On May 26, 2018, actor Brandon Straka released a video that started a viral movement. Straka had been a faithful member of the Democrat party, until he decided to walk away from what he saw as a party that was moving toward hate. To date, his #Walkaway movement has inspired tens of thousands of former liberals to do the same.
In his original video, Straka asks others to walk away from the Democrat party for the reasons he did, the incessant identity politics, division, hate, intolerance and growing calls for violence. Since then, flocks of former Democrats have been making their own #walkaway videos, writing letters and joining local #walkaway groups, a sign that many Americans are waking up to the illusion that the Left is on their side.
This weekend, at The Trump Hotel in Washington, DC, the #Walkaway campaign is celebrating the one year anniversary of it’s founding. The three day celebration began with a screening of the “documonial”, entitled “The Great Awakening – Breaking The Chains of The Democratic Party.” Part documentary and part testimonial, the 35 minute video, the creation of Hollywood filmmaker and director Mike Boss, is a compilation of #walkaway testimonials of black Americans from all over the country.
The evening began with the arrival of special guests and #walkaway movement members mingling in the lobby, purchasing black T-shirts with the iconic #walkaway logo in plain white or rainbow, and telling their #walkaway stories. People from all over America were in attendance, from as far away as Tucson, Arizona, Boulder, Colorado and Charleston, South Carolina. Some life-long Democrats who’ve walked away, others who purport to #walkwith (those who support someone who has walked away), and others who’ve been long time Republicans and want to show support to those leaving the Democrat party.
The program commenced with a brief introduction by Straka, the movement’s founder. He welcomed the guests, discussed the evolution of the #walkaway movement and how the documentary came to be. Serving-sized bags of pop corn were made available to the audience and the documentary began. The documonial walks you through different chapters in the history and the experience of black America. Many, if not all, the stories documented how black American’s predominantly vote Democrat, and how those who’ve now walked away, began their journey by doing their own research into the history of the Democrat party.
Issues like the founding of Planned Parenthood by eugenist Margaret Sanger and the historically Democrat founding of the Ku Klux Klan were common themes. “The parties never switched. That’s a lie,” said one testimony. “We’ve been kept on the plantation for our votes. Well, I’m off the plantation now”, exclaimed another. The videos show people realizing that they’ve been manipulated, lied to and fooled into thinking the Democrats cared about them. The most profound realization for most was that the Democrats talk about helping minorities, show how worried they are about what will happen if conservatives are elected to power, and then proceed to do nothing of benefit to help those they claim to defend. The documonial received a standing ovation from the crowd.
The evening continued with #walkaway Match Game, where two audience members filled in the blanks to conservative questions and won points if a VIP panelist gave the same answer as the contestants. The questions, written by Straka, gave everyone the opportunity to laugh and make fun of various political current events.
The night concluded with a VIP panel fielding questions from the audience. Panelists included investigative journalist Tracy Beanz, Scott Presler of The Persistence, conservative meme creator Carpe Donktum, Blaze.tv correspondent Jon Miller, author Shemeka Michelle and singer Joy Villa, among others. Fifteen year old Andre, from Boulder County, Colorado, wearing a Trump 2020 hat, asked “What are the defining characteristics of being American?” Pressler responded, “Pride. We have freedom of opportunity. We are the most privileged, greatest free-est country in the world.” A question on social media censorship sparked Jon Miller to respond, “They’re coming for you next. If you’re a conservative and you’re speaking out, you’re next. Twitter is a platform that the President uses to communicate with his country, and if the people can’t hear their President, it’s a violation of their civil rights.”
The anniversary event continues Saturday May 18th with Roaring 20’s theme party at the Trump Hotel, On Sunday the 19th a rally is schedule to take place in front of the White House. The rally is open to the public and starts at noon.
