The ‘Bubbles Man’ Leaves Legacy of Peace – Mevlin Giles, Minnesota, USA
July 1, 2025
Melvin Giles aimed to bring peace to the world, and he set about doing that by planting gardens and over 50 Peace Poles in St. Paul.
Melvin was the Peace Pole Project Advocate and Enthusiast, who believed in the power of the peace message, “May Peace Prevail On Earth,” to transform individual lives to a peaceful existence.
The respected Frogtown and Rondo elder, age 66, died in his sleep on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at his Woodbury home.
Melvin was a living example of these words of Mahatma Gandhi, ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world,’” said Long.
Melvin conquered fear through prayer and blowing Peace Bubbles. ‘Bubbles, not bullets,’ he would say. Whenever there was tension in the room, Melvin would stand up and blow bubbles. Immediately, the stress would subside. Folks would start to laugh and begin to listen to each other, instead of fighting.”
Melvin Giles organized ( probably the only time anyone has ever seen Saint Paul cops and some gang members working together to patrol a parking area for the KKK) a Peace Pole ceremony with about eight really big Peace Poles.
Melvin was quoted as saying: “Sometimes we need to be energized by anger, yet be kind and motivated by love. Only love can transform things for the better.”
Melvin explained the Peace Pole to students, where it came from, and why it’s important.
After World War II, a man from Japan came up with these words, “May Peace Prevail On Earth.”, which is written on each Peace Pole. It’s a universal prayer. He believed that if each person could get two or three people to say it, and so on, that eventually we would have peace on earth. He formed an organization around this vision. These Peace Poles come in different languages. So, each Peace Pole reads, “May Peace Prevail On Earth, and sometimes includes the words, “May peace be in our homes and community”.
presents a desktop Peace Pole to Dr. Gangadeen at the
Creating a Compassionate Democracy Conference.
Melvin explained, “There’s a Peace Pole that was brought to the 9-11 Ground Zero site only 2 days after the tragedy. There’s one in Iraq. It’s great to have these in places where there have been bad things happening.
I get so excited because Minnesota is the capital of Peace Poles. You can almost go to any city in the State of Minnesota, USA, and you will find a Peace Pole. If you plant a seed, it will grow.”
Excerpts/photos from MPPOE Peace News Blog, Midway Como Midtown Monitor