The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Owens, Candace. Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape from the Democrat Plantation. Threshold Editions, 2020.

Blackout opens with a description of Owen’s childhood, centered around her grandparents. In high school, Owens’ experienced a hate crime which she describes as fundamental to her early identity as a victim. In 2013, Owens’ grandmother became sick, and when visiting her she was confronted with questions about herself. This led her to consider, “What if the world is not happening to Candance Owens? What if Candance Owens is happening to the world?” (33). She rejected victimhood, and Black America, she argues, needs to reject the “victim narrative” and “return to our conservative roots” (39).

Owens notes that her conservatism was encouraged by Black conservatives like Larry Elder who forced her to reconsider the narrative that police brutality is inherently connected to racism and notice the destruction of the Black family unit. Owens points to Lyndon B. Johnson as someone who significantly damaged the Black community. His Great Society initiatives, Owens argues, were “a deliberate attack on the black family unit”, as it “marr[ied] black American to the government, via welfare” (50). Welfare has tied Black Americans to the government and hampers their success. The collapse of the family has also been a result of abortions which have been targeted at the Black community. Owens notes that since Planned Parenthood provided abortions, “black women have terminated far more pregnancies than women of any other race” (61).

Feminism, Owens notes, “has anything to do with its original search for equality” (66). It only advances certain voices and encourages philosophies like guilty before proven innocent in the hashtag #BelieveAllWomen. Ironically, Owens points out that modern feminists are actually using southern racist tactics. She illustrates this with the story of Emmett Till, and how this case is a stark reminder of the “danger of unchecked allegations'' (76). Historically, feminism has not been inclusive; Black women have been and continue to be left out of the goals of the feminist movement.

Owens notes that when “civil maturity is realized, when basic rights and liberties have been ensured for all” overcivilization occurs (93). Now, we are “fabricating oppression” and a lack of meaningful existence is leading some of us to “the never-ending pursuit of ‘social justice’ causes” (94). We don’t understand actual hardship and search for ways to make ourselves more important. Ironically, we live in an era where there is “more insistence on rather than actual resistance against racism” (103). Owens asks us to consider the hardships of our ancestors and use this to compare our strife today.

The problem with many political arguments today, Owens argues, is that they are not focused on what is true, but rather “an individual’s idea of what is good” (109). Owens shows how the New Deal proved to actually be disastrous to the Black community but that Black voters continued to support FDR. Today, some leftists advocate for socialism, which is the emblem of “promised goodness”, and it continues to fail (115). Owens argues that Black America has placed “an unnatural amount of faith in the American government,” but that they can lead prosperous lives without socialism and the Democratic party (123).

Freedom, Owens argues, correlates with personal responsibility. Slavery removed all personal responsibility, but when blacks were freed and “recognized the burden of freedom, [they] began searching for something to excuse their many shortcomings” (132). They accepted the victim narrative and failed to “rise to the challenge of outworking our opponents” (134). This can be seen in affirmative action policies which actually harms Black students by making them unable to compete in the real world. Moreover, public schools teach young children that skin color makes them different and that Black youth are victims. This “overemphasizes the role that others play in our success,” which essentially disempowers students (143). Hard work and personal responsibility are the only way for students to succeed.

The media has displayed clear bias for certain parties, and Owens suggests that they are obsessed by control and tying Black America to the Democratic party. Moreover, the media shows “contempt” for the Black community through reinforcing the victim narrative and a need for “liberal saviors” (167). The best example of this, Owens argues, is the media coverage of Black Lives Matter. The media’s hypocrisy and disregard for truth disempowers the Black community and “limits our willingness to think, and act, critically” (174).

Excuses and a victimhood mentality often make it easier for people to blame others for their poor choices or life’s general unfairness. Owens compares her friend Alexa, an aspiring actress who never made it in Hollywood, to Dr. Ben Carson, as evidence of the power of hard work and personal responsibility. As she describes, “lamenting the actions and behaviors of others does little to aid our success” (189).

Faith has always been tied to the Black community and it has produced amazing results. However, in the 1960s faith started to become unfashionable. Part of the reason the Left hates faith, Owens argues, is because it endorses the doctrine of Original Sin, which proves that “humanity is not perfectible” (208). Thus, the government cannot solve Black America’s problems with their inherent moral goodness. Owens critiques Democrats for demanding “faith in their vision, their principles, their ideals”, and encourages Black Americans to rekindle a faith which has historically been a source of empowerment within the community (216).

Black America is also too tied to culture, Owens argues. It is about achieving “coolness”, and Democrats try to achieve this through “acting black” (223). Modern Black liberals do not represent “the glory of our ancestors” (228). Owens cites the comparison between the reactions to George Floyd and David Dorn’s murder, concluding that since Dorn’s death did not fit the “preferred racial narrative,” his death was ignored (233). This “toxic culture”, Owens argues, denies that “the problems that exist in black America today are completely optional” (236-237).

In her final chapter, Owens discusses the ramifications of slavery and our failure to truly understand the history of it. She notes that slavery did not begin with colonial white European men in America; it has existed since the beginning of humanity. Moreover, there are currently around 700,000 slaves in Africa today being enslaved by other Africans. Owens refers to Black America’s allegiance to the Democratic party as being part of the “Democrat Plantation.” She argues that the same results that slavery imposed on Black Americans are the very results achieved today by the Democratic party, though the means of accomplishing them are different. The party provides “comfort and familiarity” to Black Americans (260). Through Blackout, Owens hopes for Black Americans to be unafraid to explore another perspective and eventually achieve true freedom by making an exodus from the Democratic party.