David LaMotte

Speaker • Author • Musician

Peace Work

‘A Look Within’ podcast

Feb 19, 2024
If you have a half-hour drive coming up, I’d love to ride along. I really enjoyed this podcast interview by David Diana on the show he hosts, A Look Within, from the South Carolina Department of Mental Health. David is a great conversation partner. I hope you will enjoy listening in. All good things, David  

‘A Look Within’ podcast

by David LaMotte

If you have a half-hour drive coming up, I’d love to ride along. I really enjoyed this podcast interview by David Diana on the show he hosts, A Look Within, from the South Carolina Department of Mental Health. David is a great conversation partner. I hope you will enjoy listening in. All good things, David  

A college course on my book

Jan 25, 2024
So this is happening. This photo is of a class at Westminster College in Pennsylvania that I had just finished doing a lecture a few months ago. Now, in the new semester, there is a class being taught with my latest book, You Are Changing the World Whether You Like It Or Not, as the […]

A college course on my book

by David LaMotte

So this is happening. This photo is of a class at Westminster College in Pennsylvania that I had just finished doing a lecture a few months ago. Now, in the new semester, there is a class being taught with my latest book, You Are Changing the World Whether You Like It Or Not, as the […]

Abraham Jam Statement on Middle East

Jan 25, 2024
My brothers-from-other-mothers Dawud Wharnsby and Billy Jonas and I have a musical trio together, Abraham Jam. All three of us are songwriters and have musical careers on our own, but we have gathered together from time to time over the last dozen years or so to make music together. We are not currently touring, but […]

Abraham Jam Statement on Middle East

by David LaMotte

My brothers-from-other-mothers Dawud Wharnsby and Billy Jonas and I have a musical trio together, Abraham Jam. All three of us are songwriters and have musical careers on our own, but we have gathered together from time to time over the last dozen years or so to make music together. We are not currently touring, but […]

open magazine showing the title words "Look Away" above a song lyric, article, and two photos.

‘Look Away’ in ‘Fellowship’ magazine

Aug 6, 2023
  I have long been a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), the United States’ oldest peacemaking organization, and I hold them in high esteem. It was pretty amazing for me to open up the most recent edition of their magazine, Fellowship, and find this two-page spread about my song, Look Away, and the […]

‘Look Away’ in ‘Fellowship’ magazine

by David LaMotte

open magazine showing the title words "Look Away" above a song lyric, article, and two photos.

  I have long been a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), the United States’ oldest peacemaking organization, and I hold them in high esteem. It was pretty amazing for me to open up the most recent edition of their magazine, Fellowship, and find this two-page spread about my song, Look Away, and the […]

‘Braided Prayer’ Free screening Dec. 6

Nov 24, 2020
In historically divisive times, it’s good to be reminded that we don’t have to be the same in order to form deep friendships and create community and art together. Please join us on Sunday, December 6, at 4:00 PM Eastern, to see this new 18-minute documentary from John Kennedy and David Saich. The one-hour online program […]

‘Braided Prayer’ Free screening Dec. 6

by David LaMotte

In historically divisive times, it’s good to be reminded that we don’t have to be the same in order to form deep friendships and create community and art together. Please join us on Sunday, December 6, at 4:00 PM Eastern, to see this new 18-minute documentary from John Kennedy and David Saich. The one-hour online program […]

Wednesday Words – a free sample :-)

Aug 26, 2020
 Here’s a video with a few hopeful words for you from Howard Zinn, and some thoughts on the Stockdale Paradox. This past weekend, my Patreon community grew to over 250 people.  It is a beautiful group of folks, and I’m really grateful to have this intentional village to share with. In addition to ‘Monday […]

Wednesday Words – a free sample :-)

by David LaMotte

 Here’s a video with a few hopeful words for you from Howard Zinn, and some thoughts on the Stockdale Paradox. This past weekend, my Patreon community grew to over 250 people.  It is a beautiful group of folks, and I’m really grateful to have this intentional village to share with. In addition to ‘Monday […]

‘White Flour’ featured in Essence Magazine

Jul 3, 2020
I was blown away to get the news that in a June 2 Essence magazine article titled “11 Children’s Books To Teach Your Kids About Racism And Discrimination,” my book White Flour was listed as number 4. Given that Essence is a prominent magazine by, for, and of black women, I am beyond moved that […]

‘White Flour’ featured in Essence Magazine

by David LaMotte

I was blown away to get the news that in a June 2 Essence magazine article titled “11 Children’s Books To Teach Your Kids About Racism And Discrimination,” my book White Flour was listed as number 4. Given that Essence is a prominent magazine by, for, and of black women, I am beyond moved that […]

A hymn for these days

Jul 3, 2020
 In 2019, I was commissioned by the North Carolina Council of Churches to write a hymn in honor of their eighty-fifth anniversary in 2020. Though the lyrics were written months before the world’s focus turned to the twin pandemics of Covid-19 and racism, the hymn seems to resonate with these turbulent times, and calls […]

A hymn for these days

by David LaMotte

 In 2019, I was commissioned by the North Carolina Council of Churches to write a hymn in honor of their eighty-fifth anniversary in 2020. Though the lyrics were written months before the world’s focus turned to the twin pandemics of Covid-19 and racism, the hymn seems to resonate with these turbulent times, and calls […]

Reprise: Thoughts on Confederate Monuments

Jun 23, 2020
Note: I originally wrote this post in 2015, in the context of events spelled out below. In light of our current national re-examination of various monuments, I recently looked it up. I found that it still expresses my feelings, and a few folks have asked me for the link recently, so I’m sharing it again […]

Reprise: Thoughts on Confederate Monuments

by David LaMotte

Note: I originally wrote this post in 2015, in the context of events spelled out below. In light of our current national re-examination of various monuments, I recently looked it up. I found that it still expresses my feelings, and a few folks have asked me for the link recently, so I’m sharing it again […]

Going to jail for the crime of seeking help

Dec 11, 2019
About six weeks ago, some neighbors of mine gathered at the White Horse Black Mountain for a two-hour conversation.  Fifty-five people showed up to learn, and to offer their help.  They did both. I’ve seldom been as inspired by my community as I was that night. We were meeting to talk about asylum seekers, large […]

Going to jail for the crime of seeking help

by David LaMotte

About six weeks ago, some neighbors of mine gathered at the White Horse Black Mountain for a two-hour conversation.  Fifty-five people showed up to learn, and to offer their help.  They did both. I’ve seldom been as inspired by my community as I was that night. We were meeting to talk about asylum seekers, large […]

Violence, transformation, and that banner on my house

Sep 24, 2019
Nearly three years after I hung the first one of these on my house, I am amazed at how far it has gone.  The banner is hanging on houses and places of worship all over the U.S.  Here are a few of the stories. I made this banner and nailed it to my house because […]

Violence, transformation, and that banner on my house

by David LaMotte

Nearly three years after I hung the first one of these on my house, I am amazed at how far it has gone.  The banner is hanging on houses and places of worship all over the U.S.  Here are a few of the stories. I made this banner and nailed it to my house because […]

Abraham Jam Returns!

Jun 9, 2019
Put July 27, 2019 on your calendar to celebrate the birth of Abraham Jam’s second CD, following last year’s live album, tentatively titled ‘White Moon.’  Dawud, Billy, and I have been hard at work in the studio with Chris Rosser for the last few months, cooking up this batch of eleven songs, including our own […]

Abraham Jam Returns!

by David LaMotte

Put July 27, 2019 on your calendar to celebrate the birth of Abraham Jam’s second CD, following last year’s live album, tentatively titled ‘White Moon.’  Dawud, Billy, and I have been hard at work in the studio with Chris Rosser for the last few months, cooking up this batch of eleven songs, including our own […]

Abraham Jam: making the case that harmony > unity

Jun 1, 2018
  A Muslim, a Jew, and a Christian walk into a recording studio… It’s no joke. Actually, it’s the musical project that is capturing most of my energy and imagination these days.  My long-time friend Billy Jonas, who is Jewish, and my dear friend Dawud Wharnsby, who is Muslim, and me, a Quakerterian Christian, have […]

Abraham Jam: making the case that harmony > unity

by David LaMotte

  A Muslim, a Jew, and a Christian walk into a recording studio… It’s no joke. Actually, it’s the musical project that is capturing most of my energy and imagination these days.  My long-time friend Billy Jonas, who is Jewish, and my dear friend Dawud Wharnsby, who is Muslim, and me, a Quakerterian Christian, have […]

King’s relevance today

Feb 4, 2018
The folks at the Black Mountain News asked if I would offer some thoughts on the relevance of Martin Luther King’s teaching and legacy to today’s circumstance.  This is the article they published on January 31, in advance of the town’s  MLK Breakfast on Feb. 10. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. came to prominence in […]

King’s relevance today

by David LaMotte

The folks at the Black Mountain News asked if I would offer some thoughts on the relevance of Martin Luther King’s teaching and legacy to today’s circumstance.  This is the article they published on January 31, in advance of the town’s  MLK Breakfast on Feb. 10. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. came to prominence in […]

My TEDx talk

Jan 9, 2018
Hi friends, My TEDx talk has just been released, and I’m happy that I can finally share it with folks who weren’t there. Check it out, and let me know what you think…

My TEDx talk

by David LaMotte

Hi friends, My TEDx talk has just been released, and I’m happy that I can finally share it with folks who weren’t there. Check it out, and let me know what you think…

Nailing stuff to my house…

Jan 18, 2017
I have learned to pay attention to the words, “Somebody oughta…” It is universally acknowledged that the United States is at a particularly divisive point in our history. Not, as some have said, the most divisive (try the early sixties or the Civil or Revolutionary wars), but definitely a hard time. It’s leaving me wondering […]

Nailing stuff to my house…

by David LaMotte

I have learned to pay attention to the words, “Somebody oughta…” It is universally acknowledged that the United States is at a particularly divisive point in our history. Not, as some have said, the most divisive (try the early sixties or the Civil or Revolutionary wars), but definitely a hard time. It’s leaving me wondering […]

Wrapping up my Nobel work…

Jan 17, 2017
Thanks to the Black Mountain News and Asheville Citizen-Times for deeming this story worth their time, attention, paper and ink… Local resident and internationally acclaimed musician David LaMotte in November completed his sixth and final year on the American Friends Service Committee’s Nobel Peace Prize nominating committee. As he describes it, the experience has been […]

Wrapping up my Nobel work…

by David LaMotte

Thanks to the Black Mountain News and Asheville Citizen-Times for deeming this story worth their time, attention, paper and ink… Local resident and internationally acclaimed musician David LaMotte in November completed his sixth and final year on the American Friends Service Committee’s Nobel Peace Prize nominating committee. As he describes it, the experience has been […]

The KKK has announced a march. How do we respond?

Dec 2, 2016
On November 10, 2016, The Loyal White Knights of Pelham, a North Carolina branch of the Ku Klux Klan, announced a “Victory Klavalkade Klan Parade” to take place on Dec. 3rd, 2016.  The stated purpose of the march is to celebrate Donald Trump’s victory and the sense of validation they have gained from it. As […]

The KKK has announced a march. How do we respond?

by David LaMotte

On November 10, 2016, The Loyal White Knights of Pelham, a North Carolina branch of the Ku Klux Klan, announced a “Victory Klavalkade Klan Parade” to take place on Dec. 3rd, 2016.  The stated purpose of the march is to celebrate Donald Trump’s victory and the sense of validation they have gained from it. As […]

Home from Alaska, my 50th state

Oct 14, 2016
On Monday night I returned to North Carolina from a ten-day run of events in California and Alaska.  It was a wonderful trip, and even had some downtime in it, which is not always the case in my crazy schedule.  

It also marked my fiftieth state to perform in professionally.  Having offered concerts in Anchorage […]

Home from Alaska, my 50th state

by David LaMotte

On Monday night I returned to North Carolina from a ten-day run of events in California and Alaska.  It was a wonderful trip, and even had some downtime in it, which is not always the case in my crazy schedule.  

It also marked my fiftieth state to perform in professionally.  Having offered concerts in Anchorage […]

Hospitality in my digital living room

Sep 20, 2016
In my line of work, I get to move through a lot of different spaces. Not only geographically, but socio-economically as well. I spend time with folks who are quite wealthy, and folks who are extremely poor, people of various skin tones, political persuasions, identities, nationalities, orientations, abilities, and challenges. I treasure that, and I […]

Hospitality in my digital living room

by David LaMotte

In my line of work, I get to move through a lot of different spaces. Not only geographically, but socio-economically as well. I spend time with folks who are quite wealthy, and folks who are extremely poor, people of various skin tones, political persuasions, identities, nationalities, orientations, abilities, and challenges. I treasure that, and I […]

Happy anniversary Rosa

Dec 1, 2015
  Sixty years ago today, Rosa Parks was arrested for the first (but not last) time. We often tell the story of her famous arrest with so much of the story carved away that it almost ceases to be a true accounting, and sometimes we include a few outright falsehoods. Mrs. Parks was unquestionably a […]

Happy anniversary Rosa

by David LaMotte

  Sixty years ago today, Rosa Parks was arrested for the first (but not last) time. We often tell the story of her famous arrest with so much of the story carved away that it almost ceases to be a true accounting, and sometimes we include a few outright falsehoods. Mrs. Parks was unquestionably a […]

Two upcoming retreats — rest, renewal, discernment and community

Nov 19, 2015
“David LaMotte is a very good partner in this important work both for our world and for the human soul.” — Richard Rohr, author of The Naked Now, and Falling Upward David has two retreats on the calendar for the Spring—a weekend retreat in Little Rock in March, and an eight-day retreat with Gareth Higgins in […]

Two upcoming retreats — rest, renewal, discernment and community

by David LaMotte

“David LaMotte is a very good partner in this important work both for our world and for the human soul.” — Richard Rohr, author of The Naked Now, and Falling Upward David has two retreats on the calendar for the Spring—a weekend retreat in Little Rock in March, and an eight-day retreat with Gareth Higgins in […]

One Southerner’s Thoughts on the Rebel Flag

Jul 10, 2015
Today the rebel flag will be removed from the Capitol grounds of South Carolina. The South Carolina House and Senate, by overwhelming majorities in both houses, voted to take it down this week, and Governor Haley signed the bill yesterday. I’m a Southerner. My father’s father’s father’s father was one Thomas Jefferson Talley LaMotte, who […]

One Southerner’s Thoughts on the Rebel Flag

by David LaMotte

Today the rebel flag will be removed from the Capitol grounds of South Carolina. The South Carolina House and Senate, by overwhelming majorities in both houses, voted to take it down this week, and Governor Haley signed the bill yesterday. I’m a Southerner. My father’s father’s father’s father was one Thomas Jefferson Talley LaMotte, who […]

Eight places left at my retreat — want to come?

Jun 11, 2015
I have been invited by others to lead retreats and conferences in many states and on several continents for many years, but I have never before designed my own event so that I can give people who come for the weekend the richest and most wonderful experience I can come up with. Until now. This […]

Eight places left at my retreat — want to come?

by David LaMotte

I have been invited by others to lead retreats and conferences in many states and on several continents for many years, but I have never before designed my own event so that I can give people who come for the weekend the richest and most wonderful experience I can come up with. Until now. This […]

Rosa Parks’ OTHER arrest—Feb. 22, 1956

Feb 20, 2015
Almost no one knows about the second time Rosa Parks was arrested, and that context changes her story significantly. ... Read More →

Rosa Parks’ OTHER arrest—Feb. 22, 1956

by David LaMotte

Almost no one knows about the second time Rosa Parks was arrested, and that context changes her story significantly. … Read More →

Free Live Webcast of release party!

Oct 11, 2014
Here’s great last-minute news! For those of you who can’t join us in person on Oct. 12, 2014 at the White Horse, Black Mountain, to celebrate the release of my new book, Worldchanging 101: Challenging the Myth of Powerlessness, we will now be live streaming the event via ConcertWindow.com.  I’ll be playing a few songs […]

Free Live Webcast of release party!

by David LaMotte

Here’s great last-minute news! For those of you who can’t join us in person on Oct. 12, 2014 at the White Horse, Black Mountain, to celebrate the release of my new book, Worldchanging 101: Challenging the Myth of Powerlessness, we will now be live streaming the event via ConcertWindow.com.  I’ll be playing a few songs […]

Celebrating the new book!

Aug 28, 2014
I don’t think I’ve felt this excited, anxious and anticipatory since Mason was born! After four and a half years of writing, and a fairly intense year of editing, design and layout, my new book, Worldchanging 101, is in the proverbial oven, and about to be picked up by the proverbial stork (which has 18 […]

Celebrating the new book!

by David LaMotte

I don’t think I’ve felt this excited, anxious and anticipatory since Mason was born! After four and a half years of writing, and a fairly intense year of editing, design and layout, my new book, Worldchanging 101, is in the proverbial oven, and about to be picked up by the proverbial stork (which has 18 […]

How to Clean Dirty Water with a Guitar

Aug 28, 2014
My newest guitar is a Taylor Holden Village GS Mini.  I love it for lots of reasons, not the least of which is where it came from — and where it’s going.  This little instrument is doing a lot of good in the world, and that good is not limited to the music being played […]

How to Clean Dirty Water with a Guitar

by David LaMotte

My newest guitar is a Taylor Holden Village GS Mini.  I love it for lots of reasons, not the least of which is where it came from — and where it’s going.  This little instrument is doing a lot of good in the world, and that good is not limited to the music being played […]

Worldchanging 101: Challenging the Myth of Powerlessness

May 2, 2014
As I write this, we are over half way through a Kickstarter campaign for my new book, arriving in August (assuming the Kickstarter effort works!). The book is called Worldchanging 101: Challenging the Myth of Powerlessness. It takes a look at some of the stories we tell about how change happens and how it doesn’t, and how […]

Worldchanging 101: Challenging the Myth of Powerlessness

by Chris Liu-Beers

As I write this, we are over half way through a Kickstarter campaign for my new book, arriving in August (assuming the Kickstarter effort works!). The book is called Worldchanging 101: Challenging the Myth of Powerlessness. It takes a look at some of the stories we tell about how change happens and how it doesn’t, and how […]

Peace Is Not Placidity (Part 1 of 3)

Jan 12, 2014
This article is part one of a three-part series called How We Get Peace Wrong. Having just come through the holiday season and launched a new year here in the United States, we have heard the word ‘peace’ a great deal lately. We have wished it to each other on greeting cards and sung it […]

Peace Is Not Placidity (Part 1 of 3)

by David LaMotte

This article is part one of a three-part series called How We Get Peace Wrong. Having just come through the holiday season and launched a new year here in the United States, we have heard the word ‘peace’ a great deal lately. We have wished it to each other on greeting cards and sung it […]

Worldchanging in your town…

Oct 7, 2013
It’s been a whirlwind of a day with a few meetings related to releasing my new ‘Best Of’ CD, some writing for an online community, two connections with longtime friends, meetings with the folks at Kudzu, the design company I’m working with these days, to finalize this cool flier right here—–> …and a talk at […]

Worldchanging in your town…

by David LaMotte

It’s been a whirlwind of a day with a few meetings related to releasing my new ‘Best Of’ CD, some writing for an online community, two connections with longtime friends, meetings with the folks at Kudzu, the design company I’m working with these days, to finalize this cool flier right here—–> …and a talk at […]

Why I Am Changing My Vacation Plans

Aug 25, 2013
August 26, 2013 Dear Columbia City Council Members, I am writing to tell you why I am changing my vacation plans this week. I brought my son Mason, not quite five, to the EdVenture Museum in Columbia last year on an afternoon road trip to the coast. He’s young (and was even younger then), and […]

Why I Am Changing My Vacation Plans

by David LaMotte

August 26, 2013 Dear Columbia City Council Members, I am writing to tell you why I am changing my vacation plans this week. I brought my son Mason, not quite five, to the EdVenture Museum in Columbia last year on an afternoon road trip to the coast. He’s young (and was even younger then), and […]

The Klan went home, the community stayed

Apr 1, 2013
In the end, the best defense against bigotry is forging communities that are strong enough to withstand it. Really knowing each other is the starting place for healing all of our wounds. Learning each other's stories and struggles leads to a broader sense of who 'us' is, and there is no victory over 'them' so complete, or so healing, or so effective, as welcoming them into 'us.' That is the radical subversion of fear by love.... Read More →

The Klan went home, the community stayed

by David LaMotte

In the end, the best defense against bigotry is forging communities that are strong enough to withstand it. Really knowing each other is the starting place for healing all of our wounds. Learning each other’s stories and struggles leads to a broader sense of who ‘us’ is, and there is no victory over ‘them’ so complete, or so healing, or so effective, as welcoming them into ‘us.’ That is the radical subversion of fear by love…. Read More →

Klansmen, Crips, Clowns, Memphis and Me

Mar 27, 2013
This Saturday the Ku Klux Klan is promising to have one of its largest rallies ever in Memphis, Tennessee. I’m headed there too. The Memphis park formerly known as Forrest Park, after Civil War general, slave trader and first Grand Wizard of the KKK Nathan Bedford Forrest, now bears the innocuous moniker “Health Sciences Park” […]

Klansmen, Crips, Clowns, Memphis and Me

by David LaMotte

This Saturday the Ku Klux Klan is promising to have one of its largest rallies ever in Memphis, Tennessee. I’m headed there too. The Memphis park formerly known as Forrest Park, after Civil War general, slave trader and first Grand Wizard of the KKK Nathan Bedford Forrest, now bears the innocuous moniker “Health Sciences Park” […]

Nobel Peace Prize nominating season…

Mar 23, 2013
The American Friends Service Committee has opened a call for suggested nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize, and you are invited to submit your suggestions between now and May 1, 2013 for the 2014 prize. ... Read More →

Nobel Peace Prize nominating season…

by David LaMotte

The American Friends Service Committee has opened a call for suggested nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize, and you are invited to submit your suggestions between now and May 1, 2013 for the 2014 prize. … Read More →