Virginia’s New Republican Black Woman Lieutenant Governor And The Era Of The ‘Safe Negro’
Source: Bloomberg / Getty
Let’s talk about the safe negro and how Black people who fit the mold are often paraded around by white conservatives (and liberals for that matter) as proof that neither they nor America are racist.
Virginia’s tight race for governor is over and Republican Glenn Youngkin has emerged victorious as the first GOP candidate to win statewide office in the commonwealth since 2009, according to CNN. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Didn’t Youngkin basically win by joining Republicans in their war against Critical Race Theory, a thing they know absolutely nothing about outside of it making fragile white people uncomfortable? Isn’t this the guy who had alleged white supremacists front and center on his campaign trail? What does that have to do with white people not being racist because of their alleged Black friends?”
Glenn Youngkin made critical race theory the closing argument to his campaign and dominated in blue Virginia.
We are building the most sophisticated political movement in America—and we have just begun.
— Christopher F. Rufo (@realchrisrufo) November 3, 2021
Glenn Youngkin (victory speech): “We’re going to introduce choice within our public school system.” pic.twitter.com/v26oRVSUSX
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) November 3, 2021
Well, yes, he is the guy who railed against CRT under the guise of giving parents a choice in what their kids learn in school; and yes, the racist whiteys love him; but no, that has nothing to do with the “Black friend” thing. However, he isn’t the only Republican who won big on Tuesday night.
Meet Winsome Sears, Virginia’s new lieutenant governor.
According to WDBJ 7, Sears is not only the first woman of color to be elected to the position, but she’s the first woman of color to win any statewide election in Virginia.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Well doesn’t her election indicate that we are at least moving towards a post-racial America?”
That’s a lot of BS. Virginia just elected this powerful black woman as lieutenant governor. Her name is Winsome Sears btw. pic.twitter.com/6Xejn5b3eJ
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) November 3, 2021
Is this the same “white supremacy” that signs your checks? The same “white supremacy” that chose a Black Lt. Governor?
Your race baiting tears taste so good in my protein shake this morning.
— Barrington Martin II (@_BarringtonII) November 3, 2021
Well, that’s one way of interpreting things—if you want to ignore the fact that it took the state until the end of 2021 to elect, not only its first Black woman Lieutenant Governor but its first woman of color to any statewide office, and that they did it while also electing a quintessential white American good ol’ boy as Governor.
Also, Sears is a safe negro.
Sears is a Republican who is willing to say all of the white people-friendly things regarding race relations in America.
“There are some who want to divide, but we must not let that happen,” she said during her victory speech, WDBJ reported. “We have had a Black president elected not once but twice and here I am, living proof.”
Only white people and delusional people of color believe the election of former two-term President Barack Obama is proof of a post-racial America despite the fact that white people, in both elections, overwhelmingly voted against him, and despite the fact that we spent eight years listening to him being referred to as a Muslim (by people who hate Muslims), and immigrant (by people who hate brown people) and a radical leftist (despite the fact that most of his policies were neither radical nor all that leftist).
Now, to be completely fair, we don’t really know how deep in the sunken place Sears resides. During her victory speech, she also said, “What we are going to do now is be about the business of the Commonwealth. We have things to tend to. We are going to fully fund our historically Black colleges and universities. We’re going to have safer neighborhoods, safer communities, and our children are going to get a good education.”
So, we at least know she isn’t a full-on Candace Owens. (Because Owens thinks Netflix and Uber Eats are segregationist organizations because they have Black categories. I’m pretty sure she thinks the very concept of HBCUs is “reverse racism.”)
Still, it is an absolute myth that the election of Black people to any office is proof of significant racial process—especially not in an America where white legislators get to pass laws that prohibit or hinder the teaching of Black history to all students based on the potential for white students and their parents to be made to feel bad about themselves and their country.
All white people in America do is latch onto Black conservatives for “not racist” points and call the Black majority hypocrites for resenting their “Black friends” instead of embracing them (as if they ever embrace their fellow whites who are of different ideologies).
But hey, maybe I’m wrong and Sears will be different.
I guess we’ll find out.
SEE ALSO:
[ione_media_gallery id=”4230665″ overlay=”true”]