Brenda Howard (December 24, 1946 – June 28, 2005) was an American bisexual rights activist and sex-positive feminist. Howard was an important figure in the modern LGBT rights movement.
Biography
Brenda Howard was born in the Bronx and grew up in Syosset, Nassau County, New York. She graduated from Syosset High School and from Borough of Manhattan Community College with an AAS degree in Nursing.
In the late 1960s, Howard was active in the movement against the Vietnam War. In 1969 she lived in an urban commune of anti-war activists and draft resisters in downtown Brooklyn New York. Like many other women in the US anti-war movement at the time, Howard became critical of its domination by men, and she soon became involved in the feminist movement as well.
A militant activist who helped plan and participated in LGBT rights actions for over three decades, Howard was an active member of the Gay Liberation Front[1][2] and for several years chair of the Gay Activists Alliance's Speakers Bureau[3] in the post-Stonewall era.
She is known as the "Mother of Pride" for her work in coordinating a rally and then the Christopher Street Liberation Day March to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Howard also originated the idea of a week-long series of events around Pride Day which became the genesis of the annual LGBT Pride celebrations that are now held around the world every June.[4][5] Additionally, Howard along with fellow LGBT activists Stephen Donaldson and L. Craig Schoonmaker are credited with popularizing the word "Pride" to describe these festivities.[6]
A fixture in New York City's LGBT Community Howard was active in the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights which helped guide New York City's LGBT rights law through the City Council in 1986.
In 1987 Howard helped found the New York Area Bisexual Network to help co-ordinate services to the region's growing Bisexual community. She was also an active member of the early bisexual political activist group BiPAC, a Regional Organizer for BiNet USA, a co-facilitator of the Bisexual S/M Discussion Group and a founder of the nation’s first Alcoholics Anonymous chapter for bisexuals.
On a national level, Howard’s activism included work on the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation where she was female co-chair of the leather contingent and Stonewall 25 in 1994.
Quotations
The Brenda Howard Award
The Brenda Howard Memorial Award was created in 2005 by the Queens Chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).[7] It was the first award by a major American LGBT organization to be named after an openly bisexual person. The award, which is given annually, recognizes an individual or organization whose work on behalf of the bisexual community and the greater LGBT community best exemplifies the vision, principles. and community service exemplified by Brenda Howard, and who serves as a positive and visible role model for the entire LGBT community.
Recipients
| Year | Recipient | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Lawrence Nelson | Founding Member / current Board Member of PFLAG Queens[8] |
| 2006 | Tom Limoncelli | New Jersey BiNet USA delegate, Bi-identified LGBT rights activist, SysAdmin & Author |
| 2007 | Wendy Moscow | long-time Queens NY Bi-identified LGBT rights activist[9] |
| 2008 | Wendy Curry | Bi-identified LGBT rights activist & then President of BiNet USA[10] |
| 2009 | Micah Kellner | 1st openly Bi-identified LGBT person elected to New York State Assembly[11][12] |
| 2010 | Lisa Jacobs | Bisexual Rights Activist, Founder & current President of the Transcending Boundaries Conference |
| 2011 | Robyn Ochs | long time LGBT Rights/Bisexual Rights Activist, Speaker & Author[13] |
See also
References
- ↑ Gay Liberation Front: In Memorium. In: Home page. N. A. Diaman, abgerufen am 2. August 2010.
- ↑ Donn Teal: The gay militants. Stein and Day, New York 1971, ISBN 0-8128-1373-1.
- ↑ Joe Kennedy: Summer of 77.
- ↑ Channel 13/WNET Out! 2007: Women In the Movement
- ↑ The Gay Pride Issue: Picking Apart The Origin of Pride (Seite nicht mehr abrufbar, festgestellt im April 2011.)
- ↑ Dynes, Wayne R. Pride (trope), Homolexis (Seite nicht mehr abrufbar, festgestellt im Oktober 2013.)
- ↑ The PFLAG Queens Chapter Names New Award for Bisexual Activist Brenda Howard
- ↑ Brenda Howard Memorial Award Information
- ↑ http://pflag-queens.org/bio-2007.html#wendy Bio of Ms. Wendy Moscow
- ↑ BiNet USA President Wendy Curry Receives the 4th Annual Brenda Howard Memorial Award February 24, 2009 BiNet USA News and Updates
- ↑ NY Assemblymember Kellner Given Brenda Howard Award February 21, 2009 BiNet USA News and Updates
- ↑ Gustafson, Anna Queens PFLAG to honor three in February January 1, 2009 Astoria Times.
- ↑ Robyn Ochs Receives Brenda Howard Award from PFLAG, Queens Chapter, February 05, 2012 BiMagazine.
External links
- Brenda Howard's Website
- LJ community to celebrate & continue Brenda Howard's activism
- New York Area Bisexual Network (NYABN)
- In Memoriam, Brenda Howard
- Brenda Howard, Bisexual Activist, Dies (Gay City News)
- Brenda Howard, A Long History of Activism (Gay City News) (Seite nicht mehr abrufbar, festgestellt im April 2011.)
- pioneering activist for gays and bisexuals (Advocate) (Seite nicht mehr abrufbar, festgestellt im April 2011.)