Brenda Howard

Brenda Howard (December 24, 1946 – June 28, 2005) was an American bisexual activist who contributed to early post-Stonewall LGBT organizing, including participation in planning the 1970 Christopher Street Liberation Day March to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Born in the Bronx, New York, she entered activism through 1960s anti-Vietnam War protests before joining the Gay Liberation Front. Howard later focused on bisexual rights, co-founding the New York Area Bisexual Network in 1987 to coordinate services for the bisexual community and establishing the first Alcoholics Anonymous chapter dedicated to bisexuals. She advocated for bisexual inclusion in broader LGBT events, such as lobbying to add "bisexual" to the name of the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation. Although some later accounts have dubbed her the "Mother of Pride" for her involvement in originating week-long pride observances and popularizing the term "pride," this recognition has been contested by contemporaneous Gay Liberation Front members, who describe her role as one among many in collective efforts rather than singular leadership.