Meeting Minutes – June 21, 2021
In Attendance: Ty (moderator), Marc (secretary), Jackson
Started: 7:20 PM
Adjourned: 8:45 PM

Event Review: Pride on the Porch
– Due to the heat, we switched from an in-person discussion to meeting over Jitsi. Marc updated the event on Facebook and announced the change a couple of days prior.
– The discussion went well; we had a small but engaged group of people.
– The discussion was a bit unfocused and we did get off-topic often.

Upcoming Event: Local Politics Discussion
– Jackson will draft the description for this event soon.

YouTube Gardening Videos
– Wyatt wants to create some how-to videos about gardening and the water barrel collection system.
– When he’s back in town, we’d like to hash out some ideas and plans with him to discuss the videos–namely tone/approach, how much editing they would need, what equipment we should procure, etc.
– Ty pointed out that we should keep the videos pretty consistent in tone.
– The videos could also be used on the site to show off the BCH space online.

Site Updates:
– We have regained access to the admin account on WordPress.
– Jackson still needs to be able to get emails sent through the BCH site to appear in his inbox. We tried to figure out what the issue could be, and it might be related to our hosting service.
– Marc will create an account for himself via WordPress.
– Going forward, we have some additional plans in-mind for site content, including: aesthetic update, explicit connection to Facebook, connection to YouTube channel, fixing the event calendar, posting news posts and not just minutes, better tagging system for posts, better calendar (color-coded events, recurring events, etc.), showcase/tour of the physical space as a venue, revisiting the About Us page, Library information, collaboration form, add candid photos, potentially adding bios for active members if desired

Longterm Space Projects
– We need to reassess the accessibility of the BCH in terms of comfort, mobility concerns, and creating a welcoming environment.
– For example, there is a small (2″) ledge at the front door that may be difficult for wheelchair-users to access, and we need to be able to keep the driveway empty so the ramp to the porch can be accessed for events.
– We discussed what could be done outdoors and indoors to achieve some of these goals, including adding some landscaping details to the garden, using more comfortable furniture, adjusting lighting so it’s brighter, and so on.

No one was available to meet tonight. We’ll try again next week!

Meeting Minutes – June 7, 2021
In Attendance: Marc (secretary, moderator), Jackson, Ty
Started: 7:10 PM
Adjourned: 8:40 PM

Upcoming Event: Queer History and Fascism Discussion
– Marc created the event on Facebook, along with a graphic for it. Marc, Ty, and Jackson helped draft the description, and it was posted last week.
– Ty suggested reaching out to OutNebraska and the LGBTQA+ Resource Center to help promote the event. Basically, they could help drum up interest in the discussion.

July Event
– Jackson still needs to write up a description for this. The event is a month away yet, but Ty emphasized that we shouldn’t let it fall behind too far.
– We discussed potential talking points for the event, e.g. specifically conservative/reactionary decisions made by current Lincoln mayor Gaylor Baird, such as lowering funding for libraries and public recycling, and increasing the cop budget. We also discussed how a Democrat has been mayor of this city for 20+ years and Lincoln is still very behind in terms of public infrastructure and programs.

August Event
– Gardening day. These generally get good attendance.

Really Free Library
– Marc suggested calling it the “Black Cat Press & Pantry” though Jackson and Ty pointed out that it might not really need a name at all. Marc suggested giving it a name anyway because it’d be more useful to call it something for the purposes of the website and future updates to it.

Fall Situation with COVID-19
– We’re planning on potentially going back to something akin to normal for Fall, given the current significant drop in COVID-19 rates in Lancaster county. However, due to the Delta strain becoming more prominent, and the fact that Lincoln is a college town with international students, we will still be cautious and keep an eye on the rates through the season.
– For September and October, events could be outdoors.
– Types of Events: Reading discussion, garden day in September, resume the Columbus Day protest, and try out a movie night?
– We also haven’t had an event centered around feminism or religious skepticism in a hot minute, so we talked about potentially combining the two topics into a general “Women in Christianity” discussion. This topic proved fruitful during the meeting as everyone had lots of insight about it, so we suspect it would work really well as either a reading or open discussion.
– We also mentioned discussing Paganism and the spread of Christianity through Europe as a potential topic near Halloween. However, it might not be varied enough to have two religiously-centered discussions so near to each other. Marc suggested potentially doing this topic around Easter next year.
– Candyman 2021 will also be coming out in August, and the DVD/Blu-ray should be available by Halloween, so we could potentially show that for a movie night.

Box o’ Books
– Ty and Marc went through a box of potential library donations (leftovers from the yard sale fundraiser) and picked out a stack to add to the library.

Website
– The website will be auto-renewed this summer on July 26th for three years. The cost will be $431.64. We unanimously voted to approve this expenditure.
– Jackson still needs to contact either Bluehost customer service or WordPress to give Marc the ability to edit the site, and for Ty to fix some email troubles.
– Ty suggested doing some serious re-branding and development of the site. It needs to be more engaging and show off the BCH and its resources/offerings more.
– Marc offered to update the site when he gets editor access to it, as using WordPress and front-end site design is one of his skills.
– We discussed potential ideas for site pages—a more in-depth “about” section that would show off the space in BCH, what people can use/access in it, potentially photos of events, etc. Ty also suggested adding a form to the site to allow other likeminded organizations to request a collaboration or use of the space, too, which would definitely help us in reaching other groups.

Other
– The YouTube video for Black Musicians & Liberation will be complete before Fall for certain. Ty is finishing up the closed captions for it.

In attendance: Jackson (secretary), Ty, Wyatt
Start time: 7:20 PM

1. Really, Really Free Library – We further discussed the idea of adding a “Little-Free-Library-esque” library with books, zines, grocery items, and our calendars. It was suggested that we could possibly make the donations box look like a miniature version of the Black Cat House. (Complete with a miniature water barrel?) Ty is playing with design ideas, and we’ll see what Wyatt can build.

2. Summer Events – Thursday, June 17th, 7-9 PM, outdoor discussion, Working Title: “Pride on the Porch”; Marc to lead discussion, will hopefully spearhead online advertisement

Friday, July 16th, 7-9 PM, outdoor discussion, “With Jackasses Like These… Who Needs the Elephants?”; hopefully to focus on local Lincoln Democratic politics; Jackson volunteers to write up the advertising

Saturday, August 14th, 10 AM – Noon, garden workshop, Harvest Day in the garden

3. Fall Calendar Brainstorming – Possible reading discussion for September; Garden Day… clean-up and planting of winter cover crops?; Columbus Day protest in October; open discussions?; bring back movie nights?

Events could be outdoors in September or possibly October, but should definitely be indoors for November. We haven’t done an event themed around feminism or religious skepticism in awhile. Ty wonders if we should do something around Halloween on paganism and/or the Christianization of Europe.

Meeting adjourned: 8:45 PM

In attendance: Jackson (secretary), Wyatt
Start time: 7:10 PM

1. Yard Sale Review – We had our biggest haul ever at this yard sale. We raised a total of $1286.35! It’s possible that the lack of yard sales last year and economic uncertainties around the pandemic gave us a boost. Wyatt built some tables, and that was very helpful in giving us more space to display our wares. We also had a lot of help from several new volunteers and that probably contributed to our success as well.

2. Little Free Library/Pantry – Wyatt is interested in building a donation-holding little box a la the Little Free Libraries/Pantries around town. We do often give away food and literature as it is, but this could also be another piece of our public outreach by having our latest event calendar taped up inside the door. Wyatt really wants us to call it something other than a Little Free Library, but Jackson also points out that it could be beneficial for us to piggyback off the existing networking/advertising for Lincoln’s Little Free Libraries.

3. Refugee Fundraiser – Since we made so much money off of our yard sale, we are going to contribute another $250 towards our Swedish friend trying to save refugee families there.

Meeting adjourned: 8:05 PM

In attendance: Jackson (secretary), Marc, Ty
Start time: 7:05

1. Yard Sale – Is supposed to be this Friday and Saturday, but it might rain! We’re going to watch the weather very closely this week and set our final plans accordingly. We also discussed our advertisement strategy: Facebook event, FB marketplace, Craigslist.

2. Library Donation – Jackson has a bunch of books for the library, and several of Richard’s yard sale donations would be a good fit for our library as well. We’re adding a big haul today!

3. Donation – We’ll contribute $200 to the refugee fundraiser that we’ve been discussing over the last couple of weeks.

4. Yard Sale Worktime – We spent the rest of the evening sorting and prepping the donations for the yard sale.

Meeting adjourned for Worktime: 7:30 PM

In attendance: Jackson, Marc (secretary), Ty (moderator)
Meeting start: 7:10 PM

Event Review: Community Gardening at the Hawley Hamlet
– Unfortunately, the only people in attendance were those who planned the event.
– However, they had a good conversation and made some good connections for potential future collaborations. We would still like to work with them in the future.
– One of the big problems was likely not having enough time to advertise the event and spread the word. It’s also likely that people are nervous about gathering in public due to COVID.

Treasury Update
– Jackson updated the treasuries today. We have $563.41 in the general treasury, and our subtreasuries have $0. This information has also been updated on the website.

Yard Sale
– We already have quite a few donations and expect to get more; a few folks have promised to bring items over. The living room is looking quite a mess, but it’s beautiful, nonetheless.
– Marc and Ty can come work at the sale on Saturday, but not Friday. Ty will also bring tables for the sale on Thursday before.
– Before the sale, we’ll be working on pricing items. Marc has volunteered to get some more price tag stickers for the event sometime this week.
– To help advertise, we need to take photos of what we have–especially large/nicer/unique items–and post them to Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. We can also make use of the buy/sell/trade groups on FB. Otherwise, we might not get the reach we need.

Fundraiser
– Due to COVID, we have money in the treasury that we did not spend through 2020. That said, we agreed that we could donate $100-$200.
– It’s possible we could collect more money to donate from the yard sale, but we can’t guarantee a dollar amount or percentage because we’re not sure how much we’ll get from the sale.

Summer Events
– Summer tends to be slow due to Lincoln’s nature as a college town.
– We brainstormed a couple potential events:
1. Outdoor gardening event located at BCH
2. Outdoor discussion (evening in June to take advantage of the nice weather)
– June 18 and 19 will be busy due to Pride events, which we don’t want to compete with.
– Potential subjects for pride month:
1. History of Magnus Hirschfeld – how research on queer identities was progressing at a breakneck pace until his work was destroyed by Nazis
2. History of trans people in the US – how trans people frequently lived as their authentic selves and were accepted in their communities, even in a western context. When/where did transphobia come from?
– We also plan to return to putting calendars up in coffee shops and other businesses/organizations.

Tabled: Summer Events, Fall Events

Adjourned: 8:14 PM

In attendance: Jackson (secretary), Ty (moderator)
Start time: 7:00 PM

1. Upcoming Event – We are doing a workshop this Saturday at the Hawley Hamlet. This was only confirmed via chat late last week, and worktime was spent at the top of the meeting getting an event created for that.

2. Library Donation – Aleisha brought us a book last week, and Jackson has another stack of books as well. They look good to us and are going into the library.

3. Library Update – Jackson reports that Naomi was here last Friday cataloging one of our bookcases for the new database.

4. Yard Sale – Our Facebook event is up and we have started collecting donations and promises of further donations.

5. Fundraiser? – We have been asked by a close and trusted friend of our good friend (and Jackson’s surrogate mama) Dance to help raise money for a refugee family in danger of deportation in Sweden. This family will likely be put to death if they are forced to return home. We can’t make any commitments on this with so few of our group represented in the meeting tonight, but we’d like to come back to this very soon with the full group together. We need to decide if we want to make a direct donation from our treasury, if we want to donate a chunk of our yard sale proceeds, and/or if we want to do a public push for donations. (Ty mentions that our bank account should be ready to go if we need it.)

Meeting adjourned: 8:05 PM

In attendance: Jackson, Ty (secretary)

Meeting Start: 7:12 PM

Event Review: Unfortunately, the second medical training event was a bust. Nobody showed up. We need to advertise these better. Wyatt accidentally posted on his personal Facebook page as opposed to our account page. We do have some connection with a local street medic group that we could network with.

Library Donation: Jackson has a children’s book donation, “Our House is On Fire: Greta Thunberg’s Call to Save the Planet.” He has ordered more books, but this was the first to roll in.

Black Musicians and Liberation Video: Ty is putting together the subtitles for the Black Musicians and Liberation event, and will be getting it posted publicly soon.

Yard Sale: Marc got the description written up, and Ty proofed it… and then personal stuff happened so it never got posted online. Ty shared it with the rest of the group and we’ll get it up in the next couple days. Then we need to start soliciting for donations!

Ty let his grandpa know about it, and he’s fine with loaning his yard sale supplies again.

Meeting Adjourned: 7:36 PM

In attendance: Jackson, Marc
Meeting Start: 7:15 PM

1. Upcoming Event: Wyatt is spearheading another medical training workshop. We’ll keep sharing it and spreading it around. Otherwise, we’re moving ahead with it. We may be able to run it outdoors with the promised nicer weather. We’ll be on standby if Wyatt needs anything prepared.

2. Library Donation: Jackson got a stack of books, including a couple duplicates by Naomi Klein – “Shock Doctrine.” It’s a good haul covering wide topics.

3. Yard Sale: Ty was working on drafting a yard sale Facebook description. But things got complicated this past week, and so Marc will take point on drafting it instead with Ty’s assistance.

Adjourned: 7:38 PM

Post-Meeting Item – Black Musicians and Liberation Recording: Ty’s working on uploading the final edit of the panel video on YouTube, but it’s a large file and so it’s taking a bit of time to do so.