A New Generation of Black Conservatives

"The results of the 2004 elections and the political environment that surrounds that election," writes Conaway Haskins, editor of the Virginia political blog South of the James, "could point to the lowering of the wall that has separated blacks and Republicans."

In a thoughtful essay, Haskins points to recent developments -- President Bush's improved electoral showing among black voters in 2004, the increasing prominence of black Republicans in key government positions and the emergence of thoughtful black conservatives like Lt. Gov. Michael Steele of Maryland -- as evidence of an "emerging class of black Republicans, a group that may provide a legitimate alternative to the Democratic Party and the black left, allowing the GOP to compete for black votes on some level."

Younger black conservatives, argues Haskins, differ from older ones like Alan Keys and Armstrong Williams in that they combine "an abiding faith in Republican principles and a comfortable sense of black cultural identity." This ability allows politicians like Maryland's Steele's to resonate as "concerned 'next door neighbors' and friends versus partisan attack dogs."

Haskins' essay appears this week as part of a series of reflections on the Low Country & Chesapeake Society, a group of concerned black citizens disappointed in the responsiveness of the major political parties to the concerns of black Americans and interested in creating an alternative political center for Black America. Other articles in the series discuss the perceived failures of the black left and the opportunity emerging leaders like U.S. Sen. Barack Obama have to transform the discussion of race and politics.