February is Black History month, a international celebration of the many contributions of black people in primarily Caucasian nations. Although it is not in the conservative blood to separate the achievements of individuals by race it is a good time to reflect on the fight for racial equality. It was in this spirit that congressman Allen West made a speech before congress. He spoke to to the radical misconceptions and total fabrications that have been accepted as truth by many in U.S. and beyond.  He did so using facts as opposed to the endless innuendos spread by the left.

Although his speech did much to point out the factual history regarding conservative involvement in the push for equal rights he fell short in spelling out the full breadth and depth of the progressive race-jacking of American history. Of course to do so would of probably went far beyond what could be said in the limited time allotted for a speech from the congressional floor. This is a subject that could fill the pages of a book and in fact it does.  (see The Conservative Mind’s Reading List)

While it may not be surprising to many Americans that the Democratic Party of the 1800s was intertwined with slavery and bigotry. After all it was the party of the mostly agrarian and slave driven south. What would probably be astonishing to most graduates of American High Schools is that the Progressive Era was an era of resurgent racism.  It maybe hard to fathom but at the beginning of the Progressive Era integrated churches, civic organizations and neighborhoods were common in the north and not unheard of in the south.  By the end of the era segregation, whether enforced by law or not, was the rule everywhere and the KKK which had been all but extinguished before the era began had become a force to be reckoned with. Progressive ideas were a major force behind these changes.

One might argue that the rise in racism and progressive ideas were both simply products of that time period but it is undeniable progressives contributed greatly to the deteriorating situation. Most progressive philosophy was, after all, based in Darwinism. To them the human race was evolving, progressing if you will, and it was their job to give evolution a helping hand. This push towards progress included eugenics and control of undesirable members of the human race.  Consequently many progressives were not passive observers of racism but impassioned supporters of it. The crescendo of the progressive bigotry was the presidency of Woodrow Wilson who not only segregated the Federal Government for the first time but actively praised the KKK and previewed “Birth of a Nation” in the White House (the first ever White House movie preview).

Racism again started to wain and the country slowly heal under conservative leadership only to see a resurgence when progressive liberals came back to power. As crosses burned and lynchings spread the progressives, now calling themselves liberals, blocked attempts to outlaw what was in effect political assassinations.  FDR for his part stayed mostly silent on the issue, whether it was to not offend his racist base or because of his own deeply held racist views he supported, if only tacitly, the practice we will never know.

It was not until Eisenhower and the return of conservatives to power that the rights of all the people would again be addressed.  Against a backdrop of rigid and powerful progressive liberal opposition Eisenhower pushed an agenda of equal rights. Under Eisenhower the first Civil Rights acts of the century were passed. The Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960 were pushed through over the vehement opposition of Democrats including future presidents Johnson and Kennedy.

This is when Democrats pulled off one of the most successful political maneuvers in history. After nearly losing the election of 1960 and seeing themselves on the verge of marginalization the Democratic leadership decided it needed to expand its base.  They resolved to go after the long ignored black vote. The center piece of this new strategy* was a new set of Civil Rights acts and government largess.  Former foes to black civil rights would now take on the role of civil rights leaders and conservatives being conservatives would not call them on it.

A black Republican sets the record straight

The plan worked perfectly and Republicans took the bait hook line and sinker. Most Republicans supported the acts with some notable exceptions (yes more Republicans voted for the new civil rights acts then Democrats even though they were being pushed through by a Democrat president).  In fact those Republicans that opposed the new civil rights legislation did so either on the basis the acts were treading on the rights of states or would lead to racial quotas (affirmative action). This is in contrast to the Democrat opposition that was based in unabashed racism. In the end the acts passed over the objections of old school Democrats the most notable being the KKK Grand Wizard Senator Robert Byrd.  The second phase of the vote buying scheme, welfare and public housing, would eventually become the most effective and most destructive. It would reduce millions of minorities to nothing more then itinerant sharecroppers on a government plantation. So effective was the 1960’s black vote strategy that even today Democrats can count on over 90% of the black vote. So destructive was the strategy that today 70% of black children are born to single mothers and retirement to many black men is a jail cell (these are not statistics born of conservatism!).

Today progressive politics and the Democratic Party seem to be the domain of race baiters and poverty pimps. You have many who see race as a tool to exploit and divide Americans and others who have gotten rich digging and keeping fresh the racial wounds of the past.  It seems when they aren’t patronizing black issues they are exploiting them. This while at the same time blocking solutions to real problems like failing schools.

Now it is for certain that there have been racist who have tried to claim the conservative mantle and not all progressives were racist.  Truman integrated the armed forces and others even marched with Martin Luther King (as did many conservatives). Even today not all stoop to the fashionable condescending racism that permeates much of today’s Democratic party. Despite this the fact remains that the true history of conservatism has been one based in equal rights and the record of progressive liberals on issues of race is atrocious.

Today President Obama is on the verge of doing for all of America what the progressives in the Democratic party have done for black Americans. Despite this there is hope. The Tea Party is a reflection of a reawakening among Americans of all stripes.  This is especially true among black Tea Partiers. While there have always been black conservative leaders speaking the truth the Tea Party has helped give these leaders an even greater voice.  Today these leaders are trying to wake up others to the lies and destruction put forth by progressives. Some of these brave souls are entering politics and even leading the conservative fight in congress. Today there is even a movie put out by conservative black activist C. L. Bryant called  Runaway Slave.

Today the truth is available to those wishing to see it and hopefully willing to accept it.

*The Evolution of President Johnson and the Democratic Party

Representative Johnson on Reforms under Truman: “I am opposed to that program. I have voted against the so-called poll tax repeal bill. … I have voted against the so-called anti-lynching bill.“

Senator Johnson after Eisenhower civil rights laws: “These Negroes, they’re getting pretty uppity these days, and that’s a problem for us since they’ve got something now they never had before, the political pull to back up their uppityness.“

President Johnson after signing the Civil Rights Act: I’ll have those ni**ers voting democratic for the next 200 years” (Inside The White House by Ronald Kessler, Simon & Schuster 1996)

The Conservative Mind

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