Below is Kyria’s talk to the “Revival of Reason” conference sponsored by Black Nonbelievers in March in Atlanta, which FFRF helped co-sponsor. FFRF is naming Kyria its first “Percy Shelley Student Activist,” a $2,000 scholarship fund set up by generous FFRF member Michael Meek, who was inspired by the poet. Shelley was kicked out of Oxford for circulating a pamphlet about the necessity of atheism.
By Kyria M. Santa
I want to thank Black Nonbelievers and Mandisa Thomas for this platform. It’s powerful to be in a space where I don’t have to explain myself, where my existence isn’t up for debate, and where I can be unapologetic.
I titled this talk “Why I’m Angry,” not from a place of rage, but from a refusal to suppress the righteous anger I feel about the oppression, ignorance and hypocrisy I witness daily. A significant part of this anger comes from my identity as an atheist.
Atheism shapes my worldview and my activism within the Black and Puerto Rican communities, where religion is pervasive. Christianity dominates Black spaces, while Catholicism, mixed with indigenous beliefs, dominates in Puerto Rican culture. This religious framework is ingrained in our history and family structures. But what happens when you say, “I don’t believe in God”? You’re treated like a traitor, as if you’ve abandoned your roots for questioning the unquestionable.
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