Abstract

A 1965 editorial in the Humanist magazine called on humanists to march, boycott, and speak out against “dehumanizing qualities of our civilization … to ‘put up’ or remain silent about [its] relevance as an alternative to traditional religion.” Two years later Humanist editor Paul Kurtz stated that while radical in yesteryear humanism was without a clearly defined moral program. Examining humanist thought on race and racism in the 1960s, 1970s, and today, a comparison can be made between the Civil Rights and Black Power movements and Black Lives Matter, which leads to the proposition that the past can inform a radical humanism for the future. Humanists must ask, Is our highest priority the human individual and human flourishing, or is it the nontheist and the rejection of a supernatural basis for morality? Do we favor supporting those who seek to do the right thing without God over doing the right thing?