Black conservatism is a political and social philosophy emphasizingtraditionalism,patriotism,self-sufficiency, and strongcultural andsocial conservatism within the context of theblack church.[1] In the United States it is often, but not exclusively, associated with theRepublican Party.[2]
One of the main characteristics of black conservatism is its emphasis on personal responsibility and traditionalism.[1] Black conservatives may find common ground withblack 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.[3]
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In thePost–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.[citation needed] However, some[who?] have argued that many African political parties lack the same kind of ideological conflict that is common in Western countries.[4][5]
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 ofproxy conflicts during theCold 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 toMarxism-Leninism orMaoism 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 isUNITA inAngola, which under the leadership ofJonas 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.[6] Similarly,Kenya's first Prime Minister and later PresidentJomo Kenyatta was reportedly sympathetic or interested in socialism and communism prior to coming to power, but upon Kenya's independence from Britain he and hisKenya African National Union party adopted conservative beliefs, including stressing the importance of individual rights[7] and according to historian Wunyabari O. Maloba, "sought to project capitalism as an African ideology, and communism (or socialism) as alien and dangerous."[8]
Until 1980,Liberia was largely dominated byTrue Whig Party whose policies and namesake were initially influenced by that of theUnited StatesWhig Party.[9] In 2017, the recently established right-wing conservativeJubilee Party of Kenya went on to gain a majority in the election held that year and became the ruling party of Kenya. The Jubilee Party and KANU are part ofAzimio la Umoja.
Notable black conservatives in Canada include SenatorAnne Cools and SenatorDonald Oliver,[10] both of whom serve in theSenate of Canada. Senator Oliver is a member of theConservative 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 ofHamilton West. Former Alberta MLAsLindsay Blackett andGeorge Rogers (Alberta politician) and Alberta MLAKaycee Madu are members of theConservative Party.Kaycee Madu made history in 2020 when he became the first blackMinister of Justice and Solicitor General in Canadian history.[11] Madu inaugurated theAssociation of Black Conservatives in Canada in February 2020.[12] Dr.Akolisa Ufodike is the founder and the inaugural National Chair.
In2018, three black members ofCoalition Avenir Québec were elected to theNational Assembly of Quebec;Nadine Girault,Samuel Poulin andChristopher Skeete.[citation needed]
In2018,Belinda Karahalios became the first blackProgressive Conservative member of theLegislative Assembly of Ontario.[13]
In2019,Audrey Gordon became one of the first black members of theLegislative Assembly of Manitoba.[14]
In 2020, lawyer and politicianLeslyn Lewis announced her candidacy in the 2020Conservative Party of Canada leadership election; she is the first ethnic minority figure to run for the leadership of the Conservatives.[15]
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In Western Europe, there have been blacks in centre-right and right-wing conservative parties in official roles or as elected representatives.[citation needed] InGermanyCharles M. Huber became the first of two black MPs elected to the GermanBundestag during the2013 federal elections representing theCDU.[16] In 2023,Joe Chialo becameSenator for Culture and Social Cohesion ofBerlin.Harald Weyel, first elected in 2017 to the German Bundestag, from theAfD is of African-American descent.[17] InBelgium, journalist and social activistAssita Kanko was elected to theEuropean Parliament for the conservative and Flemish nationalistN-VA party in 2019.[18]
In 2018,Toni Iwobi became Italy's first black Senator representing the right-wingLega Nord party and helped to draft some of the Lega's policies for the2018 Italian general election.[19]Ignacio Garriga, the leaderVox inCatalonia, isAfro-Spaniard.[20] In2024,Marcus Santos who isAfro-Brazilian was elected to the PortugueseAssembly of the Republic forChega.[21] The founder ofNova DireitaOssanda Liber is of Angolan descent.
Ethiopian Jews,Falash Mura and Jews of African descent have become more visible in politics as elected Members of TheKnesset (MKs), including within the conservativeLikud party. Notable black Likud MKs have includedAlali Adamso,Avraham Neguise,Gadi Yevarkan, andMoshe Solomon.[22][23][24]
TheConservative Party was critical of immigration from theCommonwealth during the 1950s and 1960s, culminating in the infamousRivers of Blood speech delivered by leading Conservative MPEnoch Powell. Despite this, there have long been a small number of black Conservatives. Compared to the United States, the racial divide in the United Kingdom is less pronounced along party lines, due to the difference in racial relations[clarification needed].[25]
Although black communities in the UK had traditionally supported Labour, the Conservatives began to actively circulate advertisements aimed at black voters underMargaret Thatcher ahead of the1983 United Kingdom general election, with themes revolving around equal opportunities, better representation in the police and economic prosperity.[citation needed] Black British political consultant and writerAnita Boateng argued in a 2020 blogpost that black voters began to take more notice of the Conservative Party in the 1980s and 1990s due to their messages based on faith, family values, discipline and aspiration.[26]
Most, although not all, black Conservatives in theUnited Kingdom are of African origin, with either one or both parents originating from Africa and emigrating to the UK, rather than from the Caribbean or elsewhere.[citation needed] In 2019, the Conservatives changed tactics to focus on promoting candidates based on talent rather than race to avoid accusations of tokenism.[26] Black British Conservative MPs currently[when?] serving in theHouse of Commons areAdam Afriyie,[27]Kwasi Kwarteng,James Cleverly,[28]Kemi Badenoch,[29]Darren Henry,Bim Afolami and solicitor and businesswomanHelen Grant.[30] In the2019 United Kingdom general election, the Conservatives fielded a record number of 76 black and ethnic minority candidates, a 72% increase on the 2017 election.[26]
Ahead of the2021 London mayoral election, the Conservatives selected former youth worker and journalistShaun Bailey as their candidate.[31][32]
Conservative MPKemi Badenoch was a candidate during theJuly 2022 Conservative Party leadership election[33] and waselected leader in 2024.
TheeuroscepticUK Independence Party has selected a number of ethnic minority and black candidates to stand for office includingWinston McKenzie,[citation needed]London Assembly memberDavid Kurten,[34][non-primary source needed] and MEPSteven Woolfe.[35] Television chefRustie Lee was also selected,[36] but later renounced her support.[37][non-primary source needed]
Other notable black conservatives in the United Kingdom include education reformer and writerKatharine Birbalsingh, who described her views as being "small c conservative – a social conservative", according toBBC News,[38] and commentatorsCalvin Robinson[citation needed]andInaya Folarin Iman.[39][non-primary source needed]
Black conservatism in the United States is a political and social movement[citation needed] that aligns largely with theAmerican conservative movement. Duringslavery, there was a divide betweenfree blacks and slaves. As black people were released from slavery, theyassimilated white American culture in order to maintain a place in the social order.[according to whom?] This is where characteristics of contemporary black conservatism began to develop.[40] The argument behind this[clarification needed] was the idea that if black people follow the rules of White America, then there will be no choice but to accept them into the social system[according to whom?].[41]
Since theCivil Rights Movement in the later 20th century, the African-American community has generally swung to theleft of theright-wing conservative movement, and has predominantly favored itself on the side ofliberalism.
American Black conservatism emphasizestraditionalism, strongpatriotism,capitalism,free markets, and opposition to abortion and gay marriage in the context of theblack church.
In the post civil rights-era, there was a push for continuous assimilation and, as a result, some black individuals aligned themselves with the conservative movement and accepted the idea of acolor-blind society.[citation needed]
Condoleezza Rice and GeneralColin Powell were two prominent politicians of the Republican Party in 1990s and 2000s. Some elected black conservatives include Florida representativeAllen West, U.S. SenatorTim Scott of South Carolina, former Oklahoma representativeJ.C. Watts, and former Connecticut representativeGary Franks.[citation needed] Other notable black conservatives include economistThomas Sowell, perennial political candidateAlan Keyes, and Supreme Court justiceClarence Thomas. In 2009,Michael Steele became the first black man to chair theRepublican National Committee. In 2011,Herman Cain was considered the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination for a period of time.Ben Carson, an African-American author and neurosurgeon, announced his candidacy for the 2016 Republican nomination in his hometownDetroit in May 2015, but ultimately lost the nomination toDonald Trump.
Kanye West, African-American rapper, has associated himself with the Trump movement.
Glenn Loury andJohn McWhorter are black conservative public intellectuals.
The colorblind America argument is one that often comes up in conservative discourse. It is the idea the decisions and legislation are made without regard to racial identity (cite). Black conservatives assert that, because there has been a post-civil rights era push in the conservative movement to rally behind this colorblind conservative ideology, that it actually hinders the black community's progress to oppose it.[42] They claim that by refusing to recognize this discourse, black individuals are not focusing on racial development.[43] This partially explains the opposition toaffirmative action amongst black conservatives. They claim that this type of government intervention in black mobility actually does more to question the ability of black individuals to succeed than it does to provide well-earned opportunities that would otherwise be inaccessible.[42]
Individualism is where individuals are personally responsible for pursuing success in their own self-interest.[44] Black conservatives are in favor of individualism and oppose government interventions such as affirmative action because they do not want it to raise the question of whether or not they deserve the successes they have achieved or if they took part in what some refer to as "reverse racism".[45] Black conservatives oppose policies such as affirmative action that were created with the intention of creating opportunity for minorities who have been historically oppressed in the United States. Black conservatives justify this because they are opposed to any policy that may be perceived by Whites as an unearned benefit or a handout.[46] Clarence Thomas described affirmative action as problematic because it reinforces stereotypes of black individuals being inferior. He claimed it leads to personal doubt and stifles individuality.
Historian Gregory Schneider identifies several constants in American conservatism: respect for tradition, support of republicanism, "the rule of law and the Christian religion", and a defense of "Western civilization from the challenges of modernist culture and totalitarian governments."[47] Black conservatives are motivated by two of the values of general conservative thought, for the love of God and country.[48] The black church specifically is linked to Christian evangelism, and a dependence on God and his plans. These plans are part of what allow black conservatives to get behind the ideas of individualism that conservatism is built on. Though it may seem antithetical to reconcile the history of slavery and segregation with the ideas of complete American freedom and equality, it is actually the hope of reaching that goal without having to depend on their oppressors that makes individualism appealing to some people in the black community.[48]
According to a 2014Pew Research Center poll, African-Americans today are generally found to be more likely to identify asChristian andProtestant than whites, Latinos in the United States, with 79% of black Americans identifying as Christian compared to 77% of Latinos and 70% of white Americans.[49]
Similarly to white andHispanic Americans, African-American stances on social issues can sometimes be influenced by religious beliefs as well. According to a 2017 Pew Research Center poll, 44% of black Protestants supportedgay marriage, compared with 67% of Catholics and 68% of "white mainline Protestants".[50] In another Pew poll conducted around the same time, black Protestants are also sharply divided on the issue ofabortion, with a slight majority of 55% saying it should be legal in most or all cases, and 44% believing it should be illegal.[51]
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