A bust of Marsha P. Johnson went up near the Stonewall Inn as a tribute to the transgender activist

Visitors to New York's Christopher Park this week were greeted by the bust of Marsha P. Johnson, stoic yet softly smiling. It evokes a famous photograph of Johnson, beaming with a crown of brilliant blooms strewn through her hair. It was the work of a group of enterprising artists and activists.

The bust was erected on what would have been Jonhson's 76th birthday -- and more than two years after city officials announced they were going to create a monument to Johnson and fellow transgender activist Sylvia Rivera. But this statue of Johnson, a Black transgender woman who devoted much of her life to the movement for LGBTQ rights, wasn't created with the city's involvement or approval. A group of enterprising artists and activists just got tired of waiting for the monument and made it themselves.