Margaret Downey was born into a multi-cultural family in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Margaret grew up in a highly prejudiced southern society in the 1950s. She became concerned about discrimination and its effects at an early age and has devoted her life to ending all forms of it.
Reading the literary work of Thomas Paine and Robert G. Ingersoll enabled Margaret to develop a keen sense of revolutionary thought. She became an openly declared Atheist and activist in her twenties.
Free from the constraints of religious dogma and patriarchal systems, Margaret became involved with the feminist movement. Margaret fought for basic rights such as freedom of expression, freedom of choice, personal family leave for working parents, equal pay, and promotional opportunities for women.
Margaret was also involved in anti-smoking issues due to her concern about children’s health. Twenty-five years ago, her activism for controversial issues nearly cost Margaret her job. The initiatives for which Margaret worked and sacrificed are accepted as rational practices today. As a single mother, Margaret was willing to jeopardize her income to fight for equal rights and respect for women, freedom of choice, freedom of expression, and freedom from religious intrusion.
Margaret founded the Freethought Society (FS) and the Anti-Discrimination Support Network (ADSN) in 1993. In 1994 Margaret founded the Thomas Paine Memorial Committee.
Through her activism, she has assured the placement of Freethought literature in university and public libraries, and the avocation of rational thinking. Through city proclamations, Margaret has established “Freethought Week” and “Thomas Paine Day” in the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The City of Philadelphia also recognized “Privacy Week” thanks to a proclamation submitted by Margaret in March, 1997.
Margaret is editor and publisher of the bi-monthly newsletter published by FS. Margaret enjoys presenting an assembly entitled “the Life of Thomas Paine” to elementary school children as often as possible. As a free-lance journalist Margaret, pursues stories of discrimination, choice in dying, humanitarian lifestyles, and family planning. Her newsletter concentrates on activist issues, political and religious satire, separation of church and state, and the advancement of freethought.
The Thomas Paine Memorial Committee has established proper recognition for the memory of Thomas Paine in various Pennsylvania cities including Philadelphia, Lancaster, and York. Margaret is also the author of city proclamations in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and in Garden Grove, California. She also authored the Philadelphia City Council Resolution that declares June 8th as Thomas Paine Day.
As ADSN’s founder and president, Margaret has represented the interest of the nontheist community (since 1995) at several United Nations conferences and spoke at the United Nations Freedom of Religion and Belief meeting in New York City. She attended the 2001 United Nations Freedom of Religion and Belief Conference in Madrid, Spain.
Margaret is a past board member of the American Humanist Association and the Thomas Paine National Historical Association. She is a current board member of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, The Humanist Institute, the Godless Americans Political Action Committee, Advisory Board Member of the Robert Green Ingersoll Museum, and the Atheist Alliance International.
Margaret has been a guest speaker on National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation and Radio Times. She has also been featured on radio programs in Texas, South Carolina, California, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Florida, New York, and Georgia, and most recently in China. Always willing to travel, Margaret accepts national and international speaking engagements.
http://www.gomasons.org/who-is-sister-margaret-downey-first-grand-orient-female-freemason/
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