Weekly Brew
What Would MLK Do?
Hey there, ho there, caffeinated resisters!
It’s more than just coincidence, I think, that Martin Luther King Day approaches and he’s been on my mind a lot.
With Minnesota in chaos and escalations abounding, every idea, every meme, every TikTok, every email, every suggestion I get, I find myself asking: What Would Martin Luther King Do?
Would MLK put urine in a super soaker for ICE agents?
Would MLK be suggesting we arm ourselves?
Would MLK wait for Congress?
What words would he have for a time like this?
More on that later. It’s been another busy week.
Hoffner Park saw, what I’m told was their largest turnout yet.
Wednesday we inaugurated a new bridge in Harrison to...let’s say mixed reviews. LOL. We knew Harrison would be a not-so-friendly location, but...the Middle Fingers were Fingering Wednesday night.
Thursday, we had two more bridge demonstrations. First on Montgomery at 10am
Then M&M hit up Monmouth again - they’ve decided to make it a weekly stop! Come join them this Thursday.
Friday we were at our regular battle stations on Deerfield...
...and Wyoming
Then we SHINDUG it up Friday night at Westside Brewery!
Several of us came to Eastgate for their ICE OUT event, great turnout and energy, despite some short-lived counter protestors.
And who could forget Tesla on Saturdays!
What is it they say about “just keep your foot on the gas?” Well...here we go. For starters, Ayman Soliman, the Cincinnati Childrens Hospital chaplain detained in Butler Co for 73 days will be speaking TODAY at 17:00 if you can make it out.
MONDAY JANUARY 19
Martin Luther King Day Festivities will begin at 10:30am at the Freedom Center, where we’ll march to Music Hall for speakers, including KeyNote UC Professor Holly McGee
The Honk n Wave at Hoffner will be honoring Dr. King tomorrow as well.
States at the Core (STAC) is hosting an ICEWatch training zoom at 2pm.
Braver Angels is having a coffee discussion Monday morning at the Winton Rd. Panera Their mission is to gather people of opposing ideologies together for a productive conversation. The event’s topic is “Is there an affordability crisis?” I imagine there will be lots of bipartisan support if you can make this one.
There is also a Bedrolls Project (making bedrolls for the unhoused) at noon at the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, 1950 Nagel Road. Bridgeadiers: They need tarps!
TUESDAY JANUARY 20
The 20th marks one year that the Regime took power (again). It is also a nationwide day of action called Walkout Everywhere.
The idea, as I can glean it, is the closest we’ve gotten to a “general strike,” where you walk out of school, work, etc...wherever you are at 2pm, get up and go to your Congress Critter’s office.
If you’re reading this and thinking “I really can’t lose my job right now!” take heart: There’s other events happening where you can stand in solidarity.
There will be an event at Hoffner Park at 5pm that I don’t have a ton of info on, but they were at the shindig and will be out Tuesday night at Hoffner - here’s the screengrab from Barbara:
And of course, it wouldn’t be a major anniversary if we’re not on a bridge somewhere! We’ll be at the Tesla overpass Tuesday night.
HCR will also be ringing in the 1 Year Anniversary of the Regime with Red Wine and Blue on Zoom at 7:30pm
Sanctuary Cincy is having a meeting with guest speakers from Ignite Peace at the Peaslee Center at 6pm Tuesday.
And finally, 513 for Democracy is having a whistle kit sesh in Mason. Promises to be fun!
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 21
Ignite Peace is having a POTLUCK from 6pm - 8pm at the Peaslee Center.
And our friends in SE Indiana are having their first Indivisible meeting of the year at First Financial Bank (104 Links Way) in Aurora at 7pm.
THURSDAY JANUARY 21
BOOK CLUB POSTPONED!
You may have noted on the Dates ahead we had planned to have our followup to the 1984 book club on this night, but there’s so much going on we’ve bumped it - new date is pending a venue, so more on that next week.
Thursday has THREE, count them THREE bridge events for your resistance convenience:
CCA Montgomery Brigade Demonstration
10:00-11:30 a.m.
Montgomery Rd over 71 at Brewster Avenue.
Park on Brewster near Cream + Sugar Coffeehouse
Matt and Mike are making Monmouth a regular Thursday night event!
And the Westsiders are braving Harrison, OH again on Thursday.
On the Visibility theme of the day, the Backbone campaign is hosting a ASafety training and de-escalation zoom at 8pm local time.
Additionally, there is a City Council Meeting Thursday at City Hall 801 Plum - wear something green for solidarity! Here’s the skinny from Greg:
A group is planning on attending Cincinnati city council meeting on Thursday 1/ 22 in order to support our immigrant neighbors. Public citizen comment begins at 1:30, council meeting begins at 2 pm, you don’t need to speak but let’s fill council chambers to show we support protecting ALL residents of the city. A suggestion was made to wear something green in order to show our solidarity.
FRIDAY JANUARY 23
There’s a rally at City Hall Friday night at 6pm.
Friday Bridge teams will be out of course!
Don’t forget the Precinct Project has two more weeks of Friday night meetings! Precinct Executives are NEEDED, if you’ve ever thought of getting involved politically - this is the time!
Clermont Co Brewing Change Coffee Klatch will be at it as always, Friday at 4pm.
SATURDAY JANUARY 24
TESLA TAKEDOWN
with Queen City Bridgeadiers
12pM - 1PM
Temporary Protected Status has a deadline approaching February 3. Springfield is getting ready, it’d be great to have a CCA contingency there.
SUNDAY JANUARY 25
Potluck for the People
12pm - 3pm
Piatt Park
Come feed people with us! We haven’t decided what we’ll be serving yet, but feel free to BYODish - that’s what a potluck is for, no?
LOOKING AHEAD...
Dates to Earmark
January 27 - Braver Angels Coffee & Conversation 10am, Panera on Winton
January 27 - Letters of Love Transform Cincinnati
January 28 - CCA meeting at WYOMING Library 500 Springfield Pike
February 3 - Transformations CDC at Incline Public House - 10% of all checks at Incline will go to support Transformations CDC 5pm - 9pm
February 8 - Signs of Fascism outside Crossroads Church 10am - Noon, Multiple locations
February 13 - City Hall Affordability Rally RSVP now!
MUST WATCH OF THE WEEK
There’s a lot. There’s a lot. First of all, our very own Christy was interviewed by the Boiling Point podcast. She did great, have a listen!
Boiling Point w/ Christy Pember
But because it has NEVER been more important to safeguard our friends and neighbors, check out this informational video outlining all the insidious ways our data is being tracked.
As a Must-Read, I’m including a text-only PDF of the Cincinnati Enquirer’s latest piece on 2025: the Year of ICE.
But remember when I said five hours ago at the beginning of this email that I’d have more on Martin Luther King’s work in relation to today’s horrors?
I listened to his “Three Evils of Society” speech and was gobsmacked by how little has changed in sixty years. And how much we need leaders like King.
SPOILER ALERT: Here’s the three evils he speaks of.
On racism, King says:
“Ever since the birth of our nation, White America has had a schizophrenic personality on the question of race, she has been torn between selves. A self in which she proudly professes the great principle of democracy and a self in which she madly practices the antithesis of democracy. This tragic duality has produced a strange indecisiveness and ambivalence toward the Negro, causing America to take a step backwards simultaneously with every step forward on the question of racial justice; to be at once attracted to the Negro and repelled by him, to love and to hate him. There has never been a solid, unified and determined thrust to make justice a reality for Afro-Americans.”
On materialism, King quotes:
An Asian writer has portrayed our dilemma in candid terms, he says, “you call your thousand material devices labor saving machinery, yet you are forever busy. With the multiplying of your machinery, you grow increasingly fatigued, anxious, nervous, dissatisfied. Whatever you have you want more and wherever you are you want to go somewhere else. Your devices are neither time saving nor soul saving machinery. They are so many sharp spurs which urge you on to invent more machinery and to do more business”
On militarism, King says:
“We are arrogant in professing to be concerned about the freedom of foreign nations while not setting our own house in order.”
I’m including a link to the full speech, as well as King’s Letter From a Birmingham Jail, where he outlines how to define just laws and unjust laws, what to obey and what to not and whether one can take a punch without being tempted to strike back.
Letters from a Birmingham Jail
