Candace Owens has made waves by being vocal of her support of President Donald Trump. During the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on March 1, the director of communications for Turning Point USA, said that racism doesn’t exist because she has never been a slave.
"America is not a racist country, The people that continue to tell us that have a vested interest in racism," Owens according to reporter Daniel Dale.
“Stop selling us our own oppression,” Owens continued in a video posted by The Daily Beast. “Stop taking away our self-confidence by telling us that we can’t because of racism, because of slavery. I’ve never been a slave in this country.”
Her comments about slavery mirror what Kanye West said during his controversial rant at TMZ in May 2018. Owens was present for the interview when the rapper said, “You hear about slavery for 400 years. For 400 years? That sound like a choice.”
Several people have called out the prominent Black conservative for her statement including host and digital analyst Roland Martin.
“Candace Owens is paid by a pro-Trump super PAC. She proved once again that she is not a student of history,” Martin tweeted.
Others pointed out the hypocrisy in her statement about racism because the media personality’s family received a $37,5000 settlement from the Stamford, Connecticut Board of Education over racism claims.
According to the New Times, more than a decade ago Owens’ family took legal action after she received messages using a racial slur from fellow high school classmates threatening to kill her.
In 2016, she wrote an open letter to the Stamford Advocate where she said the racial epithet “destroyed” her and led her to an eating disorder for which she needed therapy.
