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Dear John,
My name is Fish Stark, and I’m proud to be the new Executive Director of the Center for Freethought Equality and the American Humanist Association.
I’ll cut to the chase - we started engaging in the electoral arena the year after my dad Pete Stark, the first open humanist and atheist in Congress, lost re-election by 4% to an opponent who criticized him for voting against “In God We Trust” as our national motto.
We wanted to make sure no humanist had to stand alone, ever again.
We've been a crucial part of growing and supporting the dozens of open humanist and atheist elected officials across the country - and many of them are running in tough races this fall.
I’m excited to be leading CFE into this new chapter. I bring experience leading teams at nonprofits and tech startups - but if I’m being honest, my favorite title has been “campaign manager.” Recently, I had a blast leading a campaign that beat the far-right, Christian Nationalist Moms for Liberty by 39% in a red district.
It’s not rocket science: We can beat the Christian right at their own game if we’re bold, creative, and organized.
But we need money to do it.
John, when I call our elected officials in tough races to introduce myself, I want to be able to tell them - “We’ve got your back."
When we have elected humanists in office, we do two important things.
First, we break the taboo that nonreligious folks are unpatriotic. We show the sneering right-wing sycophants, who say people like us have “no values system,” that we love our country just as much as they do, and we must show atheists, agnostics, and humanists who are on the fence about running for office that it can be done.
Second, we elect leaders who are committed to compassion, reason, and ethics. And those people tend to make damn good policy.
Dad spent his congressional career making policy that lifted people up - the EMTALA law, which allows people to get emergency medical care without needing to prove they can pay, and which the Biden administration is using to protect emergency abortion access in red states, the COBRA law, which lets people keep their health insurance after a layoff or divorce, the first law giving tax credits to companies that donate computers to schools, which helped get every classroom in America online.
He didn’t do these things in addition to his humanism. He did these things because of his humanism.
Because when we lift up leaders who are committed to lifting up all people - like our humanist values call us to do - we don’t just win elections. We win a better future for all humanity.
I’m looking forward to sharing more about our plans to elect more humanists and freethinkers. To learn more, renew your active membership with the Center for Freethought Equality here.
Warmly,
Fish Stark
Executive Director
Center for Freethought Equality
If you would prefer to make your donation by check, please make your check payable to the Center for Freethought Equality and mail it to: 1821 Jefferson Place NW, Washington DC 20036.
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