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CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
X-ORIGINAL-URL:http://atheists.meetup.com/24/calendar/10559387/ical/NYC+ATH
 EISTS+MONTHLY+MEETING/
X-WR-CALNAME:Events - NYC ATHEISTS MONTHLY MEETING
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:NYC ATHEISTS MONTHLY MEETING
DESCRIPTION:New York City Atheists Meetings\n\nGay Atheist Activist\, Autho
 r of ‘Who’s Who in Hell\,’ To Tell\nWhat We Can Learn From Gay Civil-Rights
  Movement \n \nNew York\, NY—Warren Allen Smith\, an early atheist pioneer\
 , is one of our heroes. Way back in 1949\, when he was a graduate student u
 nder Lionel Trilling\, he started the first Humanist Club at Columbia Unive
 rsity. It was also while he was a graduate student that he began to write\,
  for his Master’s thesis\, “Who’s Who in Hell\,” a compendium of atheists a
 nd freethinkers worldwide that today is a historic 1\,264-page encyclopedia
  available to all.\n \nSmith went on to become a pioneer in yet another ven
 ue: gay civil rights. He became involved in the Stonewall movement in the 1
 960s and in the founding of Act-Up\, the gay activist movement.\n \nToday S
 mith lives in Greenwich Village\, boasts of having written four books since
  he turned 80 and is raising a foster son\, a Haitian boy of 16 whose fathe
 r\, a friend of Smith’s\, was assassinated in a Haitian uprising.\n \nWikip
 edia for Atheists\n \nSmith also runs a web site called Philosopedia\, a so
 rt of Wikipedia for atheists\, which some have called a comprehensive index
  of the world’s most prominent atheists.\n \nQuite a life story for a man w
 ho was raised a Methodist in a town of just over 300 people in Iowa and who
 se father was a grain dealer. “I came to New York via Omaha Beach\,” Smith 
 says\, referring to the D-Day amphibian landing in France in World War II\,
  in which he took part. His military service allowed him to go to college\,
  first to the University of Northern Iowa\, then to Columbia in New York.\n
  \nSmith then taught school for 37 years\, mostly in Connecticut\, and also
  ran a recording studio in New York with his longtime companion\, Fernando 
 Vargas\, who died in 1986.\n \nLessons from Gay Movement\n \nPhilosopedia a
 nd Who’s Who in Hell may be Smith’s ultimate legacy to the atheist world bu
 t it is what he learned in the gay rights movement that he wants to bring t
 o us on Thursday at the NYC Atheists’ monthly meeting.\n \nWith hard work a
 nd persistence\, and risking all to put themselves out there on the line\, 
 the gay civil rights movement has made vast strides to legitimize the gay l
 ife style and win equal rights. Noting the reluctance of many atheists to d
 eclare themselves in public\, Smith notes: “Humanists\, freethinkers and at
 heists need to use the same kind of courage to legitimize the atheist lifes
 tyle.”\n \nEVENT SUMMARY\n \nWHAT:             “What Atheists Can Learn Fro
 m the Gay Civil Rights\n                           Movement\,”  a talk by W
 arren Allen Smith\, author of\n                           Who’s Who in Hell
 .\n \nWHEN:             Thursday\, June 25\, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.\n \nWHERE:  
          SLC Conference Center - 352    Seventh Ave. (bet. 29th & 30th Stre
 ets - 16th Floor\n \nCOST:               We ask for a donation of $5 to hel
 p cover the cost of\n                            Room rental.  Unemployed a
 re excused.\n\nNew York\, NY  10001 - USA\n\nThursday\, June 25 at 6:30 PM\
 n\nAttending: 40\n\nDetails: http://atheists.meetup.com/24/calendar/1055938
 7/
LAST-MODIFIED:20090706T234417Z
UID:event_10559387@meetup.com
CLASS:PUBLIC
CREATED:20090602T223029Z
DTSTAMP:20091210T191437Z
DTSTART:20090625T223000Z
DTEND:20090626T003000Z
GEO:40.75;-73.99
LOCATION:SLC Conference Center - 352 Seventh Ave. (30th St.) - 16th Floor -
  New York\, NY  10001 - USA
URL:http://atheists.meetup.com/24/calendar/10559387/
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