One word to describe Sunday’s Blexit event in Charlotte: UNCOMFORTABLE.
For those who don’t know, Blexit describes itself as a movement in which millions of Americans have “released themselves from the political orthodoxy.” It charges African-Americans to “Declare your independence.” However, what may not be so clear on the website becomes very clear at a live Blexit event, as the attendee quickly realizes that Blexit is more about converting black Democrats to black Republicans. To be more specific, it is a campaign determined to rally black folks to re-elect Donald J. Trump.
The Blexit movement was founded by Candace Owens, a 30-something black millennial who is an outspoken Trump-supporter with strong conservative media ties and is known for her anti-Black Lives Matter and anti-liberal stances.
Owens and her Blexit team made a stop in Charlotte on Sunday to rally the pro-Trump troops. They set-up shop at the Fillmore in the AvidXchange Music Factory and created an emotion-driven campaign-rally atmosphere that provided just a peek at what will soon come to Charlotte during the Republican National Convention.
The evening was filled with red MAGA hats and rhetoric that relied almost solely on emotional appeals and no facts. Shouting the mantra “WE FREE” only served as 1984-grade doublespeak for “FORGET ABOUT THE CONTINUED IMPACT OF SLAVERY AND RACISM.”
Upon examining the text and images on the Blexit website and comparing it to the audible rhetoric on videos and at the live Charlotte event, it feels like a clear bait-and-switch tactic. Pull them in with rebel values and only feed them the emotional appeals of conservative values associated with the Republican Party. No facts … just emotion. Blexit is a slick marketing campaign that appeals to one’s inner rebel, stating “They have unleashed a rebellion of those wishing to disrupt the simulation of fear.”
It seems as though they are talking about black people’s “fear” of not voting Democrat because they are not true “free thinkers.” However, the website is built around a culture of doublespeak, in which buzzwords and phrases actually mean something entirely different.
The website has the simulated appeal of creating a safe black space, with black faces plastered all over in static images and in videos. The design encourages black folks to say “Fuck the political system all together,” but the audible rhetoric is about leaving the Democratic Party to join the Republicans. The bait-and-switch tactics are strong with this group.
Upon entering the Fillmore on Sunday, the first face that greeted me was a middle-aged white woman in a highlighter-yellow Blexit t-shirt. When getting in the room I realized the entire back half of the Fillmore was filled with white faces. It was in that moment that I knew my laptop screen had truly deceived me.
As the intro propaganda film started — with a collage of old-school black family movies flashing across the screen with words like “Love” and “Freedom” and uplifting rap music in the background — I knew I was in for some Bernays-level propaganda for the rest of the night.
The rhetoric started with Owens explaining how black family values had dissolved because of the liberal agenda, then quickly transitioned into speakers like the flamboyant conservative YouTuber KingFace inferring that black people cannot get anything done without a white savior. Blexit speakers like talk radio host Larry Elder and conservative N.C. Lieutenant Governor candidate Mark Robinson painted the narrative that racism no longer impacts black people as they try to advance themselves economically.
Speakers like Brandon Tatum and KingFace pushed the narrative that black people can be free of racism if only they believe they are free of it — no need for systemic changes. No need to get non-black people to be against racism too. If you are black and you believe you are free of racism, then there is no racism to worry about. It’s as simple as that. Ignore the continued proven existence of racial discrimination in the justice system, housing, the workplace or any number of governmental policies.
To be honest with you, I could not make it through the entire Blexit live experience; it got too uncomfortable. But it did teach me something, nevertheless: We all should be uncomfortable with the divisive two-party democratic republic that the United States of America has become. All of us should be uncomfortable with the voter apathy that has set in. We should be uncomfortable with the status quo that is now the two-party system.
We should be so uncomfortable with being ill-informed about politics that we take the time to teach ourselves about the history, actions, and policies of the various parties being presented to us. In a party-driven system, like that of the U.S., understanding the actions of a political party along with its values must be examined, which will lead us to look at the cold, hard facts about a party and help us to better determine who we really want to align ourselves with when it comes to ticking a name in the ballot box. Let’s take a look at two past actions of both the Republicans and Democrats.
The Republicans implemented the Southern Strategy after the Civil Rights Era. As a means to gain political power, Republican candidates like Richard Nixon aligned themselves with the racial fears of racist whites in a post-Jim Crow South to win votes.
In 1994, Democratic President Bill Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which led to the “three-strikes” provision. The three-strikes policy mandated a life sentence for anyone facing a felony charge after having previously been convicted of two felonies, including drug crimes. As a result of this law, mass incarceration was incentivized even more in the American justice system.
Which of these two actions is the lesser of two evils? The more actions of a party you examine, the more you will understand which party truly resonates with your personal values. There are plenty of people in the world who are nice to your face and downright evil behind your back. The same is the case with a party’s values as opposed to its actions. It is not what they say, it is what they do. Blind loyalty to any group can have you looking as bad as the Blexiteers.
And what if neither of the two parties’ actions resonate with you? You may have to be bold and start your own movement, just make it one based on fact-filled actions and not emotion-driven values.
This work by Queen City Nerve is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Let me guess Kia….you’re not a Republican??? And, you would consider yourself liberal???? You are seeing things (and writing about them) through YOUR perspective. And your perspective is YOUR perspective….meaning it’s YOUR truth, but it ain’t THE truth! Got it?
Your truth, their truth, isn’t that just a way of saying alternative facts? I don’t think you get the irony of THE truth, potentially not being truth, since it is your perspective of truth with no supporting facts.
Actually, there were lots of facts and statistic presented. Not sure how you missed that.
Ms. Moore, you’re take on Nixon’s southern strategy is completely wrong. Nixon targeted the Sun Belt and barely campaigned in the south. “White Republicans” had left the Deep South for Urban Sun Belt areas. Nixon had a good voting record on civil rights. Nixon targeted anti-war and drugs and went after Abbie Hoffman, Timothy Leary etc.
Ma. Moore, you are completely wrong on Nixon’s southern strategy. You’re exactly the person They are talking about. I’m not a fan of Owens but you are not correct and should get facts straight instead of spreading the liberal myth. This is an example of you not thinking for yourself. Look up Nixon’s voting record on civil rights, look up how he barely campaigned in the south and targeted the Sun Belt. Nixon targeted Abbie Hoffman and Timothy Leary. Goldwater also voted for civil rights acts prior to 1964. LBJ however called the 1957 civil rights bill the “N-word bill” but you’ll believe this man had a changed of heart in ‘64?
This author states “Blexit is more about converting black Democrats to black Republicans”, but clearly she missed the point. Blexit is about telling Blacks how to be free-thinkers, and to learn what both parties are actually saying. It’s becoming clear to many that Democrats pander to Black Americans only in election years, and ignore them all other times. Racism exists within both parties, but the left has a long and ugly history of holding Black America back. Open your eyes and ears. Trump can be obnoxious at times, but he’s done more for Black America than and Democrat ever.
Please list the many things Trump has done for Blacks!
Come get your dunce cap. Trump has done more to impede the progress of Black people from his discrimination (twice) by the Federal Government in the 70’s. And, while you are providing facts, let’s not forget the Central Park 5. He still hasn’t owned up to his racist rhetoric regarding those gentleman. So cut the bs and substantiate your idiotic comment. The man hasn’t done a damn thing for Blacks and through his Supreme Court nominees, we will have more Clarence Thomas clones trampling on the rights of true citizens. Like you, he is a joke. Coronavirus, China tariffs, incompetence
Literally tons of facts!!! Your opinions are NOT facts!!!! If you actually had a grasp on American History, that could help you tremendously. Thus ends the lesson for today!!!! God bless you.
Love this analysis, as well as all of the comments from “anonymous” folks who are all too eager to tell you how you were wrong in your analysis. The sad reality of it is without even having to be there, the Candace Owens show i.e. ” BLEXIT”, is yet another attempt 2 convince black people of something that we’ve already known, that both major political parties have failed black people. Yet it is the disingenuousness of Owens and her offering this as some sort of alternative. The reality is she’s just trying to corral folks from one plantation to the next. A plantation which by the way offers nothing to the masses of black people and continues to show us that they really do not care 4 hour progress.
You are correct, both parties have failed the black communities…but which political party have those communities supported in elections over that past 50 years? Right, democrats. Listening to Mr Tatum, he stated clearly he is not telling blacks to vote republican or democrat but those that will actually do something for the underserved communities…and today he believes that Trump is the one person who has and will continue to help all Americans. He has also stated that he is not a fan of Trump’s tweets, but believes trump is setting the groundwork for someone down the line, when trump is long gone, to step in and deliver the same message with a more compassionate tone. Trump is not a true republican, go ask McCain, Bush, Romney etc…nor is trump a politician. He is however someone who believes that everyone, regardless of skin color, can achieve success if they’re willing to work and the playing field is fair. Trump has started Criminal Justice Reform, something that Obama didn’t touch. Is his reform complete? No, but it’s a beginning and he did it when presented with FACTS…not emotion. Am I a trump fan, not really, but I am a fan of moving forward and leveling the playing field, two things democrats have failed miserably for minorities.
Do your homework on the work Obama started on criminal justice reform.
I am so damned tired of the slavery card being played all the time. Yes. It existed and was wrong but its time to move on. I do not hold a grudge against the British for colonizing this land 250 years ago. I could. They were cruel at times and they introduced slavery to America. These folks walking around with a chip on their shoulder should consider it a boulder holding them down. Every people gets the shaft during their existence but to rise above it is the true measure of overcoming . The MAN is not your enemy. Peoples personal attitudes are their worst enemy. There are successful African Americans, Asian Americans, Mexican Americans, etc. etc.etc. Do not listen to the rhetoric of those who say that society is holding you back. We are not an overall racist society. Sure. There are racists out there who are ignorant but don’t condemn the entire nation. BLM has painted a horrible picture of our society and it is not accurate. You can better yourself. There is education. There is your own personal ambitions. There are constructive personal decisions that we all make. Put a smile on your face. Dress for success. Trite? Sure. But true. You are perceived by your attitude and appearance. Sell out? Call it what you want but we need to move on and become a nation again. I love multiculturalism just as much as the next person but when it divides us, it is wrong. Is the Blexit movement a good one? I don’t know. All I do know is people can control their destinies with the right actions. WE ARE ALL AMERICANS FIRST AND FOREMOST! Sorry for rambling but at my age it happens.
Republicans calling Blacks “slaves” on the Democrats’ “plantation” is racism 101. I don’t see how people miss that.
Believing racism is based on its victims believing in it tells me someone is using an extremely shallow, non-classic and quite frankly, rather convenient definition of racism. Check out Dr. David O’s documentary Racism: A History to get the who, when, where, what why and how of racisms’ beginnings.
If we blacks and we whites went to bed to sleep – and magically arose in the morning – in the same exact bodies, but in the other’s race skin, what would change? Would you want to change back immediately? after 24 hours? 24 days? 24 months? It is something to imagine alone honestly with introspection. Are we really interested in knowing how ‘the other’ feels and sees the world?
Would we like the same sports, read the same books, have the same closeness to the people we had the days and weeks before? Would we hold the same envy, the same ambition, the same generosity, the same sacred hungers, the same belief (or disbelief) in our selves, or in our schools, or in our God?
So I ask : is this race problem only skin deep? (As some are given to say). Or does the negativity and conflict lay inside our hearts – and our individual thought processes? In a place that we can only reach, no another can?
I would be interested in hearing a few words back from anyone provoked by this imagining.
Great article. I would argue that the real goal of BLEXIT isn’t to convert… it is to confuse so a black Democrat voter will feel demoralized and not vote at all. If some convert, even better, but as long as a Democrat doesn’t vote, that is one more Republican vote that get counted for the win. The point of voting is to make the will of the people known. Parties that try to nullify or make it difficult to vote instead of updating their party platforms are cheating and destroying the country.
right….
Perhaps you should’ve actually done some research and read Blackout by Candace Owens before bothering to write this article. The book explains the Blexit movement, and it all makes perfect sense. And the notion posted in one of the comments that Blexit is an attempt to confuse voters is utter nonsense. The Democrats have done nothing during this entire election cycle but suppress information and lie. Over and over they told the lie that Trump refused to denounce white supremacy even though FOX News pulled out video after video after video of him denouncing numerous white supremacy groups dating back to 2015. They suppressed news reports on the Hunter Biden scandal, including reports that the Obama administration warned Biden that his son’s business practices were a conflict of interest. They also supressed the video of Joe Biden referring to notorious racist and former klansman Robert Byrd as his mentor. More whites than blacks were killed by police. They lied about that too. Democrats founded the KKK and Planned Parenthood to keep blacks in check, and LBJ only signed the Civil Rights act because it would “keep those ‘N words’ voting for us for the next 200 years.” The liberal media has a political agenda and they will deceive the public by whatever means necessary to a achieve it. They are feeding off of ignorance. Everybody in America, regardless of race, should read this book.
candace is a joke and a self hating self racist. I can’t stand her.
Ugh. That was a waste of time. Next time I’ll just throw on CNN for ranting Liberals.