In attendance: Alice, Dan (late), Jackson (secretary), Nate, Nick
Start time: 7:05 PM

1. Event Review – We tabled at Lincoln Earth Day. Payne and Salem did most of the work, but they’re not here tonight to report nor did they have time to return our supplies. Jackson made a brief appearance as well, and did see that we were going to get a lot of new names on our newsletter list.
2. Bake Sale – Jackson met with Payne on Wednesday afternoon. We think we have the final menu for the bake sale determined, and Jackson shared a list of ingredients that we’re still seeking donations of to several of our online places.
3. Yard Sale – We’re accepting donations now, but it’s been the usual slow start. Jackson is still hoping to find more help especially for the Friday morning setup. Jackson thinks we may need 4-6 more yard signs; Nate thinks he may be able to help with putting those together.
4. Brochure – We brainstormed on what kind of content might go into a “What is the Black Cat House”? There was discussion of Black Cat history, event formats (movie nights, discussions, presentations), where to find us online, library, resources for activists (meeting space, copy machine), and maybe the garden?

Meeting adjourned: 8:25 PM

In attendance: Jackson (secretary), Maia, Nate, Payne, Salem
Start time: 7:10 PM

1. Event Review – We had our Manufacturing Consent movie night on Friday night. We had an ok turnout, and a better discussion.
2. Upcoming Event – We are tabling at Lincoln Earth Day on Saturday. Matt will be picking up Payne and Salem to get them to Innovation Campus. Jackson will round up the relevant Black Cat materials.
3. Bake Sale – We had another extended discussion trying to sort out the logistics of this bake sale. We’re still trying to finalize our menu and production quantities. Jackson will be meeting separately with Payne and Salem on Wednesday to try to get this sorted out ASAP.

Meeting adjourned: 8:30 PM

In attendance: Jackson (secretary), Maia, Nate, Payne, Salem
Start time: 7:05 PM

1. Event Review – The neurodiversity discussion was on Saturday. It had a good turnout, though there were some issues with one particular guest who was disruptive in an off-topic kind of way. Payne and Salem seemed happy with the event overall.
2. Upcoming Event – Our Manufacturing Consent movie night is this Friday. We’re ready for it.
3. Bake Sale – We had another extended discussion on the logistics of the bake sale. We think Payne will set up his table down on the corner where the sidewalks meet, as that’s the most visible place. We should look into some kind of pop-up awning/tent to keep him out of the sun as much as possible. We have plenty of coolers here for ice and whatever else. Payne will probably be shopping for whatever missing ingredients he needed in early May, so we have a deadline of May 1st to seek donated ingredients/supplies. It sounds like we have several backyard chicken farmers in our networks, and Jackson really wants to emphasize finding some egg donations from those folks.
4. Promotional Pamphlet/Brochure – Nate would like us to create some kind of informational tri-fold pamphlet. The discussion on this item was unfortunately brief and somewhat unfocused. There was some talk of the logistics of duplicating this pamphlet. Jackson noted that we have a copy machine here, while Payne also volunteered his services especially if it is to be printed/copied in color. Payne asked if such a brochure could potentially replace our handbill fliers, but we probably wouldn’t do that as putting specific upcoming events on such a pamphlet would make them dated really quickly. Maia pointed out that this potential pamphlet could still include a broad description of activities at the House: movie nights, community discussion, annual yard sale fundraiser, etc. More discussion on this concept will be needed on a night where we’re not spending so much time on more urgent items.
5. Summer Calendar – We were running behind by the time we got to the summer calendar discussion again. Should we table at Disability Pride or Juneteenth?

Meeting adjourned: 8:40 PM

In attendance: Jackson (secretary), Jeremiah, Maia, Payne, Salem, Ty
Start time: 7:15 PM

1. Event Review – We had our queer mental health event with Kindred Psychology on Thursday night. We had a good turnout, and our crowd was very engaged in the material. Our speaker made a passing comment during the presentation about being interested in some kind of continuing relationship between Kindred and the Black Cats. Payne will follow up about that.
2. Upcoming Event – Our neurodiversity discussion is coming up on Saturday. Jackson will be unable to attend, but he’ll still have the room ready. We discussed the possibilities of having Payne, Salem, and Matt (who is also planning to attend) potentially co-moderating the event.
3. Donations – Ty brought some buttons that will probably be nice giveaways at upcoming Earth Day and Pride tabling. He also brought some books for our lending library.
4. Website – Jackson reports that our website has been down four times in the last week. We may be having issues with malware, and the Bluehost tech support folks are trying to sell us on some security upgrades. We’re asking Marc to look into this for us and give us some recommendations. Jackson says that we could probably afford some security upgrades, but we don’t want to buy them if we don’t need them.
5. April Newsletter/Events – Jackson will be getting an April newsletter out to our listserv in the next few days. He asked if anyone wanted to make contributions; Ty emphasized that it should include a call for donations for our yard sale next month. Jackson also volunteered to get our latter two April events online ASAP. Since both the Manufacturing Consent movie night and tabling at Lincoln Earth Day are both things we’ve done previously, it should be a simple matter of recycling old event descriptions. Payne asked that the movie night advertisement also include a plug for the propaganda event coming up in May.
6. Bake Sale – We had an extended discussion about the logistics of the bake sale that Payne is adding to our yard sale fundraiser this year. He is reasonably confident about providing conventional and vegan treats, and is also planning to have lemonade and tea. The logistics of offering gluten-free goodies is a bit trickier; it may require finding a gluten-free kitchen to prepare them in to prevent cross-contamination. Payne is curious about reimbursement options for having to buy ingredients; Jackson suggests that we put out a call for the ingredients we will need and see if our community wants to donate what we need. (For example, it would be tremendously helpful if one or more of our backyard chicken-farming friends were to donate eggs.)
7. Summer Calendar – We were already running out of time, but we extended the meeting to briefly discuss an event that Salem strongly believes we should add to our next calendar: Protest/Rally Etiquette and Safety. We all agreed that it would be a timely addition, even if it’s just an informal community discussion where some veteran protesters can come and share some tips for the folks who are newly getting active in response to Trump’s return to the White House. Ty recommended scheduling it early in our calendar, possibly in the first half of June.

Meeting adjourned: 8:40 PM

In attendance: Jackson (secretary), Jared, Maia, Payne, Salem
Start time: 7:05 PM

1. Event Review – We had our Killing Us Softly 4 movie night on Friday night. We had a solid turnout and a spirited discussion afterwards. It was unfortunately a bit triggering for Salem, though.
2. Upcoming Event – We have our LGBTQ Mental Health event coming up this Thursday night. Jackson wants to know if our speaker will be wanting to run a presentation on our projector; we may need a copy of it in advance, as the projector may not talk to computers besides Jackson’s.
3. Neurodiversity Event – It’s now online, so invite your friends! Jackson may be double-booked, and may not be available for all of this event (but he will still make sure the room is ready, even if he can’t be there).
4. Mask Policy – We had an extended discussion about the pros and cons of our current mask policy in the house. Under present circumstances, we will continue our current policy into the foreseeable future. We will remain open to re-evaluation if conditions change down the road.

Meeting adjourned: 8:30 PM

In attendance: Audrey, Jackson (secretary), Payne, Salem
Start time: 7:10 PM

1. Event Review – Winslow’s Wardrobe was back here on Saturday. The turnout was slow, but the folks from Winslow thought it wasn’t unusual for one of their winter distros. They are tentatively coming back in the summer (likely in August for Back-to-School).
2. Upcoming Event/Reimbursement – Our _ Killing Us Softly 4_ movie night is this Friday. Jackson will be reimbursed $27.94 for buying the DVD for this movie. We are ready for the movie night on Friday.

Meeting adjourned: 8:10 PM

In attendance: Jackson (secretary), Maia, Payne, Salem
Start time: 7:30 PM

1. Upcoming Event – Winslow’s Wardrobe is coming back on Saturday. We’re ready for it.
2. Calendar Distro – It’s a work in progress. We’re all in good shape to finish this week.
3. DVD – Jackson will be ordering a DVD copy of our next movie to help things go more smoothly. He will be reimbursed for it, and it will join our lending library after the movie night.
4. Mask Policy – Payne raised the question of whether it’s time to re-evaluate our policy of requiring face masks in our space. Both he and Maia think they know some people who might come to our events, but disagreement with the mask policy may be the main deterrent. Jackson is on the fence, but thinks we need further discussion on the matter and may need to seek the opinion of our broader community. This item is TABLED for further discussion.

Meeting adjourned: 8:35 PM

In attendance: Audrey, Jackson (secretary), Maia, Payne, Salem
Start time: 7:10 PM

1. Reimbursement – Jackson reserved our table at Lincoln Earth Day and got our spring calendars printed. Jackson will be reimbursed $35 for our table at Lincoln Earth Day and $44.57 for getting those calendars printed.
2. Spring Calendar Distro – The spring calendars are here! Jackson will get the Unitarian Church, Telegraph District, and UNL City Campus. Salem is doing the bulk of downtown, including the Haymarket. Payne will be distributing in some progressive churches. Audrey and Maia had a few places they could help with, too.
3. Online Promotion for Upcoming Events – Jackson will take point on getting the Killing Us Softly movie night up ASAP; we’ve run it before, so repurposing an old event description should be easy. Payne needs to come up with something ASAP for the mental health event (especially as it’s on an unusual night for one of our events); Jackson can help edit that. Payne should also start thinking about a description for the neurodiversity discussion in early April.
4. Summer calendar

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (African-American music month)

RENT OR Pride OR other queer movie (Payne exploring many possibilities)
Free Pride events to table at?

July 18th is Nelson Mandela International Day

Movies to commemorate the atomic bombing of Japan for August: Barefoot Gen, White Light/Black Rain

Malcolm X’s 100th birthday is in May; can we do something to honor that?

Meeting adjourned: 8:30 PM

In attendance: Audrey, Jackson (secretary), Maia, Payne
Start time: 7:05 PM

1. Event Review – We had our Black History Month movie with the documentary Free Angela and All Political Prisoners. Folks enjoyed the film, but the discussion was short and unfocused.
2. Spring Calendar – Payne reports that we’re having schedule conflicts with a guest speaker that he’s hoping will lead our trans mental health event. We’re tentatively offering to move that event to Thursday, March 27th, 7-9 PM to hopefully accommodate Payne’s contact. We will keep the neurodivergence discussion on April 5th, despite a possible conflict as April is really tight. We have to wait on the response from Payne’s contact before finalizing and printing the spring calendars.

Meeting adjourned: 8:10 PM