Mandisa Thomas spoke to EHST on September 14th at our regular meeting via Skype. She addressed how modern atheism-humanism can reach out to attract a more diverse range of nonbelievers.
Mandisa Thomas is a founder and President of Black Nonbelievers, Inc. Although never formally indoctrinated into belief, Mandisa was heavily exposed to Christianity, Black Nationalism and a bit of Islam. As a child she loved reading, and enjoyed various tales of Gods from different cultures, including Greek and Ghanaian. “Through reading these stories and being taught about other cultures at an early age, I quickly noticed that there were similarities and differences between those deities and the God of the Christian Bible. I couldn’t help but wonder what made this God so special that he warrants such prevalence in today’s society,” she recalls.
Mandisa has been featured in the April 30, 2012 issue of JET magazine, as a guest on podcasts such as The Humanist Hour and Ask an Atheist, as well as the documentaries Contradiction and My Week in Atheism. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Foundation Beyond Belief and the Secular Coalition for America, and has presented at conferences/conventions for American Atheists, Freedom from Religion Foundation, Secular Student Alliance, and many others.
As the president of Black Nonbelievers, Inc., Mandisa works to encourage more Blacks to come out and stand strong with their nonbelief in the face of such strong religious overtones. “The more we make our presence known, the better our chances of working together to turn around some of the disparities we face. We are NOT alone.”
