PACG - Progressive Action for the Common Good - Blog

Zoom Login Help from the PACG Webmaster

1/20/2021

Finding Your Zoom Login Email - A Zoom Help Blog

Message from the PACG Webmaster

Our Inauguration 2021 Virtual Parade and Dance Party starts tonight at 6:45 pm CT. If you registered by yesterday (January 19th) you got an email like the one below that states that our party begins in 24 hours. It will contain the Zoom login link (which is blued-out below).

This email would have come to you from PACG's gmail account qcprogressiveaction@gmail.com. You can use that to search your email for the login.

You will receive an email like the one below one hour before our event. It contains the same Zoom link as the one you got 24 hours ahead of the event.

You may still register for our event up until an hour before it begins. But we ask that you contact our Office Manager, Julie Ross, at 563-508-2209 to do so.

We also ask that you not share your Zoom link with friends. Ask them to register at our blog post or contact Julie.

Inauguration 2021 Virtual Parade and Dance Party

1/12/2021

Inauguration 2021 Virtual Parade and Dance Party
Wednesday, January 20th from 6:45 to 8:30 pm

PACG invites you to the Inauguration 2021 Virtual Parade and Dance Party!

Wednesday, January 20th from 6:45 to 8:30 pm via Zoom.

We encourage people to connect to share their hopes for the new administration going forward. In addition, we have created some patriotic-themed games and will provide a platform for people to show their dancing skills, patriotic attire and parade signs. There will be prizes for best sign, attire and the games!!

Our DJ, Andy Fischer-Price, will play music from our "PACG Inauguration Day!!!" Spotify playlist to set a celebratory mood for us! You may download it here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2ywi6N6ApJFSCP79Gsd6OL?si=5LbEbUNiRM6cy8zIjqjVQQ

Music begins at 6:45 pm. The program begins at 7:00.

You must register to attend. Register here.

You will receive a Zoom log-in link 24 hours before the event and another reminder an hour before the event.

To fully participate in our gathering you will be using Zoom Chat and Breakout Rooms. Go to our Home page to learn more about these features.

Contact the PACG Office Manager with questions.

Allison Ambrose

Surviving Witness to Tulsa Race Riot - No Hate In Our States

1/11/2021

Meet the Last Surviving Witness to the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921

Know American history. Listen to this 2018 interview with one of the last survivors of the 1921 destruction of Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/05/31/615546965/meet-the-last-surviving-witness-to-the-tulsa-race-riot-of-1921

Julie Ross

Zoom Chat Help from the PACG Webmaster

1/10/2021

Using Zoom Chat - A Zoom Help Blog

A Message from the PACG Webmaster

Zoom Chat is a useful tool that you can use in a Zoom meeting to Direct Message (DM) the entire group or a particular member. On a computer Chat is found at the bottom of your Zoom meeting screen (see below).

Clicking on the word "Chat" brings up your Chat pop-up window (see below). If the Chat window gets in your way during the meeting, you may drag it out of the way.

Hover your cursor over the word "Everyone" and you will see a drop-down list of all participants in the meeting. You may choose the person with whom you wish to Chat. If you Chat with just one other person no one else will be able to see what you say. However, if the host decides to Save the Chat when the meeting ends, your private messages may be seen.

Write the message to the person you want to Chat with.

When you have written your message, press Return on your computer keyboard. Your message will be sent.

It's a good idea to keep your Chat open during a meeting in case you receive a message from the group or if you need to message someone.

If you are using an iPad to log into the meeting, Chat is found in the upper right hand corner. Find the three dots with "More" beneath it. Touch the "More" and a dropdown menu will appear. Select "Chat" and write your message where it says "Tap here to chat or tap a message to reply." Then select the Send icon to send your message.

If you are logging in on other devices you can find information online about where you will find Chat. Or ask our PACG Webmaster or Office Manager.

If you would like to practice this on Zoom, contact the PACG Webmaster or Office Manager.

Show Us Your Creative Side - Celebrate the Inauguration With Us!

1/10/2021

Show Us Your Creative Side at Our
Inauguration Parade and Dance Party!
Wednesday, January 20th from 6:45 to 8:30 pm

A Message from the President

If you wish to compete in our Inauguration Parade and Dance Party, start working on your parade posters and get your patriotic attire together! Both of these will be judged at our inauguration celebration on Wednesday, January 20th. Here are some examples of what our members are already doing!

You do not need to participate in the parade or dancing if you don't want to. Feel free to celebrate in whatever manner feels right to you.

The music begins at 6:45 and the program starts at 7:00 pm. Join us for dancing, parading and games! And, of course, prizes!

Allison Ambrose

What You Can Do Now - National Bird Day

1/5/2021

National Bird Day
Tuesday, January 5th

Environmental Forum

The Environmental Forum is highlighting one or more conservation holidays each month in 2021. January 5th is National Bird Day, so we will focus on our aviary friends this month. Nearly 3 billion adult breeding birds have been lost since 1970 due to habitat loss and degradation, pesticides, pollution, and climate change. We also lose birds to neighborhood and feral cats, power lines and windows. To date we have lost about one third of forest birds and on half of grassland birds. Thirteen percent of bird species are threatened with extinction.

How can you help protect birds?

Make your windows safer by installing screens and reducing reflections.
Keep your cats indoors.
Reduce turf grasses and plant native plants to increase food sources and shelter.
Avoid pesticides.
Encourage your cities to plant more trees, especially in lower income areas that may have less green space.
Join organizations such as the National Audubon Society, the Nature Conservancy and the American Birding Association (ABA), Nahant Marsh, offers in-person and virtual programs on birds.
Visit bird sanctuaries and wildlife refuges and learn more at 3billionbirds.org, #BringBirdsBack, audubon.org, natureconservancy.org, aba.org.
Did you know that birds eat 4/5 of their weight each day? Feed the birds! The flyer below shows a simple recipe that you can use to make a bird feeder at home!

Zoom Breakout Room Help from the PACG Webmaster

1/3/2021

Joining Zoom Breakout Rooms - A Zoom Help Blog

From the PACG Webmaster

In some of our larger Zoom meetings we employ Breakout Rooms (BORs). This is a way for Zoom meeting attendees to converse, work and socialize in smaller groups. We thought it would be helpful to explain how you get in and out of these rooms.

There are three ways that you get from a Zoom meeting into a BOR: Zoom-Assigned, Host-Assigned or Self-Selected.

Zoom-Assigned: Your Zoom host (PACG or a forum facilitator) may allow the Zoom platform to randomly assign you to a BOR. Once the BORs are launched you will have to accept your assignment to the room by clicking on a pop-up window with the name of your room on it.

You may leave the BOR at any time by selecting the blue Leave Room button on your screen (in the lower-right corner on a desktop computer).

In the image below your BOR is listed at the top (Room 1). The Leave Room button is in the lower-left of the computer screen.

Once you select the blue Leave Room button you will be asked if you would like to Leave Breakout Room or Leave Meeting. If you want to return to the Main Zoom meeting, select Leave Breakout Room. If you want to leave the meeting, select Leave Meeting.

Host-Assigned: your PACG Host may assign you to a Breakout Room. To enter and leave it, see the directions above in Zoom-Assigned above.

Self-Selected: If the meeting is set up for this option by your host, you may be able to select the BOR of your choice. You must meet the following criteria for this option – you cannot be logging in from a mobile device (computer only) and you must have the most recent version of Zoom on your device. When your host launches the BORs, a list of the room names will appear on your screen.

Across from each room you will see a list of the names of the participants in each room. In the example below there are no other attendees yet so the number zero appears instead. Once members join the meeting the zeroes below will change to people's names.

To join the room of your choice, place your curser to the far right of the room that you wish to join (over the blue number of participants in the room). The word "Join" will appear in blue. Click on "Join" to enter the BOR.

To leave your BOR see the directions in Zoom-Assigned above. You may also go from the BOR you are in to another one by using the method above. You do not have to go back to the main meeting before going into a different BOR.

When you are in a BOR you may ask for help from the host by selecting the button on your Zoom screen that says "Ask for help." Someone will join your room to assist you.

If you would like to practice any of this on Zoom, contact the PACG Webmaster or Office Manager.

No Hate In Our States - Sculptor Edmonia Lewis

12/29/2020

Edmonia Lewis and Finding Cleopatra

No Hate In Our States

Edmonia Lewis was the first American woman of color to achieve international fame as a sculptor. Listen to an engaging story about how this gifted artist, born in 1844, navigated her life and perfected her art.

This podcast from the Smithsonian is less than 30 minutes long. (Note: it may not be approved for a younger audience. There is a disclaimer at the beginning.)

www.si.edu/sidedoor/ep-14-finding-cleopatra

Julie Ross

Announcing the Inauguration 2021 Virtual Parade and Dance Party!

12/29/2020

Save the Date!
Inauguration 2021 - Virtual Parade and Dance Party
Wednesday, January 20th from 7:00 - 8:30 pm

A Message from the President

Hello Progressives!

Plans are already underway for our PACG Inauguration 2021 event! This virtual Parade and Dance party will be lots of fun, so mark your calendars now! Join us as we celebrate with music, posters, games, prizes and more!

If you would like to help in planning, please let me know! Young people, we could really use your perspectives! We always have a lot of fun organizing and hosting events, so please JOIN US!

Allison Ambrose

After Action Report - Webinar with Dr. Kathleen Belew

12/29/2020

What is the white power movement and why should you care? After Action Report

Civil Rights Forum

PACG co-sponsored this very successful virtual event where Dr. Kathleen Belew, assistant professor of U.S. History at the University of Chicago and author of Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America discussed white power activism in the U.S. today. Over 270 people were in attendance. Dr. Belew talked for about thirty minutes and then took questions from a very engaged audience. Our members were instrumental in helping put on this event, being involved in publicity, the flow of questions, and technology. The event received quite a bit of publicity in the local media:

KWQC News reported the on the event here (including a nice video).
And the QCTimes wrote a terrific review.

PACG was honored to have collaborated with other like-minded organizations in advancing knowledge on this very important issue.

Allison Ambrose