Forbes, the authoritative business magazine on finance, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship wrote a review of Fiery Conscience, a didactic book that documents the more than two decades of the bold journalistic leadership of Bankole Thompson including how he spoke truth to power on a range of important issues.
Thompson who is the inspiration behind The PuLSE Institute, the national and independent anti-poverty think tank, is the host of the podcast, Bankole’s Nation and is a twice-a-week opinion columnist at The Detroit News. He is a member of the National Press Club of Washington D.C., where he co-hosted a forum that was broadcast live on C-SPAN with former White House spokesman Robert Weiner in 2024 on the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. One of the first Black editors in the nation to conduct a series of exclusive sit-down interviews with former President Barack Obama, Thompson, is the former longtime editor of the Michigan Chronicle which he helmed for almost a decade. In 2012, he gave the keynote address for the Annual Distinguished Leadership Dinner of the American Jewish Committee (Detroit Region), the first global Jewish organization to engage Germany after the Holocaust. In 2020, he delivered the 20th Keynote Lecture for the Annual Dr. William G. Anderson Lecture Series, Slavery to Freedom: An American Odyssey at Michigan State University, whose previous speakers included civil rights heroes John Lewis and Harry Belafonte. In 2022, he was the keynote speaker for Brown University Forum on Race and Democracy: Why Major Institutions Must Address the Fierce Urgency of Racial Justice, during which Brown President Christina Paxson delivered the welcome and closing remarks.
The review of the book published on April 2, 2024, the same day that Forbes released its annual list of the world’s billionaires, underscores the role that Thompson, a nationally acclaimed journalist, cultural critic, and standard-bearer for economic justice issues, has played as a leader in championing issues of the underprivileged. Issues that are too often ignored in the mainstream media to the chagrin of communities that are in dire need of help.
But Fiery Conscience, Thompson’s fifth book, a compendium of analytical essays on the multidimensional impact of his work shows how the journalistic thought leader not only demonstrated courage in tackling issues, but also was determined in achieving the desired results of bringing relief to those who sought his voice and pen for help.
Perhaps more importantly, his work revealed how one journalist, who emerged as a consequential voice in the nation succeeded in shining light on the darkness of injustice and inequity, while providing a realistic roadmap to achieving meaningful change. In so doing, the untold stories of real people impacted by Thompson’s transformative work are bearing witness in the book about how he stood and championed their causes in the darkest hours of neglect, dejection and inaction.
One of the distinct qualities of effective leadership is possessing integrity, resilience, and empathy, all of which are attributes reflected in the stories that are told in the book about how Thompson brought tears of jubilation and redemption to those who needed his intervention to influence the outcome of the challenges they faced.
Perhaps Thompson’s leadership style is contained in the immortal words of the great boxing champion and humanitarian Muhammad Ali, who once said, “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life,” adding that, “You lose nothing when you fight for a cause. In my mind the losers are those who don’t have a cause they care about.”
With the new year upon us, many leaders of organizations and captains of diverse industries are looking to drive change and results for their companies. Others are caught in a balancing act of not only achieving the goals and visions of their companies in the marketplace, but also how to ensure that they are meeting the equitable demands of economic justice for the communities in which they operate.
“You cannot be a leader of a company that is devoted to making serious and lasting equitable impact in any given community without possessing the courage to make tough and uncomfortable decisions that even some in your company may not agree with,” Thompson said. “Leadership is not about pleasing people. It is about taking risks that others easily avoid and pushing the envelope in the interest of not only advancing the goals of an organization but also addressing the needs of an entire community by serving as an advocate and a champion for fairness and justice. Leadership is more than the size of your office and the length of your title.”
Thompson has a message for leaders who are looking to make an impact in 2026.
“What good is it for you to have a fancy title and a big salary if your value in the community where your impact should be felt most amounts to zero in 2026? What good is it to trumpet how you run a very large company if you have no real community equity? You have to be a bold and courageous leader committed to justice and empathy and those should not only be words that are thrown around for convenience but are truly reflected in the leadership style that you apply from your mahogany office.”
Over the years, Thompson, has addressed institutions and leaders of organizations on how to make social impact and challenging companies to be drivers of social change, not just profit-driven machines.
“We are living in an economic dispensation where there is a demand to create an ethical economy. But that will take courageous and conscientious leaders who are willing to move the move the market forces in a direction where the opportunities for growth are not only relegated to a few but that are available to many people,” Thompson said. “What the new year is calling on us to do is to put the emphasis on courageous action to uplift those are wallowing in the doldrums of economic inequality to the high point of economic self-sufficiency. And we must do so with a fiery conscience and with all deliberate speed.”
Sister Simone Campbell, an ally of the late Pope Francis, and one of the leading voices for economic justice in the American Catholic Church, who initiated the historic “Nuns on the Bus” campaign bringing issues of poverty-stricken communities to the attention of the federal government has followed Thompson’s work over the years.
“In the midst of these turbulent times in our nation, we need Fiery Conscience more than ever. We are all called to speak out for the sake of truth and struggle together across divides to realize a justice that includes all. Bankole Thompson does just that and his witness can nourish our spirits,” said Campbell, recipient of the 2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Daniel J. Loepp, the former President and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan agreed.
“Fiery Conscience is a provocative and insightful compilation of topical essays reflecting the impact Bankole Thompson continues to have as an advocate and journalist. Over his career, Bankole has given a voice to many issues often unexplored by mainstream media and policy makers,” Loepp wrote in his endorsement of the book. “ I especially appreciate the way he examines and seeks solutions for critical issues affecting historically disadvantaged people – issues that continue to confront our society despite decades of effort and focus We are living in a time when understanding, empathy and conscience are required of all citizens. In reading the passages of this book, I encourage us to examine our own thoughts and actions in confronting instances of injustice and helping to build a more equitable society.”
Steve Grigorian, the president and CEO of the Detroit Economic Club read the book and said, “In Fiery Conscience, Bankole compiles a variety of experiences which showcase his relentless advocacy for the voiceless. One constant with Bankole – he’s not afraid to leave the reader uncomfortable.”
Reverend Leonard Hamlin Sr., the Canon Missioner at the Washington National Cathedral also commended Thompson’s book.
“The problems of our past are not resolved by turning a blind-eye, or by commitment to silence. Bankole Thompson’s needed witness displayed a courage and faith that inspires us to move beyond complacency and into prophetic action. His impactful journalism has raised the uncomfortable questions and exposed circumstances that were in need of transformation,” Hamlin said. “It is a must read for those who have a concern for where we have been but more importantly for where we are headed as a community. By reading this work I was inspired to remember the words of Maya Angelou that stated, ‘You can’t really know where you are going until you know where you have been.’”
Thompson’s work continues to serve as a national model in the arena of media and social transformation. From using his multimedia platforms to champion issues of economic justice to serving as speaker and moderator at prominent forums, his work reflects the speaking truth to power legacy of the 19th century abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
To contact Bankole Thompson, email bankole@bankolethompson.com. For his work at The PuLSE Institute, email info@thepulseinstitute.org
