San Antonio: As part of the four-stop “Mess With Texas” leg of The Founding Myth tour, Seidel spoke to the Freethinkers Association of Central Texas in San Antonio. Here, he poses with the FACT board, including Katie Gaines, center, and Phil Session, right. While in Texas, Seidel also spoke in Austin, Houston and Hurst.
Puerto Rico: The Secular Student Alliance group at the university in Mayagüez held a tabling event while FFRF Co-President Dan Barker was visiting Puerto Rico. From left, Dan Barker, Eva Quiñones, Mandisa Thomas and Gerardo Rivera, a student in the SSA group at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez.
FFRF Co-President Dan Barker, right, and Manel Salido, president of Apalhu, the humanist group in Valencia, Spain, stand at the foot of the medieval town of Bocairent, much of it carved from the rocks. The two had just completed a 2-hour hike over the mountain from Ontinyent to get there. Barker spoke to Apalhu the night before on Aug. 30. “It was a hot day!,” Barker said. “But up in that town, the narrow shady streets were very cool. Part of our hike followed some Roman chariot roads that had been carved into the mountain. We saw four eagles circling a nest high on a crag.”
Louisville: FFRF Director of Strategic Response Andrew L. Seidel debated Mark David Hall on the question, “Did America Have a Christian Founding?” at the University of Louisville on Sept. 11. Hall is George Fox University politics professor and author of a number of books on religion and politics in American life. Seidel observed that Hall couldn’t name any Christian principles on which the nation was built. Hall countered with principles like “life,” “liberty,” and that people are “sinful.” Seidel hit back, arguing that those are universal human principles which Hall was arrogantly claiming for his religion. The debate aired on C-SPAN2 on Sept. 21.
Madison: U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, second from left, a member of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, met with an FFRF contingent in August in Pocan’s district office in Madison, Wis., to discuss issues important to FFRF members and his upcoming appearance at the FFRF convention. Others in the photo are, from left, FFRF Director of Governmental Affairs Mark Dann, FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor and FFRF Director of Strategic Response Andrew L. Seidel.
Louisville: On Aug. 21, FFRF Legal Fellow Colin McNamara, second from left, participated in a panel discussion in Louisville, Ky., on the topic of “The Establishment Clause in Public Schools,” which also featured discussion of Project Blitz. Shown in the photo are, left to right, Kate Crosby, Colin McNamara, Michele Henry, Heather Gatnarek and Rev. Jason Crosby. Gatnarek, attorney with ACLU of Kentucky, and Crosby, minister at Crescent Hill Baptist Church, were also on the panel. The event was co-sponsored by the Americans United Louisville Chapter and the American Constitution Society.
Denver: FFRF Director of Strategic Response Andrew L. Seidel met with the Denver FFRF Chapter on Sept. 7, when he discussed his debut book The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American. “It was a PACKED house! I don’t think we have ever had such a turnout,” chapter President Claudette StPierre said. Members of the FFRF Denver Chapter board and others joined Seidel for a photo after the event. Front row left to right: Unidentified, Becky Greben, Jocelyne Morris. Back row left to right: Barb Sanwald, Chauncey Williams, Tom Kellogg, Andrew L. Seidel, Claudette StPierre, Joel Brown, Caitt Johnson and Dirk Huizenga.
Puerto Rico: FFRF Co-President Dan Barker spoke at the Asamblea of the Secular Humanists of Puerto Rico (Humanistas Seculares de Puerto Rico) on Sept. 8 in San Juan. In the front row (left to right) is Gerardo Rivera, an organizer with Humanists of Puerto Rico, Dan Barker and David Tamayo, president and founder of Hispanic American Freethinkers. The back row includes Mandisa Thomas (maroon dress) and Eva Quiñones (center back), the president of Humanists of Puerto Rico. The others are some of the attendees and members of the humanist group.
