Weberwoods Book Review #1, In honor of Black History Month (February)
Book Published by Simon & Schuster 2020
Review written by Dr. Judith A. Grenkowicz
Candace’s story begins as a child who grew up in a “roach-infested” apartment. Young Candace was saved by her grandfather, uprooting her family from the inner city to the countryside. It was Candace’s grandfather, born in 1941 on a sharecropping farm in Fayetteville, North Carolina who instilled the values of labor, honor, and strong religious commitment in her life.
Grandpa and grandma were married at seventeen and almost four decades later after raising three children of their own, they took on the responsibility of raising Candace and her two siblings. It was a very structured environment for Candace with weekly Bible studies, prayers before every meal and lots of rules with everything centering on respect and how their smallest actions were manifestations of character. Grandpa got up at 4 a.m. every morning to prepare a huge breakfast for them but they couldn’t eat until they greeted him with “Good Morning”. It was disrespectful not to greet one another – grandpa’s rules!
In her early teens, Candace’s family moved from her grandfather’s house to the city, where she struggled with her own identity. Readers and retractors get to see how Candace becomes the Candace of today. She tells the tale of a young woman who made something of herself by letting go of the victim narrative that Democrats try to take-root with black identity.
According to Candace, “Democrats see inherent racism and struggle in nearly everything, thereby destroying almost all racial progress achieved thus far. The sad truth is that almost every policy they promote invariably harms Black America. Indeed, there is something about progressive policies that always leads to regressive results for Black America. But what if black America simply refused their offers? What if Black America formally rejected the victim narrative, thereby denying the slow poison of leftist policies? Could Black America, collectively, make a return to our conservative roots?”
Throughout the book, Candace challenges the notion of what it means to be black. The black family’s breakdown is the root cause of stagnation that plagues Black America, not racism. She does that by dividing her argument into 11 digestible chapters– Conservatism, Family, Feminism, Culture, Slavery, Socialism & Government Handouts, Education, Faith, Excuses, and Media. Owens ultimately believes welfare, democratic leadership/policies, and cultural beliefs keep Black families broken and ravished. Owens writes a compelling argument that will force Black America to rethink their allegiance to the Democratic Party. She tells her story while backing up her points with facts, historical context, and anecdotal evidence.
Candace then brings the conversation to the national stage. “Why should Black America be invested in a party that yields minimal fruit for Black labor?”
In summary, blending political commentary and memoir, Blackout lays the case that socially oriented policies of the past—with focus on historically Democratic party initiatives, particularly LBJ’s Great Society—have been more harmful than helpful to Black Americans. Owens can be controversial, and she is not shy in taking on the arguments. She raises issues and a perspective that contributes to a fuller conversation on race in the US.
Blackout is well-researched and brilliantly argued as Owens appears to have the intelligence of Charles Krauthammer along with George Will’s ability to articulate. Blackout lays bare the myth that all black people should vote Democrat—and shows why turning to the right will leave them happier, more successful, and more self-sufficient.
Editor’s Note: I found Owen’s book Blackout to be one of those books you go through shaking your head and saying to yourself, ‘Yes, ‘Yes’, that’s exactly what I had been thinking but couldn’t put into words. This is the first in a series of monthly book reviews I started. Since this is Black History month, I felt Blackout to be significant material for this month. Stay tuned for next month’s Book Revie
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