Effective Black Outreach: How Will Conservatives Compete Against Progressives as the Latter Attempts to Solidify Poor Black Women's Votes Using Guaranteed Basic Income?

Greetings Beloved,

​At a time when Black men are voting for conservative politics for economic reasons, Progressives are appealing to poor Black women using Guaranteed Basic Income. Learn how the Conscious Conservative Movement will compete to show poor Black women a better way.

As Black Conservative voices encourage Conservative leaders to make strategic inroads with Black male voters on the basis of economics, it’s important to know how conservatism can be successfully sold to Black women also.

As with all voters, no group is a monolith. But every group will have common challenges that warrant a conservative solution. And when it comes to building the Alliance with Black voters, we must be willing to engage in conversations that make an impact.

That’s where The Foundation and The Conscious Conservative Movement come in.

Over the last couple of years, Democrat and Progressive politicians have discussed ways to help poor single Black mothers get the health and human services they need to overcome challenges such as maternal care and the racial wealth gap.

Within conservative spaces, these topics are never addressed, which explains the relatively low number of Black female voters who subscribe to the Conservative Republican Party.

This is a flaw, which is why I press Beloved Conservatives to handle these topics more maturely.

More recently, in response to these growing problems among single Black mothers, Democrats have proposed new ideas such as guaranteed income for this demographic. Non-profit organizations like In Her Hands, which is based in Atlanta, GA, define this guaranteed income as such:

In Her Hands offers no-strings-attached payments averaging about $850 a month for two years to Black women who are accepted in the program. To qualify, the women must be 18 years or older, live within the Old Fourth Ward, and make at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. That means less than $56,000 a year for a family of four.  (Source)

Other cities across the nation are implementing a similar program.

A guaranteed income program that provides monthly checks to Black pregnant women in San Francisco will expand to other counties in California.

The Abundant Birth Project began in June 2021 to serve pregnant women with $1,000 monthly payments over 12 months to 150 people. The program is intended to ‘reduce the racial birth disparities by easing economic stress.’
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‘This guaranteed income program helps ease some of the financial burdens that all too often keep mothers from being able to prioritize their own health and ultimately impact the health of their babies and family,"‘San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a statement. ‘We hope the Abundant Birth Project serves as a model to address racial birth disparities throughout the region and state, and across the country."‘(Source)

These outside programs essentially provide a funnel for the Democrat Party to connect with residents and to test if a Universal Basic Income policy will work at the national level.

On the surface, an additional $800-$1200 per month is a major blessing for single Black mothers. I know this because I work with this demographic inside My Beloved Women’s Ministry. I know the challenges confronting these mothers. Not a single woman here is the stereotypical Black single mother. All of them work hard to provide for themselves and their children.

But every month, they find themselves lacking financially.

An additional guaranteed income deposited into their account each month would do wonders for them. The extra money would cover rent or extra food or more clothing. And seeing as these programs do not require anything of the mothers to continue receiving the extra income, this can essentially reduce their stress.

I am well-aware of these factors. Yet, I am also aware of how the system functions and the consequences single Black mothers will face should they participate in this Progressive endeavor. Here are just a few:

1. There is no such thing as getting something for nothing. When dealing with spiritual laws, it is a violation to expect to receive anything without making an effort to sow something. If I want additional income, the Law of Sowing and Reaping requires I exchange something (goods, services) to receive that money. In theory, the guaranteed income program violates basic natural laws.
2. Guaranteed income sets a precedence for paying single Black mothers to remain poor. According to these programs, a mother must remain below the poverty line to receive this income. That means if she desires to boost her professional resume and secure a higher-paying position, she will lose whatever access she has to this “free” money.
3. Guaranteed income will affect a mother’s current standing with the benefits she already receives from the state. When receiving cash aid or food stamps, Health and Human Services will ask each mother to report any and all additional income she receives. If she crosses a certain income threshold, she will lose her benefits. (This is one of many reasons why women do not push themselves to earn more income.)
4. These organizations offering guaranteed income do not teach the mothers about the external factors that cause their current economic hardships. Sure, they will discuss systemic racism or the racial wealth gap. But Progressives will NOT tell them why the more wealth these mothers earn, the more Progressives will snatch it away via heavier taxation. (I present this analysis in my book, Progressivism is NOT Charity.) Neither will these organizations tell the mothers that Progressive laws (such as ESG) exacerbate rising prices, which add to their hardships. In essence, guaranteed income is a like placing a band-aid on a bullet wound.

Despite these concerns, Conservatives cannot afford to disengage from the conversations being had regarding these new Progressive ideas and initiatives. True to their talking-point nature, Conservatives will resort to the typical messaging such as “pulling yourself up by your bootstrap” as an intellectual tactic on this battlefield of ideas.

But that messaging will not work, especially if we are making strides to sell conservatism to Black voters.

As always, whenever I present new challenges to Beloveds, I also interject new ideas that compete effectively on this battlefield.

Having been a single Black mother over the last few years, I know how challenging life can be when trying to raise a tiny human.

But over the years, I developed a system to help women like me overcome these challenges by tapping into the virtual market to secure new economic opportunities while providing a safe homeschool environment for their children.

Granted, I am able to perform these tasks because of my educational and work background. But there is no reason why other mothers cannot replicate the process if they truly desire.

As such, The Felecia Killings Foundation will present itself as a viable, conservative option for single Black mothers who no longer want to be bound by economic hardships.

No, we are not in the business of handing out guaranteed monthly income to our mother-clients without stipulations. Rather, as we continue receiving funding from Beloved Givers, we use the resources to provide women FREE online business and virtual career training so they attract quality, high-paying opportunities that break the back of poverty.

For the mothers who participate in our program successfully, we reward them with monthly grocery blessings to help offset rising food costs. In addition, as the mothers complete their assignments and improve their online portfolio, we bring their work to our national audience who may be interested in their goods or services.

We believe strongly that the best way to help single Black mothers escape poverty is to teach them firstly how to become success-conscious. That means we spend time early in the ministry, teaching the women about the power of the mind, how to think the thoughts of God, how to know the Holy Spirit for themselves, and how to see their vision and make it a reality.

We then proceed with teachings on how to develop the right action plan to manifest their economic dreams. We teach them why “wishes don’t bring riches,” and why their strategic efforts are needed to get them into positions that place them in the middle-class income bracket.

Once this ground work is established, we then help the women set up their website or professional social media platform. We teach them how to attract higher-paying opportunities by demonstrating their skill sets through various work samples. (The virtual workforce is more concerned with a candidate’s ability to deliver results than the number of degrees she possesses.)

And, again, as the women go through the training, we send them rewards (based on the funding we receive) to help offset some costs.

And that is what makes our ministry and program the best.

As we share these case studies and success stories, we will ask small, mid-size, and large donors to make strategic contributions towards our ministry. In addition, we will connect with Conservative politicians and candidates who are willing to champion these ideas so more resources are allocated to our work.

This point is worthy of repeating: Conservatives can no longer afford to ignore topics Black Americans are addressing. The need for the Conservative Alliance is here. And if the base does not engage effectively on the battlefield of ideas, we will lose the republic as we know it.

Until next time, Beloved, be blessed.

And as always, let’s grow together!

• Coach Felecia Killings

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