While #FakeNews remained fixated on the Democrats’ attempted coup over Ukraine, much of mainstream media failed to cover one momentous occasion — one that could very well help land President Donald Trump his second victory in 2020.

Hundreds of black conservatives from all over the nation gathered in Washington, DC, for the Black Leadership Conference. The event, made possible by Turning Point USA, brought passionate Patriots together to embrace conservatism and network with one another. Their message to America? “We are NOT our parents.”

From what I witnessed attending the event, a strong generational shift has emerged among black Millennials and Gen Ys. Unlike their parents and grandparents — who of course had their unique struggles — this generation is keen on the deception cast by the Democrat Party. During this year’s conference, our mission was made clear — to help give President Trump 20% of the black vote.

For decades, Democrats have enjoyed more than 90% of our vote. They’ve had us in their hands for so long that they no longer feel like they must deliver on their promises to us anymore. To Democrats, the black vote is guaranteed.

But the #BLEXIT movement says no more to this generations-long charade. This is why #BLS exists — to bring bright young minds together to voice the concerns within their own communities and to create much needed change from coast to coast.

This is the positive energy we need — the same energy President Trump said he felt when hundreds of us gathered before him in the White House.

That energy we felt within that room was genuine. No paid crowds here. Many in attendance were in tears, thanking the president for the work he has done so far. To be in the company of other positive young people was as if a great 10-ton weight was lifted off each of our shoulders. Most of us have been through the same hell Trump is going through every day. They call Trump names; they call us names. But as we shared space in the White House, we felt safer and more at home than ever. Black conservatives wake up and fight our own culture, church, friends, and family everyday because liberalism is deeply entrenched in our communities.

After speaking with others at the conference, we all had similar stories. Many of us suffered job loss through Barack Obama’s Great Recession years. Now we are all doing well. I went from mopping floors under Obama to becoming vice president of a nonprofit, Hamilton Flourishing, and writing as an analyst for The Patriot Post under Trump. Now I’m at the White House, sharing space with so many great Patriots — Candace Owens Farmer, Charlie Kirk, Terrence Owens, Deneen Borelli, and even my mentor K Carl Smith.

We were treated to a host of great speakers during the Summit. But some of the younger attendees asked why I didn’t speak. I explained to them how in this stage in my life, family comes first and that I must be careful about how I spend my time. There’s no such thing as balance, only prioritization. I then went on to explain how I missed one of my son’s biggest games to attend the event with them and meet the president.

Although civic engagement is good, it’s nothing if our families are not flourishing and forming properly. I told them Candace Owens Farmer, whom we all look up to, is a wife now and will be a mother one day and her role will start to shift. She will still be a leader, but she will have to shift. Candace is who she is because she stopped for a period of her life and studied what it meant to be a conservative. That was her priority in her early 20s.

Young leaders must do the same but also realize that they have higher creation roles when it’s time to be husbands and wives, mothers and fathers.

But this shouldn’t bring discouragement. I reassured them that this does not mean that our impact is limited, but that this is how we beat the Left. While Democrats are very engaged, their families are in shambles. Some are left with marriages that are unrepairable. Their children are in their basements and in the streets. So we win by studying, strategizing, and staying civically engaged, while continuing to study the Bible and form flourishing families. This is how we conservatives win.

I boarded the plane home, leaving behind all doubt, but carrying hope knowing that the seed of Black Conservatism is well nourished and that we are fast approaching its rebirth in 2020 and beyond.