Guarionex “Guari” Delgado, co-founder and executive director of Earth Justice Ministries, is a “multigenetic” person from the Caribbean island of Boriken, who was brought to the US mainland at the age of three. As Earth Justice Ministries responds to the Covid 19 pandemic and the outbreak of resistance actions related to violence against people of color, Guari is currently involved in organizing in the Nevada County community and working with local and regional groups.
Guari is a veteran who is committed to peace, and is a member of Veterans for Peace. He believes that all violence, including racism and other forms of systemic violence, has a negative effect on persons to whom it is directed and comes with a price for all who are involved. He is a member of the Peace and Justice Center of Nevada County. He is on the California steering committee of the Alternatives to Violence Project, which works in prisons, schools, and community groups to “help people recognize the violence in themselves and develop the skills to respond creatively rather than with violence.” He credits this work for impacting him over the years, making him more tolerant of himself and others, patient, loving, and open. It has also increased his curiosity about the lives of others, their motivations and experiences, and the potential brought about through human communities that seek transformation. The key to such transformation is opening to “Transforming Power.” Guari also serves with Creating Communities Beyond Bias (CCBB), which provides education and outreach to promote unity through the acceptance and celebration of diversity.
He is retired from the construction trades, but can still be found with a hammer in his hand. He is more likely to be “caring for and nurturing life” around him by tending his fruit trees and working in the garden. He also takes frequent walks in the woods with his beloved Sharon, with whom he has lived and grown for over fifty years. Their children and grandchildren live nearby; their close family is a source of joy. Of retirement, he says, “It is the richest and most peaceful time in my life. I am not rich, but I want for nothing. The privilege of retirement has increased my sensitivity to the inequities of the world.”
As for spiritual focus, Guari acknowledges the presence of the Creator’s love in and through all things. Prayer and meditation practices keep him “centered and sane in a whirling world…I’ve learned a lot, experienced a lot, and have concluded that life is primarily a spiritual journey. It is a great opportunity to be reconciled with our Creator.”
Guari likes “stringing words together and sometimes they turn into a poem.” His book, Being Human: Poems of Resistance and Renewal, is available at online distributers or at .