Black Conservative

Black conservatism is a political and social philosophy rooted in communities of African descent that aligns largely with the conservative ideology around the world. Black conservatives emphasize traditionalism, patriotism, self-sufficiency, and strong cultural and social conservatism within the context of the black church. In the United States it is often, but not exclusively, associated with the Republican Party.

The Reconstruction era began the greatest shift of conservative African Americans in American politics in modern history. During the Reconstruction era, black voters began to align themselves more with the Republican party and its conservative ideologies. Under Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, during his first two terms, there was not a single piece of civil rights legislation that was made into law and in the following election the black vote became more split. In 1960, the Kennedy-Johnson campaign promoted civil rights as a central issue and during their administration, they passed anti-discrimination legislation, gaining the black vote. Since then, the Democratic Party has held a majority of the black votes in America, although Pew Research Center polling has found that the percentage of African-Americans who identify as Democratic has declined in recent years, from 75% during Barack Obama's presidency to 67% in 2020. However, a 2017 sample size of 10,245 voters concluded that just 8% of African-Americans identify as Republican.

Overview

Russian anarchist Pyotr Kropotkin brought many questions of the possibility of being black and being conservative when he mocked their ability to be genuine. He explained his belief that conservatism has underlying themes of racism so black conservatives are "a freak of nature" and those who take advantage of conservatism for their own personal gain are opportunists and complicit in the oppression of their own people.

Black conservatism is particularly difficult to define because it will either not be representative of all black conservatives or it will be something that can be said of other conservatives outside of the black community. One of the main characteristics of black conservatism is its emphasis on personal responsibility and traditionalism. Black conservatives 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. For many black conservatives, the singular objective is to bring social redemption and economic success to the black community.

Worldwide

Africa

In the Post–Cold War era, a number of avowedly conservative parties have developed in most African countries. In countries where the population is divided by religion (i.e., Nigeria), conservative parties are often formed and constituted to target specific religions in their areas of greatest political dominance, although some have argued that many African political parties lack the same kind of ideological conflict that is common in Western countries.

Historically, differences in political platforms in Africa sometimes depended on outside influence from either the West, Cuba or the former Soviet Union as a result of proxy conflicts during the Cold War period where militant factions of political parties received economic support from either America or Soviet aligned states. During the Cold War, some African political parties which adhered to Marxism-Leninism or Maoism when participating in anti-colonial activities later adopted economic, social and culturally conservative policies upon their country gaining independence and as democracy in African states crystallized, as well as in response to growing factional opposition to communism. An example of a formerly left-wing and now conservative party is UNITA in Angola, which under the leadership of Jonas Savimbi began as a far-left, Maoist inspired movement before embracing a right-wing platform and aligning itself with the West in the 1980s. Since transforming itself into a democratic political party, UNITA is presently considered to be conservative and right-leaning. Similarly, Kenya's first Prime Minister and later President Jomo Kenyatta was reportedly sympathetic or interested in socialism and communism prior to coming to power, but upon Kenya's independence from Britain he and his Kenya African National Union party adopted conservative beliefs, including stressing the importance of individual rights and according to historian Wunyabari O. Maloba, "sought to project capitalism as an African ideology, and communism (or socialism) as alien and dangerous."

Until 1980, Liberia was largely dominated by True Whig Party whose policies and namesake were initially influenced by that of the United States Whig Party. In 2017, the recently established right-wing conservative Jubilee Party of Kenya went on to gain a majority in the election held that year and became the ruling party of Kenya.

Canada

Notable black conservatives in Canada include Senator Anne Cools and Senator Donald Oliver, both of whom serve in the Senate of Canada. Senator Oliver is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada, while Cools is a non-aligned Senator recognized as voting mainly with the Conservative caucus. Lincoln Alexander was Canada's first black MP, and served as a Federal Member of Parliament between 1968 and 1980 in the riding of Hamilton West. Former Alberta MLA's Lindsay Blackett and George Rogers (Alberta politician) and Alberta MLA Kaycee Madu are members of the Conservative Party. Kaycee Madu made history in 2020 when he became the first black Minister of Justice and Solicitor General in Canadian history. Madu inaugurated the Association of Black Conservatives in Canada in February 2020. Dr. Akolisa Ufodike is the founder and the inaugural National Chair.

In 2018, 3 black members of Coalition Avenir Québec

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