By Vanessa Jean Louis:

Klan hats? Confederate flags? Tom Tancredo-like ignorance? Nope.  All of the above were thankfully NOT a part of my CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) experience.

Instead, I was pleasantly greeted by people who were happy to see a young brown face with dreadlocks join a powerful movement that’s taking this country by storm.

I met individuals eager to help me accomplish my goals of becoming a published author, and I met bloggers who were willing to stand with me and fight the small minds who misrepresent the conservative movement.

I thought I would be surrounded by rich, older White men.  Instead I was greeted by yes, mostly white faces, but young, energetic, and on fire for America.  Cognizant of the fact that there aren’t many who look like me, there was a pleasant curiosity about who I was, and what prompted my switch into conservatism.

Did I wish there were more Black people? Of course. Do I plan on bringing more Black people with me in the years to come (God-willing)? Yes.  Liberals should be happy to know that since my conversion, I have liberated a few Black minds and proudly walked them over to the “right side” (pun intended).  I will continue to fight for Blacks to divorce themselves from their near monolithic allegiance to a party, and a mindset that has set very low standards for Blacks.  I will also continue to challenge mainstream conservatives to include “Black issues” in the dialogue.

The media elites have done a great job painting conservatives with a broad, racist brush.  Keeping the wool over our eyes seems to be their Modus operandi these days.  Thank God for those individuals who are willing to judge for themselves what life is like with Conservative Republicans.  While I do acknowledge that there are small minds on both sides of the political spectrum, out of the hundreds of people I met at CPAC, I didn’t meet one.

The objective of course, is not to turn every Black person into a “Conservative” or “Republican”, but to make both political parties compete for our attention with sound policies and proposals rooted in principles meant to help us evolve–not cause us to regress or maintain the status quo. The Democratic parties’ monopoly in the Black community is counterproductive. It’s not my fault I want competition for the Liberals. It’s the Capitalist in me.

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