Has Black Conservatism Become a Minstrel Show?

Good morning all,

I woke up this morning to this tweet from Pastor Corey Brooks, a man many of you know from “What Killed Michael Brown?” as well as my work at Fox, including the “Rooftop Revelations” series:

"As a Black conservative, I'm actively addressing the challenges facing our community by taking concrete steps. I'm establishing a leadership and economic center to combat poverty and violence, creating a school to tackle the issue of poor education, leading a church to address our spiritual needs, and mentoring fathers to combat fatherlessness. Together, we can make a positive impact on our community's future."

I sent the Pastor a text and asked him if he felt supported by leading black conservatives? His response: “No.”

He then sent out another tweet:

“Finding myself in a challenging position - many liberal Black individuals criticize me, labeling me a 'sellout,' while many Black conservatives discuss our issues without taking concrete actions. Neither approach helps us build a strong foundation for leadership and economic progress within our community. Taking action is the only way forward — it’s the only way to turn blight into beauty like we’re doing in this video.” #CommunityUnity #ActionMatters #opportunityblock

This is the video he was referring to and it was shot by Terrell Allen who has been doing most of the filming for the White Guilt documentary:

There was a time when black conservatives needed to talk and develop ideas. They were emerging from the tumultuous sixties and voices were needed to articulate what was happening. They defined these issues so well and there really are no new ideas being produced these days. After all, race is not complicated.

In a way, black conservatism is starting to become somewhat of a minstrel show. This should not come as a surprise — the danger of any movement is that it risks becoming a caricature of itself. How many times have we heard a black individual cry freedom in a melodramatic way after claiming to have escaped the “Democrat plantation?” (It may have been meaningful in the beginning, but not after twenty years of this.) And then all of the sudden, they are social media stars and what often comes out of their mouths are cliches about fatherlessness, crime, liberals, and on.

The sad thing is that not one of these black conservative social media stars has reached out to Pastor Brooks despite talking about neighborhoods like his every day. (Isn’t this an exploitation of sorts?") It’s far easier to talk endlessly into a mic than to act.

Too few of the black conservative intellectuals have reached out to the Pastor. One would think that they would be excited by the Pastor’s drive to produce concrete results with action. After all, it was the words of the earlier black conservative intellectual giants that pointed the pastor in the right direction and he feels that he is providing the remedy to many social ills by taking direct action.

The Pastor is far from a perfect man. Nobody can take on the nearly impossible challenge of trying to reverse nearly 70 years of post-60s liberalism without stumbling here and there. That is why I would think more of these black conservatives would reach out and offer guidance — the pastor would welcome it in a heartbeat.

Despite this, the Pastor remains steadfast in executing his vision for the Woodlawn community on the South Side of Chicago. In doing so, he is making the statement that action — not talk — must be the future of black conservatism as well as American citizenry. Isn’t that the most American thing an American can do?

As always, would love to hear your thoughts, even if you disagree.

All my best,

Eli

P.S. Here’s a clip from last night’s GOP debate and Senator Tim Scott echoes the themes of our last documentary: