Bankole's Nation

In this week’s episode, journalist Bankole Thompson talks to Elnora Gavin, a member of the Benton Harbor Area Board of Education and a racial and economic justice advocate, about how one of the smallest Black cities in Michigan’s urban core is responding to the Donald Trump presidency.

Gavin discusses the socioeconomic challenges facing the City of Benton, the need to support its struggling public school system, and what grassroots...

In this week’s episode, journalist Bankole Thompson talks to Jerry Norcia, the Chairman and CEO of DTE Energy in Detroit, a Fortune 500 company, about the transcending and inclusive legacy and impact of the late Pope Francis. Norcia, a trained engineer and the former Chairman of the American Gas Association, is one of the nation’s leading figures in the energy industry. He is also a board member of the Nuclear Energy Institute and ...

In this week’s episode, journalist Bankole Thompson reflects on the impact and legacy of the late Pope Francis, who served as the leader of the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church for 12 years. He emerged as one of the most prominent anti-poverty voices of this era. Francis, who used his papacy to champion issues like economic justice, spoke out in defense of the homeless and migrants. He clashed with some ultra-conservatives in the...

Rev. Solomon W. Kinloch Jr., leader of Detroit’s Triumph Church with a congregation of 40,000—making it one of the largest African American churches in the nation—has never held elected office. But in a stunning announcement at the Fox Theater before 5,000 attendees, Kinloch declared his candidacy for mayor of Detroit, shaking up the city’s political landscape.

In his first media interview since the announcement, Kinloch sits down w...

In this special commentary, journalist Bankole Thompson delivers a sharp critique of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan for his absence at the funeral of two-year-old A’millah Currie and nine-year-old Darnell Currie Jr. The siblings were tragically found frozen inside a van parked at a Detroit casino.

Their mother, Tateona Williams, had reportedly made multiple calls to the city seeking shelter but received no assistance. In response to the ...

The recent tragic deaths of two young children, ages 9 and 2, who were reportedly found frozen inside a van lastweek in a Detroit casino parking garage, continued to weigh heavily on the conscience of city leaders.

In this episode, journalist Bankole Thompson speaks withDr. Chad Audi, the President and CEO of the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, is providing a new home this week for Tateona Williams, the 29-year-old mother of the...

The tragic deaths of two young children, ages 9 and 2, who were reportedly found frozen inside a van in a Detroit casino parking garage this week, serve as a stark reminder of the city’s alarming levels of poverty and homelessness.

In this episode, journalist Bankole Thompson delivers a special commentary on what their deaths truly expose about the harsh realities of life in Detroit—a city where leaders often resist acknowledging th...

In his final days in office, President Joe Biden granted a posthumous pardon to Marcus Mosiah Garvey, often regarded as the father of the 20th-century Black freedom movement and a key inspiration behind the Harlem Renaissance. Garvey was convicted of mail fraud in 1923 in what many legal experts believe was a politically motivated trial. He was later deported to his native Jamaica.

Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Ass...

Attorney Tina M. Patterson, Esq. is the Principal Attorney at Patterson Justice Counsel, PLLC, and the President and Director of Research at The PuLSE Institute, a nationally recognized, nonpartisan anti-poverty think tank. Both organizations are based in Detroit.

With a decade of legal experience and a strong presence in public discourse, Patterson—a former U.S. federal government attorney—has led influential businesses and nonpro...

Jim Vincent, a national civil rights activist, served as president of the Providence Branch of the NAACP in Rhode Island for 12 years. During his tenure, he successfully advocated for Black representation in the judiciary, including appointments to the Rhode Island Supreme Court. However, his fight for racial justice did not end there.

Vincent, a graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania, also led efforts for...

Journalist Bankole Thompson kicks off the first episode of 2025 with a tribute to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose federal holiday falls on January 20—the same day Donald Trump is set to be inaugurated as president.

Reflecting on Dr. King’s profound contributions to the Civil Rights Movement, Thompson reads passages from What Manner of Man, a compelling biography of Dr. King written in the 1960s by renowned historian...

U.S. Senator Gary Peters: A Key Democratic Leader in Challenging Times

In 2021, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-Michigan) was recognized as the most effective senator of the 116th Congress by the nonpartisan Center for Effective Lawmaking. Currently, he serves as Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and also leads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Starting next year, he will become Mic...

The enduring legacy of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, often regarded as the father of the 20th-century Black freedom movement, laid the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement. Garvey’s call for Black empowerment and a new level of global consciousness inspired the Harlem Renaissance in New York and the rise of prominent Black thinkers of his time.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledged Garvey’s influence during a 1965 visit to Jamaica, w...

Rev. Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes III serves as the senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. Yet, much like theologian John Wesley's view that "the world is my parish," Haynes' ministry reaches far beyond the walls of his church in the South. He is widely regarded as a prophetic pastor and a passionate social gospel advocate.

In this interview with Bankole Thompson, Haynes reflects on the historical role o...

Samantha Woll, 40, was the former board president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue and a dedicated advocate for the Jewish community. She was tragically killed in Detroit last October. In this exclusive interview with Bankole Thompson, her parents, Dr. Douglas Woll and Dr. Margo Woll, reflect on their daughter’s life and the profound grief they continue to endure one year after her brutal murder near her home.

The Wolls share ...

Bankole Thompson goes one-on-one in a candid, no-holds-barred interview with one of the nation’s most eminent public intellectuals and nationally renowned author, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson. The two discuss the 2024 presidential election and the nation's direction in a second Donald Trump presidency beginning on Jan. 20, 2025.

 Dyson reflects on the recent election. During this time, the nation had the opportunity to elect Vice Preside...

Bankole Thompson interviews Gary Brown, executive director of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department about the recent mailings sent to over 200,000 Detroit residents that sparked panic over potential lead in their drinking water. During the interview, Brown acknowledges that the department failed to adequately clarify the purpose of the letters, which were intended to meet EPA standards.

 In the second segment, Bankole speaks wi...

Bankole Thompson interviews James White, who recently stepped down as Detroit's police chief to become the next president and CEO of the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network, the state's largest mental health agency with an annual budget of over a billion dollars. White, a mental health specialist, discusses the intersection of mental health and policing, crime in Detroit, and the challenges facing the Detroit Police Department ...

Bankole Thompson interviews veteran Michigan pollster Ed Sarpolus about why Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign failed to win the crucial battleground state of Michigan and why Gov. Gretchen Whitmer could not deliver for the campaign.

Additionally, Jonathan Kinloch, the chairman of the 13th Congressional District Democratic Party, explains why his party performed woefully in the election, how the Black vote continues to be taken...