Everyone is invited to attend (virtually or in person) the Women of Color Beyond Belief conference!  I hope to attend virtually.  This white guy has a lot to learn – and this conference is for everyone.  There will be many brave voices to hear.  As mentioned for the interview with Mandisa Thomas, willingly deciding to add membership in one of the most hated groups in America is a big decision (so consider helping them out – link here).

There are a lot of awesome speakers!  A few profiles out of the 18 speakers are below. The full list of speakers and their bios can be found here. From the organizers:

We deemed it important to choose women who have a voice, an effort, a platform in real time-women who are ON THE GROUND reaching communities, particularly women, and not serving self interests. We seek women who are doers, not complainers.  We choose women who have work diligently and at times, quietly in the background.  These women often go unnoticed.

It is easy to choose women who are regularly featured on the secular speaker circuit.  We decided to take a different route…

Plus, this is an affordable conference!  Online is only $25 – less than even a dinner out for two, and a whole family could learn from their home, all weekend!  Student rates are even cheaper.  The full in-person conference, including the ball, is still only $150, and without the ball is $105.

A Sampling of the Speakers:

Here are just a few of the many powerhouse speakers!

Candace R.M. Gorham (she/her/hers) is a licensed professional counselor with a background in middle and high school education. A former evangelical minister, she founded the Ebony Exodus Project to explore the reasons record numbers of black women were leaving the church and in 2013 published The Ebony Exodus Project: Why Some Black Women Are Walking Out on Religion and Others Should Too. She is on the advisory council of the Black Humanist Alliance of the American Humanist Association and is a member of the Secular Therapist Project and the Clergy Project. She currently lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her fourteen-year-old daughter.

Follow Candace on Twitter

Jena Miyu (she/her/hers) has played an active role in the secular online community for the past 3 years. She created her own YouTube channel, Black Female Atheist, co anchors the International Freethinkers channel, co-produces and cohosts The Non-Prophets show, and provides support for other YouTube and Discord platforms. In her professional life, she is a full-time licensed nurse and student.

Jena, who recently disclosed her atheism to her family and close friends, proudly continues her online activism in the pursuit of normalizing atheism and secular communities. Her goal is to connect with other Black nonbelievers that find themselves in similar situations, while also finding answers and support to eventually be full open about her non-belief.

Follow Jena on Facebook and Twitter.

Srishti Hukku (she/her/hers), MPA, PhD(c) has Kashmiri roots, was raised in Silicon Valley and now calls Canada home. She recently became the youngest and only racialized accredited Humanist Chaplain in Canada. In addition, as a lifetime member of Humanist Canada, Srishti serves on a number of committees including those advancing access to secular chaplaincy, sexual and reproductive health, critical thinking, DEI and intersectionality.

Srishti is also a Humanist officiant providing a range of ceremonies from child/adult namings to weddings to celebration of life services. As a global citizen, she actively supports the American Humanist Association, Humanists UK, Humanists Australia, and Humanists International. A lifelong learner, Srishti is a cotutelle doctoral candidate at the University of Ottawa’s Population Health program and the Medical Anthropology program at Macquarie University in Australia exploring the intersection between sexual and reproductive health issues and secular public policy.

Follow Srishti on Instagram and Twitter.

And of course, don’t forget to share this with your friends, and to support Black Nonbelievers!