FFRF has awarded $30,000 in First in the Family Humanist Forward Freethought scholarships to seven 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.
Ariyah Suggs, University of Memphis, $5,000
Humanism points out hypocrisy in our structure and allows us to collaborate as a unit to find a better path. A personal major issue in this is homosexuality. The foundation of homosexuality is only displaced in the context of religion. This belief would not be held and so widespread if not for the shared belief of contextual sin among a majority. This poison is nurtured and passed down through generations all from a simple line in a mythical book. The term may not even exist if not for religion. To love another was never a crime and never something to be controlled. Love is such a feeling that needs to be labeled in the human eyes. Confining humans to misperceived pre-historic mating, which still consists of homosexuality, is ridiculous. We have advanced way too far as a species to believe such slander.
BSLA is the first secular humanist/atheist organization to specifically address college pipelining for youth of color through its ongoing scholarship, college and K-12 youth leadership partnerships. FFRF has proudly partnered with BSLA for 12 years to provide tuition grants, gradually increasing the funding and number of scholarships.
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.
