Dilemma of a Black Conservative
“I feel like a Black Republican, money keeps comin in. But I can’t turn my back on the hood, I got love for them.” – Jay-Z
The dilemma of Black conservatism is a serious one. Depending on our level of consciousness some of us may choose to live like Kanye West and some of us like Jay-Z. Conservatism is a vile term among many Black people simply because it is often associated with white supremacy and economic oppression. The fact is, many Black people think and act conservative, we just don’t practice it politically due to our racial bonds. Kanye West and Jay-Z are two Black conservatives with politically different views. One openly praises political conservatism and one fights against it.
Conservatism in America is often associated with white supremacists and racists. Take a pick from any of the known white supremacist organizations in the country and you will find they identify themselves as Christian conservatives. Religious conservatism is the belief that one’s religion is the chosen of God therefore your actions are guided and accepted by your God. That goes for all religions, as is evident with the rise of Islamic extremism throughout the world.
White supremacists believe that Christianity is the guide for all aspects of life, be it political, financial, social, or environmental, therefore they go about destroying the environment because “God put resources on Earth for them to use”. They actively seek to convert Black people to their religious ideology; not to improve the lives of Black people but to individually covet favor from their God in hopes that they will join him in Heaven.
The problem is that once a Black person is converted to religious conservatism his status does not change. He may feel that he has gained the world but he is still considered a servant to the white race. Any injustice that is inflicted on a Black person by a white person in this condition is seen as the norm of a master and slave relationship. The only alternative for religious Blacks (who have a conscience) is to get political, as in the case of Martin Luther King.
Any culture that is built on the exploitation of Black people under the excuse of religious superiority will ultimately become unjust and oppressive. Oppression is the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. Many white people will argue that they “don’t have a racist bone in their body” but they do nothing to fix the systems of oppression. They will see Black people getting gunned down by the police on a daily basis and they will do nothing.
They will see Black people being denied service at businesses and they will do nothing. They will see Black people being railroaded into prisons by the corrupt court system and they will do nothing. Their psychological condition is the result of a moral superiority complex created by religion. For that reason, Black people are scared to associate themselves with what most white people associate themselves with, which is political conservatism.
Contrary to popular belief, Black people are not an unethical race. We are hardworking, fun loving people who believe in getting good education and maintaining strong family ties. We have high ambitions of becoming Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers, and Business owners. All these things require supreme self-discipline, hard work, and financial sacrifice to achieve. Those of us who make it to the top of society fall into two categories.
The first one (Kanye West) attributes his achievements to his own hard work and sacrifices so he abandons his past. He begins to think like the white man politically, fiscally, and religiously. He dumps his Black girl and picks up a white girl that everyone in sports and Hollywood has slept with simply because of his own deranged ego. Then he starts to praise the most race baiting president in history as his hero.
The second one (Jay Z) acknowledges that although he worked hard to achieve success he must pay homage to those who helped to break down many of the barriers that white supremacists put in our paths to limit our success. He maintains a fiscal and religious conservative view but he refuses to break his racial bonds, therefore he shuns the national political conservative system that enforces the oppression of Black people.
Jay-Z works behind the scenes to improve the lives of Black Americans because he knows that no matter how rich and successful he gets, he’s “Still Nigga”.
