Our local FFRF Chapter has has speakers come talk to our group and the local community over the last few years. We started the Summer Speaker Series in 2024. The goal is to engage the community in a professional and structured way to highlight the importance of Separation of Church and State. To highlight Secular groups and activities. It is another way for our local chapter to engage our community in a positive way.
2026 Speaker Series
July 18th (Saturday) – 2:00pm to 3:00pm @ Bentonville Public Library – Sam Grover
Secular Speaker Series with Sam Grover (FFRF) – Come join us for our first speaker series event of 2026 as we listen to Sam Grover, Senior Legal Counsel with FFRF who was heavily involved in the litigation against Arkansas Act 573 (Ten Commandments in public classrooms). Get tickets here!
Check out recent podcast discussion on Freethought Radio. https://ffrf.org/news/freethought-radio/freethought-today-june-12-2025/
August 22nd (Saturday) – 2:00pm to 3:00pm @ Fayetteville Public Library – Hemant Mehta (The Friendly Atheist)
Secular Speaker Series with Hemant Mehta (The Friendly Atheist) – Come join us for our second speaker series event of 2026 as we listen to Hemant Mehta, otherwise known as The Friendly Atheist, as he discusses the various violations of Church/State Separation that he advocates against. Get tickets here!
September 26th (Saturday) – 2:00pm to 3:00pm @ Fayetteville Public Library – Sam McGuire (American Atheists)
Secular Speaker Series with Sam McGuire (American Atheists) – Come join us for our third speaker series event of 2026 as we listen to Sam McGuire, Director of Grassroots Organizing & Advocacy, as she discusses the various violations of Church/State Separation that their organization gets involved. Get tickets here!
October 22nd (Thursday) – 6:00pm to 7:00pm @ Bentonville Public Library – Fish Stark (American Humanist Association)
Secular Speaker Series with Fish Stark (American Humanist Association) – Come join us for our final speaker series event of 2026 as we listen to Fish Stark, Executive Director for the American Humanist, and has been at the forefront of Church/State Separation issues. Get tickets here!
2025 Speaker Series
June 18th 6:00pm to 7:00pm @ Bentonville Public Library – Kate Cohen
2025 Secular Speaker Series by hosting author and former Washington Post columnist Kate Cohen on Wednesday, June 18th. Kate traveled to Bentonville and presented to an audience of nearly 40 people at the Bentonville Public Library on why America needs atheists now more than ever.
July 13th (Sunday) – 1:00pm to 2:00pm – Forrest Valkai
Forrest Valkai (YouTube: Renegade Science Teacher) @ Fayetteville Library at 1pm. Forrest will be presenting on “How Learning Science Makes You A Better Person”. This event is FREE and open to the public, but seating is limited.
https://www.youtube.com/@ValkaiLabs
Post – with video
August 17th (Sunday) – 10:00am to 3:00pm – Mickey Dollens
Mickey Dollens (Democratic House Representative from Oklahoma and FFRF employee) – join us for a full day in West Siloam Springs, OK, starting with a speech at the Cherokee Casino, followed by a BBQ lunch and hike at Natural Falls State Park. Each event is $10 (or $20 for both Speech & BBQ) and open to the public, and includes parking at both venues.
https://ffrf.org/about/staff-and-board/mickey-dollens
October 12th (Sunday) – 10:00am to 11:00am – Alessandro Terenzoni (Americans United for Separation Between Church & State)
Alessandro Terenzoni (Americans United for Separation Between Church & State). This event is FREE and open to the public, but seating is limited.
https://www.au.org/about-au/people/alessandro-terenzoni
2024 Speaker Series
Sunday, July 14th @ 11:00am – Matthew D. Taylor – Virtual
Matthew D. Taylor: Protestant Scholar for the Institute for Islamic, Christian & Jewish Studies ( guest attending virtually),
Sunday, August 18th @ 11:00am – Chris Line
Chris Line, Staff Attorney for FFRF.org (Location: NWA Best Friends – Bentonville)
https://ffrf.org/about/staff-and-board/christopher-line-2
Tuesday, September 17th @ 7:00pm – Seth Andrews
Seth Andrews, Author & American Activist – (Constitution Day special event at NWACC in Bentonville)
https://www.thethinkingatheist.com
