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Contact: Anya Overmann, Secretary
Rachel Pfeffer, PhD, Interim Executive Director
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
The American Ethical Union Elects the Youngest, Most Gender, Ethnically, and Racially Diverse Board Officers in the 134 Years Since its Founding
FRIDAY August 11th — The American Ethical Union, the national umbrella organization leading the Ethical Humanism movement, held its 108th Assembly on July 29, 2023 with a historic Board election of the organization’s first Black woman president Dr. Khandra Sears (she/her), Black non-binary vice-president Dr. Jé Exodus Hooper (they/them), and youngest ever secretary, Anya Overmann (she/her). The Assembly also elected Anthony Cruz Pantojas (they/them) as a Director, making this AEU Board the youngest and most gender, ethnically, and racially diverse in its history.
“The AEU is at a challenging and exciting era in its formation.” said President Sears, “We exist at a time when many people are leaving more traditional religions and are on quests to find better relationships and community with others. However, we have not positioned ourselves as a place where many stop on their journey. It was a happy accident that I wound up serving on the board last year with Anya and Jé, but in us finding each other, we also found a deep, shared commitment to making the AEU a safe place for more humanists. We have a lot of work before us, but many in this movement are ready for systemic change, even if that seems scary. A big part of this work will be reaching out to those marginalized within the movement and ensuring that we engage as many people as possible in charting a way forward for the next era of the AEU.”
Vice President Hooper weighed in, saying, “Throughout our history, Dr. Felix Adler, our founder, was known for his works and commitment to supporting European immigrants in a time of American assimilation. This predated white supremacy overshadowed Black voices and others involved that were not prominent regarding the making and shaping of the Ethical Culture Movement. Though Adler had aloof interactions with W.E.B. Dubois, he was too connected to class, education, and elitism to meaningfully connect with his Black activist contemporaries. Thus, I now see my role as vice president as shifting the narrative of our movement from service to relationship – one of equity and belonging, not just service or ‘love,’ as James Baldwin defines as a state of being. During my term, our movement is love in action and becoming whereby we are not in service to, but in relationship with.”
“As a board member,” said Director Mx. Cruz Pantojas, “I look forward to listening to our members and inquiring about how we can expand ethical possibilities in solidarity. Together, our commitment is to foster constructive, creative, and reparative opportunities and learn about our humanist and nontheist worlds transnationally.”
“I’m excited to build healthier, decolonized structures with a team committed to relationships over service,” said Secretary Overmann, “as well as the concept of ‘power with’ rather than ‘power over.’ This team is boldly modeling the most authentic embodiment of humanist values I’ve witnessed in my involvement with the global humanist movement. I’m honored to be part of this historic moment.”
Contact us for more information at www.aeu.org and www.enhance.community (ENHANCE is the name and website to gain more information about this collective).
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About the American Ethical Union
The American Ethical Union (AEU) creates, nurtures, and inspires ethical humanist communities to foster a world that is democratic, compassionate, just, and sustainable. Ethical Humanism/Ethical Culture is a humanist Movement focusing on human goodness and building ethical relationships with each other and the Earth. As a non-theistic organization, the AEU does not concern itself with the existence or non-existence of a deity but instead embraces the diversity of the membership.
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