Everybody has asked the question. . .”What shall we do with the Negro?” I have had but one answer from the beginning. Do nothing with us! Your doing with us has already played the mischief with us. Do nothing with us! If the apples will not remain on the tree of their own strength, if they are wormeaten at the core, if they are early ripe and disposed to fall, let them fall! I am not for tying or fastening them on the tree in any way, except by nature’s plan, and if they will not stay there, let them fall. And if the Negro cannot stand on his own legs, let him fall also. All I ask is, give him a chance to stand on his own legs! Let him alone!

Frederick Douglass

By Vanessa Jean Louis

I have an obsessive personality and my obsession with conservatism started with a strong desire to understand the plight of Black Americans. About three years ago, I was almost tempted to donate money to the New Black Panther Party. Crazy, right? Well, let me explain. For the first 10 years of my life, I grew up in a poor, crime infested neighborhood. Fortunately, my parents had enough money to pay for my younger sister and I to attend private school. My parents, specifically, my mother, grew tired of hearing gunshots every night. Then there was the whole calling the cops and the cops not showing up until a day or so later. Sigh.

Eventually, at the age of 10 (5th grade) we moved into a predominately white neighborhood. Prior to this, my ‘experiences’ with white people was the extent of watching “Saved by the Bell” or “California Dreams”. Remember those shows? My parents struggled to pay rent in this upper-middle class neighborhood, but it was worth it because my sister and I received good education-even though I really didn’t apply myself.

I ended up attending Fairleigh Dickinson University and completed my undergraduate and graduate degree there. My senior year in college I began to work as a Pregnancy Prevention Coordinator in the same town my parents moved out of because of the violence. I immediately saw such stark differences in the schools, the teachers, and the buildings.

Because of the dilapidated schools, I went on this quest to find out who, and what was causing such flagrant economic and educational disparities. I began to read books about the societal evolution of Blacks in America. I read books by Beverly Tatum, Richard Williams, Frantz Fanon, Joy DeGruy-Leary, Lena Williams-to name a few. Naturally, I began to espouse the belief’s of these authors. At that time, I believed that one cannot blame Blacks in these areas because they are descendants of slaves, they are victims of institutional racism, and they have internalized oppression.

 In other words, the issues we see in Black America have to do with the “white establishment” and this purported establishment has created a “system” to keep blacks subjugated because the very nature of capitalism is exploitative. Blah Blah Blah. I literally immersed myself in literature of this sort. The titles of some of the books I read included “Posttraumatic Slave Syndrome”, “They stole it but you must return it”, “Why do all the Black kids sit together in the cafeteria”. I read so many studies about black-white achievement gaps. I spent most of graduate school making sure all of my classmates and professors understood this “system” and how it was affecting “people that look like me”. Yes, I was very vocal. Surprised?

I had this unhealthy distrust of white people. I became incredibly angry and I even sprayed my anger on random white people that didn’t do anything but smile at me. My mother didn’t realize what type of transformation I had been through until we went on a trip to Atlanta, and I told her in our Native tongue not to say hello to the white people who were on the elevator. I was in a lot of darkness and whenever I would pray, I knew God was telling me to stop reading those books but there was something so encapsulating about those books. It felt good being a victim.

I couldn’t believe the “system” “the white man” created that broke up the Black family. Eventually, I took this social problems class and I had a liberal professor that explained each social problem from a conservative, liberal, and radical perspective. Little did I know, I agreed a lot with what the conservatives had to say. I didn’t want to admit it of course! Before working as a Prevention Coordinator, I worked in an emergency room and one of the patients gave me a book by Mark Levin entitled “Men in Black”. This is a phenomenal book. I began to listen to Mark Levin on the radio. Before Mark, Sean Hannity was on the radio, and before Hannity it was Rush Limbaugh. I started listening to these guys EVERYDAY. I didn’t always agree with them but I always went back and fact checked everything they would say. The other thing that kept me coming back was the fact that I had never heard their perspective before-and it made sense!

One afternoon, my social problems professor was discussing educational achievement gaps between blacks and whites and how conservatives believed that the family structure in black America had a lot to do with it the crime rate, teenage pregnancy, and all the other social problems. I raised my hand and asked how can the conservatives blame the black family when American SLAVERY destroyed the black family. This liberal professor looked at me square in the face and said the Black family wasn’t always like this. She said that after slavery Blacks were getting married. I couldn’t believe it. All these books about “slavery and the white man” and “the effects slavery had on the black family” and NEVER once did these authors mention how after slavery (and during) the Black family stayed in tact. I did my own research and discovered that things didn’t change until Blacks let liberals take over and tell them that they can’t do anything unless the government comes in and gives them a “hand-out”. Blacks have no reason to trust the Democratic Party.

The rest is history my friends. I began to read books by black conservatives like Larry Elder and Thomas Sowell. I began to read what conservatives stood for like individual freedom, life, limited government, low taxation, school choice vouchers, strong family structure, laissez-faire/free-market economics.

God helped heal the wounds that I felt for my people. My anger towards whites wasn’t helping me make anything better except try and get those around me to be just as angry. That’s why- till this day-some of my friends still can’t believe I am a Republican.

People can’t say anything to me about Conservatives or Republicans like I’ve always been one. I was a radical too. I understand the way they think-please I can make their arguments for them-better ones at that! Unfortunately, their arguments are just fluffy ideas that arouse anger but don’t stand when we look at the numbers and the facts.

To you liberal Democrats who are reading this, you can’t say anything to me about “racist” “bigoted” conservatives or republicans because they haven’t been the ones controlling the urban areas for the last 40+ years. Liberal DEMOCRATS have been in control so if there is any anger that needs to be spewed it should be aimed in their direction. You know, the same ones that tell us that we can’t get ahead without government handouts even though the handouts have caused us to regress.

If you are a Republican reading this and you’ve been called a racist-be proud of the fact that Republicans started the civil rights movement, unlike Southern Dixiecrats (Democrats) who started the KKK. If you are a republican be proud of the fact that more Republicans voted for the Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1965. Hold your head up high about the fact that you believe black people can get ahead without programs like Affirmative Action. Be proud of the fact that liberals spend more time calling conservatives/republicans names then they do refuting their ideas. Remember, Black families were intact before Liberals came in and helped break them apart with there entitlement programs.

What do we have 40 years later? What do we have 40 years after Democrat governance? Nothing. I guess you can say we have one thing: Dependence. So, if you are a black liberal reading this, don’t ask me why I’m a Republican. Tell me why you vote Democrat. Don’t say it’s because they “care”. Give me an example of when a tax hike has caused increases in government revenue? Show me how it makes more sense to take from the producers in society and let people who are able bodied collect a check? Give me an example of a government that flourishes after printing more money to fight economic struggles? If you are a liberal, point me to an urban area, controlled by Democrats that is flourishing economically and educationally? How does it make sense to take guns from people who don’t commit any crimes? Why is it okay to bankrupt industries (as Obama says he would do), cause people to lose their jobs to “save” a planet, when we’re not even sure what’s causing the “global cooling” i mean “global warming” i mean “global cooling” I mean “climate change”? Will a liberal please explain to me how it’s possible to call Conservatives fascist, when conservative/republican students are constantly being silenced in higher education by allegedly “tolerant” and “open-minded” professors? Please, PLEASE tell me why it makes sense not to give poor kids in decrepit school systems school choice vouchers so they can get out the hood and get ahead? Last but certainly not least, how does it make any sense to want to save trees and kill unborn children?

How do we reverse 40 years of liberal entitlements in Black America? Now we have a sitting president who is pushing that very same philosophy onto the rest of America. Don’t work hard. Don’t save. Don’t invest. The Obama government, unions, and stimulus money will take care of you.

GASP-DO I DARE speak AGAINST the ‘messiah’ a.k.a ‘anointed one’?

I am a Christian then a Conservative and I vote Republican. Don’t ever ask me why I vote Republican. Tell me why YOU vote Democrat.

Vanessa Jean Louis better known as the “afroconservative”, has been working in the inner city as a school counselor for the last several years.She is a self-described “urban conservative” who believes in strong families, school choice vouchers, and fiscal policies that help lift people out of poverty-not perpetuate deleterious cycles of government dependence. Vanessa holds a Master’s degree in Counseling but she is currently working towards a second Master’s Degree in Political Economy.

vanessa@afroconservative.com

http://blog.afroconservative.com