Clark Adams
{{for|the American lawyer and judge|Clark J. Adams}}
{{short description|American author (1969–2007)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Clark Davis Adams
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| birth_date = {{birth date|1969|7|23}}
| birth_place = Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2007|5|21|1969|7|23}}
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| occupation = Author
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Clark Davis Adams (July 23, 1969 – May 21, 2007) was a prominent American freethought leader and activist.
Early life
Adams was born in July 1969, in Louisville, Kentucky. As a child, he attended Catholic school, but became skeptical of the church's teachings at an early age. After reading material from American Atheists, he became, in his words, "a pretty hard core atheist" in college.{{Cite web |url=http://www.americanhumanist.org/press/ClarkAdams.php |title=Clark Adams 1969-2007 |access-date=2007-07-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080927045953/http://www.americanhumanist.org/press/ClarkAdams.php |archive-date=2008-09-27 |url-status=dead }}
Career
While attending a "Freethought Blitz" weekend in the Birmingham, Alabama, area, he became friends with many influential atheists. The same year, he became active with the Alabama Freethought Association and the Atlanta Freethought Society. He served as the primary organizer of the annual celebration Lollapalooza of Freethought. He also became the moderator of the newsgroup alt.atheism.moderated{{Cite newsgroup|message-id=200404250610.i3P6Ahw04811@tick.javien.com|newsgroup=alt.atheism.moderated|title=Posting Guidelines|author=Clark Adams }} [https://groups.google.com/group/alt.atheism.moderated/browse_thread/thread/e31d408cfa56aedc/464697e7f0764342 alt.atheism.moderated] at Google Groups and organized three real-life meetings with participants of alt.atheism.
For many years, Clark Adams was a member of the Internet Infidels board, serving as its public relations director for many years and then as president.[http://www.infidels.org/infidels/faq.html Internet Infidels: Frequently Asked Questions][http://www.humaniststudies.org/enews/index.html?id=215&article=5 Adams is new president of Internet Infidels] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023070349/http://humaniststudies.org/enews/index.html?id=215&article=5 |date=2007-10-23 }} from the Institute for Humanist Studies[http://www.infidels.org/iinews/01_01_09_06/From%20The%20President.html From The President] of Internet Infidels {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070327224333/http://www.infidels.org/iinews/01_01_09_06/From%20The%20President.html |date=March 27, 2007 }} He was also, in his words, a freethought "conference junkie", attending and often speaking at many events within the community of freethought.
Clark Adams actively promoted the Secular Student Alliance and briefly sat on the Board of Directors for the group. He was also one of the founders of the Secular Coalition for America. In his hometown, he founded and was deeply involved with the Las Vegas Freethought Society, which he described as "a local group of fun godless heathens in Sin City." After Adams' suicide the organization made a Clark Adams memorial page.[http://www.lvfs.org/clarkadams/ The Clark Adams Memorial Information Page] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070905115355/http://www.lvfs.org/clarkadams/ |date=September 5, 2007 }} He was also for a time president of the Humanist Association of Las Vegas and Southern Nevada, a chapter of the American Humanist Association. Shortly before his death, he became an AHA life member.
Clark Adams is one of many American freethinkers listed in Warren Allen Smith's satirically titled book, Who's Who in Hell.Warren Allen Smith, Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, 2000, Barricade Books, p. 7. {{ISBN|978-1-56980-158-1}}
Death
Adams had a track dedicated to him in comedian Doug Stanhope's album From Across The Street; Adams deliberately postponed his suicide so he could attend Stanhope's show.{{cite web|last=Dessau|first=Bruce|title=Fetish comedy from Doug Stanhope|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/arts/comedy/fetish-comedy-from-doug-stanhope-7409675.html|accessdate=2008-09-15|date=2008-09-15}}