By Nadra Enzi

As an informal ” think tank ” operator ( re: my very vocal Capt. Black allies nationwide) I greeted Hip-Hop Republican founder’s Facebook placed trial balloon about a think tank with enthusiasm. The knock on Black conservative braintrusts is they’re fronts for racist ideologues seeking part-time Negroes for rent. I’m not naming names but we know this is what many liberals and others suspect. I’m heartened the call came from someone who created his own public policy website.

To its eternal credit, HHR shares our unique perspectives with the political world. Too often Black folks on both sides of the aisle build plush careers repeating prevailing White Left or Right dogma, direction irrelevant. Kool aid sipping isn’t what inner cities and a waterlogged middle class require.

We need our own think tanks providing community-specific recommendations. We’ve always had others ( mis ) speaking on our behalf for generations. It’s high time we used our human capital to offer our own unique solutions instead of parroting others.

Spending more time inside allegedly Black policy groups worrying about not sounding ” too Black ” doesn’t say much for the quality of thought these policies contain.

While I’m a wild card among Black Republicans and conservatives ( which I’m not ) Richard Ivory is a dependable card from this ideological deck.

When a brother of his stature proposes a moderate-to-conservative think tank, I know it’ll be a think ( ing for ourselves ) tank apart from others dancing to somebody else’s tune. If we can’t think and work for ourselves in the 21st Century, we never will.

Good luck!

Nadra Enzi aka Capt. Black is a Republican activist who promotes crime prevention in Savannah, Ga. He can be reached at http://www.captblack.info

HHR NOTE: IF YOU ARE SERIOUS PLEASE CONTACT …..DAVID WEBB at <david@blackforum.info>