I’m sitting here with tears flowing as African American Conservatives turns 15! What a ride it has been, and truly, an amazing accomplishment.
We thank everyone involved in making these 15 years such an odyssey. Who could have imagined the incredible changes we would see in the political landscape when we started out? We certainly didn’t. But as DK points out in our latest interview with Allen West, Black conservatives have and are continuing to change the trajectory of the American political landscape.
As I look at this (partial!) roster, I realize many of these astounding guests had not yet been elected when we first interviewed them (Allen West, Tim Scott, and Mia Love come to mind).
And, sadly, many are gone. I think of Andrew Breitbart, who was an early guest, a mentor, and someone who became a friend, and whose cellphone number I still cannot delete from my phone.
We had a lot of help along the way. Our first guest ever, Craig DeLuz, introduced us to our first home on the web, BlogTalkRadio. Soon thereafter, we were invited to work with the terrific folks over at From the Right Radio. In particular, our thanks go to Thomas LaDuke, Paul Croteau, Mike Gay, the late Mike Fidanza, and the late Tom Reynolds. One of our frequent guests was Professor Bill Jacobson, and his noted site, Legal Insurrection, welcomed us and posted much of our commentary and interviews. After the show’s hiatus, during which I worked full-time for Col. West, and served on Black Voices for Trump, we came back stronger than ever, thanks to Bright News, and Harrison Floyd and Shannon Braswell. And, we wouldn’t be here on Substack if not for @Linda and we owe her and the team here at Substack a debt of thanks.
Many of these guests turned into people I now consider close friends. So much of what you hear in the interviews wasn’t where the real power was. I remember heart-to-heart talks about motherhood with Michelle Malkin and Michele Bauchmann, long after the interviews were over.
Who knew that a random then-Twitter conversation with a fellow Black conservative would not only turn into AACONS and this roster of all-star interviews, but would spawn one of the deepest friendships I enjoy on earth? DK is truly the little brother I never had. He and Sebastian (our other co-founder) are great friends, and our kids do consider him their uncle (though they wish he wouldn’t call them at midnight to warble off-key birthday greetings)!
This list is incomplete, and we apologize. We would have needed to loop the songs a few times to fit everyone in. But, we thank every single person, some we agreed with and some we did not, for engaging with us, and elevating the conversation. From the bottom of our hearts, again, we thank each and every guest, and all of our loyal listeners!
To celebrate (picture DK rolling out a virtual cake), we are offering a 15% discount on all subscriber plans. Whether you are new to AACONS or want to upgrade to show your support for this incredible body of work, we certainly appreciate our supporters!
Happy 15th Birthday, AACONS!
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