Blackout

Book Reviews

Dec 9

Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape from the Democrat Plantation
By: Candace Owens

[Fulfilling “A book written by a POC (person of color)” as part of the 2021 Fall Reading Challenge.]

“While Democrats have long acknowledged our struggles and the crimes enacted against us, they have done little to provide actual remedies or prepare us for a future that does not center on our brokenness.”

This is another one of those polarizing books where you see either 5-star or 1-star reviews.

It’s sad that many people will refuse to open the cover of this book because they don’t like Candace Owens.

Sure, she is bold and pulls no punches, but her goal here is to poke (rather large) holes in the mainstream rhetoric— awkwardly exposed by Joe Biden when he said “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re voting for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”— and one cannot do that quietly without being drowned out by all the ‘woke’ noise.

It’s clear this book, published right before the 2020 election, was intended to persuade the black community to vote for Trump. She’s not trying to hide that. But whether or not you like Candace Owens or Donald Trump is irrelevant.

Truth does not stop being truth, facts do not stop being facts because they are said by people we don’t like. What is good and right is not determined by the number of people who voice it or to what volume.

As critical thinkers we owe it to ourselves to consider all the evidence— both sides of the political coin— and seek the truth. For true justice and freedom do not exist without it.

[Check out the further reading section to see what else is out there!]

Her Goal

“Throughout the rest of this book, I will detail just why I believe the Democrat Party’s policies have led to the erosion of the black community by fostering a persistent victim mentality. I will explain how a radicalized push for feminism is both emasculating and criminalizing men who are needed to lead strong families, and I will reveal the fallacy of socialism, in its inherent argument for the very same government that crippled black America in the first place. Lastly, I will expose the inefficiency of the left-leaning public education system and tackle the media’s role in the collective brainwashing of our youth.”

To this end, her chapters are titled “On… Conservatism; Family; Feminism; Overcivilzation; Socialism and Government Handouts; Education; Media; Excuses; Faith; Culture; and Slavery.”

One-Star Reviews— Valid?

A brief perusal of 1-star reviews leaves me a bit confused with their critiques. There are a lot of claims of misinformation, half-truths, blurred context, opinions masquerading as facts, attacking without evidence, shutting down the conversation, dishonesty, hypocrisy, being demeaning, and writing the book as a ploy to profit off of white people liking this book because they already agree with what she says.

Yet, not a single one of them really points out specific examples of any of this, offers to correct the misinformation or statistics, or presents a fuller context of anything in her book. Many resort to personal attacks. Granted, there are many 5-star reviewers who are personally attacking 1-star reviewers as well.

Personal attacks won’t get us anywhere. We need to discuss the actual content and ideas of the book. Personal attacks shut down any meaningful dialogue.

I’ve read much on this topic and the abundance of the statistics and evidence she presented in this book I’ve read elsewhere and find their sources to be reliable. Ironically, one of her main points about fatherlessness cites large chunks of Barack Obama’s Father’s Day speech.

As to fuller context, I’m not sure where they believe they’d find a better context, because it surely isn’t Twitter or the media at large.

Voddie Baucham Jr. (also black) does the same thing as Candace Owens in part of his book, Fault Lines, where he looks at some of the most prominent #BlackLivesMatter shootings, education, and disparities and provides that extra context we don’t hear on TV or see on our newsfeeds.

It’s ironic that people accuse her of misinformation, half-truths, and honesty, because any critical thinker would take the evidence she offers seriously and consider that maybe there is more out there to consider than the simplistic and unhelpful explanation offered en masse— “systemic racism.”

Some of the topics like the education or welfare systems are areas I won’t pretend to know a lot about— it’s possible the programs work differently than she describes them, but I don’t know enough to evaluate that. What she presents seems verifiable if one needed to check.

The one critique of 1-star reviews that seems somewhat valid is that they claim she doesn’t offer any examples of Republican policies that would be better, she just tears down the Left without any solutions. More on that later.

The Biggest Problem…

Larry Elder says in the foreword of Blackout:

“The biggest problem in the black community is not racism, inequality, lack of access to health care, climate change, the alleged need for “common sense gun control laws,” or any number of the arguments Democrats pitch to blacks to secure that 90-percent-plus black vote. The number one problem in the black community, as Owens told Congress, is a lack of fathers in the home.”

Barack Obama echoed this sentiment in his Father’s Day speech in 2008 when he said fathers “have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it… We know the statistics— that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and twenty more likely to end up in prison. They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home, or become teenage parents themselves. And the foundations of our community are weaker because of it.”

Some might counter that fatherlessness in the black community can be attributed to slavery. But consider, “In 1963, 72% of nonwhite families were married and together, but by 2017 only 27% of black households were married, a 45% drop. In comparison the white population went from 89% married and together to 51% in 2017, a 38% drop.” If the trajectory worsened after the Jim Crow era, can slavery still be blamed? Indeed, still today, 70% of black children are born to unmarried mothers.

Interestingly, the Black Lives Matter organization, founded by three black women, include this on their ‘What We Believe’ page: “We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and ‘villages’ that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.”

Notice the intentionally missing ‘father’ in that statement.

One of her points in emphasizing these stats is that the current welfare state incentivizes women to be single. They get more assistance without being married. [Honestly, I am not very familiar with welfare to know what all the stipulations and work-arounds are for people. I am also aware of the WIC program that offers food assistance for families married or unmarried for kids up to age 5 based on income. Regardless, welfare reform is a definite must at the very least.]

She spends time detailing how democratic (and racist) President Lyndon B. Johnson instituted the welfare program (along with the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights) in order to ‘secure’ the black vote for decades to come. Welfare sounds good on paper, but has it really done what it was intended to do? Or is it crippling people in poverty to stay dependent on the government?

Owens is not arguing that every problem for blacks in America can be boiled down to absent fathers, but we can’t ignore the evidence that a nuclear family with both parents leads to more success for children educationally, financially, socially, and educationally.

Democratic Slavery?

Reviewers also resented her claim that the black community is still on a Democratic Plantation, seemingly comparing the current Democratic Party with that of the Civil War and Jim Crow era.

Owens’ thesis is that the Democratic Party has done a good job of creating a ‘guaranteed’ voting bloc of the black community by instituting policies and perpetuating victimhood rhetoric— seen in CRT and the term ‘systemic racism’— that make black people more and more dependent on government, namely the Democrat Party themselves.

Is Candace Owens shutting down the conversation? Or is she opening it up? The mainstream narrative is pretty singular on these topics and to veer from it is often cause for public cancellation.

Owens says,

“Where is the thoughtful discussion about the fact that nearly one-third of abortions are performed on black women; that illegal immigration disproportionately hurts unskilled blacks; that the welfare state has incentivized women to marry the government and men to abandon their financial and moral responsibility; that the demonization of the police causes them to pull back, resulting in an increase of crime, the victims of which are disproportionately black; the lack of choice in education especially harms urban blacks; and that programs like race-based preferences for college admission and the Community Reinvestment Act are hurting more than helping?”

She further posits, based on her own experience of excommunication from the black community,

“It becomes clear then how through slander, libel, and media-sanctioned violence, the Democrats have not halted but merely updated their methods of abuse against black Americans who wander off their plantation of thought.”

It’s not a pretty analogy, to be sure. Perhaps it’s just inflammatory. Or perhaps there is some truth to the idea that the Democratic Party, though expressing solidarity with the black community, recognizes the importance of their voting bloc and seeks to retain that through whatever means necessary.

But what about Republicans?

Okay, so if liberal policies are so bad for black people, what are Republicans going to do? Owens doesn’t tell us, reviewers say.

There’s some truth to that too. She does not present a straightforward Republican plan of action.

But we could imply that if she presents crime statistics about unarmed black men and police officers that indicate “it’s more likely that an unarmed black man would be struck by lightening than shot by police officer” and that the vast majority of murdered blacks are done at the hands of other black people, then the Republican stance would be to keep funding the police and allowing them to police crime without fear of demonization, claims of racism, or violence simply for being a police officer.

If she presents statistics that the most unsafe place for a black person is in the womb because of abortion, the Republican stance would be to make the killing of black people in the womb illegal.

In terms of education she talks about affirmative action and school-choice (vouchers). To help black students achieve better in school, the Republican policy would be allowing parents to use vouchers and opt to send their children to different/better schools. Additionally, removing affirmative action policies that end up putting black students in higher education programs that are beyond their academic level where they can’t compete. (She referenced Thomas Sowell here.)

Those are just a few things, but really, I think her book is less about laying out Republican policies as much as pointing out the ways the Democratic Party has failed and, whether intentionally or not, created policies that actually hurt, not help, the black community.

The introduction to the book is called What do you have to lose? (A quote from Trump to the black community.)

So then it goes: ‘Maybe Republicans don’t have all the answers, but I’ve just laid out all the reasons Democrats aren’t making things better, and often times a lot worse, so why not try something else?’

I suppose it’s worth noting here that currently I’m a registered Republican and tend to support most Republican policies. I find a lot of Democratic policies to seem good on paper with good intentions but unlikely to be able to be executed with the intended result.

So, yes, what she presented in her book did resonate with me as a Republican, but I would hardly call myself a blind or single-issue voter. I think my book review catalogue is one place that shows I spend a lot of time asking questions, seeking answers, and considering other perspectives.

I have yet to be presented with a convincing argument for very many Democratic policies.

I do not judge others for how they choose to vote because I understand the complexity of the act. I may advocate for Republican policies but I would never advise anyone to put a blanket political platform above their own conscience, convictions, and critical thinking.

I respect Candace Owens’ intelligence, so no, I don’t believe she is writing to pander to white Republicans. She is her own person with her own voice and she’s writing because she cares about the black community, of which she is part, and truly desires her community to succeed and thrive under the freedoms America has to offer.

But really…. Trump?

Like I said, this book was partly a political effort to persuade people to reelect Trump. So, no, there is no real critique of Trump in this book.

There are definitely things about Trump to critique— as the media spent 1460+ days languishing over every tidbit they could get their hands on— but Owens is careful in her representation of him. To me, most glaringly missing was her comment on the democratic people involved with the Epstein situation and not exposing any Republicans, or Trump, from that list.

Owen makes her point here:

“I am convinced that many black Americans are opposed to Trump because they simply do not understand who he is. The mainstream media has bombarded us with messaging about his flaws and indiscretions— as if leftists are somehow inherently holy— yet they fail to shed light on the true value that he brings to the presidency.”

First, the perfect candidate hasn’t, doesn’t, and will never exist, so I appreciate her pointing out the ‘unholiness’ of Democratic candidates.

Second, it’s also worth stating that there are certainly parts of Trump that we will never be convinced to like.

But third, we never got to hear the good things that came from Trump’s presidency for black people, including low unemployment rates and increasing wages for black people, increased federal funding to historically black colleges, the First Step Act, etc. Though it’s unpopular to say, there is more to the role of president than character (like policies) that are also important and wisely to be considered.

I don’t know what Republican candidates will be up for future elections, but the principles of this book are not only for the November 2020 Trump election.

We have the freedom to vote however we choose in any election. Don’t lose the forest for the tree of Trump. Think beyond the 2020 election.

Conclusion

I think Candace Owens gives a pretty convincing presentation of evidence and statistics to support her thesis.

To label the entire book as misinformation is irresponsible and, to me, doesn’t portray a pursuit of truth or justice.

Overall her book is definitely worth reading (and it reads pretty quickly).

This is a very political book, so, as a Christian, there are other books that include a better discussion on how we, as Christians, interact with the discussion of systemic racism, politics, and the like. Owens does include a faith chapter in Blackout, but other books pull those threads through every topic more completely.

Any discussion about sin requires a gospel message. If the world is looking for true freedom, peace, justice, and salvation, there is only Person who has the answer. (In case you missed it, that’s read: God, not Republican Party…)

The most notable book that first comes to mind is Voddie Baucham Jr.’s book Fault Lines as mentioned above. It is very similar to Blackout but through a comprehensive biblical lens.

I’ll end with Candace Owens’ final charge:

“Here is my call to arms… Once you discover… no politician owns you, no politically correct agenda dictates to you, no ideology subjugates you, no history binds you, and, yes, no one political party controls your vote— then you have found freedom.”

Purchase on Amazon*

Other Quotes:

“The glorification of victimhood is exclusively promoted by the Left.”

“Demanding economic equality can be accomplished only be infringing upon individual liberties.”

“Democrats see inherent racism and struggle in nearly everything, thereby destroying nearly all racial progress that has been achieved thus far.”

“With phrases like “toxic masculinity” and coordinated witch hunts at the drop of an allegation, the apparent goal of feminism seems to be to remove the concept of masculinity from the Western world entirely, making all expressions of manhood obsolete, and all expressions of womanhood guiltless. The bigger issue is that if manhood becomes obsolete, so too will the family unit. And as we’ve already discussed, when our dependency on family decreases, our dependency on government increases tenfold.”

“Handouts absent hard work render men weak and with depleted self-esteem; they stifle the entrepreneurial spirit, by removing our innate senses of drive and aspiration. Poverty and despair become the life of the man who is given a fish but never learns to cast his own line. And though many will sympathize, prosperity will never be won until we become our own lifeline.”

“To be clear, the belief that white people are to assume all responsibility for black America’s shortcomings is a form of white power. One must believe in black inferiority to accept the thesis that black America is not responsible for any of its shortcomings in a free society.”

“This victim vs oppressor method of teaching is particularly detrimental to the spirits of black youth. As it turns out, being told why we will not be held responsible for any of our shortcomings does little in the way of inspiring hard work.”

“Of course, the idea that black children who perform well in school are somehow ‘acting white’ is in and of itself a racist assessment. It insinuates that intelligence is an attribute that belongs to white people.”

“The liberal media perceives black Americans as failures. They capitalize on our emotions with content that inspires more hate and more anger, rather than disseminating messages of empowerment. Ultimately, they are the ones empowered; the media is in control.”

“I believe what the Democrats see in black America is an undereducated community of people who are over invested in culture. Their methodology, then, is to maintain control of the culture as a means to regulate the black vote… The left therefore employs culture—singers, actresses, and rappers—to brainwash black Americans into believing that they must think and vote as a monolith.”