The Freedom From Religion Foundation, with the financial backing of individual donors, has collaborated with the Secular Student Alliance (SSA) to select, announce and distribute major secular student activism awards for 2025.

FFRF is pleased to announce this year’s winners of the Al Luneman Student Activist Award are Dustin, Ava and Rafael, who each received $1,000. Additionally, the Cliff Richards Memorial Student Activist Award winners of scholarships reserved specifically for freethinking students going to Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are Sariyah and Donte, who each received $1,000. SSA annually publicizes some of FFRF’s specific student scholarships, along with those of other groups and individuals, provides applicant information, and vets the chosen students, which FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor praises as a “wonderful service to FFRF, other donors and students.” As per SSA policy, only students’ first names are used to protect their identities.

Cliff Richards Memorial Student Activist Award

Donte, Clark Atlanta University
Donte is a freshman at Clark Atlanta University pursuing a dual degree in physics and robotics engineering with a concentration in robotic systems. His fascination with circuits began in childhood and grew into a passion in high school through robotics club leadership, a summer program in embedded systems, and an internship at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab where he co-created a fall detection device. These experiences cemented his career goal of building reliable systems that serve communities, particularly the Black community, while mentoring younger students from similar backgrounds.

An atheist since childhood, Donte came to secularism by choice and persistence. Free from pressure to conform to religion, he embraced self-determination and the belief that effort — not faith — builds the future. For him, secularism provides freedom from external expectations and a foundation for stability through education and community. His activism has included challenging Christian remarks from administrators, speaking out against stereotypes in class, and supporting classmates facing bias or exclusion. These experiences taught him that activism often begins with small, everyday acts of courage.

FFRF is deeply grateful to Cliff Richards, who phoned FFRF shortly before his death to set up the Cliff Richards Memorial Scholarships to aid freethinking students, expressing special interest in aiding marginalized students.

For more information about this year’s scholarships and student recipients, go to: secularstudents.org/scholarships/2025-recipients

FFRF has a variety of scholarships available to give directly to students for exceptional activism. If you know of any student who is actively helping to uphold state/church separation or fighting for the rights of nonbelievers, please use the form at ffrf.us/nominate.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters of nontheism. With more than 42,000 members, FFRF advocates for freethinkers’ rights across the globe. For more information, visit ffrf.org.