Bring What You Want to Solve: BBG Solutions Circles: A night for Black, by God, West Virginia folk seeking solutions.

Name what’s hard in your town, trade what works, and help decide what Black By God covers next. Solutions Circles are coming to towns across West Virginia.

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What is a Solutions Circle?

Our neighbors are our best resource.

A Solutions Circle is a small-group conversation built on deep listening. Folks from across the county sit together, name the problems they live with, and trade solutions they’ve seen work somewhere else.

It’s how community journalism should work: the stories start with you.

Black By God is West Virginia’s Black press, a voice for Black Central Appalachia since 2020, standing on 144 years of Black newspapers in this state. Still here.

Come Hungry

Every BBG gathering puts food on the table grown or prepared by Black farmers and Black chefs. We talk solutions over a meal that is one.

How It Works: Two Hours, Six Steps

1. Check in. Grab a sticky note and answer one question: what do you want to solve?
2. Find your circle. We group the notes into topics. Join the circle that fits you, or start a new one.
3. Name the problem. Spend 30 minutes on what’s really going on in your town, in your own words.
4. Build solutions. Spend 30 more minutes on fixes you’ve seen work elsewhere, or want to try here.
5. Report out. Each circle shares its ideas with the whole room. BBG documents every one.
6. Keep it moving. Plan next steps together, from small follow-up meetings to projects you lead.

You Set the Agenda

The topics come from your sticky notes. Here’s the kind of thing we expect to hear:

Food and farming · Land and heirs’ property · Childcare · Health · Jobs and Black business · Water and environment · Youth · and yours

Your Words, On the Record

Every circle’s problems and solutions get published on blackbygod.org. Our reporters follow up on what you raise, so the ideas don’t stop when the room empties.

• Published. Outcomes posted on BBG for everyone to read.
• Reported. Your topics shape BBG’s next solutions stories.
• Continued. Follow-up circles for the ideas that catch fire.

Save a Chair

Enjoy food from Black farmers and Black chefs. Dates and towns are coming. Sign up and we’ll let you know when a circle comes near you, or tell us you want one in your town.

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Questions? crystal@blackbygod.org