Minority Atheists of Michigan

Yesterday I was able to spend an afternoon with the Minority Atheists of Michigan in Southfield. I had been planning on attending this group before but I didn't have the chance and the group is not as large with meetings as regular as some of the more sizable groups. But I had a great time and I'll be back in the future.

MAM was founded in June of 2011 by a friend I made in other atheist meetups named Bria.  A warm and energetic atheist activist involved in many Detroit-area groups, she founded this group because in her own words

I realized that I'm an atheist who's black, who's a woman, who's a lesbian and I am this huge minority.

MAM exists to support atheists that are newly out, can't come out, or want a place to discuss topics relevant to their existence as minority atheists. It is open to all minorities of any kind, which I am particularly fond of as an ideology. One of my signatures online is 'My atheism will be intersectional or it will be bullshit' which is essentially the same idea.

The group's listed objectives are:

• To provide a haven of support to minority atheists (or those questioning)
• Share experiences with like-minded individuals
• Bride the gap between minority and non-minority atheists
• Network and sponsor non-believing groups
• Increase our visibility in Michigan and beyond

One of the things I noticed during the meetup was that it's not uncommon for members to be newly minted atheists or even still closeted atheists. It is one of my opinions that atheists should make our community a safer place to land for those that are questioning or newly out. This in addition to the sorely needed aspect of being a safe place for minority atheists makes this group top my list of favorite atheist meetups in Michigan.

I found the group to be very interesting and intelligent set of people during my afternoon. The topics for the day were light ranging from atheistic themes in movies to the experience of coming out and living openly without gods or religions. I left very interested in seeing future success for this important Detroit area group.

Useful links:

http://www.meetup.com/Minority-Atheists-of-MI/
http://www.minorityatheistsofmi.org/
https://twitter.com/MinorityAtheist