How do we change the image of Black conservatives

[Black N Right]

While the majority of Blacks profess conservative beliefs in regards to religion, abortion and gay marriage-these things are not seen unifying us all and many Blacks still are loyal to the racist Democrats whose whole history is trying to take down the Black people. So what do we do to change that perception? What do we do to get this movement off the ground?

[Conservativeblkwoman]

I think we are already doing it by blogging and participating in forums such as this. We just need to continue to make our voices heard and those who have ears to hear will hear.

[Black N Right]

Conservativeblkwoman said:

I think we are already doing it by blogging and participating in forums such as this. We just need to continue to make our voices heard and those who have ears to hear will hear.

I think you are right. It is definitely the first step and the more people see that we come from all walks of life, different belief systems and different economic backgrounds they won't be so quick to stereotype us. Though I have to admit, I love to see the people's expressions on their faces when they find out not only am I Republican but I am a conservative one at that (and one that makes Sarah Palin look like a flaming liberal in comparison. LOL). Their jaws drop, their eyes bug out, basically they look like Wile E. Coyote. If I became mainstream, I would miss that. LOL

[Pamela Cook Dreyer]

I totally agree. There is another network called New Black Thought that was created by the folk that founded the Booker T Washington Inspirational Network. One is the great granddaughter of Booker T Washington. The other is a fellow that lives where I do. They hope to eventually start grass roots efforts to unite black conservatives. The theory is that a strong black conservative grass roots effort can support candidates better than maybe national efforts of political parties. I have been trying to meet with the person here but we both have had schedule conflicts. There are about 20-25 members so far from across the country. One of the members is the current head of Freedom's Journal Magazine which originally started at the first black newspaper in America in the 1820s. Many prominent black conservatives like Star Parker are featured on their blog. They have excellent articles but hardly any responses. I try and respond to them. Some people may wait until they see action before they respond.

As CBW stated we must continue to write and share with those of like mind. Many of them probably have no idea that these type of resources are available online. It may be just a matter of finding each other and publishing what we find. I just found out about New Black Thought this summer when I heard Eddie Huff on my local radio station.

I think many people will be surprised at just how many black conservatives (however that is defined) actually exist. It is just finding and supporting each other. There are probably many that are incognito thinking there are not others that share their views.

[Black N Right]

I think you bring up a good point. How do you define conservative? To me a conservative is pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, limited government, has deeply held religious beliefs or at least strongly supports religious liberty and promotes individual responsibility. Oh let's not forget is anti-amnesty. So how do you CBW and Pamela define a conservative?

[Zabeth]

I don't define conservatism that way- entirely. I think that definition may be a bit limiting. What about athiests or agnostics who support limited government, fiscal responsibility, and are opposed to amnesty? My conservatism is primarily based on limited government, financial freedom, national security, and fiscal responsibility. I want government out of my life, not more involved in it. I am pro-choice- to a degree though. I think most of the issues currently in play in the political spectrum are state not federal issues (i.e. marriage, abortion) and should not be part of the presidential debate. Most people don't realize that- that's the problem. This can only be changed through education and discussion, what we're doing right now.

[Black N Right]

What about athiests or agnostics who support limited government, fiscal responsibility, and are opposed to amnesty?

Well that is why I added or at least supports religious liberty for those who may not believe in God themselves. I don't believe in Buddha and I believe it is not going to lead you to God but at the same time I am not going to take away anyone's right to believe in Buddha, I might send a couple of my missionaries their way (or maybe not), but I would never take away their right to believe in Buddha. If God doesn't take away our free will, who am I to do so?

And I do believe there are atheists out there who do fit that bill, who don't believe in God but would defend anyone's right to believe in him. Only because if the believers don't have the right TO believe, then the atheists don't have the right NOT to believe. It all becomes up to the state and not the individual. So for those conservatives I would gladly stand by them and welcome them warmly.

I always wondered why before anything else, even before mentioning life itself, the founding fathers first sought to defend religious liberty. I didn't understand how one's religion could be all that important. Until I got active in the church and then I got it. We are also seeing the decay brought on by removing the church and God from their proper place in our nation. Now I am not saying the Church should have total say over what happens in our government but at the same time by removing God from it we have done ourselves a great disservice. We have removed ourselves further and further away from our moral base and as such we have created chaos and confusion. Religion does have a way of synthesizing a nation, making it more cohesive and people are generally happier. It is for these reasons we need to defend religious liberty, whatever our particular religion it may be. Even if that religion is atheism.

[barb vandebunte]

I believe there is a great difference in having Christianity as our religion vs having atheism as the religion in our nation. I believe Jesus and the Bible are the main reason our country is so great. Those principles and this God makes a huge difference!
All religions are certainly not the same, with the same effect. Is that what you were saying?

for conservative black base to grow , could you contact and network with other conservative black speakers, comedians, actors, videos/godtube/youtube, radio shows, pastors, churches, etc? maybe put out a magazine together, an organization, or a website, with blogging. get your group in the media, educating, speaking out wherever get invited. network around the country, maybe also with facebook and other means, to get ready for the next election. post the candidates to help and go for it.

[Black N Right]

barb vandebunte said:

I believe there is a great difference in having Christianity as our religion vs having atheism as the religion in our nation. I believe Jesus and the Bible are the main reason our country is so great. Those principles and this God makes a huge difference!
All religions are certainly not the same, with the same effect. Is that what you were saying?

Most assuredly not! I am saying I came to Christ of my own volition. No one put a gun to my head and said believe or else. I want others to have that same choice I had. I believe there is no greater religion than Christianity that all the rest seem to fail at some point but Christianity endures. Why? Because it wasn't created by man but instituted by God himself. However, I want you come to Christ because you have a testimony, because he has put it in your heart that this is the only true way to God. What I want more than anything for the people in this country is to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. I love Elohim because he is my "Dad" and nothing matters more than that. But it is certainly not because I HAVE to love him. I do it out of my own chosen devotion to my Father.

for conservative black base to grow , could you contact and network with other conservative black speakers, comedians, actors, videos/godtube/youtube, radio shows, pastors, churches, etc? maybe put out a magazine together, an organization, or a website, with blogging. get your group in the media, educating, speaking out wherever get invited. network around the country, maybe also with facebook and other means, to get ready for the next election. post the candidates to help and go for it.

Those are awesome suggestions and I am doing alot of that right now. I have been trying to get other Black conservative especially on YouTube to join here, so far no luck. I have been spreading this site's existence on Facebook and Twitter. I want to put out a magazine but I am trying to get this growing so I could use it as market research when approaching investors. I want to be able to go to them and say, "You need to invest in this great idea. A magazine for Black conservatives and if you think that no one will buy it, well I got a social network with 20,000 members as we speak (or whatever the number may be) who are saying you are wrong!" I have a blog as well that I promote this site on. And I really would like to run candidates for the next election-that would be great. As for the pastors and churches, I am working on something along those lines with a member on here and we are going to try to get into the neighborhoods and educate people on conservatism. It is spooky. It is like you are totally reading my mind.

[Mary Ann Hartzler]

Zabeth said:

I don't define conservatism that way- entirely. I think that definition may be a bit limiting. What about athiests or agnostics who support limited government, fiscal responsibility, and are opposed to amnesty? My conservatism is primarily based on limited government, financial freedom, national security, and fiscal responsibility. I want government out of my life, not more involved in it. I am pro-choice- to a degree though. I think most of the issues currently in play in the political spectrum are state not federal issues (i.e. marriage, abortion) and should not be part of the presidential debate. Most people don't realize that- that's the problem. This can only be changed through education and discussion, what we're doing right now.

Hey, Zabeth!! What a beautiful, unusual name. I realize that this thread is slightly dated, but I would like to "chew" on a few of the issues you highlighted. I find that reflecting on the thoughts of others helps my internal education. :)

I think our idea of getting government out of our lives may be different, based upon our views on morality. I think there are a lot of "moral laws" that you do believe in, like laws against robbery, burglary, assault, murder, rape. The difference is that you probably believe those laws to be common sense.

May I submit to you that laws against, or severely limiting, abortion also make common sense? The last statistic I saw was 55 million babies aborted since 1972 Roe v. Wade. What would happen to our social security and medicare systems if there were 55 million more workers paying taxes into those systems? Would it make a difference? What if we had 55 million more people in our armed forces, or patrolling our borders, or in our police force? Would it make a difference?

I think our nation must settle their views regarding personhood before we can do anything else. If there is no respect for life, we will constantly be divided conservatives, not to mention being ideologically divided from those who think more government is always better. We must deal with the issue life and death (euthanasia) before we can begin to repair the country's ills. I believe that when we settle the issues about life and death, then most other things will fall into place on their own (for conservatives).

You did not mention the right to bear arms, and I wonder what your thoughts are on that issue as well. I look forward to your reply.

Mary Ann Hartzler :D

[Ron Miller]

I think someone among the black conservative community ought to take on the responsibility of unifying the various conservative factions under an umbrella organization - not taking away their autonomy but demonstrating to the nation that there is another voice in the black community outside the dependent class and their suppliers who keep them addicted to government as the only solution to our problems.

Allow me to digress for a moment. Our problems are moral problems and won't be solved by government. Our commitment to family and values was stronger when we were outside of the government's provision and, while it was well within the powers given to the government by our Constitution to step in and end slavery and institutionalized discrimination, we allowed ourselves to lean on them for everything, and they got us hooked. Liberals have a vested interest in keeping us dependent on them and hostile to anyone who threatens their "drug supply." The overwhelming dependence of the black community on government is disheartening not only because of its impact, but because of our inability to see we're being manipulated. The analogy between our dependence on government and a drug addict's dependence on his supplier hits too close to home for me. We've lost our pride.

Back to the subject at hand. Since I've been networking on Facebook, Twitter and the various Ning networks devoted to conservatism, I've been both heartened and frustrated by the number of black conservatives I've met, amazing people of integrity, morality, intelligence and skill. They are thinkers and authors of the highest order and they inspire me. They put a lot of the black liberal "pushers" to shame. Here is a man who I consider an intellectual giant and an amazing writer and thinker, but I bet you've never heard of him. Check out Walter Myers III at http://scientiamedia.blogspot.com/ and tell me you're not amazed at this man.

The frustration sets it because people like Walter don't have a wider audience and other black conservatives who would support him either don't know they're out there or are too timid to reveal themselves. I met Walter on Facebook because we both blog about similar issues, and he was so grateful to know there was another black conservative out there. I told him there are probably millions of us and we needed to band together. Our opinion-shapers on the front lines should never feel alone. That's one thing we should address immediately - perhaps a Huffington Post-like place for black conservatives in the blogosphere. That idea isn't original; another black conservative writer and thinker who awes me is Hassan Nurullah, a former Muslim turned unapologetic Christian who hits you right between the eyes with a message of faith standing against a hostile world. He's at http://web.me.com/toddgroup/digital_publius/Blog/Blog.html.

Have you been to http://moveonup.ning.com? Check it out. We may even have our own Rush Limbaugh in the satirical and cutting commentary of Kevin Jackson, who also does a weekly Internet radio call-in show. He's at http://theblacksphere.blogspot.com.

Friends, we're out there in numbers, we have incredible intellectual capital, and we can turn our people around. But as Benjamin Franklin once said, "We shall all hang together or we will all hang separately." Let's make finding each other and bonding together a priority of the black conservative revolution.

Regards,

Ron

Black N Right said:

barb vandebunte said:

I believe there is a great difference in having Christianity as our religion vs having atheism as the religion in our nation. I believe Jesus and the Bible are the main reason our country is so great. Those principles and this God makes a huge difference!
All religions are certainly not the same, with the same effect. Is that what you were saying?

Most assuredly not! I am saying I came to Christ of my own volition. No one put a gun to my head and said believe or else. I want others to have that same choice I had. I believe there is no greater religion than Christianity that all the rest seem to fail at some point but Christianity endures. Why? Because it wasn't created by man but instituted by God himself. However, I want you come to Christ because you have a testimony, because he has put it in your heart that this is the only true way to God. What I want more than anything for the people in this country is to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. I love Elohim because he is my "Dad" and nothing matters more than that. But it is certainly not because I HAVE to love him. I do it out of my own chosen devotion to my Father.

for conservative black base to grow , could you contact and network with other conservative black speakers, comedians, actors, videos/godtube/youtube, radio shows, pastors, churches, etc? maybe put out a magazine together, an organization, or a website, with blogging. get your group in the media, educating, speaking out wherever get invited. network around the country, maybe also with facebook and other means, to get ready for the next election. post the candidates to help and go for it.

Those are awesome suggestions and I am doing alot of that right now. I have been trying to get other Black conservative especially on YouTube to join here, so far no luck. I have been spreading this site's existence on Facebook and Twitter. I want to put out a magazine but I am trying to get this growing so I could use it as market research when approaching investors. I want to be able to go to them and say, "You need to invest in this great idea. A magazine for Black conservatives and if you think that no one will buy it, well I got a social network with 20,000 members as we speak (or whatever the number may be) who are saying you are wrong!" I have a blog as well that I promote this site on. And I really would like to run candidates for the next election-that would be great. As for the pastors and churches, I am working on something along those lines with a member on here and we are going to try to get into the neighborhoods and educate people on conservatism. It is spooky. It is like you are totally reading my mind.

[Black N Right]

That's one thing we should address immediately - perhaps a Huffington Post-like place for black conservatives in the blogosphere.

Well Ronald that is exactly what I am trying to do here but I can't do it alone. I need your help and the help of all other Black conservatives. I have tried to get Zo who is on YouTube and has his video here to join us but to no avail. Why? Probably because we are not big enough.Well we won't be big enough until people join! Until people put aside their pride and wanting a huge crowd and say, "I am joining ABCD and I am going to promote the heck out of it because it is time more Black people know about it!" I do what I can to promote it. But I need others to come here and start blogging the heck out of it. I need others to come here and put up videos. I need others to come here and start discussions. And while you have done some of that and I definitely appreciate all the wisdom you have given us through your blogs, we need to start doing it on a more consistent basis. I don't want this site to be filled with everything Dena. I want you, Mary Ann, Conservative Black Woman, Zabeth and all the others to have a voice in it too. That is what makes it exciting. We need to start making friends here, having connections, commenting on their pages and that will help grow the site as well because people will feel welcomed and want to return. We don't need a Huffington Post type place because we can make one here! We can turn this site around and make the liberals cringe but it means we have to do our part as well. God bless you for being a member and I hope you won't un-join after this. But you are truly intelligent and articulate writer and I need your skills, my brother. LOL God bless you and keep fighting the good fight.

[Ron Miller]

Don't worry about me going anywhere. Our visions are the same and you nailed it when you said people need to put aside their pride for a greater cause. I will try to encourage my black conservative friends in the blogosphere to join us.

Black N Right said:

That's one thing we should address immediately - perhaps a Huffington Post-like place for black conservatives in the blogosphere.

Well Ronald that is exactly what I am trying to do here but I can't do it alone. I need your help and the help of all other Black conservatives. I have tried to get Zo who is on YouTube and has his video here to join us but to no avail. Why? Probably because we are not big enough.Well we won't be big enough until people join! Until people put aside their pride and wanting a huge crowd and say, "I am joining ABCD and I am going to promote the heck out of it because it is time more Black people know about it!" I do what I can to promote it. But I need others to come here and start blogging the heck out of it. I need others to come here and put up videos. I need others to come here and start discussions. And while you have done some of that and I definitely appreciate all the wisdom you have given us through your blogs, we need to start doing it on a more consistent basis. I don't want this site to be filled with everything Dena. I want you, Mary Ann, Conservative Black Woman, Zabeth and all the others to have a voice in it too. That is what makes it exciting. We need to start making friends here, having connections, commenting on their pages and that will help grow the site as well because people will feel welcomed and want to return. We don't need a Huffington Post type place because we can make one here! We can turn this site around and make the liberals cringe but it means we have to do our part as well. God bless you for being a member and I hope you won't un-join after this. But you are truly intelligent and articulate writer and I need your skills, my brother. LOL God bless you and keep fighting the good fight.