Reed Secular Alliance

Donald Johanson gestures at a slide

Editor’s Note:  The following marks the fourth installment of Leslie Zukor’s reflections on the American Humanist Association’s conference in Phoenix.  Zukor, the President of the Reed Secular Alliance, attended a number of events over the four day period and met many influential freethinkers.  We hope that this has been an interesting series.

Donald Johnson signs copies of his books

Although Sunday didn’t feature a star-studded lineup of freethinkers, it nevertheless provided those in attendance with an invigorating science lesson.  More specifically, the audience was treated to a provocative lecture on human origins by Donald Johanson, the archaeologist who discovered Lucy in the 1970s, a discovery many believe unearths our oldest common human ancestor.

Johanson signs a book for Dan Barker

While the talk’s connection to humanism was not explicit, Johanson’s lecture was any important refutation of the Biblical literalist pseudo-science that claims that the earth is thousands, not millions of years old as science attests.  According to estimates using reliable dating techniques, Lucy is said to have lived some 3.2 million years ago.  All evidence points to humans having evolved from primates, not created by intelligent design.

RSA President Leslie Zukor poses with Donald Johanson

Since I had seen the Lucy exhibit in Seattle, it was a privilege to meet the man that discovered one of mankind’s most important fossils.  For my 24th birthday last January, I saw the Lucy skeleton at the Pacific Science Center.  While I thought it would be scary looking at mankind’s oldest fossil, it was actually invigorating to be able to learn so much about our place on earth, via the scientific discovery of Lucy.

Donald Johanson smiles and converses with the crowd

In addition to Johanson’s presentation, the conference also featured Fred Edwords’s public relations workshop.  Edwords, who is the Communications Director for the United Coalition of Reason, wants freethinkers to be as successful with the media as has the Religious Right.  To this end, he spent Sunday afternoon explaining how atheists can get the media’s attention.  While some of the pointers were helpful in general, I am not sure that a group as small as the Reed Secular Alliance could benefit from his advice.

AHA Conference Organizer Maggie Ardiente photographs Johanson

In all, I enjoyed the conference and hope to attend further American Humanist Association events.  In addition to meeting Donald Johanson, I was also able to interact with Sean Faircloth of the Secular Coalition for America, Barry Lynn of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and Dan Barker of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.  The AHA conference would not be complete without meeting the ever provocative PZ Myers, who always leaves the audience with food for thought.