The Rise Of Black Conservatism Essay Research — страница 3

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begin to clean up their own house on the issue of race. This is not the same as a shift of positions. It is, instead, to begin paying attention to the black vote in America, to begin discussing the issues and spelling out the reasons behind the arguments of ideological conservatives. It is more a matter of spending time and paying attention to race as an issue than it is subscribing to some specific checklist of priorities. Second, of course, is for the perception to be publicly questioned by blacks already on the right. And on that front the battle has already been joined. Part Three: New voices, new direction? In 1996 Alan Keyes stepped to the front of the pack with a committed campaign for the GOP nomination. Proving to a whole nation that he is one of the most thoughtful and

eloquent speakers in the conservative movement, Keyes offers a lot of leadership to this battle, and will no doubt break down many political stereotypes from the frontlines. Much of the strength of the debate today is being brought by nationally syndicated radio personality Ken Hamblin out of Denver, Colorado, who is infuriating NCAAP chapters and local race leaders with his cutting-edge criticisms of the failure of the black liberal establishment to lead in any productive direction. Another commentator, Armstrong Williams, who hosts a syndicated radio program called The Right Side out of Washington, D.C. is a third generation Republican who used to be an aid for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and who now is also the CEO of an international public relations company. In

print, Thomas Sowell, author and columnist has been an eloquent leader in this debate for many years. In that he is joined by columnist and professor at George Mason University, Walter Williams — who often sits in for Rush Limbaugh. Other authors of books on the topic include Jared Taylor, who wrote Paved With Good Intentions, and Izola Foster who wrote Izola on Conservatism. Putting forward the arguments in magazine form are Willie and Gwen Richardson, who started National Minority Politics magazine and have begun explaining why minorities should question Democrat principles instead of embracing them. In that they are joined by Emmanuel McLittle s Destiny magazine out of Los Angeles, California. On every issue that conservatives believe in, members of the black conservative

movement are lending their voices, ideas and sweat. Also in Los Angeles can be found Project 21 — a group of young black conservatives with the intent of setting a new agenda for the next generation. In Washington, Robert Woodson, founder of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise fights for conservative solutions for the inner cities and for the enterprise zone so desperately needed there. In the Congress the side of the black conservative movement is ably presented by Rep. Gary Franks (R-Conn.) who has frustrated and confounded the liberal Congressional Black Caucus for many years, and Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.), once a fighter on the football field, now fighting in a tougher battle. There is, after all, derision rained down upon many in the black conservative movement

for daring to defy traditional political stereotypes. From the actions of Jesse Jackson himself to the Congressional Black Caucus treatment of it s GOP members to Sunday morning political shows, many black conservatives — when they are actually invited to participate — are put down for their political opinions in public forums. When Pete Stark, a white representative from California, called Louis Sullivan — the Bush administration s secretary of health and human services — a disgrace to his race on the House floor in 1994 for Sullivan s support of Republican social policies, Sullivan s response was a classic rebuke of the premises which blacks in the nation s capitol are expected to accept: I don t live on Pete Stark s plantation. When J.C. Watts ran in Oklahoma his white

Democrat opponent aired commercials with a picture of Watts from his college football days sporting a mean look and a big afro — appealing to possible racial fears in the predominantly white district — he lost decisively. Watts merely stepped forward with a smile on his face and explained that he had been quite proud of that afro at the time. There have been significant obstacles from all sides that have been overcome — or are being worked on. The biggest may be the fact that the nation s media often goes to certain self-appointed race leaders whenever a racial issue comes up in the news cycle. In this action is a perpetuating of the perfectly wrong assumption that the community is monolithic. The breaking down of that barrier has already begun, though, and more and more a