The Miseducation of Black Conservatives
Min. Paul Scott
“Some of my best friends are Black.”
While this may be a famous one liner from 70’s sitcoms, it is also the classic comeback when a White racist is accused of…well…being racist. Whether they be politician or entertainer, anytime they are caught in an act of white supremacy, they will pull out a Clayton Bigsby from the Dave Chappelle Show-like character in order to get an automatic hood pass.
But who, exactly, are these bosom buddies that the Right Wingers always invite to the cookout ?
For hundreds of years , there have been people to whom the majority of the Black community refer as “sellouts.” ( For a more detailed breakdown of the term read , Dr. Randall Kennedy’s book Sellout: The Politics of Racial Betrayal.)
When confronted with America’s history of systemic racism . many white Conservatives are quick to parrot one of their main talking ponts about how Africans sold other Africans into slavery. Of course,they conveniently leave out the manipulation by European interests. (Read Walter Rodney’s, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa). So the fact that African Americans have had traitors in our family baobab tree, like every other race, is no anomaly.
Nor is it a family secret that a, relatively, few African Americans were slave owners and some Black folks snitched on their enslaved brothers and sisters to gain meritorious manumission.
What’s even better is if they can find a Black Pinocchio to spew these half truths on their behalf.
One of the earliest examples of white supremacy in black face comes courtesy of William Hannibal Thomas . In 1901, Thomas, published, The American Negro, which according to Black Judas author John David Smith, “under the guise of a black self help manual” helped to justify black inferiority in the minds of White Americans. The book has served as the blueprint for Black conservative thought.
The playbook for modern Black Conservative politics can be traced back to the 1980 Black Alternatives Conference at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco ,which sought to counter the Black leftest movement. According to the book , The American Directory of Certified Uncle Toms by The Council on Black Affairs, “the Reagan -inspired Institute of Contemporary Studies attracted about 125 black lawyers, physicians, dentists, Ivy League professors and commentators.”
This formula has been duplicated over the decades as Right Wing think tanks, heavily, support Black conservatives to do their bidding.
In North Carolina, the Black Conservative Brigade is being led by Lt. Governor Mark Robinson, who seems ,perfectly, happy in his role as the Republican Great Black Hope. His crusade to prevent the Democratic do gooders from “indoctrinating” little innocent White children with historical facts has put him on the road to conservative superstardom.
While much of their attention has been on the indoctrination of fifth graders, one has to wonder if the Black Conservatives, themselves, have been brainwashed by ALEC, the Heritage Foundation, the Manhattan Institute, the John Locke Foundation and other right wing think tanks and lobbyist groups.
What is confusing about the Black neo-Conservatives is their true motivation. Perhaps they are fully aware that they are part of a vast Right Wing conspiracy dead set on separating African Americans from their inalienable rights. Or maybe, they are victims of what Dr. Carter G, Woodson “the miseducation of the Negro. “
It’s possible they are just conflicted by the fact that many Black folks are politically liberal but socially conservative. However , just because you object to stripper poles and twerkers being used to entice the Black vote does not mean that you have to sign up to be the president of the Sean Hannity Fan Club.
The bigger question is what are African Americans to do with those who betray the best interests of our people? The Black community has always been divided on the issue.
Pan-Africanist Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) went to his grave with the idea that even the most radical Black Republican could be reformed and a Black Utopia could be created where all people of African descent could unite for the greater purpose of securing a brighter future for our children.
However, some Black folk believe that all Black Republicans should be exiled to a penal colony somewhere in Texas and pelted with Ted Nugent albums for the rest of their miserable lives.
Personally, I’m on the fence but am leaning towards the latter.
At the end of the day, history is recording all of our actions. Black Conservatives have to make the decision if they want to be honored as great Black leaders or, eternally , disgraced as betrayers of the race at its most critical hour.
The choice is theirs….
Min. Paul Scott is founder of the Durham NC based Black Messiah Movement. He can be reached at (919) 972–8305 or minpaulscott@yahoo.com Follow on Twitter @truthminista
