Gospel

(ThyBlackMan.com) For many Black Americans, Muhammad Ali was never just a boxer. He was a warning, a lesson, a mirror, and in many ways, a permission slip. He gave voice to thoughts many of our parents and grandparents carried quietly in their chests. He stood in public the way a lot of us were taught to stand in private. Unapologetic. Certain. Unmoved by white approval or comfort. Ali understood something […]

(ThyBlackMan.com) Hip hop has always been political whether it wanted to be or not. From its earliest days in the Bronx, the culture spoke truth to power, chronicled poverty, resisted authority, and gave voice to communities ignored by mainstream America. Even when the music leaned toward escapism, the backdrop was always real. So when one of hip hop’s most visible and influential figures stands on a federal stage and calls […]

(ThyBlackMan.com)  Measles is a “cost of doing business,” says a highly placed official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I’d like to know what business that is. To be fair, let me finish the CDC principal deputy director’s quote. Ralph Abraham said that measles is a cost of doing business “with our borders being somewhat porous for global and international travel.” Thing is, the U.S. saw over 2,200 […]

(ThyBlackMan.com) From the earliest days of the Trump administration, Black Americans recognized a familiar pattern in American leadership—a pattern of betrayal, disregard, and selective loyalty that has long shaped their relationship with the nation. The warnings issued by Black America were not born of cynicism, but of hard-earned wisdom, rooted in centuries of navigating a country that often oscillates between indifference and hostility toward its most vulnerable communities. Black Americans […]

(ThyBlackMan.com) What is happening in Minnesota should be the kind of wake-up call for Americans who still fail to recognize the truth about this administration and need to understand the grave situation we face as a nation. We are seeing evidence that the abuse of power by Trump administration officials is far worse than we could have imagined—even for those of us who were prepared for what we experienced during the […]

(ThyBlackMan.com) Few thinkers spoke to the interior life of Black America with the clarity, compassion, and insistence of bell hooks. Her work never asked readers to perform enlightenment. It asked them to be honest. Honest about pain. Honest about love. Honest about power. Honest about responsibility. bell hooks understood that liberation was not just a political project, but a deeply personal one. Her writing bridged feminism, race, class, love, and […]

(ThyBlackMan.com) “Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.” Text from President trump to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Støre, on Jan 18, at 4:15 p.m. Fact Check: […]

(ThyBlackMan.com) In Minnesota this winter, amid the steady stream of grim headlines out of Minneapolis, one story barely made it beyond Duluth’s city limits. The Duluth News Tribune and other regional outlets are inviting residents to dig into the city’s archives, retell old stories, and share plans for America’s upcoming 250th anniversary. Town halls are discussing parades. Local museums are planning exhibits. Families are marking the milestone in small, thoughtful […]

(ThyBlackMan.com) A lot of Black men do not actually hate exercise. What we hate is the gym. The mirrors, the noise, the unspoken competition, the feeling that you are being watched or judged the moment you walk in. After working long hours, dealing with family responsibilities, financial pressure, and the constant weight that comes with being a Black man in this country, the gym can feel like just another place […]