In light of the 151st anniversary of Juneteenth last Sunday, the official day that African American Slaves received their freedom and the showcasing of the annual Black Entertainment Television Awards Show that addressed some controversial issues; it is time to have an honest conversation about black America today and the black vote.
As another presidential political season is upon us and candidates on both sides of the aisle are trying to persuade voters to commit to their platform with their vote on Election Day, there is no time like the present to help my fellow conservatives understand why they are not getting the black vote.
In 2011, I finally admitted that I was a conservative Republican. I already knew this: throughout my childhood, I would have countless debates with my father and political discussions with friends. My desire to fit the mold of a black American finally faded away and I let the world know that—for me—conservatism was the way to go. Ever since, I have found myself more confident that I am on the right side of issues and that limited government is the only way people can succeed.
As I’ve learned more about conservatism and what issues are important to me, I’ve realized that sometimes being conservative and black means you will be judged by your own community and questioned on your beliefs.
My first experience with this was in college. I had a group of friends who were appalled by my unpopular opinion of Barack Obama and couldn’t believe that I would have anything ill to say about him or his policies. This article is not unique. It’s constant. In fact, I have a ton of friends who are black and conservative who could tell the very same story. Being a black republican in the eyes of the black community is being a traitor to your people. As a black republican I am seen as a traitor to my people.
So while I expected my own people to treat me differently simply because we’ve all been trained to believe that Democrats are the heroes of the black community, I was completely taken aback when my fellow conservatives got upset when I mentioned issues like racism or criminal justice reform. It was as if they did not believe these issues existed and that I wasn’t allowed to talk about these issues because that is part of “the left’s agenda to ruin our country.”
These encounters got me to wondering about the sense of excitement that occurs when someone of a minority background announces that they are a republican. Those minorities are often raised up and celebrated, but if they start talking about issues that aren't important to most conservatives, suddenly that person loses their audience and loses coverage in conservative media.
Criminal justice reform is a great example. When cases such as Trayvon Martin or Sandra Bland come up in the news, there is always a token black conservative asked to do an interview where they say things such as, “the police were doing their job” or “yes, white on black crime is horrible, but what about black on black crime? Or even “if they had listened to the police, there would not have been in altercation.” While these statements are not always false and definitely have a place, they showcase the lessons conservatives have yet to learn.
Instead, we idolize people such as Mia Love, and Dr. Ben Carson because they are different from the typical token republican. Conservatives think that Carson or Love can reach a broader audience. That too is false, because while people may come from a community that the Republican Party is desperately trying to reach, they are not involved in those communities. They simply don’t have the social capital to persuade people.
Mia Love and Dr. Ben Carson contribute a lot to the cause. They are my personal role models and they do a good job speaking about issues that are important to the conservative movement. However, they are not people Black America identifies as heroes for the black community.
The Black Community praises people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson not simply because they are black, but because they are black people who are perceived to care about black issues. Every time a Trayvon Martin or Mike Brown cases occurs, they are on the front page advocating for the Black Community.
No. Their ideas aren’t going to solve the problem. Government intervention creates greater risk for the black community. But the public doesn’t hear that, Black America doesn’t hear that, and unfortunately, they never will because there will always be a token black conservative telling not only black America, but also the general public, to side with a system we know to be unjust and saying black issues don’t matter.
During this election year and years to come, if conservatives want to gain more than twenty percent of the black vote, they will have to get honest and admit some hard truths.
Everyone that has a darker skin color can’t change their community and just because we believe in limited government intervention doesn’t mean we accept limited truths.
This movement will have to realize that there are certain issues that only certain groups of people go through and it would behoove this party to discuss these issues and come up with solutions because the conservative movement has the right answer, but that answer can’t solve any problems when the problem can’t even be discussed.
As another presidential political season is upon us and candidates on both sides of the aisle are trying to persuade voters to commit to their platform with their vote on Election Day, there is no time like the present to help my fellow conservatives understand why they are not getting the black vote.
In 2011, I finally admitted that I was a conservative Republican. I already knew this: throughout my childhood, I would have countless debates with my father and political discussions with friends. My desire to fit the mold of a black American finally faded away and I let the world know that—for me—conservatism was the way to go. Ever since, I have found myself more confident that I am on the right side of issues and that limited government is the only way people can succeed.
As I’ve learned more about conservatism and what issues are important to me, I’ve realized that sometimes being conservative and black means you will be judged by your own community and questioned on your beliefs.
My first experience with this was in college. I had a group of friends who were appalled by my unpopular opinion of Barack Obama and couldn’t believe that I would have anything ill to say about him or his policies. This article is not unique. It’s constant. In fact, I have a ton of friends who are black and conservative who could tell the very same story. Being a black republican in the eyes of the black community is being a traitor to your people. As a black republican I am seen as a traitor to my people.
So while I expected my own people to treat me differently simply because we’ve all been trained to believe that Democrats are the heroes of the black community, I was completely taken aback when my fellow conservatives got upset when I mentioned issues like racism or criminal justice reform. It was as if they did not believe these issues existed and that I wasn’t allowed to talk about these issues because that is part of “the left’s agenda to ruin our country.”
These encounters got me to wondering about the sense of excitement that occurs when someone of a minority background announces that they are a republican. Those minorities are often raised up and celebrated, but if they start talking about issues that aren't important to most conservatives, suddenly that person loses their audience and loses coverage in conservative media.
Criminal justice reform is a great example. When cases such as Trayvon Martin or Sandra Bland come up in the news, there is always a token black conservative asked to do an interview where they say things such as, “the police were doing their job” or “yes, white on black crime is horrible, but what about black on black crime? Or even “if they had listened to the police, there would not have been in altercation.” While these statements are not always false and definitely have a place, they showcase the lessons conservatives have yet to learn.
Instead, we idolize people such as Mia Love, and Dr. Ben Carson because they are different from the typical token republican. Conservatives think that Carson or Love can reach a broader audience. That too is false, because while people may come from a community that the Republican Party is desperately trying to reach, they are not involved in those communities. They simply don’t have the social capital to persuade people.
Mia Love and Dr. Ben Carson contribute a lot to the cause. They are my personal role models and they do a good job speaking about issues that are important to the conservative movement. However, they are not people Black America identifies as heroes for the black community.
The Black Community praises people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson not simply because they are black, but because they are black people who are perceived to care about black issues. Every time a Trayvon Martin or Mike Brown cases occurs, they are on the front page advocating for the Black Community.
No. Their ideas aren’t going to solve the problem. Government intervention creates greater risk for the black community. But the public doesn’t hear that, Black America doesn’t hear that, and unfortunately, they never will because there will always be a token black conservative telling not only black America, but also the general public, to side with a system we know to be unjust and saying black issues don’t matter.
During this election year and years to come, if conservatives want to gain more than twenty percent of the black vote, they will have to get honest and admit some hard truths.
Everyone that has a darker skin color can’t change their community and just because we believe in limited government intervention doesn’t mean we accept limited truths.
This movement will have to realize that there are certain issues that only certain groups of people go through and it would behoove this party to discuss these issues and come up with solutions because the conservative movement has the right answer, but that answer can’t solve any problems when the problem can’t even be discussed.