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Black conservatism in the United States is a political and social movement rooted in communities of African descent that aligns largely with the American conservative movement. Since the Civil Rights Movement in the latter 20th Century, the African-American community has generally fallen to the left of the right-wing conservative movement, and has predominantly favored itself on the side of liberalism and civil rights progressives. Black conservatism emphasizes traditionalism, strong patriotism, capitalism, free markets, and strong social conservatism within the context of black Church.

Overview

One of the main characteristics of black conservatism is its emphasis on personal choice and responsibilities, irrelative of socioeconomic status and institutional racism. 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. Du Bois. For many black conservatives, the key 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]

Black conservative may find common ground with Black Nationalists through their common belief in black empowerment and the theory that black people have been duped by the Welfare state.

On the other hand, some of the policies advocated by Black conservatives are in conflict with some of the key points in the common social, economic, and political positions that a high percentage of African-Americans favor. For example, black conservatives typically oppose affirmative action which is supported by the vast majority of African American communities. They tend to argue that efforts to obtain reparations for slavery are either misguided or counter-productive. Moreover, black conservatives - especially black Republicans - are often accused of being Uncle Toms. 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-leaning magazine, described the exclusion of Thomas from the list as spiteful.^[2] Black Republicans favor integration of African Americans into mainstream America and, consequently, are disagree with Black nationalism. Black conservatives are more inclined to support economic policies promoting globalization, free-trade and tax cuts.

The term "Black Republican" was coined by Democrats in 1854 to describe the newly-formed Republican Party. Though the majority of Republicans at the time were actually white, the Republican Party was founded by abolitionists generally supported racial equality. Southern Democrats used the term as one of derision, believing that a Lincoln victory in 1860 would lead to widespread slave revolts. The use of the term continued after the Civil War to reflect most Southerners' opinions of the Radical Republicans during Reconstruction.^[3] Over the next century, the term "Black Republican" would come to refer specifically to blacks affiliated with or voting for the Republican Party and is now a subset of the broader movement of black conservatism.

According to a 2004 study 13.7% of blacks identified as "Conservative" or "Extremely Conservative"^[4] 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.^[5] In 2004 the Pew Research Center indicated only 7% of blacks identify as Republican.^[6] 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, primarily because of the role of the southern wing of the Democratic Party as the party of segregation and the Republican Party's roots in the abolitionist movement (See Dixiecrats for more on this). Blacks started to shift in significant numbers to the Democrats with the election of Franklin Roosevelt,^[7] whose New Deal particularly benefited economically disadvantaged minority communities and helped forge the New Deal coalition which dominated American politics for the next 30 years, and continued with the election of John F. Kennedy, an Irish-Catholic Democrat who pioneered racial equality legislation while in office, resulting in a flight of conservative Democrats in the South to the Republican Party.^{[citation needed]}

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.

Black conservatives and black churches

The African-American church has traditionally been an important element of social and political movements in the Black community. These generally have been identified with persons of the Left or liberalism, like Jesse Jackson, but this is not always true. On issues concerning homosexuality, Black Protestants are more socially conservative than other groups, excepting White Evangelicals.^[8] 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, Sr. as Assistant Secretary of Labor.
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 Powell as the Secretary of State; Roderick R. Paige as the Secretary of Education; Condoleezza Rice as Advisor of the National Security Council; 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
2005 - President George W. Bush appoints Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State
2009 - Michael Steele elected the first African American Republican National Committee chairman

Notable black conservatives in the United States

United States politicians

Ken Blackwell, former Secretary of State of Ohio, former Ohio gubernatorial candidate
Keith Butler, minister, former Detroit councilman, former candidate for U.S. Senate from Michigan
Randy Daniels, former Secretary of State of New York
Niger Innis, director of Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
Roy Innis, Chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
Alphonso Jackson, former United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Steven Mullins,Commissioner of Planning and Zoning, West Haven,Connecticut. Republican nominee for State Comptroller in 2002.
Rod Paige, former United States Secretary of Education
Gregory Parker, Comal County Commissioner, Commissioner - Texas State Commission on Emergency Communications.
Colin Powell,^{[citation needed]} former United States Secretary of State
Michael Powell, former Federal Communications Commission chairman
Condoleezza Rice, former United States Secretary of State, former National Security Advisor
Winsome Sears, former member of Virginia House of Delegates, former candidate for U.S. House
Michael Steele, Current Chairman of the Republican Party.
Thomas Stith, town councilman of Durham, NC, former candidate for Lt. Gov. of NC
J.C. Watts, former U.S. Representative from Oklahoma
Michael L. Williams, Chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission

United States judges

Janice Rogers Brown, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Wallace Jefferson, chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court
Clarence Thomas, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, former Equal Employment Opportunity Commission chairman
Dale Wainwright, Associate Justice of the Texas Supreme Court

Talk show hosts

Terry Anderson (radio), radio talk-show host from Los Angeles, anti-illegal immigration activist
Herman Cain, newspaper columnist, businessman, politician, and radio talk-show host from Georgia
Larry Elder, author of 10 Things You Can't Say in America, radio show host^[9]
James T Harris, radio talk-show host from Milwaukee, Wisc.^[10]
Alan Keyes, radio host, U.N. Ambassador, public office candidate, author^[11]
Angela McGlowan, Republican political analyst for Fox News Network^[12]
Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson, president of The Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny, television and radio host^[13]
Armstrong Williams, author of Beyond Blame, TV host of On Point^[14]
Shelley Wynter, radio talk-show host (formerly of 1380 WAOK Atlanta), daily show on USTalkNetwork.com, and occasional guest on CNN.^[15]

Columnists

Erik Rush, columnist, author
La Shawn Barber, columnist, blogger
Stephen L. Carter, Christianity Today columnist, author of The Culture of Disbelief
Ken Hamblin, Denver Post columnist
Deroy Murdock, National Review columnist
Star Parker, president of the Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education, columnist, author
Thomas Sowell, Hoover Institute fellow, economist, author of Basic Economics
Walter E. Williams, economist, columnist, author of More Liberty Means Less Government
Sophia A. Nelson, columnist, blogger, commentator, GOP political strategist, Chairman of PoliticalIntersection.com and politicalintersection.blogspot.com

Athletes and entertainers

Cowboy Troy, country rapper^[16]
50 Cent, rapper, founder of G-Unit^[17]
Joseph C. Phillips, played Martin Kendall on the The Cosby Show, political writer and commentator.^[18]
Karl Malone, former basketball player^[19]
Lynn Swann, football player, Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate^[20]
Peter Boulware, football player, Florida House of Representatives candidate ^[21]
Sheryl Underwood, comedienne^[22]

Other

Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, senior fellow at the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution
Akindele Akinyemi,CEO of One Network and conservative educator^{[citation needed]}
Michelle Bernard, President and CEO of the Independent Women's Forum ^[23] and prominent media figure ^[24]
Amy Holmes, CNN political contributor and formerly worked for Bill Frist
Ward Connerly, University of California regent, activist and businessman^{[citation needed]}
Stanley Crouch, author of In Defence of Taboos^{[citation needed]}
Samuel B. Fuller, 20th century entrepreneur^{[citation needed]}
Robert A. George, journalist, pundit and blogger^{[citation needed]}^{[citation needed]}
Erika Harold, attorney; former Miss America and conservative GOP activist
T.D Jakes, televangelist^{[citation needed]}
Don King, boxing promoter ^[25]
Michael King, National Advisory Board Member of Project 21, former radio talk show host^{[citation needed]}
John McWhorter, author of Losing the Race and Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute^{[citation needed]}
James Meredith, former civil rights activist^{[citation needed]}
Eric Motley, former State Department official, now vice-president of the Aspen Institute^{[citation needed]}
Deroy Murdock, Wall Street Journal opinion contributor, Cato Institute Scholar^{[citation needed]}
Gerald A. Reynolds, president of the Center for New Black Leadership, member of Project 21^{[citation needed]}
Vernon Robinson, Air Force intelligence officer, business professor^{[citation needed]}
George Schuyler, journalist, novelist^{[citation needed]}
Shelby Steele, Hoover Institute fellow, author of The Content of Our Character^{[citation needed]}
Lee Walker, president of the New Coalition for Economic and Social Change, Heartland Institute Fellow^{[citation needed]}

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
Ray Campbell	Sister, Sister	ABC/The WB	Tim Reid
Thurgood Marshall "Goodie" Cumberbatch	704 Hauser	CBS	T.E. Russell
Gabrielle Ashe	Deception Point	Ulverscroft	Dan Brown
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 (later asked by President Mackenzie Allen to accept the nomination for a vacancy in the office Vice President of the United States; first Black Vice President)
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
The Hon. Atallah Sims	100 Centre Street	A&E Network	Latanya Richardson	Judge
Dr. Maxwell Stanton	In the House	NBC/UPN	Alfonso Ribeiro	Doctor
Dr. Julius Hibbert	The Simpsons	Fox	Harry Shearer	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
Uncle Ruckus	The Boondocks	Adult Swim	Gary Anthony Williams	Typical Self hating Negro

Black conservative organizations

References

^ 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)
^ http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9905608
^ The Republicans And The Civil War
^ Quick Tables
^ Pew Forum: Many Americans Uneasy with Mix of Religion and Politics
^ Part 1: Party Affiliation: The 2004 Political Landscape
^ American President: Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The American Franchine
^ http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?PageID=757
^ http://townhall.com/columnists/LarryElder/
^ http://www.620wtmj.com/shows/jamestharris
^ http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/alan-keyes/
^ http://blackrepublican.blogspot.com/2007/05/q-with-angela-mcglowan.html
^ http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050411/blumenthal
^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_/ai_n13610411
^ http://my.ustalknetwork.com/group/shellywynter
^ Washington Times: Q&A With Cowboy Troy
^ http://www.nndb.com/people/539/000024467/
^ Minnesota Public Radio
^ http://www.newsmeat.com/sports_political_donations/Karl_Malone.php
^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/16/AR2006081601642.html
^ http://www.voteboulware.com/
^ http://www.sherylunderwoodandfriends.com/bio.html
^ Independent Women's Forum
^ KPMS.com
^ http://cbs3.com/slideshows/Conservative.Celebrities.republican.20.828253.html?rid=27

External links

Black conservatism on the rise
The New Black Republicans from WBUR, Boston's NPR

[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] ttp://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9905608

[3] The Republicans And The Civil War

[4] Quick Tables

[5] Pew Forum: Many Americans Uneasy with Mix of Religion and Politics

[6] Part 1: Party Affiliation: The 2004 Political Landscape

[7] American President: Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The American Franchine

[8] ttp://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?PageID=757

[9] ttp://townhall.com/columnists/LarryElder/

[10] ttp://www.620wtmj.com/shows/jamestharris

[11] ttp://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/alan-keyes/

[12] ttp://blackrepublican.blogspot.com/2007/05/q-with-angela-mcglowan.html

[13] ttp://www.thenation.com/doc/20050411/blumenthal

[14] ttp://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_/ai_n13610411

[15] ttp://my.ustalknetwork.com/group/shellywynter

[16] Washington Times: Q&A With Cowboy Troy

[17] ttp://www.nndb.com/people/539/000024467/

[18] Minnesota Public Radio

[19] ttp://www.newsmeat.com/sports_political_donations/Karl_Malone.php

[20] ttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/16/AR2006081601642.html

[21] ttp://www.voteboulware.com/

[22] ttp://www.sherylunderwoodandfriends.com/bio.html

[23] Independent Women's Forum

[24] KPMS.com

[25] ttp://cbs3.com/slideshows/Conservative.Celebrities.republican.20.828253.html?rid=27

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@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 *[[Rod Paige]], former [[United States Secretary of Education]]
 *[[Gregory Parker]], Comal County Commissioner, Commissioner - Texas State Commission on Emergency Communications.
+*[[Colin Powell]],{{Fact|date=June 2009}} former [[United States Secretary of State]]
 *[[Michael Powell (politician)|Michael Powell]], former [[Federal Communications Commission]] chairman
 *[[Condoleezza Rice]], former [[United States Secretary of State]], former [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]]