FFRF has awarded $35,000 in First in the Family Humanist Forward Freethought scholarships to eight students, thanks to the incredible generosity of FFRF benefactor Lance Bredvold. The students were selected by Black Skeptics Los Angeles (BSLA), an African American humanist-atheist-based organization.
Alvaro Molina
After several years of analyzing why I am not religious, I have found that it is primarily because I do not believe that God, or any god in general, is responsible for everything that happens around me. I think concepts like the bible and Christianity, specifically, are based on self-contradictory arguments. The use of the existence of hell and heaven and the belief that God is watching our every action is nothing more than a tactic to control the masses through fear and suffering.
As a member of the LGBTQ-plus community and an undocumented immigrant in the United States, I have succeeded, graduating with honors from my high school despite the difficulties with English, and I am now a fluent speaker of the language. However, I can also speak to how ugly it feels to be judged by someone who is not like you and does not know your story. I have received racist comments and ridicule upon arriving in the United States, as well as whispers and mockery for being part of the LGBTQ-plus community. If we were more mindful of how our words hurt others, we could have a healthier and better-functioning society, all striving for equity.
BSLA is the first secular humanist atheist organization to specifically address college pipelining for youth of color through its ongoing scholarship and college and K-12 youth leadership partnerships. FFRF has proudly partnered with BSLA for 11 years to provide tuition grants, gradually increasing the funding and number of scholarships.
FFRF member Lance Bredvold, who is not wealthy but is very generous, suggested the Forward Freethought College Fund, a needs-based tuition scholarship, and has contributed the bulk of the $200,000-plus received to date. Since 2018, more than $100,000 has been disbursed to help freethinking students who might not otherwise be able to attend college.
Those who would like to donate toward the Forward Freethought Fund, a needs-based scholarship dedicated to helping freethinking students who might otherwise be unable to attend college, may designate “tuition scholarships” in the ffrf.org/donate dropdown or earmark checks for “Forward Freethought Fund” or “tuition scholarships.” All donations to FFRF remain deductible for income-tax purposes.
“This initiative helps those who are really in need and are the generational vanguard of freethinkers,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “All the contributions we receive assist a truly worthy cause.”
