuck Magazine. However, throughout the years, I have watched so many of my people drop like flies right in front of me due to domestic violence, and after a certain point, someone has to say something. We understand some were confused by our actions, but these are desperate times. The following year in 2021, those same organizations that created the controversy between themselves and the STLPD were attacking us with racism throughout the production. House of Chuck Magazine is still confused about why these organizations would instead work undercover maliciously to create controversy to compromise our mission rather than highlight a vital issue in the community.
Over the years, many have plotted and conspired against me for personal gain; all have failed at their mission. Nevertheless, House of Chuck Magazine continues on and on.
The leaders of these same organizations continue to disagree that the Black Transgender Community deserves credit for creating the LGBTQIA+ liberation movement back in 1969, just one year after Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated. Six years after his “I have a dream” speech in Washington DC, over 250,000 civil rights activists attended. (Note: Danni Harden will play Marsha P. Johnson in the prequel series in 2024). In 2021, House of Chuck Magazine wrote an article insisting that the Mayor of St. Louis have more oversight in the St. Louis LGBTQIA+ Community for everyone’s safety. House of Chuck Magazine continues to collaborate with the Transgender community regularly, and our long working relationship remains preserved, honored, and unchanged.
In 2017, Netflix released a documentary called The Death and Life of Marcia P. Johnson. Therefore, July 6th, 2022, will mark 30 years since her death. Unfortunately, the details of Johnson’s death are still left unknown, and her case remains open. If only she could see the world today and how far we have come with Black Trans Lives Matter. During the 75th birthday of Marcia P. Johnson, House of Chuck Magazine published the digital release of the “Controversy in STL: The Maximum Exposure Fashion Series.”
