Nationally renowned Detroit journalist, thought leader and racial justice champion Bankole Thompson, is set to close the year with a keynote address and Q&A book discussion before hundreds of Black and Brown male students of the Detroit Public Schools Community District on Wednesday December 13 at Davis Aerospace High School.
Thompson, who is one of the most impactful and courageous journalists in the nation on issues of inequality, is dean of The PuLSE Institute, an anti-poverty think tank, which was founded based on his work on race, democracy and poverty.
He is a twice-a-week opinion columnist at The Detroit News, where he writes about the presidency, public leadership, social and economic issues. His searing column on the body politic appears on Mondays and Thursdays in the newspaper.
Because of the impact of his work as a standard-bearer for economic justice issues, and an honored and respected voice around the country, Thompson was recently named to the national board of directors of the Atlanta-based historic Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the signature civil rights organization co-founded by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who served as its first president, and which led the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. He was nominated by SCLC National Board Chairman and veteran civil rights leader Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr., one of the last remaining top lieutenants of Dr. King, who has long admired Thompson’s work.
Bankole Thompson’s address next week will focus on how Black and Brown boys can overcome extreme difficulties and challenges including the current crisis of constitutional policing, the need to develop strong character and the attributes of courage, compassion, love for justice, and social transformation in creating the next generation of effective and bold leaders.
His remarks will be followed by a forum he will moderate featuring Detroit Deputy Police Chief Franklin Hayes, Detroit Police Department Captain Philip Rodriguez, Detroit Public Schools Community District Police Chief Labrit Jackson and Raul Echevarria, coordinator for community organizing at the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation.
Thompson’s talk is part of an engaging public leadership conversation he has been leading based on his latest book, Fiery Conscience, which documents his more than two decades of speaking truth to power in journalism.
The book, which is a compendium of insightful and analytical essays from individuals who have observed his work as well as those impacted by it, has taken Thompson before diverse audiences challenging and inspiring students and members of the community to be agents of social change.
For example, during an Oct 5 talk at Dillard University in New Orleans hosted by the Center for Racial Justice Thompson, spoke about the need to have conviction on issues of right and wrong.
He implored the students at one of the nation’s prominent Historically Black Colleges and Universities which was founded during Reconstruction, to speak out and challenge the status quo because they will be charged with shaping the future of the nation.
In an Oct. 11 keynote address before the Washtenaw County Bar Association’s 32nd Annual Bias Awareness and Inclusion Reception under the theme of affirmative action, Thompson challenged the audience of mostly White liberal and conservative judges as well as prosecutors and lawyers alike to stand up for wounded justice.
A powerful orator, he spoke about the significance of creating and leaving an impactful legacy of equity and justice that generations can build upon to create a more perfect union.
His remarks to the legal group echoed themes he laid out a year earlier when he gave the 2022 keynote lecture for Brown University Black History Month Forum on “Race and Democracy in the Era of Black Lives Matter: Why Major Institutions Must Address the Fierce Urgency of Racial Justice.”
In that address, Thompson, called on one of the nation’s top Ivy League schools and Brown president Christina Paxson, who gave the opening and closing remarks at the forum, to push the envelope for economic justice without delay.
The message he gave to the gathering of lawyers this year was not lost on officials of the organization.
“We have received the most complimentary feedback on your engaging speech on affirmative action. The delivery was very thought- provoking and your passion surrounding the complexities of this topic was deeply felt by all present. Your call to action was masterfully crafted, inspiring us all to take a proactive role in advocating for equality and dismantling barriers,” Kyeena Slater, the executive director of the Washtenaw County Bar Association wrote in a letter to Thompson days following his speech.
Slater added, “Hopefully, it will spur action in all of us who can change, make an impact, and improve policies for our community. We appreciate you signing copies of your book Fiery Conscience. Your words have undoubtedly left an indelible impression on all who were fortunate enough to attend the event and receive a copy.”
The themes of courage, resilience and the determination to give voice to issues of marginalized and underserved communities permeate throughout Fiery Conscience, which captures seminal and instructive moments in his remarkable and enterprising journalistic work.
Sister Simone Campbell, leader of the Nuns on the Bus campaign, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022, and is considered the most influential social justice voice in the American Catholic Church as well as an ally of Pope Francis, has long admired Thompson’s didactic work in journalism. She hailed the book as a timely arrival in the current crisis facing the nation.
“In the midst of these turbulent times, we need Fiery Conscience. We are called to speak out. Bankole Thompson does just that and his witness can nourish our spirits,” Campbell wrote in her endorsement of the book.
