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The official blog of Black Men Build.

National Events August 28th – Black August Mass Call We know that Black August is a time of solidarity with political prisoners and prisoners of war within the hold of the State. But as we close out Black August, what is our role in the prison movement?…

August 1, 2025

Events

November 3, 2025

WARTIME 2025
Black Men Build Applauds Chris Smalls and the Freedom Flotilla Free Chris Smalls! We applaud the courageous actions of the Freedom Flotilla in their determined efforts to bring food and medical supplies to Gaza to break the mass starvation and illegal blockade of humanitarian aid. We want to specifically highlight…

August 1, 2025

BMB Applauds Chris Smalls and The Freedom Flotilla
Last month, we explored Malcolm X’s powerful visit to Kenya and how his meetings with Mau Mau revolutionaries deepened his Pan-African vision and helped shape the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). This month, we’re back with Part 2 of this conversation. Join us as we continue the study, digging even…

April 18, 2025

Theory Thursday: Malcolm X in Kenya Pt. 2
Access and download the study guide here: Alkalimat 1990 x Pope 2025 This study guide was written in 1989 by Abdul Alkalimat as part of the practice of Peoples College to develop popular educational materials for the Black liberation movement and Black Studies. This followed the important 1985 issue…

March 17, 2025

35th Anniversary Reprint of the People’s College Malcolm X Study Guide
This session dives into Malcolm X’s Pan-Africanism and his lesser-known trip to Kenya, where he met with revolutionaries, including the Mau Mau movement. We’ll explore how these experiences shaped the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) and his broader vision for Black liberation. We’re honored to have Dr. James…

March 17, 2025

Theory Thursday: Malcolm X in Kenya Pt. 1
As we approach another critical election, it’s time to break down the presidential candidates. From major party contenders like Kamala Harris (Democratic Party) and Donald Trump (Republican Party) to third-party candidates like Claudia De La Cruz (Party for Socialism and Liberation) and Jill Stein (Green Party), we’ll examine their policies…

October 31, 2024

Voter’s Guide Workshop – Understanding the Candidates
While professional athletes may earn significantly more than the average person, they still receive only a fraction of what team owners make. Meanwhile, college athletes generate substantial revenue for universities, and in turn the NCAA, but are often viewed merely as students, receiving little to no compensation from their schools…

October 14, 2024

Theory Thursday: Are Athletes Workers?
With Kendrick Lamar’s recent Super Bowl performance announcement and Tyreek Hill’s brutal arrest captured on camera, the start of the NFL season has us grappling with a few familiar contradictions when it comes to race, sports, and culture. On one hand, Kendrick dominated the summer with “Not Like Us,” calling…

September 30, 2024

Theory Thursday: Million Dollar Slaves?
Since 1979, Black August has been invoked as a time of memorial and resistance. Black August is a month-long commitment to a core set of tenets that honor the revolutionary spirit of our freedom fighters—political prisoners, prisoners of war, and exiles—who have given the ultimate sacrifice.

July 29, 2024

Black August Events Calendar
Black Men Build believes that building and attaining power is the only way that Black people will shape our collective destiny. However, when we say power, what does that mean?  Black political power often gets defined by liberals and the ideas of the radical and revolutionaries get watered down beyond…

June 27, 2024

Theory Thursday: Black Independent Political Power
One of our themes this year at Black Men Build is “Healing During WARTIME.”  But what does that mean? Back in February, BMB gathered at the historic Highlander Center in Knoxville, Tennessee to game plan the year.  Half of the retreat was a somatic healing session as we…

June 27, 2024

Theory Thursday: Healing During WARTIME
In April of 2024, Ekundayo, Black Men Build’s Director of Political Education & Culture, interviewed Claudia de la Cruz with the Party of Socialism and Liberation, and of The People’s Forum. They touched on personal interests including reading materials by revolutionaries and artists like Diego Rivera and Elizabeth Catlett, as well as a mutual appreciation for nineties hip-hop and contemporary artists such as Megan Thee Stallion.

June 15, 2024

Claudia De la Cruz x WARTIME Interview
In April of 2024, Ekundayo, Black Men Build’s Director of Political Education & Culture, interviewed Dr. Cornel West during which they touched on various topics, from personal milestones to social causes. Cornel shared insights from his upcoming lectures on philosophy and jazz music, emphasizing love, community connection, vulnerability, intimacy, and wounded healing. He and Ekundayo delved into the interplay between Black culture and white supremacy, advocating for freedom and the end of wars. Cornel emphasized the need for abolition in various forms to challenge militarized mentalities.

June 15, 2024

Cornel West x WARTIME Interview
Session One: Thursday, May 16 at 7PM ET {RSVP} Join us for this month’s Theory Thursday series on the history of Black Worker Power. May 16th (Part 1)  – We’ll start with the History of Black Worker Power and breakdown unions, co-ops and collectives from the 20th century.

May 13, 2024

Theory Thursday: The History of Black Worker Power
In our 2023 Annual Impact Report, we spotlight our significant milestones as an organization and the nationwide impact of our initiatives.

March 8, 2024

Theory Thursday: Women’s History Month
George Jackson, affectionately known as “The Dragon,” became a revolutionary figure while serving an indeterminate sentence for stealing $70 from a gas station in 1961. During his time behind bars, he wrote Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson and Blood in My Eye. Today Jericho remains a vibrant and strong vanguard organization that continues to work nonstop in educating the public about the reality of political prisoners and campaigning to free them.

February 19, 2024

Heart of the Struggle: A Love Letter to All Political Prisoners
George Jackson, affectionately known as “The Dragon,” became a revolutionary figure while serving an indeterminate sentence for stealing $70 from a gas station in 1961. During his time behind bars, he wrote Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson and Blood in My Eye. Today Jericho remains a vibrant and strong vanguard organization that continues to work nonstop in educating the public about the reality of political prisoners and campaigning to free them.

February 19, 2024

Toward the United Front | Blood in my Eye
In our 2023 Annual Impact Report, we spotlight our significant milestones as an organization and the nationwide impact of our initiatives.

February 5, 2024

Black Men Build 2023 Impact Report
The Jericho Movement to free all political prisoners was started in 1998 by, then political prisoner, Jalil Muntaqim, the late Safiya Bukhari, and Herman Ferguson. Today Jericho remains a vibrant and strong vanguard organization that continues to work nonstop in educating the public about the reality of political prisoners and campaigning to free them.

December 4, 2023

What Makes a Political Prisoner
Since 1979, Black August has been invoked as a time of memorial and resistance. Black August is a month-long commitment to a core set of tenets that honor the revolutionary spirit of our freedom fighters—political prisoners, prisoners of war, and exiles—who have given the ultimate sacrifice.

December 4, 2023

Black August: Black Liberation and its Deep Ties to the Month of August
Dr. Mutulu Shakur embodied a lifelong commitment to the struggle and Black Liberation. A veteran of the Republic of New Afrika and the Black Liberation Army, his contributions to the liberation of our people are immeasurable.

December 4, 2023

Long Live Dr. Mutulu Shakur
Whenever rape is brought up, the room tenses. Silence seeps in. Niggas get shifty. Energies begin to fill the air: pain, guilt, fear, avoidance, denial, anger, sympathy, dismissal. I‘ve seen it happen. I’ve felt it happen. 

March 30, 2023

Deeper Than Rape
Black is Beautiful, ALL Shades of Black.  You would think that this would be a no-brainer in these times of “wokeness,” but it seems that after all this time, many of us are still “color struck,” showing obvious favor to light-skinned people as opposed to those of us who are of a darker hue.

March 29, 2023

Will Dark Skinned Women Ever Be Loved?
In a drinking game segment, Drink Champs host Noriega asks guests to pick one: loyalty or respect. Most of the people I’ve heard go with loyalty, explaining that someone can respect you and still do you dirty. In fact, it’s basically the only answer that makes sense, because respect has little value if the person in question feels they owe you nothing. 

March 2, 2023

Respect and Black Men
The world we live in operates off of rules and regulations, codes of conduct, and parameters that dictate how groups and individuals interact with one another.

November 25, 2022

Community Protection
There are a lot of opinions about the “Defund the Police” movement, but as an abolitionist and someone who loves data, it is one of the most successful campaigns in terms of concrete wins that I have seen in awhile - especially for a campaign that grew from a moment of spontaneous mobilizing.

November 25, 2022

Where The Money Go?
Written by phil agnew and LifeStyleAn Article from WARTIME ISSUE No.4 Cash rules everything around me C.R.E.A.M., get the money Dollar dollar bill, y’all  – Wu-Tang Clan, C.R.E.A.M It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking…

November 25, 2022

Cash Ruins Everything Around Me
Written by Asa ShawAn Article from WARTIME Issue No. 4 There is a specter haunting our people. It covers our eyes and prompts us to play a never-ending game of “guess who” while it laughs all the way to the bank, pushing us to live check to check in communities…

November 25, 2022

What is a Capitalist?
It feels so good to have it.  To know it’s yours.  It feels like you’re closer to the image of the men you grew up admiring.  Feels like you conquered a piece of the world and you’re rewarded for what you did. It’s status.  It’s comfort.  It’s safety.  It’s power.  It’s attraction.  It’s a dream come true.  An American Dream.

November 25, 2022

Money, Power, Respect Intro
Written by Ronnie AyminArticle from WARTIME Issue No. 4 Angela Davis once said, “I am no longer accepting the things that I cannot change. I’m changing things that I cannot accept”.  This profound statement has to make up the mindsets of those willing to do the work to contribute…

November 11, 2022

Revoking Cash Bail
Asa Shaw in conversation with Jared Ball of Black Power MediaA Conversation from WARTIME Issue No. 4 Asa Shaw Whats good Jared, glad to have you hear to illuminate some of the darkness around these conversations of Black wealth and Black buying power. Just want to say that we…

November 11, 2022

The Power of the Black Dollar
Written by Ed WhitfieldAn Article from WARTIME Issue No. 4 // Video from BMB Mass Meeting I’m not qualified to give investment advice. So this is not advice on what you should or shouldn’t invest in. DO NOT decide any investment based on anything you read here. I was…

November 11, 2022

Is Bitcoin a Ponzi Scheme?
Written by Tef Poe, Artwork by Nic VasquezArticle from WARTIME Issue No. 4 The Black elite want us to think that money creates an invisible cloak of protection from the realities of our own identities. But I was always told if somebody wants to take your life, there’s…

November 11, 2022

The Wealthy Black Elite Won’t Save Us
from WARTIME ISsue No. 4 / BMB Mass Meeting RSVP for our Mass Call: Smoke & Stay Woke | Thursday, April 20 at 8PM ET We all know that the “War on Drugs” has been a War on our Communities.  The United States has…

November 11, 2022

Cannabis Industry & Reparations
by phil agnewFrom WARTIME Issue No. 4 “These are new men, new types of human beings … These men have perspective. Know particularly that they glory in the struggle. They are not demoralized or defeated or despairing persons. They are leaders, but are rooted…

November 11, 2022

New Men Must Be Born
Back in 2020, we launched Black Men Build in the middle of a pandemic with the vision of uniting Black Men so that we can heal ourselves and step into places of leadership and engagement in the fight to protect and build our own communities.

November 9, 2022

An Open Letter from BMB
One might have hoped by this time, by this day–in–age, that the very mention of what seems to have become merely the evening news would be so intolerable amongst us brothers that we might raise our fists for you and with you rather than ever again raise them against you. But, of course, it would then require us to confront ourselves with the time old question of, “How does it feel to be the problem?”

March 8, 2022

An Open Letter to Black Sisters
sent and future of St. Louis.  We honor our Black family that represents all walks of life and service that are contributing to the Black Community in St. Louis being powerful and pushing forward our culture.

March 8, 2022

BMB Power 50 STL
Who will overextend themselves in the name of loving Black people for real? Who determines what is required for freedom to become an actualized concept? Our real problems aren’t even on the menu of discussion. No ballot box has ever provided a solution for this reality.

March 2, 2022

Organizing in the Biden/Harris Administration
Our ability to carry and own firearms has been systematically suppressed since before the United States was even a country.

February 21, 2022

Worth Our Weight In Guns
Our hearts are filled with toxic sludge and it overflows into every aspect of our lives.  We get relationship advice from JustinLaBoy on IG and niggas that cheat on their wives while they’re preaching to not cheat on your wives. I hate it here, but sometimes I like it.

February 12, 2022

Who Do You Love?
Oh, you lookin for Revolution? Revolution is at a gala Gucci clutch Birkin bagged Award winning paneling at the people. Revolution get paid well Upwardly mobile Can make you middle class Make your dreams come true When you wish upon the star  it made you, Revolution make you…

January 24, 2022

The Revolution is at a Gala
A feature from WARTIME Issue 3 released July 1, 2021. An excerpt from WARTIME Issue No. 2…

July 21, 2021

Who is Afraid of Black Power
An excerpt from a raw conversation between Black Men Build brothers on their relationships with Black Women and how their experiences are forcing them to grow.

July 1, 2021

“Not That bad” a conversation between brothers
We gather for all of those who know the feeling of constructing the soul of a warrior. To those who have played a role in shaping our ingredients of self.  We say we love you. 

June 20, 2021

For the FATHERS
Our enemies want us dead, deadbeat, defeated, on drugs, incarcerated. Our People – our children, sisters, lil homies, OGs, future family – need us to survive. We are bringing Black men together to engage in this country as an organized force.

May 24, 2020

Introducing Black Men Build