Africa Brooke on the Cult of Wokeness
At LevelUp Europe, Africa will share personal stories, timeless principles, and practical tools to help you overcome fear of judgment.
In 2021, Africa Brooke left the cult of wokeness.
In an open letter, she wrote, “If there’s one thing I’m NOT afraid of, it’s being ‘cancelled’.…What I’m truly afraid of is existing in a world that forces me to submit to an ideology without question… this absolutist, authoritarian world is being fiercely crafted under the guise of ‘social justice’, and I want no part in this. I AM OUT.”
In 6 months, the letter had been read more than 3.5 million times.
How did Africa come to this decision?
She never strongly identified with the left, but some of her friends did. So she frequently heard claims such as “all white people are racist,” and that started to make her uncomfortable. But, she was afraid to say what she actually thought. She was “self-censoring.” And she went along with what they said.
During the peak of the Black Lives Matter protests, Africa felt immense pressure to conform. At the same time, she started to buy in to the narrative that blacks were being hunted down in the United States, and began sharing and posting about it on social media.
When a man criticized what she was sharing, she publicly attacked him. “How dare you question a black woman!” She screenshot his message and shared it with her followers.
She felt validated—thousands agreed with her.
20 minutes went by. And then she felt sick.
She didn’t actually hate this man—but she felt like she had to. She didn’t understand the ideas she was advocating, and never felt comfortable to question them.
She removed the post and finally started questioning the ideas she had accepted and why she had accepted them. Her introspection formed the base for her famous letter “why I left the cult of wokeness.”
The rest is beautiful history.
Now, Africa is a writer, consultant, and credentialed coach with a unique focus: tackling self-sabotage and self-censorship. This is the subject of her talk at LevelUp Europe.
Africa will share personal stories, timeless principles, and practical tools to help you overcome fear of judgment. She’ll also offer guidance on how you can manage the discomfort of challenging the status quo, and contribute to the conversations that shape our world.
See you in Sofia!
Cheers,
Angel
PS: If you’re 18–29, you can apply for a scholarship here.
PPS: You can read Africa’s letter about her leaving the cult of wokeness here.
It is so hard to stand up for your ideas when your friends are going to shun you. I salute Africa's bravery. If more could be so brave, we could have a better world where debate was the forum for learning and improving. Bravo Africa.