Black Conservatives

Janice Rogers Brown

My generation came of age in the 1960s, thus, I remember experiencing the transformation in America's attitudes toward race, especially in regards to African-Americans. The differences today compared to the 1950s and 60s are truly dramatic, and few other countries, if any, could have made such a transformation so quickly. Yet, racial issues still divide Americans, and many blacks feel that America has a long way to go to achieve true racial parity. There is empirical evidence aplenty to show that blacks are not yet on an economic par with whites. However, there is much disagreement on the causes of such disparities today. There is also a divide within black America on many of these issues due to the fact that we are seeing an increasing number of blacks identifying themselves as conservatives and taking conservative positions on racial issues. In other words, they are sort of seeing the glass half full rather than half empty. In my opinion, black conservatives represent one of the most intriguing groups in our society, not just because they are going against the ideological grain, but that they are showing so much courage in doing so.

While it is hard to categorize black Americans as to their social attitudes, it is commonly stated that most have strong religious backgrounds and tend to be conservative on many social issues.

Yet. politically, the Democratic Party enjoys overwhelming black support. In recent national elections, some 80-90% of black voters have voted Democratic. Within Congress, virtually every black member of Congress is a Democrat. It is not that Republicans don't want blacks in their party, but they have been thus far unable to overcome the perception that they are hostile to black progress.

Yet there is a growing class of black conservatives in this country who are thinking for themselves and not blindly following the philosophy of the Jesse Jacksons and Al Sharptons, not to mention today's NAACP, a once truly great organization, but now reduced to an arm of the Democratic Party, an organization that, in my view, is still fighting the battles of the 1950s while they neglect greater problems plaguing black America than prejudice and discrimination.

For this apostacy, black conservatives have incurred the wrath of the above figures and had to endure personal insults from other blacks. They are routinely referred to as Uncle Toms, sellouts and Oreos because they reject the politics of victimhood and take the position that anyone can succeed in America if they work at it regardless of race or ethnicity.

Who are these individuals? Well, on the political or judicial level, we have people like Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court. Those of us old enough to remember will never forget the abuse he suffered at the hands of Democrats in his confirmation hearings. What was his great sin? Too conservative. A Republican, who expressed disagreement with Affirmative Action, Thomas got little or no support from other blacks as the Democrats and liberal interest groups literally tried to destroy the man on national television.

More recently, when President Bush tried to elevate Janice Rogers Brown to the Court of Appeals in Washington DC, Democrats and their supporters expressed horror that such a conservative black woman could be nominated. There was absolutely no legitimite reason for opposing her, except for this reason. The Democrats held up her nomination for two years before finally relenting.

Another black conservative political figure who can tell you a thing or two about this experience is Michael Steele, who unsuccessfully ran for US Senator from Maryland, where he had served as Lt. Governor. Steele, a Republican, was greeted on one occasion with Oreo cookies being thrown at his feet during one appearance. No Democratic politician in Maryland came to his defense after this outrage. Nor did the NAACP, headquartered in Baltimore. Their response was pretty much, "If the shoe fits...."

How about Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, who in one black publication, was pictured as a house slave on Bush's plantation? Only Republicans and conservatives complained about that one. Ms Rice, in her characteristic graceful way, ignored the ignorance.

America is also graced with outstanding thinkers, commentators and writers such as Shelby Steele, who writes books on race, John McWhorter, a linguist specializing in creole languages, but who also has published books on race, economist, Walter Williams of George Mason University and Thomas Sowell of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University (who I think is one of the most brilliant men in America).

When it comes to political commentary, few can win a debate with Larry Elder of Los Angeles, who hosts a radio talk show in the afternoons, which is now broadcast nationally. Elder, who calls himself a libertarian, recently joined the Republican party. When it comes to race, Elder firmly rejects the "victicrat mentality", which he feels, holds black people back and keeps them from achieving. He regularly challenges the actions of Jackson, Sharpton and the NAACP. To be sure, he pays a price. Many of his black callers take him to task for "taking white positions" on racial questions. Like others, he has to endure the label of Uncle Tom. It does not silence him.

Also in California, we have activist, Ward Connerly, who has made his mark fighting Affirmative Action in state laws. His reward was to have former California State lawmaker, Diane Watson, an African American Democrat, criticize Connerly for being married to a white woman. After that comment, she was asked if she wished to clarify her remarks. Instead she refused and stood by her comments.

Why do black conservatives arouse so much resentment among liberals, Democrats and black liberal activists such as Jackson and Sharpton? In my view, it is because they threaten the power base of the latter group. indeed their raison d'etre. If black conservatives can demonstrate to the rest of the black community in America that they can succeed on their own efforts without government intervention and without the activism of the Jacksons and the Sharptons, then the latter become irrelevant. The Democratic Party and white liberals have made a living telling blacks and other minorities that they cannot get by in life without their assistance. As for the NAACP, they once filled an important need in this country prior to and during the Civil Rights Movement. Yet, they seem to be fighting the same old battles, trying to uncover that last White Racist. With drugs, gangs, crime and broken families plaguing black America, it would seem that their efforts are now misdirected.

In my opinion, black conservatives are the most intellectually stimulating people in our society. Their voices should be heard, not silenced.