…..the ways of a man are before the Lord and He watches all his paths. – Proverbs 5:21
Thank you for listening, downloading and subscribing to this new chapter of my life.
Thank you for sharing, supporting, and staying a faithful friend. It’s good to be back. Thank you for asking me to come back. Thank you for the emails. Thank you for the recent well wishes on my Facebook debut and birthday celebration. I think I got more views on that one video than I did with my conversation with Colion Noir. I said that I came back because you asked me to; I came back because I have a few more things to say. I came back because I want you to help me do what I’ve been called to do, and I want to help you survive another week. I’ve had some time to appreciate you.
This week, I’m going to share with you my take on current events, and you don’t have to agree with me, but please hear me. Try to understand me. This is the start, the baseline, the ground-zero point. I’ll try to get more into guns, Second Amendment concealed carry as we go on. I thought I was done.
And then, 2020 happened.
Who would have known that it’s been a year of COVID-19, pandemic quarantines, the murder of George Floyd, the sparked protests across the United States and across the world, and that Australia burned? There was a toilet paper shortage for a hot minute. We were threatened with “murder hornets.” Everybody has to wear masks, and bars and churches closed. Black Lives Matter became a movement that was embraced around the world. And while we’re just sitting here and waiting, Swine Flu is threatening to join the mix. Who knew there would be a return of Marxism in America? Who planned for the destruction, looting, and the protest of police brutality? The latter is as old as our freedom. But wait, there’s more. They’ve got something called Antifa. We have the rejection of Confederate Anything, and the cancel culture.
The so-called minority gun owner that you’ve been trying to get to the range is finally here. They’re just not with you. They’re shooting on private lands at outdoor ranges and have created small groups to practice and train without you. And there’s even a national organization of African Americans that is celebrating explosive growth.
The infamous National Rifle Association has finally imploded after decades of poor decisions, secrets and mismanagement. It has exposed itself as a bloated, piss-poor representation of gun owners stuck in the ’80s. It has furloughed most of the staff. It has massive legal troubles, but, like our President, people still defend them with cult-like adoration. Meanwhile, highly paid lobbyists still run D.C. All are taking advantage of the loyalty of its members who don’t live in this city. Ninety-eight percent of the politicians around here are not cool. This is a personal observation and opinion. Anyone who’s been in office longer than two terms is no longer serving the people.
I believe that foreign influencers are using social media to pit us against each other. People want to defund the police — which is right out of the textbook of toppling a government by foreign governments. I know a little something about that. I believe our Executive branch has been compromised by foreign interest, but you’re not ready for that truth yet.
You want to talk about guns and American history, mostly, right? You want me to give you some product reviews and interview some interesting people? I’m going to do that. And along the way, I’m going to make you think a little, and hopefully help you understand why we are here and where we might be going.
In all truth, I don’t have all the answers. I don’t have to be right. And I don’t have to come back, but I want to now. I want to meet you in the middle so we can walk together, talk together, and fight together.
Now, you know that in the twelve years that the Urban Shooter / Black Man With A Gun Show Podcast has been on, I have always strived to be family-friendly and office-safe. I may have to deviate from that in the future – not from my language, but from the sources that I’m going to use.
I’m going to be giving you history. I’m going to be giving you some educational stuff, some entertainment, things that are not pretty, but they’re ours. If you’re brave enough to stay with me, if you trust me, I promise we’re going somewhere with this. My disclaimer is that I’m not trying to prove that I’m right. What I’m going to try to do, and only you will know if I’m successful, is to speak to what is up. Did you realize that we are right in the middle of a revolution? This isn’t the Civil Rights Era, or is it? There’s gotta be a new name for it, but I don’t have it yet. Have you heard of one? Whatever it is, I’m right here with you. If you were my friend before 2020, you are probably still my friend.
Epictetus says that it’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it, that matters.
Since 2014, I’ve been a member of the Crossbreedholsters.com family. If you carry concealed, get a holster that comes with a try-it-free lifetime guarantee.
If you have been a long-time listener of this podcast, you know, for many years, I would open up with John Wayne leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Somewhere, around my tenth year on the air, I had somebody tell me that John Wayne was a racist. It hurt me that I didn’t know, but I wasn’t surprised. And because I enjoyed all the Wild West movies that John Wayne had been in, it took me awhile to replace it. I had to think about it, ruminate on it and marinate on that thing. But as I started to do that and peel back the curtain on so many things of our country and our history, it got uglier and uglier. For the record, I still believe to my very soul that this is the very best country in all of the fifteen that I have visited in my lifetime. I would rather be nowhere else.
Them Damn Millennials.
We used to make fun of the younger folks, but guess what? They are changing the world. I know you don’t agree with the burning, looting, the defund-the-police, and all that. It is all stupid stuff, including the tearing down of monuments, but let’s look at it from a view of 60,000 feet above the Earth. Let’s rise above our own issues and thoughts, and look at it differently for a minute. At the speed of social media, these sapsuckers have done what folks have been trying to do since the Civil Rights Era. They’ve embarrassed us and reminded us that we have just accepted some stuff that we should not have. Not everyone will agree, but time will tell. The time had come for us to stop revering and instead reconciling the complexity of heroism and evil in America. That reckoning should have begun in the public school, but it didn’t. They’re doing it now. And how the sausage is made is never pretty.
The Sausage of Freedom.
Making freedom. It isn’t pretty. It’s kind of close to being like sausage. To make a pork sausage, you gotta kill a pig. You gotta clean the thing. You must cut the meat. You must grind it up. You must mix it and season it and put it in a cellulose sleeve. It is horrible to look at, but when you seal it, cook it, or grill it, that’s some good-tasting stuff – if you like pork. How we got to this point; how we think we discovered this world, the colonization of North America, the murder of indigenous people to the bringing of different nationalities here….Those who escaped other places to come here to form this nation…..The rise of slavery, the wars, Civil War reconstruction, the progressive era…..The so-called World Wars, the mid-century and the Cold War, and mixed in there were lynchings and the civil rights era and atrocities to humanity. How the sausage of freedom was made. Not a pretty picture. You can’t just glaze it over. You can’t pick one thing and can’t choose it.
But this land is your land. And this land is my land – from California to the New York Island, from the Redwood Forest to the gulf stream waters….This land was made for you and for me.
If you will look at the 60,000 foot view, it has taken us a long time to make change happen. I have gotten used to it. There are statues, flags and things that I, as a free, law-abiding American citizen would never stand near, take a photo with, or acknowledge, because it doesn’t represent ALL of us. After I learned the history of President Woodrow Wilson, for example, I have no problem with removing his name from anywhere. And then the list just keeps going on, but don’t let me stop there. Don’t leave me yet. Listen, we recognize that our nation’s founding was far from perfect. Don’t look at the destruction as all negative though. Let’s go back in history. Let’s do that, and let’s go back to Greek/Roman history.
There was a guy by the name of Lois Malraux, who says that we judge a society by the monuments it puts up. So, imagine the society, a Roman society, that puts up statues of tyrants, people who nearly succeeded in tearing the country apart, who did horrible, inexplicably, cruel things, even by standards of their own time. Why leave a statue of that person up?
Is tearing down statues destroying history, or is it simply the obvious response of a freed people with a conscience? Of course, the past is complicated. But the fact that something is hard and complicated does not absolve us from the responsibility of resolving it. Rome was able to tear down the monuments of its worst villains, but here, in America, and in the rest of the world, we have more tools at our disposal besides angry Millennials. We can still study and learn about these people in our history books and our schools, but we can take them off of public property, removing them from their prominent places in front of courthouses and capitals, which are supposed to be the houses of ALL the people. All people. If Marcus Aurelius had caused the death of a million Romans and torn the empire in half for the sole purpose of protecting slavery, would he be our hero? No. If he had done it as recently as some people’s great-grandparents, definitely not. If his likeness had been appropriated by vicious tyrants who subverted the rule of law to intimidate fellow citizens, and if his likeness was put up in statutes paid for still by tax dollars, would it be worth protecting? Now, we can make good arguments about Marcus Aurelius. There are good arguments about the good that Churchill did. There are good arguments in favor of Jefferson and Washington and others, but only a coward is afraid of having a conversation.
What about Nathan Bedford Forrest? Jefferson Davis was a fool. Robert E. Lee betrayed his prior service to his country when he raised arms against it and sent a generation of men to their deaths in a rebellion to protect a way of life that enslaved humans. At first I was like you: What the Hell? What is a statue going to do to you today?
Let’s jump on that Black Lives Matter thing for a minute.
One of the obstacles to having an open conversation about race is the tendency to downplay things that are not truly or really racist. And this can actually emboldened or encourage prejudice. The Black Lives Matter movement is real. It is legit. The Black Lives Matter organization to me is another animal all to itself. In 2013, after the acquittal of George Zimmerman killing of Trayvon Martin, Black Lives Matter was born. It was a protest group. Since then it is a group that has been infiltrated by other agendas. The movement itself is not new. It is exactly the same movement with a different name that came about in the ’60s. If you go back and look at your text, you will find pictures of men and women with signs saying, “Am I not a man?” that is an updated version from the past. It stems from the Dred Scott decision that wanted to say that people of African descent were not fully human, thereby they were not citizens of this country or entitled to any of its rights.
When you see a sign that says Black Lives Matter it is not denouncing that all life matters. It is saying that we value the life of a person that because of the color of his or her skin was thought of as not being fully human, had no rights to vote, and could not own a firearm. When you try to say All Life Matters, it detracts from that message. You are negating that there was a struggle. You are saying that we should forget that hurt, and that that pain is not important. We have an unreconciled past. So, when you say anything, you diminish others. Oh, you’re saying a lot.
That’s why I advise many of my friends to shut up. Don’t wait to be heard. Listen, there’s some things happening right here in your space, in this time period that you’re missing by trying to be right, trying to get your points made, trying to make your memes pop or even creating groups on the side. You’re not helping at all. The Black Lives Matter movement has given us a moment to reflect on a very important matter: our history of racism. When I was becoming a podcaster, when I was tackling things like the Second Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms for all people, I was advised to stay away from the race word truth. As soon as you talk about race, it gets quiet because everybody involved is uncomfortable. But guess what? The millennials don’t care – They’re going for it. They are putting it in our faces. And because of all the craziness they have done, change is happening again from the 60,000 foot view. This is a good thing, because in the end we have to reckon with ourselves; We have to reconcile. We have to fix what’s not right. It’s about time. We’ve been rolling wrong for a long time, and just accepting it, believing the lie because it’s been told so many times. Now, you don’t have to subscribe to doctrines of racial superiority or incite racial violence to say or do something that has racist implications. It’s in our speech. It’s in our culture. Racism is as much about impact as it is about intention. We shouldn’t forget about those who are on the receiving end of that discrimination.
–All right, Kenn, I’m hearing you, but um, what am I supposed to be doing now? — Well, here’s the problem that folks don’t realize: Millennials know how to start some mess, but they can’t fix it all. We still need to be involved. They still need our guidance. The end. It might be a 40-year-old or 30-year-old. Now, they’re as smart as I don’t know what, but they don’t have any life experience. They’ll know how to talk to anybody, but they don’t know politics. It’s time for us to step up now and instruct them, show them, now that they got a firearm, how to use it.
Because even though politics is jacked up right now, they need to be involved in that too, to change things. Don’t let one side be the answer for everything. Now, it’s time for you to get your butt in gear and assist and help and give consultation to these folks who are on fire to change the world without guidance. It’s the Lord of the Flies. I need the adults who are strong among us to work with these people. They’re not all bad. They just don’t have all the answers. They don’t have all the, you know, the inside stuff – the stuff we take for granted. And if we let them, they’ll burn the crap to the ground and not realize that you also have to rebuild. Don’t give up on them. Don’t leave them to their own devices. Don’t let some other interests take them away from us. We still have a chance to fix this country, but we must be involved, and you can only be involved if you’re talking to them. Communication is more important now than ever.
The Rise of the Black Gun Owner
Collectively, we still are little kids on the playground picking sides by gender, color, size and familiarity. Look back at kindergarten, remember when we used to segregate ourselves? All the kindergarten kids, the first-grade kids, the big kids from the little kids. There was the all-girl groups and over there, all the boys. And then, as we grew and social constructs began, we segregated ourselves by race. In nature, we separate ourselves for safety. Anything you think is strange is a threat. Well, right now, in an elementary sense of the word, we are grouping ourselves for safety. There is a fear that’s promoted and pushed pretty well by foreign governments on social media. The Race War. People fall for it. It sells black fatigues pretty well.
I have found that over time, as the group grows, it learns that it can’t be monolithic. You can’t be all “one people.” You must be diverse if you want to grow outside of your niche. If you want to grow outside of your field, you must embrace other people. That’s why there’s power in diversity. It’s a growth thing. Once you leave kindergarten and go to college, you mix and learn about other languages, other people, other cultures, and you get stronger because you grow in knowledge. In the beginning, it’s safer to be exclusive. There are some positives for being racist and segregationist. As a group, you can grow really fast. You can grow really strong. You can garner a lot of power using fear in small groups. But when you are ready to train outside of your group or shoot different firearms and travel to other ranges, you have to change.
It’s a growth thing. It’s a maturity thing.
I hope that one day we get to see that Americans realize that we are all the same with this faith. We will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning, “my country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died. Land of the Pilgrim’s pride. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.”!! And if America is to become a great nation, then this must be true. – Dr. MLK
Another thing that makes us different is not only our age and core values, but many of us served in uniform and took an oath to defend the constitution of the United States and to serve as an example to an America that doesn’t transfer or translate to the folks you see on “rage TV.”
Hang on, brother.
Yes, the media is doing what it does. It is showing you what you want to see to scare you. You know, we like to be scared. Some of us are writing articles about a race war and how we won’t kneel – none of which is helping anybody. The best advice I can give to friends who are listening is to not respond, not knee-jerk reaction, not come off-the-cuff, not try to be cute, to just shut up right now, but I’ll get back to that. I know that’s tough to hear from your friend. I know you know this, I’m just here to remind you. We have been here before. I didn’t think we would return, but humanity is not as cogent progressive or intelligent as it claims to be.
I’m still gonna need some financial help to get this puppy moving. If you can, please contribute to the https://patreon.com/blackmanwithagun , or to buy-me-a-coffee links. I still believe that
none of us is as strong as all of us.
I know, it’s been rough. It’s been tough. It’s been hard, but don’t let the media get ya. You’ve been right on so many things. Let’s continue to walk this thing together. Amen? And just in case, nobody has told you this today – I’m sure they haven’t, so I’m going to tell you – I love you. And there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.
Some podcasters don’t take themselves serious, but when they do, they knock it out of the park.
I got the opportunity to speak on a podcast (hear below) recently and was asked some tough questions. From my vantage point, anyway. We talked about race, BLM, racism, police defunding, gun control and what we did last in guns.
It’s not you, it’s them.
You have been thinking, acting, and living like you have to be responsible for your life, family and future.They think the government is here to protect them up until recently. Now they want to defund the police.They don’t know that gun control is racist.You know our history.You know that along with a firearm you need ammunition and training.They are now surprised that they have to wait 3, 7 or ten days to pick up a pistol they purchased because of a state regulation they agreed to years ago.You don’t give a rats ass about the color of a person skin.You are so comfortable you used to make jokes about it with friends.They are shocked you have a relationships with people of color.They are shocked you supported a podcast called Black Man With A Gun for years, that they never heard of.
If the recent burning, looting, and destruction of cities surprises you, don’t let it. This is the reaction of people seeking to be heard. This is what happens when people wake up. This is what happens when we grieve the loss of life, freedom and the way things used to be. All of us are in some stage of that grief. This is how sausage is made.
Nobody new to food processing likes watching how sausage is being made. It is ugly. Everyone watching the turmoil, strife and upheaval of protesters and looters doesn’t understand that these are byproducts of freedom. It is ugly. It is revolution. These are pleas for help and attention to social problems mixed with criminal activity. It is change.
To quote my cousin.
Black people haven’t had one decade to heal. We come out of slavery to lynchings , to Jim Crow , segregation, desegregation, civil rights denied, too war on drugs all the way up till now being killed by cops ( no healing period)
What makes us different is not only our age, but our core values. Those that once servedin uniform and took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States and to serve as an example to American society which did not transfer to the folks you see on RAGE TV.Yes, the media is doing what it does.It is showing you what you want to see to scare you.We like to be scared.Some of us, are writing articles about the Race War, and how we won’t kneel.None of which is helping anyone else.
We have been here before.I didn’t think this would happen in my lifetime but but humanity is not as cogent, progressive or intelligent as it wants to claim.Collectively we are still little kids in the playground picking sides by color, size and familiarity.
You still with me?
I am bringing back the Black Man With A Gun Show Podcast and incorporating more common sense, more positive conversations, monologues and history.I may even try to do a short mini series on video now that I am over my fear of the camera. You’ll see the new stuff on my Youtube channel.
I ended the show last December thinking it had ran its course. I was wrong. I did need a break though.
The podcast rocked and rolled for twelve years as the world accepted podcasting.I did and lasted longer than most on what I had.The people that liked me, really did.The ones that listened to me try all sorts of things.They watched me grow.I thought I was done after watching a boat load of younger enthusiast take to instagram and YouTube.They seemingly got sponsors, and all sorts of stuff I thought was not available.I wasn’t black enough to some.I had the “racist” John Wayne on my show leading the pledge of Allegiance.I was probably a Republican.I was an odd duck.I had worked for all the socially unacceptable agencies, the police, the CIA, the NRA, the Law Enforcement Alliance of America, I was a black preacher (which is also a negative sometimes), I saluted the flag.I got along with bikers, the NASCAR crowd, country musicians. I was dangerously close to being an Uncle Tom.
With the exceptions that those closest vouched that I was the radical, the street smart, the militant, the “woke” guy in all those unacceptable agencies.That I scared my peers back then, though they understand me now.I was purposely put into diversity and Glass ceiling studies.I was always put into working groups because of my stance on human rights, equality and justice.When I became an entrepreneur in the gun industry, I was alone.I became jealous of the clowns that were celebrated, paid and shared on social media.I figured if that is what “the people” want then good on them.That was then.
Which brings me finally to what is going on.People are grieving and trying to work through it.We are in the midst of trying to stay safe from viruses and angry people.Mobs, riots and zealots are out here.The ignorant, misinformed and conmen are using social media to their benefit.I thought I’d come back and give my biased views on a few things under the guise of a Black Man With A Gun.I started this off by asking friends to submit articles to the blog and and handful did.They share their hearts.And that is what will save our Republic.Going to need financial help to get this puppy moving.If you can, please contribute to the patreon.com/blackmanwithagunor buy me a coffee links.
None of us, is as strong as all of us.
I will be incorporating the Game Changers podcast into this as well.Celebrating and acknowledging men doing the right thing in our community. And I may get around to talking about guns too.
I’m back.
Here is a conversation I had with the Concealed Taco Dudes Podcast.
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it annoys enough people to make it worth it.
MARYLAND, USA Civil rights activist, firearms instructor and podcaster known as the Black Man With A Gun ™ retires with over six hundred available episodes. Rev. Kenn Blanchard, also a Christian pastor has decided to pass the torch of gun rights advocacy to the next generation of social media influencers that have grown exponentially on the internet over the past five years.
The Black Man With A Gun persona emerged in 1999 with the release of the website of the same name announcing the self-published book of the same name in 2000. It was an ominous time to be pro-gun. There was a tragedy at a school named Columbine. Some were worried about the Apocalypse and Y2K.
Oprah Winfrey had a TV show and a Book Club that was making stars out of hacks at the time. Blanchard was elated when someone from her team requested a copy of his book for review.
“All I wanted to be is a resource for saving lives in the community. I could be the go-to guy to stop accidents in the homes, protect single mothers; and help boys become men.”
That didn’t happen.
Blanchard did begin speaking around the country to promote his book which with the website made him look authoritative. Websites were not common in 2001 unless you have a lot of resources. This website was created by a woman with a PhD that was a friend of a friend.
It was bigger than the NRA’s at the time. The Libertarian Party of Maryland liked Blanchard so much that they wanted him for a gubernatorial candidate.
Several websites around the country put his face and info on their websites. Some claimed him as a conservative, some a progressive liberal and even some a Black Nationalist.
African American themed book stores were the thing and they didn’t want to sell my book.
They said it didn’t promote the kind of values they wanted to reflect in their store. I thought it was odd though that a book about responsible gun ownership would be rebuffed while the books with the best placement in the store were about pimps, prostitutes and street hustlers. A book called “Monster,” the autobiography of a gang member had the most prominent spot in the window at the time.
I’ve been there and done that.
I got the NRA’s Eddie Eagle to do the one and only sold out appearance at an African American event in Washington, DC of 10,000 people. I received a Civil Rights Award from the NRA that got me a standing ovation at an Annual meeting in Phoenix, AZ.
Before the web presence, I was just as busy. I created a national gun club for African Americans called the Tenth Cavalry Gun in 1992. There are even more details on my bio page at http://kennblanchard.com/about
Tenth Cavalry at the new NRA range in 1992
May I continue?
I started the Urban Shooter Podcast after being interviewed by Mark Vanderberg on his podcast back in 2007 called Gun Rights Radio. Mark sparked my love of Old Time radio and the desire to be on terrestrial radio since a teen.
I tried everything on that podcast. We had a weekly audio drama called Zombie Strike! That some loved and some hated. We had a couple of burgeoning comedians. I have interviewed over 200 influential guests. And some not so. I stumbled, mumbled and sang to my heart’s content. I told stories and shared African American history with an audience I didn’t know would care. And I loved them for it. I told them my life, and they shared my time and experiences as the “pastor of patriots, pistoleros, and Paladins.”
The podcast helped me learn and focus my craft of speaking, preaching and reaching people. It helped me learn about myself.
The desire to retire from the gun rights movement grew after the 2019 Gun Rights Policy Conference in Arizona. I got a chance to see the heirs of my struggle. There are a handful of activist that are doing it right. They don’t have to chase advertisers or sponsors like I did. They have thousands of followers off the break.
And then there was the successful 2 A Rally in Washington DC. 2000 of my closest friends put on a major event without the usual foolishness. In spite of the naysayers it happened. This event again gave me the “warm and fuzzy” that I could depart this space and go on to other things.
I was tired of trying to convince others that I was still valuable. I was tired of watching people with no credibility or integrity –flourish. I was tired of re-introducing myself. I was tired of defending what I was doing to my wife, churches and a long list of connections.
I wanted to go out before I said something that got me into trouble. They old guys in the balcony on the Muppet Show were about to get a third.
Right after I announced my “retirement” my computer gave up the ghost. It was apropos.
I am not finished though.
My voice and passion for others is stronger. I plan to continue to podcast and write.
I love the brother or sister that also cares about this nation, their communities and family enough to be a citizen.
For thirty years I have fought for the rights of gun owners of all colors, and categories. I am a part of the family that cares for and encourages the growth or development of someone or something.
One of my biggest regrets is not knowing how to use the ever changing search engine optimization. What I plan to do is to become a better storyteller that can share wisdom, good times and inspiration. I’m taking the name from an Old World French and African class of traveling poets, musicians, and storytellers that maintained a tradition of oral history called griots.
This new podcast will speak to and about elements of American history, culture, that help us do better. There will definitely be some gun stuff there.
The Second Amendment is so important to our nation, it’s in the Bill of Rights.
The American Grio is coming. I am hoping you’ll come along for the ride.
I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left. Last night, I put together a video and a podcast episode sharing my desire to exit from the Second Amendment advocacy space. I called it my Farewell Message. The concept of leaving on a high note had been on my mind and I had been talking about it for weeks. Last week my 12 year old iMac hard drive died. Then it fell off my table (no damage). I took it as a sign.
Being the Black Man With A Gun indefinitely was not my plan. All I wanted was financial success. My level of success was independence and self-employment. It never came. Most of it was because I refused to do anything that seemed criminal or unethical. I am not politically motivated. I am not ambiguous. I like people that some don’t and don’t like people that many like.
The good news is that I am still going to be around. The bad news is that you won’t see or hear me talk about firearms or gun legislation after December 2019. I am tired and want to change my evergreen focus to a seasonal one. In this season of my life, I am looking forward to passing on information, encouragement and enjoying myself more than fighting, defending and debating crazy people. I’ve been doing it since 1987.
I have a website called kennblanchard.com that I plan to update and contribute to with all my shenanigans. I hope you decide to follow it. Currently I produce WarriorCast.com ‘s podcast, Speaklifepodcast.com and the Kenn Blanchard Show podcast. Warriorcast belongs to my son and covers his world of martial arts, boxing and pop culture. Speak Life is the weekly show from the Gospel ministry I serve, and the Kenn Blanchard Show is my cornucopia of thoughts.
With my podcasting computer down, I created this video.
Here are my thoughts, spoken from it.
This is my farewell message to friends, family and coworkers in the 2A movement. In my twenty plus year of being in this space, I have never seen anyone actually retire. They usually die, get a mention in the NRA Rifleman, and Ammoland and that’s it. Or they screw up in a media interview and get crucified by trolls and the community members that like that sort of thing. I’m trying to go out on my own terms.
The world has changed since I started. A lot. Some good stuff has happened. And some bad. I used to call myself the Bill Cosby of the Gun Rights Movement. That isn’t a good analogy now. And there were a couple of other guys that I grew up looking up to that have since gone down in flames.
Like my wife repeatedly say, don’t compare yourself to anyone, just be you.
I started with nothing. I still have most of that left.
I started in 1986 wanted to be a firearms instructor for my community. I wanted to become a high paid speaker or radio personality. I wanted to leverage my creativity and entrepreneurism to become a successful business person. I became the Black Man with a Gun (BMWAG)
The local DC Maryland and Virginia community wasn’t ready for an under 30 year old African American firearms trainer. The government allowed me to moonlight and do this side activity but with a strict warning not to disclose my bona fides. I was watched. I was monitored. I had to ask permission before I traveled. When I appeared before the public they thought, how could I know anything? How dare I talk about guns when there was the so called black on black crime, police shootings, and drug wars going on. I got beat up a lot at ranges, gun shops and churches where I tried to advertise. But I became involved in the gun community/ gun rights when I failed to make money as a trainer/instructor in 1987. Gun rights activism doesn’t make money if you are honest.
Since then I have been involved in the gun debate, as it intersects firearms instruction and civil rights. I created the Tenth Cavalry Gun Club in 1991 that grew from Washington, DC, Baltimore, NJ and Illinois. The Law Enforcement Alliance of America, introduced me the show business of politics and I worked with to the NRA, GOA and SAF. The website Black Man with a Gun debuted in 1999. I’ve been involved in US Supreme Court cases we have won for the 2nd Amendment even if my name isn’t on it.
I learned more about myself than anything doing this stuff I had a training business, where I provided instruction and certifications in first aid, armed security and tactics. I failed in business but I pressed onward.
I started before social media and looking back I could have been a boss with that thing but I didn’t.
I reached out to all the so called black leaders and announced my intentions in the gun world. It was risky because historically, this same leaders are anti-gun. But I went there. I tried to buy a shooting range. I got blasted by Rev Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson, and local pastors.
I created a podcast in 2007 and I was embraced by the people black people said I should beware of. The demographic that loved the BMWAG were the same folks that are accused of racism, cronyism, and supremacy. White males were calling me brother. They were listening to my shows. They were inviting me and my family to events across the country. I shot historical firearms in Tennessee. I ate at the homes of millionaires, in country clubs, and places in Washington DC I didn’t know black people were allowed in. I learned that our country likes being divisive. I learned that racism exist mostly because people need it as an excuse. I learned that organizations really don’t want change. I learned that people like mess, and drama. I learned that I was a conservative.
I loved meeting people like you. I loved shooting exotic and new firearms. I loved championing the cause of freedom. I loved being the Black Man with a Gun. I loved mixing faith and firearms. I loved being the pastor of patriots, pistoleros and paladins. I loved writing but podcasting was my jam. I loved and hoped that one day I would make enough money to quit my day job. That didn’t happen by the way. I learned that my faith has sustained me. I learned that my unique position has saved lives.
But it has had its bad side too. I’ve spent too much money learning, and chasing influencers. I filed bankruptcy along this journey. I’m ok now but I learned a lot by my mistakes. My wisdom came at a price. I almost lost my wife on this journey. I almost got kicked out of two churches from being pro-gun. I lost positions, promotions and opportunities at my old government job because of my pro-gun activities. It came at a cost.
Memories
1. Civil rights award from the NRA for bringing the Eddie Eagle program to Washington DC in a big way.
2. St Gabriel Possenti award from the Gun Dean, John Synder at the Second Amendment Foundation
3. Creating the tenth cavalry gun Club and getting the club to shoot at the NRA range when it was brand new
4. Meeting Charlton Heston and getting Christmas cards from him for a few years
5. Being the chaplain of the LEAA
6. Being a part of the concealed carry reforms across the US
7. Testifying in VA, TX, MI, WI and SC legislative houses
8. Interviewing the Gunny, Lee Ermey, Wayne LaPierre, befriending a rabbi like Dovid and connecting with my Jewish brethren
9. Speaking in front of 20K in Albany NY
10. Meeting Donald Trump and getting a selfie in NY
11. Publishing two three books related to the my journey and the 2nd amendment
12. Creating a website in 1999 and trademarking the name bmwag
13. Being mentioned in a movie, pros and Cons.
14. Getting a chance to audition for a pilot show on Spike TV
15. Podcasting for 12 years, 630+ episodes, sharing American history, and introducing new generations to things they may have missed.
16. Working with over 12 industry companies and getting sponsored by Crossbreed holsters and USCCA
17. Interviewing over 100 historical people for the podcast
Why am I leaving?
When I got started in 2000 as the BMWAG, it was tongue in cheek. It was my version of a shock jock. I did it with all the intentions of being replaced by many untraditional firearms instructors, activist and clubs. We have that. I personally know of Spanish speakers, LGBT, African Americans, disabled vets and boat loads of women involved now. I’ve been the go to guy media for law enforcement issues in the black community, religion and guns and veterans issues as it relates to guns. Most of the time, after a tragedy. Not good times. There have been almost a steady flow of tragedy to respond to. If you know the media game, if you sound reasonable, truthful and not bombastic your contribution will not be used. I think I might get the reward for the most media nobody but the editor as seen. I’m tired of that.
It took me awhile to learn the game of hyperbole. On a good day, I can crank it out like the best of them. But it’s not my style. Over the years I have learned that I am not the loudest, nor the most controversial voice out there. I started focusing on taking care of the second amendment first responders instead. And I still will. I care about you, your family and where you are going.
I learned you need a team to succeed. You can be one dude on a mission as I have been. You have to learn how to delegate. You have to inspire folks to work for you for nothing until you can pay them. I didn’t manage that.
Since 2007, I have been producing digital content. The Lord has allowed me to create, practice narration, speak and presenting online. I was intimately involved in the gun debate, US Constitutional issues and social causes. And with that I am well known among the gray beards. This fight is evergreen.
I believe that this season of my life is ending and that I am to move on to the next. I want to entertain. Teach and continue doing the needful on the sidelines. My best work and most of my accomplishments are not online. I have changed minds. I have saved families. I have helped veterans. I have been a brother to those in need. I have helped mothers, grandmothers and children.
So how do you retire on your own terms? I figured my first step was in letting my friends know of my intentions so it doesn’t catch them off guard. Decrease my expenses. Live modestly. Love unconditionally. Continue to help my fellowman. I am still pro-gun, pro-rights and pro-life – my life. If you want to find me, I will still be online, shooting recreationally, still be singing, playing the blues, riding my motorcycle, preaching the gospel, smiling and praising my God.
I thank those that reached out when they saw my IG or Facebook post, and checked on a brother. It wasn’t a lot of you but I noticed who you were. It means I picked the right ones to call friend.
Special thanks and much appreciation to the Crossbreed Holsters Company and family. We connected early and even after the passing of Mark, we stayed connected. Carol has been a blessing.
Tim Schmidt of USCCA has been instrumental in my success too. He was a sponsor of my podcast and 2A work long before anyone knew what social media was. He has moved on and grown his brand exponentially
Barbara Baird of Women’s Outdoor News has been like a confidant and big sister. It is only because of her that I even got invited to blogger events and SHOT show parties. If you saw or met me somewhere exclusive in the gun community it was because of a connection with her.
Shout outs to American Built Arms who sponsored my internet TV show for three months. Blanchard Outdoors.
Shout out to my Sho Nuff supporters of my Patreon account that kept me solvent. I made a pact with the wife not to spend any family money fighting for the RKBA and I’ve doing that successfully for a decade because of you. Thank you.
Like Sheriff Bart said before me,
“Work here is done. I’m needed elsewhere now. I’m needed wherever outlaws rule the West, wherever innocent women and children are afraid to walk the streets, wherever a man cannot live in simple dignity, wherever a people cry out for justice.”
Getting to know Pro-shooter and competitor Todd Jarrett, part 1 of 4
After thirty years in the gun community I have met some amazing people.So many that I forgot how many special people I have in my circle.This week I remembered I met such a guy a decade ago that is a competitive shooter, trainer and a really nice guy.His name is Todd Jarrett.
I first met Todd at a bloggers event put on by Blackhawk.I learned quickly that Todd was the kind of guy you would have over for a cookout, an adult beverage and call him fam.This week I want to share stuff about him that you won’t hear on a YouTube video.He didn’t get to where he is now without putting in the work.On the show you are going to hear his origin story.And on the next few shows afterwards I have small bits of the same interview where he goes in detail about the industry, competing and guns.
Todd has shot over 6 million rounds in career. He says,
I teach shooting, weapons manipulation and speed, but not tactics.
We often forget that you don’t become a champion without struggle. You don’t win without learning the sport, the game or the rules. In a candid conversation, Todd, shares how over time he became a world class competitor.
Todd’s ethic reminded me that to master anything it will take time. You have to be consistent, persistent and dedicated to get good. Talent will give you a good start but that isn’t all of it. You also have to get some breaks.
Todd got the opportunity to be a part of some great companies and learn about the gun industry. He has worked with Para Ordnance, Safariland, BlackHawk, Hornady ,Federal, Hoppes, and STI.
Here’s a training tip from Todd.
I know most of my students won’t be able to shoot once a week, so I tell them to dry fire twice a week for 20 minutes and practice draws, moving, posting up, using barricades and acquiring sight pictures at different distances. I advocate getting into some form of competition because it gives them practice in weapons manipulation under stressful situations and puts them on the clock.
Jarrett has also had more than 100 Area and Sectional Championship wins.Here is an old list but look at these accomplishments.
4 time Steel Challenge Limited World Champion (1998, 2003, 2005 and 2007)
2008 German Open Production Champion
First met Todd in 2010 – here’s my first video with him.
Question of the week. Bulletproof Vest https://mc-armor.com/collections/gold/products/copy-of-ballistic-resistan-tank-top-level-iiia
PappaCapp says…
Equipment purchase fundraiser
Join our awesome Sho-Nuff Supporters at https://patreon.com/blackmanwithagun
I have a new IG account called @pappacapp join it. Beginning training this Fall
What questions would you like me to ask Todd the next time I can catch up to him now that you know some of his background?
Today, I am looking forward at what I can do for the gun rights movement as a legacy. I want to be remembered for more than just being the OG aka the Black Man with A Gun™. Here’s what I plan. I am working with a app developer to create a mobile app that can be a platform directory for organizations like the GOA, USCCA, SAF, NAAGA, 2AO, and others to connect with us.
It will also have a directory and links to pages from content creators that are really the media for our side. The bloggers, podcasters, and YouTubers will have their own apps within this app. I am trying to get cutting age tech to protect us from the Bergs that don’t like us. (Bloom and Zucker.)
It’s been a great life so far. Being involved in the gun rights movement has improved me. It has taught me to be a better citizen. It has made me appreciate freedom, history and the sacrifices of others.
Communication is the magic sauce. Going to try it despite our mistrust of each other. Going to make it happen despite the need for goo gobs of money. The power has always been in the people. We are what makes this thing called freedom work.
I think I can do this. I’ve worked with just about everyone. I’ve watched folks come and go. Like a sentinel, I have held my post. I have encouraged and discouraged posers as best I could. I have been an activist in the gun rights community since 1991. Before that I started as a firearms trainer for my government agency. From that I launched a side business to teach tactics and defense to civilians and security officers. I was part of the start of the concealed carry movement. I traveled with the NRA and the Law Enforcement Alliance of America to testify in a handful of states to change their racist policies and laws.
Thus began my journey as the Black Man with A Gun™. I started a national gun club in 1991 to foster the growth of African Americans in the shooting sports. I published a book in 1999. I created a website in 2000. I’ve worked behind the scenes to select, qualify and protect people of color that became involved in Supreme Court cases.
I’ve worked with the NRA. I even tried to get a job there. I’m a life member. I only turned it down because the salary was too low and not close to what they were paying the incumbent. I begged to be a functioning member on the GOA staff and after –way too much back and forth – got a position as the volunteer Urban Affairs guy. I didn’t do a thing with that. I resigned. Too early I guess. I’ve been a voting member on the CCRKBA and done the perfunctory “minority speaker slot” the GRPC but never made the masthead. I’ve worked with just about all the groups out there. My hats off to all the brothers and sisters now working with “x” organization.
This is my attempt to sew all the pieces together. If you will support it, join the email list today so I can build a team to make this happen. We are the Gun Rights Alliance.
Not that long ago, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives concluded that bump-fire stocks, “slide-fire” devices were merely a gun accessory or firearm part, not subject to federal regulation. After an evil person murders 58 people and injures 851; the gun accessory is used as a scapegoat.
Law abiding gun owners are often the scapegoat. Am I the only one that dislikes being accused of things I don’t or didn’t do?
I speak about this, the origin of the Scapegoat, and who the real demon is in this story on this weeks episode of the Black Man With A Gun Show Podcast. The show is now in its 12th year and has had over 2.1 million downloads.
Here’s a comment from one of my friends.
Why every single American should be up in arms over the bump stock ban…
Forget for a moment that we’re talking about a piece of plastic that is a gimmick. Let’s look at how this ban was put in place.
No law was passed. No law was broken. The item was legal to purchase. Illegally, DOJ, with the stroke of a pen, outlawed these items. BUT HOW?
Congress was not involved. There was no law passed outlawing these items. Such a law wouldn’t be able to get through Congress. So, DOJ violated the law in quite a number of ways to do it. They declared it a machine gun and subject to prohibition.
The term “machine gun” is very precisely defined in Federal Code…
The term “machinegun” means any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. The term shall also include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun, and any combination of parts from which a machinegun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person.
The key point here is “by a single function of the trigger”.
ATF prior to DOJ stepping in correctly identified the bump stock as a non firearm accessory in compliance with the definition of a machine gun according to Federal Code.
DOJ arbitrarily changed the definition, illegally, for their purposes. Only Congress has the power to make such a change. DOJ does not. The President does not.
So, we have a situation now where a lawfully purchased item is declared illegal, through illegal means. This creates quite the Constitutional Crisis.
If this is allowed to stand. There is no single area of Federal Code that cannot be modified at will by any agency and they can do it without the consent of Congress.
This ladies and gentlemen is the very definition of tyranny. This is NOT how our Republic operates.
On top of this, they are demanding the surrender or destruction of these devices without due compensation to the owners. Again, this is illegal AND Unconstitutional.
We as Americans have a choice. We comply, we bend the knee, and surrender our Freedoms… We do this, on bump stocks and the door is permanently open for future abuses by DOJ and other agencies.
Or, we resist. Do not comply. We fight it tooth and nail. We refuse to accept their narrative. We tell them NO. We back it by force of arms if necessary.
There is risk in the latter option, there is tyranny in the former. Pick one. You have no other choices. We have been far to tolerant of this out of control Government for far to long.
Our representation in Congress and the Presidency have for far to long taken our Rights and Liberties for granted. They have used our Freedoms as bargaining chips for their political gain.
If what they have done now is allowed to stand, they can ban anything they want. Guns, knives, cars, sexual preference, gay marriage, whatever, simply by deeming it so without Congress.
Congress should be up in arms over this. They have just been made completely moot. Their status in Government no longer matters. Yet, they sit quietly by and watch.
It is now up to the Citizens to do what is right.
I am publicly calling for the President to rescind this stupid edict and for DOJ to stop operating outside of it’s legal boundaries. I am calling on all Americans to fight this, whether you are pro gun, anti gun, or whatever. Allowing this to stand will do harm to all of us. There is a Constitutional process to be followed and it has NOT been followed in this instance. The ban is illegal and Unconstitutional. DO NOT COMPLY. FIGHT!
Last week we hit the 600 mark on podcast. I started in the winter of 2006 and have learned a lot about myself, the world and the gun community as a result.
The podcast ties together the friends, instructors, activist, and gun owners I have met since 1991.
I use the show to not only talk about guns, products and politics but to encourage, inspire and entertain this group of patriots, great citizens, and family members using the power of podcasting.
Gun rights activist, firearms instructor, humanitarian and patriot, Rev. Kenn Blanchard is raising money to travel this Spring to meet you, his friends.
This design will be made into a high quality, PVC key chains to sell as mementos to reaching 600 episodes on the Black Man with A Gun Show podcast and being a leader in the grassroots gun community since 1991.
