Rediscovering Black Conservatism November 20, 2009

Host: The Heritage Foundation. In Rediscovering Black Conservatism, author Lee Walker explains how conservative ideas grew out of the black experience in America, and how their strongest advocate—Booker T. Washington—got air-brushed out of black history during the politically charged 1960s and 1970s. With the failure of the liberal welfare state during the 1980s and the subsequent world-wide rise of free-market ideas, Washington’s philosophy and his example have particular relevance to today’s social and economic issues. Walker’s text serves as a primer on black conservatism and addresses the ideas, people, and issues that have shaped the movement. He argues two central ideas—1) conservatism is not a new phenomenon within black America, and 2) it is the source of powerful ideas that can finally solve some of the long-term social and economic problems facing black Americans today.