(ThyBlackMan.com) One of the amazing things that occurred quite frequently during Jesus‘ earthly ministry was that he had to remind his apostles to keep their focus, concentrate on the vital issues, the really important things, and not to be sidetracked. It was not that these stalwart Galileans had an attention deficit disorder, or that they were uninterested in what Jesus was teaching them and so become easily distracted. No, that was not the problem at all. Just look at who these apostles were, and you see mature individuals who were tough minded, resilient, purpose driven; not theologians ..read more

(ThyBlackMan.com) In March of 2018, after 25 years of doing so, I submitted my final Blackonomics column to the members of the National Newspaper Publishers Association. The article was titled, “The Last Dance,” and I wrote it because I could no longer use my computer. ALS had made its way to my arms and hands preventing me from doing something else I loved doing. Since that time, I have gotten back to writing, only now with my eyes on my eye gaze computer. You can check out my work on ALS News Today online. But this is not about me. It’s about us, Black people. So I humbly ask the NNPA and a ..read more

(ThyBlackMan.com) The decay in American education is an alarming national security threat. Most high school or college graduates know about little more than their sexual orientation or Taylor Swift’s juvenile lyrics and strutting. They are unable to write a single, succinct, evocative sentence, like the magnificence of a “rosy-fingered dawn.” They could not pass the civics test required for naturalization. They do not know the fundamentals of citizen duties, including informed voting and participation in politics, eternal vigilance over their government servants, and petitioning for redress o ..read more

(ThyBlackMan.com) Again, the celebration of Earth Day this month gives us space and time to focus on our awesome responsibility for the natural world and all in it. And here the ancient African ethical imperative of serudj ta, to repair, renew and remake the world, remains as relevant today and perhaps more urgent for us and all human beings, given the times in which we now live and the damage, devastation and dangers we sense and see all around us. This sober and sobering assessment is drawn from a close, depthful and continuous reading and reflection on the conditions of the world and t ..read more

(ThyBlackMan.com) The year of 1968 remains one of the most historic turning points in history. This single year was marked by historic achievements, assassinations and protests over a much-hated war. It was a year which literally transformed the future of a nation. While young white students protested the Vietnam War, frustrated Blacks protested racism and poverty at home. The assassination of Martin Luther King on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis unleashed a wave of violence, looting and arson in cities across the U.S. Two months later, on the night of the California primary, Sen ..read more

(ThyBlackMan.com)  (**)  Is there a point to remaking an older movie if you aren’t going to make it better? Or is it just an easy way out for filmmakers adverse to creating something new? Director/producer Doug Liman has an impressive filmography that’s marked by innovative films that started their own genres. The very hip Swingers. The intense and venomously sexy Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The action-packed thriller The Bourne Identity. So, if you’re a trendsetter, why choose a derivative project? The 1989 film Road House starred Patrick Swayze—in his heyday. It c ..read more

(ThyBlackMan.com) (**)  Godzilla and King Kong use to have a beef. Now that they’ve kissed and made up, there’s no real meat in this generic big creature smackdown. Also, any production involving Godzilla or Kong now stands in the shadow of the Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One. There’s no excuses anymore. If writer/director Takashi Yamazaki can craft a heart-felt script with three-dimensional characters. If Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takashi and Tatsuji Nojima can conjure eyeball-entrancing visual effects so stunning they garner the ultimate achievement in artistry, an Academy ..read more

(ThyBlackMan.com) When I was a kid, I loved baseball and was an above-average player. Good enough to reach Lutheran league championships three years in a row without winning ( two games lost 5 to 4). Good enough to be selected to one of the city’s two Connie Mack teams. was blessed to have had family members play for the Memphis Red Sox. My Grandmother’s brother, when I was a yougin’, taught me two pitches: the forkball and screwball and they served me well. We had a minor league AA team in Memphis called the Memphis Blues. My friends and neighbors, brothers Ricky and Anthony Duncan had ..read more

(ThyBlackMan.com) Many have a big problem conceiving God, but God does not have a problem defining man. Nowhere in the realm of intelligent, conclusive conceptions, not in religion, not in philosophy, and certainly not in science, is there a wholly acceptable and compelling definition of Almighty God. Maybe that is how it should be. At the dawn of classical philosophy, when Greece became a World Empire and its learned intelligentsia became the leading light in the world; where men like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were revered for their philosophical insights, God was ill-defined, and such d ..read more

(ThyBlackMan.com) Last month, NBC News Group chairman Cesar Conde hired – then speedily fired – Ronna McDaniel as a political commentator. McDaniel is the immediate past chairperson of the Republican National Committee. Understandably, Conde desires to have a news organization that offers disparate voices. However, NBC’s marquee personalities vociferously objected to McDaniel’s hiring while on air. She barely lasted three days at the network. The outrage was driven by McDaniel having chosen to be a leading propagandist in advancing the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Thus ..read more