Black Skeptics Group

08/29/2026

In the midst of Trump administration backlash against and attacks on racial, social and educational justice in K-12 and higher education, support for African American and PoC students is paramount. Black Skeptics Los Angeles’ six $5000 First in the Family Humanist Forward Freethought Scholarship awardees for 2026 were selected from a highly competitive crop of over one hundred and fifty applicants. This year’s cohort were engaged in LGBTQ+ advocacy, STEM advocacy, community service and social work. Awardees Heather Buckner (UC Berkeley), Blessings Coly (North Carolina A&T), Kelan Speed (UT @ San Antonio), Mariah Slade (North Carolina A&T), Daniel Sierra (UC Berkeley) and Kallyn DaCosta (UMass Boston) exemplified outstanding achievement, community service and dedication to humanist social justice practice in their high school careers. The awards were made possible by generous multi-year contributions from the late freethinker advocate Lance Bredvold via the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

In addition to their winning essays, each student was required to submit a brief video overview discussing what the award means to them as a Black/PoC secular youth. Special thanks to our scholarship review committee, Sikivu Hutchinson, Eclasia Wesley, Jasmine Kelley and Jessica Robinson.
https://blackskepticsla.org/2026/08/28/congratulations-to-our-2026-black-skeptics-first-in-the-family-humanist-forward-freethought-awardees/

08/28/2026

Heather Buckner is a bioengineering major and robotics builder starting her freshman year UC Berkeley . She has a strong passion for mentoring Black girls and girls of color in STEM: "Humanism reveres human potential in the here and now, and Robotics taught me that what we build should help people. I've tried to make STEM less intimidating for kids who might not always see themselves represented in STEM. I especially want younger Black girls to look at engineering and think, 'hey, I can do that'."

Big shout out of thanks to Freedom From Religion Foundation and the late Lance Bredvold for supporting these awards!

Heather Buckner is a bioengineering major and robotics builder star...

08/27/2026

Kaylla DaCosta is a first gen student and freshman at U Mass Boston: "The humanist issues I care most deeply about come directly from my own experiences: immigrant rights, language equity, and community support built on compassion rather than religion."

Shout out of thanks to the Freedom from Religion Foundation and the Bredvold Fund (of the late Lance Bredvold) for supporting our scholarship fund for over a decade.

Kaylla DaCosta is a first gen student and freshman at U Mass Boston...

08/27/2026

BSLA awardee, L.A. Students Deserve activist and first gen UC Berkeley student Daniel Sierra speaks on the value of Black and BIPOC humanist values and being nonconforming as a secular youth. "I sometimes feel oppressed in my own home for my agnostic beliefs. This scholarship makes me feel seen."

BSLA awardee, Students Deserve activist and first gen UC Berkeley s...

08/27/2026

BSLA awardee Mariah Slade is a first gen freshman majoring in Mechanical Engineering at the HBCU college North Carolina A&T: "Receiving this scholarship means much more to me than financial assistance for college. As a Black secular student, being selected tells me that there is a community that sees value in young people like me and recognizes that compassion, fairness and service do not have to come from religion. We can choose to care about other people simply because we are human and because what happens to others should matter to us."

Shout out to the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Bredvold Fund for supporting these awards!

BSLA awardee Mariah Slade is a first gen freshman majoring in Mecha...

08/25/2026

Congrats to first gen North Carolina A&T college student and Black Skeptics L.A. First in the Family Humanist scholarship $5K awardee Blessings Coly! "For me, being secular has meant being comfortable asking questions, thinking for myself and figuring out what I believe based on my own experiences and values. Being a good person isn't limited to a religious label. To me, kindness, empathy and accountability and how we treat people matters. As a young Black woman and a first gen student there is space for people like me to explore our identities and beliefs without feeling like we have to fit in a certain box."

08/25/2026

Our BSLA 2026 First in the Family Humanist/Forward Freethought Scholarship Awardees are phenomenal! One of our first awardees is Kelan Speed, who will be attending University of Texas at San Antonio as a cybersecurity and technology major! He discusses his commitment to secular humanism and freethought as a young African American student in this video. Thanks to Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Bredvold Fund for supporting our initiative.

07/03/2026

Congratulations to our 2026 Lorraine Hansberry Humanist Scholarship awardees who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in gender and racial justice organizing, peer education, LGBTQ+ allyship and mentorship and Black feminist advocacy! We look forward to their as they start their college careers at UC Davis, UC Berkeley, UC Merced and Howard University! Shout out of thanks to Freedom From Religion Foundation and Carrie Harrington Family Fund!
https://blackskepticsla.org/2026/07/03/congratulations-to-our-2026-lorraine-hansberry-humanist-scholarship-awardees/

06/27/2026

Excited to anounce that BSLA is among the 2026 Black Freedom Fund grant recipients! The BFF supports "organizations advancing work across advocacy, organizing, civic engagement, health equity, worker rights, criminal legal reform, healing, culture change, housing justice, immigration justice, and long-term movement infrastructure. This 2026 cohort reflects: $4.6 million invested in organizations building power across California and 119 organizations funded statewide."

Black Freedom Fund is investing in the leaders and organizations building power in communities – expanding resources at a moment when our dignity, fundamental rights, and the most vulnerable amongst us are under attack.

06/20/2026

Sikivu Hutchinson is the featured guest on the most recent episode of the Black Jonestown podcast hosted and executive produced by Jonestown survivor, author and activist Leslie Wagner-Wilson :
“In this episode, Leslie sits down with Sikivu Hutchinson to explore what drew so many Black families to the San Francisco area during the 1970s — and the deep sense of hope that the Peoples Temple represented for the Black community. Leslie and Sikivu unpack the social and political climate of the era: the search for racial equality, economic opportunity, and genuine community in a country that had so often denied all three. They examine why the Temple’s message of integration, dignity, and collective purpose resonated so powerfully with Black Americans — and how that hope was ultimately betrayed.” White Nights, Black Paradise Play at the Blue Door Theater

In this episode, host and Jonestown survivor Leslie Wagner Wilson s...