Minutes of the 33rd Occupy Detroit General Assembly, January 24, 2012
Opening Announcement:
Jerry G: Broadway 1515 will stay open under Chris’s ownership. Thanks for the solidarity, it made the difference! Rally on Thursday will be a celebration.
1. Welcome (Rakiba)
• Translation and Accessibility
• Introduce team
o Stack greeter: Joseph
o Facilitating: Rakiba and Kathy
o Stack: Wayne
o Time: Emma
o Minutes: Nina
• Meet your neighbors and process review
2. Approve the agenda (Rakiba)—APPROVED!
3. Meeting Norms (Emma)
• Compassion
• Respect
• Patience
• Humanity
• Conduct
• Accountability
• Listening
• Safe space
4. Small Group Break-Out Question (Rakiba)
Are there values we share in this movement that are essential for accomplishing the goals of the 99%?
Eric C: need set of rules or guidelines to set standards. We need to be defined as group.
Joseph: Discussed safety. Something we need to focus on is that everyone should feel safe at GAs. We all have different personalities, but everyone across the board should feel safe.
Rakiba: Next SGBOQ will be “how do we create safe spaces in Occupy?”
Caroline: Talked about persistence. You don’t just leave when you disagree with the group. Important to stay within the movement. Also justice, pursuit of happiness, humane work environment, inclusiveness around non-partisan issues are shared values. Standard way of handling disputes.
5. WG Report-backs (Rakiba)
Dave from Goldengate Revitalization: Got a lot done since asking the GA for money, everyone there is working hard. Four new people have moved in. Everyone staying inside one house at the moment, but next phases include setting up septic system, maintaining sense of safety for female tenants, creating separate space for them, small wattage projects for generating electricity. Research on legalities, looking for owners of the houses. Meetings Sundays at 12:30
Nina from Women’s Safety: Come talk about issues and concerns regarding women’s safety. See us for more info, we don’t publicize our meetings!
Josh from Outreach: Speaking at Democratic club, working on city-wide listening campaign, training on January 30. Published beautiful flyers. Designating people to coordinate in the areas where they live. Meet Tuesdays from 5-6 at 1515, Fridays 5:30 at Unitarian Church.
Joe from Direct Action: Meeting NEXT Thursday at 7, this Thursday’s meeting will be replaced with a 1515 celebration. There might be free beer. March in solidarity with Egyptian Revolution, protesting our government’s military aid tomorrow. Leaving from GCP at 4:30 and marching to McNamara. Teach-in on Emergency Managers February 4th after the GA.
Emma from Facilitation: Meets Mondays and Fridays at 1515, 7:30pm. Goal is for everyone who’s part of OD to be comfortable facilitating. Retreat on February 10. Welcome feedback.
Rakiba from Sensitivity and Racial Inclusion: Meeting Thursday 6-9pm at 1515 Broadway. Reconstituting the group, celebrating our victories! Thursday, February 2, meeting in Starbucks 6-9pm.
Hans from Finance: Finance meets on Friday. 6pm at Phoenix Café (John R and 10 mile).
6. Announcements (Rakiba)
Joe: Saturday, February 4, after the GA at 1515 Broadway Direct Action is hosting a teach-in on Emergency Managers.
Russell and Tristan: picket this morning to prevent more books from being taken out of Richard library (8795 Grand River, at Grand River and Livernois). Library security couldn’t move them, so they called in the Detroit police, who also couldn’t break the picket. Repeating the protest every day, starting at 7am. Reclaim money from State surplus. Also protesting at Mark Twain library on Iroquois.
Barbara: Next Thursday, February 2, at 5900 there will be an Arts and Culture potluck. If you bring a dish, please also bring a recipe that will be used to create a cookbook from the event.
Eric: Protest against DTE headquarters on Bagley and Michigan, 10am on Thursday. Put on by Good Jobs Now.
Kathy: Next Tuesday’s GA, Jacob Corvidae will be here to educate us about the consensus process.
7. Proposals
• Emma: Proposal to allocate $80 for facilitation supplies.
o Will be used for easel paper and white boards, copy paper for printing agendas. Also seeking donations.
o CQ from Eric C: Why can’t this be taken to finance?
o Emma: Finance passed proposal to have all finance proposals passed through GA.
o CQ from Russell: Where would these things be stored? Who can use them?
o Emma: When we did that in the past, all of the supplies disappeared but we would like to trust people and make them available.
o PROPOSAL PASSED
• Emma: Informational proposal to have GAs once a week on 1st and 3rd Saturdays and 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month.
o Off days would be used for actions, supporting others’ actions, community building, service projects, outreach, etc.
o CQ from gentleman in U of M colors: Like the idea, but should keep it to the same day each week.
o Mark T: next month should be used to plan for camp.
o Make A: Importance of proposal is to keep that time just as important as a GA, even if it’s not being held
o Joe: Liked the idea.
o Tristan: We often want to have thorough discussions at GAs, but don’t have that time. Could talk about lessons learned, topical issues.
o CQ from Caroline: Clarify Saturday/Tuesday schedule
o Emma: some people depend on the alternating days to make it to a GA. With energy put into one GA, can advertise more.
o Rakiba: not willing to have less than two GAs a week, but not every GA needs to have proposals. Most GAs in Occupy have real discussions. Should keep two GAs, but one will have specific topics. Don’t need to have fixed schedule, but can bring in topics and presenters with facilitators, people from the community, etc. Should not be narrowed down to one GA per week.
o Jeremy: People have become accustomed to idea of having GAs on certain days. Do we need to have a regimented schedule to determine when “real” GAs will happen? Had a great GA at Kyra Williams’ house. Can do this on case-by-case basis, sometimes a rally will benefit from happening on a Saturday afternoon, so we can build the GA into it. Rep can come to the facilitation meeting beforehand. Think outside the box, decided by GA as a whole. Propose purpose for upcoming GAs.
o Joseph: If we start tackling more foreclosures, etc. and our objective is to attract new people, maybe we can have GAs in front of libraries, foreclosed houses, etc. Draw new attention.
o Eric C: We’re working on the website, so we need to use it to get our message out. We need to do a few things as a unit to grow more before we change anything.
o Emma: hearing that this should be flexible, take input, incorporate actions, keep GAs, but change the structure. Need something reliable, but don’t want to fall into routine—keep movement building!
o Proposal will be held for now, and feedback incorporated.
• Dave: Proposal to give $150 to Goldengate for supplies, food and necessities
o Since people moved out of park, lost central location that took donations. Some are in 5900 or Hans’ house. Donations decreasing since we moved out of the park. People are physically occupying the Goldengate space without necessary means and need things to get by on a daily basis. Providing a model for community members to visit, get off the grid, cut down bills. Need to supply food and wood but also give example of sustainable living. 6 people staying in the house, sharing one Bridge card.
o CQ from Rakiba: Is the $150 for groceries?
o Dave: Small portion, but past donations were also used for water system, gas, building materials.
o CQ from Michael: Are there plans for expansion to different neighborhoods?
o Dave: In same neighborhood for now, but expanding to neighboring houses.
o Joe: Expressed support. Grassroots project, outside the nonprofit industrial complex, we have a stock of money in the bank we’re not using.
o Extended time by 5 minutes
o Gentleman in the corner: Among donations, tools would also be helpful because they were stolen last week.
o Jeremy: Need to follow-up on past expenditures. Was $150 given once or twice already?
o Dave: all expenditures are approved by everyone living in the house. Not sure how many proposals to help fund Goldengate have been passed.
o Shannon: Home Depot and gas cards were purchased for $150 before.
o POI from Kim: All kinds of food at 5900, someone from OD please take it to Goldengate. Trying to bridge the two groups.
o Dave: If $150 approved, won’t ask for any more money until it’s spent. Everything will be accountable, and food from 5900 will make the money last longer.
o CQ from Renaissance student: Are donations still being accepted?
o CQ from Katie: Has Goldengate project tried to do its own fundraising?
o Dave: No, all energy has been put into keeping everyone living there going.
o CQ from Josh: Is it possible to use the bus passes we got to transport some of the food to Goldengate?
o Rakiba: Proposal is only about $150 for supplies at Goldengate, any other topics re: fundraising, transportation, funding, etc. need to be taken up elsewhere.
o Jeph: How’s rainwater collection going?
o PROPOSAL PASSED
8. Closing (Joseph)
• Global Updates
o Joseph: Occupy DC was one of the last standing camps. Recreation department and police conspired to let people stay but no longer allowed to have tents.
o Rakiba: Occupy London Stock Exchange just launched Occupy Records. It’s a record label to document music from different Occupies. Check it out and think about doing something similar with all the talent we have in Detroit!
• Gratitudes (Joseph)
o Jeph: Grateful we have two GAs a week, hope that continues. Grateful for flyers because people in the burbs want to know what we’re doing.
o Russell: Grateful for the amount of energy and commitment around here, can tell by GAs and events happening all over Detroit.
o Gentleman in the corner: Grateful for support for Goldengate community.
o Kathy: Grateful to have new folks in facilitation.
o Hans: Grateful for diversity of activity that’s been happening around here.
o Emma: Grateful for Finance committee and for people recording history of Occupy Detroit. Cool to be at a point where we can reflect on what we’ve done via photos, minutes, and archives. Grateful for Kathy and Rakiba for facilitating, provided a great tone for the GA.
o Jennifer: Feels good to be back. Anyone in Dearborn should get in on carpooling. Outreach is getting awesome things done.
o Mark A: Diversity, interactions with people at Goldengate
o Renaissance student: Grateful for the tea at 1515.
o Mark T: Grateful for everyone here, the lowest count we’ve had at a GA was in the low 20s, but we’re back up to 40. Grateful for awesome flyers to pass out.
• Evaluation
o Charlie: A lot gets done, we have diverse opinions and styles, collective leadership. Doing a great job!
o Rakiba: There have been complaints about small numbers at GAs, but this one has the largest number of Black participants. Thought this was a white movement, so it was nice to see the diversity needed to represent our city.
o Joseph: Likes to see new faces, is tired of the rest of us. Everyone here should try to convince one new person to come to a GA.
o Lucianna: Will be going to more meetings, such as MOSES, and trying to bring them in too.
o Frank: People have been asking why he comes, and he encourages them to come down to see for themselves. Will be bringing some family!
• Sum up everything you’re feeling in one word
happy, uplifted, better, light, energized, at ease (easy), powerful, happy, excited (x2), radical, hungry, intrigued, high