How an outsider found unity, love in the chaos after George Floyd’s death

In the chaos that occurred after George Floyd’s death in May 2020, an outsider found unity and love.

Adam Schluter is a photographer who travels the world for a project he created called "Hello from a Stranger."

"My only plan was just to go out and show the beauty that I was seeing every day by just exploring the world with no plans. Spontaneously," Schluter told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.

It was just a coincidence he was in the Twin Cities after Floyd died. He took a break from his travels to photograph a friend’s wedding in Minnesota.

"I photograph their wedding" Schluter said. "And then I went right back. And then I spent every day on the front lines. I canceled my flight and I just spent the rest of the time there with everybody."

Instinct kicked in and Schluter did what he’s done thousands of times all over the world: He got close and talked to people.

"I had a gentleman and we had a very powerful conversation," said Schluter. "He was just explaining how much we need to bridge together, and he was an African American and I was obviously a white guy, and he says, ‘Great conversation about how to connect with each other during this.’"

During the George Floyd protests Schluter photographed people coming together through turmoil. Instead of fear, he found hope.

"Ninety-nine percent of that community was making sure their neighbors were OK," he said. "I saw African American, white, many different cultures. Everyone coming together to protect their neighborhoods, to rebuild their neighborhoods. Families and kids and everyone just doing their part. So to me, love was everywhere."

Schluter’s beautiful pictures are never staged; he captures people in the moment.

"And I did not go into these protests with any kind of bias or agenda of what kind of story I was going to take out of them," he said. "All I did was what I do all over the world, and I just spent time connecting with people and hearing their stories. And there was such an overwhelmingly optimistic perspective about how this was going to bring people together, how this is going to start a conversation that was long overdue and how much the city was going to come together and rebuild."

Schluter believes understanding can begin with a simple "Hello from a Stranger."

"And if you want to see the real story, just go out there and communicate and talk to people in person and ask questions," he said. "People that are closer to situations, they love to share their heart with you."

If you’d like to see more of Adam Schluter’s work, you can purchase his new book, "The World I See."

Bringing the world closer together, one person, one conversation and one photograph at a time. That’s "Hello from a Stranger."