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

1. Event Review – Aryn from OutNebraska was here on Thursday night to give a workshop. Our turnout was smallish, but the folks who came were definitely engaged. Our library was also very popular with our new folks. Jackson noticed that the event wasn’t showing up properly on our Black Cat House Facebook page, possibly because OutNebraska created the event and tagged us in as co-hosts. Ty is pleased with the precedent of this and wants to see us having more co-hosted events in the future.
2. Upcoming Event – We have a movie this Friday night. Our projector is still being repaired, so it may not be ready for Friday. We may have to check one out from Love Library, and hope that we have a laptop and soundbar that will talk to it. The technical details are a bit more convoluted than usual, but we think we have a plan.
3. Book Donations – We spent the remainder of our meeting time sorting through a backlog of books that have been donated to us over the past several weeks. There were many good titles that we will be adding to our library.

Meeting adjourned: 8:35 PM

In Attendance: Jackson, Marc (secretary), Ty, Connor, Wyatt
Meeting Start: 7:40 PM

Event Review: Urban Foraging

• A couple of new faces showed up for the urban foraging event on Saturday, and it seemed like folks were interested in the topic and learning! Wyatt enjoyed giving the workshop.

Upcoming Events: Workshop with OutNebraska, the Color of Care movie night

• This Thursday (9/15) will be our workshop with OutNebraska on talking to family, friends, and neighbors about LGBTQ+ issues.
• We checked with our contact to make sure we had all the equipment necessary for the event; we’ll wait to hear back. Otherwise, we’re ready to go for a conversation.
• For the Color of Care movie night, we need to get the projector in working order.

Ongoing Projector Issues

• Marc and Ty will take the projector to the Game Room to ask about repairing it. We have sufficient funds in the treasury and agreed to try this route to see if the HDMI port can be repaired.
• Marc and Ty left with the projector tonight.

Site Updates

• The calendar plugin is fixed; full event pages now load properly.
• Marc is also still working on the updated site design. He will show other members the changes soon and ask for feedback then.

Calendar Distro

• There are still a few places left to place calendars. Jackson took care of the lion’s share of calendar distribution over the past week or so.

The Box!

• Wyatt installed a box on the corner of the Black Cat House lot (next to the sidewalk), which we will likely use as a community bulletin board and possibly zine/food distribution. There are still a few aspects of the box that need to be adjusted, namely making sure it’s watertight and installing a corkboard (or something similar) on the back so calendars can be more easily posted.
• We discussed also allowing/encouraging other like-minded groups to post their events in the new bulletin board.
• Right now, it might not be an appropriate spot to distribute books. However, we still have a little free library box that we could install next to it later, which is more watertight.

Donations

• We have a house megaphone now, which is owned by one of our friends but being stored at BCH. We also have a number of new books for the library.

DIO Fest

• Marc submitted running the zine-making workshop at DIO Fest this year. Wyatt also submitted two workshops: how to build a rainwater-collecting barrel array, and how to change a tire. We’re looking forward to the event!

Meeting Adjourned: 8:30 PM

Folks weren’t available to meet tonight. We’ll try again next week.

Folks were not available to meet tonight. We’ll try again next week.

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

1. Upcoming Event – Marc’s zine workshop is this Saturday! He’s feeling good about it.
2. Fall Calendar – Marc has a draft for our fall calendar. We fine-tuned some of the event descriptions. Unfortunately, Jackson still hasn’t received confirmation of whether we will have access to The Color of Care for September 23rd. We decided to advertise our September movie night as a Social Justice Documentary Night (title TBA), while dedicating our November movie night to Judas and the Black Messiah. Marc will be getting the calendar files to the UNL print shop tomorrow and Jackson will be picking them up on Wednesday.

Sunday, September 11, 1-3 PM: “Urban Foraging,” a tour about recognizing edible plants
Thursday, September 15, 7 PM: “Changing Hearts and Minds: Talking to your Family and Neighbors about LGBTQ+ People,” a workshop we’re co-hosting with OutNebraska about how to help folks understand and support LGBTQ+ folks
September 23, 7-10 PM: Movie Night: Social Justice Documentary (Title TBA)
October 10, 4-6 PM: Anti-Columbus Day Protest
October 15, 1-3 PM: “Prison Abolition for Beginners,” a community discussion
October 28, 7-10 PM: Halloween Movie Night – Jordan Peele’s Candyman
November 10, 7-8:30 PM: Intersectiona-LEE-ty: How Bruce Lee Embodies Intersectionality, a digital discussion with Professor Lori Dance (this will be recorded as well)
November 18, 7-10 PM: Movie Night: Judas and the Black Messiah

3. Website Improvements – We spent the last hour of the meeting in an extended discussion about the improvements we want to see made on our website. We’re eager to see what Marc can do with our ideas.

Meeting adjourned: 8:55 PM

Tabled Issues: Emailing list, indoor tour video/photography

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

Upcoming Event: Zine Workshop

• Marc is basically prepared for the event on August 27. He will provide a list of supplies to be made available during the zine workshop.
• Marc will also take point on contacting a local repair shop to see about getting the HDMI port on the projector fixed, since having the ability to project his laptop screen would be ideal.

Library Donations

• Jackson donated a huge stack of books. Ty and Marc also donated a few books and a zine.
• A donor reached out to us via email with a list of books she had and was willing to donate. We received the package of books and are very thankful for the donation!

Emails

• We received emails regarding screening documentaries that largely deal with racial justice in the United States. The emails included information about the documentaries, as well as offering promotional materials, etc. if we wanted to host a screening.
• The documentaries are: “The Color of Care,” which is about how the medical system often fails people of color; “Recipe for Change,” a documentary about Black women celebrities.
• Jackson has already filled out the form for “The Color of Care,” as its topic is more relevant to what we discuss at the Black Cat House. We have yet to hear back with more information for showing this documentary. If we get the ability to show this documentary, we will include it with our Fall calendar.

Fall Calendar

• We more or less finalized our Fall calendar events:
• September 11, 1-3 PM: “Urban Foraging,” a tour about recognizing edible plants
• September 15, 7 PM: “Changing Hearts and Minds: Talking to your Family and Neighbors about LGBTQ+ People,” a workshop we’re co-hosting with OutNebraska about how to help folks understand and support LGBTQ+ folks
• September 23, 7 PM: Movie night, yet to be determined based on if we hear back regarding “The Color of Care”
• October 10, 4-6 PM: Anti-Columbus Day Protest
• October 15, 1-3 PM: “Prison Abolition for Beginners,” a community discussion
• October 28, 7 PM: Halloween Movie Night – Jordan Peele’s Candyman
• November 10, 7-8:30 PM: Intersectiona-LEE-ty: How Bruce Lee Embodies Intersectionality, a digital discussion with Professor Lori Dance (this will be recorded as well)
• November 18, 7 PM: Movie night, yet to be determined; might be either Judas and the Black Messiah or a trans-themed documentary for Trans Day of Remembrance
• Marc will work on the Fall calendar design, which should be done before next week. We will finalize the exact movies at our next meeting.

Meeting Adjourned: 8:30 PM

Tabled Issues: Emailing list, site discussion, indoor tour video/photography

Our next meeting (8/22) will be a working meeting regarding our website updates.

Jackson was the only one available tonight, so there was no meeting. We’ll try again next week.

In attendance: Jackson, Marc, Ty (secretary)
Meeting start: 7:03 PM

1.) August Event: Description has been approved, so we got it posted tonight!

2.) Website Reimbursement: It’s time to renew our domain name, which Jackson is handling. It will be $33.99 to do so, which we’ll reimburse him for.

3.) Library Donation: Jackson had multiple library donations, including graphic novels, quick-read informational books, and several contributions for the Kitten Corner.

4.) Email: We received an email from an online used bookseller that Jackson recently purchased from. This seller drew the connection between Jackson and The Black Cat House, and sent a list of other books that they would be willing to send to us for free for the library. We looked over the list and all seemed like good titles, stuff definitely right at home on the library shelves. Ty drafted and sent an email to accept the offer.

5.) Fall Calendar
Sunday, September 11, (1-3 PM?)
Urban Gardening Plant IDing Tour (title pending)

September, date/time pending
OutNE workshop

Monday, October 10th, 4:30-6:30 PM
Anti-Columbus Day Protest (at the Federal Building, 16th & O)

Friday, October 28, 7:00-? PM
Halloween Movie Night
Ideas = Candyman, Us, Nope (Peele), Posessor (B. Cronenberg), Crimes of the Future (D. Cronenberg)

November 10th, 7-8:30 PM
“Intersectiona-LEE-ty”: How Bruce Lee Embodies Intersectionality (a Jitsi talk by Professor Lori Dance)

Date/time pending:
Prison Abolition for Beginners
Movie Night: Judas and the Black Messiah

Possibilities: pro-choice event, documentary

Blackout dates: 9/3, 9/10, 9/17, 10/1, 10/8, 10/29, 11/5, 11/19

Meeting adjourned: 8:28 PM

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

1. Website Updates- Scheduled an August 22^nd meeting for website stuff. We need to prioritize content ideas and make something everyone likes.
2. Library Donation – Dr. Collette donated a large box of books to the library. Thank you!
3. Fall Calendar –

• We have not heard anything for certain about a collaboration with OutNebraska in September. We will keep our ears open on this channel. If it happens too late to get on the calendar we can simply host and leave it up to OutNebraska to advertise. We would prefer to get it on the calendar.
• We had a lot of enthusiasm for follow-up pro-choice event. We are thinking of formatting it like a support group talking circle for activists. We can print out some more abortion zines and share this file with interested parties.
• An open discussion: the Prison Industrial Complex. Event about mass incarceration prison abolition based around. Use info graphic. Why are so many people inside in this county? What is this doing to the families that are missing all those people? Does it have to be this way?
• “Intersectiona-LEE-ty”: How Bruce Lee Embodies Intersectionality; talk by Professor Dance; Jitsi discussion recorded for YouTube; November 10th, 7-8:30 PM. Jackson can moderate.
• Movie night in November: Judas and the Black Messiah. This bio-pic is about Fred Hampton.
• Anti-Columbus Day protest. Monday October 10^th at the Federal Building, 16^th and O.
• Halloween Movie Night. Could do the Jordan Peel Candyman movie. Or the movie NOPE! Maybe we should ask Eric Holt for suggestions.
• DIO Fest is October 8^th. Located at the Bay, probably. We might throw up a rain barrel, if possible.
• Possible garden plant ID tour thing. Sunday September 11^th

Blackout Dates:

Husker home football games are on: 9/3, 9/10, 9/17, 10/1, 10/29, 11/5, 11/19

Meeting adjourned: 8:23PM

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

1. Event Review – We had our abortion rights discussion on Saturday. We had eight new people in the room, who all found us through the Facebook event. It was a great discussion that everyone seemed very engaged in, even with a self-described theocrat in the room trying to prosletyze us. (Thankfully, they left early when the attempt went nowhere.) Jackson collected emails from several of the attendees and needs to get an email out to them soon with a DIY abortion care zine we have access to. He will also use the opportunity to follow up with them about a suggestion made at the discussion to hold more of these pro-choice meetings in the coming months, possibly formatted as a “social activists’ support group” as one of our guests suggested.
2. Library Donation – Jackson is donating a book about anarchism to the library.
3. Fall Calendar

We still are planning on collaborating with OutNebraska in September, but Ty needs to follow up with Aryn soon.

We may do more pro-choice events, since there was a lot of enthusaism for follow-up on that issue at our discussion this month.

Marc suggested via group chat last week that maybe it’s time for us to do an event about mass incarceration/prison abolition.

“Intersectiona-LEE-ty”: How Bruce Lee Models/Embodies Intersectionality (Working title); talk by Professor Dance; Jitsi discussion recorded for YouTube; November 10th, 7-8:30 PM

Possible movie night(s): Judas and the Black Messiah

Recurring events to renew: Anti-Columbus Day protest, Halloween Movie Night

Collaborative idea: DIO Fest is supposed to be returning on October 8th

We have also heard from some close friends that they’d be interested in running an event, showing a movie, inviting colleagues, etc.

Blackout Dates:

Husker home football games are on: 9/3, 9/10, 9/17, 10/1, 10/29, 11/5, 11/19

DIO-Fest will also be on October 8th, so we don’t want to compete with them on that day.

Meeting adjourned: 8:35 PM