For years we’ve wanted to see more African American conservatives who aren’t afraid to speak up for the cause. There are already outstanding examples in Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell, Clarence Thomas, Jason Riley, and Shelby Steele, among others. Now, we have two black women — one a millennial activist and one a woman running for mayor of Nashville — who are both conservatives. These are the people we should be talking about.

Candace Owens is the Director of Communications for Turning Point USA. She explains what the organization stands for: fiscal responsibility, limited government, and free markets. She travels all over the country, encouraging people to dialogue with her and consider joining a TPUSA campus affiliate or form their own group. She is fearless, outspoken, and convincing. Many things that she says serve to empower black Americans.

Here are some comments that she has made in her campus speeches and TV appearances:

Black people are not a monolith. I can think differently from Angela (Davis). We are not ideological slaves. I do not have to think like her, she does not have to think like me because of the color of our skin . . .

Every single thing that Black people are going through in this country is because of Democratic policies, because of the welfare system and because individuals like you who don’t allow us to have different ideas and believe in free market capitalism . . .

I’ve been really strong-minded from the time I was a little girl, and I hate being told what to think. So propaganda just doesn’t really work on me. I’m not afraid . . .

You can’t be afraid to be referred to as a “coon” or an ‘Uncle Tom,’ which, by the way, Uncle Tom, for people that actually read the book, was the hero of the novel. That term does not work . . .

It’s going to take people with some courage to step up and say, ‘You can call me whatever you want, this movement is happening. You can get on board or you can watch it.’

Now, let me introduce you to Professor Carol Swain.

I first came across Professor Swain when she appeared in Dinesh D’Souza’s movie, Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party. As a result of her appearance and other public comments, an online petition was circulated in November 2015, as reported by the Washington Times, “demanding she be suspended for alleged discriminatory practices in the classroom.” The petition said in part:

Although Miss Swain is free to speak openly and have her own views, no matter how disagreeable they may be, it is generally unprofessional to attach your job title to a channel promoting your personally held beliefs. Keeping personal beliefs and University-endorsed statements separate is crucial to maintaining the integrity of Vanderbilt’s values. Students also accuse her of ‘expressing hatred towards minorities,’ EAG [News] reported. The petition demands that Miss Swain be suspended so that administrators can ‘confer with the ACLU to create and mandate a diversity training program for all Vanderbilt faculty — including Professor Carol Swain — to increase their cultural awareness, foster inclusion of various identity groups, prevent discrimination in the classroom, and to protect the University against inadvertent civil rights violation.’

Swain’s personal story is one that quite literally exemplifies the American dream. She grew up in southwestern Virginia, living in extreme poverty with her mother, stepfather, and 11 other siblings. A short documentary on Swain’s life tells the story most accurately.

Swain was such a trailblazer of her time that when she wanted an academic scholarship, but was told that as a black woman it would not be possible, she set out to start her own. She went to a wealthy black man in the area and simply asked him to help her start her own academic scholarship program for black students. Swain proudly relayed that the academic scholarship she started continues to reward eight to nine minority students every year.

Now she is running for mayor of Nashville.

Nashville had the second highest murder rate in its history. Property prices have gone sky high. Corruption and the Democrats have dominated city investment:

Swain’s fight for Nashville is not one isolated to Nashville. It’s a broader fight for American cities that have had to endure rapid mass immigration, increasing housing costs, crime, and sanctuary city policies – all at the hands of wealthy, well-connected power players.

Along the way, Swain is optimistic that the fight for America’s cities won’t stop with her.

‘I’m hoping there will be a lot of other people that will follow my example,’ Swain says.

Let’s spend our time talking about real black conservatives — not Kanye West.