EXPERTS & AFICIONADOS
FROM AROUND THE CORNER AND ACROSS THE GLOBE
RECENT SPEAKERS AND EVENTS
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MAY 1, 2022 | GREENWOOD CEMETERY | HONORING BLACK LIVES IN AMERICA
Ethical Society members met at Greenwood Cemetery to work alongside members of the Greenwood Cemetery Preservation Association to plant five trees provided by Missouri Forest ReLeaf and clear invasive vines. Greenwood Cemetery was organized in 1874 to serve the needs of the growing black population of post-civil war St. Louis and St. Louis County. It was the first commercial non-sectarian cemetery for African Americans in the St Louis metropolitan area. More than 50,000 Africans Americans are buried within Greenwood’s 31.85 acres, including Harriet Scott. Greenwood Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 26, 2004. |
This is part of a growing movement to honor Black Lives in America and to reclaim black cemeteries across the country. Greenwood was recently featured on MSNBC.
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APRIL 10, 2022 | BOB BERZACK | THE NATIVE PLANT LINK
Native plants are a vital link in the ecosystems that surround us. They are the food sources for creatures large and small that bring delight to our eyes and balance in the natural world. But this system is in trouble and we must all do what we can to help. Bob Berzack's fascination with native plants began as a teenager, roaming the woods and hiking along the streams of Michigan. With his friends and cousins he picked and ate berries, learned the songs of the birds, chased butterflies, and became enchanted with all the creatures of the natural world. Summer days were filled with fishing, and every night was full of fireflies. He began to learn about the connections between the lives of natural creatures and the plants that support them. He hopes that you find it as interesting and vital as he does. |
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APRIL 3, 2022 | ANONYMOUS SPEAKER | SOLDIERS, TERRORISTS, OR VICTIMS: WHAT HAPPENS TO CHILDREN ASSOCIATED WITH ARMED GROUPS?
International law prohibits the recruitment and use of children in hostilities. However, every year thousands of boys and girls are recruited into the ranks of armed groups. Presently, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Syria and Yemen have the largest number of child combatants. We explored the realities and living conditions of these children and the moral and ethical dilemma their predicament raises. |
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MARCH 27, 2022 | CHARLOTTE STEPHENSON | GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRAND CHILDREN
When parents can no longer care for their children, often grandparents step in to provide support, love and stability to their vulnerable grandchildren. The problem of escalating opioid addiction in the United States has led to millions of children living with grandparents or other kin. Such families are often formed out of crisis where grandparents are unprepared to quickly step into the shoes of a parent. Financial and legal issues are only a portion of the challenges these families face. |
In July 2011, Charlotte discovered that her daughter was addicted to illicit opioids and she feared for the safety of her infant grandson who was living with his addicted parents. Charlotte and her husband quickly stepped up to care for their grandson in their home and admitted their daughter to an addiction treatment facility. Years of significant stress and financial strain ensued as they navigated a custody proceeding brought by the baby’s actively addicted father who died of a heroin overdose in 2015. Her daughter is now in recovery and graduating from nursing school.
In 2019, Charlotte was appointed to the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (SGRG) Advisory Council in Washington, D.C.. In November 2021 a report culminating the council’s efforts was submitted to the U.S. Congress. In her advocacy role, she presented with Senator Robert Casey to his Casey Conference on Aging, trained staff within a large PA foster care network, and most recently joined Generation United’s Grand Voices Network. Grand Voices, with 70 members in 45 states, has testified at Capitol Hill briefings and spoken at White House Convenings to raise voices that can shape programs and result in better outcomes for children and their families.
In 2019, Charlotte was appointed to the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (SGRG) Advisory Council in Washington, D.C.. In November 2021 a report culminating the council’s efforts was submitted to the U.S. Congress. In her advocacy role, she presented with Senator Robert Casey to his Casey Conference on Aging, trained staff within a large PA foster care network, and most recently joined Generation United’s Grand Voices Network. Grand Voices, with 70 members in 45 states, has testified at Capitol Hill briefings and spoken at White House Convenings to raise voices that can shape programs and result in better outcomes for children and their families.
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MARCH 6, 2022 | DONNA WALMSLEY | THE DEATH PENALTY AND THE EVOLVING STANDARDS OF DECENCY
The death penalty has been used as punishment and as a means of social control throughout human history. The United States is an outlier among the countries in the world in our ongoing use of capital punishment. Donna Walmsley examined the recent use of the death penalty in Missouri and capital sentencing in St. Charles County as well as current efforts to repeal this unethical national and state public policy. |
Donna Walmsley has been a member of the statewide Board of Directors of the Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (MADP) since 2008. She was the Chapter Leader of the Springfield, MO group until moving to St. Peters in August, 2021. She and her husband, Tom, recently participated in the execution watch in St. Louis on October 5, 2021 to protest the scheduled execution of Ernest Johnson which took place later that day in Bonne Terre, MO
MADP is a statewide organization working to repeal the death penalty in Missouri by educating citizens and legislators regarding the costs and consequences of capital punishment.
MADP is a statewide organization working to repeal the death penalty in Missouri by educating citizens and legislators regarding the costs and consequences of capital punishment.
Shima Rostami, Ed.D.
Executive Director Gateway Human Trafficking |
FEBRUARY 27, 2022 | SHIMA ROSTAMI, ED.D. | HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Shima Rostami is a human rights activist who is involved in the prevention of human trafficking in the Greater St. Louis metroplex, the state of Missouri, the U.S., as well as international communities. She has a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and her doctoral study focused on ‘developing moral education to combat human trafficking’ by creating a Positive Youth Development environment with an emphasis on Character Education. She also studied Child Protection from violence, exploitation, and neglect at the Harvard Center for Health and Human Rights. Currently, she serves as the Executive Director of Gateway Human Trafficking, a nonprofit agency that is located in St. Louis, MO. She is also a member of the U.S. Attorney’s Human Trafficking and Hate Crime Task Forces. |
Julia Julstrom-Agoyo
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FEBRUARY 13, 2022 | JULIA JULSTROM-AGOYO | IMAGINING AN AMERICAN FUTURE WITHOUT PRISONS
It is well-known that the United States has the highest number of incarcerated individuals worldwide, with almost 2.1 million people in prison. Many people increasingly agree that that number is too high and that there should be prison reform. However, many widely embraced “alternatives to incarceration” such as electronic monitoring and extended probation are merely an extension of punishment and control by the state--or another type of prison. Why are humans inclined to punish each other instead of rehabilitating and addressing the root causes of "criminal behavior"? Why are so many people uncomfortable with the word "abolition"? What would truly alternative justice practices look like? Julia will propose a future without prisons, bringing in observations from her work in the criminal justice/immigration space. |
Julia Julstrom-Agoyo holds a BA in International Studies (Human Rights) from the University of Iowa and is currently a Masters of International Affairs Candidate at Columbia University, focusing on human rights policy and international conflict resolution. Previously, Julia completed a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Pahang, Malaysia, worked as a Family Reunification Specialist for unaccompanied immigrant minors in her hometown of Chicago, and assisted in the representation of detained non-citizens facing deportation in New York as a paralegal. Julia grew up in Ethical Culture and serves as the Future of Ethical Societies (FES) Liaison to the AEU and the AHA Youth Representative to the United Nations. She has received the Philip G. Hubbard Human Rights Award and the Burns H. Weston International Human Rights Essay Prize.
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FEBRUARY 6, 2022 | BILL FASICK | BLACK HISTORY MONTH REFLECTION: A HISTORY OF RACIAL SUPPRESSION
Last Memorial Day marked the 100th anniversary of a tragic, violent event in American history, the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. ESMR member Bill Fasick will share details of this event and the historical context leading up to it, as well as his trip last summer to the location, Tulsa Oklahoma's historic Black Wall Street. Bill shared the following resources:
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Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois
American sociologist, socialist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist |
JANUARY 30, 2022 | AEU ALL SOCIETY PLATFORM | Dr. W.E.B. DUBOIS: WILL THE TRUTH SET YOU FREE?
Dr. W.E.B. Dubois, spoke at the New York Society for Ethical Culture on February 7, 1949. His very timely address pertained especially to the need to face facts about enslavement and racism and to acknowledge the contributions of people of African descent - and it pointed out numerous places where that facing of fact has not occurred. Dr. Dubois' words pertain especially to the resolution passed at the AEU Assembly in 2017, "Toward Repairing the Harm of Racism" which states: "Therefore, we affirm efforts to study the lasting effects of the heritage of enslavement and racial discrimination especially on living African Americans, but also on other people of color, and on American society as a whole. We also affirm efforts to study ways that such lasting negative effects can be repaired, and to be involved in actions to repair such effects." |
Curt Collier,
Ethical Culture Leader |
JANUARY 16, 2022 | CURT COLLIER | BEING AT HOME IN THE WORLD: ETHICAL BIOCENTRISM
While we are all more than our labels, an Ethical Culture Society is a haven for a collection of individuals who often subscribe to a variety of value systems and beliefs including (among many others) Humanists, Atheists/Agnostics, Nontheists, Free Thinkers, Skeptics, Naturalists, and the emerging "None of the Above." These differences are sometimes slight, more a matter of personal definition for those who take words seriously, but sometimes they represent variations in style, emphasis or practice. Ethical Biocentrism not only shifts the emphasis away from a human-centered view of the world, it is a way of engaging in a set of practices that fosters life and emergence. It sees the human as a niche builder who can both hinder or advance the flow of energy and creativity throughout the biome. What is Ethical Biocentrism, what is its praxis, and why is it so much in alignment with the original ideals of Ethical Culture. |
Curt Collier has been an Ethical Culture Leader for over 20 years, currently serving as the Interim Leader of the Bergen Ethical Society. Collier was a former leader of the NY Society for Ethical Culture, the Riverdale-Yonkers Society, and the St. Louis Society. He also was instrumental in the founding of the Austin Ethical Society. Collier is also the National Youth Programs Director for Groundwork USA, an organization created by the National Park Service and the Environmental Protection Agency, and oversees corps programs in 20 cities and nine national parks. He collaborates closely with the Park Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, NASA, and several foundations to develop programs specifically targeting underserved youth of color. A single father from south Texas, Collier is currently living in Norfolk, Virginia with his son Andy.
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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2021 | SEEK PRESENTED | WINTER LIGHT CELEBRATION
Celebrate the Winter Solstice with our SEEK students. As winter dips towards its' shortest days, people throughout the northern hemisphere gather to share hope, warmth and community in the flickering lights of a variety of celebrations of light. Learn more with our SEEK class. |
Louise Jett, AEU Leader in Training
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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2021 | LOUISE JETT | HUMANIST VALUES AND ETHICAL CULTURE
As Ethical Humanists, we strive to live our values. we are committed to ethical action and relationship building. Join Leader-In-Training Louise Jett in an exploration of Humanist values and Ethical Culture. Louise Jett, a lifelong learner and an educator at heart. She served as a media specialist at Lewis and Clark Community College and adjunct faculty member at L&C for eight years. She is now a full-time faculty member and coordinator of L&C’s Graphic Design and Wed Development programs. Louise considers herself a congregational Humanist and is truly inspired by people who are dedicated to empowering others. |
Rodney Wilson
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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2021 | RODNEY WILSON | TABOO TEACHING
Missouri native, Rodney Wilson founded LGBTQ History Month in 1994. Inspired by Women’s History Month, Black History Month, Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, etc., he worked with national organizations to develop a gay-friendly curriculum for educators. What began as a lesson evolved into a much broader mission to teach young people about gay history. The short documentary "Taboo Teaching" is about Rodney Wilson's experience after he came out as a gay man to his classroom at a Mehlville Missouri high school in 1994. |
In 1994 Wilson wrote the first article about gay history published by the Missouri Historical Society. University of Missouri-St. Louis became the first college in the country to hold a Gay History Month function, and Wilson helped organize a gay film festival on campus to launch the festivities. In 1995 Gay History Month received its first mainstream media coverage in Newsweek. In 2020, Wison was named a Missouri Trailblazer by the Missouri State Museum.
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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2021 | PHILLIP DONZE | ATHEIST ALLIANCE HELPING THE HOMELESS
ESMR member Phillip Donze, discussed his humanitarian efforts with Atheist Alliance Helping the Homeless. Phillip is the lead organizer for the Saint Louis chapter and organizes monthly giveaways to directly benefit up to 80 unhoused people. After his platform presentation Phillip will supervise a back-pack filling activity to help prep for the next Atheist Alliance Helping the Homeless giveaway. Atheist Alliance of America (AAoA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit incubator for secular activists and community organizations who work to normalize atheism, unify atheist organizations and provide humanitarian aid. AAoA’s vision is to transform society into one that values reason, rationality, honesty, clarity, and kindness. They actively promote atheism, naturalism, and the separation of church and state. AAoA is a rich network of secular organizations that seek to increase wellbeing and help people make better decisions. |
Dan Flynn
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OCTOBER 17, 2021 | FUNERAL DIRECTOR, DAN FLYNN | THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX: THE NEW FUNERAL DYNAMIC
Our society has evolved more in the last 30 years than it has in the last 300 years, in every way but one — the way we handle the death of a loved one. Most people have very little knowledge of their options, as well as their rights, in making funeral arrangements. Dan Flynn is a licensed Funeral Director in both Missouri and California. Prior to moving back to his hometown of St. Louis, Dan owned Simply Remembered Funeral home in Santa Barbara, CA where he became quite well known as a voice for change in the funeral industry. Dan also serves on the Federal government’s National Mass Fatality Team and is a Subject Matter Expert on Mass Fatalities for the Department of Homeland Security. He is a Certified Medicolegal Death Investigator and has served as a Police Officer and a Sheriff’s Deputy. As a result of his extensive background, he is a published writer, speaker and instructor. |
Emily Kircher-Morris, M.A., M.Ed., LPC,
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OCTOBER 3, 2021 | EMILY KIRCHER-MORRIS M.A., M.Ed., LPC | CREATING A NEURODIVERSITY-AFFIRMING WORLD
The neurodiversity movement is redefining what it means to be labeled as autistic, ADHD, dyslexic, and more. Advocates recognize that there are simultaneous struggles and strengths within people who have these diagnoses. For too long, "treatments" and "cures" offered indicate that neurodivergent people are somehow broken. Emily Kircher-Morris, M.A., M.Ed., LPC, explores how we can better understand neurodivergent people, what it means to be neurodiversity-affirming, and the impact of being a neurodivergent person in a neurotypical world |
Inspired by her own experiences as a neurodivergent person, Emily is dedicated to destigmatizing neurodiversity and supporting neurodivergent people of all ages. She started her career in education and is now in private practice near St. Louis, Missouri as a licensed professional counselor, where she specializes in supporting neurodivergent kids and adults (and their families). Emily hosts The Neurodiversity Podcast, which explores the psychological, educational, and social needs for enriching the lives of neurodivergent people. She speaks at statewide, national, and international conferences and frequently provides virtual and in-person professional development to educators, mental health clinicians, and parents worldwide.
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Emily is the author of two books related to the development of children and teens who are neurodivergent and cognitively gifted. “Teaching Twice-Exceptional Learners in Today's Classroom" (Free Spirit Publishing, 2021) focuses on supporting 2e learners in the educational setting, and the forthcoming "Raising Twice-Exceptional Children: A Handbook for Parents of Neurodivergent Gifted Kids" (Routledge, 01/22) is a guide for parents navigating the world of twice-exceptionality.
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SEPTEMBER 19, 2021 | CELEBRATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE
Our SEEK youth group celebrated The International Day of Peace. This day, sometimes known as World Peace Day, is a United Nations-sanctioned holiday observed annually on September 21st. It is dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence, such as might be occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone for humanitarian aid access. The day was first celebrated in 1981, and is kept by many nations, political groups, military groups, and people worldwide. |
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SEPTEMBER 12, 2021 | FOREST ReLEAF OF MISSOURI
Our SEEK youth group enjoyed our second annual tree planting project in the city of St. Louis. This year, we coordinated with an amazing organization, Forest ReLeaf of Missouri. which operates the only nonprofit community-assisted tree nursery in the region. Since their inception in 1993, more than 200,000 trees have been planted throughout Missouri and Illinois—projects that have increased tree canopy in low-income areas, assisted with reforestation after major weather disasters and those undertaken to promote peace and healing in our communities. Forest ReLeaf is a catalyst for restoring and sustaining our urban forests, with the help of thousands of volunteers. Their mission is to plant trees and enrich communities. |
Kristin Mosley, Author of, “Queen Olivia and the Lava Monster”
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JULY 25, 2021 | KRISTIN MOSLEY | THE NEED FOR DIVERSE CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Diverse books are powerful tools that serve in enabling kids (and parents) to gain a better understanding of their own culture and the cultures of those not like them. There is a desperate need for children to see diverse characters, and stories to help shape the way they see this world and the way they can imagine themselves in this world. Kristen Mosley eloquently addressed why diverse books are needed, not just in the homes of marginalized families but in all homes. The Cooperative Children's Book Center tracks diversity in children's books and in 2018, found that only 10% of the stories published featured African American characters.
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Pamela Merritt,
Executive Director, Medical Students for Choice |
JUNE 27, 2021 | PAMELA MERRITT | MEDICAL STUDENTS FOR CHOICE
Our guest speaker was Pamela Merritt, the Executive Director at Medical Students for Choice. Her organization focuses on creating tomorrow's abortion providers and pro-choice physicians. Founded by medical students in 1993 as a response to the almost complete deficit of abortion education in their medical training, Medical Students for Choice (a 501(c)(3) non-profit) works to ensure that medical students and trainees are educated about all aspects of reproductive health care, including abortion. With more than 13 years of leadership in the reproductive justice space, Pamela Merritt has worked tirelessly to advance progressive policy through advocacy and outreach at Planned Parenthood Advocates in Missouri and Progress Missouri. Most recently, she co-founded and served as the co-director of Reproaction, a national organization that leads bold action to increase access to abortion and advance reproductive justice. |