No matter what side of the party line you fall on, politics can be a tricky subject to navigate. For Black women conservatives, this topic can be especially precarious as they encounter stigma and assumptions about their beliefs.
21Ninety spoke with a few Black women conservatives about their diverse viewpoints and the unique nuances and experiences behind them.
Pivotal, Belief-Shaping Moments
Cecilia S. Johnson, the former National Director of Black Engagement for the Republican National Committee, grew up in inner city Kansas City, MO. She says her upbringing there shaped her political ideologies early on. However, after a visit to Walgreens with a friend in 2008, Johnson had a radical switch in her political beliefs. As she was flipping through a magazine geared toward Black women, she landed on an article by a Black man explaining why he was a Republican.
“I rolled my eyes and thought he was obviously lost, but I found myself agreeing with everything he said,” she explained. “What really drew me in was the fact that I’ve never heard solutions to the issues facing Black America from a Republican.”
That night, Johnson stayed up researching as much as she could about politics. She looked into the history and current beliefs of the Republican, Democratic and Libertarian parties, as well as their top figures.
“I read through article after article, and before I knew it, it was 4 a.m.,” she said. “I decided I was a Republican, and I’ve been one ever since.”
Quisha King, the founder of the Mass Exodus Movement, shared that she also had a radical shift in her political views, but for her, the shift was based on her Christian beliefs, as well as a situation where her oldest daughter was taught critical race theory in school.
For journalist Olivia Rondeau, there was no singular moment that changed her political beliefs. Her personal journey began after a conversation with her father. He shared he was voting for Donald Trump and that Olivia should make up her mind on her own. That advise from her father pushed her to begin doing her own research and lean into critical thinking.
“I searched through several sources on varying sides of the political spectrum for the truth on Trump, Hillary, Republicans and Democrats,” she said. “I found that while Trump may have said some uncouth things, the Clintons had been smiling politely in our faces while happily destroying Black communities with abortion, the war on drugs, over-policing and much more.”
Down to the Issues
For King, some key political issues are education reform, abortion and the First Amendment.
Johnson agrees that the No. 1 issue is education equality. This stems from her high school’s feature in an early 2000s’ 20/20 segment called ‘Stupid in America.’ The special discussed the failings of the American public school system and that while more money was poured into public schools, the education level continued to drop.
“I think people hear that the students are stupid or can’t be taught, but they are being cheated out of a quality education that will be the foundation of their future,” she said.
For Rondeau, economics are at the top of her list.
“My politics on that are quite simple — the government cannot be trusted to attempt to run an economy with centrally planned components,” she said. “The Federal Reserve, The U.S. Treasury and Congress are responsible for the vast majority of the U.S. dollar’s loss of value over time and not one, both sides have contributed and been complicit in the theft and inflation of our money.”
With her conservative beliefs, it surprises people that Rondeau actually supports some type of reparations or restitution to be paid to Black Americans who have suffered from state-sanctioned racism and discrimination.
“I view it as a debt to be paid — as many other groups have received from the federal government — rather than a form of welfare,” she explained. “I believe it to be a travesty that people who suffered through Jim Crow laws, like my grandparents, pay taxes to this government after not receiving a lick of payback.”
Common Misconceptions
Floridian Charrise Lane, who identifies as a pro-Black conservative, says that she often deals with misconceptions that she doesn’t love Black people, Black culture or care about women.
“We just want what’s best for our community,” Lane said. “My values coincide with what I think is best to make the Black community and Black families thrive.”
Johnson has been a Republican since she was 20 years old. She says people have mislabeled her as being out-of-touch with urban, Black America, wanting to be white, struggling with self-hate, hating Black people (specifically Black women), being a white supremacist, being an Uncle Tom, being uppity/stuck up, being a bed wench and promoting Black people as uneducated.
“These were the same people that screamed about ‘Black unity;’ yet they were so comfortable treating me and others the way they did,” Johnson said.
Rondeau is of mixed race. She says people accuse her of trying to appeal to her “white side” and of somehow betraying her “Black side.” She also shares a common stereotype of being a “sellout” and that being a Black woman and a conservative is just a cash cow.
“I know many Black conservative women who don’t work in the political field and who actually hide their beliefs out of fear of professional and social repercussions,” she said. “It’s certainly not popular or lucrative to have controversial beliefs in the real world.”
Hope For a Better Understanding
King hopes that people will learn to just listen and hear Black women conservatives out.
“Don’t come in and assume that we have some nefarious agenda,” King says. “Some people just think and believe differently.”
Johnson hopes that Black women conservatives can have a fair share in conversations that shape the Black community going forward.
“We have a unique take on our community and solutions for it,” Johnson said. “[The Black community] will never have true political power and experience real change until we have every party and candidate fighting for our vote, but currently, we only scream, shout and then settle for symbolic efforts.”
Possible Common Ground Between Conservatives and Liberals
Johnson believes that all Black women – no matter their political party – can connect on a love for their children and the desire to provide a future full of opportunities for them.
“Our children are suffering today, and there aren’t a lot of real solutions out there for us,” she said. “Having fair and balanced dialogues around these topics will allow for real solutions to arise.”
Similarly, King says, “I believe many of us could come together around the public school system failures, and if we come with an open mind to learn about new ideas and realize that we all are getting played by the system, we might find some common ground.”
Lane believes that more nuanced dialogue starts with people being open to different opinions and respecting each other.
“Agreeing to disagree is the answer,” she said. “As long as someone respects me, I don’t care what they believe.”