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Dear Friends of FAIR,
Tonight, we will gather together in New York City to celebrate the incredible wins we have enjoyed over the past several months as we look forward to FAIR’s bright future. Our Executive Director Monica Harris will be joined by FAIR Board of Directors members Angel Eduardo and Heather Blakeslee as we launch the FAIR Forward campaign.
We are thrilled to host an incredible array of influential voices. We will be joined by two of our newest Board of Advisors members, Nadine Strossen and Michael Shellenberger, who will offer their insights on the always-important need for open inquiry and freedom of expression in our institutions—a need that is particularly heightened today. The value of Nadine’s work as past national president of the ACLU cannot be overstated, and we are deeply grateful to have her experience and expertise available as we fine-tune our strategic goals. Similarly, the insights of powerhouse journalist and author Michael Shellenberger are unmatched—his recent work exposing frightening censorship within American institutions has been groundbreaking, and we greatly value his perspective on FAIR’s many important endeavors.
We are also honored to be joined by Zack De Piero and Tabia Lee—both courageous plaintiffs in FAIR-backed lawsuits that stand to set the future of academics on the right path. As educators, both De Piero and Lee encouraged and expected their students to be independent and critical thinkers. When they asked questions about their former employers’ so-called “diversity, equity, and inclusion” efforts, they were silenced and discriminated against on the basis of their skin color and viewpoints. Newsweek provided a comprehensive summary of Lee’s case, which awaits a ruling on a motion to dismiss before moving to discovery. And just recently, a US District Court judge denied Penn State’s motion to dismiss Zack’s claim of a hostile work environment, stating: “When employers talk about race—any race, [. . .] —with a constant drumbeat of essentialist, deterministic, and negative language, they risk liability under federal law." The Atlantic called Zack’s case one that “could shape the future of diversity programs on campus.”
We’ll hear from FAIR Fellow and Yale sophomore Sahar Tartak. An outspoken proponent of free speech, Sahar highlighted the inherent dangers of censorship in her recent article published in Tablet Magazine. She has been on FAIR’s radar since her senior year in high school when she was student body President and was shamed for asking critical questions before mindlessly signing checks to pay “DEI” consultants. In a powerful speech made to her school board, we saw in Sahar the courage that so many Americans today find hard to come by.
Finally, we will be joined by many members of our FAIR in the Arts network, including FAIR in the Arts Fellow Clifton Duncan, who will perform for our guests. We’re also excited to welcome Kevin Ray, Rob Feld, Ben Appel, and Ildiko Tillmann, all winners of the inaugural FAIR Artist Grants.
As we kick off our FAIR Forward campaign to raise the funds necessary to achieve our strategic goals in 2024, we look forward to welcoming many FAIR supporters who have made our critical work thus far possible. Stay tuned for highlights and photos from this event!
Warmly,
The Team at the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism
NYC Meetup With Clifton Duncan
You are warmly invited to a special NYC Meetup with Clifton Duncan on Thursday, February 22nd @ 8:30 PM in the Lower East Side.
Join fellow freethinkers for an exclusive opportunity to meet FAIR in the Arts Fellow Clifton Duncan—actor, writer, and podcaster who was blacklisted for speaking out against groupthink in the entertainment industry and has since emerged as one of the foremost thought leaders in arts & culture.
A Conversation with Casey Lartigue
Join FAIR in Education on Monday, February 26th at 4 pm ET for a conversation with Casey Lartigue, Chairman of Freedom Speakers International, about Frederick Douglass’ lasting legacy. We will discuss 21st century education through the eyes of one of America’s greatest writers, speakers, and thinkers.
Dissident Dialogues
Join Dissident Dialogues (in partnership with UnHerd and sponsored by Ground News) in New York City on May 3rd & 4th! The world’s leading and most original thinkers gather for two days of debate, discussion, and disagreement. Discussions will feature FAIR advisors Michael Shellenbeger and Lee Fang, as well as Richard Dawkins, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, John McWhorter, Steven Pinker, Konstantin Kisin, Francis Foster, John Vervaeke, Thomas Chatterton Williams, Kathleen Stock, Freddie Sayers, Bridget Phetasy, Diana S. Fleischman, Africa Brooke, Alex O'Connor, and Mary Harrington!
Countering California’s Gender Ideology Laws with Attorney Erin Friday
Standing up for Equality in Medical Practice: Tara Gustilo Case Updates
Standing Up to Racial Discrimination and Ideological Orthodoxy on Campus: Zack De Piero Case Updates
FAIR News Podcast
For audio versions of our FAIR News and FAIR Weekly Roundup newsletters, subscribe and listen to FAIR News Weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or via RSS feed.
FAIR Educators Alliance & Other Networks
Connect with other pro-human educators through the FAIR Educators Alliance. We bring together educators from all levels to share experiences and work on developing resources that can support teachers, community members, and FAIR chapters.
Teachers, administrators, librarians, and educators of all kinds are welcome. For more information and to join any of these networks, please email educators@fairforall.org.
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Become a FAIR volunteer, or join a FAIR chapter.
Take the Pro-Human Pledge and help promote a common culture based on fairness, understanding, and humanity.
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Promoting a common culture based on fairness, understanding, and humanity.
I think it would be of value to dig deeper, discuss, and describe epistemology as practiced today. We throw out statements that we need more critical thinking and less censorship, but in our dialog do we actually challenge the knowledge claims? It seems more that we just add more opinions. As an example, let’s look at claims of racism. Those claims commonly go without challenge. It seems a possible that the claim is simply wrong. What is the evidence that supports the claim? What is the reasoning that supports the claim? Much of what I read is opinion presented as fact. Someone says someone is racist and that is taken as a fact. It seems to me that in order to move beyond a stalemate we need to challenge claims and set higher standards and distinction for what is fact, what is opinion, and how conclusions are drawn.
Why not launch FAIR book and discussion groups? In many towns I can picture students and retirees (who have more time and less fear of cancelation) as coordinators of local library "heterodox" reading groups. The inaguaral meeting could be a screening of "The Coddling of the American Mind"!! Please consider this in your campaign for 2024! Thank you for your work.