Supporting Marriage Equality in Stylish Comfort

By Eric Jayne

Minnesota Atheists has traditionally released an annual T-shirt design for the past several years. The color combination of shirt and logo has changed every year – blue on white, blue on gray, red on gray, blue on yellow, magenta on pink, yellow on green, white on purple, blue on wheat and orange on black. Recently a message was added to the back: “Positive Atheist in Action.” We have stuck with this presentation for quite some time…until this year.Beginning in May, Minnesota Atheists will sell a timely—and timeless—shirt depicting our support for marriage equality at a time when the state’s constitution is vulnerable to discrim-inatory manipulation on this November’s ballot.

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Unbelievable Fun and Regional Conference this August in St. Paul

By Eric Jayne

Save the date!  Minnesota Atheists is co-hosting an all-day, regional atheist conference on Saturday, August 11. The conference will be held at the Double Tree Hotel (formerly the Hilton) in downtown St. Paul. We’re still getting speakers lined up, but we have some already scheduled that includee PZ Myers, Hector Avalos, Teresa MacBain, and Robert Price. American Atheists president, David Silverman will also be a contributor.

For an added bonus, the conference will be preceded by the first ever atheist-sponsored professional baseball game! On Friday, August 10, Minnesota Atheists and American Atheists are co-sponsoring the St. Paul Saints game at Midway Stadium for what has been billed as “A Night of Unbelievable Fun.”  

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President's Column: Outreach

By August Berkshire

There are some things we do that mainly involve us talking and socializing with each other, such as picnics, our winter solstice party, and most of our dozens of Meetups each month.

Then there are other things that bridge the gap between internal and external, such as when we post our newsletter (or many parts of it) on our website, our postings on our Facebook page, our charitable contributions, and our third Sunday meetings with speakers (which we then post as podcasts).

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May Meeting: Representative Mindy Greiling

The speaker at our May 20th meeting will be State Representative Mindy Greiling, who is retiring at the completion of her current term. In twenty years representing Roseville (District 54A), Greiling has been a consistent supporter of the separation of church and state, on issues such as abortion, science and history education standards, vouchers for religious schools, and recitation in public school of the Pledge of Allegiance. She has opposed imposition by the government of the views of any religion over others, or over non-religion.  In legislative debates she has marshaled arguments based upon scientific fact to rebut conservative Christian ideology.   

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April Meeting Review: Famous Black Freethinkers

By Aly Jiselle

Ayanna Watson, founder and president of Black Atheists of America, presented on the topic “Famous Black Freethinkers.” An attorney and New York native, Ayanna focused primarily on individuals who were prominent during the Harlem Renaissance, a period between the 1920s and 30s when Harlem experienced a burgeoning of African-American culture following the migration of thousands of African-Americans from southern states.

Read more: April Meeting Review: Famous Black Freethinkers