Customer Reviews

Black Conservatives: Are They Right or Wrong?

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have always found the idea of black conservatism to be intriguing. And I couldn't wait to read this book.

I use the term black conservatives to mean black Republicans as the author does, as opposed to blacks who are conservative on social issues and family values yet fiercely loyal to the Democratic party.

Far from being the polemical work one would expect from the liberal left highly critical of black conservatives, again I mean black Republicans in this context, this is sober analysis, a rigorous inquiry into black conservative thought in the United States today.

I don't know the author's ideological leanings. He's not explicit on the subject. But I believe he's essentially a centrist, or ideologically independent, as demonstrated by some of his criticism of the black community where appropriate. He's also critical of some white liberals, using a language one would expect to come from the ideological Right. For example, he contends, and many on both sides of the ideological divide would agree, that many white conservatives are no more racist than their liberal counterparts. Yet, he tends to lean toward the liberal side but is clever or astute enough to maintain an independent posture as a centrist in his scholarly pursuit.

It is, undoubtedly, an excellent study of black Republicans and the ideology of the Republican party. But it has its weaknesses, especially in terms of style rather than substance.

The author takes a scholarly approach, in terms of analysis and documentation, yet sometimes writes like a politician, appealing to emotion rather than reason. That's probably because he's highly passionate about his subject. And he may be excused for that. Still, this kind of approach to highly intellectual tasks like the one he has tackled has no place in serious scholarship. And this work fits that category.

But, in spite of its shortcomings, it raises and answers many important questions, and the author makes many excellent points. Yet I'm not sure he has fully addressed the subject of black conservatives. He covers a lot of ground but probably could have done more if he gave black conservatives a full hearing, and better coverage, by letting them speak for themselves on a number of issues, quoting them far more than he has.

Black conservatives have been insulted, condemned, vilified and even spat on. They have had objects hurled at them. They are seen as traitors by a significant number of their own people in the black community.

It may, however, be consoling to them that quite a few other blacks identify themselves as conservatives and even vote Republican, though the number is small compared to that of black liberals. And with Bush's victory in the presidential election only four days ago, black conservatives may feel vindicated in their belief that they know what is best for the country, including Black America.

But they would be well-advised to read this book. They may disagree with the author, although they will have difficulty refuting his arguments especially about the persistence of racism as a serious problem; the author has done an excellent job documenting that. Still, they should read this book. It is a voice of reason.

If you are a liberal, you will probably love this book. If you are a conservative, you probably won't. If you are an independent, I don't know. But whatever you are, read it.

What are these black conservatives talkin' 'bout?

During the civil rights movement, southern states invoked "state rights" to deny blacks rights. Yet, for some strange reason, that's not racism.

That's no different than Calhoun's doctrine of nullification. John Calhoun supported slavery when he was vice president under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson and when he was a congressman and a US senator representing South Carolina. He espoused the nullification doctrine, arguing that federal intervention in the states violated the rights of those states. Southern states used this argument to defend slavery.

Now, fast forward to the sixties, during the civil rights movement. What did southern states do when blacks fought for civil rights? They invoked "state rights" to uphold segregation and were resolutely opposed to federal intervention to help blacks. And today, many southern whites and their supporters elsewhere across the nation who have rallied around the Confederate flag are racists nostalgic about the good ol' days of antebellum South. They don't like blacks. They don't like racial equality. They don't like integration. They are white supremacists. They wave the Confederate flag as a symbol of white supremacy. They are proud of their racist heritage.

When Professor Walter Williams, a well-known black conservative, says support for the Confederate has nothing to do with slavery or racism, it has to do with "state rights," has he forgotten that "state rights" meant no rights at all for blacks, except to "keep them in their place"? Are those not code words for racism? He can't see that, as a black conservative. White conservatives didn't either! Ask blacks in Mississippi and in the other southern states what "conservative" meant to them in those days when they were fighting for their rights. And what "state rights" meant.

Other black conservatives also, like Walter Williams, don't see racism as a serious problem today. Black people are doing just fine, in fact terrific! Well, not to my knowledge. And that's not the experience of the majority of blacks. Segregation still is a fact of life. That's why millions of blacks are stuck or trapped in the ghetto. Do you really believe they all want to live there as Larry Elder, another black conservative, said in an interview with Reason magazine? He said there is no discrimination in housing. "I see no evidence of that." Those are his exact words, quoted in the interview.

Many blacks are stuck in the ghetto because they are not welcome in other neighborhoods, white neighborhoods. When they move in, whites move out. White flight still goes on. Why? Who are whites running away from when they move out of neighborhoods as soon as blacks move in? From fellow whites who already live there with them? They are running away from blacks who are middle and upper class just like they are. So where are the riff-raff they are running away from and who commit all the crime they are so scared of?

Even some suburbs are segregated. Many schools are segregated. Employment discrimination, wage discrimination, and all other kinds of discrimination against blacks is common. It goes on everyday. Police brutality, racial profiling, racism in the criminal justice system, racism in stores what they call retail racism, all these problems and much more are a fact of life in the lives of millions of blacks, everyday, in every city, and every state. Black conservatives don't see that. They say we are doing just fine. "Race relations are excellent. We all get along just fine," as Larry Elder says.

Are things better than they were in the sixties? Yes. Has the struggle for racial equality been won? No, contrary to what black conservatives say. The majority of whites don't even want racial integration, according to national surveys as reported by The Washington Post and other media. That is today, not 40 years ago in the sixties.

So we have to admit racism still exists, not as some minor problem but as a major problem. And we have to fight it by any means necessary. We need affirmative action. Black conservatives say, "No, we don't," although they themselves have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of affirmative action, as blacks. We need federal intervention to help and protect the poor who include many blacks. Black conservatives say, "No." We also need minimum wage." Again, black conservative say, "No."

Society should bear responsibility for practicing racial injustice against blacks and other minorities. Black conservatives say, "No." They say blame yourself. Racism is no barrier in life and is virtually of no consequence nowadays. They say, "No, no, no," to everything we try to do to fight racism and achieve racial equality.

Do we live on the same planet with these folks? They must be in their own world.

When I read this book about black conservatives, are they right or wrong, I found out that there are many other things that black conservatives have said that I have never heard before. So, God really wanted Africans to be enslaved and brought here in order for their descendants to enjoy freedom! Isn't that somethin'?

Black conservatives should not be denied the right to say what they want to say. As Voltaire said, " I disapprove of what you say, but I will to defend to the death your right to say it." Even if it's crazy.

But whatever they say, to the detriment of the black community, should never go unanswered. Never. Thay are a drag on the race.

So, please, answer them. But with facts. And even pray for them.

Amen.

This book is a critical examination of what the author calls "the black conservative phenomenon in contemporary America." But he makes it clear that it is wrong to call it a movement.

Black conservatives don't constitute a movement. They are only a small part of black America that's mostly liberal and identifies with the Democratic party. Even the majority of those who identify themselves as conservatives are mostly social conservatives, in terms of religion as strong church members and also in terms of strong family values; unlike their counterparts, political conservatives, who support the Republican party and conservative policies advocated by the mainstream white conservative movement. Most blacks don't vote for Republican candididates. That is why not a single black Republican has ever won a congressional seat in a predominantly black district.

Black people don't easily forget just like other people don't. They remember that it was white conservatives and the Republican party who were some of the strongest opponents of civil rights for blacks during the fifties and sixties. As Republican leader Newt Gingrich said when he became Speaker of the House, "Make no mistake about it, it was the liberal wing of the Democratic party" that led the struggle for civil rights legislation in Congress, and added that conservatives had to learn from that. They never did, is the perception among many blacks even today.

The author does a very good job, from a scholarly and layman's perspective, explaining what black conservatives really are, and where they stand on a number of issues critical to the well-being of African Americans. He also does a very convincing job explaining why they are not popular among their own people, and why they are easily dismissed as puppets of white conservatives who don't care about blacks.

But he also, right from the beginning in the introduction and in the first chapter and elsewhere in the book, clearly states that black conservatives have the right to express their views and take a different position that contradicts what is articulated by their liberal brethren across black America together with their white liberal supporters and others; although he himself disagrees with them as the majority of black do.

He goes on to say that although black conservatives may be genuine in their intentions, they have compromised their position by what is, rightly or wrongly, perceived to be callous indifference to the plight of black America in a society that I believe still remains racist. Many other people, black and white, believe the same way. The author admits that the United States has made great progress toward racial equality but still has a major racial problem; a position articulated by the NAACP in the following terms: "The NAACP was officially founded in 1910....Ninety-four years later, the work is not yet done. The face of racism changes continuously."

Black conservatives disagree. They say racism is no longer a major problem in the United States. And they have, however well-intentioned, been their own worst enemy in their attempt to find solutions to the problems of black America. I take issue with anyone, regardless of political affiliation and regardless of race, who contends as black conservatives do - the author quotes them throughout his book - that racism is no longer a major problem in the United States. When they say that, they are sending the wrong message to black America, and to white America except the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups and their supporters. They are blaming the victim. Sure enough, blacks should accept responsibility for some of their problems, as the author also says, but don't exonerate society, white society, for the problems it has caused. Racism is one of them.

And black conservatives help to perpetuate this myth that black people are their own number one problem. For example, Professor Walter Williams claims: "The major problems blacks face have little or nothing to do with racial discrimination and are not solvable through civil rights strategy." To him and other black conservatives, the major problem blacks face is lack of positive values. Yet blacks face discrimination everyday, for example in employment and housing and at the hands of the police and in many other areas, showing that racism still is a major problem almost 40 years after the civil rights movement.

Another prominent black conservative who is probably the partriarch of the black conservative "movement" is Professor Thomas Sowell who contends, among other things, that simply because blacks are denied loans more than whites are, does not mean that they are discriminated against. He says it is other factors that are critical in the denial of loan applications submitted by blacks: bad credit, low income, lack of employment history and business credibility. He does not say racism also is one of the factors, and even the main factor, in many cases in the denial of loans to blacks by banks and other lending institutions.

Some black conservatives have also made outlandish statements, further alienating them from other blacks. For example, Larry Elder says blacks are more racist than whites, and the NAACP more dangerous than the Ku Klux Klan. Ezola Foster and Jesse Lee Peterson say God wanted or allowed Africans to be enslaved and shipped to these shores in chains so that their descendants would enjoy freedom in America. That's Klan language.

When Mrs. Foster, who was Pat Buchanan's running mate on the Reform Party ticket in the 2000 presidential election, made that statement before a rally in Texas, that God brought Africans to America in chains "so that their descendants would know freedom," she was greeted with pop cans from blacks and whites and others. One can understand the outrage. She also defended the Confederate flag, as she has on other occasions. Professor Walter Williams also says support for the Confederate flag has nothing to do with racism. He says it has to do with "state rights" southern states lost after federal encroachment on their turf. White supremacists love that.

Black conservatives also have a tendency to portray blacks in general as lazy, lacking values that have enabled other groups to succeed in life, and as a people who always complain about racism instead of trying to do something with their lives. They say it in such a way as if blacks are the only ones who have amongst them people who are lazy, who have babies out of wedlock, who use drugs and commit "all that crime," and whose children drop out of school; and as if they are the worst racial group and the main cause of the nation's social problems. That's the language of David Duke.

Pretending, as black conservatives do, that racism is no longer a major problem in this country will not make the problem go away, as the author also states in his book that's an excellent contribution to the dialogue on race and to an understanding of the black conservative phenomenon in the United States.

The long chapter on "The Bell Curve" may seem to be irrelevant to the discussion of black conservatives, but it sheds some light on the mentality of white conservatives and racists on the subject of IQ differences between blacks and whites, and on the perpectives of some black conservatives who have endorsed this highly inflammatory book. These black conservatives don't seem to realize the racist nature of "The Bell Curve" that was well-received by many whites because it "justified" the belief among millions of white racists that they are more intelligent than blacks.

More than 300 years since Africans were first brought to these shores in chains to the land of the free and the home of the brave, the descendants of these slaves, African-Americans today, still don't - in practice - have the same rights whites do, even though they are guaranteed equal rights under the law. And it is a dilemma that will continue to haunt the nation throughout this century and may be even beyond. As Professor Nathan Glazer, whom the author quotes in concluding his study, states in his book "We Are All Multiculturalists Now," the main problem "is the fundamental refusal of other Americans to accept blacks."