Sunday, February 18th 2:00pm
Rondo Public Library

You are invited to the February Public Meeting of Minnesota Atheists:
In honor of February being Black History Month, we are pleased to feature Professor Michael Lackey, who will speak on “Varieties of African American Atheism.”

Prof. Lackey will start by pointing out that there are many types of atheists. Bertrand Russell objected to belief in God on the basis of science. Karl Marx objected to belief in God on the basis of politics. Sigmund Freud objected to belief in God on the basis of psychology. Virginia Woolf objected to belief in God on the basis of feminism.

This variety of atheism also applies to the black community. Prof. Lackey will then survey some of the most prominent African American atheists: Nella Larsen, J. Saunders Redding, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Richard Wright, Lorraine Hansberry, and Alice Walker, just to name a notable few.

Michael Lackey is a Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris. He is the author of African American Atheists and Political Liberation: A Study of the Sociocultural Dynamics of Faith (2007).

Schedule:
1:00 p.m. – Doors open
1:15 p.m. – Business meeting and board elections
1:45 p.m. – Social time
2:00 p.m. – Presentation
4:00 p.m. – Dinner at a local restaurant

Board Elections
Elections for the board will occur at this meeting. A full slate of candidates was nominated at the January 21st Minnesota Atheists meeting. All candidates are running unopposed. Candidate statements will be in the February Newsletter. The nominees are:

• President: Alyssa Ehni
• Associate President: Stephanie Zvan
• Chair: Heather Hegi
• Associate Chair: Georgia Hancock Tsoi
• Secretary: Hertzey Hertz
• Treasurer: Chris Matthews
• Directors-at-Large: August Berkshire, Art Kallenbach, and Kamrin Duncan