Spread the Love
Our goal is to amplify truth by sharing stories and easy ways to engage. Share your own portrait to show that you are an ally in building unity and a way forward with love.
Love Your Selfie Manifesto
Love is how we resist. Compassion and connection are active tools against systemic oppression, divisiveness and injustice. Love is not just a passive emotion; love in action is an intentional choice to care and connect. Relationship-oriented activism is one way to move from apathy or despair to hope. We challenge dominating and oppressive systems by choosing empathy over conflict. Show your selfie some love, and have courage to act in ways that transform the world.
Color Story
Old Growth Green is a rich, forest-toned shade that evokes deep, enduring and nurturing qualities. It represents a mature love, rooted in time and sustainability, and a quiet, resilient resistance against superficiality, environmental degradation, and the frantic pace of modern life.
Marigold yellow symbolizes radiant joy, stubborn resilience in the face of adversity and the divine spirit that lives within us. It’s the ability to find hope and beauty in barren or difficult circumstances. Marigolds bloom under pressure, refusing to let their spirit be broken.
Bubble Gum Pink represents the tension between innocent joy and quiet rebellion. It lends a sweetness while defying conformity and formality. Blowing bubbles can show a flirtatious attitude and an informal way to engage with someone.
Resistance Blue is based on Minnesota’s sky-toned hue and evokes a blend of calm love and resolute, steadfast resistance. This serene defiance is a peaceful, steady strength—often associated with trustworthiness, depth of feeling, and a quiet, enduring commitment to community.
Crème de la crème is a French phrase meaning "cream of the cream" … the absolute best, highest quality, or top-tier people or ideas. Let’s let our love rise to the top with gentle, enduring and soft strength. It’s a quiet, stubborn commitment to non-violence and tenderness in a harsh world.
New Growth Green is a vibrant, yellowish-green hue that embodies the fierce, quiet energy of a fresh sprout breaking through concrete. It represents the tender, persistent and unyielding act of renewal against all odds. If you’re not growing, you’re dying.
Thought Leaders
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Steph W
Designer, Site Owner
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Mitch R
Pastor, Small Business Owner
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Julie R
Foster Mom, Activist
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Dave A
Print Rep, Fire Starter
Take Action / Lead with Love
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Self-care in this context is about preservation, reclamation and sustainable resistance. Here are some options:
Digital & Mental Boundaries
Curated Consumption: Set a boundaries for news (e.g., no news after 7 PM) to allow your brain to enter a rest state before sleep.
One Screen Rule: Avoid multitasking with multiple devices. Focus on one thing—even if it’s just a mindless game—to reduce sensory fragmentation.
Intellectual Ancestry: Read the works of those who fought similar battles before you. Finding your lineage can turn isolation into a sense of belonging.
Radical Joy & Reclamation
Sensory Luxury: Use the good candles, the softest blanket, or the expensive tea. Don’t save the best things for a better day.
Creative Spite: Channel your anger into art, writing, or cooking. Create something beautiful purely because the world feels ugly.
Micro-Communities: Spend time with people who don't require you to explain your pain. Shared silence or shared laughter with those who "get it" is medicinal.
Nostalgia Therapy: Watch a movie or listen to music from a time in your life when you felt safest.
Grounding & Spiritual Practice
Nature as Witness: Spend time outside. Observing that the trees and birds exist outside of human political systems can provide a much-needed sense of scale.
Ritualize Small Acts: Turn a shower into a cleansing ritual where you imagine the day's heaviness washing off your skin and going down the drain.
Physical Release
Somatic Shaking: Stand up and shake your limbs for 2–3 minutes.
Weighted Pressure: Use a weighted blanket or have a loved one give you a big bear hug to ground your nervous system.
Vagus Nerve Reset: Splash ice-cold water on your face or hold an ice cube in your hand. The temperature shock can force your brain out of a spiral.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation: Tense every muscle in your body as hard as you can for 5 seconds, then release all at once.
Scream: into a pillow, or go for a drive and yell at the top of your lungs. Anger needs a voice.
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Amplify Voices: Share verified updates from local organizers, journalists, and community leaders.
Amplify news about Minnesota—not only across social media, but also to your friends and family offline. In addition to trusted news sources, here is a list of Minnesota testimonials you can share: www.standwithminnesota.com/testimonies.
Call Officials: Keep an eye out for opportunities to contact your local representatives.
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Legal Observers: Volunteer with Monarca or Defend 612 to document ICE activity.
Support Networks: Help food banks, churches, and other organizations pack and deliver groceries.
Childcare/Logistics: Assist families who are afraid to leave their homes with errands or transportation.
Together for Good is doing important work supporting families in crisis. There are multiple ways to support this ministry.
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Stand With Minnesota provides a comprehensive list of opportunities for mutual aid, including food, diapers, rent relief, and crowdfunding campaigns.
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits has curated a list of organizations seeking donations for immediate needs: www.minnesotanonprofits.org/ice-resources#donate.
Direct Support Funds: Donate to the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) for food cards and Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) for legal representation.
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Seek truth. Get your information from trusted news sources and independent journalists. Local Minnesota journalists, community leaders, and elected leaders are the best source of real-time information. Curated list of local news (many that are nonprofits) and independent journalists:
ACLU Minnesota: Provides legal and civil rights support.
Twin Cities Mutual Aid Project: Connects people with local resources for food, housing, and health.
Together for Good helps families in crisis.
Love Your Selfie Portrait Request
We are sharing stories on our Instagram page, and we would love to include yours! Tell us about any feel-good stories, connection in service or ways that you have helped throughout this challenging season.
If you send us your photo(s) and story (optional), we will email you back with your own customized portrait. We plan to share these portraits on our Instagram @saltandpaper_studio and on this website.
Terms & Conditions, Release of Liability:
While we do not intend to sell or profit off of these images, we do want to share them. We will share on our instagram page @saltandpaper_studio as well as on this website and through other channels as yet unknown.
1. Submitting photos to us grants us permission to use your likeness/image for commercial, marketing, or promotional purposes, including print, digital, and social media.
2. Grant of Rights: You hereby grant saltandpaper.studio the irrevocable and unrestricted right to use, publish, and copyright any photograph or likeness for editorial, trade, advertising and any other purpose, in any manner or medium now known or later developed (including, but not limited to, websites, social media, print publications, and marketing materials).
3. Ownership and Compensation: You understand that all portraits of resistance are the exclusive property of saltandpaper.studio. You waive any right to inspect or approve the finished product and agree that you will receive no financial compensation for this use.
4. Release of Liability: You hereby release and hold harmless saltandpaper.studio from any and all claims, demands, or causes of action arising from the use of these photographs, including libel or invasion of privacy.
5. Ownership: You certify that any images you submit are your own person, family, pet, etc. and not someone else's image, work or creative property.