Jonathan Palmer

Contributor (Race & Culture, Comic Books)

Jonathan Palmer is the most avid comic-book reader and superhero expert on the planet—or so his friends believe. In reality, he has been collecting and reading for over 45 years, has seen nearly every comic-book movie and most cartoons, and is a fount of obscure superhero knowledge that would make Dwayne McDuffie smile.

By day, Jonathan is a nonprofit management consultant specializing in strategic planning, board management/development, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). He has over 30 years of experience in public and nonprofit management through his community-based activism, leadership, and volunteer work in Minnesota and across the country. In 2021, he received the NAACP’s Outstanding Servant Leadership Award from the Roy Wilkins Saint Paul Chapter, and in 2018, he received proclamations from the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners and the mayor of St. Paul for a decade of service with Hallie Q. Brown Community Center and restoring and preserving this historic community institution. Among his other awards are being named one of the inaugural Heroes of the Rondo Commemorative Plaza (2017), the Sullivan Ballou award for his work on Project Superhero (2014), the Hennepin County Attorney’s Community Leadership Award from Amy Klobuchar (2004), and a Commendation for Heroism and Bravery from the City of Minneapolis (1999).

By night, Jonathan patrols the streets of Gotham (or more likely participates in charitable and public events in and around Minneapolis) with Costumers for a Cause and is completing his master’s thesis at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs on the use of comic books and superheroes as transformative vehicles in the lives of young people. Originally from the Washington, DC, metro area, he earned a BA in psychology with a minor in theater from Morehouse College, where he also sang in the Morehouse College Glee Club.

He is the director of heritage and Minnesota commissioner for the International Clan MacFarlane Society, his family’s clan, and a fellow in the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. He is an avid historian and gives presentations and lectures on African, African American, and Scottish history and culture as well as systemic racism, critical race theory, and DEIB.

When not fighting the forces of evil, he is an artist, poet, singer, genealogist and urban superhero working hard to make a difference in the communities he serves. Jonathan lives in North Minneapolis with his cat, Lizzie.

Website
JonathanPalmer.org

Connect

Contact
jp@twincitiesgeek.com

Articles by Jonathan