Featured Speaker: Ellery Schempp

By Coltara Cody

The word physicist might suggest involvement in a deep and heady field of academia, one that may bring to mind scientists so preoccupied by their work that they rarely venture into the social world. Or it may conjure up academics who are so brilliant that the average person may have trouble conversing with them. That is, at least, what the popular media would suggest to us.

However, the physicist Ellery Schempp is hardly aloof. Along with several other Secular Student Alliance members, I had the privilege of sitting down to breakfast with him, an experience well worth getting drenched in the morning rain. Ellery didn't seem to mind our soggy conditions, which cemented my fondness for him, if his speech the evening before hadn't already.

His evening presentation had made clear where his favored topics of discussion resided: He enjoyed conversing about democracy and the separation of church and state. His knowledge about these topics was backed up by a strong understanding of the U.S. Constitution as a secular document and a better comprehension of the Bible than many Christians I know.

Ellery appeals to many of my aspirations. He is full of passion and reminds me of my grandfather, Frank. He is full of life and respect for others to where age becomes irrelevent. The youthful vigor of his words takes center stage and showcases a determination for secular causes that has belies his decades of experience.

Ellery first influenced separation of church and state activism when he was in high school, where his actions eventually led to the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case, Abington School District v. Schempp. In 1956, at Abington High School in Pennsylvania, Ellery protested against school-mandated Bible readings by reading silently from a Qur'an. When he was sent to the principal's office, his father and the ACLU stood beside him in challenging the constitutionality of the school district's policy. While it took five years for the case to be decided, it was an 8-1 decision and a victory for the First Amendment.

The stories Ellery shared spoke volumes about secularism's importance in our society. In his case, standing up for the Constitution led to his principal sending letters of "disrecommendation" about Ellery to colleges, floods of angry letters, and outright ostricism. As a freethinker, I am grateful to the Schempps for what they went through for the rest of us. A sixteen-year-old boy in the 1950s was strong enough to stand up and do the right thing. In the face of adversity, he prevailed and grew up to have a successful career in science and technology-pioneering work on the MRI-and continuing to fight for the rights of nontheists.

A true champion of freedom, Ellery was an inspiration as a confident man brimming with wit and a diversity of knowledge, beyond even the realms of religion, politics, and science. I learned much in the short span of devouring my strawberry French toast and appreciated how willing he was to converse with us. His respectful and humanistic nature was a reminder of why we support the things we do.

Ellery has received multiple awards from various secular institutions, including the "Champion of the First Amendment Award" from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the "Religious Liberty Award" from Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and most recently, the "Freethought Backbone Award" from our very own Secular Student Alliance. He is intensely deserving of all of these accolades.

Ellery now lives in Boston, Massachusetts, and he serves on the advisory board for the Secular Student Alliance, and is a member of the American Humanist Association and the ACLU. He continues to be a popular speaker and teacher for the secular movement-someone who has been active in the struggle for civil liberties throughout his life.

Coltara Cady is the soon-to-be president of the forming Legion of Logic secular group at Northwest Arkansas Community College. A nefarious pirate and video game addict, she is also a passionate journalism major devoted to knowledge and the promotion of rational thought. Currently she works for the Barnes and Noble College Booksellers on her campus, a fitting job she couldn't love more. Her favorite color remains a mystery.