A private gathering of young conservatives in Washington, D.C. on Inauguration Day has drawn national media attention. New York Magazine ran an article describing the event as overwhelmingly white, accompanied by a cover image featuring only white attendees and the title “The Cruel Kids’ Table.”
Mountain Brook native Anna Claire Howland found herself at the center of the national debate after her striking presence on the magazine’s cover caught the attention of users on X. As a young conservative attending the event, Howland’s image quickly became a focal point of the story, with critics using her inclusion to highlight what they described as an elitist, exclusionary conservative scene.
Howland is a junior at Southern Methodist University majoring in psychology with a business minor. She has served as president of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority for the past year, according to her LinkedIn profile. Her parents, who reside in Birmingham, have supported President Donald Trump on social media.
What the New York Magazine article failed to mention was that the event was hosted by CJ Pearson, a black conservative activist who has been a prominent voice in right-leaning political circles. Pearson confirmed on X that he hosted the party.
🚨🚨This is insane.
I hosted this event and @NYMag intentionally left me out of their story because it would have undermined their narrative that MAGA is some racist cult. They also didn’t include the fact that @WakaFlocka and @Gervontaa were also there.
You don’t hate the… https://t.co/MRv2C2GZSE
— CJ Pearson (@thecjpearson) January 27, 2025
Despite media portrayals of the event as exclusionary, attendees have pushed back against that characterization, arguing that the gathering was attended by conservative media influencers of many races and backgrounds.
Rob Smith, a black Turning Point USA Influencer also attended the event and criticized the New York Magazine cover on his social media.
“I was at this party as were MANY other Conservative media influencers who are Black, Latino, Asian, etc.,” Smith posted. “@NYMag used a whites only photo to push the media narrative that diverse Republicans don’t exist and weren’t welcome. You don’t hate the media enough.”
I was at this party as were MANY other Conservative media influencers who are Black, Latino, Asian, etc.@NYMag used a whites only photo to push the media narrative that diverse Republicans don’t exist and weren’t welcome.
You don’t hate the media enough. pic.twitter.com/XTb6RmXSch
— Rob Smith (@robsmithonline) January 27, 2025
The magazine cover even caught the attention of Elon Musk, who shared a post on X that included the uncropped version of the cover photo.
They literally did the meme https://t.co/8lyhInTn76 pic.twitter.com/zctJWbpdzW
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2025
Grace Heim is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. You can follow her on X @graceeheim or email her at [email protected].
