I’m thinking about the students on college campuses today protesting the Israeli violence in Gaza. I’m thinking about what it means to be a teacher and a student. How does one begin as one but morph into the other? But first, here’s a trick question: Do you recognize any of these men as being famous teachers about the horrors of slavery in the U.S.? Charles Hardenbergh, John Neely, Martinus Schryrer, John Dumont. They were all educated white men.  How about Isabella Baumfree?  The trick is that these four men had owned, in succession, Isabella Baumfree between 1800 and 182 ..read more

It warms my heart and stirs my sense of righteous rebellion to see the proliferation of student protests on college campuses and in city streets, in opposition to the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza. It’s also dejá vu. Many folks my age took part in the campus protests of the 1960s and ‘70s over civil rights and the Viet Nam War. At that time the politicians and the Pentagon and the corporations and the college administrations and the major media condemned the protests. Preaching the rule of law they called in the police with tear gas and billy clubs to “restore order.” They condemned the style ..read more

Discovering and demanding a remedy for the contamination of Flint’s water supply was only the beginning for AWTT portrait subject Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha. Soon after releasing her shocking report in 2015, she launched the Michigan State University and Hurley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative. Through this project, she has fought for the city’s most impoverished families – to bring them not only adequate health care but cause for hope in their lives. And now, the Initiative will be launching a program to address maternal and infant poverty systematically and citywide. The go ..read more

AWTT joined San Franciscans and the nation this week in honoring the life of Cecil Williams, who served for sixty years as pastor of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. When AWTT artist Robert Shetterly painted Williams’s portrait, he chose this evocative quote: “Death isn’t the greatest thing to be feared for it homogenizes everyone, makes us all equally dead. Most folks are afraid of living because abundant life requires risking everything to love, liberate, and accept yourself and others now. People are afraid of life for it creates diversity and requires commitment to action. To live i ..read more

This has been and continues to be a busy spring for AWTT’s education programs.  As part of the Samantha Smith Challenge (SSC), founding artist Robert Shetterly and education director Connie Carter have visited participating schools in person and on zoom.   On March 7, they had a conversation on zoom with students at Hazelwood Elementary School in Edmonds, WA.  Students there shared the work they are doing to educate people in their area about the vulnerability of sea creatures that inhabit the Salish Sea. View their beautiful informational video, Safe Keeping the Salish Sea ..read more

AWTT artist Robert Shetterly loves to tell the story about his unlikely friendship with Bob Sargent, who died on April 4, 2024, And of Bob’s critical role in the birth of Americans Who Tell the Truth. Robert had completed a few portraits and had begun showing them around his home on the Blue Hill peninsula – at a sandwich shop, then some libraries. When Bob Sargent saw one of these local shows, he was moved by the vision of U.S. history, the emphasis on telling truth to power, and the opposition to the impending Iraq war. It was Bob’s idea that the portraits should begin traveli ..read more

AWTT was pleased to receive local news coverage of Robert Shetterly’s most recent portrait unveiling: Craig Williams. Here are some excerpts from WBONTV’s April 2, 2024 story by columnist Andy McDonald: “Environmental advocate and community leader Craig Williams was honored Thursday with the unveiling of a portrait, part of a series entitled ‘Americans Who Tell the Truth.’. . . “Shetterly said he conducted a lot of research on Williams and his work in preventing the incineration of some 523 tons chemical weapons at the Blue Grass Army Depot, as well as nerve agents at eight other chemical wea ..read more

The 2024 Samantha Smith Challenge (SSC) once again is inspiring students to engage with issues of truth, justice, and freedom and work for the common good. Nearly 325 students in Maine and over 100 students beyond Maine in Kentucky, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Washington are participating in this year’s SSC.  Students are researching a wide variety of topics from what it means to be a citizen, to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, to the environment, to Wabanaki studies. They are connecting with AWTT portrait subjects to further their knowledge about their chosen issue.  Student ..read more

NOTE: AWTT Director of Education contributed this piece to Rob’s blog. . It always happens at the symphony!  True confessions — music moves me in so many ways.  Maybe that is why I love it so much, but I think it actually moves many of us.  Why does every movie, television show, radio broadcast, sporting event, the occasional podcast have music in the background?  Today, for me, it was the Bangor Symphony Orchestra’s rendition of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor. Where to start? At first it was my usual thinking about how an orchestra is a perfect symbol of what I think ..read more

Artist Robert Shetterly and AWTT Director of Education Connie Carter were honored on Saturday, March 9, 2024 during Youth Art Month at the Portland Museum of Art. The Maine Art Education Association named Americans Who Tell the Truth as the 2024 Art Advocate of the Year.  “Your creative and dedicated efforts using art education as a way to inspire teachers and students to participate in environmental and social justice activism is recognized by many. This is our most gracious thanks for your continued work at the state and national levels and for the difference you make in shaping inform ..read more