Minutes of the April Meeting of the Bloomington Normal Citizens for Peace and Justice

The regular monthly meeting of the BNCPJ was held on April 2 at the Bloomington Normal Unitarian Universalist Church in Bloomington.  
Co-chair Bob Broad convened the meeting.

After introductions, the group "debriefed"  the March 18 march.   Some felt that we need to clarify the purpose of our marches and keep this information up front for members and public.   The location and direction of march were praised.  Some questions were:  Should we ask people to give their names when they speak?  Should we censor signs?  Could we use a disclaimer in introducing the speeches?  Should we read the Bill of Rights at each demonstration?  The general feeling was that the March 18 activity was worthwhile and that demonstrations do good.

The Illinois Coalition of Peace and Justice Groups met April 1.  Jan and Carrol Cox reported on the meeting which was held in Champaign-Urbana.  Over 75 groups were represented.  The sharing of information was great.  Twenty four actions were submitted to the group.  We are on the list as members, but we will wait until dues are announced to bring the prospect of membership in the Coalition to the Board and members.

There will be a Township meeting in both Normal and Bloomington at which resolutions will be introduced opposing the occupation of Iraq.  Members were asked to attend.

The planned action at post offices on April 15 was changed to the 17th since that is the actual deadline for income tax mailing.  Rebecca Gearhart will do some research regarding where we can legally be for our distribution of information on the cost of the war.  The flyers were discussed and decided on.  Assignments were made of time and place for distribution.

The Sustainable Living Fair will be April 21 and 22.  It was decided to have a table, so we need volunteers to work there.  Rebecca Gearhart will get us signed up.

The treasurer’s report was given.  We have a balance of $1091.13 in the bank after paying for merchandise and copies for the Peace Fair and our debt to the League of Women Voters. 

The meeting was adjourned at 5:45.