John Quinn Brisben (September 6, 1934 – April 17, 2012) was an American teacher, author, and political activist from Chicago, Illinois.

[11] Brisben took part in the Mississippi Freedom Summer of 1964—where he was briefly jailed—and in several Southern Christian Leadership Conference-sponsored activities in Alabama from 1965 to 1967.

As a student at the University of Oklahoma in the 1950s, Brisben was once physically attacked[2] for being the first white member[7] of the local NAACP chapter.

In July 1990, he and Andrea helped smuggle 3,000 condoms[7] donated by ACT-UP Chicago to the Moscow Lesbian and Gay Union.

The Miami Herald reported that Brisben traveled via Amtrak across the country speaking to small groups of socialists.

[15] Brisben and his running mate Bill Edwards were nominated at the 1991 Socialist Party USA convention.

[17] The Brisben−Garson ticket appeared on the ballots of Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia;[1] ultimately, they received 3,071 votes.

[2] Andrea founded Changing Woman Designs, a needlepoint pattern company, in 1991[6] which she ran until her death on August 5, 2016.