by johnnoltner
So it’s never really done. There’s always something more that you can do. But that’s sort of the story of life, isn’t it?
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: activism, art, book release, books, justice, new book, peace, society, solutions, storytelling, travel, writing
by johnnoltner
It stopped me in my tracks. On Sunday, we visited the Peace and Justice Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama. It pays tribute to the 4,000 plus Black people who were lynched in America during a campaign of racial violence that has changed over time, but never really ended. Above your head as you walk through the memorial, large steel beams are suspended, engraved with the names of the victims and the county in which they were lynched. Along the walls are […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: blm, George Floyd, justice, Minneapolis
by johnnoltner
My heart is heavy. It’s the news. It’s the trial in our home town for the death of George Floyd. It’s Daunte Wright. It’s Atlanta. Kenosha. Indianapolis. It’s gathering stories under the shadow of a Confederate statue. It’s visiting lynching sites. But it’s more than that. It’s how quickly each event is spun and re-spun, then spun again. It’s how animosity instantly takes root in the space compassion should claim. It’s how tragedies are weaponized and turned on the victims. […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: civil rights, EJI, grief, justice, Montgomery, peace, Selma
by johnnoltner
Will Snowden received his law degree from Seton Hall Law School in New Jersey and worked as a public defender in New Orleans. Through his work in the justice system, he became concerned with weaknesses in our jury system that led to a lack of diversity in jury members and ultimately, unjust outcomes. In response, Will established The Juror Project, whose mission is “to change the makeup of juries to better represent the American population and the communities most commonly […]
Categories: Podcast • Tags: a peace of my mind, juror, jury, justice, justice system, New Orleans, prison, prisoner, social issues, social justice, storytelling, Vera
by johnnoltner
20,000 miles. That’s how far we’ve driven since October to explore issues, listen to stories, and imagine new possibilities. All with our trailer / house in tow. We’ve stayed at state parks, horse ranches, RV campgrounds, and the back corners of distillery parking lots. We’ve met artists and activists, politicians and programmers, veterans and veterinarians. It’s true that our country is divided in many ways. Turn on the television and it doesn’t take long for both the rhetoric and your […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: America, dialogue, healing, justice, listen, peace, storytelling, travel, weavingcommunity
by johnnoltner
The day didn’t go quite the way we had planned. I was with India Aubry of Voices from the Border and we were crossing into Nogales, Sonora, Mexico to interview Pancho, a street nurse who cares for migrants waiting south of the border for asylum hearings. We had directions and our plan was to meet Pancho at one of the migrant shelters to see his work and meet with some of the travelers. We drove through the Mariposa crossing on […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: a peace of my mind, asylum, border, border patrol, border wall, immigration, justice, mexico, migrants, nogales, separation, sonora, storytelling, weaving community
by johnnoltner
It’s hard to wait for the sun to go down when you are setting up your first public art projection. In Minneapolis on June 19, the sun sets at 9:03pm. But at 9:03 there was still so much ambient light in the sky that I could barely make out an image on the wall. At 9:10, Lance from Channel 5 news showed up with a camera and I wished I could will the earth to spin just a little bit […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: George Floyd, John Noltner, justice, Minneapolis, peace, photographer, projection, public art, storytelling
by johnnoltner
On Monday May 25, George Floyd was killed by police at the intersection of 38th and Chicago in Minneapolis. Because the COVID-9 pandemic had caused all my programming to be cancelled, I happened to be at home, 11.6 miles to the south. On Wednesday I went to see the site where a small memorial was taking shape and on Thursday returned with an improvised portable studio, a broken heart, and one simple question: “What do you want to say?” Over […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: a peace of my mind, Black Lives Matter, blm, change, George Floyd, justice, Minneapolis, photography, protest, race
by johnnoltner
I’m tired today. But I’ll go back out there. Because my tired is nothing in the face of the soul-crushing weariness I see in my brothers and sisters on the street. My tired pales when it’s held side by side with the frustration I hear in the voices of the people. My tired is no excuse when you begin to recognize the heavy burden that has been carried for days and years and decades of calling out and not being […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: a peace of my mind, George Floyd, justice, listening, Minneapolis, photography, protest, race, storytelling
by johnnoltner
“You do all these inspiring things,” she said. “I’m just a planner.” I thought for a minute. One of the things I love about A Peace of My Mind is that it lets me drop into different communities and spark interesting conversations. I meet new people and I see the creative ways that people work toward positive change in the world. One of the challenges is that I don’t get to stay. Before we get too far into the conversation, […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: APA, community, community development, effective, justice, planning, urban planning
