Illustrious Journalist Bankole Thompson to Deliver Kingian Lecture at Triumph Church, One of America's Largest Churches

DETROIT, MI, UNITED STATES, July 19, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Bankole Thompson, the nationally acclaimed journalist, public intellectual and racial justice champion will deliver a lecture on the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the challenge of the modern Black church on Saturday, July 19, and Sunday, July 20, at Triumph Church, one of the largest Black churches in the nation based in Detroit.

Rev. Solomon W. Kinloch Jr., the Senior Pastor of Triumph Church which has a membership of 40,000 invited Thompson to deliver a lecture on "The Black Church and the Fierce Urgency of Now," echoing the dictates of the Dr. King's crusade during the Civil Rights Movement. He will speak at all of the church's six campuses during worship services where he will address the legacy of Dr. King and how the Black Church can continue to be a voice of social empowerment.

Thompson's appearance at Triumph Church this weekend follows previous speakers such as author Michael Eric Dyson, Rev. Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes III, and U.S. Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock, who have all recently appeared as part of the church's Guest Lecture Series that features prominent thought leaders from around the country. The church is marking its 105th anniversary this year.

The selection of Thompson, a standard-bearer for economic justice issues, and whose work on the political and cultural landscape over the years has been lauded for its clarity, consistence, tenacity and boldness in championing issues of poverty and racial inequality which embodies Dr. King’s enduring legacy, comes amidst discussions about the role of the Black Church in public life and as a cornerstone of social empowerment in the Black community.

Thompson, a Kingian journalist, has written and spoken extensively on the issue both as a journalistic thought leader and a preeminent voice of conscience and courage. He is the founder and dean of the anti-poverty think tank, The PuLSE Institute.

"I'm looking forward to speaking at Triumph Church to the transcending legacy of Dr. King and how the Black church, the oldest Black institution in the nation can continue to be a force for freedom and justice," Thompson said. "Under Pastor Solomon Kinloch, Triumph Church has become an institution that is not only concerned about saving souls spiritually but also speaking to the socioeconomic challenges of our time. It is an anchor of empowerment in Detroit."

Thompson added, "It should not be lost on anyone that the contemporary Black church has been a sleeping giant for a long time and that history shows that it has been one of vanguards that defended Black humanity during a period when it was extremely difficult and dangerous to do so. That is why it is important to reflect not only on that legacy but also to chart a way forward in the vision of Dr. King and his quest for economic justice."

A twice-week opinion columnist at The Detroit News (https://www.detroitnews.com/search/?q=bankole+thompson+) , where he writes about the presidency, public leadership, culture and socioeconomic issues, Thompson, is a leading journalist and a member of the National Press Club of Washington D.C. He is the host of the weekly podcast, Bankole’s Nation (https://open.spotify.com/show/3XfFvoHa5BM9uQJBBpzxDm).

His latest book titled Fiery Conscience about his decades of speaking truth to power was released in August of 2023 and received a definitive review in Forbes magazine (https://www.forbes.com/sites/marybethgasman/2024/04/02/who-is-bankole-thompson/) highlighting his national impact. The book which lays out a blueprint for bold and impactful leadership is also listed in the Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York, considered the premier repository on the global Black experience.

Janis F. Kearney, former journalist and newspaper publisher in Arkansas, who served as the first presidential diarist in the history of the White House under President Bill Clinton, wrote the epilogue for Fiery Conscience. Kearney, a former fellow at Harvard University’s W.E.B. DuBois Institute, tells readers that Thompson’s didactic work is needed today, and that it is reminiscent of the journalistic crusades that were led by towering Black journalists in Arkansas and other places in the American South during the Civil Rights Movement.

“It is gratifying for a native of the Arkansas Delta region and child of cotton sharecroppers to know that we still have a social commentator and leader who remains an unapologetic advocate for the poor and downtrodden. While American politics is oftentimes a murky, messy undertaking; the practical, realistic, yet hopeful Bankole Thompson knows that good politics can mean social and economic change for the masses. And, that good politics can result in policies, laws and civil actions that make life better for the least of us and addresses the dignity of all—including America’s poorest,” Kearney wrote. “But, good politics doesn’t just happen. It needs advocacy and fiery voices like Bankole Thompson’s. Voices that worry the lawmakers at night, that remain, like ‘earworms’ in their subconscious as they make and act on decisions that are crucial and life-changing for everyday Americans.”

Reverend Leonard L. Hamlin Sr., the Canon Missioner at the Washington National Cathedral offered a commendation for the 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.’”

Sister Simone Campbell, leader of the historic “Nuns on the Bus” campaign, and one of the leading anti-poverty champions in the modern American Catholic Church, and a social justice advocate 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.

Thompson was one of the nation's first top Black editors to conduct a series of exclusive sit-down interviews with former President Barack Obama and wrote a pair of books on Obama. He has appeared on CNN and other national outlets discussing issues affecting urban America.

A sought after speaker, Thompson, has keynoted many noted and diverse organizations in the nation including Brown University's 2020 Forum on Race and Democracy, Michigan State University's 20th Dr. William G. Anderson Annual Slavery to Freedom: An American Odyssey Lecture Series, the 2011 Providence, Rhode Island NAACP 98th Freedom Fund Dinner, 2012 American Jewish Committee (AJC) Detroit Region Annual Distinguished Leadership Dinner and the 2012 Henry Ford Health System Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration. He was a speaker at the 2011 Federal Bench and Bar Conference for the Eastern District of Michigan as well as the 2010 Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference among others.

The PuLSE Institute
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