#BLOGBASH founder, Conservative activist Ali Akbar urges RNC Committee, Presidential nominee to invite Lt. Col. Allen West to address Cleveland convention

(WASHINGTON, DC/CLEVELAND, OH) – #BlogBash founder Ali Akbar is urging the RNC Committee and Donald Trump to invite former Congressman Allen West to address this week’s gathering. Akbar has started a petition at Change.org to encourage the Presidential nominee and the committee to add West to the speaker’s roster.

The petition explains that former U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, U.S. Senator Tim Scott, and U.S. Representatives Mia Love (R-UT) and Will Hurd (R-TX) are scheduled to speak, but Akbar says that it is clear that there is a dearth of black conservatives on the schedule to address this year’s attendees.

Akbar, a longtime conservative activist who also advises the Black Conservatives Fund, is concerned about the dearth of conservative African-Americans representing the party at this week’s events.

“It’s important that we don’t allow the Democrats to box us in,” explains Akbar. “This isn’t about quotas or anything like that.

Akbar also notes that recent high profile news events involving racial minorities indicate the need for a more inclusive dialogue among Republican Party leadership, to show that it’s not just representative of one race or culture. “The country needs to see and hear from black Republicans,” writes Akbar in the petition.

“We continually allow some in the media, in an unholy alliance with Democrats, to paint us as a white, country club political party. Honestly, some of the blame rests our lack of inclusive efforts.”

“This is about reflecting that conservatism has a place for everyone. In order for the Republican Party to be viable, it must compete and take our principles to all communities.”

(Note: A call was placed to the RNC Convention media team for comment; a spokesman had not yet returned our message as of press time).

About the Author

Virginia PolitiChick Jenny Kefauver is a longtime public relations professional who owns JK Public Relations. She works with a variety of clients including New York Times best-selling author Scott McEwen, author and investigative reporter Richard Miniter, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman/Killology Research Group, Southeastern Legal Foundation, Center for America, the American Media Institute, and others. She has been writing for Politichicks.tv since November, 2013 and has covered a wide variety of topics including parenting, politics, and a variety of others. She tweets @prmommydc.