Bankole Thompson To Speak in Flint June 17 on Hope, Economic Justice and Democracy During Community Book Signing Forum

Nationally Acclaimed Journalist and Standard-Bearer for Economic Justice to Lead Public Conversation in the City That Became a Symbol of America’s Moral Crisis

DETROIT, MI, UNITED STATES, May 16, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Nationally acclaimed journalist, thought leader, author, columnist and standard-bearer for economic justice issues Bankole Thompson, will appear in Flint on Wednesday, June 17, 5pm at the Gloria Coles Flint Public Library for a powerful community book signing forum and conversation centered on his latest sixth book, "HOPE: On The Mountain Of Fear," an urgent reflection on hope, economic justice, democracy and the moral responsibility of leadership in a deeply unequal America.

The event part of this year’s Juneteenth celebration and hosted by former Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, who will serve as the moderator of the evening, Flint NAACP Chapter and the Flint Black Leaders Forum, is being held in a city whose lead water crisis exposed devastating failures of government accountability and public trust. The forum will challenge residents, civic leaders, faith leaders, students and advocates to confront the enduring consequences of poverty, systemic neglect and political abandonment while reclaiming hope as a force for democratic renewal. The book which will be available for purchase explores the collision between hope and fear in modern America, while arguing that economic justice is not secondary to democracy, but essential to its survival.

The book is a compendium of insightful and analytical essays written by diverse individuals from around the country to engender hope and resilience in challenging times. Thompson is host of the podcast, Bankole’s Nation and a twice-a-week opinion columnist at The Detroit News. He is the founder of the national anti-poverty think tank, The PuLSE Institute, as well as the founder of The Bankole Thompson Center, a newly established youth leadership empowerment initiative to help build next generation leaders.

The event themed, “Hope Beyond the Poisoned Waters: Flint’s Cry for Economic Justice" will feature a public conversation, audience engagement and book signing focused on the themes explored in "HOPE: On The Mountain Of Fear" — including economic inequality, the erosion of public trust, the crisis of moral leadership and the struggle to preserve democracy for everyday working people.

“Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed that social and racial equality were impossible to achieve without economic justice. Years later this still holds true. Through a lens of hope and economic empowerment, nationally renowned journalist Bankole Thompson will help us examine where we are in Flint after systemic neglect, political abandonment and the Flint water crisis,” said Weaver who led Flint during the water crisis. “Come and be a part of this important community conversation as Thompson unveils his new book, HOPE: On The Mountain Of Fear.”

"Flint is more than a city. It is a moral testimony about what happens when democracy stops listening to suffering people,” said Thompson, who was the 2017 keynote speaker for the Flint NAACP Annual Freedom Fund Dinner during the height of the water crisis. "But it is also a testimony to resilience, courage and the unbreakable human search for dignity and hope.”

Thompson, widely regarded as a columnist of conscience, has emerged as one of the nation’s leading voices examining poverty, race, democracy, economic justice and civic accountability through a moral and journalistic lens.

The Flint forum is expected to draw community leaders, educators, clergy members, students, activists and residents committed to advancing dialogue around justice, public responsibility and the future of democratic institutions.

"Everyone in the Congress – and the country – ought to read my friend Bankole Thompson’s book. At a time when division, inequality, and injustice in America often feel inescapable, Thompson reminds us that there is a way out: the path of solidarity, democracy, and hope," Maryland Democratic Congressman and former U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer wrote in endorsing the book.

Sister Simone Campbell, one of the most powerful voices for social and economic justice in the modern American Catholic Church, a close ally of the late Pope Francis’ anti-poverty crusades and a 2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, wrote the book’s foreword.

“Hope can weave us together in challenging times if we stay connected in community of some sort. Wherever we look there are opportunities to make a difference by being part of the fabric of our society. None of us have to do BIG things, but we each must do SOME thing. Hope in these challenging times might just be the new green shoots of spring time growth that we need. That is what will see us through,” Campbell wrote in the foreword.

March Morial, one of the nation’s most prominent civil rights leaders and former president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and who is the president and CEO of the National Urban League, the nation’s largest civil rights organization, wrote the book’s epilogue. In it Morial described Thompson as an “award-winning journalist and public thinker,” while calling the book a “groundbreaking anthology,” adding that, “In a time of division, uncertainty, and urgent questions about the future of the American democratic experiment, HOPE: On The Mountain Of Fear is a resounding call to courage, conviction, and collective purpose.”

Among other notable figures endorsing the book is the acclaimed dean of the University of California Berkeley School of Law, Erwin Chemerinksy, who was named twice as the most influential person in legal education in the United States.

"At a time when the possibility of progressive change seems bleak, this collection of wonderful essays provides urgently needed hope. Written from a variety of perspectives and on many different topics, these essays provide a blueprint for a future with economic justice and meaningful equality of opportunity. The inescapable conclusion from this book is that we can make it happen," Chemerinksy wrote in endorsing the book.

Thompson is a leading journalistic voice known for confronting injustice, challenging power, and advancing a fearless vision of equity, accountability and democratic renewal. He is one of the first Black editors in the nation to conduct a series of historic exclusive sit-down interviews with former President Barack Obama, is the founder of the national anti-poverty and economic justice think tank, The PuLSE Institute, a twice-a-week opinion columnist at The Detroit News and the host of the podcast, Bankole’s Nation. He is also the founder of The Bankole Thompson Center, a newly established youth leadership empowerment initiative to help build next generation leaders.

A member of the National Press Club of Washington D.C., Thompson is an accomplished author of several books, including "Fiery Conscience", about his decades of speaking truth to power reviewed by Forbes and listed as a reference in the Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division of the New Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. He has appeared severally on CNN and other major news outlets.

Thompson’s work which is defined by a rigorous focus on economic justice, racial equality and poverty is often linked to the tradition of Frederick Douglass speaking truth to power.

In January of 2018, the late civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson Sr., personally presented Thompson with the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s Let Freedom Ring Journalism Award for being a preeminent voice of conscience and courage during a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary death of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In a rare honor, the University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library in 2015, established the Bankole Thompson Papers to preserve his work alongside the papers of Michigan governors. In 2018, he received the U.S. Congressional Record of Testimonial placing his body of work into the official record of the 118th Congress.

His advocacy has been partly centered on what has been called the Bankole Thompson Doctrine, which declares that business leaders have a moral and ethical obligation to invest in anti-poverty efforts.

BANKOLE THOMPSON
The PuLSE Institute
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