Voice Actor, Storyteller, Christian pastor, podcaster, author, blues musician, angler and former federal police officer, firearms trainer, CIA analyst, and US Marine vet
I grew up in both the rural VA/NC border and the Washington, DC area. When I graduated high school most thought I would end up doing something in graphic arts. Drawing and painting were my things. I enlisted in the Marine Corps to prove to my family and myself that I could survive. I learned that my childhood had been tougher. I had many misadventures and ended up working at the CIA where again I took on challenges.
My name is Reverend Kenn Blanchard, an ordained Christian pastor that has been a protector all my life. I have worked in almost every job with the word “guard” in it. Starting with being the eldest child, and progressing from safety patrol, crossing guard, US Marine, “chaser,” American Embassy Guard, bodyguard, security guard, federal police officer, security detailee, counter-terrorist, church sexton, “armor bearer” and then pastor. I have protected diplomats, heads of state, celebrities, children, families, and people in the US Government. I have done these tasks in thirteen high-risk countries often while the country was at war. I have protected and worked in technical, physical, and National security in my career.
I started my entrepreneurial journey as a firearms instructor seeking to stop accidents in the home and violence on the street. I found out that the customers I wanted to serve had been subjugated to believe in gun control. Since 1991, I have been an activist, educated, and fighting for the rights of the untraditional gun owner known as the Black Man With A Gun (TM).
The Black Man with a Gun book was a homage to the only other book of its kind written by Robert F. Johnson, “Negroes With Guns”; published in 1968.
The gun rights movement is an evergreen subject debated and supported by politics and the uninitiated. The topic of guns has been an issue with society since the Chinese invention of gun powder. I used it to learn about politics, history, business, the world, and myself.
From this journey, I have introduced firearm safety into the homes of untraditional America. I have testified and lobbied for the reform of concealed carry in Virginia, Texas, South Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Maryland.
During this time I became obsessive trying to find a niche in the firearms industry. I created a training business focused on bringing minorities to shooting sports and founded a national shooting club for African Americans called the Tenth Cavalry Gun Club. I have been the recipient of the National Rifle Association’s Carter-Knight Freedom award, the Second Amendment Foundations’ Gun Defender Award of the month (August 1997), and the St. Gabriel Possenti medal from the St. Possenti Society.
I started before social media. Over the past few decades, I have been involved in almost every pro-rights event that required a person of color to show the diversity of shooting sports around the country. I have provided commercials for TV against racist gun laws and been featured in four documentaries, one with the BBC. He has served as a columnist for New Voices Newspaper of Durham, North Carolina. I have served as a director and chaplain of the Law Enforcement Alliance of America. I have worked with the American Sport Shooting Council, the Second Amendment Foundation, the CATO Institute, Gun Owners of America, and the National Rifle Association. The first edition of Black Man with a Gun was featured in the August 2001 edition of American Rifleman. I was featured in the Washington Business Journal on Jan. 2002. I was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal (1999) as a security expert. I have served on the Urban Affairs, and Training committees of the NRA in the past. I’ve was an advisor/editor for the creation of the Refuse to Be a Victim coursebook.
A few days before 9/11 I became a licensed Christian minister. A few years later a pastor of a small church in Washington, DC. Being an evangelist of gun rights and Christianity seemed in contrast but they weren’t. Anyone that has been trained as I have to actively protect life against all types of threats, to be also concerned with the spiritual wellbeing of others was the final part of the pie.
The paradox for me is that I am an animal, and music-loving, creative that desired to be in theater, oil paint, draw or play instruments. I’m that guy that is at home near any large body of water, bikers, or outlaw types. I’m a hippie on the inside that can shoot well, and is trying to live like a disciple of Jesus.
I’ve had some exciting highlights during my tenure. I was on a shortlist to replace the TV and cable host. I’ve auditioned for a cable TV series that almost made it prior to the station pulling all gun relating shows on the network following the tragedy in Sandy Hook Elementary.
After discovering podcasting in 2007, I created the Urban Shooter Podcast now called the Black Man with a Gun Show to be able to reach people I have met as an activist and encourage them to stay in the fight for freedom. I use my podcast to inspire, entertain and share parts of history that few have heard.
I hope to continue podcasting, writing, producing content about other things than guns, (but you may still see some related products) but talk about and review products relating to motorcycles, martial arts, the outdoors, the arts, blues music, and faith. Occasionally, I will even talk about cigars or dogs and it’s ok if you are not into that. I have gained a lot of wisdom from my mistakes and want to share inspiration from friends and acquaintances that have succeeded in living their dreams.
Voice Actor, Storyteller, Christian pastor, podcaster. He is a former US Marine, federal police officer, Intel analyst, and gun rights activist known internationally as the Black Man With A Gun. With two decades of gun rights activism, Kenn Blanchard has been involved in almost every pro-rights event that involved a person of color. He has lobbied the US Congress. He has testified in the state legislatures of Virginia, Texas, South Carolina, Michigan, Maryland, and Wisconsin. He has done commercials for TV against racist gun laws and been featured in four documentaries. He is the author of several books and has a successful podcast with over a million downloads; BlackManWithAGun.com and kennblanchard.com
My podcast(s) are extensions of my brand. If you would like to hear my faith-based show, an online church, listen to the podcast from http://speaklifechurch.net If you want to hear me free-flowing and just cutting up with my motorcycle buddies, check out my motorcycle podcast which is good for any brand you ride although I am partial to the Indian Motorcycle. Which I don’t even own yet. And the podcast that is leading in downloads and has been since 2007 from Blackmanwithagun.com. And finally, the Rev. Kenn Blanchard Show is a summation of them all tied together with the bow of positivity.
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I wrote a series (3 so far out of 10) that are about the life and struggles of a blues man named Solomon Love that is also a werewolf. I will rewrite the story but you can peep the third installment here.
Love Never Dies: Solomon Love Series
by Amazon.com
Learn more:
And like Frank Sinatra sang,
<blockquote>“I’m gonna live, live, live until I die.”</blockquote>
“I want to be so happy that people just looking at me get happy.”