Ethical Humanist Society of the Triangle

Russ Feingold and the American Constitution Society
2022-10-30 11:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York) | Virtual Program using Zoom
We are thrilled to announce that the guest speaker for this All-Society Platform is former US Senator and Current President of the American Constitution Society (ACS), Russ Feingold. Senator Feingold will speak about the ACS, a national network of over 250 lawyer and law student chapters who are working together to offer platforms for discussion, opportunities for networking and mentoring, and working at the federal, state, and local levels for a progressive vision of the law. Through grassroots working groups in states across the country, ACS is working closely with the Biden-Harris Administration and other state and local elected officials to recommend qualified and diverse candidates for judicial and other legal positions. ACS is engaged in efforts to protect democracy, advance truth and justice, and transform our laws and legal systems to protect the lives of all people – not just the special interests of a few. ACS advocates for voting rights and non-partisan redistricting; mobilizing and educating voters about their rights; raising awareness and increasing engagement on down ballot races and connecting our members with opportunities to support voting rights and election integrity.
Prior to joining the ACS, Senator Feingold is perhaps best known for his bipartisan effort, with John McCain, to reform campaign financing through the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002.
Special thanks to the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island for organizing this event.
About our Speakers:
Russ Feingold is the President of the American Constitution Society. He served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1993 to 2011 and a Wisconsin State Senator from 1983 to 1993. From 2013 to 2015, he served as the United States Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region of Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. During his 18 years in the United States Senate, Russ was ranked 6th in the Senate for bipartisan voting. He is a recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award and cosponsored the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold Act), the only major piece of campaign finance reform legislation passed into law in decades. Russ was the only Senator to vote against the initial enactment of the USA PATRIOT Act during the first vote on the legislation and was well-known for his opposition to the Iraq War and as the Senate’s leading opponent of the death penalty. He served on the Judiciary, Foreign Relations, Budget, and Intelligence Committees. Russ was Chairman or Ranking Member of the Constitution Subcommittee. For more on Russ, click here.
Zoom Info
Join by computer, tablet, or smartphone: http://vh9d.2.vu/p

2022 Fall Meeting of Members and Friends
2022-10-23 13:30 - 15:30
Each fall, EHST has a meeting of members, friends, and visitors to discuss what has transpired (good, bad, and ugly) for the society during the current year, and what looms ahead for the next calendar year. Our programs, budget, board activity, and needs are reviewed during the meeting. Questions are encouraged, which we will attempt to answer, to allow all to understand our “state of the union.” We also will kick off our pledge campaign for 2023. Come get the facts about our humanist congregation!
This meeting is a Zoom “hybrid” meeting. We will meet at our regular venue, Extraordinary Ventures, where the program will take place. We will also Zoom the program. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please email info@ncethicalsociety.org with your first and last name to be registered as an attendee for this program.

The Legal Myth of Fetal Personhood
2022-10-17 19:00 - 21:00, 2022-10-04 18:30 - 20:30, 2022-10-01 10:00 - 12:00
Solomon Gibson, III, will lead an informational forum discussing a definitive solution for reproductive rights. The strategy that could work toward achieving equality, control, and bodily autonomy.
Free and open to the public, this 2-hour presentation will involve Q&A while exploring, among other aspects:
A brief history of the abortion issue in America.
Why the SCOTUS ruling could be more dangerous than we think.
Whether Roe should be codified into federal law.
The challenge to state abortion laws.
The presentation will conclude with how this solution can work in conjunction with current strategies in the fight for reproductive rights.

How To Spot a Liar (Ted Talk)
2022-10-16 13:30 - 15:30 | Virtual Program using Zoom
Ethical people should not lie, right? Well, this Ted Talk looks at lying, and how to spot a liar. But don’t get too comfortable, you may be a part of the problem! Pamela Meyer’s Ted Talk will educate us, and lead us into a discussion about lying. Here is how her talk is described on the Ted Talk website: On any given day we’re lied to from 10 to 200 times, and the clues to detect those lies can be subtle and counter-intuitive. Pamela Meyer, author of “Liespotting,” shows the manners and “hotspots” used by those trained to recognize deception — and she argues honesty is a value worth preserving. (Contains mature content)

This program will be presented via a Zoom session. You do not need a Zoom account to “attend” this virtual meeting. If you would like to be a participant in the meeting, please email us at info@ncethicalsociety.org and provide your first and last name in your request.

The Critical Race Theory Confusion
2022-10-09 13:30 - 15:30 | Virtual Program using Zoom
The friction and confusion surrounding “Critical Race Theory” is due to a confluence of factors. First, it is not well understood by the public at large. Second, it is being intentionally distorted by rightwing extremists in order to stoke fear and gain power. Third, candid understanding of racism in the U. S. is overwhelming in the best of circumstances. Ethical Humanist Leader Hugh Taft-Morales will explore these three factors in order to help us make sense of CRT and its place in our social dialogue.

This program will be presented via a Zoom session. You do not need a Zoom account to “attend” this virtual meeting. If you would like to be a participant in the meeting, please email us at info@ncethicalsociety.org and provide your first and last name in your request.

The Coercive Nature of Plea Bargaining
2022-10-02 13:30 - 15:30
Elizabeth Hopkins Thomas, Executive Director of the North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services, will speak to EHST about the ins and outs of plea deals and why they are so often coercive in application.
North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services (NCPLS) is a non-profit law firm. As stated on their website, their mission since their founding in 1979 has been ensuring access to the courts for people incarcerated in North Carolina state prisons. NCPLS attorneys work to correct unlawful criminal sentences and advocate for safe, humane, and constitutional prison conditions.
This meeting is a Zoom “hybrid” meeting. We will meet at our regular venue, Extraordinary Ventures, where the program will take place. Masks are recommended at our in-person meeting. We will also Zoom the program. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please email info@ncethicalsociety.org with your first and last name to be registered as an attendee for this program.

But You Seem So Happy. You Can't Have Depression!
2022-09-25 13:30 - 15:30
While physical illness is, for the most part, socially acceptable, mental illness of any sort still suffers under a strong stigma in our culture. Maura Breidt will discuss this, focussing on depression. She will discuss some of the myths that are promulgated about depression as well as some of the changing scientific views on antidepressants and other treatment options.

This meeting is a Zoom “hybrid” meeting. We will meet at our regular venue, Extraordinary Ventures, where the program will take place. We will also Zoom the program. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please email info@ncethicalsociety.org with your first and last name to be registered as an attendee for this program.

Intersectionality in Humanism: What It Means & Why It Matters
2022-09-18 13:30 - 15:30 | Virtual Program using Zoom
Intersectionality is a term that describes how each of our identities interact with each other to create our entirely unique experiences. Lifelong Ethical Humanist and AEU Board Member Anya Overmann discusses intersectionality in the context of humanism and how different “intersections” can lead to blindspots around varying human experience.

This program will be presented via a Zoom session. You do not need a Zoom account to “attend” this virtual meeting. If you would like to be a participant in the meeting, please email us at info@ncethicalsociety.org and provide your first and last name in your request.

Our Addiction to Corn
2022-09-11 13:30 - 15:30 | Virtual Program using Zoom
Here in the United States, corn is a big part of our lives. It is all around us and it is here to stay. In the Americas, corn began as a humble wild grass that we domesticated, but now we appear to be as dependent on corn as it is on us. Fred Breidt will explore this relationship, covering the agricultural history of corn as well as the economic, nutritional, and ecological consequences for us all. Bring you own popcorn! (just kidding)
This program will be presented via a Zoom session. You do not need a Zoom account to “attend” this virtual meeting. If you would like to be a participant in the meeting, please email us at info@ncethicalsociety.org and provide your first and last name in your request.

What Do I Do Now: A Look at Personal Ethics
2022-09-04 13:30 - 15:30
Jan Broughton, longtime EHST member and former President of the American Ethical Union, will lead this program with assistance from Maura Breidt. We will discuss ethical dilemmas and possible solutions in an interactive format. Zoomers will participate as a group when we break out into small discussion groups.
This meeting is a Zoom “hybrid” meeting. We will meet at our regular venue, Extraordinary Ventures, where the program will take place. We will also Zoom the program. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please email info@ncethicalsociety.org with your first and last name to be registered as an attendee for this program.

The Eight Core Values of Ethical Humanism
2022-08-28 13:30 - 15:30 | Extraordinary Ventures, 200 S. Elliott Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Ethical Humanists seem to like educational talks, and speakers highlighting social problems. But what is at the core of Ethical Humanism? What core values unite people who count themselves as members and friends? A longtime member of EHST, Chris Kaman, will present the traditional eight core values and provide an opportunity for our attendees to engage him in dialog about these values.
This meeting is a Zoom “hybrid” meeting. We will meet at our regular venue, Extraordinary Ventures, where the program will take place. We will also Zoom the program. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please email info@ncethicalsociety.org with your first and last name to be registered as an attendee for this program.

Map Our Future: People Over Politics
2022-08-21 13:30 - 14:30
On June 30, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to take up Moore v. Harper during its next term, which begins in October 2022. Moore, a North Carolina Congressional gerrymandering case, likely to be argued in December 2022, is being called “perhaps the gravest threat to American democracy since the Jan. 6 attack.”
Moore v. Harper party Common Cause NC and litigation partner Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) are hitting the road with state and local partners for North Carolina’s #MapOurFuture Tour: People Over Politics. This 100-county educational tour kicking off in August 2022 will bring Moore experts to every corner of North Carolina to educate about harms and things they can do to protect the freedom to vote.
This event is presented by the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, and is co-sponsored by NC Common Cause, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP, NC Counts Coalition, Carolina Jews for Justice, and the Ethical Humanist Society of the Triangle.

This meeting is a Zoom “hybrid” meeting. We will meet at our regular venue, Extraordinary Ventures, where the program will take place. We will also Zoom the program. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please email info@ncethicalsociety.org with your first and last name to be registered as an attendee for this program.

Signs, Symbols and Symbolic Actions
2022-08-14 13:30 - 15:30 | Virtual Program using Zoom
Don R. Johnson will speak to us about signs, symbols, and symbolic actions. We all know what the first two mean, and may have an idea about symbolic actions. (Think of the solitary man standing before a tank in Tiananmen Square.) These terms are not mere literary terms, but are useful in understanding the past, as well as the current cultural and political shifts occurring today. From the removal of Confederate monuments to the Black Lives Matter movement (and BLM banners) we know that symbols have great importance to defining who we are and are not. If we are to preserve our democracy, we need to heed those signs, and symbols of the past that can show us a way forward.
Don R. Johnson speaks from a wide background including being raised in an atheist/agnostic family, and then delving into religious fundamentalism, then Methodism as a minister, and then Ethical Culture/Humanism as a Leader. He is retired but continues to provide guidance in many ways such as talks like these, and a Facebook following.
This program will be presented via a Zoom session. You do not need a Zoom account to “attend” this virtual meeting. If you would like to be a participant in the meeting, please email us at info@ncethicalsociety.org and provide your first and last name in your request.

Documentary: The Neutral Ground
2022-08-07 13:30 - 15:30
EHST will show the documentary “The Neutral Ground.” Here’s what the film maker says about the film. “A documentary about memory, monuments, and how to break up with the Confederacy. The Neutral Ground documents the City of New Orleans’ fight over monuments and America’s troubled romance with the Lost Cause. In 2015, director CJ Hunt was filming the New Orleans City Council’s vote to remove four confederate monuments. But when that removal is halted by death threats, CJ sets out to understand why a losing army from 1865 still holds so much power in America.” You can watch a trailer of the movie here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/theneutralground/659395529?autoplay=1.

This meeting is a Zoom “hybrid” meeting. We will meet at our regular venue, Extraordinary Ventures, where the program will take place. We will also Zoom the program. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please email info@ncethicalsociety.org with your first and last name to be registered as an attendee for this program.

Volunteerism as an Antidote to Anxiety and Hopelessness
2022-07-31 13:30 - 15:30
In our age of anxiety and hopelessness over the many problems we face, action through volunteerism can be an antidote as recently mentioned in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/23/well/mind/mental-health-climate-anxiety.html. EHST will feature several members who are volunteering in the community; each will tell what they are doing and why. Attendees will then be encouraged to share their own volunteer activities. Suggestions for future actions will also be solicited.

This meeting is a Zoom “hybrid” meeting. We will meet at our regular venue, Extraordinary Ventures, where the program will take place. We will also Zoom the program. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please email info@ncethicalsociety.org with your first and last name to be registered as an attendee for this program.

AEU All Society Program - All Hands on Deck
2022-07-24 12:00 - 13:30 | Virtual Program using Zoom
The program today is presented by the American Ethical Union, our national organization. The program will recognize the 2022 Anna Garlin Spencer Award recipients, and feature a talk by Jone Johnson Lewis about Anna Garlin Spencer for whom the award is named. Born in 1851, Anna Garlin Spencer was a social activist and feminist icon. She was the first woman ordained in Rhode Island, became a founder of the NAACP, promoted child labor laws, and worked for equal rights for women. She was also the first woman Ethical Culture Leader and her life-long work embodies the spirit intended by this award. The AEU Anna Garlin Spencer Volunteer Award recognizes a lay member of any AEU Member Organization in good standing for their significant volunteer contributions to the success of their organization and/or to the AEU. The AEU Board presents the award on behalf of the AEU and the nominating congregation. The program will be provided via Zoom to attendees across the country.
If you would like to be a participant in this meeting, please email us at info@ncethicalsociety.org and provide your first and last name in your request.

Kiss the Ground - A Solution for Healing the Planet
2022-07-17 13:30 - 15:30 | Virtual Program using Zoom
EHST will play a shorter (45 minute) school based version of the longer film “Kiss the Ground.” The movie, narrated by Woody Harrelson, “reveals that, by regenerating the world’s soils, we can completely and rapidly stabilize Earth’s climate, restore lost ecosystems and create abundant food supplies. Using compelling graphics and visuals, along with striking NASA and NOAA footage, the film artfully illustrates how, by drawing down atmospheric carbon, soil is the missing piece of the climate puzzle. This movie is positioned to catalyze a movement to accomplish the impossible – to solve humanity’s greatest challenge, to balance the climate and secure our species future.” Here is a trailer for the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iknWWKZOUs&t=7s
This program will be presented via a Zoom session. You do not need a Zoom account to “attend” this virtual meeting. If you would like to be a participant in the meeting, please email us at info@ncethicalsociety.org and provide your first and last name in your request.

July 3 - EHST Holiday - No meeting
2022-07-03
EHST will NOT meet in person nor in Zoom. We are taking the Sunday off.
We hope you enjoy the holiday weekend!

Responding to Social Problems one Action at a Time
2022-06-26 13:30 - 15:30
EHST members will discuss recent efforts to support calls for change in the areas of gun violence, and poverty. Despite the seemingly overwhelming problems and suffering these bring to their victims, our actions can help make changes in the system. Doing nothing is not an option for people who care. We also hope to hear from others attending who are working for change in these areas of importance.
This meeting is a Zoom “hybrid” meeting. We will meet at our regular venue, Extraordinary Ventures, where the program will take place. We will also Zoom the program. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please email info@ncethicalsociety.org with your first and last name to be registered as an attendee for this program.

Christianity Corrupted: The Scandal of White Supremacy
2022-06-19 11:00 - 12:30 | Virtual Program using Zoom
Courtesy of the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture and Riverdale-Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture, guest speaker Rev. Dr. Jermaine J. Marshall will discuss his book, CHRISTIANITY CORRUPTED: The Scandal of White Supremacy. Here, he provides a compelling examination of oppressive Christian theologies and the normalization of white privilege in the United States. Rev. Dr. Marshall also demonstrates how enslaved Africans formulated their own brand of Christianity and cultivated a theology of spiritual resistance to the oppressive theologies of their white Christian enslavers, the rise of Jim Crow, the advent of the Moral Majority, and the complicity of white evangelicals with Trumpism. Finally, on the basis of the spiritual and social resistance, including the Civil Rights struggle, the Black Power Movement, and Black Lives Matter, he presents a theological solution for the scandals of anti-blackness and White Christian Supremacy. We will also have musical performances by DuPree and Barry Kornhauser.
You MUST register to attend this virtual program. Here’s the link: https://christiany_corrupted.eventbrite.com/

How Radical Hospitality Can Change the Lives of the Formerly Incarcerated
2022-06-12 13:30 - 15:30 | Virtual Program using Zoom
Our meeting will feature a short Ted Talk by Dr. Reuben Jonathan Miller, an Associate Professor in the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice, and a Research Professor at the American Bar Foundation. Following is a brief biography from the TED Foundation:
“Dr. Miller studies and writes about race, democracy and the social life of the city, focusing on how the most marginalized among us experience crime control, social welfare and urban policy. His work has been widely published in fields that range from sociology, social work, law and legal studies to human rights, psychology and public health. He has been a member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey; a fellow at the New America Foundation’ a resident at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in Bellagio, Italy; and a visiting scholar at the University of Texas at Austin and Dartmouth College.
“Miller is the author of Halfway Home: Race, Punishment, and the Afterlife of Mass Incarceration, a “persuasive and essential” (Dr. Matthew Desmond) book that offers a “stunning, and deeply painful reckoning with our nation’s carceral system” (Heather Ann Thompson), based on 15 years of research and practice with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, their family members, friends and the people they turn to for support in their times of need. A native son of Chicago, Miller lives with his wife and children on the city’s South Side.”
We will have a discussion on the topic of post-incarceration practices in this country following the video.
This program will be presented via a Zoom session. You do not need a Zoom account to “attend” this virtual meeting. If you would like to be a participant in the meeting, please email us at info@ncethicalsociety.org and provide your first and last name in your request.

The Mission and Work of the N.C. Justice Center
2022-06-05 13:30 - 15:30
Rick Glazier, Director of the NC Justice Center, will speak to us about the center, and its work. Here is a brief statement from their website: “As a leading progressive research and advocacy organization, our mission is to eliminate poverty in North Carolina by ensuring that every household in the state has access to the resources, services, and fair treatment it needs to achieve economic security.”

This meeting is a Zoom “hybrid” meeting. We will meet at our regular venue, Extraordinary Ventures, where the program will take place. We will also Zoom the program. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please email info@ncethicalsociety.org with your first and last name to be registered as an attendee for this program.

Envisioning the Future of EHST
2022-05-29 13:30 - 15:30
In the light of the recent programs about the future of the American Ethical Union, EHST will discuss our own future. The future of our humanist congregation will depend on what our members and friends want, and the board of the society wants to have a discussion about this. In addition to this, we are fortunate to have Alicia Best sing for us. She and her husband write and perform transatlantic folk music; their duo is called “A Different Thread.”

This meeting is a Zoom “hybrid” meeting. We will meet at our regular venue, Extraordinary Ventures, where the program will take place. We will also Zoom the program. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please email info@ncethicalsociety.org with your first and last name to be registered as an attendee for this program.

Am I Doing This Right?
2022-05-22 13:30 - 15:30
Linda Patterson, EHST member and author, will speak about her new book “Am I Doing This Right.” Linda Patterson’s book is a soul searching, sincere, and heartfelt story of a very painful time in her life, when her husband, John, was diagnosed with terminal cancer, died, and then she faced a new phase of her life. Ms. Patterson is a very self aware person, knowing her strengths and limitations. She has many stories to tell, covering the full range from happy times to funny times to the times of grief and depression. She shares these with the reader with complete honesty, and without sentimentalism. Ms. Patterson’s struggle with John’s death and her life after his death provides the reader with guideposts which may also help them when they face such times.
This meeting is a Zoom “hybrid” meeting. We will meet at our regular venue, Extraordinary Ventures, where the program will take place. We will also Zoom the program. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please email info@ncethicalsociety.org with your first and last name to be registered as an attendee for this program.

Celebrating How We Got Here - The American Ethical Union
2022-05-15 11:00 - 13:00 | Virtual Program using Zoom
In the era of the Third Great Awakening when the Free Religious Association was formed around such moral causes as the abolition of slavery and women’s suffrage, a 27-year-old reformed Rabbi, Felix Adler, spoke out: “There is a great and crying evil in modern society… It is that narrowness of vision which shuts out the wider vistas of the soul… Where the roots of private virtue are diseased, the fruit of public probity cannot but be corrupt.” Almost 150 years after the founding Platform of Ethical Culture (1873), this program will feature members, friends, and guests from Ethical Culture/Humanist societies across the country who will review the major accomplishments of the ethical movement and share personal reflections about “How We Got Here”. This will be followed by breakout groups for additional reflections. The Platform will also highlight a number of musicians in the Ethical Culture movement.

This program will is presented by the American Ethical Union, our national organization of which we are a chapter. It will be presented via a Zoom session. You do not need a Zoom account to “attend” this program. If you would like to attend this meeting, please email us at info@ncethicalsociety.org and provide your first and last name in your request.

Does Ethical Culture Have A Future?
2022-05-08 11:00 - 12:30 | Virtual Program using Zoom
The Ethical Society of St. Louis invites all members and friends of Ethical Societies around the country to join us on Sunday, May 8, to discuss the future of the Ethical Culture movement.
At a time when more people than ever are leaving organized religion, why are most of our Societies not growing? When our culture faces a crisis of loneliness and disconnection, and so many people yearn for community, why do we find it so difficult to start new Ethical Societies? What does the future of Ethical Humanism look like in a post-COVID, post-religious world? Do we have a future?
James Croft, Leader of the Ethical Society of St. Louis, will give an assessment of the state of our movement, then lead a workshop on helping us imagine a new future. You may listen to this program via this link: https://tinyurl.com/34mx6xr3. The workshop will be in the afternoon from 3-5 PM EDT. This link provides information about the talk and the workshop: https://ethicalstl.altarlive.com/.

The North Carolina Zoo, an Insider's Point of View
2022-05-01 13:30 - 15:30
Katie Davis will be highlighting a day in the life working at the world’s largest habitat zoo. She will talk about conservation projects and future plans and share some exciting behind the scenes anecdotes.
Katie Davis joined the Horticulture Department of the North Carolina Zoological Park in 2020 to manage the nursery and the park’s five Monarch Waystations. Before becoming a state employee she worked at Cure Nursery – Native Plants for almost a decade. When her hands aren’t in the dirt at work, Katie enjoys working in her home garden with her chickens and Chihuahua.
This meeting is a Zoom “hybrid” meeting. We will meet at our regular venue, Extraordinary Ventures, where the program will take place. We will also Zoom the program. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please email info@ncethicalsociety.org with your first and last name to be registered as an attendee for this program.

Developing the Community Toolkit: A Grassroots Approach to Meaningful Environmental Advocacy
2022-04-24 13:30 - 15:30
North Carolina communities have experienced years of limited opportunities to participate in state officials decision-making processes for environmental policy and permitting. This has been particularly difficult for historically marginalized and underserved communities under traditional power dynamics. It’s not to say that there are no opportunities to engage in state actions as a member of the public, just that there are some significant limitations.
To promote all community voices, Clean Water NC is developing a new edition of our “Community Toolkit.” The toolkit will provide resources you can take to your communities and become an advocate for your neighborhood, regardless of time, funding, or knowledge restrictions. Rachel Velez and Christine Diaz of Clean Water for North Carolina will give this presentation.
This meeting is a Zoom “hybrid” meeting. We will meet at our regular venue, Extraordinary Ventures, where the program will take place. We will also Zoom the program. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please email info@ncethicalsociety.org with your first and last name to be registered as an attendee for this program.
