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FFRF Annual Report – 40Th Anniversary by Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker Co-Presidents, Dues-Paying Members

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FFRF Annual Report – 40Th Anniversary by Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker Co-Presidents, Dues-Paying Members FFRF Annual Report – 40th Anniversary By Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker Co-Presidents, dues-paying members. Our warmest gratitude to you — our Freedom From Religion Foundation members — for your support, activism and participation. Growing FFRF, incorporated on in an election year is an accomplishment. April 5, 1978, celebrated its 40th anniversary as Captivating book for freethinking children published a national group with a Looking to the future of freethought, FFRF special section in our revised its original book for children, Just newspaper, Freethought Photo: Ingrid Laas Pretend, written by Dan Barker, and Today, looking back on wondrously illustrated by the brilliantly milestones. (You can talented art student Kati Treu, daughter still browse this section of Lisa Treu, our director of first digitally at: ffrf.org/40th.) Dan Barker & Annie Laurie Gaylor. impressions. The paperback with magical FFRF’s principal founder, illustrations is hot off the press, just in time Anne Nicol Gaylor, who died in 2015 at age 88, lived long for a Winter Solstice gift for your children or grandchildren. enough to see her vibrant legacy continue with exponential growth for FFRF. $56,750 awarded in student scholarships This year’s celebratory annual convention broke records — Awarding scholarships to freethinking students counts as one of nearly 1,000 members representing 42 states, plus Puerto Rico FFRF’s most proud annual achievements and is an investment and Washington, D.C., Canada and the UK. (See more under in the future of freethought. This year, the William J. Schultz Convention Recap.) Memorial Scholarship for college-bound high school seniors helped a total of 24 We were “flattered” to be the subject of a 10-page diatribe by winners (including former Gov. Mike 14 honorable Huckabee on behalf of mentions) with Citizens United (yes, $13,000 in prizes. that Citizens United), Our David Hudak in a cynical ploy to use Essay Contest for FFRF’s name (and distort Students of Color our actions) to raise awarded 15 college even more funds for the students, paying Christian supremacist Mike Huckabee caricature. out $10,550 in Students of Color major essay winners. movement. Thank you if award money. Our you contributed to our fund to “reclaim a secular America,” FFRF’s college competition, a memorial to Michael Hakeem, a sociology main purpose — Huckabee’s lies to the contrary. professor, awarded a total of $12,750 in scholarships to 18 Following are highlights and metrics of FFRF’s accomplishments college students. Generous Lifetime Member Professor Brian in 2018, as this goes to press in mid-November. Bolton sponsors the graduate student essay competition, which had 15 winners receiving a total of $10,450 in prizes. Essays are FFRF never bigger reprinted or excerpted in Freethought Today. FFRF has grown by 9.7 percent since last year, exceeding 32,000 Additionally, FFRF’s Catherine Fahringer Student Activist Award of $10,000 underwrites the annual Black Skeptics of Los Angeles scholarships, given to students of color who are first in their families to go to college. Four students each received $2,500 based on. Photo: Chris Line $9,000 in student activist awards A special $5,000 student activist award endowed by Richard and Beverly Hermsen went in 2018 to the remarkable Bailey Harris, 12, now author of two books for children, My Name is Stardust and Stardust Explores the Solar System. Bailey accepted the award in person at FFRF’s 2018 convention, and Heathen's greetings from FFRF staffers. charmed everyone — including fellow author Salman Rushdie! 34-foot-tall cross owned by the city of Pensacola and used for years in Easter services is unconstitutional, in a case brought Devin Estes, 10, received with American Humanist Association. a “Strong Backbone” • The unanimous seven-member New Jersey Supreme Court Student Activist Award of ruled in our favor Photo: Chris Line $1,000 endowed by a kind that taxpayer monies octogenarian. Devin protested should not be raided a student-led religious program to repair houses of in which elementary school worship. teachers led students in daily • The 9th U.S. Court of prayer and religious songs. He Appeals ruled in our stopped it, but was bullied by favor that the Chino Salman Rushdie & Bailey Harris. the teacher. Valley, Calif., public The $2,000 Thomas Jefferson Student Activist Award, school board should endowed by a generous couple in the Northwest every year, went not be conducting to a high school student, 17, from Tennessee, prayers or Christian who has protested a display including the Ten New Jersey Supreme Court & churches. worship services at Commandments at his public school, making public meetings. him a “lone outsider.” Oral arguments were heard by federal appeals courts in three Receiving a $1,000 Paul J. Gaylor Memorial of FFRF’s cases this year, two of which FFRF has won at the Award endowed by Annie Laurie in her father’s district court level: memory was Michel-Ange Desruisseaux, a • Dan Barker v. Conroy, in Michel-Ange student at New York City’s School of Law, for his which FFRF appealed a Desruisseaux eloquent defense of nonbelievers. lower court loss in Barker’s FFRF non-litigation legal work ends over 200 challenge of suppression of his freethought state/church entanglements in 2018 invocation (sponsored This year marks the 10th anniversary of the hiring of FFRF’s first by his Congressional staff attorney, Rebecca Markert, who is now its legal director representative Mark and oversees a staff of seven attorneys plus two short-term legal Pocan), by Father Patrick Conroy, a priest and House fellows, two legal assistants & interns. Congratulations, Rebecca! Rich Bolton, Andrew Seidel and Dan chaplain. FFRF Attorney Barker at D.C. oral arguments. FFRF ended 255 violations through education. From January Andrew Seidel did a through October, FFRF has sent more than 814 official complaint skillful job in oral arguments before the D.C. appeals court. letters, winning 255 significant victories, and is on course to • Gaylor v. Mnuchin, in which the IRS is appealing FFRF’s federal send over 1,000 complaint letters by year’s end. About half the court victory declaring unconstitutional the housing allowance legal complaints FFRF makes involve defending the rights of the uniquely benefiting “ministers of the gospel” and the churches youngest and most vulnerable: public school students. Major that pay them. Joining outside litigator Richard Bolton at complaints and victories are reported in Freethought Today. the oral arguments in defending FFRF’s “David vs. Goliath” FFRF litigation — on a roll challenge of religious privilege was expert Adam Chodorow, a tax law professor. • FFRF v. Lehigh County, Penn., in which outside litigator Marc Schneider defended FFRF’s federal court victory ruling unconstitutional a cross as part of the county’s seal and flag. This case has been put on hold pending Supreme Court review of another cross case. Unfortunately, we’re already seeing the Photo: Chris Line chilling effect of the Kavanaugh appointment. Additionally, FFRF won a federal court ruling this year in FFRF v. Abbott, when a federal judge ruled in June that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had violated FFRF’s rights when he censored our Bill of Rights “nativity” display, countering a Christian nativity display at the Texas Capitol. Abbott is appealing. FFRF legal team. Since 2016, FFRF has been on a triumphant winning streak, FFRF’s newest state/church litigation victorious in 15 court cases, rounds or settlements. In 2018, FFRF has filed five new lawsuits this year to: FFRF has won five judgments or settlements in our favor, • Seek open records regarding a Kentucky penal institution’s including one completed case, FFRF v. Concord Community sponsorship of a “Night of Prayer” organized by the Laurel Schools. In that case, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals County jailer. affirmed a district court ruling against a school nativity pageant. • Remove a Ten Commandments monolith planted on the lawn of the Arkansas Capitol in May. This year, FFRF has won three other solid decisions by federal • End the West Virginia city of Parkersburg’s opening of all city appeals courts: council meetings by reciting the biblical “Lord’s Prayer.” • The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in our favor that a • Challenge the Internal Revenue Service’s discriminatory favoritism of churches and Many FFRF church-related groups, which 2018 convention are automatically exempted from speakers were filing the Form 990 informational filmed on-site returns all other (c)(3) groups must by FFRF’s file to retain tax exemption. FFRF hardworking sued in October on behalf of video director Nonbelief Relief, a humanitarian Bruce Johnson group formed by FFRF’s executive and crew at board in 2015, which lost its tax the recent exemption for failure to file the Julia Sweeney with Annie Laurie Gaylor and San Francisco Dan Barker on "Freethought Matters." Form 990. gathering, including Planned Parenthood’s past president Cecile Richards, Arkansas state Sen. Jason • Challenge outgoing Wisconsin Rapert next to decalog. Attorney General Brad Schimel’s actor John de Lancie, comedians Julia Sweeney and Leighann creation of a faith-based Lord. For time and channel, or to view the show’s playlist go to employee chaplain program operated by the Wisconsin ffrf.org/freethoughtmatters. Once shows air, they are available on Department of Justice. FFRF’s YouTube channel. FFRF has four other ongoing court cases. Thank you for watching “Freethought Matters” . because Strategic response — lobbying on your behalf freethought matters. FFRF’s Strategic Response “Freethought Radio” with irreverent views, news, music and interviews, hosted every week by Dan and Annie Laurie, is Team (SRT), headed by th attorney Andrew L. Seidel, wrapping up its 12 year on the air (Janesville and Madison, works to lobby, track and Wis., Columbia, Mo., College Station/Bryant, Texas, Ithaca/ educate about pending Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Vermont-New Hamphire’s “Black legislation, to shape public Sheep Radio”).
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