Foundation Beyond Belief and the American Humanist Association are pleased to announce a national partnership to promote social justice and racial equality through Foundation Beyond Belief's Beyond Belief Network (BBN) program. The program encourages humanists and other nontheists to take part in community volunteering and charitable giving to dispel the myth that nonreligious individuals are less generous than their religious counterparts.
Foundation Beyond Belief's Beyond Belief Network program and the American Humanist Association, along with its social justice adjuncts, the Black Humanist Alliance, the LGBTQ Humanist Alliance and the Feminist Humanist Alliance, are urging their members to take part in social justice activism. Both organizations are currently encouraging their members and volunteers to become active in Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), a national network organizing white people for racial justice. The American Humanist Association recently became an official partner with SURJ.
"With its emphasis on the inherent dignity of all people, the humanist movement is a natural ally in the fight for racial justice," said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. "To fully live our humanism, we must take action to support people of color as we work together toward equality for all."
"We are proud to partner with Foundation Beyond Belief to promote the work that SURJ is doing to involve white people in the struggle for racial justice and to promote the humanist values of justice for all people," said Sincere Kirabo, social justice coordinator of the American Humanist Association. "By taking part in social justice work, we can better reveal our humanist values through action, foster diversity within the humanist movement and advance social progress."
"Humanists are eager to join the fight for racial justice, and Foundation Beyond Belief exists to help them put their values into action," said Noelle George, FBB executive director. "Through this partnership with the AHA and SURJ, FBB will help humanist groups and individuals take concrete steps to promote equality in their communities and support organizing efforts led by people of color."
Said FBB's Beyond Belief Network Coordinator Conor Robinson, "What's exciting about this partnership is that it will make the fight for racial justice more tangible for individuals and groups who want to help but don't know how. By offering resources and coordinating volunteering opportunities for hundreds of local service organizations, FBB, the AHA and SURJ will mobilize thousands of humanists who are ready to support one of the most pressing social justice issues of our time."
Foundation Beyond Belief and American Humanist Association members are currently being encouraged to take part in
SURJ's August phone bank
. Phone bank volunteers will connect with people about racial justice activism, recruit new volunteers to SURJ's network and raise resources to support local organizing by people of color. Humanists who are interested in becoming involved should contact Sincere Kirabo at
[email protected]
for more information.