October 5, 2024 • 10 mins
This isn't an episode, but rather a biographical overview of Candace Owens' life and career. The content provides a detailed account of Owens' journey from her early life in Connecticut to becoming a prominent conservative commentator and media personality. It covers her political transformation, key career milestones, core beliefs, and the controversies surrounding her public statements. The biography also touches on her impact on contemporary political discourse, particularly regarding race and conservatism in America.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You know, sometimes a name will just keep popping up
online everywhere you look, and you hear it everywhere, but
you never really get the full story, you know what
I mean. It's like that with Candis Owens. For a
lot of people. I know, you've sent us a ton
of stuff about her, articles, videos, even excerpts from her book,
so clearly y'all are ready to dig in a little
deeper on this one.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yeah, it's a really interesting story, and a lot of
people have a hard time wrapping their heads around her story,
her trajectory. I mean, you've got to admit it's quite
the journey, growing up with her grandfather, working class family,
dealing with that awful racist incident back in high school,
and then bam, she becomes one of the most recognizable
voices in black conservatism today. It's a lot to unpack.
(00:41):
Where do we even begin?
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Right, She's like almost a walking contradiction in a lot
of ways. Okay, So for anyone who needs to catch up.
Candis Owens was born in nineteen eighty nine. Grew up
in Stanford, Connecticut, one of four kids. The family struggled financially,
even filed for bankruptcy when she was just eleven years old,
which I mean, that's sounds pretty like sadly normal, right.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, But you have to keep in mind the social
context too. You know, being black in America, dealing with
all that that entails systemic racism. That's going to have
an impact on how a young person sees the world,
don't you think. And then on top of all that,
you've got this awful incident in high school.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Oh yeah, she was just seventeen, right, gets hit with
these absolutely vile racist threats, voicemails, the whole nine yards. Honestly,
you'd think that kind of experience would really push someone's
political beliefs in a certain direction.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
It's interesting because those events did end up shaping her worldview,
but not necessarily the way you might expect. Like take
that lawsuit against the Stanford Board of Education, the once
she won for thirty seven five hundred dollars. That actually
becomes a point of contention later down the line when
she really starts questioning systemic racism publicly.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Wait, hold on, she wins this lawsuit and then she
questions systemic racism later. Now that's a contradiction, isn't it.
What do you make of that?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Well, it's complicated to say the least. Some people see
it as kind of betrayal. Others see it as her
thinking for herself. I think it really speaks to how
her views on race and responsibility were always evolving, which
is something we see throughout her life. But hold on,
let's not get ahead of ourselves. So high school's over.
She goes to the University of Rhode Island to study journalism,
but she doesn't finish student loans. You know, it's a struggle.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Oh, tell me about it. I mean, that's relatable for
a lot of people, right, And it's interesting because that
whole experience dealing with the financial burden of education. That
probably influenced her later views on education reform and student debt,
which became a big part of her platform. But even
before all that, in twenty sixteen, she starts this website
it was called Social Autopsy. Now that was a turning point.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
It really was. See even before Trump, she's already trying
to make a name for herself taking on cyber bullying. Basically,
the idea was to use technology to track down these
online bullies. But what kind of blew up in her face?
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Oh right? Critics saw it as dosing which is a
huge no no, you know, publicly revealing someone's personal information
with their consent, and the backlash It wasn't just from
one side either. Liberals and conservatives were coming down on
her totally.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
And you can see how that might make someone feel
pretty disillusioned, even betrayed by both sides, right, and that
feeling that disillusionment, it's really important because it opens the
door for her to start exploring other ideologies, other ways
of seeing the world.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
So at this point, she's already stirring things up, getting
heat from all sides. Is this where that big shift
to the right happens.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Well, it's definitely a catalyst. She starts talking about how
she feels abandoned by the left, like they didn't have
her back, and that feeling, that sense of being let down.
It creates this space for her to connect with more
conservative ideas, which she starts doing and very publicly.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Cue the dramatic music, because in twenty seventeen, she launches
red Pill Black on YouTube. Now, was she an instant
hit or was it more of a.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Slowburn sensation might depend on who you ask, right, but
what's not debatable is that her message really resonated with
a particular audience. This was right after Trump's selection, remember,
and there was this massive wave of distrust in you know,
traditional media, and here comes Candice Owens, young articulate, a
black woman, directly challenging what many saw as this kind
(04:11):
of monolithic liberal narrative. She ends up becoming a powerful
voice for a lot of people who felt like nobody
was listening to them.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
And one of her main things was this whole idea
of bles it right, like encouraging Black Americans to leave
a Democratic party.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Yeah, black exit right, like a mass exodus. And it
wasn't just about ditching a political party, it was about
ditching a whole way of thinking, a worldview that she
argued was holding Black Americans back.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
That's a pretty powerful message. You mentioned you're a Democrat.
How did you feel when you first heard this? Did
it make you rethink anything?
Speaker 2 (04:43):
It definitely gave me pause, made me think, oh, you know,
whether you agree with her or not, she has this
way of getting your attention and making you question some
of your own assumptions, you know, And I think that's
a big part of what made her appealing to conservatives.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Because she was challenging the status quo.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
You mean exactly. And the more she spoke out, the
more tension she got. And of course all of this
catches the eye of groups like Turning Point USA, their
conservative organization that's actually pretty popular with young people.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
You know, yeah, I've heard of them.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
So she ends up becoming their director of Urban Engagement.
And it's like bam, bam bam. Next thing you know,
she's hanging out with trump Land's best selling book Deal
The Whole nine Yards. It's a whirlwind.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Talk about a meteoric rise. But I mean, her critics
didn't just disappear, did they.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Oh No, definitely not. They actually got louder. Yeah, but
in a way that just fueled her rise. It's like
she wanted to be controversial to get a reaction.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Well, she certainly made some provocative statements like downplaying COVID.
For instance, you sent over that article where she compared
vaccine mandates to Nazi Germany, Right, I mean that set
people off. Critics said she was minimizing the Holocaust for
political points. From your perspective, knowing her stance on personal
liberty versus like government overreach and all that, what's your
(05:58):
take on that?
Speaker 2 (05:58):
That's the million dollar question? Right? And it goes to
the core of why she's such a divisive figure. I
think her supporters would probably say that she's just pointing
out historical parallels, you know, using strong language to shape
people awake to what they see as government overreach. Her critics,
on the other hand, see it as deeply offensive, even dangerous.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Right right. And it's not just COVID. Her take on
the Southern Strategy is another one that really gets under
people's skin. Just for anyone who's not familiar, the Southern
strategy is this idea that back in the sixties and seventies,
the Republican Party was intentionally using like racially coded language
to appeal to white voters in the South who weren't
exactly thrilled about the Civil rights movement.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Yeah, exactly, this idea that Republicans were trying to exploit
racial tensions to win elections. M And I mean historians
generally agree that it did happen. But Kenna's owens she
has actually called the Southern strategy a myth.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Wow, that's a bold statement if I've ever heard one.
And it all kind of ties into her larger argument
about systemic racism, doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Absolutely, She argues that while racism obviously exists in the past,
it's not the main issue holding Black Americans back today.
She points to other things like, you know, cultural factors,
personal responsibility, even dependence on the government is being more damaging.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
So she's coming more from like self reliance, pull yourself
up by your bootstraps kind of angle.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Yeah, exactly. You'll often hear her talk about the importance
of personal agency, taking responsibility for your own life, your
own choices, and that message, I mean, love it or
hate it resonates with people, especially folks who feel like
the system has failed them.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
It's interesting, right how her own life kind of feeds
into her whole political message. Like that lawsuit she won
that could definitely lead someone to question the whole idea
of systemic oppression, even if, of course other people see
it totally differently. But no matter what side you're on
with all that, she's definitely tapped into something real.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
In this country, you know, oh absolutely, and you can't deny.
She's a pro at using media to get her message
out there. Like she doesn't even need those old gatekeepers
the newspapers and the cable news. She goes straight to
her audience online, very twenty first century.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Speaking of making a statement, I guess we can't ignore
the whole weddings situation. I mean, she married George Farmer,
right British conservative activist, and the wedding itself at Trump Winery.
Talk about leaning in.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah, you can't make this stuff up. It's really hard
to even separate her personal life from her public image
at this point. It's all intertwined, for better or for worse, for.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
It definitely blurs the lines. Okay, but wedding drama aside.
She's obviously found a comfortable spot in conservative media. I mean,
she's got her own show on the Daily Wire. She
speaks at SEAPAC, which by the way, is the conservative
political action conference for anyone who doesn't spend all their
time following politics, which you know, no judgment, but she's
basically what part of the establishment. Now.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Yeah, she's gone from this outsider shaking things up to
having a real seat at the table, which you have
to admit that says something about her influence. Yeah, but
it also makes you wonder where does she go from here?
Like does she actually want to run for office someday?
Or is she happy being immediate personality a thought leader?
For this new wave of conservatism.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
You sent us an article about that, the whole running
for office. Think you really think that's in the cards?
And what kind of mark do you think she's left
on how we see black conservatism here. It's got to
be different because of.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Her, right, it's definitely possible. You know, she's young, she's
got that charisma, and she knows how to rally people
to her side. As for the impact, oh, there's no question.
She's changed the conversation. She's challenged that assumption that there's
only one way to be black, only one way to
be conservative, and that's opened up space for different voices,
different perspectives within the conservative movement.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
It's almost like she's forcing everyone to look in the
mirror a little bit, you know, to confront our own
biases about race, about politics, even about what it means
to be an American today in this day and age.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Exactly and love her or hater. I think that's valuable.
She reminds us that truth is messy, that there are
always different sides to every story, and sometimes the most
important thing you can do is just listen, engage with
those different viewpoints and maybe just maybe be open to
having your own mind changed.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
A little bit.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
So you know, that's our deep dive into candace owns.
What will you take away from it? Has this changed
how you see her or even how you see some
of these issues. We'll leave you with that.
You know, sometimes a name will just keep popping up
online everywhere you look, and you hear it everywhere, but
you never really get the full story, you know what
I mean. It's like that with Candis Owens. For a
lot of people. I know, you've sent us a ton
of stuff about her, articles, videos, even excerpts from her book,
so clearly y'all are ready to dig in a little
deeper on this one.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yeah, it's a really interesting story, and a lot of
people have a hard time wrapping their heads around her story,
her trajectory. I mean, you've got to admit it's quite
the journey, growing up with her grandfather, working class family,
dealing with that awful racist incident back in high school,
and then bam, she becomes one of the most recognizable
voices in black conservatism today. It's a lot to unpack.
(00:41):
Where do we even begin?
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Right, She's like almost a walking contradiction in a lot
of ways. Okay, So for anyone who needs to catch up.
Candis Owens was born in nineteen eighty nine. Grew up
in Stanford, Connecticut, one of four kids. The family struggled financially,
even filed for bankruptcy when she was just eleven years old,
which I mean, that's sounds pretty like sadly normal, right.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, But you have to keep in mind the social
context too. You know, being black in America, dealing with
all that that entails systemic racism. That's going to have
an impact on how a young person sees the world,
don't you think. And then on top of all that,
you've got this awful incident in high school.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Oh yeah, she was just seventeen, right, gets hit with
these absolutely vile racist threats, voicemails, the whole nine yards. Honestly,
you'd think that kind of experience would really push someone's
political beliefs in a certain direction.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
It's interesting because those events did end up shaping her worldview,
but not necessarily the way you might expect. Like take
that lawsuit against the Stanford Board of Education, the once
she won for thirty seven five hundred dollars. That actually
becomes a point of contention later down the line when
she really starts questioning systemic racism publicly.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Wait, hold on, she wins this lawsuit and then she
questions systemic racism later. Now that's a contradiction, isn't it.
What do you make of that?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Well, it's complicated to say the least. Some people see
it as kind of betrayal. Others see it as her
thinking for herself. I think it really speaks to how
her views on race and responsibility were always evolving, which
is something we see throughout her life. But hold on,
let's not get ahead of ourselves. So high school's over.
She goes to the University of Rhode Island to study journalism,
but she doesn't finish student loans. You know, it's a struggle.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Oh, tell me about it. I mean, that's relatable for
a lot of people, right, And it's interesting because that
whole experience dealing with the financial burden of education. That
probably influenced her later views on education reform and student debt,
which became a big part of her platform. But even
before all that, in twenty sixteen, she starts this website
it was called Social Autopsy. Now that was a turning point.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
It really was. See even before Trump, she's already trying
to make a name for herself taking on cyber bullying. Basically,
the idea was to use technology to track down these
online bullies. But what kind of blew up in her face?
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Oh right? Critics saw it as dosing which is a
huge no no, you know, publicly revealing someone's personal information
with their consent, and the backlash It wasn't just from
one side either. Liberals and conservatives were coming down on
her totally.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
And you can see how that might make someone feel
pretty disillusioned, even betrayed by both sides, right, and that
feeling that disillusionment, it's really important because it opens the
door for her to start exploring other ideologies, other ways
of seeing the world.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
So at this point, she's already stirring things up, getting
heat from all sides. Is this where that big shift
to the right happens.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Well, it's definitely a catalyst. She starts talking about how
she feels abandoned by the left, like they didn't have
her back, and that feeling, that sense of being let down.
It creates this space for her to connect with more
conservative ideas, which she starts doing and very publicly.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Cue the dramatic music, because in twenty seventeen, she launches
red Pill Black on YouTube. Now, was she an instant
hit or was it more of a.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Slowburn sensation might depend on who you ask, right, but
what's not debatable is that her message really resonated with
a particular audience. This was right after Trump's selection, remember,
and there was this massive wave of distrust in you know,
traditional media, and here comes Candice Owens, young articulate, a
black woman, directly challenging what many saw as this kind
(04:11):
of monolithic liberal narrative. She ends up becoming a powerful
voice for a lot of people who felt like nobody
was listening to them.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
And one of her main things was this whole idea
of bles it right, like encouraging Black Americans to leave
a Democratic party.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Yeah, black exit right, like a mass exodus. And it
wasn't just about ditching a political party, it was about
ditching a whole way of thinking, a worldview that she
argued was holding Black Americans back.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
That's a pretty powerful message. You mentioned you're a Democrat.
How did you feel when you first heard this? Did
it make you rethink anything?
Speaker 2 (04:43):
It definitely gave me pause, made me think, oh, you know,
whether you agree with her or not, she has this
way of getting your attention and making you question some
of your own assumptions, you know, And I think that's
a big part of what made her appealing to conservatives.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Because she was challenging the status quo.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
You mean exactly. And the more she spoke out, the
more tension she got. And of course all of this
catches the eye of groups like Turning Point USA, their
conservative organization that's actually pretty popular with young people.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
You know, yeah, I've heard of them.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
So she ends up becoming their director of Urban Engagement.
And it's like bam, bam bam. Next thing you know,
she's hanging out with trump Land's best selling book Deal
The Whole nine Yards. It's a whirlwind.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Talk about a meteoric rise. But I mean, her critics
didn't just disappear, did they.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Oh No, definitely not. They actually got louder. Yeah, but
in a way that just fueled her rise. It's like
she wanted to be controversial to get a reaction.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Well, she certainly made some provocative statements like downplaying COVID.
For instance, you sent over that article where she compared
vaccine mandates to Nazi Germany, Right, I mean that set
people off. Critics said she was minimizing the Holocaust for
political points. From your perspective, knowing her stance on personal
liberty versus like government overreach and all that, what's your
(05:58):
take on that?
Speaker 2 (05:58):
That's the million dollar question? Right? And it goes to
the core of why she's such a divisive figure. I
think her supporters would probably say that she's just pointing
out historical parallels, you know, using strong language to shape
people awake to what they see as government overreach. Her critics,
on the other hand, see it as deeply offensive, even dangerous.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Right right. And it's not just COVID. Her take on
the Southern Strategy is another one that really gets under
people's skin. Just for anyone who's not familiar, the Southern
strategy is this idea that back in the sixties and seventies,
the Republican Party was intentionally using like racially coded language
to appeal to white voters in the South who weren't
exactly thrilled about the Civil rights movement.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Yeah, exactly, this idea that Republicans were trying to exploit
racial tensions to win elections. M And I mean historians
generally agree that it did happen. But Kenna's owens she
has actually called the Southern strategy a myth.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Wow, that's a bold statement if I've ever heard one.
And it all kind of ties into her larger argument
about systemic racism, doesn't it.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Absolutely, She argues that while racism obviously exists in the past,
it's not the main issue holding Black Americans back today.
She points to other things like, you know, cultural factors,
personal responsibility, even dependence on the government is being more damaging.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
So she's coming more from like self reliance, pull yourself
up by your bootstraps kind of angle.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Yeah, exactly. You'll often hear her talk about the importance
of personal agency, taking responsibility for your own life, your
own choices, and that message, I mean, love it or
hate it resonates with people, especially folks who feel like
the system has failed them.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
It's interesting, right how her own life kind of feeds
into her whole political message. Like that lawsuit she won
that could definitely lead someone to question the whole idea
of systemic oppression, even if, of course other people see
it totally differently. But no matter what side you're on
with all that, she's definitely tapped into something real.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
In this country, you know, oh absolutely, and you can't deny.
She's a pro at using media to get her message
out there. Like she doesn't even need those old gatekeepers
the newspapers and the cable news. She goes straight to
her audience online, very twenty first century.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Speaking of making a statement, I guess we can't ignore
the whole weddings situation. I mean, she married George Farmer,
right British conservative activist, and the wedding itself at Trump Winery.
Talk about leaning in.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah, you can't make this stuff up. It's really hard
to even separate her personal life from her public image
at this point. It's all intertwined, for better or for worse, for.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
It definitely blurs the lines. Okay, but wedding drama aside.
She's obviously found a comfortable spot in conservative media. I mean,
she's got her own show on the Daily Wire. She
speaks at SEAPAC, which by the way, is the conservative
political action conference for anyone who doesn't spend all their
time following politics, which you know, no judgment, but she's
basically what part of the establishment. Now.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Yeah, she's gone from this outsider shaking things up to
having a real seat at the table, which you have
to admit that says something about her influence. Yeah, but
it also makes you wonder where does she go from here?
Like does she actually want to run for office someday?
Or is she happy being immediate personality a thought leader?
For this new wave of conservatism.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
You sent us an article about that, the whole running
for office. Think you really think that's in the cards?
And what kind of mark do you think she's left
on how we see black conservatism here. It's got to
be different because of.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Her, right, it's definitely possible. You know, she's young, she's
got that charisma, and she knows how to rally people
to her side. As for the impact, oh, there's no question.
She's changed the conversation. She's challenged that assumption that there's
only one way to be black, only one way to
be conservative, and that's opened up space for different voices,
different perspectives within the conservative movement.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
It's almost like she's forcing everyone to look in the
mirror a little bit, you know, to confront our own
biases about race, about politics, even about what it means
to be an American today in this day and age.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Exactly and love her or hater. I think that's valuable.
She reminds us that truth is messy, that there are
always different sides to every story, and sometimes the most
important thing you can do is just listen, engage with
those different viewpoints and maybe just maybe be open to
having your own mind changed.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
A little bit.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
So you know, that's our deep dive into candace owns.
What will you take away from it? Has this changed
how you see her or even how you see some
of these issues. We'll leave you with that.
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