INTERNATIONAL ATHEIST, FREETHOUGHT AND OTHER NONBELIEVER GROUPS INVITED TO SEND GREETINGS TO GAMOW!
On November 2, 2002, Atheists, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists and other nonbelievers from across America will gather on the Mall in Washington, DC for a historic event -- the Godless Americans March on Washington. Thousands of individuals and over 100 organizations -- national, regional and local -- have endorsed the March, realizing that it is a pivotal event in the history of our movement.
While we are a diverse group of "Godless Americans," the GAMOW Task Force wishes to reach beyond national borders and give our many international friends everywhere an opportunity to participate. We'd love to have you attend -- but in case you cannot, we urge you to send video or written "greetings" to be read during this important demonstration of unity in Washington, DC.
Video greetings will be aired on our special wide-screen Jumbotron. Written greetings will be read from the podium.
We invite your group to participate, and show your support and encouragement for your American compatriots in the struggle for civil rights, reason and the total separation of church and state!
* Because of our extensive program on Saturday, November 2, 2002 video greetings should be at least one minute in length and no more than 3-4 minutes. Standard VHS tape should be used. We need any video from you by at least October 20, 2002 in order to fit it into the program.
* Tapes must be recorded to the NTSC video standard. Most of Europe, for instance, uses a PAL system -- but tapes can be made to NTSC if necessary, sometimes by simply flipping a switch on the back of a recording unit. Check with the appropriate persons for more on this.
* All tapes and written greetings will be part of the record for the Godless Americans March on Washington. They will be permanently stored with other items pertinent to the GAMOW event at the Charles E. Stevens American Atheist Library and Archives (CESAALA) in New Jersey, the largest private holding of Atheist and Freethought-related books, ephemera, recordings and associated materials in the United States.
* Written greetings should be approximately one typewritten page (double-spaced) in length. The greetings will read throughout the GAMOW event, and stored as part of the permanent record of this historic gathering at CESAALA.
* We recommend that greetings -- video or written -- include a qualified spokesperson from your organization; identify your particular group and where you are established; include something about the need for international solidarity, cooperation and mutual respect among organizations in our diverse movement; and emphasize the common agenda that we all have in supports of freedom FROM religion, civil liberties, the primacy of Reason as a tool in facilitating human progress and similar themes.
* Video or written greetings should be sent to Ellen Johnson, Chair for the Godless Americans March on Washington Task Force, c/o American Atheists, PO Box 5733, Parsippany, NJ 07054-6733. Written greetings can also be e-mailed to Ellen Johnson.
Copyright © 2002, American Atheists, Inc.