Brainerd Area Coalition for Peace (BACP) held our monthly meeting on Monday, June 5, 2023, at 7 p.m.   The meeting took place in the Gregory Park shelter.   Judi and Richard Schiller, Larry Fisk, Gayle Nielsen, Donna Bowen, Gary Hirsch, and Doug Olson joined the meeting.

Gary, who is the Stage North Theatre Company artistic director, discussed the upcoming Stage North Theatre Company production of The Laramie Project.  
The Laramie Project is a play about the reactions of Laramie, Wyoming residents to the brutal murder of gay college student Matthew Shephard on October 12, 1998.  BACP is one of the sponsors of the Stage North Theatre Company production of The Laramie Project.   The Laramie Project will be performed in the Franklin Arts Center auditorium on Thursday, October 12, Friday, October 13, and Saturday, October 14 at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, October 15 at 2 p.m.   The Franklin Arts Center is located at 1001 Kingwood Street, Brainerd.

Gary plans to bring cards with information about The Laramie Project to the next BACP meeting.   BACP members can hand the cards out to family, friends, and co-workers encouraging them to attend The Laramie Project.

Meeting participants discussed BACP marching in the Brainerd Fourth of July parade.   The Brainerd Fourth of July parade will be held on Tuesday, July 4.  The parade will start at 6 p.m. and have the same route as last year's parade.   The parade information can be found at https://brainerdcommunityaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Parade-Route-Map-scaled.jpg    

[Brainerd Community Action informed Doug on Wednesday, June 28 BACP will be in the parade.  Doug will forward notices about BACP marching in the Brainerd Fourth of July parade after receiving a notice with parade information from Brainerd Community Action.]

Larry and Gayle will bring the truck and trailer used by the BACP Brainerd Fourth of July parade unit.   The trailer will have pro-peace and environment signs, flags, and banners attached.   Flags, signs, and banners will be available for BACP parade unit participants.   

Doug will encourage Brainerd Lakes United Environmentalists (BLUE), Brainerd Lakes Area Democratic Socialists of America (BLA DSA), and Brainerd Lakes Pride members to join the BACP parade unit.

Meeting participants agreed the July BACP meeting will be held on Monday, July 10 instead of Monday, July 3.   BACP usually holds our meetings on the first Monday of the month but avoids doing so when the first Monday of the month is the day before, the day of, or the day after the Brainerd Fourth of July parade.

The Monday, July 10 BACP meeting will be held in Gregory Park, weather permitting.

BACP endorsed the Empathy Coalition's efforts to re-establish the Crow Wing County Human Rights Commission.   The original Crow Wing County Human Rights Commission met between 1998 and 2011.   The Crow Wing County Human Rights Commission investigated complaints of employment, housing, education, and public facilities discrimination and promoted the work of individuals and groups to make Crow Wing County a welcoming place for all county residents.   The Crow Wing County Board disbanded the Crow Wing County Human Rights Commission in October 2011 after allegations the Commission was "too partisan" and "redundant."   The Empathy Coalition is working to persuade the Crow Wing County Board to re-establish the Crow Wing County Human Rights Commission.   

[Doug wrote to Sally Boos, an Empathy Coalition leader, to inform her of BACP's endorsement of the Empathy Coalition's work.   BACP allies BLUE, BLA DSA, and Brainerd Lakes Pride endorsed the Empathy Coalition's work at their June meetings.]

Meeting participants discussed BACP sending letters to U.S. Representatives Pete Stauber and Michelle Fischbach imploring them to stop voting to arm Ukraine and instead support diplomatic efforts to end the Ukraine War.    BACP members will discuss the contents of the letters at the July meeting.   The letters will be typed, signed, and mailed to Representatives Stauber and Fischbach.

Meeting participants chose to send letters to Representatives Stauber and Fischbach instead of holding a vigil in front of Brainerd city hall, where Representative Stauber has an office, because the vigil would have limited visibility.   (Representative Fischbach's nearest office is in Willmar.)   When a peace vigil is held, it will be held at the intersections of Sixth and Washington Streets, Brainerd across from the historic Brainerd water tower.   There is a lot of traffic at this location.

BACP will consider holding a peace vigil in conjunction with national peace actions hosted by the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) and Peace in Ukraine Coalition.   Doug will check the UNAC and Peace in Ukraine Coalition websites to find out when they plan to hold national peace actions.   

Richard and Judi turned in the application for BACP's Crow Wing County Fair booth.   The Crow Wing County Fair will be held from Tuesday, August 1 through Saturday, August 5.   The BACP booth will be open every day of the Fair from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.   Sign-up sheets for BACP booth volunteers will be sent out to the BACP listserv in July.

The next monthly BACP meeting will be held on Monday, July 10 at 7 p.m.    The BACP meeting will be held in Gregory Park.   Gregory Park is located at 511 North Fifth Street, Brainerd.   Meeting participants will meet at the entrance of Gregory Park and find an available table for the meeting.

If bad weather prevents a meeting in Gregory Park, the BACP meeting will be held in the Brainerd UCC upstairs library at 7 p.m.   The Brainerd UCC is located at 415 Juniper Street, Brainerd near Gregory Park.  

In the event of extremely hot weather (90 degrees and above), the BACP meeting will be held online via the Zoom website at 7 p.m.

The BACP meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.   


BACP Meeting Notes Submitted by Doug Olson