Michaelah Montgomery has grown into an emerging activist amongst conservatarian youth. The founder of Conserve The Culture, which seeks to mobilize students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, HBCUs, in line with conservative ideas, Montgomery came to national attention because of her outspoken views and for her recent appearance at a rally for Donald Trump in Atlanta. Her remarks, in particular those concerning Vice President Kamala Harris, at this recent rally have unleashed a good deal of furor and controversy.
Background and early life
Michaelah Montgomery is from Atlanta, Georgia and became interested in politics and social issues during studies at Clark Atlanta University, where she graduated in Political Science in 2020. Her experiences with HBCUs really loaded her with an understanding of the political landscape and challenges black students face.
In 2017 she founded Conserve The Culture to help foster conservative values in Black student and community life. The organization focuses on outreach, education, mobilization aiming to create an opportunity for conservatives not normally heard in liberal settings. Montgomery coordinates events, facilitates discussions and engages students in political activism.
Viral moment with Donald Trump
Montgomery first gained widespread attention in April 2024 when she orchestrated a visit for Donald Trump to a Chick-fil-A in Atlanta. She hugged him and credited him to save her college, due to his support of HBCUs. Hugged him again. Video went viral and raised her profile that much more.
In a recent Trump rally that took place in August 2024, Montgomery took the stage to what was a standing ovation from the crowd. Trump labeled her as “tremendous,” and she went on to say that she was smart and sharp. She became, at that moment, the superstar on the rise for the conservative movement, especially under the current development of young Black conservatives.
Montgomery’s criticism of Kamala Harris
Speaking at the Trump rally, Montgomery criticized Vice President Kamala Harris as not being genuine in her claims to support the Black community. She said, “Besides, her record as a prosecutor, why don’t we ask Mrs. Willie Brown if Kamala Harris cares about Black families?” This referring to Harris’s personal relationship with the former mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown, has been a much contested point, raised in political discourses in which Harris is evaluated for her qualifications and authenticity as a leader.
Montgomery’s comments followed closely on the heels of remarks made by Trump, in which he questioned the racial background of Harris, which were also met with anger. By echoing comon-speak of Trump, Montgomery firmly established her anti-Harris, anti-Democrat credentials among the rally’s audience.
Conservative activism and future aspirations
As a founding member of Conserve The Culture, Montgomery applies this activism to challenging and engaging Black students with conservative principles. It is actually an organization created to fight the dominant narratives within the Black community in order to clear space for discussing conservative things such as personal responsibility, economic empowerment, and educational choice.
On that end, Montgomery’s work has brought her praise and criticism, respectively. Her supporters have praised her for providing the platform for Black conservatism, while many critics question her motive and effects of the words. The fact that she has connected with some of the most prominent conservative figures in the country, taking Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens, goes ahead to state her commitment to the movement and raises questions related to the greater implication of the rhetoric she expresses.
Controversies and public perception
Montgomery’s trajectory has certainly not been without controversy. After her speaking appearance at the Trump rally, social media lit up with people searching her background to find evidence of fraud and connections to major political figures. In all this, she continues to court a section of the conservative base that perfumes her perspective as a young Black woman in what is primarily a white political environment.
Remarks on Kamala Harris, for example, would be said to have been offensive, but at the same time, they have a backing from people who themselves feel let down by the Democratic Party’s actions on issues associated with the Black American community. The ability of Montgomery in articulating these sentiments makes her an important voice in the contemporary debate about race, politics, and identity in America.
