“Freethought Feminist Helen Hamilton Gardener”

In honor of Women’s History Month, explore the life of freethinker and feminist Helen Hamilton Gardner. In partnership with freethinker Robert Ingersoll, Gardener railed against religious institutions that brutally oppressed women. Gardner became vice president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and played an important role in bringing about the 19th Amendment. She advocated for the rights of women by writing fiction, challenging sexist faux-science, and serving on the United States Civil Service.

Hugh Taft-Morales serves as Leader of the Philadelphia Ethical Society and the Baltimore Ethical Society and is a member of the Ethical Action Committee of the American Ethical Union (AEU).  Hugh taught philosophy and history for twenty-five years in Washington, D. C., after which he transitioned into Ethical Culture Leadership.  In April of 2009 he graduated from the Humanist Institute and was certified as an Ethical Culture Leader by the AEU in 2010.

Born and raised in Connecticut, Taft-Morales graduated with a B.A. cum laude in American History from Yale University, 1979, and an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Kent at Canterbury, England, 1986.  He lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, with his wife, Maureen, a Specialist in Latin America for the Congressional Research Service.  They have three wonderful adult children – Sean, Maya, and Justin. Hugh’s hobbies include yoga, singing, and playing guitar.