Candace Owens' Strength & Denial: an Analysis of her Stance on Racism

 Candace Owens is a political commentator. It seems as though many learned her name when a video she made went viral after George Floyd's death, which is the first time I ever heard of her. In her video, she criticized the African American community, basically, for bringing glory to George Floyd, as he had a criminal record. She read his criminal record that she had researched in what seemed to be an attempt to influence people to stop celebrating/mourning/bringing attention to him. The video was well received and circulated by many members of the white community who perhaps felt accused by the whole situation. Her voice basically said that change was not necessary, racism was not at play, and everyone should stop making a hype out of it. 

On the other hand, she was criticized by many in the African American community and beyond for supporting and encouraging racism deniers, and was assumed by some to be monetarily motivated or seeking attention. I know when I first saw the video, I was angry and did not watch it in its entirety. However, I think there is powerful insight in this analysis that may help bridge the gap between those who deny that racism is a problem that should be addressed, and those who know that it must be addressed until it is no longer a problem. Let's put aside the idea that Candace was simply paid off for a minute in order to consider some other points. 

Among other things, Candace misused the word martyr in this video. She said she would not hold Floyd up as a martyr. I saw another video critiquing her video, which read the definition of a martyr, as someone who voluntarily gives their life for a cause. The man corrected her in saying that George Floyd was a catalyst, but in no way a martyr, as he did not voluntarily give his life. She also, although I don't think it was her main intention, encouraged the mentality that police brutality is excusable if the victim was "a bad person", which misses the fact that the police officer often doesn't know the victim's criminal record and these things also happen to people with no record at all. It is overreach and it is dangerous. Candace has apparently also criticized or blamed victims of police brutality who did not have criminal records. 

I later came across another video where Candace Owens adamantly opposed the mention of white supremacy in some sort of political conversation where she represented the Republican party. She did not see it as a pressing issue at all and felt as though bringing it up was an attempt to create division. Many also shared a video where Morgan Freeman stated that the way to stop racism was to stop talking about it. (While that video was shared a lot after George Floyd's death, here's one that shows that despite what he said in that video, Morgan Freeman does feel the need to talk about racism. Took about two seconds to find as I was actually looking for the one where he said that people should stop talking about it). 

I have to say, I understand the point being made. I understand why some people of all races are annoyed at the topic and may not want to discuss it. Sometimes we humans can overanalyze things. Sometimes we make too much hype over things and the hype can create problems of its own. I also understand wanting to empower groups who have been victimized and that having a "pick yourself up and keep going" attitude rather than a defeated one may be more productive. (At the same time, there's much more to say about that, as I strongly believe that thorough healing is the only way for an individual or group to really pick up and reach full potential). People also tend to have a habit of forgetting progress that has been made (in all things, not just this topic), and can lose perspective, not realizing their own privileges, especially from a global perspective. All of these are points to keep in mind. 

However, I agree with what I heard Phil Vischer say in one of his podcasts. If something is indeed present and is problematic, since when was not talking about it a solution? Is it productive to simply not talk about a drug problem? Is it wise to not talk about a water shortage? Just as "not talking about it" wouldn't be real solutions to those problems, it isn't fully with this one either. 

My real motivation for this post is that I watched a very interesting TED talk that Candace Owens did in 2016 before Donald Trump became president and before she even supported him, I believe. I recently saw a Facebook post where someone refused to celebrate Kamala Harris as the first female V.P., criticized her, (which I touched on in my last blog post), and mentioned that Candace Owens was a better role model. My initial thought was that those two people are not comparable because Candace Owens is simply a political commentator, whereas Kamala Harris served as the attorney general of California and on the Senate before becoming V.P. But anywho, in investigating Candace Owens a little more, I came across this TED talk. 

This TED talk is about how technology and media has allowed for the rapid spread of information, and how that can lead to a false/oversimplified and trendy sort of activism. It also touches on how people say certain things they wouldn't normally say when they are not speaking to someone face to face. Candace shares a story about when she was in high school, she received a series of voice mails from four different male voices threatening to torture and kill her and her family, calling her mean names, and also mentioning heroes from the African American community like Rosa Parks and Dr. King, saying that they are dead. Her school called the police and it turns out that one of the voices was the governor of Connecticut's son. Her face was all over newspapers around the state, and it was quite traumatizing for her. Arrests were eventually made. Afterwards, she struggled through five years of anorexia which she says was directly caused by the events during her senior year in high school. 

My thoughts were, how could someone who went through that say that racism is not a problem? What happened to her is a prime example of the existence and harms of racism. It's interesting if you pay attention. She refers to her attackers, who were eventually arrested, as children, and basically says that the problem was not racism, but that so many others made such a big deal out of it. I found that very interesting, and similar to her attitude toward Donald Trump. She's forgiving of his meanness, but unforgiving of the reaction to it. So with that being said, I think she's missing the mark, although I still appreciate some of what I think is behind her evaluation of these people and situations. 

Again, putting accusations of alterior motives aside, I think behind her denial of racism are thoughts such as, "This is not how things should be. I should not be seen by some as different or less valuable. I am just as smart and beautiful and worthy of a human being as anyone else. I will not even entertain these ideas and don't want anyone else to either. They are merely words."  

Just as this insight into a pre-Trump supporting Candace shows that she was a victim of undeniable and harmful racism, it also shows that she has some sort of a denial or illogical interpretation of it all. How could she have struggled with anorexia for five years as a result of the attack, but not see that the primary culprits are the attackers and their hateful mindset? That is faulty logic. Or perhaps she had not finished processing the whole thing when she did this talk, or even now. I think she could have a powerful voice for the black community, rather than the white community, or could even help to bridge the gap of misunderstanding there, if she at least addressed the realities of racism, rather than trying to deny them completely or brush them under the rug. 

I have seen her address the black community as "emotional" and again, while I appreciate the notion of "toughen up" as a means of rising above, I simultaneously don't believe that the hardening of hearts to compromise with hardened hearts is the ideal direction we should go in. She has also been accused of taking advantage of the NAACP who this article claims backed her in reaching a settlement in the situation she explains in her TED talk. Along with her refusal to face racism for what it is, she has been found to display an insensitive thought pattern, with unthoughtful comments about Hitler, also shown in the linked article.  

In reference to the idea of not giving racism much attention as a strategy, I would say that I've observed a somewhat similar attitude from my husband, being a Haitian immigrant living in the Dominican Republic where racism and nationalism have also been issues. He does not deny racism, but he has never dwelled on the issue or given it much weight at all. I have seen other acquaintances of color in the U.S. say or post things in response to the events of 2020 such as, "I haven't ever experienced racism. I have chosen not to see it." With this, they don't negate that it exists, but admit that they have ignored it. 

I respect this and think it shows a confidence and strength. However, I don't think it's realistic or productive to negate the existence of something like this completely, especially when not everyone has as much mental strength and confidence as others, (or perhaps privilege). I know I for one enjoy a physical challenge, but turn into butter under emotional attack! It is also impossible to ignore when the effects of the problem are built into systems such as the criminal justice system. Reform demands attention. 

Details are important. History is important. Treating others as we want to be treated is important. Realizing our privileges is important. Using our privileges to serve and share blessings is important. I have come to enjoy the work of Jemar Tisby, an African American author who is also president of an organization called The Witness: A Black Christian Collective that aims to train and raise up the next generation of Black Christian leaders. They have a two year fellowship available for five individuals, providing $50,000 anually. He has written a New York best-seller called The Color of Compromise and just published a new book called How to Fight Racism. 

And of course, even quicker than ordering and reading a whole book, I really like this Phil Vischer video that goes deeper into his first video about Race in America. It answers questions about statistics regarding the black family, the welfare system, mentions communal sin and repentance, ("but I didn't personally do anything"), and gives an example of how his mom used her privilege to help another family out. "Not a savior, but an ally". 

Blackout book reviews

Candace Owens has also published a book which talks about the black family and the welfare system. Again, I think she is missing the mark a bit, and lacks some necessary sensitivity, but perhaps her point of view shouldn't be thrown out completely. You can tell that just as her George Floyd video had drastically different reactions, largely correlated to the viewers' skin color, her book reviews show the same, drastic split. While this bar graph doesn't report the demographics of the reviewers and political party probably comes into play as the book clearly favors one party, the majority of the 571 people who wrote Amazon reviews gave it either 5 stars or 1 star.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. If you appreciate Candace Owens and what she has to say, I hope you will consider her apparent denial of an overt act of racism that caused her years of serious struggle, as she herself shared. Thanks for reading and please share thoughts in the comments! 

Comedian Ryan Davis responded to Candace's infamous George Floyd video. 

"Talk to your brothers and sisters in this country and ask them what they've been through, and if what they go through makes you uncomfortable, then stand with them to change that. Don't deny their experiences just because you don't know what it's like to go through that. You're not helping anybody by finding every reason not to help people."

 

In the above video from 2019, Candace and Black Lives Matter NY chairman Hawk Newsome debate/discuss their views of what challenges the black community faces and what the best solutions are. I found this extremely insightful and interesting. I really appreciate Hawk Newsome, and Candace sure is well spoken, though she continues to negate the experiences of many. It seems as though she didn't really respect what Hawk had to say and what he stood for as she went onto make the George Floyd video and also publish insensitive comments after Ahmaud Arbery's death. 

Candace: If your issue is police brutality, why not make it a movement about the things that go wrong in the police? 

Hawk: Here's the thing, when black people get their rights, everybody gets rights. You know history. When we got the right to vote, everybody got the right to vote. When we got the right to sit at the front of the bus, everybody got it. When we got to go to college, everybody got to go. We are the trailblazers. Not only do we set trends in culture, in music, in fashion, but also in law. Like, this is what we do, so let us kick this door in.