Jason L. Riley (born July 8, 1971) is an American

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

commentator and author. He is a member of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

''s editorial board. Riley is a senior fellow at the

Manhattan Institute The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (renamed in 1981 from the International Center for Economic Policy Studies) is a conservative American think tank focused on domestic policy and urban affairs, established in Manhattan in 1978 by Ant ...

and has appeared on the ''

Journal Editorial Report The ''Journal Editorial Report'' is a weekly American interview and panel discussion TV program on Fox News Channel, hosted by Paul Gigot, editorial page editor of ''The Wall Street Journal''. Prior to moving to Fox News, the show aired on PBS fo ...

'', other

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

programs and ''

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

''. He is Black and writes about his Black experience in America as a Conservative. He's is the author of several books including ''Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders'' (2008), ''Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed'' (2014), ''False Black Power?'' (2017), and ''Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell'' (2021).

Early life and education

Riley was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. He is the son of Lee Riley of Buffalo and the late Ola Riley. His father retired as a social worker at the Buffalo Psychiatric Center, a residential psychiatric treatment hospital. He grew up in a religious household. His mother was Baptist and later converted to become a Jehovah's Witness, and Riley was baptized a Jehovah's Witness when he was fifteen. He earned a bachelor's of arts degree in English from the

State University of New York at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

and began his career in journalism working for the ''

Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It recently sold its headquarters to Uniland Development Corp. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by W ...

'' and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''.Jason L. Riley
''Manhattan Institute'' biography.

Career

Riley joined ''

'' in 1994 as a copyreader on the national news desk in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In April 1996, he was named to the newly created position of editorial interactive editor, and joined the editorial board in 2005. Riley is the author of four books. In 2008, he published ''Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders'', which argues for a more

free-market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

oriented U.S. immigration system. In 2014, Riley published ''Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed''. The book was praised by

Thomas Sowell Thomas Sowell (; born June 30, 1930) is an American author, economist, political commentator and academic who is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. With widely published commentary and books—and as a guest on TV and radio—he becam ...

of ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...

'', who wrote: "Pick up a copy and open pages at random to see how the author annihilates nonsense." According to ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

'', " e

American left The American Left consists of individuals and groups that have sought egalitarian changes in the economic, political and cultural institutions of the United States. Various subgroups with a national scope are active. Liberals and progressives b ...

should start paying attention to ''

''s Jason Riley. His name is on the rise." In his 2017 book '' False Black Power?'', Riley argues economic success is a more important strategy for the empowerment of black people than dependence on political leadership. In 2021, Riley published ''Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell''.

Personal life

Riley married

Naomi Schaefer Riley Naomi Schaefer Riley ( Schaefer; born c. 1977) is an American conservative commentator and author. Her writings have appeared in the ''Wall Street Journal'', ''The New York Times'', ''The Boston Globe'', ''The Los Angeles Times'', ''The New Yo ...

, also a journalist, in 2004. They reside in suburban

with their three children.

Bibliography

* ''Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders'' (2008) * ''Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed'' (2014) * '' False Black Power?'' (2017) * ''Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell'' (2021) * ''The Black Boom'' (2022)

References

External links