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David LaMotte

Musician, Speaker, Author

‘Look Away’ in ‘Fellowship’ magazine

  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

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 […]

‘White Flour’ featured in Essence Magazine

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

 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

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

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 […]

Abraham Jam Returns!

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

  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 […]