11/15/21 Minutes

In attendance: Jackson, Ty (Moderator), Wyatt (Secretary)
Start time: 7:10 PM

Event Review:

We had a good discussion on Women and Christianity that was in depth and wide ranging. We did dunk on Christianity quite a bit also recognized christian groups that prioritize/d social justice. Decent participation turnout, although not as good as usual pre-covid times. Our sanitation procedures were followed closely, thank you all. A couple topics we might do future events for surfaced during the discussion, such as Early history of Christianity, Queer People and Christianity, and how that is all related to the Matrix movies.

Update:

Wyatt attended the lantern making for Trans Day of Remembrance and Resilience. The lanterns will be displayed at the Hub Cafe on Nov 20^th from 4 to 6pm.

Winter Calendar:

We added February reading discussion to give people a chance to talk in a season otherwise stacked with two panels.

We decided on “Social Justice in Christianity” as serviceable event name for our January panel. We want to explore those dissident trends within Christianity that won’t allow the bigots have the religion completely to themselves. We want Christians with leftist politics to talk about their experiences with being a leftist christian. We have a moderator, a time, and two panelists (and plans to get a third). We will host the panel online.

With more work to be done and questions to be answered about our February panel, at this time it will remain TBA. We are not really happy about this vagueness on the calendar but it is where we are at.

Our winter calendar is finalized and going to production.

• Saturday, December 4, 1-3 PM – Labor vs. Capital for Beginners (A Community Discussion)
• Friday, December 17, 7-10PM – Movie Night: The Matrix
• Saturday, January 8,^, 1-3PM – Social Justice in Christianity (A Online Panel Discussion)
• Saturday, January 29, 10 AM, north side of the Capitol – Counter-Protest the Anti-Choice Walk for Life
• Saturday, February 12, 1-3PM – Marxism as Morality? (A reading discussion)
• February, Time TBA – Black Musicians and Liberation (A Online Panel Discussion)

Meeting Adjourned 8:27pm

In attendance: Jackson, Ty (secretary), Wyatt
Start time: 7:15 PM

Upcoming Event: Women and Christianity discussion is this Saturday. We didn’t post it on the website – oops! Ty took care of it during the meeting. We are going to have it as an in-person, masked-up discussion indoors, as it will be way too cold for an outdoor event. We will be hiding the snack table to remove a temptation for anyone to unmask.

Library donation: Wyatt has brought a couple books to donate, and we have approved both for addition to our library.

Reimbursement: Wyatt paid our artist friend $50 to create our new logo, and we approve his reimbursal for this.

Winter Calendar: Last meeting we talked about having more 101 events since we’ve noticed an uptick in people reaching out wondering how to get involved. Jackson proposed a 101 on labor vs. capital which we can use to also relate it to the strikes that have happened/are happening over the course of this year. This we’ll do on Saturday, December 4th, usual 1-3. We will postpone making a decision on whether this will be online or in-person until after this Saturday’s event.

We’ve got two panelists and a moderator for the liberation theology panel. We’ll try to get a third panelist, but now we are going to focus on scheduling. We will send some date/time options to those in the panel to see what works best for them. We’ll propose Thursday evening and Saturday during our usual discussion time. As far as the third panelist, we realized that our guest speakers have no Catholic representation and that given the Lincoln diocese is the one of the most reactionary conservative dioceses in the world, it seems like a notable oversight not to include. Once more details are finalized, we’re going to reach out to Call to Action to see if any of their representatives would like to participate.

As for the Black Musicians and Liberation, planning is still in the works. We would love to get an international perspective, and our prospective moderator may have some contacts.

Saturday, December 4, 1-3 PM – Labor vs. Capital for Beginners
January, date and time TBD – Liberation theology panel (event name TBD)
Saturday, January 29, 10 AM, north side of the Capitol – Counter-Protest the Anti-Choice Walk for Life
February, date and time TBD – Black Musicians and Liberation

Meeting adjourned: 8:32 PM

BCH Meeting – November 1, 2021

In Attendance: Marc (sec), Jackson, Wyatt (mod)

Meeting Start: 7:23 PM

Meeting Adjourned: 8:34 PM

Event Review

– Our movie showing, Nightbreed, went well. Viewers had a lot of fun. It was difficult to keep an eye on mask-wearing (probably a mix of comfort through low attendance, plus the snack table), so we need to consider this for future indoor events, should we have them.

– The discussion also went really well. Most everyone was engaged and had a lot to say.

– We also scheduled this during a Husker game day, but in the future we also need to be cautious to avoid this. It’s possible that we missed some attendees due to this time conflict.

Upcoming Event

– Women in Christianity discussion will occur on November 13^th, so we still have a bit of time to promote it.

– Wyatt posted the event on Facebook, and it still needs to be cross-posted to the site. Either Marc or Ty will take care of cross-posting.

– There is a lot to grapple with for this discussion, and we hope a lot of people are interested in taking part.

– It would be good for BCH members to read up on this history so we can talk about a variety of related issues, and push against dominant narratives.

Facebook Message

– We received a message from a neighbor who may be able to provide some IT guidance and support. Since fixing our site is a big task, having his help would be ridiculously appreciated!

– We more or less agreed that Marc would be the primary contact if we work with him in the future. We’re excited to work with him in the future. Wyatt will also offer a tour to our neighbor.

Logo Commission

– The artist we’re working with agreed to make the logo for $50 and 3 years’ worth access to the herb spiral. It should take about a month to complete.

– Marc got into touch with her to explain the final details.

– Wyatt just needs to send the payment; we unanimously agreed to pay her, and reimburse Wyatt for covering the payment initially.

Interview

– Ty and Jackson were interviewed by a grad student studying self-described anarchists tonight. Ty spoke to the interviewer for a bit over an hour or so.

– Apparently the interviewer is in the business college of her university, and is studying anarchism and entrepreneurship. It was an interesting interview and we were happy to share our perspectives and look forward to reading her thesis.

Winter Calendar & Outreach

– We have noticed a larger amount of people reaching out who are new to organizing/realize that things are difficult and want to help make things better. The garden also draws a lot of people in—likely because it’s so visible and honestly really awesome. It would be really useful to also set up a little free library/pantry so people who notice the garden will also potentially check out calendars, materials, etc.

– We also talked about needing more visual content on our site—photos/vids of events and the space, etc.

– We discussed having more 101-type events to specifically reach people who are looking for ways to get involved.

– Potential Winter events:

– Liberation Theology: Marc and Ty reached out to a friend who indicated they might be interested. Jackson also reached out to another potential panelist, who also expressed interest. We’d like this discussion to be very grassroots in nature, rather than from the perspective of more academic sorts. One of the questions we’d like to explore specifically is how can leftists work with Christian (and other religious) groups to create a better world. We also will reach out to the Unitarian Church in Lincoln to see if any Unitarians might want to take part in a panel. We also need a moderator for this panel. We discussed potential people to reach out to, including Methodists who experienced the recent split in the sect, as well as another companion who was raised in the Black Southern Baptist tradition.

– Marc will write up a more focused description to provide to potential panelists. We would also like to get folks’ permission to record the panel to add to our YouTube channel, if possible.

– In the past, panels have been really worthwhile; they’re a bit more work to set up, but they’re SO worth it.

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

1. Upcoming Event – We have a movie this Saturday. We’ve got some tidying to do in the living room, but we’re going to be alright. Ty and Marc will be bringing the DVD and an air filter. If the Facebook event’s guest list is accurate, we’ll probably have a small group.
2. Library Donation – Ty brought a book about housing inequality for our lending library. It’s a good fit for our growing section on urban issues and gentrification.
3. Research Interview – We are tentatively scheduling our interview with the researcher next Monday at 4:30 PM. Ty will pass along any further updates on the Discord chat if and when he gets them.
4. Winter Calendar –

We really should try to get this finalized in the next couple of weeks, but are behind schedule!

We discussed the possibilities of doing a Jitsi panel discussion on liberation theology for the holidays. We have a couple of friends who might be good panelists, and there’s some talk of perhaps approaching the Unitarian Church for a third panelist. We have a few other ideas of folks who aren’t necessarily within the Christian tradition, but we’re preferring left-wing Christians at this time as liberation theology is a specifically Christian.

There’s also a lot of interest in doing something labor-related with the current strike wave going on. Do we want to do a discussion event? Show a film? Wyatt and Jackson talked a bit about what we heard from the Kellogg’s workers on strike in Omaha. Could we do some videos with them for our YouTube channel?

Counter-Protest the Anti-Choice Walk For Life – January 29th, 2022

Black Musicians and Liberation event in February?

5. November Event – We need to get our Women and Christianity event up this week! We’re less than three weeks away already.

Meeting adjourned: 8:35 PM

In attendance: Jackson (secretary), Marc, Ty, Wyatt
Start time: 7:25 PM

1. Event Review – We had our anti-Columbus Day protest last Monday. We had a good turnout and handed out a lot of educational literature. Jackson even wound up being interviewed for a national AP wire article, thanks to our Facebook event. The sign-making party was a bust, probably due to poor advertising.
2. Interview – A grad student in the UK reached out to us to see if we’d give an interview about running our activist space. The collective nominates Jackson and Ty to represent the group, as they have seniority. Ty will figure out when is good in his schedule and reach out to see if our schedules can by synchronized with the researcher’s.
3. Strike Solidarity – We will be donating $200 from our treasury toward the strike fund for the Kellogg’s workers on strike in Omaha. We’re also planning to drive up there someday soon to see if we can be of any further help to them.
4. Migrating from Facebook? – Ty and Marc have continued to do more research on the potential for us replacing our internal discussions on Facebook with Discord. Ty would like a timetable for our migration from Facebook. Wyatt suggests spending the winter familiarizing ourselves with Discord and possibly moving away from Facebook in the spring.
5. Winter Calendar – tabled to next week

Meeting adjourned: 8:30 PM

In Attendance: Wyatt, Jackson, Ty, Marc (secretary)
Start Time: 7:10 PM

Upcoming Event: Anti-Columbus Day Protest
We have committed to attending the event from 1-3 PM as listed in the printed calendar. Folks may still stick around to hit rush hour, and we might have the benefit of hitting the post-lunch crowd and after-school pickups.

Marc will make some educational zines/handbills about the Nebraska state legislature’s decision to celebrate both Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day. These will include a “why are we protesting” explanation. We already published a zine a few years back about the topic and why Columbus was a scumbag, so Marc will use that as the basis with an updated intro.

Ty will cross-post the event to our site. Due to the protest and long days for multiple members, we have decided to cancel next Monday’s meeting.

Movie: Nightbreed
Ty and Marc will watch Nightbreed this week to provide a more complete description for the event post. They will also identify a pausing point so attendees can break for snacks, etc.

Marc and Ty will also loan BCH an air purifier for the event, and Wyatt will be on mask compliance duty.

Facebook
The site was down for a long time today and we should review our pages/posts for potential data loss. There was also a whistleblower who talked about the grossly unethical practices of Facebook. We also discussed using our site as our event/info hub more, and encouraging people to check the site first for updates and events. Ty also mentioned that we could begin using our listserv again.

Our long-term goal is to stop using Facebook entirely. However, as we move away from the platform, we should be gradual and purposeful so we don’t lose our connection to people. We plan on being transparent in why we’re doing this (security, ethics, longevity). Additionally, we need to figure out a new platform for online discussion between members, and Marc and Ty suggested Discord.

We discussed using zines and other publications to help encourage word of mouth in the community. There are lots of little free libraries and coffee shops in the area that such publications could be left at.

New Logo
Marc will talk to our artist friend about what we need from a logo, so it can be used digitally.

Tabled Items
Timeline for ditching Facebook, new online discussion platform, website, inside of the house video, library catalog, little library, winter calendar, and probably more

Meeting Adjourned: 8:21 PM

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

1. Event Review – We had our discussion on the Right’s censorship of education on Saturday, but the three of us were the only ones who came! We had a lot of social media buzz, so it seemed to be a relevant subject to many of our friends. But it obviously didn’t translate into turnout. We have questions about whether the continuing pandemic is keeping our kind of people at home. Wyatt thinks we should be more directly contacting friends who we think are specifically interested in the subject of a given event and relying less on Facebook.
2. October Events – We need to get to advertising our Anti-Columbus Day Protest as well as our Nightbreed movie night. Jackson volunteers to do the protest description. Ty and Marc will be screening Nightbreed this weekend, and will get that event description drafted soon afterwards. We’re thinking we should have an intermission about halfway through the two-hour movie, for a snack break outside. Otherwise, masks will be required on inside the house for the entirety of the event.
3. Library Update – Jackson reports that Naomi stopped by today to inventory more books for our fledgling library database. Thanks, Naomi!

Meeting adjourned: 7:55 PM

In attendance: Jackson, Ty, Wyatt (Secretary), Marc, Shakye
Start time: 7:30 PM

Event Review: Garden Day was not attended. It was hot and there was a football game. Lets keep them in the morning.

Cat Art Update: Our artist friend has volunteered to create a new logo for us. We would like one that could be placed anywhere on the page, not just at the top. Maybe a little bit freshened up. Transparent background complete image that can be digitally formatted.

We also talked about a sign for the front yard. With lights.

Upcoming Events:

On Saturday we have an upcoming event, our discussion. We got some traction on social media. We will be doing it on the porch.

Winter Calendar Ideas: We would like to have these out by mid November at the latest.

Counter Protest

Homeowners associations and city codes about colonizer lawns

Black Musicians and Liberation event in February.

Tabled Items:

website, inside of the house video, library catalog, little library, winter calendar, and probably more

Meeting adjourned: 8:10 PM

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

Library returns and donation:

An item was returned to the library: DVD “The Corporation” were returned along with a note from the reader saying how much they enjoyed and appreciated it. Jackson donates three books including Fossil Capital, The Rise and Reign of Unruly Woman, and When Sex Goes to School and Wyatt donates two books, Jacobs’ A Generation Removed and Scahill’s Dirty Wars

Upcoming Events:

We have a upcoming garden day this Saturday. Wyatt will be around to organize those in attendance. The Saturday after that we are hosting our open discussion. We edited the event description and posted the open discussion event. See ya’ll there!

Some discussion about movie night, will we do it indoors? How can we make it safer / people comfortable?

Calendar distro:

We have hung all our colanders. I will take one more to Meadowlark for that one delayed hanging.

Tabled Items:

website, another video, library catalog, little library, cat themed art, winter calendar, and probably more

Meeting adjourned: 8:10 PM

In attendance: Jackson (secretary), Ty
Start time: 7:25 PM

1. Calendar Distro Update – Ty has had a rough week and not been able to do what he meant to last week. Jackson is willing to help with distro. Ty still needs to get a few more printed. Jackson may be fliering in the Haymarket this week.
2. Hyping September Events – Ty will try his hand at drafting descriptions for our September events (another Garden Day and our Far Right vs Education discussion), as well as the upcoming Columbus Day protest in October.
3. Next Monday – With Marc and Ty unavailable next Monday, and Wyatt likely to still be out of state, we decided to cancel next Monday’s meeting. We will meet next on Monday, September 13th.

Meeting adjourned: 8:00 PM