What’s a conservative got to do nowadays to earn the title of being ‘woke’?
After Essence magazine unveiled their list of ‘100 woke women’ for their April 2017 issue, which honors women of color for being not only aware and knowledgable, but also “are blazing trails for equal rights and inclusion for Black people in America.”
While they honor Michelle Obama, Linda Sarsour, and many other liberal black women, conservative women of color are sorely lacking from the list. From our count, out of 100, Tara Setmayer stands out as the only known conservative commentator.
Where’s the love for former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Rep. Mia Love (R-UT), gun rights advocate Antonia Okafor, or rising conservative star Patrice Lee Onwuka?
Onwuka, who’s the national spokeswoman of Generation Opportunity and senior fellow of the Independent Women’s Forum, wrote to Red Alert Politics in an email, stating, “Essence turned what generally is a civic awareness campaign about needed empowerment to uplift the black community into a celebration of only left-leaning black women who feel overlooked by the progressive agenda.”
She continued, “Some of their policy prescriptions limit the freedom and opportunity that our communities need.”
Through amplifying mostly liberal voices, Essence is essentially silencing out others showing a lack in diversity of thought.
“Where are the black women on the right who support and advocate for reforms that will strengthen our communities? Such as criminal justice reform, better school options for our kids, the ability to keep yourself and family safe at home, and scaling back the requirements to pursue the jobs you want.” Onwuka said.
“From radio show hosts to founders of gun advocacy groups, conservative black women are as much a part of the conversation as anyone. For Essence to ignore our perspective is to do what many of them claim the progressive movement is doing to them: ignoring their voice.”