Ingersoll Oratory Contest
A contest to highlight Robert G. Ingersoll, a prominent 19th century orator known as "The Great Agnostic," will take place at noon on Sunday, October 4, in Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.
Up to 20 contestants will each deliver a brief excerpt from Ingersoll's works and a panel of judges will award prizes for the best performances.
Robert G. Ingersoll was an outspoken critic of religion, advocating racial equality, women's rights, Darwin's theory of evolution, free speech, and voting rights for Washington, DC. He delivered more than 1,200 speeches to packed houses across the country in the late 1800s, all of them documented in a 12-volume set of his works. Yet he is little known to Americans today.
The event, free and open to the public, is co-sponsored by The Washington Area Secular Humanists, Center for Inquiry DC and the American Humanist Association, all located in Washington, DC. The Robert Green Ingersoll Birthplace Museum, a project of the Council for Secular Humanism, is a contest supporter.
Contestants must register by October 1.
For more information and instructions on how to register as a contestant:
Visit http://www.ingersollcontest.
Contact: Lindsay Gemberling, 202-238-9088 orlgemberling@americanhumanist.
