“Bi, Poly, Switch—I’m not greedy, I know what I want.” – Brenda HowardPhoto: Brenda Howard (December
“Bi, Poly, Switch—I’m not greedy, I know what I want.” – Brenda HowardPhoto: Brenda Howard (December 24, 1946 – June 28, 2005), Anti-Violence March, Brooklyn, New York, 1989. Photo © Efrain Gonzalez.Brenda Howard, who was born seventy years ago today, was a bisexual, sex-positive, polyamorous feminist who played a significant role in the modern queer liberation movement from its inception.In the weeks after Stonewall, Howard was a member of the committee that organized the July 1969 march to commemorate the riots and protest the ongoing persecution of LGBTQs; having decided that “March Committee” was too bland, the group called themselves the Gay Liberation Front (GLF). Days after the march, GLF officially formed as an independent organization dedicated to ending gay oppression by “relat[ing] the militancy generated by [Stonewall]…to a program that allows homosexuals and sexually liberated persons to confront themselves and persons.” Howard and the others therefore directly were responsible for linking Stonewall to a new chapter in the queer liberation movement.In the decades that followed, Brenda Howard remained a constant figure in the New York LGBTQ activist scene. Among other things, Howard helped organize many of the first Christopher Street Liberation Day Parades and she fought for years for New York City’s gay rights ordinance (which eventually passed in 1986). Not only did Howard participate in ACT UP and Queer Nation, she helped found the New York Area Bisexual Network and served as a regional organizer for BiNet USA. Howard also was proudly active in the BDSM scene and she co-chaired the leather contingent at the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation in April 1993.Brenda Howard died of colon cancer on June 28, 2005; she was fifty-eight. She was survived by her partner, Larry Nelson. #lgbthistory #HavePrideInHistory #BrendaHoward (at Brooklyn, New York) -- source link
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