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Atheists of Florida (A of F) is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization. Their main goal is to advocate about separation of church and state.
Atheists of Florida, like many other atheist groups affiliated with the Atheist Alliance, began as a chapter of American Atheists (AA). [1]
During the 1980s, AA operated a chapter program intended to increase membership through the activities of these chapters. To indemnify the organization from being financially depleted through a lawsuit, Madalyn Murray O'Hair, founder of AA, formed six organizations in addition to the anchor corporation, Society of Separationists, Inc. A board of directors was established for each corporation consisting of O'Hair, her son, Jon Murray, president for life of American Atheists, her adopted granddaughter, Robin Murray O'Hair, and two other members of AA. This way, the O'Hair family retained complete control of all corporations.
O'Hair structured the business to provide for the future of her family. Any funds inherited by the organization became the private property of the O'Hair family, never accounted for within the organization.
Christos Tzanetakos, Director of the Miami Chapter of AA and a member of one of the corporate boards, expressed concerns about how AA was being run. He asserted it should be run according to laws governing 501(c)(3) organizations whereby the membership would elect the officers, similar to the operating practices of the National Academy of Sciences. AA, he contended, was in violation of non-profit organization laws. Tzanetakos complained to the IRS suggesting AA was operating in violation of the law. O'Hair responded by closing all but one of the chapters (the surviving chapter was involved in litigation at the time). Tzanetakos had accumulated over $6,000 in donations he intended to use to instigate a scholarship fund sponsored by the Miami chapter. Chapter bank accounts had been opened using the AA 501(c)(3) charter documents in each state, which subsequently gave the O'Hairs access to all bank accounts. The O'Hairs closed the chapter.
Tzanetakos, with the backing of his membership, decided to incorporate Atheists of Florida (A of F), which was done January 22, 1992.
A second AA chapter had been operating in the Tampa Bay Area. When closed with all the others, it continued to hold casual meetings that accomplished little more than camaraderie among the members.
Upon formation of A of F, Tzanetakos contacted the Tampa chapter informing them of his actions and explaining that if a minimum of ten members from a common geographic area joined A of F, they could form a chapter. The local chapter consented to become members of A of F.
The Miami chapter eventually dissolved while the Tampa Bay chapter continued to grow. Increasingly, the majority of board members came from the Tampa Bay area, and eventually the Tampa chapter obtained space in a commercial building in South Tampa, which evolved into the headquarters of the organization.
On July 29, 2004, a member of Atheists of Florida, Michael R. Harvey, was scheduled to give the invocation to the Tampa City Council. As the meeting opened, one of the City Council members made a motion to stop the delivery of the invocation by an atheist. Several council members defended the right of the member to deliver the invocation. The motion ended in a tie, after one council member left the meeting, asserting that "I don't have to sit here and listen to an atheist tell me what I should or should not believe." With the invocation set to begin, another two council members left the meeting, claiming that they would rather not listen to an atheist. [2]
In January, 2016, Atheists of Florida met with the Hillsborough County Schools superintendent concerning the involvement of various religious groups in the public school system and the oversight of these groups to ensure they are following the constitution. This followed the press coverage of T-shirts supplied to various school officials proclaiming the school's partnership with a local Baptist church, along with the church's symbol on the shirts, which consisted of two crosses. Other groups were found to be participating in the schools in what appeared to be violation of the Equal Access Act. The school board has responded with an effort to ensure that all groups are following the constitution.
Some of these same groups are involved in school districts throughout the state of Florida, Atheists of Florida have contacted several other school districts in regard to the involvement of these groups in their school district. [3] [4]
After the Greece, New York, decision by the Supreme Court, Atheists of Florida members have delivered invocations on several occasions to various local government bodies, all without incident. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
Hillsborough County is located in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. In the 2020 census, the population was 1,459,762, making it the fourth-most populous county in Florida and the most populous county outside the Miami metropolitan area. A 2021 estimate has the population of Hillsborough County at 1,512,070 people with a yearly growth rate of 1.34%, which itself is greater than the populations of 12 states according to their 2019 population estimates. Its county seat and largest city is Tampa. Hillsborough County is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Tampa is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County. With an estimated population of 398,173 in 2022, Tampa is the 49th-most populous city in the country and the third-most populous city in Florida after Jacksonville and Miami.
Lakeland is a city in Central Florida. Located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa and west of Orlando, it is the most populous city and county seat in Polk County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal city of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is sometimes locally referred to by the nickname "Swan City" due to its sizeable population of swans, all of whom are descendants of two mute swans given to Lakeland by Queen Elizabeth II in 1957.
The American Humanist Association (AHA) is a non-profit organization in the United States that advances secular humanism.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for atheists, agnostics, and nontheists. Formed in 1976, FFRF promotes the separation of church and state, and challenges the legitimacy of many federal and state programs that are faith-based. It supports groups such as nonreligious students and clergy who want to leave their faith.
Madalyn Murray O'Hair was an American activist and Holocaust denier supporting atheism and separation of church and state. In 1963, she founded American Atheists and served as its president until 1986, after which her son Jon Garth Murray succeeded her. She created the first issues of American Atheist Magazine and identified as a "militant feminist".
American Atheists is a non-profit organization in the United States dedicated to defending the civil liberties of atheists and advocating complete separation of church and state. It provides speakers for colleges, universities, clubs, and the news media. It also publishes books and American Atheist Magazine.
The Tampa Bay area is a major metropolitan area surrounding Tampa Bay on the Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States. It includes the main cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. It is the 17th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, with a population of 3,175,275 as of the 2020 U.S. Census.
Robert Martinez is an American retired politician who served as the 40th governor of Florida from 1987 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, Martinez was the first person of Spanish descent to be elected governor of Florida.
Hillsborough High School is a public high school located at 5000 N. Central Ave, in the heart of the historic Seminole Heights neighborhood, in Tampa, Florida. Hillsborough High is the oldest public high school in Hillsborough County, Florida.
Tampa Bay Technical High School (TBT) is a public comprehensive magnet high school for grades 9–12 in Florida, United States. It was established in 1969 as Tampa Bay Vocational Technical School. The school mascot is the Titan. Students apply for one of three programs: Tampa Bay Technical High School Programs, Academy of Architecture & Environmental Design, or Academy of Health Professions. The school campus resembles a community college campus with laboratory facilities for technology programs. Transportation is provided by the Hillsborough County Public Schools through a bus transfer system.
Tampa Union Station (TUS) is a historic train station in Tampa, Florida. It was designed by Joseph F. Leitner and was opened on May 15, 1912, by the Tampa Union Station Company. Its original purpose was to combine passenger operations for the Atlantic Coast Line, the Seaboard Air Line and the Tampa Northern Railroad at a single site. The station is located at 601 North Nebraska Avenue. Amtrak reported in its fiscal year 2022 report that the station is Amtrak's second busiest station in Florida, with a station ridership of 110,901.
The Battle of Fort Brooke was a minor engagement fought October 16–18, 1863 in and around Tampa, Florida during the American Civil War. The most important outcome of the action was the destruction of two Confederate blockade runners which had been hidden upstream on the Hillsborough River.
Florida AFL–CIO is a statewide federation of labor unions in the state of Florida affiliated with the AFL–CIO. The federation's membership consists of about 450 local unions from 41 international unions. The headquarters of the organization are located in Tallahassee, Florida.
The Tampa Bay media market is Florida's second-largest metropolitan area with a variety of print, online and broadcast media outlets serving the region. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the population for the Tampa-St. Petersburg Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) at 3,194,831 according to the 2019 est. The Tampa Bay media market also includes Citrus, Manatee, Sarasota and Polk counties which is over 5,000,000 when combined with the Tampa Bay (MSA). Polk County is also served by media from Orlando.
The Florida education system consists of public and private schools in Florida, including the State University System of Florida (SUSF), the Florida College System (FCS), the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida (ICUF) and other private institutions, and also secondary and primary schools as well as virtual schools.
Tampa Bay Reforestation and Environmental Effort, Inc. more commonly known as "T.R.E.E. Inc.", was a grassroots nonprofit environmental organization based out of the Tampa Bay Area. It promoted the practice of volunteers raising and then planting trees along the interstates, roadways, and parks of the greater Tampa Bay Area to beautify and preserve the environment. Over its 40-year existence, T.R.E.E. Inc. planted over 31,181 trees and palms.
Tampa Bay History Center is a history museum in Tampa, Florida, United States. It is a Smithsonian Affiliate and has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums since 2015. Exhibits include coverage of the Tampa Bay area's first native inhabitants, Spanish conquistadors, and historical figures who shaped the area's history, as well as a reproduction of a 1920s cigar store. The museum is on the waterfront at 801 Water Street in Tampa's Channelside District. It opened on January 17, 2009. The History Center building is 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2) with 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2) of exhibit space.
The Tampa–Hillsborough County Public Library System (THPL) is a public library system based in Hillsborough County, Florida. THPL is part of two larger library networks, the Tampa Bay Library Consortium, and the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative which includes Temple Terrace Public Library in Temple Terrace, Florida, and Bruton Memorial Library in Plant City, Florida. There are 33 branches of the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative. Services provided by the THPL include internet access, public meeting room spaces, interlibrary loans, a Bookmobile, a Cybermobile for Spanish speakers, technology classes, adult literacy programs, and downloadable eBooks. Drive-thru windows for returns and hold pick-ups are located at the Jimmie B. Keel and the Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Libraries. In 2017, THPL introduced the new HAAL Pass, which gives access to certain library resources to all students in the Hillsborough County Public Schools System. Students use their student ID number to use different online databases, borrow up to three physical items and read eBooks. The Tampa–Hillsborough County Public Library System is also a part of Hillsborough County government. On January 1, 2018, the library cooperative became one of the largest in the country to go fine free. Overdue fees for borrowed materials were eliminated with the implementation of the "Just Bring It Back" initiative. In 2019 the cooperative received the FLA Library of the Year Award. Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library was recognized for its community focused initiatives as it "reorganized its staffing model and eliminated overdue fines, yielding $1 million in savings while increasing access to library resources and expanding opportunities for community engagement through unique, scalable programs."
Ion Sessions "Speedy" Walker was a college football and basketball player for the Florida Gators. He served in the Army in World War 2.
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