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Howard passed away from colon cancer in 2005 - during Pride on June 28, 2005, to be exact, the 36th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. “She fought for anyone who had their rights trampled on.” “She was an in-your-face activist,” Nelson said in 2014. Decrying the many myths surrounding bisexuality, pushing it into the spotlight, and rallying for its support in ongoing queer narratives was a strong part of Howard’s activism, though she also campaigned heavily for LGBTQ+ rights in general, as well as women’s rights, national healthcare, equal treatment for people of color, and rights for those affected by AIDS. Stevens and Howard were thrown in jail, later “reading steamy novels aloud to the assembled grrlz and being as much of a pain in the rear as possible so they'd not want to hold us any longer than absolutely necessary,” Stevens wrote.Īs a pioneer in the movement to advance bisexual inclusion, Howard was part of the delegation that worked to get “Bi” added to the title of the 1993 March on Washington so it would become “March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights.” Beforehand, the march had only focused on gay and lesbian rights. In 1991, Howard was protesting with ACT-UP in Atlanta because a lesbian staffer in the state attorney general’s office was fired due to Georgia’s sodomy laws. Her friend Marla Stevens remembered one particular jail time fondly. Howard was arrested while participating in her activist work multiple times. “She returned thousands of messages left on the line.” In this and so many other ways, Howard created space for people maligned both within and outside the LGBTQ+ community to connect with others.
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“For decades she was the voice on the recorded message that would tell bi people in NYC where events were happening,” Limoncelli wrote.