Black women’s accomplishments have often been ignored or erased, despite their vital role in shaping America.
Johnson’s attempt to reduce the discussion to a trivia contest reveals his lack of knowledge about Black women’s inventions.
The online backlash drowned out the congresswoman’s message about honoring Black women’s enduring impact on the country.
Conservative podcaster Benny Johnson found himself manufacturing another culture-war controversy after latching onto Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s Fourth of July remarks celebrating Black women’s contributions to America. According to PrimeTimer, the Texas congresswoman used her appearance with Jamila Bell at the 2026 ESSENCE Festival to encourage people to recognize the generations of Black women whose labor, ingenuity, and resilience have helped shape the nation—even as their accomplishments have too often been ignored or erased.
“We know that Black women are always the ones that are doing the labor, but we are also the ones that are always the first targets of any harm. So this Fourth of July, I say celebrate a Black woman that you know, because whether it’s an invention that she made or whether it’s the very democracy that still hangs by a thread right now, there is a Black woman to thank for her contributions.”
One would think that such a statement wouldn’t be controversial but alas, in the age of MAGA, anything Black will set the obtuse whites into a racist tailspin.
Instead of engaging with Crockett’s larger point, Johnson predictably pivoted to an attempted social media “gotcha.” After clips of Rep. Crockett’s comments began circulating online, he challenged the congresswoman to name an invention created by a Black woman, attempting to reduce a broader conversation about history and systemic erasure into a bite-sized trivia contest designed to rile up his followers.
“Really? Oh, interesting. What inventions? Okay, quick. Jasmine Crockett, right now, name an invention from a Black woman. Go. I want a name, okay?”
FIrst and foremost, who the hell is he to demand anything from anyone. Secondly, if Benny Johnson doesn’t know anything that was invented by a Black woman, like how mathematician Gladys Brown West’s work help create what we now know as GPS, then that’s a him problem.
“I can think of, like, didn’t Thomas Jefferson have, like, half his family, like, out of wedlock with the slaves, I think? Isn’t that a historic fact? Anyway, that’s like as close as I can get,” Johnson said.
“Out of wedlock”? You mean, the sexual assault of enslaved Black women? Yes, he did do that, Benny. Is that you what you think of as an invention of Black women? Rape?
Johnson’s post quickly made the rounds among conservative commentators eager to paint Crockett as uninformed. But plenty of others pointed out the obvious flaw in his argument that the historical contributions of Black women don’t disappear simply because they’re not routinely taught in classrooms or acknowledged in mainstream conversations.
The online back-and-forth quickly devolved into another predictable partisan pile-on, with conservative social media users choosing their side before they even bothered to watch Rep. Crockett’s full remarks. In the process, the congresswoman’s original message about honoring Black women’s enduring impact on America was drowned out by outrage merchants determined to score political points.
If Johnson’s goal was to spark a meaningful conversation about Black history, he had every opportunity to do so. Instead, he opted for a headline-chasing soundbite that generated clicks, fueled division, and conveniently ignored the very legacy Crockett was encouraging Americans to celebrate in the first place.
