Minutes of June 13th Business Meeting

Present: David Curley, Rupert Ayton, Murray Bennet, Claire Lending, Mike Betz, Joseph McCarty, Cat McIntyre, Naomi Gary (taking minutes)

1. George Floyd/BLM Memorial wrap up

a. $$ raised so far…over $2k

b. We need to write a letter thanking the speakers and include an outreach to other faith communities seeking more funds (Naomi will write a draft)

c. Rupert is asking PSE to contribute funds

2. Brave Space Practice Adoption Discussion in July before next speaker

Read these two articles to understand what a ‘Brave Space’ is and how we may use it for our 3rd Monday speaker sessions:

https://www.citybureau.org/notebook/2019/12/19/safe-spaces-brave-spaces-and-why-we-gon-be-alright

https://artscorps.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Brave-Space-Agreeements.pdf

3. Anti-Racism Reflection Minutes

Naomi reached out to SEJC members for input in expanding our messaging.

Kara, Beth and Deb agreed we should try to organize the AR moments outside 

of BLM meetings.  Naomi to bring up at the next CBC Forum tomorrow night.

4. Program Meeting Speakers

6/20 Ed Bereal (local activist artist) and partner Barbara Sternberger $100 honorarium approved by SEJC (Rupert to get check from BUF Admin)

Discussion topics are: 1) experience with moving to Bellingham in 1990s, 2) reflect on James Baldwin’s “the purpose of art is to lay bare the questions which have been hidden by the answers” and 3) the Community Co-op mural project

July Speaker …. Rupert to ask Shovia to join us 7/25

8/22       Shu-Ling Zhao (Chuckanut Health Foundation) 

Potential Speakers for 9/19, 10/17, 11/21, 12/19

Clyde Ford (Author)

Jason McGill (at NWYS)

TeeJay Morris (NWYS, Juneteenth Coordinator, Bellingham Unity Committee)

Demani Johnson (retired WWU professor)

Whatcom Human Rights Taskforce

Flo Simon (Interim COB Police Chief)

Debra Lekanoff (WA State Rep)

Sislena Ledbetter (WWU ED for Counseling, Health and Wellness)

WWU Black Student Union representative

We plan to ask the BUF Board to support $50 Honorariums

5. Reading Group Topics

Suggested that we avoid books in favor of videos, podcasts and articles

June 27th    Juneteenth video by Remy Styrk     remy@remystyrk.com

here is the link to the video on YouTube: 

https://youtu.be/gG3n9mMKRB8

and here is the link to the website: 

https://sites.google.com/view/connectferndale/juneteenth?authuser=0

Also, we intend to reach out to Children of the Setting Sun for other documentaries about local Indigenous issues.

6. Black Community Center at BUF

a. Paul is in favor of making the space available gratis

b. We continue to outreach to leaders in the BIPOC community including Shovia M.

7. Other Ongoing Topics…the work continues

a. Interface with SEJC and Beloved Community

i. Naomi is writing the SEJC Quarterly Reports and attending meetings

b. Naomi posting regularly on BUF BLM Facebook page

c. Polling the BLM mailing list for suggestions

d. Assembling and organizing anti-racism educational content

e. Linking with other BLM groups in Whatcom or forming a BLM chapter and creating a network map of all BIPOC groups

f. Maintaining a list of possible personal actions such as voting rights and school curriculum

i. Claire to help organize a UU the Vote event at BUF

ii. David to develop Micro Aggression response mini trainings

g. Maintaining a list of Black-owned businesses in Whatcom County

h. Possible community projects—we have noted that Bellingham lacks a documented Black history and plaques memorializing locations of notable events

8. Social Media

a. Rupert to develop our Blog (especially as a resource of our programs and books)

b. Mike to help with RSS feed and subscription button

c. Rupert to expand our Breeze Mailing List

9. Community Actions

6/18 at Maritime Park JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION

Next Business Planning Meeting on zoom:  July 2022

Respectfully submitted

Naomi Gary, Co-Facilitator

AR Reflection of June 12th on Art and Racism

This morning’s reflection is about an issue I was deeply immersed in during my 10 years at the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation: institutional racism toward Native art.

Walk into a major art museum in the United States and you will likely find an “American” gallery.  Whose art is on display there?  Americans, right?  But wait, which Americans?  Lanape, Lakota, Tlingit?  Probably not.  Our Native artists are rarely exhibited in the “American” Gallery.  Often, their work is found in an ethnographic gallery.  Maybe even a transnational ethnographic gallery.  Why?

Let’s go a step further.  If you want to go to university and study Native art, will you find it in art history classes?  Probably not, unless you attend the Institute of American Indian Arts.  More likely, you will find it in anthropology and Native studies classes.  And those curators of those ethnographic galleries?  They typically have PhDs in anthropology, not art history. And how many are actually Native?

And what about the critics and gallerists, who are so important to the art world?  I remember a comment from a well-meaning San Francisco gallerist when referring to Native art. He said it was still stuck in the “identity art” phase.  When is art not about identity?  I guess when it is by a white artist in a white world

The good news is art museums are starting to adjust.  Let me give you an example.

A few years ago, the Portland Art Museum’s Native Gallery Curator took issue with the Museum Director over an exhibition of donated early 20th Century Edward Curtis photographs.  The exhibition was planned as a paean to the wealthy donors.  The curator, a Chumash woman, voiced a common Native objection to Curtis’s posed, period-stereotypical images of the “disappearing” American Indian.  Chastened by the realization that the images could be considered racist, the Museum Director agreed to exhibit the Curtis images in conjunction with the art of three contemporary Native artists, Wendy Red Star, Zig Jackson, and Will Wilson. A coup for them, and the curator.

And, if Curtis photographed your ancestor, you put aside your distaste for him, and treasured the image, as well as the Native artists being exhibited.

The thing is, museum directors have to cater to their public, and their donors, while gallerists have to cater to their patrons.  And sometimes, it is those well-meaning donors and patrons, who profess a love for Native art, and want it segregated for their appreciation. Is that ghettoizing Native art?  Native artists can be split on this.  Some want to get out of the ethnographic space.  Some want to stay in it.  But there’s a third choice.  There is tremendous power in Native artists exhibiting together, in a dedicated space, such as Portland’s Center for Native Arts and Cultures.

Locally, go to the Lightcatcher, and walk the Many Wests exhibition, where several Native artists are included.  Look at the piece by Wendy Red Star.  Then look up her website and look at her art.  It’s complex, and makes a point, as good art should.  It is a celebration of being Absaroka—Crow to you—and as a guest in Indian Country, I greatly appreciate that. Thank you.

Minutes of May 9 Business Meeting

 Present : David Curley, Rick Steele, Rupert Ayton, Murray Bennet, Claire Lending, Mike Betz, Mel Hoover, Naomi Gary (taking minutes)

1. Clyde Ford Debrief

Mel and Rupert 5/4 conversation with Clyde

He was a UU in New York. He remembers BUF hosting the NAACP Bellingham Chapter back in 1992 (we could have a 30th anniversary event!) He suggested ways to create a more inclusive community including “mindful meetings”, building authentic relationships, etc. He prefers opening to BIPOC not just BLM conversations. He said he looks forward to further conversations with BUF. Tonight we discussed having a Book Reading event including his last two books “Think Black” and “Of Blood and Sweat”.

2. Brave Space Practice Adoption Discussion for our next Program Mtg June 20th!

Read these two articles to understand what a ‘Brave Space’ is and how we may use it for our 3rd Monday speaker sessions:

https://www.citybureau.org/notebook/2019/12/19/safe-spaces-brave-spaces-and-why-we-gon-be-alright

https://artscorps.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Brave-Space-Agreeements.pdf

3. Anti-Racism Reflection Minutes

David and Rupert debriefed team on 5/6 meeting with Rev. Paul. He’d like the AR to match the service if possible. Add more SEJC speakers. Keep it to 3 min. MAX!!

These dates offered by Rev. Paul:

5/22 Reflection on George Floyd and BLM Memorial on 5/25

with Naomi, Rupert and David

5/29 Pam Graham on her Personal Journey with racism

6/5 Mike Betz and Deb Cruz

 service is flower communion; suggested environmental subject

6/12 TBD; service includes WA State Poet Laureate Rena Priest 

4. Program Meeting Speakers

5/16 Ed Bereal (local activist artist) and partner Barbara Sternberger $100 honorarium approved by SEJC (Rupert to get check from BUF Admin)

Discussion topics are: 1) experience with moving to Bellingham in 1990s, 2) reflect on James Baldwin’s “the purpose of art is to lay bare the questions which have been hidden by the answers” and 3) the Community Co-op mural project

Potential Speakers for 7/18, 8/15, 9/19, 10/17, 11/21, 12/19

Clyde Ford (Author)

Shu-Ling Zhao (Chuckanut Health Foundation) Naomi waiting to hear back.

Jason McGill (at NWYS)

TeeJay Morris (NWYS, Juneteenth Coordinator, Bellingham Unity Committee)

Demani Johnson (retired WWU professor)

Whatcom Human Rights Taskforce

Flo Simon (Interim COB Police Chief)

Debra Lekanoff (WA State Rep)

Sislena Ledbetter (WWU ED for Counseling, Health and Wellness)

                WWU Black Student Union representative

5. Reading Group Topics

Suggested that we avoid books in favor of videos, podcasts and articles

5/23 Watch the Bellingham History Walking Tour video and discuss

6. Black Community Center at BUF

a. Paul is in favor of making the space available gratis

7. Other Ongoing Topics

a. Interface with SEJC and Beloved Community

        i. Naomi is writing the SEJC Quarterly Reports and attending meetings

b. Naomi posting regularly on BUF BLM Facebook page

c. Polling the BLM mailing list for suggestions

d. Assembling and organizing anti-racism educational content

e. Linking with other BLM groups in Whatcom or forming a BLM chapter and creating a network map of all BIPOC groups

f. Maintaining a list of possible personal actions such as voting rights and school curriculum

        i. Claire to help organize a UU the Vote event at BUF

        ii. David to develop Micro Aggression response mini trainings

g. Maintaining a list of Black-owned businesses in Whatcom County

        i. Pam saw a list at last year’s Juneteenth Celebration

        ii. Claire found an article in the Bellingham Herald

        iii. Rupert has an old list. Rupert has connected with Brandywine, Calypso, and Guud Bowls and there is possible interest in a round table discussion

h. Possible community projects—we have noted that Bellingham lacks a documented Black history and plaques memorializing locations of notable events

        i. Rupert found resources at the library and at the local Cemetery

8. Social Media

a. Rupert to develop our Blog (especially as a resource of our programs and books)

b. Mike to help with RSS feed and subscription button

c. Rupert to expand our Breeze Mailing List

9. Community Actions

5/22 All Aboard the CBC Accountability process live at BUF!

5/25 BLM Memorial Event at Fouts Park 5-6:30pm

6/4 Roaring 20’s themed Annual Auction Fundraiser for BUF

Next Business Planning Meeting on zoom:  June 13, 2022

Respectfully submitted

Naomi Gary, Co-Facilitator

Program Guest Speaker Report April 18, 2022

On April 18th, the BUF Black Lives Matter Action Ministry team welcomed councilwoman Kristina Michelle Martens as our monthly guest.

Ms. Martens started the conversation with her background and personal experience with white supremacy living in Southern California, which ultimately led her to move to Bellingham.  She explained that in Bellingham, she is often the only person of color in a given environment, a very different experience to what she was used to.  Once in Bellingham, Kristina became involved in social justice organizing, with help from the Chuckanut Health Foundation.  Her community organizing skills propelled her to greater visibility within Bellingham, ultimately leading to a recommendation that she run for city council, which she succeeded in doing in 2020.

The conversation shifted to examining the question of how to encourage diversity in the area.  It was noted that students of color attending Western Washington rarely stay in the area after graduation. Ms. Martens suggested that a community gathering place for people of color is missing and could be very beneficial for existing communities of color and would create a welcoming environment.  Finally, Ms. Martens discussed a memorial for George Floyd at Fouts Park on May 25.

Meeting Minutes of April 11, 2022

Present: Mike Betz, Cat McIntyre, Pam Graham, Murray Bennet, Claire Lending

And Rupert Ayton, Naomi Gary, David Curley (Co-Facilitators)

1. Anti-Racism Reflection Minutes

4/24 Michael Betz will speak on the 5/1 C2C/Tulip Workers March Event

5/1 Ask for teams that participated in the January CBC Accountability Process to provide their goals leading up to the next event 5/22

5/8 Same as Above

5/15 Same as Above

5/22 Naomi to invite the congregation to the CBC Accountability event at BUF that afternoon

2. Program Meetings

4/18 Speaker Kristina Michele Martens City Council Member at Large https://cob.org/gov/council/kristina-martens

Naomi to provide details on the 5/25 George Floyd Memorial Garden Event at Fouts Park

5/16 We made a wish list of speakers for future dates and will explore how we may pay speakers a modest honorarium out of respect…

Clyde Ford (local author)

Jason McGill (at NWYS)

Ed Bereal (local activist artist)

TeeJay Morris (Juneteenth Coordinator and local activist)

Demani Johnson (retired WWU professor)

Whatcom Human Rights Taskforce

Flo Simon (Interim COB Police Chief)

Debra Lekanoff (WA State Rep)

WWU Black Student Union representative

3. Reading Group Topics

4/25 The Sum of Us

5/23 undecided at this point

4. Other Topics Discussed

a. Interface with SEJC and Beloved Community

i. Naomi to write the SEJC Quarterly Reports and attend meetings

ii. Pam can help organize a regrouping of the Antiracism and Allyship training attendees

b. Process for knowing the monthly service themes and which services will have an AR reflection

i. David to reach out to Paul to confirm we can do ARs regularly

ii. Create a framework of content and themes for weekly ARs of approximately 3 minutes

c. Process for asking/volunteering to give upcoming AR reflections

d. How to enhance Facebook content

e. Polling the BLM mailing list for suggestions

f. Assembling and organizing anti-racism educational content

g. Linking with other BLM groups in Whatcom or forming a BLM chapter and creating a network map of all BIPOC groups

h. Maintaining a list of possible personal actions such as voting rights and school curriculum

i. Claire to help organize a UU the Vote event at BUF

ii. David to develop Micro Aggression response mini trainings

i. Maintaining a list of Black-owned businesses in Whatcom County

i. Pam saw a list at last year’s Juneteenth Celebration

ii. Claire found an article in the Bellingham Herald

iii. Rupert has an old list

j. Possible community projects—we have noted that Bellingham lacks a documented Black history and plaques memorializing locations of notable events

i. Rupert found resources at the library and at the local Cemetery

5. Social Media

a. Rupert to develop our Blog (especially as a resource of our programs and books)

b. Mike to help with RSS feed and subscription button

c. Rupert to expand our Breeze Mailing List

6. Community Actions

4/12 Covenant of Beloved Community Forum

5/1 Tulip Strike Victory March in Skagit County (volunteers requested)

5/7 Cat’s Going Away Celebration and BBQ at Lake Padden

5/22 All Aboard the CBC Accountability process live at BUF!

5/25 George Floyd Memorial Garden event at Fouts Park

6/4 Roaring 20’s themed Annual Auction Fundraiser for BUF

Next Business Planning Meeting on zoom:  May 9th 

Respectfully submitted

Naomi Gary, Co-Facilitator (naomiwwwgary@gmail.com)

Rupert Ayton, Co-Facilitator (rupertayton@yahoo.com)

Anti-Racism Reflection of April 3rd, 2022

 On this day, in 1968, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was in Memphis, Tennessee and gave his “Mountain Top” speech in support of striking sanitation workers. He told the audience he had seen the Promised Land, but that he may not get there with them.  The next day, April 4th, at 6:01pm, he was assassinated.

Until I finished composing this anti-racism reflection, I was not aware of April 3rd’s significance. I am truly humbled by it, and hope my words honors it.

Books.

Be Here Now, the 1971 book by the late Ram Dass, came to mind as I initially thought about the theme of today’s service.  It brings back memories of those heady days of clashing cultures—conservative and liberal—and uplifting civil rights progress.

But I am here now, and it seems progress on our humanity to each other is slipping back to inhumanity.

D.L. Hughley said, “ultimately America is aspirational. Obama is what we would like to be.  Donald Trump and his supporters is who we are.”  I ask you, are we?

I see some Americans wanting to return our nation to Thomas Jefferson’s Anglo-Saxon state of landed male privilege.  I see angry parents banning books, and dictating what history is taught in schools—returning us to inhumanity.

The inhumanity to Black people followed by Jefferson, America’s leading “enlightenment thinker.” In his Notes on the State of Virginia, Jefferson implied Black people were lower order beings because they lacked the “finer senses” necessary to produce good literature. And worse.

Jefferson was wrong. Black poets and writers were producing great literature then, and definitely today.

Case in point, Bellingham author Clyde Ford and his personal coming-of-age story, Think Black.  Ford writes compellingly about a dark-skinned Black man, his father Stanley Ford, competing in the whitest of worlds—1950s IBM—and preparing his son Clyde for the same; which amounted to needing to be twice as good with only half the resources.

In Think Black, Ford educates us on life seen through a Black man’s eyes, the brilliance, the heroism, and the self-doubt, and the arc of American racism, all cleverly woven around the march of technology.  There is a quiet drama to it. It is, as he writes, authentic. Something I think we would all like to be.

Along the way, Ford exposes IBM as the ultimate soulless, capitalist machine, reaping huge profits from racism—the IBM behind Hitler’s efficient eugenics and South African apartheid.  Ford also takes us on a journey from early computing, and how the future was envisioned, to how the digital tools of our current world have been co-opted to abet hatred and inhumanity. And how to push back on that.

Ford is at heart a teacher. And that comes through in this well-conceived, well written book. A book “it is useful to have met,” to quote Be Here Now.

Interestingly, Ford relates that in the 1960s he attended Community UU Church in New York, drawn by their civil rights activities.  But he left UU in anger after MLK’s assassination.  Had white people failed him? 54 years later, we are trying not to.

Thank you.

Meeting Minutes March 21,2022

 BELLINGHAM UNITARIAN FELLOWHIP

BLACK LIVES MATTER MINISTRY ACTION TEAM

 

MINUTES FOR THE ZOOM MEETING ON 3/21/2022 7-9PM

 

IN ATTENDANCE

Michael Betz​​Naomi Gary​​Stephanie Sarver​Rupert Ayton

Lauralee Carbone​Henry Ohana​​Cat McIntyre​​David Curley

Judy Kaspar

 

We had invited City Council member Kristina Martens to speak but she had an unexpected death in the family and asked to reschedule to next month.

Stephanie Sarver offered to help lead a discussion reviewing our Objectives for Engaging the Congregation 2021-2022. See diagram below.

Our overarching feeling is that “BLM” and The Covenant of Beloved Community is finally “rippling through” the BUF community at large. There is still much work to be done.  The sense of accountability is what sets this year’s actions apart from previous attempts. Lauralee mentioned that even Book Groups and Chalice Circles are now taking actions towards building a more beloved community.

 

 

 

 

Action/goal	What’s been done since July 2021
1. Meet twice a month to  (a) review and plan activities, and  (b) present an educational program.	Continues. Meetings increased to four times per month while reading books. Plan to continue to meet three times per month starting in April, with one business meeting and two program meetings. Reassess frequency as needed.
2. Engage the congregation in consciousness-raising through Anti-racism Minutes, Sunday forums, sermons, informational handouts, and more.	Continues.  ANTI-RACISM MINUTES OFFERED ALMOST EVERY  SUNDAY, AT LEAST TWO SERMONS ADDRESSED RACISM, BUF BLM BOOKMARKS CREATED MID FEBRUARY.
3. Meet with BUF staff twice a year to discuss how we can help each other move toward structural change at BUF, transforming the congregation to an anti-racist, multicultural organization.	BUF BLM HAS NOT MET WITH STAFF FORMALLY…BUT INDIVIDUALS HAVE MET WITH INDIVIDUAL STAFF. WE DECIDED TO WAIT FOR PAUL’S RETURN TO REQUEST A MEETING.
4. Partner with community groups such as the Racial Justice Coalition, Whatcom Human Rights Task Force, Juneteenth organizers, and others.	BLM IS WORKING ON A GEORGE FLOYDMEMORIAL WEEKEND  EVENT AND WILL BE “PARTNERED” WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS
5. Work with BUF children's and adults' Religious Education teams to develop and teach anti-racist programs; e.g. Widening the Circle, book club selections, films, and discussion topics for communities within BUF.	Genia has engaged on the BLM focus. White Christ/Black Jesus  course was attended by 12 people, two from the BLM team.
6. Provide members and leadership for the ministry action team formed to implement the Beloved Community Steering Committee.	ACCOUNATABILY TEAM INITIATED THE PROCESS, BLM WAS ONE OF THE FIRST TO COMPLETE. THERE ARE 26 TEAMS AT BUF AND AT  LEAST 9 PARTICIPATED IN THE FIRST ACCOUNTABILITY LAUNCH!  NEXT EVENT IN MAY 2022 DAVID, CAT AND NAOMI REGULARLY ATTEND THE MONTHLY BELOVED COMMUNITY FORUM. EVERYONE IS WELCOME!
7. Create posters, banners, tri-fold brochures, etc. to publicize anti-racist activities, programs, and ideals.	Bookmarks distributed throughout BUF, in particular the sanctuary. LAURALEE  SUGGESTED ASKING FOR ARTISTIC HELP FROM BUF MEMBER AND GRAPHIC ARTIST JEANNE BRUSSARD
8. Conduct a survey of congregation, beginning with the BLM mailing list and the Rapid Response phone tree members to invite people personally to meetings.	Completed for the BLM mailing list. WE NEED TO COMPLETE THE REST…WE NEED TO REMEMBER TO INVITE PEOPLE TO BLM!
9. Create occasional spaces (virtual or physical) for ritual, music, art, literature, and humor that help build a Beloved Community and dismantle racism.	The group agreed that more attention should be given to this goal, perhaps beginning with a re-start of the Coffee House after Covid restrictions are lifted.
10. Communicate to the congregation via BUF News, BUF MidWeek Update, BUF Black Lives Matter Facebook group, BUF Breeze mailing group, and our blog http://bufblacklivesmatter.blogspot.com	This is ongoing with postings in the BUF News and the MidWeek Update. It was agreed that some maintenance is needed for the  blog and Facebook pages.

 

 

Measurements of Success

Action	What’s been done since July 2021
Report quarterly to SEJC, describing nature and number of meetings and events held.	The Program meeting of 3/21/22 began the process of completing the next quarterly report.  WE REPORT QUARTERLY TO SEJC AND THE CHARTER WAS UPDATED IN OCT 2021 AS REQUIRED EVERY THREE YEARS. WE USED THIS UPDATED CHARTER FOR OUR ACCOUNTABILTY PROCESS.
Complete annual audit using Beloved Covenant audit process. • Incorporate feedback from BIPOC communities on our effectiveness in reaching goals	The audit was completed in December 2021. An area for development and exploration relates to gathering feedback from the BIPOC communities. NAOMI TO CONTACT CITY COUNCIL MEMBER KRISTINA MARTENS TO RESCHEDULE HER BLM PROGRAM AND WORK ON GEORGE FLOYD MEMORIAL EVENT   DAVID TO CONTACT DEBRA LEKANOFF, WA STATE LEGISLATOR, AND INVITE HER TO A BLM PROGRAM MEETING