Arno Michaelis
Author and Speaker
2023
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Arno Michaelis was a neo-Nazi skinhead, a reverend of a self-declared Racial Holy War, and lead singer of the hate-metal band Centurion, which sold 20,000 CDs and is still popular with racists today. Single parenthood, love for his daughter, and the forgiveness shown by people he once hated all helped to turn Arno’s life around, bringing him to embrace diversity and practice gratitude for all life. After spending over a decade as a successful information technology entrepreneur, Arno is now a speaker, filmmaker, author of My Life After Hate, and co-author of The Gift of Our Wounds. His storytelling stems from an intention to inspire people to see themselves in others, and see others in themselves. Arno also works as an interventionist at Parents 4 Peace, helping to lead people away from all violent extremist ideologies, and to support their families. Refuge, his latest film project, is now available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, and Vudu.
At the Summit
The effort to eradicate hate requires the active participation of every component of our society, to include governments, the private sector, communities of faith and indeed every aspect of civil society. There is no more urgent task in front of us. The organizers of the Eradicate Hate Global Summit are doing the United States and the world an enormous service by tackling hatred and extremism with a focus on honest dialogue and conversation, genuine learning and practical solutions. This will not happen overnight, but the Pittsburgh community’s leadership in this effort is genuinely inspiring and motivating.
