Statement Regarding Ellen JohnsonA specially called, and properly noticed, meeting of the five Boards of Directors that together comprise American Atheists, was held on April 29, 2008.All members of the five boards were personally present via telephone at that meeting, including the President Ellen Johnson.By a majority vote of the Board of Directors of American Atheists, Inc, and by a unanimous vote of the Board of Directors of two of the other four corporations, Ellen Johnson was involuntarily removed from the office of President of American Atheists, Inc. and from the office of President of the other four corporations.The bylaws of each of the five corporations permit the removal of the President by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.Out of deep respect for Ellen Johnson?s many services to American Atheists, in deference to her privacy, and with the desire that her Presidency be remembered favorably by history, American Atheists asks that this statement be accepted without calls for further explanation. Be assured that the action taken was in the best interests of the organization and of its membership.Frank R. Zindler, Acting PresidentAmerican Atheists, Inc.; Charles E. Stevens American Atheist Library & Archives, Inc.; Society of Separationists, Inc.; United Secularists of America, Inc.; and American Atheists General Headquarters, Inc.
Tarma, Maizie is correct. I was at the convention also. The video may have been misleading, but that was its intent. Ellen was most likely not terminated for that. You are correct, though, in that we may never know, or should know, the facts. A lot of people want closure, but it probably won?t happen. We need to move on.
Ellen should be remembered for the thousands of hours she has sacrificed for all of us during her 13 year presidency ? not to mention the 30 years she has been an active member. At the convention I got to talk with Ellen one on one for a while. I found her to be intelligent, witty, caring and sincere – the archetype of an activist and friend. I went there to meet Dawkins and Krauss, but it was my talk with Ellen that was the highlight of the weekend. Don?t forget Ellen has been the voice of AA and taken it in a new positive direction since Madalyn disbanded all of the national franchises and left thousands of atheist stranded without a voice. Many of those disenfranchised former franchises (now the AAI) are still bitter towards AA. Ellen has done much to help heal. Do not forget all that she?s accomplished.
As far as the future of American Atheists goes, we need to step up and help set a new course. There is much that needs to be fixed, but as atheists we need to come together and work to resolve our vicissitudes and work to address our needs. We don?t need another elitist think tank (Center for Inquiry); we already have a voice on Capital Hill (Secular Coalition); the FFRF and AU fight brilliantly when we are wronged. No, we need something more, something to propagate and disseminate our world view. We need an organization to stand up to religion itself ? not just the consequences of it. American Atheists can be a great instrument in helping to achieve equality in America, but only if ?we? are up for the challenge. We (members) need to continue to voice our opinions and help to shape a plan for the future.
At the end of her speech at the convention, Ellen looked out at all of us and said, ?You are the real heroes.?
I believe it was Dave that suggested we don’t vote. Or, to be fair, suggested that we not vote for any candidate that doesn’t pander to us. And of course since none of them do that amounts to the same thing.
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
ELLEN WAS FIRED IN A TELEPHONE CALL?!
Oh well, I suppose that’s warmer than a Post-It.
Hey, I didn’t write the above comment, it’s a quote from Deep Diver that I wanted to address. I don’t know how to work your #!*!! blog responses yet. Please remove the above comment lest anyone think I wrote it.
I wanted to point out that Ellen is NOT an angry person. She can be angry at CNN and O’Reilly, as can’t we all, (and she should be angry at the Board)but she is generally a very grounded person, a good Mom, sister and daughter. She is the face of Atheism that I would like to see projected out there: A soccer Mom who is smart, poised, self-confident, beautiful, determined and dedicated. This is the image I would like to see us identified with, not a bunch of taciturn old Biblical scholars.
As for Madalyn Murray O’Hair, please, some respect. Madalyn was a brilliant lawyer who fought the good fight for us and died for it. She was right for her time. Ellen is right for ours.
” . . . .Ellen is NOT an angry person. She can be angry at CNN and O’Reilly, as can’t we all, (and she should be angry at the Board)but she is generally a very grounded person, a good Mom, sister and daughter. She is the face of Atheism that I would like to see projected out there: A soccer Mom who is smart, poised, self-confident, beautiful, determined and dedicated. This is the image I would like to see us identified with, not a bunch of taciturn old Biblical scholars.
As for Madalyn Murray O’Hair, please, some respect. Madalyn was a brilliant lawyer who fought the good fight for us and died for it. She was right for her time. Ellen is right for ours.”
Well said, Smartgal. Thank you.
P.S. If you think Ellen Johnson is going to respond to the Board on this blog, think again.
I emailed Ellen a couple of days ago with two words: FIGHT BACK. DON’T QUIT.
This is the response I got back from Ellen:
“Oh. They don’t listen to what I have to say. Their minds are made up.
But thanks for your support.
Ellen”
————-
I apologize to Ellen for disclosing publicly the contents of a personal email but I thought it important for members to know that there is a profound lack of communication between the Board and the president of AA. If the Board doesn’t listen to the president of AA, then they certainly aren’t going to listen to you or me.
Jane
I agree with Maizie. We have almost no info and speculation is not helpful. What would be helpful is the facts.
And I am under no obligation to remain a member of AA.
Doesn’t trump my pocket book. AA has a lot of explaining to do. I will not tolerate such opacity.
kosmic,
Maizie may well be correct about what she heard at the convention. I maintain that the video was absolutely, positively, crystal clear in Johnson stating that she did not vote in the primary, would not vote in the general, and that other secular-minded individuals should not vote in the general election. If you don’t believe me, the video is available on Youtube – listen for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHHAeKVgGKs
I don’t know Ellen Johnson personally. She “seems” like a nice person, and she probably is. On the other hand, I also know from personal experience that some people are definitely not what they “seem” to be. I am in no position to judge her.
I am trying to look at this situation as a positive opportunity for American Atheists to grow and improve. We shall see.
What,
No argument here. We are all free individuals and will proceed as we deem appropriate. I’m going to wait a while and see how it all shakes out.
Smartgal,
4 words?
You should apologize to her. I find that unconscionable.
You don’t know the whole story here, and repeating her statement, likely made in frustration and/or anger, cannot help this situation.
What’s this “in deference to her privacy” crap in your statement about Ellen’s firing, Frank? First you very publicly fire her, then you say you can’t tell us why “in deference to her privacy?”
Is the real reason you can’t you tell us WHY she was fired is that you are afraid we might knock down your reasons with simple rational thinking?
Ellen’s life is an open book. She has never been big on “privacy.” In every AA Solstice party I’ve been to in New Jersey, Ellen drew in her Mom, her sisters, at least one of her kids and her Main Squeeze (as she calls him), Bart.
Compared to Madalyn Murray O’Hair, Ellen’s life is an outstanding example of decorum.
I talked briefly with Ellen at the 2007 Seattle convention and of course observed her in action the whole time. I was impressed by her as I was by the speakers and the general caliber of everyone involved.
As a membership organization, I think the board does owe us a more definitive explanation of what precipitated the ?involuntary removal? from office.
I personally find it amazing that Ellen was willing to serve as president for 17 years. I serve on a number of boards as a volunteer and generally find that I need a break after five or six years.
Ellen came to the presidency under very trying conditions, to put it mildly. I for one feel we owe her a great deal of gratitude.
Smartgal,
So, if you got fired, you’d be okay with your employer telling everyone all the details? I don’t think so. An employer does have an obligation to maintain an employee’s privacy. It’s not like they could keep the fact that she is no longer president a secret, but I don’t understand this overiding interest in all the gossipy details. Well, I understand it, but that doesn’t make it right.
I think a better analogy would be if Congress had closed session and fired the Speaker of the House — and then didn’t tell anyone why.
All corporation speak aside…
“You should apologize to her. I find that unconscionable,” says Tarma about my releasing Ellen’s response to me after she points out that I sent 4 words to Ellen, not two: FIGHT BACK, DON’T QUIT.
(OK, I sent 4 words. I had previously PUBLICLY RELEASED only 2 of the words I sent to Ellen, “FIGHT BACK.”)
I HAVE indeed apologized to Ellen for disclosing her response. It’s right there in my comment! But I am wise enough (I’m Smartgal) to realize that the greater good, for both Ellen and AA, is that the we all know that there has been virtually no significant communication between the Board and Ellen.
That tells me a lot. It tells me that Ellen has probably been confronting this animosity for 13 years. It tells me that they have probably been looking for something to nail her on.
This Freedom Walk (which a lot of members had approved of and backed financially) was initially approved by the Board, was it not? So now they disapprove of it? Then they fire her for doing it? On the telephone? If that doesn’t sound like a set-up, I don’t know what is.
———-
I’m also amazed and amused that they fired Ellen by phone. LIKE I SAID BEFORE, IT’S PROBABLY A WARMER GESTURE THAN A POST-IT.
But I can think of an even more notable way: Why not send a runner to catch up with Ellen in Alabama, carrying a laminated letter saying, YOU’RE FIRED. The two letters (one from Bill Moore) might even reach the guv’nor in Jackson, Miss. at the same time. What a lark it would be if the governor got the wrong letter by mistake? I’d love to see his face reading YOU’RE FIRED in front of a forest of TV cameras. Might be the best thing AA could ever do for Mississippi.
But not for Ellen.
Smartgal,
You are merely speculating. You don’t know anything of the sort, and it seems to me that you are intentionally trying to inflame the issue. You may be perfectly correct for all I know, and maybe the entire AA board is composed of horrible, unfeeling, and conspiratorial ogres, but “probably this” and “probably that” doesn’t mean squat. How about some facts? You know, the things that we atheists like to base decisions on?
If Ms. Johnson wants to enlighten the general public about her situation, she will do so herself. I still maintain that the board should rightly be constrained by privacy concerns on her behalf. So sue me.
Tarma says: “So, if you got fired, you’d be okay with your employer telling everyone all the details? I don’t think so. An employer does have an obligation to maintain an employee’s privacy.”
But Tarma, I would like to point out that WE ARE ALL ELLEN’S EMPLOYERS by financially supporting AA.
As employers, we don’t want to see a good employee go just because a colleague is jealous of him. As employers, we would want to know what an employee did to justify his firing.
Speaking as someone with some corporate experience, I have seen some excellent employees fired because a rival with lesser credentials set him up. It’s done all the time. It’s called office politics. Or now, the fancier name is “corporate psychodynamics.”
You disclose your naivitee’ and inexperience with “corporate-speak” when you mention gossip,Tarma. In the corporate world, it’s known as “information,” and you’d better know it or you’ll never get ahead. Only housewives call it “gossip.” That’s because housewives are generally isolated and thus have no psychodynamic use for sub-rosa information. Besides, their husbands don’t want them to have this information. It’s another way of keeping housewives subordinate.
Ellen is operating in a corporate-like world. Boards of Directors are mirrors of the corporate world. Yes, we are like the stockholders, as someone on this Blog has already pointed out. And we, as responsible stockholders, want to know what’s going on now with what appears to be at this point, the Enron of Atheism.
Tarma says: “I still maintain that the board should rightly be constrained by privacy concerns on her behalf. So sue me.”
The Board must love you, Tarma. I bet they wish all of us would roll over like this and not ask any probing questions.
Dumbgal,
You are a loon.
The members of American Atheists are not Ellen Johnson’s “employers.” Give me a break.
I have decades of “corporate experience.” Besides several other corporate positions, I worked for 20 years for a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. I dealt directly with the board, with the executive director, with other employees, with volunteers, with members, and with outside agencies. I am perfectly familiar with office politics. Some of us try to rise above it and actually follow prescribed personnel policies. So, take your housewives comment and shove it.
If you want to label your idle speculation as “information,” go right ahead, dear. Still sounds like “gossip” to me.
We (members of American Atheists) are NOT like stockholders in any real sense of the word. Talk about naivete….
Holy shit, now you’ve got me using Phreeky’s ellipsis
Here?s my email from Ellen
From: elljhns8@aol.com
Subject: Re: SignOnSanDiego.com News Nation
Date: April 30, 2008 8:46:05 PM PDT
To: robinarmour@cox.net
Hi Robin,
??I will no longer be available next week. ?The board fired me last night. ?Sorry.
Regards,
Ellen
That would be the night of Tuesday, April 29th, she was fired, one whole week into ?the walk?.
The Board of Directors, or their selected spokesperson, collectively lacked the maturity and character to face a highly capable individual with a mountain of maturity and character to tell her to her face what they had decided. The Board acted as a bunch of despicable weasels, and if this is what we?ve had all along as a Board, it?s time to clean house, starting with the current Board, with the obvious exception of Ellen.
What a colossal embarrassment is this Board.
atheistud@lycos.com
Look, I am not especially trying to defend the board. Indeed, from the outside looking in, the entire matter seems to have been handled rather poorly. If wrongdoing on the part of the board is proven, I will be among the loudest to protest. I am just trying to be objective, and I think that rash speculation and hyperbole are not helping the situation.
I may not be the only one making an apology this week.
Instead of fighting with each other in this information void I prefer demanding that light be shown into the void. I hope that Dave is communicating to the board what is going on in this NoGodBlog microcosm of the American Atheist community.
What,
It IS getting a little deep in here
Let there be light (pardon the expression).
There hasn’t been any further update on the AA homepage. Without giving us information, I don’t know how the board expects to quell speculation. Perhaps we, as members, are not entitled to full disclosure on the firing story, but if there is some problem in the organization that asks for our monetary and sometimes physical support, shouldn’t we be advised of that? I’m trying to remain objective while waiting for facts. The questions won’t go away if the board tries to out-wait our curiosity. But my membership might.
I still want to know, WHAT is this “new direction” the board wants to take? It should be simple to communicate it to us, since it must have taken shape before Ellen was dismissed.
Karen (and others),
You might find this interesting…
http://www.humaniststudies.org/enews/?id=347&article=0
I was hoping AA would be concentrating on issues specific to atheists and leave the separation of church and state to those organizations that do it so much better.
I think Ellen has done a great deal to advance our cause. My question however may seem a bit trivial, but how is the Bill Moore march going. Is it going to be completed regardless of Ellen’s status at AA or will this issue die. I hope it will be finished. I thought it was a very noble cause.
I think someone (some organization) should make a habit of buying ad space on TV and run subtle informational ads like the LDS does. Or maybe not-so-subtle like the anti-cigarette “Truth” ads.
With the exception of lawsuits (which are needed), it seems like all AA and most similar organizations accomplish is preaching to the choir.
We need to get people to understand, emphasize, even, with athiests, and it has to be in their face. And no, going on a show like the O’Reily Factor doesn’t count. There’s a fine line between being an ambassador to the public and being a caged monkey on display.
We must remember that Ellen stepped forward and accepted the reins of Presidency at a time of uncertainty and confusion. Nobody knew what had happened to the O?Hara?s and the rumors were rampant. She had hoped that she was maintaining the organization until their return, but sadly that was not the case when it was discovered that the family was murdered. She did an excellent job in holding the organization together for 13 years. We should respect her for her contribution. Something happened that made the board come to this difficult decision. They did it for what they believe was in the best interest of the organization as a whole. We should respect them for putting aside their personal feelings about Ellen and doing what was best for American Atheists. My guess is that they didn?t reveal it was a firing out of respect for Ellen and for the organization. They were trying to be discreet. Something like this creates chaos in the minds of the membership. But the firing came out anyway, so they had to make a statement. The reasons for the firing may or may not ever come out to the public. My guess is that there may be legal issues to contend with. There is also Ellen?s character and the character of the organization to consider.
Frank has a very difficult and trying time ahead of him. He should be commended for stepping up and accepting the role of acting President at this time. We as members should give him and the board our support as they try to find a new permanent leader for us. It is our organization, an organization of volunteers. It is in our best interests to put this behind us and move forward. We need to help them make this organization strong.
The story will come out when the time is appropriate, until then, I will accept what has happened and move forward. It is not going to be un-done. I believe in American Atheists and what the organization stands for. I offer the board my support.
Look folks, this isn’t nearly as complex as you’re making it out to be.
1) Ellen was on the phone, as was every other member of the board in attendance(individually). Most board meetings (except the one at the convention) are held on a conference bridge as a normal course of action. Ellen was present (on the phone) during the discussion, and she had ample opportunity to debate. There was no ambush, and no surprise. Everything was above board and in accordance with the by-laws of the organization.
2) Boards select presidents to serve at their discretion. When the board chooses, they change presidents. This has been done before, and will happen again in the many non-profit and for-profit organizations out there. It will happen again at American Atheists, since this is one of only two ways to change leadership (the other being the president resigning).
3) It is completely reasonable for the board to withhold the details of the discussion. Indeed, for legal as well as ethical reasons, they MUST not reveal certain details. You all should know and understand this. We CAN’T give more info — it would be the wrong thing to do for everyone. Think of how unproductive it would be for this to devolve into a he said / she said mudfest. That’s how time gets wasted and opportunities get overlooked.
4) We CAN tell you that she didn’t get religion, has not been accused of a crime, has done great things for this cause, and we are very pleased to have had such a talented and vital leader for so long.
5) Bill Moore Walk updates are available here http://alabamaatheist.org/fw2k8