The Kanye West of politics, Herschel Walker, is once again grabbing headlines for the wrong reasons.
The Daily Beast reported on Monday that the Republican Senate candidate from Georgia paid a girlfriend for her abortion. We are all about reproductive rights and freedom, but Walker is famously anti-choice.
Walker said he would support a ban on all abortions after 15 weeks, with absolutely no exceptions for mothers. According to Walker’s policy platform–which is more a collection of vague ideas and tropes than actual policy– he considers himself “a compassionate conservative who is pro-life and pro-family.”
It’s the hypocrisy for us.
Since then, his son Christian Walker (a conservative influencer on the receiving end of that recently famous Kehlani meme) has been outspoken about the abortion news.
According to Christian, his father has been “lying” about a problematic history.
Much like former President Donald Trump, Walker has been caught in multiple misleading and false claims. Here are just a few of his head-scratching moments.
01
Said he graduated from UGA. And then said that he never said that.
We’ve got a 2 for 1 deal here, with the former pro-footballer claiming that he graduated from the University of Georgia, even though he didn’t.
He then backtracked. According to CNN, “Walker’s claim that he ‘never’ and ‘not one time’ said he graduated from the University of Georgia is flat out false. Walker said on camera at least twice that he graduated from the school. Walker’s promotional materials have also featured the false claim that he graduated.”
Claims he was in law enforcement, the FBI specifically. Which is not quite the flex he thinks it is.
“I worked for law enforcement, y’all didn’t know that either?” Walker has once said. “I spent time at Quantico at the FBI training school. Y’all didn’t know I was an agent?”
According to MSNBC, that was a lie.
As the outlet reports, “Walker has never been an FBI agent. His campaign said he spent a week at an FBI school in Quantico, but a week does not an agent make. (He couldn’t have been an agent anyway, since agents are required to have college degrees, and Walker doesn’t have one, even though he’s claimed otherwise.).”
03
Has an ongoing beef with trees
The Inflation Reduction Act has plans to plant more trees in low-income neighborhoods, as many of them face extreme heat and form “heat islands.”
Walker apparently has a problem with this, sharing the half-truth that the project will raise taxes for middle and low income households, and he blames Biden and Warnock for the costs. However, according to Politifact, he has failed to mention the cost savings built into the bill.
Walker told the fact-checking website: “Our inner cities need less crime, not more trees,” as if, somehow, we can only have one good thing at a time.
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04
Largely blames Raphael Warnock for rising gas prices
“Gas is more expensive because you and Senator Warnock cancelled the Keystone XL Pipeline and stopped domestic drilling sending American jobs and energy overseas,” Walker tweeted to President Biden.
Unfortunately for those who care about climate change, drilling actually didn’t stop. In fact, drilling permitting was higher in Biden’s first year as president than Donald Trump’s.
If you’ve ever been to ESSENCE Hollywood House, you know it’s more than just a series of panels—it’s a gathering of visionaries. A space where Black creatives and leaders come together to share stories, strategies, and solutions. This year’s conversation, Let’s Talk About LA: Preserving Our City, presented by AT&T, was no different.
The discussion brought together three voices, each deeply invested in shaping LA’s future: D. Smoke, the Grammy-nominated rapper and educator; Olympia Auset, founder of SÜPRMRKT, a grocery service tackling food apartheid in LA; and DJ HED, a radio personality and advocate for independent artists. Though their paths differed, their mission was the same—creating opportunities, protecting culture, and ensuring Black spaces in LA don’t just survive but thrive.
For Olympia Ausset, the work she’s doing with SÜPRMRKT goes far beyond providing fresh groceries—it’s about laying the foundation for a stronger, healthier community. “The LA we love, the cultural beacon it’s known as today, was built by people who worked hard to create their own spaces,” she shared. “The reason I do what I do is because it’s essential. We can’t achieve any of the changes I want for my community without being in good health and having access to affordable, organic food. Without places where we can gather, heal, and support each other, none of the other goals will be possible. It starts with taking care of ourselves and building those spaces together.”
From Olympia’s focus on wellness and accessibility to DJ HED’s belief in the power of self-worth, the discussion explored what it means to dream beyond individual success and invest in collective progress. “I see a lot of people who aren’t proud of where they come from, what they look like, or where they’re at in life,” he said. “I had to learn to give myself grace, to grow. I grew up in Inglewood, raised by a single mom. We lived in a car, we were on welfare, but I knew I wanted to be bigger than my circumstances. That’s what dreaming in Black is—believing in something greater and nurturing it until it grows.”
DJ Smoke also touched on this, emphasizing the importance of intention and fulfillment. “You don’t want to climb that ladder and realize you went real high in the wrong direction,” he warned. “A lot of people in LA are ambitious, but if you don’t understand your ‘why,’ you can get to the top and still feel empty. The goal isn’t just to make it—it’s to make it mean something.
Sometimes, as Black creatives, we only dream as far as the next gig or the next check, but dreaming in Black means going beyond that. “It means thinking bigger than what’s right in front of you,” said host Donye Taylor.
This conversation was a call to action – a reminder that preserving LA’s Black culture means investing in community, honoring our history, and building a legacy that lasts.
