Newsline

Newsline , Society

Black Conservatives Convene for a ‘New Birth of Freedom’

Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2022
|
by Outside Contributor
|
13 Comments
|
Print
conservative

Recent remarks by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, noting the institutional damage caused by the leak of Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion on Roe v. Wade, have gotten exhaustive coverage in the press.

But, not surprisingly, the venue where Thomas made these remarks has gotten little attention by these same journalists.

The event was a convening of the nation’s leading Black conservative intellectuals — from academia, policy institutes, media — to focus on, as explained in a press release from one of the institutional sponsors, the American Enterprise institute, why “despite decades of affirmative-action programs, wealth-redistribution schemes and other well-intentioned government efforts, racial gaps in educational achievement, employment, income, family formation and crime persist.”

The venue, Old Parkland in Dallas, was provided through the generosity of Texas businessman Harlan Crow.

The Old Parkland Conference was inspired as a reconvening of a similar effort organized by economist Thomas Sowell in December 1980 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco — a pioneering effort, the first of its kind.

At that time, in 1980, Sowell was already making his mark challenging what had become conventional wisdom that it was essential for government to play the central role in dealing with challenges facing Black Americans.

Sowell, who began his career seeing the world from the perspective of the left, changed. He was once asked in an interview what drove his transformation in perspective from left to right, and he answered, “Facts.”

The Old Parkland Conference was organized by four of the nation’s leading conservative Black thought leaders — Brown University economist Glenn Loury, Jason Riley of The Wall Street Journal, Ian Rowe of the American Enterprise Institute and Shelby Steele of Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.

Three days of speeches and panels covered the gamut. Why do the gaps persist? Speakers assess the current realities in education, law enforcement and crime, government programs such as affirmative action, and the role of culture and the persistence of social inequality and claims of racism.

Sowell, now 91 years old, did not attend this reconvening of his effort of 40 years ago.

Looking over those who presented at the 1980 Fairmont Conference, we see greats who no longer are with us. Greats like the late economist Walter Williams and economics Nobel laureate Milton Friedman.

The topic of Friedman’s presentation then says it all. “Government is the problem.”

However, one attendee of both events — last week’s Old Parkland Conference and the Fairmont Conference in 1980 — is Clarence Thomas, who attended in 1980 as a young congressional aide.

I was honored to be invited to participate and reconnect with admired friends with whom I have worked toward common goals over many years.

It reinforced my own sense of mission.

The analysis and conclusions of Sowell and others 40 years ago at the Fairmont Conference were correct. They saw then that human lives are not liberated by government programs and politics, and they saw then that this approach would make lives worse, not better.

This is indeed what happened.

I began my work in the 1990s inspired to bring the success of a capitalist America to the failures in low-income communities caused by socialism. 

What we have today, unfortunately, is the reverse. Mainstream America is looking more like our poor communities destroyed by socialism than the other way around.

The work must continue.

The special responsibility of Black Americans, with their unique and troubled history, is to show that evil occurs because men sin. Not because the vision of American freedom is flawed, as we hear almost daily from progressives.

In many ways, the country is in worse shape today for everyone than where things stood in 1980.

More government, slower growth, family breakdown. 

The answer can only be to seek, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, “a new birth of freedom,” for every American of every background.

Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and host of the weekly television show “Cure America with Star Parker.”

COPYRIGHT 2022 CREATORS.COM

Share this article:
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
13 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
InsanitySquared
InsanitySquared
2 years ago

Reverse Roe v Wade, and the Conservatives are finished – forever. Women already mostly vote Democrat by some margin. Well, guess what, that margin will probably double making Republicans a permanent minority. We will become a one-party country, the United Socialist States of America (USSA). But perhaps that is meant to be since Republicans are Retarded.

Stephen Russell
Stephen Russell
2 years ago

Reform USSC Security, HR vetting alone & new policies

Donald A Colongeli
Donald A Colongeli
2 years ago

THESE PEOPLE ARE STEALING OUR COUNTRY AWAY FROM US. NELSON MANDALA WAGED AN APERTHIED AGAINST THE WHITE PEOPLE IN AFRICA. NOW WE HAVE A SITUATION IN OUR COUNTRY WITH REFERSED ROLES BUT SIMILIAR RESULTS. I HOPE YOU HAVE A SUCCESSFUL CONFERENCE. WE MUST DO WHAT IS NECESSARY TO RETURN OUR COUNTRY TO SOVERINTY ASTHE FOUNDING FATHERS MEANT IT TO BE. LET’S MAGA.

Deb Rockwell
Deb Rockwell
2 years ago

Honestly, we need more leaders in the black community to step up and call out the left for their perpetuation of a victim mentality that continuously leads to failure and poverty. You can be pitiful or powerful, but you cannot be both. The black community needs to hear this from black leaders consistently. It is truth and it is freedom.

Sharon Ormsby
Sharon Ormsby
2 years ago

They should have invited Candace Owens, but I doubt if they did. Trump was there for a short time, don’t know why that isn’t in this article.

Duane
Duane
2 years ago

We have a Person in the WH that’s Catholic, but yet believes Abortion ( dissecting fetus’s ) up birth is OK as well as any Abortion. Abortions should not be used as ” birth control “. The Left is full of Marxist Communist that want to tear this country down. Blame everything on Republican’s and take no responsibility to what’s really right. Not stopping Antifa, not protecting Americans, opening the border and giving illegals everything from phones to free food and rent and Trillions of dollars in Health Care. This Administration is a failure around the world and even worse to our Country.

Jessica Stewart
Jessica Stewart
2 years ago

Only a twisted history imagines that women didn’t enjoy life and have as much fun as they wanted to pre pop-abortion and porn. The era before those were relaxed and safe, and more hip than ever since, the legalizations dividing the wonderful times beforehand from the abject insanity following. Based in lies, the worst sort of greed is what has unleashed a whirlwind of destruction, bitterness and madness. Trying to say cruelty and white supremacy ruled the day before, when life was so much better for all, and especially for women and families, is another lie and just more crazy-talk.

The aftermath of a disaster while the flag hangs.
Governor Tim Walz giving a speech at a Podium in September 2024
Fema.gov Disasters USA Government home page under magnifying glass.

Stay informed! Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter.

"*" indicates required fields

13
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x

Subscribe to AMAC Daily News and Games