Title
Honoring the Beloved Melvin “Mr. Bubbles” Giles.
Body
Whereas, Melvin Giles was born December 3, 1958, in Chicago, IL to Reverend Robert and Georgia Giles; and
Whereas, Melvin, the son of a Baptist minister, moved to Mason City, Iowa at an early age so his father could preach at St. John’s Baptist Church a historic Black church. When Melvin was five, Reverend Giles moved his family to St. Paul, Minnesota so he could continue his ministry; and
Whereas, Melvin was a student in the St. Paul Public Schools, graduating from St. Paul Central High School in 1977; and
Whereas, Melvin was the first recipient of the David Winfield Award in 1977. This Award was created by Central High School alumni Steve Winfield, Rondo activist and U of M star athlete, and Dave Winfield, Major League Baseball player and Hall of Famer, honoring students who excelled in academics, athletics, and community involvement; and
Whereas, Melvin attended Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia, an Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and Augustana University, South Dakota. While in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, he became a certified massage and reflexology therapist and published a community newspaper called Everyday People; and
Whereas, Melvin in the late 1980s, returned to St. Paul and solidified his life as a peacemaker as the Director of the Catholic Charities Frogtown Center. There he founded programs centered on engaging, healing, and empowering people with dignity and peace. A couple programs he started were the Pluralism Circle through which organizations made transformational changes to honor the diversity of their clients, and the Peaceful Love Warriors, creating peaceful spaces in neighborhoods; and
Whereas, Melvin joined the World Peace Prayer Society and became a Peace Representative supporting peace poles as symbols of world peace-unity. He and his partner Mary Salter planted hundreds of peace poles around Minnesota and the country; and
Whereas, Melvin blew bubbles filling rooms and spaces. He used bubbles as part of his peace messages and to create processes and places/spaces of peace; and
Whereas, Melvin started using bubbles to bridge a gap of distrust between the Black community and the St. Paul Police Department in the late 1990s by offering police officers bubbles to assist them with domestic calls; and
Whereas, Melvin thought that giving kids bubbles and even blowing bubbles when investigating domestic violence in residential settings would help children to decompress from the tension/stress and possibly create a healthier perception of police officers; and
Whereas, when Melvin blew peace bubbles, it always invoked reactions from people, especially children were amazed by the light, floating bubbles landing everywhere and popping creating a feeling of joy and peace; and
Whereas, in 1997 Melvin help found the first Community Peace Celebration in response to violence that occurred in the Frogtown neighborhood of St. Paul in 1996. He took a Peace Pole with the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in four languages and his peace bubbles and visited 30 neighborhood sites. The Community Peace Celebration brought healing words from community leaders along with music and dance by local performers to cultivate the meaning of Peace and a shared vision of cooperative relationships; and
Whereas, Melvin celebrated the 29th Annual Community Peace Celebration on June 20th, 2025; and
Whereas, Melvin help found the Aurora/St. Anthony Peace Sanctuary Garden in St. Paul with AfroEco in partnership with Gordon Parks High School (formerly the Area Learning Center); and
Whereas, the Peace Sanctuary Garden at 851 Aurora (right next door to his childhood home) is a small oasis of food and flowers that offers weekly children’s environmental education programming in the summertime. Flowers and vegetables are given free of charge to its surrounding residents; and
Whereas, Melvin as a Community Griot Gardener, he used soil as a uniter and leveler, and in 2014, he helped form the Urban Farm & Garden Alliance, organizing gardens and gardeners to work and play fair together to create a community food matrix; and
Whereas, Melvin when his life partner Mary passed, he became very involved with LifeSource, an organization that specializes in the process of organ donation, ensures transplants reach waiting recipients, support donor families and inspire people in communities across the upper Midwest to register as donors. Melvin raised awareness of the importance of organ donation to communities of color; and
Whereas, Melvin often worked with Bethel University welcoming students to the Frogtown and Rondo neighborhoods and established reconciliation lunches to grapple with US history, racial equity, sobriety, and peace; and
Whereas, Melvin with Megan Phinney of Urban Farm and Garden Alliance regularly partnered with Dr. Kristine Miller, University of Minnesota College of Design in engaging her class called Introduction to Design Equity and discussed racism, justice and the interests and perspectives of communities of color; and
Whereas, Melvin made the first solar powered illuminating peace pole also called Mary’s Peace Pole, in her honor, and unveiled it at the National Afternoon Out event at the Aurora-St. Anthony Peace Sanctuary Garden. Melvin has continued his work with the students from the Imhotep Science Academy to build and distribute these Peace Poles to cultivate peace in the hearts, minds, homes, and neighborhoods in order to build a more loving community; and
Whereas, Melvin’s largest Peace Pole project was the 15’ Solar-Powered Illuminating Peace Pole, the first of its kind, created as a new sculpture for Western Sculpture Park unveiled at the 2023 27th Community Peace Celebration. It fulfills a dream of Melvin’s and Public Art Saint Paul to light up the park where programs take place each year with diverse communities gathering together; and
Whereas, Melvin and the Urban Farm and Garden Alliance partnered with the University of Minnesota student group Engineers Without Borders to transform its Peace Garden in St. Paul to be more accessible by adding wider permeable paved pathways, to extend the growing season by building a greenhouse and to be more sustainable by adding solar panels for power and a rain catchment system to recycle rain water into the garden; and
Whereas, Melvin supported Renewing the Countryside’s Farm to Early Care efforts by helping getting healthy food to our children in St. Paul; and
Whereas, Melvin was a columnist for the Midway Como Frogtown Monitor since 2021. His column was called Peace Bubbles; and
Whereas, beyond Melvin’s community work, he was devoted and dedicated to his family. To his best friend who many thought was his twin, Metric and Melvin were very close to each other in life, in partnership and devotion to community and in brotherhood and community building. To his many nieces and nephew, he was Uncle Melvin. He loved his cousins, Uncles and Aunts near and far. His commitment to family was unwavering. His gentle wisdom and fierce commitment to justice have made him a mentor to many, especially young people looking for peaceful ways to make change. He leads by example: showing that kindness, consistency, and courage can move mountains; and
Whereas, through his leadership, compassion, and unwavering commitment to peace, he has helped plant the seeds of justice and joy across generations in Rondo, Summit U, Frogtown, St. Paul, and across the State; and now therefore be it
Resolved, that in Honor of Melvin Giles, Community Peacemaker, Bridge-Builder, and Advocate for Justice and with deep gratitude and condolences the Saint Paul City Council recognizes Melvin Giles for a lifetime of dedication to nonviolence, unity, and community empowerment; and
Be it further resolved, that the Saint Paul City Council declares August 2nd, 2025 as Melvin Giles Day, and we encourage all community members to honor his legacy through acts of peace, service, and compassion.