Brenda Howard
Encyclopedia
Brenda Howard was an American bisexual rights
activist and sex-positive feminist
. Howard was an important figure in the modern LGBT rights movement.
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
and for several years chair of the Gay Activists Alliance's Speakers Bureau 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 Rebellion
. Howard also originated the idea for 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. Additionally, Howard along with fellow LGBT Activists Robert A. Martin (aka Donny the Punk) and L. Craig Schoonmaker are credited with popularizing the word "Pride" to describe these festivities.
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 Gay, Lesbian and Bi Rights and Liberation" where she was female co-chair of the leather contingent and "Stonewall 25" in 1994.
Chapter of PFLAG announced the creation of the "Brenda Howard Award
". This is the first time a major American LGBT organization has named an award after an out bisexual member of the LGBT Community.
This award to be given yearly, recognizes an individual or organization whose work on behalf of the LGBT Community best exemplifies the vision, principals and community service exemplified by the late Brenda Howard and who serves as a positive and visible role model for the Bisexual Community
.
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
activist and sex-positive feminist
Sex-positive feminism
Sex-positive feminism, also known as pro-sex feminism, sex-radical feminism, or sexually liberal feminism is a movement that began in the early 1980s...
. 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 SchoolSyosset High School
Syosset High School, located on Southwoods Road in Syosset, New York, USA is the only high school for residents of the Syosset Central School District.- Overview :The school was named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 1992–1993...
and from Borough of Manhattan Community College
Borough of Manhattan Community College
The Borough of Manhattan Community College is one of six two-year colleges within the City University of New York system and the only one in Manhattan. Founded in 1963, BMCC originally offered business-oriented and liberal arts degrees for those intending to enter the business world or transfer...
with an AAS degree in Nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
.
In the late 1960s, Howard was active in the movement against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. In 1969 she lived in an urban commune
Commune (intentional community)
A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
of anti-war activists and draft resisters
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
in downtown Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. 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
Feminist movement
The feminist movement refers to a series of campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women's suffrage, sexual harassment and sexual violence...
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
Gay Liberation Front
Gay Liberation Front was the name of a number of Gay Liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots, in which police clashed with gay demonstrators.-The Gay Liberation Front:...
and for several years chair of the Gay Activists Alliance's Speakers Bureau in the post-Stonewall
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...
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 Rebellion
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...
. Howard also originated the idea for a week-long series of events around Pride Day which became the genesis of the annual LGBT Pride celebrations
Gay pride
LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...
that are now held around the world every June. Additionally, Howard along with fellow LGBT Activists Robert A. Martin (aka Donny the Punk) and L. Craig Schoonmaker are credited with popularizing the word "Pride" to describe these festivities.
A fixture in New York City's
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
LGBT Community
Gay community
The gay community, or LGBT community, is a loosely defined grouping of LGBT and LGBT-supportive people, organizations and subcultures, united by a common culture and civil rights movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality...
Howard was active in the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights which helped guide New York City's
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
rights law
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
through the City Council
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...
in 1986.
In 1987 Howard helped found the New York Area Bisexual Network
New York Area Bisexual Network
New York Area Bisexual Network is a central communications network for bisexual & bi-friendly groups and resources in the five boroughs of New York City and the surrounding Tri-State area....
to help co-ordinate services to the region's growing Bisexual community
Bisexual community
Bisexual community is a term used to describe members of the LGBT community who identify as bisexual, pansexual, "fluid", and queer-identified, as well as their allies...
. She was also an active member of the early bisexual political activist group BiPAC
BIPAC
BIPAC was formed in August 1963 by officials in the National Association of Manufacturers with seed funding from that organization, with the goal of electing business-friendly candidates...
, a Regional Organizer for BiNet USA
BiNet USA
BiNet USA is a national bisexual/pansexual civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. It was founded to formalize communication between U.S...
, a co-facilitator of the Bisexual S/M Discussion Group and a founder of the nation’s first Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
chapter for bisexuals.
On a national level, Howard’s activism included work on the 1993 "March on Washington for Gay, Lesbian and Bi Rights and Liberation" where she was female co-chair of the leather contingent and "Stonewall 25" in 1994.
Quotations
The Brenda Howard Award
In 2005 the QueensQueens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
Chapter of PFLAG announced the creation of the "Brenda Howard Award
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 .This award to be given annually, recognizes an individual or organization whose work on behalf of the Bisexual Community and greater LGBT Community best exemplifies the...
". This is the first time a major American LGBT organization has named an award after an out bisexual member of the LGBT Community.
This award to be given yearly, recognizes an individual or organization whose work on behalf of the LGBT Community best exemplifies the vision, principals and community service exemplified by the late Brenda Howard and who serves as a positive and visible role model for the Bisexual Community
Bisexual community
Bisexual community is a term used to describe members of the LGBT community who identify as bisexual, pansexual, "fluid", and queer-identified, as well as their allies...
.
See also
- Sylvia RiveraSylvia RiveraSylvia Rae Rivera was an American transgender activist. Rivera was a founding member of both the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance and helped found STAR , a group dedicated to helping homeless young street trans women, with her friend Marsha P...
- Marsha P. JohnsonMarsha P. JohnsonMarsha P. Johnson born in Elizabeth, New Jersey as Malcolm Michaels, Jr. was an African American transgender activist and a popular figure in New York City's gay and art scene from the 1960s to the 1990s....
- Stephen Donaldson (aka Donny the Punk)
- Gay prideGay prideLGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...
- Gay Activists Alliance
- Socialism and LGBT rightsSocialism and LGBT rightsThe connection between left-leaning ideologies and LGBT rights has a long and mixed history. Some socialists and members of other left wing political ideologies have supported LGBT rights, while many Marxist/Socialist regimes including the USSR, People's Republic of China, North Korea, Cuba, and...
- New York Area Bisexual NetworkNew York Area Bisexual NetworkNew York Area Bisexual Network is a central communications network for bisexual & bi-friendly groups and resources in the five boroughs of New York City and the surrounding Tri-State area....
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)
- pioneering activist for gays and bisexuals (Advocate)