BLEXIT: Charlotte woman says movement is more than just 2020 election

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Channel 9 has seen a record number of people at the polls already for the 2020 election.

We’ve also seen a voting trend that started in North Carolina and grew across the country. Channel 9 first reported on Blexit in 2019 and the thousands of Black voters who are leaving the Democratic party.

Eyewitness News reporter Tina Terry spoke to a Charlotte woman who said the movement is more than just this election.

Charlotte resident, Jasmine Ballard, was in Washington, D.C. last weekend supporting the president, standing up for the conservative values she said she found within herself after much reflection.

“I realized I wasn’t so liberal even though I thought I was. I actually aligned more with conservative values based on what I valued for my own life and my future," Ballard said.

She’s part of the Blexit movement, which challenged Black Americans who tend to vote Democratic to think outside the political box.

National Director Pierre Wilson helped launch Blexit’s first chapter in North Carolina, and said it’s now spread to 19 other states, some of which are blue.

“90% of our vote has been going to one side. Now it’s time to hold those people accountable and see what are we doing. Why are we voting this way? Why are we taking this path?” Pierre said.

BLEXIT: The movement encouraging black voters to question the status quo BLEXIT: The movement encouraging black voters to question the status quo

28-year-old Ballard said she was drawn to Blexit’s vision for Black America.

“Advocating for school choice, criminal justice reform, advocating for entrepreneurship to help get out of poverty and create a way of life for yourself," she said.

Ballard believes Blexit has staying power, even beyond 2020. They are hoping to continue to promote freedoms of thought among young voters.

“Liberalism has caused a lot of this labelism where people are afraid to think and even speak openly," Ballard said. “I literally had a college student say I want to argue with you, you notice he said argue, not I want to engage and learn. Everytime I go into conversation, I don’t care who you are, I can learn something from you and you can learn something from me.”

Cox Media Group