In the aftermath of the assassination of right-wing influencer, activist and founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, some social media users were left confused to see prominent black women influencers amongst those mourning his death.
“The same Charlie Kirk who claimed that Michelle Obama, Joy Reid and Ketanji Brown Jackson ‘do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. [They] had to go steal a white person’s slot.’ They’re mourning that guy?!” was the collective thought echoing around the timeline.
It is not incidental that it is women like Aliyah Maria Bee and Sasha Ellesse who are making these statements, public figures who have in recent years undergone a public conversion to (or reaffirmation for) Christianity. And to understand what seems on the surface as pure insanity, you need to understand how American Evangelicism is the foundation for the majority of mainstream Christianity in the 21st Century. This is the expression of Christianity that I was raised in.