The Common Thread

A blog devoted to unifying all people through artistic traditions.

Blog Posts

By 
Walt Michael
Featured
January 22, 2013
March 16, 2021

Return to the Borderlands

People are still dying in the desert. From thirst. From exposure. Freezing alive in the cold. Baking to death in the sun. The crossing is so perilous that attempting the walk alone is inviting certain disaster. At the same time, anyone who falters must be left behind lest the group be discovered in this fright-filled journey to the north. Often, it is those who have been left behind who are discovered by the Samaritans. If they are found alive, their wounds are attended to, their thirst is sated. But the journey never ends.

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By 
Walt Michael
Featured
November 21, 2010
March 31, 2021

Ellen Elmes: Painting Mountain Soul

For over forty years, Ellen Elmes has been painting southern Appalachia - its people, its flora, its moods, its hopes, its despair, in short, its compelling and complex beauty. Her paintings reside in homes, museums and galleries, as murals in communities throughout the mountains, and in the hearts and minds of the countless people who are depicted in her work. In a large sense, Ellen's work has been a joyous affirmative mirror to the people of Appalachia.

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By 
Walt Michael
Featured
December 1, 2008
March 31, 2021

1st Hand Account: The Immigration Crisis Along the US-Mexico Border

We made our way over miles of hilly rough dirt/rock roads to the No More Deaths Camp. This camp runs full tilt in the summer, staffed by mostly young student volunteers who camp in the rough, running path patrols, leaving water in the desert, searching for people. At this time of year (winter), the camp is empty, but the shrine to those who have died in the desert remains, constructed of items found in the desert. it is a sobering reminder of the gravity of the plight of the migrants.

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By 
Walt Michael
Featured
March 22, 2004
April 5, 2021

Troubadour for Justice

Address given by Dr. Ira G. Zepp, Jr., on the presentation of the Human Relations Award to Walt Michael by the Human Relations Commission of Carroll County.

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By 
Walt Michael
Featured
January 1, 2001
April 6, 2021

Of These Hollers I Sing

While an English major at Western Maryland College, 1964 - 1968, Walt spent three summers as a student volunteer in McDowell County, West Virginia. Here is a narrative that Walt wrote for a published collection of student remembrances entitled The Journey Outward, published in 2001.

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What is Common Ground on the Hill?

In 1994, Walt Michael came back to his home state of Maryland with a mission and vision to create interracial harmony through the traditional arts.

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Introduction

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Common Ground on the Hill is proud to be a regional folklife center of
maryland state arts council's maryland traditions program.
‍
Common ground on the hill is funded in part by grants from

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6/24/24
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6/28/24
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7/7/24
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7/12/24
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