AMERICAN ATHEISTS To members and Supporters of AMERICAN ATHEISTS… Dear friends, I want to take this opportunity to tell you about some of the important changes now taking place at American Atheists. Following over 13 years of outstanding service to American Atheists and the cause of State-Church Separation, Ellen Johnson is no longer President of the organization.. Her tenure in this position was marked by some of the most amazing and historic events in our movement’s history. She stepped in following the tragic disappearance of our founder, Madalyn Murray O’Hair and her family, and oversaw the relocation of the American Atheist Center and Charles E. Stevens American Atheist Library and Archives (CESAALA) to New Jersey. She organized the Godless Americans March on Washington, and brought together our nation’s diverse and sometimes fractious community of Atheists, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists and other nonbelievers. She testified twice before the National Commission on Civil Rights, and made hundreds of media appearances on prime time and cable news TV programs. Ellen also mobilized Atheists and other secularists throughout the nation to speak out on the vital First Amendment issues of our time. And with all of this, she managed to coordinate the hectic daily activities here at the American Atheist Center. In the spirit of obtaining all that she (and any other Atheist) can from one life the elegant, energetic and outspoken Ms. Johnson will now focus her passions on anew adventure. Just what that might be we do not yet know. We know, however, that it will be something splendid! Ellen, who will remain on the Board of Directors, is succeeded by long-time member Frank Zindler. There have been three presidents of American Atheists since its founding over four decades ago — Madalyn Murray O’Hair; her successor and son, Jon Garth Murray; and since 1995, Ellen Johnson. They left, as the saying goes “big shoes to fill.” We are confident that Frank is fully prepared for this new challenging role. He has a distinguished academic career as a former biology professor, linguist and bible-era historian. He has authored numerous books and articles dealing with a wide range of subjects, everything from the alleged historicity of Jesus to the on-going controversy over teaching creationism in our public schools. His tenure as an activist with American Atheists goes back over 30 years. Frank is a nationally-recognized speaker and debater, and has served as an eloquent spokesperson for our organization. Frank Zindler will serve as President Pro Temp until a suitable replacement for this office is found. The day-to-day operations at the American Atheist Center will continue — and so will our activism! Other Officers and Directors will be staying on as well. Dave Silverman, who has done an outstanding job as our Communications Director, will continue to be the “public face” of American Atheists, working closely with Frank to make sure that our message gets out to the media and others who shape public opinion. Board member Edwin Kagin will remain in his important post as National Legal Director, The American Atheist magazine and all of the other benefits of membership will continue. And so will our efforts to represent you in the important fight for state-church separation, Reason and the civil rights of Atheists. We’re hitting the ground running, folks! The baton is passed — and we’ll continue our all-important work. Thanking you in advance for your support! The Board of Directors, AMERICAN ATHEISTS
Maizie, email Ellen for info right now, she is finishing up today and tomorrow with the walk, depending on how they do, they will be delivering the letter by tomorrow I believe.
Elljhns8@aol.com
Jack,
I understand your post, and no I never had the intention of deleting it. There are always going to be dissenters in this movement, and we need them.
To be sure: I love Ellen, both as a mentor and a friend. She resurrected this organization after the disappearance fo the O’Hairs, organized the GAMPAC and the March on Washington, and improved relations with other groups.
But I also know there are two sides to every issue. The Board didn’t do this on a whim. Before you cancel a membership, I would consider whether that would help the cause.
Again, I don’t know the details, and cannot confirm the accuracy of these posts. I can say her account is still active on the blog and so she can post any time she wants. I can also say that’s I’ve left her a voice mail that she has yet to return. 4thetruth has posted her correct private email.
If I were to take a guess, I’d say she’s finishing the walk before addressing this issue.
The future looks bright folks! Please stay tuned.
maize,
Updates, daily, and photos are at:
http://alabamaatheist.org/fw2k8/#UPDATES
Thanks, Atheistud, for the link!
David Silverman:
At this point I’m not sure I even care why the members of the board did this. They staged a coup d’?tat when Ellen was over one thousand miles away, and subsequently lied to AA’s members.
The fact that they lied signifies that AA has descended into politics. The board members care more about power than atheist activism. As such, AA is now a worthless organization.
Will leaving help the cause? If AA gets replaced by a more honest organization, absolutely. How can you expect us to give money and support to an organization that lies? How can you expect us to give money and support to an organization that cares more about power struggles than atheism?
I don’t give a damn what the board says. It’s members can no longer be trusted. Our support is better placed elsewhere.
Spinfusor,
You keep using the word “fact.” Where is the evidence you’re basing this on?
All I see is two new members who I’ve never seen before posting unsubstantiated claims.
Until someone comes up with some real evidence, I don’t think we should be jumping to conclusions. It would be awfully nice if AA would post a rebuttal to these two new posters. If they keep silent for two long, then people (myself included) are apt to come to conclusions they won’t like.
@alatham:
David said, “The Board didn’t do this on a whim.”
So the board voted Ellen out. The board lied about that in the post above.
alatham:
I only used the word “fact” once. The only other person (aside from you) to use “fact” was maizie (also only once).
Spinfusor,
Sorry about the “fact” thing, I could have sworn I saw it more than once.
Anywho:
I see nothing in the original post saying that she hadn’t been voted out, just that she was leaving her post. It’s vague wording, that’s true, but I don’t see how that constitutes a lie.
Furthermore, Dave has said he doesn’t know any more than we do (effectively), so when he said that this wasn’t on a whim, can we be sure he’s not just saying that?
Dave, care to comment?
I agree that some clarification on this from the board should be forthcoming, else we may start smelling a rat. Was Ellen ousted for political reasons? If so, what were they? What direction does the board want to take that she was resisting? I would also like to hear Ellen’s side of it.
AA members, please don’t give up your membership over this or anything else. This too shall pass. Friction in the movement is part of the territory of activism. AA will survive this and prosper. It’s important to keep our eyes on the prize, and not get distracted. There’s still a lot of activism to do. Let’s stay focused.
)
Ellen was fired…it is a fact.
alatham:
But that’s part of the problem. David, the “Communications Director,” the “”public face” of American Atheists,” doesn’t know what’s going on? The board didn’t think it appropriate to inform their Communications Director?!?
That, following the “over 13 years of outstanding service” remark and preceding “In the spirit of obtaining all that she . . . can from one life…” is meant to imply that she wasn’t booted out and left of her own volition.
Spin and 4thethruth,
Only if you choose to interpret it that way.
Don’t get me wrong, I agree that this is not being handled well, and I’m not denying any of the things that have been said. I would just like to see some proof. So far all I see is bad PR.
Dave
There are at least two sides to this issue. The problem is that we have not heard any of them, just Ellen’s out.
It is a fact that Ellen was fired. She has said so herself but not much more. I’m sure Ellen is far more concerned about the march (and her presumably aching feet) right now. I hope she will respond when she has the opportunity.
You can ask her why she is no longer President.
Does anyone know how the organization of AA works? How does one get on the board, etc. Is there anywhere listed WHO is on the board? I don’t see it on the website.
Yes, I am a new blogger on this site but have been an AA member for many years and attend all the conventions, including the one in MN. I am not particularly interested in blogging but was curious as to what people were saying about Ellen’s ousting. Some of the early comments seemed so accepting of PR and uninformed that I just felt I had to comment. Just because I am new to the blog doesn’t mean my facts are incorrect. There is absolutely no doubt that Ellen was fired and quite rudely at that! I’m sure Dave knows this to be true although he hasn’t so definitively stated. There may be two, or more, sides to WHY she was fired, but fired she was.
Right, Dave????
I’m still waiting to hear from Ellen, as are you. She’s my friend and I care about her, but I care about the movement more.
I need to give her time to finish her walk and give her “side”. IN the mean time, all I can do is urge you to be patient and keep your eye on the movement.
Give us a break here, folks, all will be known.
I’m surprised and curious too, but will be patient. And pleased that this is being discussed here, on AA’s official blog. Open dissent, never mind open discussion, was not tolerated in Madalyn’s time. It is now, and Ellen can take much credit for that.
Josh Karpf (jkarpf@echonyc.com)
Founder, NYC Atheists (which wouldn’t have gotten off the ground without AA’s help)
If the BOD of AA would just tell us what happened and why, we wouldn’t have to be patient.
I might add that the longer they wait, the less credible their story is going to be.
This is not a good start for the new regime.
Dave
“Give us a break here, folks, all will be known.”
How long?
Dave
Who is on the board and how were they elected? I don’t recall voting.
OK Here’s how it works.
The President is chosen/elected by the Board of directors. The Board is self-electing, which means they can add and subtract as they see fit. This structure was a defense mechanism set up by Madelyn against infiltration from religionists who she feared would join and vote in their own board and president.
Current members of the board include:
Frank Zindler
Ann Zindler
Bart Meltzer
Conrad Goeringer
Edwin Kagan
Susan Harrington
Neil Cary
Dave Kong
Dick Hogan
Arlene Marie
(My apologies to any I missed)
The by-laws of the organization are available on request.
I’d hope we get clarification in the next several days. Your patience is appreciated.
Thanks, Dave, for the clarification of how members become Board members (although it seems rather self-serving) and the names of the members. Appreciate it.
Do you know what “quorum” it takes to remove a president? 50% + 1, 2/3 majority, etc.?
I hear they found rosary beads in her desk. She is also suspected of downloading tracts.
SPUDBOY
Heard from who?
If that’s the case, then why the need to lie? Also, if they suspected her of not being an atheist, why put “In the spirit of obtaining all that she (and any other Atheist)” (emphasis mine) in the letter?
Re: Spudboy-
Assume that was a joke but you should have clarified.
Please let’s not post ridiculous – can’t even say rumors, it’s so silly – comments and, please, let’s not respond to them as if they are serious. If Spudboy is serious, I suggest one ignores.
For all we know, Ms. Johnson was caught stealing money from the organization and they posted that she resigned out of respect for her. For all the supposedly logical folks out there, we shouldn’t have needed Dave to suggest that the board didn’t do this on a whim. Of course they didn’t.
Without facts, all we can do is sputter uselessly. That said, it also shouldn’t have taken this long for folks to begin to suspect that AA wasn’t as honest and forthright as all get out anyway. The stench of compromised integrity in the name of advancing its agenda is unmistakeable.
Cynic
Say what? Care to elaborate?
Cynic
It’s a bit hard to believe that Ellen would be offered a position on the Board of Directors if she had done anything like that, though I suppose the offer may be part of the misdirection.
Crap. I was hoping no one was going to make me defend that statement.
I dunno, really. Kind of a gut impression I get. AA feels more like a political party or labor union than an advocacy group like the ACLU. It’s not as if I disagree with the general sentiment. But too often I hear officials of this organizations make statements that give me the feeling that a false argument is as good as a sound one when it comes to supporting an idea.
To me, I’d rather be wrong for the right reasons than right for the wrong ones. Obviously the organization as a whole can’t be guilty of not embracing that ideal, but still, I get the feeling sometimes. Sorry to be vague and not to provide concrete examples.
Umm Just for the record.
Nobody has suggested Ellen was not a dedicated Atheist. The Rosary beads was a funny comment, but for the record, that’s not true.
ALSO, nobody is accusing Ellen of stealing anything. Ellen has worked tirelessly for the cause for ridiculously-low pay. She’s done great things.
Please don’t make accusations or assumptions. Rumors spread!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:No_chat.jpg
To be clear, I most certainly not suggesting that she stole anything — just suggesting that the board might be fully justified in their actions and we shouldn’t condemn them without knowing all there is to know.
At best, the way this was handled shows the poor judgement of the board.
I just noticed that the letter above was changed. “Ellen Johnson is leaving her post as President” is now “Ellen Johnson is no longer President.” Overdue honesty (and would it have killed the person making the change to fix the other errors?).
The old version is still on the front page.
From a 1998 Issue of American Atheist, the following list
goes to show what a trusted, highly capable individual was Ellen,
among a gathering of trusted and highly capable individuals.
The Boards of Directors
On Sunday, October 5, a joint meeting was held of the boards of directors of American Atheists, Inc., and its affiliated Atheist organizations. The health-related resignation of Arizona?s Patricia Wilkinson was accepted with regret by the boards of American Atheists, Inc., and United Secularists of America, Inc. The board vacancies left by Ms. Wilkinson remain to be filled. In accordance with the by-laws of the several corporations, the remaining officers and directors were reelected for three-year terms. The names of officers and directors of the several organizations are listed below.
CESAALA?
(Charles E. Steven’s American Atheist Library and Archives)
Officers:
Ellen Johnson (New Jersey) President?
Chris Allen (Utah) Secretary?
Henry Schmuck (Michigan) Treasurer
Board of Directors:
Conrad Goeringer (New Jersey)
Ellen Johnson (New Jersey)
Dave Kong (California)
Henry Schmuck (Michigan)
Noel Scott (Washington, D.C.)
Margie Wait (Colorado)
Frank Zindler (Ohio)
United Secularists of America:
Officers:
Ellen Johnson (New Jersey) President
Chris Allen (Utah) Secretary
Henry Schmuck (Michigan) Treasurer
Board of Directors:
Richard Andrews (Utah)
Ellen Johnson (New Jersey)
Dave Kong (California)
Noel Scott (Washington, D.C.)
Margie Wait (Colorado)
American Atheists, Inc.
Officers:
Ellen Johnson (New Jersey) President
Chris Allen (Utah) Secretary
Henry Schmuck (Michigan) Treasurer
Board of Directors:
Chris Allen (Utah)
Conrad Goeringer (New Jersey)
Richard Hogan (Texas)
Dave Kong (California)
Henry Schmuck (Michigan)
Ann Zindler (Ohio)
Society of Separationists, Inc.
Officers:
Ellen Johnson (New Jersey) President
Chris Allen (Utah) Secretary
Henry Schmuck (Michigan) Treasurer
Board of Directors:
Chris Allen (Utah)
Richard Andrews (Utah)
Ron Barrier (New York)
Neal Cary (Virginia)
Ellen Johnson (New Jersey)
Henry Schmuck (Michigan)
Frank Zindler (Ohio)
American Atheist GHQ
Officers:
Ellen Johnson (New Jersey) President
Chris Allen (Utah) Secretary
Henry Schmuck (Michigan) Treasurer
Board of Directors:
Richard Andrews (Utah)
Ronald Barrier (New York)
Neal Cary (Virginia)
Conrad Goeringer (New Jersey)
Dave Kong (California)
Ann Zindler (Ohio)
Ken’s latest (05/07/08) update through this morning is at:
http://alabamaatheist.org/fw2k8/#UPDATES
and, the hack Gov’ hasn’t the nuts to show up.
Just for contrast, look at how Trek Bicycles handled the end of their association with Greg Lemond recently. In their case they knew legal action was likely, but they decided to make everything public anyway.
On the day of the breakup they held a company meeting where the head of Trek explained the decision to the employees, and they posted the PowerPoint presentation from that meeting on their web site, along with a press release, actual legal documents, and some other stuff supporting their decision.
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/company/media/
I sent Ellen Johnson an email saying simply, “FIGHT BACK.”
She sent me the following response:
“Oh, the Board doesn’t listen to me.”
Forgive me, Ellen, for sharing this private communication with everybody but I think it’s necessary for all of us to know that there was apparently no real communication between the Board and the president of AA. If they don’t listen to the president OF AA, what makes anybody, including any dues-paying member, think they will listen to THEM? How do you spell
t-y=r-a-n-i-c-a-l?
Let’s vote out the Board and vote Ellen back in.
P.S. How do you also spell m-i-s-o-g-y-n-y?
At the New York City Pope picket, some 75 people showed up to help NYCA demonstrate. Seven of them were women. (I counted.) That’s less than 10 percent.
I am concerned about the low number of women attracted to atheist organizations. Ellen is a beacon of rational, sensible, intelligent, beautiful womanhood. She is the face I want to see representing atheism. I’m sorry, but AA’s Board of Directors is predominantly male. (Two women,not counting Frank Zindler’s wife, whom we might expect to vote with her husband) Shouldn’t the board be at least 50 percent women? Even the medical and law schools today are 50 percent women. What is it about atheist organizations that keeps women away? This shoddy treatment of Ellen does not help.
character |?karikt?r| noun
the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual -
fifth column | is a group of people who clandestinely undermine a larger group to which it is expected to be loyal -
To: American Atheists Board of Directors
Through your collective lack of character, in the handling of your firing of Ellen Johnson, you?ve managed to make me ashamed of having been a member of American Atheists.
Through your collective lack of character, in this matter, you?ve gained a reputation for being unworthy of trust.
Through your collective lack of character, in this matter, you?ve done more to substantiate the claim of the religious that Atheists lack moral character than any of the faithful have ever been able to accomplish.
Which leads me to wonder if you are not, collectively a Fifth Column.
Good bye
atheistud@lycos.com
I am Gil Gaudia. My wife Jeanne and I have been editorial assistants for the past two years at American Atheists. In doing so, we have worked closely with Ellen Johnson whom we respect and admire greatly. We have also had telephone and email contact with a few of the board members, especially with regard to editing their manuscripts. We were not impressed with their interpersonal skills. I have also contributed several articles to the magazine. We have just concluded an hour long telephone conversation with Ellen.
We are extremely biased in her favor, because we found her to be hard-working, honest, courageous, competent and caring of us and appreciative of our volunteer contributions.
This board?s action, in our opinion, will almost certainly result in the end of the organization and publication as we know it. We say this because, from first-hand experience we are aware of the number of hours, the amount of coordination and the knowledge of the operation that are all required to successfully produce a monthly publication, and we have no evidence that any of the board members are willing and able to invest that degree of commitment. Indeed, we have some reason to believe that the opposite is true. To those members who propose hiring Dawkins, Hitchins, Harris and others for the presidency, first see if they?ll agree to work for 38K, or thereabouts, in addition to doing latrine duty in their spare time.
For the board of directors of the most well-known Atheist group in America to have taken such a suicidal action is incomprehensible, but whatever their reasons, unless the
members protest strongly and demand her reinstatement, (which she may not even want) it will only be a matter of time before we no longer have an organization to uphold the civil rights of Atheists.
As a contributor of many articles to this magazine, and as volunteers in editing other journal articles, spending many hours of our time in assisting Ellen in producing this publication, we are no longer interested in writing, editing or assisting in any way a magazine whose board has acted in such an irresponsible, unfair and self-destructive manner.
Gil and Jeanne R. Gaudia
Yay, Gil and Jeanne Gaudia!
I think this is a “palace revolt” by Misogynist Malcontents.
Dave, do you know if Ellen’s dismissal is rescindable? Are you familiar with AA’s bylaws?
I say, FIRE THE BOARD AND RE-INSTATE ELLEN JOHNSON.
Smart. Really? The organization that was FOUNDED by a woman and elected a second woman to be President? Misogyny? No.
Ellen was asked repeatedly to come to NY for the Pope protest. But she had just come from the Washington DC protest (which was larger and had far more press coverage) and she was too tired — so I went, with my daughter.
Do you think the Board of directors decided to fire Ellen on a whim? Do you think this group of smart, experienced, and talented activists, many of whom PLACED Ellen on as president in the first place, WANTED this?
Or maybe, just maybe, there were major problems that could only be solved this way, and because of legal, moral, and privacy reasons the board chooses to keep it quiet, so it doesn’t devolve into mudslinging? Hmm??? Which seems more logical??? Hmm???
Boards fire presidents when the so choose. They chose.
It’s permanent. It also sucks. But it is what it is and we’re moving on. At least I am.
Remember, it’s about the cause — not the person.
Dave, I appreciated and enjoyed having you and Rayanne at the NYC Pope Protest. My complaint above has nothing to do with that.
My complaint is, if Ellen’s firing is not on “a whim,” then why aren’t we apprised of the reasons? And why weren’t there more signs along the way? If there were problems during Ellen’s tenure, why weren’t they brought out into the open? Why wasn’t she given help? Why weren’t we given the opportunity to solve any problems?
AA is not free from Misogyny. We had only 7 women picketers at the Pope Picket, out of an estimated 75 picketers that day. That’s less than 10 percent women. We have had a dearth of women in atheist groups as long as I can remember. I have tried to probe into the cause and I have heard, from male members themselves, that women are not given equal weight or respect in the atheist movement by male members. There are only two women on the AA Board. And it’s the Four HorseMEN, (not a Horsewoman in sight.) Misgyny (or sexism), like most “isms” is never baldly overt.
I think your concern about “mudslinging” is interesting. Are you concerned that Ellen is going to throw mud at the Board or that the Board is going to sling mud at her? Whatever; I think it needs to be done in the open. Keeping secrets is childish and un-democratic. I think Ellen needs to have her say and at the moment, she doesn’t have a dignified platform from which to say it. Maybe she doesn’t have ANY platform if the Board has denied her access to the memberlist.
ELLEN, WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU.
Dave, everyone makes some mistakes and I am willing to hear Ellen’s explanations of any mistake that the Board is accusing her of.
I’m sure Ellen’s mistakes aren’t as bad as Geo. W.Bush’s mistakes, which have resulted in the deaths of hundereds of thousands of Iraqis and more than 4,000 U.S. servicemen–yet Bush has NOT been impeached. You can’t convince me that anything Ellen has done is worse than that and requires her impeachment.
Of course it’s the “cause” as you point out, and not the person. But Causes have been wiped out and silenced by destroying an effective leader. It’s an old reactionary technique: Knock out the leader. I think Gil Guardia may be right. If saboteurs have infiltrated us, they would do well for THEIR cause to wipe out our effective leader. And make no mistake–ELLEN IS AN EFFECTIVE LEADER.
Dave, in the absence of any information from the AA Board of Directors, rumors are flying.
The latest thing I’ve heard is that Ellen was fired for trivial reasons by a bunch of jealous old men who haven’t done anything for AA in decades.
For example, a rumor I’ve heard is that one reason she was fired is because she and Edwin Kagin had disagreements on what legal cases should be prioritized for legal action. O COME ON, guys. THAT IS A SOLVABLE PROBLEM. You just get a third party. Or a mediator. Ellen isn’t going to agree with you guys all the time. She’s not a yes-woman. She, being there at home-base (while you are in Ohio or New Jersey or Kentucky), may know things you don’t know. She may have input from other authorities. You’ve got to listen to her.
I suspect that’s the main problem at AA–the board is clueless, wimpy, lazy and-here’s that word again–misogynist. Take heed, Hillary: This is what you’re going to have to go through if you win.
P.S. Dave, it has occurred to me that it is not incumbent upon Ellen Johnson to proffer any explanation for her dismissal. IT IS UP TO THE BOARD TO TELL THE REASONS. Then, Ellen may, or may not, want to respond to the charges.
I mean, let’s be logical: When an accused person is indicted, he does not relate or define the charges. The persons who made the charges announce them.
Ellen should, logically, respond to the charges or accusations only when they are on the table.
P.S. Jr.
Dave, you seem to think that Ellen’s dismissal is a done deal. Not by a long shot! Nothing here is carved in stone.
I have a friend who, with other other homeowners, was not satisfied with the decisions of her condo’s board of directors. So, what did the homeowners do? The homeowners got together and formed a dedicated committee, had meetings and put together a platform that outlined complaints. One of the complaints was that the Board did not provide full disclosure. (DOES THAT REMIND YOU OF ANY OTHER BOARD?)
My friend said, it is necessary to check into the association’s bylaws and decide: Are the bylaws good? What do the bylaws say? Do the homeowners support the bylaws? “If not, you gotta change the bylaws,” she said. “You gotta change the bylaws before you change the Board.”
In this case, the dispute was resolved in favor of the activist homeowners: The manager of the association resigned under pressure and all of the Board members “stepped aside,” which is a nice way of saying they were all forced to quit and the homeowners elected a whole new Board of Directors.
So you see, it can be done.
It ain’t over till it’s over.
I THINK ELLEN SHOULD SUE FOR WRONGFUL DISMISSAL.
Smartgal, what you have stated is all the truth…..
Bart,
This is from Gil and Jeanne Gaudia.
We want to take you up on your call for everyone to start working together in order to get American Atheists back on track. Therefore we would be willing to resume our volunteer work with Ellen (and any board members we can assist, in any way we can) in order to return to the status quo ante. If Arthur needs help or Rachael, and we can do it via email or telephone, we would be happy to offer this service, without compensation (as it has always been) in an effort to spark a resumption of business as usual.
Sincerely,
Gil and Jeanne