An Atheist Conference Is Being Criticized for Noting Its Diverse Speakers
uly 16, 2017 by Hemant Mehta

As someone who has attended and written about atheist gatherings for more than a decade, there’s been a noticeable increase in diversity among speakers over the years. It’s a really wonderful thing. Not because it’s “politically correct,” but because different speakers can talk, from experience, about different issues. Richard Dawkins and Ayaan Hirsi Ali never give the same lecture, and anyone who’s listened to both will tell you they appreciated hearing their perspectives. The same thing applies to speakers who are LGBT or Hispanic, or those who left non-Christian religions, or who aren’t college professors, etc. The more, the merrier. Most organizers are aware that inviting a broader range of speakers will inevitably lead to a broader range of attendees. And that’s a big deal in a movement that is stereotypically white and male.

David Diskin had that in mind when he was planning California Freethought Day 2017, taking place this October. I don’t know how many people he invited, but the list of speakers who accepted was just released, and there’s a broad section of the atheist movement represented on it.

You have authors, a poet, community organizers, a podcaster, a protestor, group leaders, and more.

The website includes a brief description of what each person is best known for — so Sikivu Hutchinson is listed as an “African-American Feminist Author” because those are the issues she’s best known for writing about. Larry Decker is described as the “ED of Secular Coalition for America” for obvious reasons. David Tamayo is the “President of Hispanic American Freethinkers.” You get the idea.

But one atheist sees all this as nothing more than a symptom of the Regressive Left, and he made a video condemning the descriptions. I’m pretty sure my mouth was wide open the entire time I watched...

(snip)

David Diskin had the right idea with this response to Garber: “Perhaps your followers will be less concerned about the last names and ethnicities of our guests, and enjoy our event.”

Atheists, diverse as ever, barely united by the one idea they share.