Black conservatism

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For the Nas song called Black Republican, see Hip Hop Is Dead.

Black conservatism is an international political and social movement commonly associated particulaly with African American culture that aligns largely with the conservatives which emphasizing patriotism, independence and self-help, free markets and within some circles; Christian Right values.

Contents

[edit] Overview

For many black conservatives, the key political mission is to bring repair and success to the Black community by applying the following fundamental principles:

  • The pursuit of educational and professional excellence as a means of advancement within the society;
  • Policies that promote safety and security in the community beyond the typical casting of a criminal as a "victim" of societal racism;
  • Local economic development through free enterprise rather than looking to the federal government for assistance;
  • Empowerment of the individual via self-improvement (virtue), conscience, and supernatural grace.[1].

However, the policy advocated by by many Black conservatives is typically in conflict with some of the key points in the common social, economic, and political positions that a high percentage of African-Americans favor. These include role of welfare state, affirmative action, reparation of slavery, black solidarity/nationalism, merit of globalisation and free market. More controversially; black conservatives are sometimes being accused of being an Uncle Tom by their more liberal counterparts, whom make up a greater part of the African American Community. For example; Ebony in their May 2001 "100+ Most Influential Black Americans" issue, did not include a number of influential African Americans such as Thomas Sowell, Shelby Steele, Armstrong Williams, Walter Williams and, most notably, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The Economist, a British libertarian magazine, described the exclusion of Thomas from the list as spiteful.[1]

A fundamental breaking point between the black liberal and the black conservative is focused around the balance between a perception of the impact that historical slavery and oppression has on Black people living today versus the power and consequences of personal choices that a person makes in determining his ultimate fate. The Black conservative is more inclined to advance the notion that individual choices toward success and a commitment toward changing one's individual behavior will allow the individual to advance in society with respect to the rights that blacks have been afforded due to the Civil Rights Movement. The Black liberal counters that collective success in which the least among them are focused upon and brought up to standard is worthy of consideration. Somewhat ironically, Black conservatives find common ground with Black Nationalists to the extent that they both believe that the black masses have been duped by the politics of condescending white liberals vis a vis the maintenance of the Welfare state.

Typically, black conservatives oppose affirmative action which is overwhelmingly supported by the majority of African American communities. They tend to argue that efforts to obtain reparations for slavery are either misguided or counter-productive. They also favour integration of African Americans into mainstream America and, consequently, are openly hostile to notions of Black nationalism. Black conservative politicians are more inclined to support Republican Party economic policies (i.e., globalization, free-trade agreements, tax cuts).

Black conservatives also tend to be culturally conservative and put a priority on maintaining strong ties to black cultural and family traditions. Black conservatives favor traditional nuclear family arrangements and oppose gay marriage. They are particularly strong critics of out of wedlock births. In the tradition of African American politics and intellectual life, black conservatives tend to side with Booker T. Washington as contrasted with W.E.B. DuBois.

Although black conservatives are predominantly protestant, black conservative thought has much in common with Catholic intellectual thought regarding the dignity of the human person- especially the thought of the former Pope John Paul II. Martin Luther King, Jr., himself, found inspiration in the theological work of Saint Thomas Aquinas as well as the Catholic writer, Jacques Maritain- who contributed to the development of human rights policy at the United Nations.

[edit] Black conservatives and Black Republicans

According to a 2004 study 13.7% of blacks identified as "Conservative" or "Extremely Conservative" [2] with another 14.4 identifying as slightly conservative. However the same study indicated less than ten percent identified as Republican or Republican leaning in any fashion. Likewise, a recent Pew Research Center survey showed that 19% of blacks identify as Religious Right [3]. In 2004 the Pew Research Center indicated only 7% of blacks identify as Republican.[4] Hence a certain percentage of noted Black conservatives (such as Harold Ford Jr.) are likely connected to the Democrats for Life of America movement or economic liberalism.

From Reconstruction up until the New Deal the black population tended to vote Republican as the Republican Party, particularly in the Southern United States, was seen as more racially liberal than the Democratic Party. (See Dixiecrats for more on this)

Another case study of differences between Black conservatives and Black Republicans is an emphasis on personal empowerment versus theological perspectives. Black Republicans like Colin Powell hold to the social ideas articulated by the early Radical Republicans like Frederick Douglass while at the same time supporting the self-empowerment message of Booker T. Washington. Many social conservatives who are black and Republican hold to a biblically based empowerment although they also appreciate Booker's emphasis on personal accomplishment. Conservatives like the Texas minister T. D. Jakes are evangelical African Americans who support policies more in common but not totally in line with many white Evangelicals.

[edit] Black Conservatism Worldwide

[edit] Black Conservatism in the United Kingdom

While there was an early link in the eighteenth century between Black Britions, mainly former slaves, and the abolitionist conservatives who sucsessfully sought the end of the slave trade in 1807 many Black Britons have not traditionally supported conservative policies. This in some part emerged from the Conservative hostillity to immigration from the Commonwealth during the 1950s and 1960s, culminating in the infamous speech by a leading Conservative Enoch Powell, in which he predicted mass immigration would lead to "a river of blood". Conservatives were perceived by many black people as being openly racist.

Despite this there has long been a small number of conservative blacks. In recent years the Conservatives have attempted to overturn the long-standing perceptions, by attacking racism and trying to cultivate more of a following amongst the black community.

Increasingly more black and ethnic minority figures are being appointed and elected to positions within the Conservative Party. Notable black Conservatives in the United Kingdom include Lord Taylor of Warwick[5], Adam Afriyie MP[6], Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones[7] and James Cleverly[8] a member of the London Assembly. Boxer Frank Bruno has also been a vocal supporter of the Conservative Party.

[edit] Black Conservatism in the Carribean

[edit] Black conservatives and black churches

The African American church has traditionally been an important element to social and political movements in the community. In general these have been identified by figures of the Left or liberalism, like Jesse Jackson, but this is not consistently true. On issues concerning homosexuality Black Protestants are more socially conservative than other groups exempting White Evangelicals. [2] Their view on the issue of homosexual teachers changed less than any other segment based on religion or race.

  • 1954 - President Dwight Eisenhower appoints J. Ernest Wilkins as Assistant Secretary of Labor.
  • 1966 - Edward W. Brooke (R-MA) is the first African-American elected to U.S. Senate by popular vote.
  • 1968 - Arthur A. Fletcher is appointed Assistant Secretary of Labor; he will be a candidate for Chairman of the Republican National Committee in '76 and appointed Chairman of the US Commission on Civil Rights in '90.
  • 1975 - President Gerald Ford appoints William T. Coleman Secretary of Transportation. James B. Parsons is named Chief Judge of the US District Court in Chicago, the first African-American to hold such a position.
  • 1980 - NAACP President Benjamin Hooks is invited to address the Republican National Convention
  • 1981 - President Ronald Reagan appoints Clarence Pendleton, Jr. as Chairman of the US Civil Rights Commission
  • 1982 - President Reagan appoints Clarence Thomas as Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
  • 1989 - President George H.W. Bush appoints Louis Wade Sullivan as Secretary of Health and Human Services, General Colin L. Powell as Chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Condoleezza Rice as Director of the National Security Council.
  • 1990 - Gary Franks is elected to US Congress (CT)
  • 1991 - President Bush appoints Clarence Thomas to U.S. Supreme Court
  • 1998 - U.S. House of Representatives elects J. C. Watts (R-OK) to be Chairman of the House Republican Conference.
  • 2001 - President George W. Bush appoints General Colin L. Powell as the Secretary of State; Roderick R. Paige as the Secretary of Education; Condoleezza Rice as Advisor of the National Security Council and, subsequently, Secretary of State; Alphonso Jackson as the Deputy Secretary to Housing and Urban Development; Claude Allen as the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services; Leo S. Mackay, Jr. as the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs; Larry D. Thompson as the Deputy Attorney General; and Stephen A. Perry as Administrator of General Services Administration

[edit] Notable black conservatives in the United States

[edit] United States politicians

African American Portal

[edit] United States judges

[edit] Talk show hosts

  • Larry Elder, author of 10 Things You Can't Say in America, radio show host
  • Alan Keyes, radio host, U.N. Ambassador, presidential candidate, author
  • Angela McGlowan, Republican political analyst for Fox News Network who has been nicknamed the "Black Ann Coulter"
  • Jesse Lee Peterson, president of The Brotherhood Organization, television and radio host
  • Armstrong Williams, author of Beyond Blame, TV host of On Point

[edit] Columnists

[edit] Athletes and entertainers

[edit] Other

[edit] Fictional black conservatives

Character Film
TV series
Novel		 Network
Production company
Publisher		 Actor
Author		 Occupation
Carlton Banks The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air NBC Alfonso Ribeiro Student
Ervin Burrell The Wire HBO Frankie Faison Police Commissioner
Ray Campbell Sister, Sister ABC/The WB Tim Reid
Thurgood Marshall "Goodie" Cumberbatch 704 Hauser CBS T.E. Russell
Gordon Davis Protect and Defend Berkley Books Eric L. Harry
William Dent Girlfriends UPN/The CW Reggie Hayes Lawyer
Augustus Freeman IV ("Icon") Icon (Comic book) Milestone Media Dwayne McDuffie Superhero
Jim Gardner Commander in Chief ABC Harry Lennix White House Chief of Staff
Oliver Garland The Emperor of Ocean Park Knopf Stephen L. Carter
John Garnett ATL Warner Brothers Keith David CEO
Warden Leo Glynn Oz HBO Ernie Hudson Prison Warden
Jimmy James Barbershop
Barbershop 2: Back in Business
Barbershop: The Series		 MGM (film)
Showtime (TV)		 Sean Patrick Thomas (film)
Leslie Elliard (TV)		 Barber/Aspiring politician
Bruford Jamison, Jr. Drop Squad Gramercy Pictures Eriq La Salle
Ronald "Ron" Johnson, Jr. A Different World NBC Darryl M. Bell Undergraduate student
Kyle Get on the Bus Columbia Pictures Isaiah Washington Military Veteran
Russell A. "Linc" Lincoln Linc's Showtime Steven Williams
Matty Roc Fox Joan Pringle Registered nurse
Wendell Perry Get on the Bus Columbia Pictures Wendell Pierce Lexus Dealership Owner
Courtney Rae Whoopi Carsey-Werner Wren T. Brown Former Enron employee
Dondi Reece Black Panther (Comic book) Marvel Comics Reginald Hudlin U.S. Secretary of State
Dr. Maxwell Stanton In the House NBC/UPN Alfonso Ribeiro Doctor
Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola Law & Order: Special Victims Unit NBC Ice T Police Detective
P.K. Winsome The Colbert Report Comedy Central Tim Meadows Political Commentator/ Entrepreneur

[edit] Black conservative organizations

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ For an overview of these themes, see Stan Faryna, Brad Stetson, and Joseph G. Conti, Eds., Black and Right: The Bold New Voice of Black Conservatives in America, (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1997)
  2. ^ Quick Tables
  3. ^ Pew Forum: Many Americans Uneasy with Mix of Religion and Politics
  4. ^ Part 1: Party Affiliation: The 2004 Political Landscape
  5. ^ http://www.lordtaylor.org/
  6. ^ http://www.adamafriyie.org/
  7. ^ http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=people.person.page&personID=130378
  8. ^ http://jamescleverly.blogspot.com/

[edit] External links