Let’s get this out at this outset of this blog, Omarosa, you’re gonna get this draggin’. And you deserve it. However there is an opportunity for you to redeem yourself. 

You have been arrogant, rude and self-serving at best. You cared more about proximity to power than how the person that possessed that power would use it to harm People of Color like yourself. You went on national TV and tooted a horn for a man whose oppressive policies disproportionally affect the very people that look like you. You remained silent as this man sought to restrict transgender individuals from serving in the military. You didn’t bat an eye when this man said, “Grab em by the pussy.” You turned your head when this man stood at a podium and implied that NFL Players (mostly Black) are “sons of bitches” for protesting police brutality and injustice. You stood by as this man said, “There were good people on both sides” after Heather Heyer was murdered by a White supremacist in Charlottesville, Virginia. You said nothing when this man stood at a podium and encouraged police officers to “rough up” suspects when they place them in custody even after knowing how the murder of Freddie Gray rocked this nation. You walked into a Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, Mississippi where just this year a Black man named, Jeremy Jerome Jackson was beheaded. A town in which I was told when I was visiting Mississippi, “Do not drive through Jackson because we cannot guarantee your safety.” And in 2017 my daughter and I drove into Mississippi afraid to stop to even go to the bathroom. And this is the place where you stood with a man that has no regard for the history and sacrifice of Black people during the Civil Rights Movement.

You, Omarosa, in your silence have blood on your hands.

The reward for your deafening silence was the title Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison of President Trump with an annual salary of approximately $180,000. You, like many people did not listen when we warned you about Trump. You walked into the Oval Office with dreams that you would be the next Olivia Pope. And even on Scandal Olivia was warned.

ABC Scandal/Shonda Rhimes

Apparently, you missed that episode of Scandal because, after the election that rocked Alabama and the astronomical number of Black Women that voted for Doug Jones, it was announced that you were terminated. (I understand that you say “resigned.”)

Life is not without its irony. Everything always comes with a price.

My question for you today, Omarosa, was the price that you paid for standing on the wrong side of history, worth it?

The person that has the ear of the king can rule the nation. You had an opportunity as a Black woman with a strong personality and convictions to sway legislation, to stand up for others, to be a voice for those that will never have the opportunity to speak directly to the President of the United States of America. And what did you do? You flaunted your proximity to power; you took wedding photos at the White House for Twitter, you smiled smugly on Frontline and told people, “Every critic, every detractor, will have to bow down to President Trump.” You forgot that meant you too. Trump didn’t give a second thought about placing his foot on your back.

NBC News Donald Trump and Omarosa Manigault Newman

You are the scapegoat for the loss in Alabama.

CNN Alabama Election Results

And the blowback from your choice to serve in an administration that doesn’t value the fundamental aspects of humanity has been brutal. Admittedly reading some of the comments, I felt sympathy towards you. Even sharing a comment or meme, I felt a little guilty. However, for all the reasons I listed above and many more, I believe you have earned this criticism. This is a punishment that you are going to have to take. Sometimes the medicine doesn’t taste good going down, but you need to swallow a heaping tablespoon of humility.

Your comments about “my community,” “my people” and the obvious strain to bring forth tears as you cried about how difficult your life has been for “just trying to help” was an insult to everyone that is fighting against this administration. You turned your back on your community and your people. You turned your back on women, particularly Black women. And now, even in your termination, you are not concerned about “your community” or “your people,” but your true motivation is an inevitable book deal. I am certain it will be marketed as a tell-all book since you are already branding yourself as the, “only Black person that served on the senior staff of this administration.” In the age of internet fame, I understand the need for branding, however, let me be clear with you, Omarosa, in 2017 to say you are the only Black person in a position of leadership at the White House, is not a badge of honor. It is not “just words” for your rebranding ambitions. It is an embarrassment to this nation and speaks to the lack of concern about having all voices at the table to have input on the policies that will ultimately affect the lives of many People of Color.

You have stated on The View that, “You are a proud American.” You cannot deny that America is weeping. If you are truly concerned about the state of this nation, you would shout everything that you know from the rooftops. Take a lesson from history as an enslaved girl stood in the dining room of Melrose Plantation in Natchez, Mississippi pulling the string of a punkah to fan the flies off her White slavemasters food. When I saw a punkah in person, my heart shattered knowing that a young Black girl was enslaved simply for White people to avoid having flies land on their food. And the Black tour guide reminded me, “Do not be dismayed. She had a job to do. While they think she is just there fanning flies, her ears are tuned into the frequency of freedom. And her job is to GO BACK and TELL her mother EVERYTHING she has heard. Especially if she hears the master will be leaving the plantation because it is then that they will run for freedom!”

Punkah- a large swinging fan moved by an enslaved child. Melrose Plantation Natchez, Mississippi

If you are genuinely about liberation then your work has just begun. Your job, Omarosa is to come back and tell everything you know, not for your monetary gain but because a nation is SHOUTING for FREEDOM!

Featured Image: Omarosa Manigault (Leigh Vogel/Getty Images)