Frederick Douglass’ Freedom

This week in history, formerly enslaved abolitionist Frederick Douglass bluntly criticized the failure of American commitments to “freedom”  in several Independence Day addresses.  “The Meaning of July 4th for the Negro” was delivered to a majority white audience in Rochester, New York. Tomorrow (July 5th) marks its anniversary. For those unfamiliar, we encourage you to…

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May Beyond Belief Network Roundup!

We just finished rounding up reports from BBN volunteer teams for the month of May — including what teams reported for Secular Week of Action! Let’s check it out…

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Where Due Process and Human Rights Cease to Exist

Operating in a court where due process rights don’t exist Did you know that of the tens of thousands of asylum seekers arriving throughout 2019 and 2020, less than 2% were represented by an attorney in court? While they waited for their court hearings, asylum seekers were forced to live in makeshift refugee camps in…

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“A People of Nowhere.”

Two years ago, Myanmar’s military launched a violent crackdown against the Muslim Rohingya population. Last week, local regulators compounded the Rohingya's sense of isolation by ordering a halt to all cellphone service in the area of their camps. Imagine that your own government has burned your villages into the ground, attempted to kill you, and…

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Beneficiary blog: GlobeMed— “The Power of Partnership”

GlobeMed, a nonprofit founded by students in 2006, supports 56 partnerships between university chapters and grassroots organizations throughout the world. With the goal of strengthening the movement for global health equity, each chapter is paired with a community-based organization to develop a long-term relationship. Partners work in various domains related to community health, including food…

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Announcing new slate of beneficiaries

Welcome to 2019 and welcome to our new slate of Humanist Grant beneficiaries! We are thrilled to announce the four organizations that we will be supporting in Q1. We are excited by the work they are doing and our ongoing partnerships with these organizations.   Poverty and Health: The Tandana Foundation, our 2018 Compassionate Impact Grant recipient, works in Ecuador…

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The Florence Project

The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project provides free legal services to people, including unaccompanied children, in immigration custody in Arizona. 86% of detained people go through immigration removal proceedings without legal representation because of poverty. The Florence Project strives for all immigrants facing removal to have access to counsel, to understand their rights, and…

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As the Christian Church Crumbles, is Humanism Ready to Step Up?

Article originally published in The Humanist magazine, a publication of American Humanist Association: THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH in the developed world is in collapse. This is true notwithstanding the current political resurgence of the religious right, which demographics 
show to be a cultural stab from the grave. Three million fewer Americans are attending church each year, driving the…

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Update: Family Separations at U.S. Border

There are currently 13,200 children in custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which is more than ever before, and the average stay has doubled from that of two years ago. (The official Health and Human Services number is 54 days, but officials have anonymously reported that the number is closer to 74.) The…

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Political activism from FBB staff

Some of the actions of the U.S. government in the last several months have inspired a wave of political and social activism unlike any seen in recent years. This season of protests and service kicked off with the Women’s Marches around the world in January. Many members of our staff participated in the marches, and…

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