A New Year Ahead

I hope this message finds you safe and healthy! I’m sure many people were relieved to see 2021 come to end and many are finding it difficult to look ahead without a fair measure of apprehension. I have been impressed with the resilience and creativity of our Ethical Humanist communities and expect that we will see more innovations and workarounds in the year to come!

Let me begin the year’s messages with some great news: after a successful search we have hired Jacob Ritter as our new Program Support and Communications Coordinator! Jake started work today and is looking forward to getting to know people and filling his calendar with meetings!

Before joining the AEU, Jake was the Content Marketing Coordinator for the Mountainside Treatment Center and has also worked with a number of nonprofit organizations. The hiring team was especially taken with Jake’s portfolio of marketing materials, social media posts and newsletter articles. You can read his greetings here, and please look out for him at the next Zoom meeting you attend!

Welcome to the AEU, Jake!

Here’s What’s Happening This Week:

1619 Project Community Listening & Dialogue with Louise Jett

The New York Times Sunday Magazine’s “1619 Project” edition in 2019 prompted a lot of interest in the history of the Black experience in the United States as well as some criticism. Originated by Nikole Hannah-Jones, The 1619 Project is ongoing and a number of additional resources are now available. The Pulitzer Center has published a 1619 Project Curriculum, the New York Times has published a book version, and there is a podcast series, too.

Louise Jett, a Leader-in-training with the AEU and the Social Media Manager for the Ethical Society of St. Louis, will be offering a Community Listening and Dialogue series that will offer people an opportunity to explore the 1619 Project podcasts. These sessions are open to all at no charge on Tuesday evenings, 7:30 – 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, on Zoom.

To participate, listen to the podcast episode at your convenience then join the conversation on Zoom. You don’t need to restrict yourself to listening to the podcasts and can find the interactive version of the NYT Magazine edition here. 

Here are the dates for the series:

Jan 4th, Episode 1: The Fight for a True Democracy

Jan 11th, Episode 2: The Economy That Slavery Built

Jan 18th, Episode 3: The Birth of American Music

Jan 25th, Episode 4: How the Bad Blood Started

Feb 1st, Episode 5: The Land of Our Fathers, Parts One and Two

While everyone is encouraged to listen to the thought-provoking podcast episode before the session, you do not need to have listened to it before attending the community conversations. 

If you need help listening to the podcast or exploring any of the other 1619 materials, please contact Louise Jett at ljett@aeu.org.

Zoom Meeting Code: 881 6672 9429

Save the date: 

The next All-Society Platform will be on Sunday, January 30, 2022 at 11:00 am Eastern Time via Zoom. More information to follow soon!

Thank you,

Bart

This post originally appeared at AEU.org.