social justice | A Peace of My Mind

Will Snowden

March 6, 2021 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

Teresa Reyes

February 6, 2021 by johnnoltner

Teresa Reyes was born in El Salvador and came to the United States in 1999 when she was 17 years old, nine months pregnant and spoke only Spanish. As she established herself in her new home, she packed lettuce in farm fields, worked in slaughterhouses and taught herself English. She eventually put herself through college and now works as an environmental scientist. We talked about the search for her mother, who had fled the country’s civil war before Teresa’s first […]

Categories: Podcast • Tags: a peace of my mind, borderlands, civil war, documentary, education, El Salvador, human, immigration, sacrifice, science, social justice, storytelling, Yuma

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Memphis Theological Seminary

March 4, 2018 by johnnoltner

Just wrapping up a busy month in Memphis, with American Stories at Memphis Theological Seminary and American Stories at First Congregational Church. I’ve been to Memphis a few times now, and I’m always drawn in by the combination of history, music, food, and good people. I had the chance tp speak at the seminary, and I also set up a studio to ask, “How does your faith impact your view of social justice?” Some of the replies are below, and […]

Categories: Blog • Tags: a peace of my mind, faith, healing, justice, memphis, race, reconciliation, seminary, service, social justice

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My New Year’s Wish

December 29, 2017 by johnnoltner

We stood in utter darkness. I was 12 years old, 100 feet underground, in the long, winding passages of Mammoth Cave. The park service guide gathered us in one of the large rooms. He spoke of geology and history. He told us about preservation and heritage. Then he introduced me to the idea of light pollution. He explained that because of stray light in our increasingly urbanized world, most of us had likely never experienced total darkness. Then he turned […]

Categories: Blog • Tags: courage, darkness, faith, holden village, hope, interfaith, light, peace, social justice

Claudia Horwitz

February 14, 2017 by johnnoltner

Claudia Horwitz is founding director of Stone Circles at the Stone House, a 70-acre retreat center outside Mebane, North Carolina, dedicated to the support of people and organizations working toward social change. Claudia’s efforts grew out of an awareness that social justice work could exact a tremendous toll on people, and her desire to make the work of building social movements more sustainable. “There are ancestral, cultural, and political legacies that survive and thrive because they’re not interrupted with some kind […]

Categories: Podcast • Tags: balance, mebane, North Carolina, peace, process, social change, social justice, story

Joanne Bland

February 10, 2017 by johnnoltner

Joanne Bland was 11 years old when she marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Heading from Selma toward Montgomery, the activists were committed to securing voting rights for all Americans, but on March 7, 1965, they were violently attacked by law enforcement officers. It became known as Bloody Sunday. I interviewed Joanne at her home in Selma in August 2015, just 12 days after Michael Brown was shot and killed in Ferguson, Missouri, and the city was gripped […]

Categories: Podcast • Tags: activism, alabama, civil rights, MLK, peace, race, Selma, social justice

This will be short

December 16, 2016 by johnnoltner

Pardon the broad, sweeping generalizations…but here’s the thing… If all the non-white people are saying, “um…there are some issues we need to discuss regarding race.” And all the white people are saying, “Everything is fine…just get over it and let’s move on.” Then…we might have some work to do regarding race. If you don’t see it, consider who you are talking to about the issue. Last week I was artist-in-residence at the Everyday Democracy convening in Baltimore. I set up […]

Categories: Blog • Tags: American Stories, art, black and white, democracy, dialogue, healing, listening, peace, photography, portraits, race, social justice, stories

We did it!

October 1, 2016 by johnnoltner

Tuesday night was a great celebration of a long effort to produce our new book, A Peace of My Mind: American Stories. Thanks to everyone who came out to Squirrel Haus Arts for the release party. There were people who’ve been in my books, people who helped support and fund the books, friends, family, and more. If I could judge it right from up front, there were smiles, tears, nods of understanding. Neal Hagberg provided great music to balance and […]

Categories: Blog • Tags: book, books, community, justice, love, peace, photography, relationship, social justice, spiritual, stories, story, travel

Stories of Peace

July 10, 2016 by johnnoltner

We have one week left in our Indiegogo campaign to fund our book, A Peace of My Mind: American Stories. There’s work to do. We’d welcome your help to stand with us and do all we can to move toward peace and reconciliation in a difficult time. Help if you can. Share this message far and wide. Together we can turn ripples of hope into waves of compassion. Visit this link to help: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/a-peace-of-my-mind-american-stories/x/2664576#/

Categories: Blog, Video • Tags: a peace of my mind, American Stories, APoMM, art, book, crowdfund, dialog, healing, hope, Indiegogo, listening, peace, photography, race, restorative justice, social justice, stories, travel

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We’re all in this together

July 9, 2016 by johnnoltner

We’re all in this together Black or white. Gay or straight. Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, or Atheist. Man, woman, or child. Republican or Democrat. Cop, soldier, artist, teacher, banker, farmer, or unemployed… We’re all in this together. When I started A Peace of My Mind, I set out to hear from people of all backgrounds. Especially the ones I didn’t know well. Especially the ones whose voices seemed to be lost in the public debate. It was my own path […]

Categories: Blog • Tags: a peace of my mind, APoMM, art, book, crowdfund, dialog, diversity, Indiegogo, listening, peace, photography, portrait, race, social justice, stories