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(6)Conservatism Has Much to Offer
Black Americans
Lee H. Walker and Joseph Bast
Human Events
Posted 04/13/2009
Conservative principles are sufficiently
established in today’s political debates that they appeal to people of all
races and creeds when presented fairly.
So it is disappointing to read Shelby Steele,
a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, arguing conservatism has little
to offer black Americans. In a recent Wall Street Journal piece, he writes,
"In an era when even failed moral activism is redemptive -- and thus a
source of moral authority and power -- conservatism stands flat-footed with
only discipline to offer."
Conservatism, "with its beautiful idea of a free man in a free society,"
Steele writes, offers no way for whites to redeem themselves, "no way to
show deference to minorities for the oppression they endured. Thus it
seems to be in league with that oppression."
This is where Steele ends his analysis, but it is far from the end of the
story. And, for that reason, his conclusion is simply wrong.
Conservatism is much more than preaching "discipline" or making vague
references to an "invisible hand." It is a robust philosophy of life that
has played a major role in black history and in the black community today,
and it is the source of policy prescriptions just as bold and potentially
attractive to the black community as were the programs of the Great Society
in the 1960s or of the Congressional Black Caucus today.
Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) is the foremost exemplar of the black
conservative vision. He rose from slavery to become one of the most famous
and respected men of his time. He is known best for founding Tuskegee
University, in Tuskegee, Alabama, and for his lifelong advocacy of quality
education, especially industrial education, for blacks of all ages.
Washington's philosophy had three important themes: education,
self-reliance, and entrepreneurship. Economic success, he both demonstrated
and taught, is the surest path to social and political success.
Washington's views were shared by millions of black Americans in his era, as
reported in the works of such historians as George S. Schuyler, Nell Irvin
Painter, and Kelly Miller. Conservative viewpoints continued to play a
positive role in the black struggle for equality, prosperity, and dignity in
the first half of the twentieth century. Zora Neal Hurston (1891-1960),
Langston Hughes (1902-1967), Ralph Ellison (1914-1994), and Alain Lock
(1885-1954) were all gifted conservative black writers from the Harlem
Renaissance. Although many people do not think of Martin Luther King as a
conservative, he championed many of the same principles as today's black
conservatives, arguing for quality education, personal integrity, public
morality, equal treatment under the law, and a colorblind society.
Millions of black Americans have used the three rungs of education,
self-reliance, and entrepreneurship to climb the ladder of success and are
now solidly middle-class contributors to society. Opinion polls show they
are more conservative than whites on several social issues. As their
incomes, educational attainment levels, and homeownership rates rise, their
views on economic issues can be expected to move rightward as well.
Nevertheless, self-acknowledged "black conservatives" are rarely seen or
heard in public debates. One reason is obvious: conservatism in the black
community is -- contrary to fact -- widely associated with white racism. And
that association is continuously reinforced and perpetuated by the liberal
media and, perhaps most unfortunately, by public schools. To hear or see
black conservatives in either forum is a notable exception.
Another reason black conservatives are rarely seen or heard is the liberal
bias of most foundations and corporate philanthropies. The vast majority of
foundations, and nearly all of the biggest and best known ones, simply
refuse to fund conservative black spokespersons or organizations. Because
hundreds of millions of dollars are given every year to advocacy
organizations, this has a major impact on whose views are heard and whose
are not.
Yet conservative thinkers and think tanks practically overflow with ideas to
improve education, reward self-reliance, and boost entrepreneurship, while
the liberal cupboards are bare.
Blacks benefit from conservative policies. Tax cuts make a bigger difference
to low-income families, entrepreneurs, and small investors than to the rich
and secure. Deregulation lets small companies and people with new ideas
compete with big corporations, whereas the latter often benefit from a
paucity of new competitors entering the market due to the high cost of
complying with complex regulations. Social Security privatization would also
be a boon for blacks, who often die before they become eligible for Social
Security benefits. Nearly all the benefits of programs that expand school
choice, such as vouchers and tax credits, go to black Americans and other
minorities who can't otherwise afford better schools.
On the other side of the ledger, economists Thomas Sowell and Walter
Williams have extensively outlined the liberal policies that harm blacks,
such as job-killing high taxes and minimum wage laws, skyrocketing housing
prices caused by restrictions on building, softness toward criminals that
has victimized blacks more than any other group and destroyed neighborhood
economies, and above all, the Democratic Party’s captivity to teachers
unions and consequent opposition to school choice, which dooms black
children to inferior education and locks them out of good jobs.
Despite the obvious appeal of conservative policy positions, Steele is
correct to note that it is exceedingly difficult for many black Americans to
trust people who seem reluctant to acknowledge mistakes of the past and
appear to court support from those who might harbor desires to restore those
social inequities. The answer is for conservatives to recognize and
emphasize the right’s positive record of reform in this area and to
repudiate past efforts to stand in the way of positive change.
For example, conservatives would do well to remind the public that it was
Southern Democrats who worked feverishly to block the Civil Rights Act of
1964 and that the bill was saved by the efforts of Republican Senators such
as Everett Dirksen of Illinois and Thomas Kuchel of California. Southern
Democrats voted 20-1 against the bill, while Northern Republicans supported
it by a resounding 27-5 majority. Even Barry Goldwater, who voted against
the bill, opposed only one part of it (strictures against private businesses
engaging in interstate commerce) and had supported earlier civil rights
bills in 1957 and 1960.
Sowell argues, “A sober presentation of the facts will give Republicans
their best shot at a larger share of the votes of blacks.” That means making
the case for political and economic freedom and showing how conservatives
have supported them over the years -- not perfectly by any means, but much
more consciously and consistently than the opposition. As Sowell notes, “The
truth is something that can attract people's attention, if only for its
novelty in politics.” Thus conservatives can “show deference to minorities
for the oppression they endured” by acknowledging those past national
shortcomings openly, showing how those failings actually resulted from a
failure to follow the tenets of modern conservatism and outlining a positive
agenda that will draw black Americans up the ladder of success more quickly.
In addition to being true, such an agenda would connect respect for the past
with an optimistic vision for the future -- exactly what the most successful
conservatives have always done.
Lee H. Walker is a senior fellow for The
Heartland Institute and author of Rediscovering Black Conservatism (Chicago:
The Heartland Institute, 2009). Joseph Bast is president of The Heartland
Institute.
Notes:
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Other Voices for
the
First Installment of
Templates for
Conservative
Leadership 2012
1. Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican Vice
Presidential Candidate. Her 2009 State of the State address to
Alaskans
2.
Michael Dolan, Executive
VP for Exxon Mobile talks about 21st Century energy with some foundational
perspectives on why Cap and Trade is terrible for the economy and the
nation.
3.
Dr. Thomas Sowell
Hoover Institute scholar on why
Republicans should stay focused on applying conservative thought to policy
making.
4.
Phyllis Schlafly,
Commentator on how
marriage can be saved from the gay lobby.
5.
Representative Louie Gohmert
on why the "Hate Crimes" bill violates the First Amendment rights of the
Constitution.
6.
Lee Walker
and Joseph Bast, Senior Fellow and President of the
Heartland Institute respectively on why blacks should naturally embrace
conservative policy.
7.
Dr. Kim R.
Holmes, Heritage Foundation scholar on Obama's First 100 Days of liberalism.
8.
Aryeh Spero,
Radio Talk Show Host on why Republicans should stay conservative.
9.
Doug
Patton, Columnist,
political speech writer and policy advisor on conservative women and
leadership.
10.
Pat
Buchanan,
is a nationally syndicated columnist, former Presidential advisor, best
selling author and one of the premier conservative intellects in America.
11.
Human
Events, (Petition) National Security.
Human Events is the news source President Reagan called his "favorite
newspaper" and we still hold high the Reaganesque principles of free
enterprise, limited government and, above all, a staunch, unwavering defense
of American freedom.
12.
Lt. Colonel Oliver North. Nationally
syndicated columnist and the author of the FOX News/Regnery books, "War Stories:
Operation Iraqi Freedom," and "War Stories III: The Heroes Who
Defeated Hitler."
Lt. North hosts "War Stories" on Fox News
Channel.
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