In a blog entry at News One [5], Dr. Boyce Watkins evaluates why African Americans and Republicans do not agree politically despite conservative leanings in the black community. He says that part of the problem has to do with extremist leaders like the current crop of presidential candidates.
Farai Chideya at the Root wrote a very good article [6] about the relationship between the Black community and the Republican Party. Chideya discusses the perplexing fact that African Americans are overwhelmingly Democratic, yet many millions of us possess value systems that would be a better fit for a Republican pep rally.
Chideya is absolutely correct in her assessment that many African Americans are simply conservatives in liberal skin. We don’t quite fit in a box, and many of us end up walking the thin line between supporting the Democrats who give us civil rights versus protecting our own value systems that derive from the conservatism of the Black church.
A recent case-in-point would be the suspension of CNN analyst Roland Martin [7], who was challenged by the gay community for a series of remarks that made light of violence against homosexuals. The Gay, Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) was correct in stating that there is no room in the liberal space for those who have any tolerance for violence against the gay community. What was most interesting, however, was how Martin’s anti-gay comments were applauded by millions of African Americans in the Black church. Large numbers of Black people -- like the much of the Republican party -- have no problem condemning gay people to hell (whether it be on earth or in the after-life).
Read Dr. Boyce Watkins' entire blog entry at News One. [5]
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