Events in June 2024
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Movie Night: Strange Victory Movie Night: Strange Victory
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June 14, 2024Our June movie will be the 1948 documentary Strange Victory, a genre-defying film directed by Leo Hurwitz. The film lays bare the irony of the U.S. going to war with Nazi Germany while racist bigotry (Jim Crow segregation, anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism, and xenophobia) went unquestioned here at home. Director Hurwitz was later blacklisted from Hollywood during the anti-Communist hysteria of the 1950s, likely in part due to his willingness as seen in this movie to "name names" by singling out contemporary figures responsible for perpetuating racial injustice. Hurwitz doesn't mean to be "anti-American"; the film portrays post-World War II prejudice as a cancer on the grandeur and potential of the country, while expressing how the same spirit that won the war could overcome the nation’s problems. Strange Victory is a product of its time, but its themes are still uncomfortably relevant today.
Content Warning: This film depicts graphic portrayals of anti-Semitism, racism, violence, and the consequences of war. There will be racial slurs, actual video of the Holocaust, and still images of lynchings and anti-Semitic propaganda.
Discussion will follow the movie.
This event is free and open to the public. The Black Cat House welcomes all ages, and is a drug and alcohol-free venue. To help keep everyone safe and healthy, we ask that all guests wear face masks in our space. We are wheelchair accessible.
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LGBTQ Damage Report (a community discussionn) LGBTQ Damage Report (a community discussionn)
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June 29, 2024The United States is currently in the midst of a culture war, with its target aimed directly at the queer--and specifically trans--community. Multiple state legislatures have attempted to restrict LGBTQ+ rights and make it more difficult to be a queer person in general. In Nebraska, we have seen state senators argue that public schools should disallow trans students from participating in sports or other gendered spaces congruent with their authentic gender, and we have seen restrictions placed on access to affirming healthcare for trans kids. Despite evidence that gender-affirming care is eons better for the mental health of trans people, right-wing politicians have drummed up support using scare tactics and blaming "woke culture gone too far."
At the same time, allies of the queer community have shown up in unprecedented numbers to protest hateful bills, and support inclusive ones. Laws that were exclusionary or restrictive have been appealed and sometimes even reversed in higher courts. The queer community and its allies have kept watch on legal aspects of LGBTQ+ inclusion and liberation, and have indicated, loud and clear, that we aren't going anywhere. Culturally, support for the queer community is also higher and higher, despite attempts to turn the community into a scapegoat.
The Black Cat House will be hosting a community discussion about what bills and laws have been penned or passed at the local and national levels. We will be discussing what effects this legislation has had on our communities, as well as how to continue resisting anti-queer hate. Join us on Saturday, June 29, from 1-3 PM--we look forward to a fruitful and empowering conversation!
As always, our events are free and open to the public. The Black Cat House welcomes all ages, and is a drug and alcohol-free venue. To help keep everyone safe and healthy, we ask that all guests wear face masks in our space. We are wheelchair accessible.