Self-Government and the Promise of the Republic

On July 7, 2022, during Independence Day week, Kim Monson welcomed Professor William B. Allen, author of The State of Black America, and Donna Tompkins, founder of Liberty Girls, for conversations exploring self-government, the American founding’s promise, and grassroots civic engagement.

The State of Black America: Progress Against the Odds

Start listening at 02:56 – Hour 1

Professor William B. Allen, resident scholar at the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and author of The State of Black America: Progress, Pitfalls, and the Promise of the Republic, dismantles the narrative that America is irredeemably flawed. Allen traces the remarkable progress of American blacks from the end of slavery, noting that the population doubled between 1860 and 1890 without immigration, and literacy rates rose from near zero to fifty percent by 1920.

Allen argues that the Great Society programs of the 1960s reversed this progress by creating dependency. The welfare system targeted black communities, drove fathers from homes, and established abortion clinics that functioned as instruments of population control. He describes this new dependency as a form of slavery that, unlike the original institution, cannot be surgically removed because it permeates the entire culture. The only remedy, Allen contends, is the chemotherapy of conversation and deliberation.

The discussion turns to the 1619 Project and critical race theory, which Allen characterizes as poison injected into American culture. He recounts the story of Stephen Hopkins, a Jamestown settler who objected to the treatment of natives and later signed the Declaration of Independence, demonstrating that principles of equality existed from America’s earliest days.

“This new form of slavery doesn’t set an institution apart. It drives it through the whole bloodstream of the culture. It spreads this infection in such a way that you cannot isolate it to cut it out.”

Professor William B. Allen, Author and Political Philosopher

Liberty Girls: Grassroots Conservative Women Mobilize

Start listening at 59:21 – Hour 2

Donna Tompkins, founder of Liberty Girls, describes how anger at lawlessness and government overreach during COVID led her to invite like-minded women into her home. What began with 20 women in her living room grew to over 400 members in 16 months. The group focuses on education, community support, and mobilization rather than merely political affiliation.

Tompkins explains that Liberty Girls does not endorse specific candidates but instead empowers women to research candidates across multiple forums. The group helped 45 women become delegates, PCPs, and poll watchers during the 2022 election cycle. Many members discovered their first experience with civic engagement after COVID revealed what was being taught in schools.

The conversation addresses critical race theory in Douglas County schools, where Tompkins personally listened to teacher training sessions she found appalling. She emphasizes that once eyes are opened to what is happening in education and government, there is no going back. The group welcomes women from age 17 to 90, united by personal faith and a commitment to reclaiming the American founding principles of self-government and limited government.

“Fighting some of these issues in a group as opposed to being an individual, feeling like you’re helpless to make a change, makes all the difference.”

Donna Tompkins, Founder of Liberty Girls