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AEU, BES, and AHA Statement on Baltimore

03 May 2015
Emily
Statements

May 1 — The Baltimore Ethical Society (BES), American Ethical Union (AEU), and American Humanist Association (AHA) offer sincere condolences to the family of Freddie Gray, and to all suffering from the events in Baltimore this past week. Gray’s death is a tragedy for his family, a wound in Baltimore’s social fabric, and a reminder of the systemic racism and disempowerment that have long scarred communities of color.

The personal and civic wounds will take a long time to heal. A week ago, then-BES President Emil Volcheck wrote to Baltimore Mayor Rawlings-Blake offering the assistance of the Society and urging transparency and independent validation of the results of internal investigations. Now that Baltimore chief prosecutor Marilyn Mosby has charged six police officers with crimes including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, we hope that due process and transparency will lead to justice.

The crisis in Baltimore will continue long after the news media has moved on to other tragedies. The Baltimore Ethical Society, American Ethical Union, and American Humanist Association are committed to improving criminal justice and strengthening our economy so that everyone is treated with inherent worth. Rather than using dismissive and dehumanizing words that range from “thugs” to “pigs”, our leaders must encourage respectful dialogue with all people whether they are black, white or dressed in blue. We are committed to putting our values of reason, compassion, and hope into action to work toward lasting solutions, regardless of the outcome of the criminal proceedings.

The Baltimore Ethical Society has long battled racism. In 1951 it offered the first integrated Sunday School in Baltimore, and members were active in the civil rights movement. Recently BES hosted forums searching for solutions to racism, poverty, and a punitive criminal justice system. Speakers such as Farajii Muhammad, a peace activist from the American Friends Service Committee and Program Director of Peace by Piece, and Diamonte Brown, Director of Out For Justice, led discussions with the public at the Baltimore Ethical Society. Some of our members have tried to help by going to clean up sites, only to be turned away due to safety concerns. AEU and BES Ethical Action chair Kate LaClair emphasized our commitment to continue Ethical Action work regarding youth opportunities, ethical policing, and our Ethical Culture foundations of honoring worth, building justice, and growing relationships.

There are signs that activists, ministers, and political leaders are working together towards constructive solutions. We applaud those courageous leaders who have taken to the streets to encourage calm. However this situation gets resolved, let’s remember the bigger picture. Ethical Societies will continue learning and teaching about systemic racism. The system in Baltimore, in Maryland, and across the nation needs to be fixed. Our retributive and racially biased criminal justice system is an insult to the ideal of equal justice under law and stands in the way of creating an ethical culture.

Sincerely,

Hugh Taft-Morales, Leader, Baltimore Ethical Society
Bart Worden, Executive Director, American Ethical Union
Dr. Paul Furth, President, Baltimore Ethical Society
Richard Koral, President, American Ethical Union
Kate LaClair, Chair, AEU and BES Ethical Action Committee
Jone Johnson Lewis, President, National Leaders Council
Roy Speckhardt, Executive Director, American Humanist Association

Contact information:
Baltimore Ethical Society
Hugh Taft-Morales, (301) 580-1481, leader@bmorethical.org

American Ethical Union
Bart Worden, executivedirector@aeu.org

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In honor of Women's History Month, the AEU highlights the work of Sandra Faber!An astronomer at the University of California-Santa Cruz, Sandra Faber has made innumerable contributions to our understanding of the beginnings of our universe, the formation of galaxies, and the origins of our planet. In 2013, President Obama recognized her notable achievements with the National Medal of Science. She is also a publicly declared atheist who finds meaning not in religious doctrine or deities but in the beauty of the natural laws of science. In an interview with PBS, Faber stated that there are only two possible explanations for the origin of the universe: “One is that there is a God and that God made it that way. The only other approach…is to argue that there really is an infinite, or a very big, ensemble of universes out there and we are in one.” In the interview Faber asserted her preference for the latter materialistic explanation rather than theistic faith in a creator, adding, “I take comfort in the fact that it is a beautiful universe, and we belong here and that we fit. This is our home.”#WomensHistoryMonth #WHM #WomenInSTEM #WomenHumanists #WomensHistoryMonth2021 ... See MoreSee Less

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On February 25 a group of U.S. House Democrats including Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), reintroduced the Do No Harm Act, a bill to ensure that religious freedom is not used as a justification for discriminating against LGBTQ people, religious minorities, and others. ... See MoreSee Less

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Join the AEU this weekend March 5-7 for our Youth of Ethical Societies Annual Conference! There is still time to sign up here:docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf1L-cW5TbI5soDatqx3tRA56L9yvqJc6ZAbj-Xz2yOlnbiAQ/viewform ... See MoreSee Less

YES Conference 2021

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Join the AEU for this year's YES National Conference! On the weekend of March 5, we will gather online to share our thoughts on this year's topic: America's Public Education System

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American Ethical Union
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On this final day of Black History Month, we honor Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965), a Black playwright and journalist.Hansberry’s partly autobiographical play “A Raisin in the Sun,” shocked Broadway audiences when a Black character declared, “God is just one idea I don’t accept. ... It’s just that I get so tired of him getting credit for all the things the human race achieves through its own stubborn effort. There simply is no God! There is only man, and it’s he who makes miracles!” She worked with W.E.B. DuBois and Paul Robeson on an African-American progressive newspaper, until her life was tragically cut short at age 34 by cancer.#BlackHistory #BlackHistoryMonth #BHM #BlackNonBelievers #BlackHumanism ... See MoreSee Less

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In honor of Women's History Month, the AEU highlig In honor of Women's History Month, the AEU highlights the work of Sandra Faber!
An astronomer at the University of California-Santa Cruz, Sandra Faber has made innumerable contributions to our understanding of the beginnings of our universe, the formation of galaxies, and the origins of our planet. In 2013, President Obama recognized her notable achievements with the National Medal of Science. She is also a publicly declared atheist who finds meaning not in religious doctrine or deities but in the beauty of the natural laws of science. 
In an interview with PBS, Faber stated that there are only two possible explanations for the origin of the universe: “One is that there is a God and that God made it that way. The only other approach…is to argue that there really is an infinite, or a very big, ensemble of universes out there and we are in one.” In the interview Faber asserted her preference for the latter materialistic explanation rather than theistic faith in a creator, adding, “I take comfort in the fact that it is a beautiful universe, and we belong here and that we fit. This is our home.”

#WomensHistoryMonth #WHM #WomenInSTEM #WomenHumanists #WomensHistoryMonth2021
On this final day of Black History Month, we honor On this final day of Black History Month, we honor Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965), a Black playwright and journalist.

Hansberry’s partly autobiographical play “A Raisin in the Sun,” shocked Broadway audiences when a Black character declared, “God is just one idea I don’t accept. ... It’s just that I get so tired of him getting credit for all the things the human race achieves through its own stubborn effort. There simply is no God! There is only man, and it’s he who makes miracles!” She worked with W.E.B. DuBois and Paul Robeson on an African-American progressive newspaper, until her life was tragically cut short at age 34 by cancer.

#BlackHistory #BlackHistoryMonth #BHM #BlackNonBelievers #BlackHumanism
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