National Post (National Edition)
Silencing of Black conservatives
In the wake of the Derek Chauvin verdict, a familiar narrative is taking shape: we are divided over politics and race. The dominant media narrative is that left-wing activists are applauding the jury's finding that Chauvin is guilty of murdering George Floyd, and right-wing commentators are arguing that the trial was a miscarriage of justice.
As with most dominant narratives these days, Black conservatives are written out of the discourse. We are disruptive and inconvenient by our very existence. Our heterodox perspectives expose how skewed, unrepresentative and oversimplified the story told by many in the media truly is. No wonder journalists pretend we don't exist.
Thankfully, Black conservatives on social media haven't been shy about sharing their views on the Chauvin verdict.
Bob Woodson, a veteran of the American civil rights movement and founder of the Woodson Center in Washington, D.C., shared his thoughts immediately after the verdict was handed down on Tuesday evening. Woodson acknowledged the tragedy, writing, “Although (George Floyd) wasn't perfect, his life had great value and dignity to God and he should matter to all of us.”
Unlike liberals and leftists, however, Woodson pushed back against any attempts to use the suffering of the Floyd family to drive a wedge between Black communities and cops: “Those who try to leverage this tragedy for their political or financial gain — like the founders of BLM & Maxine Waters — are disrespecting the families who have lost loved ones to senseless violence. Defunding the police is not the answer & it isn't what Black people want…. Now is the time for leaders to work together to end violence & address the root issues that lead to crime & altercations.”
The Federalist's Delano Squires emphasized how the Chauvin trial may lead to new opportunities for police reforms. “One of the most encouraging things about the prosecution's case,” Squires wrote, “is that they focused on Chauvin's actions, not presumed racism. Unfortunately, many people make honest, productive conversations (about) policing impossible because racial strife benefits them more than actual change.”
In reflecting on the Chauvin verdict, Black conservatives didn't focus solely on liberals and leftists who exploit tragedies. Some also had critical words for those on the right. Jeff Charles, a contributor at Red State and Liberty Nation News, declared that, “The authoritarian right are big mad because Chauvin did not get off” and “the evidence did not show that Floyd killed himself no matter how much the authoritarian right wishes it did.” Sirius XM's Sonnie Johnson set her sights on the GOP, saying that, “Republicans NEED you in hate, anger and fear. Your pundits that keep you there are NO different than Democrats.”
These folks are a heck of a lot more nuanced than what you get from your typical news coverage, right?
Black conservatives in Canada also weighed in on the debates prompted by the Chauvin verdict. Ghanaian-Canadian blogger Samuel Sey noted that there are high stakes to the conversations we're having about policing today, arguing that, “What's happening in America isn't necessarily hatred for police officers. And it's surely not about love for Black people.”
Sey believes that what's happening in the United States can be summed up as: “critical race theorists want to end liberal democracy to establish a postmodernist, Marxist, `antiracist' system.” His recent encounter with Calgary's Ambrose University is a revealing example of how Black conservatives in Canada are silenced on important issues of race and justice.
Ambrose's associate vice-president of student life issued a public apology because the university hosted an unnamed guest speaker who allegedly “dismissed the ways that bias and prejudice build systems that hurt and oppress.” According to Sey, he was the guest speaker who the vice-president was referring to but refused to name.
In other words, Ambrose University apologized for hosting a Black man who did not parrot the predictable talking points that the school's administrators believe Black people should say. How “progressive.”
Despite efforts to attack or ignore Black conservatives, we continue to march forward on the strength of our convictions. We don't get caught up in the flavour of the month, nor do we languish with stale grievances. Our tradition is one of recognizing how far we have come, while also charting a path to a better future.
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott articulated this Black conservative ethos in his response to the Chauvin verdict: “We must all come together to help repair the tenuous relationship between law enforcement and Black and minority Americans. To deny the progress we've made is just as damaging as not making progress at all.”