Sunday, July 24, 2022

‘I Am A Victor' film aims to debunk ‘dangerous’ liberal narrative that Black Americans must be victims

 By Brian Flood | Fox News

Executive producer Kendall Qualls ‘felt obligated to do something’ after rhetoric from the progressive left didn’t align with his own life story. (Courtesy Kendall Qualls)

A new documentary aims to debunk the liberal talking point that America is systemically racist and minorities are victims by telling powerful stories of Black "victors" who have thrived academically and professionally.


"I Am A Victor" is available to rent or buy on Friday, July 22. The executive producer and Army veteran Kendall Qualls is also featured in the film.  (TakeCharge)

"I Am A Victor" begins with legendary newsman Walter Cronkite making the somber announcement in 1968 that civil rights pioneer Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has been assassinated. The 55-minute film then examines what it frames as the two different paths for Black Americans since King's death.

According to the film, many Black Americans took a path that led to an "Afro-centric, secular and political activist" excursion while others chose a road "rooted in the values and principals of their parents and grandparents" to live a life filled with love and respect. The result was what filmmakers call a "cultural genocide" with some emerging as victims, while the other group came away victorious. Promotional materials for the film feature the title "I Am A Victim," with the word "victim" crossed out and replaced by "victor."

Successful Black Americans identified as "victors" share their stories throughout the film. Among them is "I Am A Victor" executive producer and Army veteran Kendall Qualls, a successful businessman who is the president of TakeCharge, the group behind the film.

The Minnesota-based Qualls has served as an executive at several healthcare companies and has also dabbled in politics, challenging Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., in Minnesota's Third Congressional District in 2020 but falling short. He also made an unsuccessful bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in Minnesota this year.

He was inspired to tell his story when Rep. llhan Omar, D-Minn., and other far-left Democrats, continuously painted a picture of Black America he didn’t feel was accurate. 

"The narrative that started coming out specifically from Ilhan Omar and the progressive left, that our country was systemically racist. It's full of White supremacists and people can't get ahead and all of that stuff… from my perspective, you're talking to a guy that as a kid, I was called a ghetto kid, trailer trash, because I lived in Harlem, New York with my divorced mom, and then later with my father in Oklahoma in a trailer park, and a guy like me should not do well academically, professionally," Qualls told Fox News Digital. 

"I was able to, you know, serve in the military… go to school, get a graduate degree, become a VP of a Fortune 100 company," Qualls continued. "The people that helped me along the way, some of them were Black and many of them were not. They didn't look like me. And this narrative that was coming out of the progressive left, I felt was an absolute lie, and it was dangerous."

Qualls felt obligated to respond, and the idea for the film was born. 

"They're sending a message to people literally that there's no hope other than government, and so I felt there was a narrative, a counter-narrative that needed to be presented, and I stepped forward to do that," Qualls said. 

"I Am A Victor" also examines how Martin Luther King’s message "drifted further and further from his philosophy" after his death as the narrative that race causes all disparities in America, as opposed to personal accountability, faith and family. 

"You turn on the news and everything is about race and racism, and how if I’m Black, I’m a victim," one of the victors says in the film as clips from CNN, MSNBC and NBC News are shown. 

Qualls believes liberals should watch "I Am A Victor" even if it debunks one of their popular talking points with "facts and figures" that are explained by "regular folks" who don’t operate in the elite bubble of lefty lawmakers, educators and media members. 

"I believe there's a lot of liberals, a lot of good intentioned, White, liberal, suburban, even young college students that believe what they're hearing, unfortunately, from the progressive left and from media and from especially academia – they've been sold a bill of goods," he said. "It's a wrong narrative, wrong perspective." 

The film is presented by TakeCharge, a group dedicated to inspiring and educating Black and other minority communities "of their full rights and privileges as Americans granted to them by the Constitution," according to its mission statement. 

"We desire to inspire them to take charge of their own lives, the lives of their children and not to rely on government and politicians for redemption and prosperity. We do not apologize for embracing America or its history. We believe that a well-grounded knowledge of American and world history strengthens our diverse country," the TakeCharge mission continues.