I have never been let down by the federal government, because I have never expected anything from it. To some extent, that applies to all my experiences. Why put your faith in people you know will let you down?
And that leads to an important point. This article makes everything black and white (with no apparent concern for Hispanic and Asian). It would be a good idea to instead consider socialist in contrast to independent. After all, all races have some of both. It's never been purely black and white.
Consider also the history of the democratic party. It is the party of the American aristocracy. As such, it is also the party of plantation slavery. People forget, or never learned, that the principle of plantation slavery, as seen by those American aristocrats, was that the aristocracy had both the right and the responsibility to oversee the lives of the lower classes. And those lower classes certainly included slaves (but not just the slaves).
To the democrat American aristocrats, slavery was not about hate and subjugation, it was a natural order of things that ultimately benefitted the slaves. We reject that outright today. Or do we? As exemplified in this essay, there is still a desire among socialists, including black socialists, to subjugate themselves to the American aristocracy. Socialists complain that not enough is being done for them. In doing that, they tacitly accept the authority of the American aristocracy to rule them. They make the issue, not of by what right are they ruled, but of how inadequately they are being ruled.
In that, I see little difference from 150 years ago. Thomas Jefferson, a bastion of the natural right to individual autonomy and a slave owner, wrestled with the dichotomy. I think he saw the issue more clearly then, than many people see it today.
Your statements suffice only up to a point! First of all, how much of an individual could a Black man or woman be given the hard shell of the color line? A predominantly large reason for the non-individualist thinking among Black people is that the color line and all its vile detritus pushed all of us into the same narrow corner! A gifted scientist like Percy Julian was viewed the same way as an illiterate stevedore, just because they shared the same skin color! Perhaps, things have changed since the 60s, notwithstanding the reactionary moves of MAGA!
The point I’m making is that the color line and all that goes with it has continued to be an immense and dynamic hindrance to Black Americans, regardless of Democrats or Republicans! Think about how being White is still the default identity for being American in 2026! Think about how mainstream values are automatically deemed as White values (with the inadvertent aid of some radical fringe pseudo-intellectuals from hip hop), despite how the great majority of Black Americans have practiced those values for generations.
Black conservatives like you need to face the terrible historical truth that the color line has been truly broken Black people in America, the same way the creed line broke the Jewish people in Europe. Prayerfully, history will have a much more positive resolution for Blacks in America than it did for Jews in Europe!
I made my case, and I wish, if you care to comment, that you would address the points I made rather than instantly revert to democrat platform talking points.
Without reiterating everything I said, I know multiple blacks who agree with what I said more than they agree with what you said. No one has a right to co-opt an entire race, religion, etc, in an effort to bolster their individual opinion. I claim to speak for no one but myself.
You complain about how the government treats you. I complain about how the government treats me. You have made no effort, and I'm sure it's never entered your mind, to consider what you could do to help me. Yet you somehow think I owe you consideration that you would never show me.
Are you an Objectivist? You sound like one with the way you went off the way you did! First of all the points I made are based on truths of history. Civilizational boundaries like race and creed have proven to be impregnable to individual initiative, unless the state would come in and aid oppressed communities.
At any rate, I am not democratic talking points. I am not a Democrat hack or fervent supporter! I have voted for Republicans when they appeared to take seriously the concerns of my community . I even voted for George W Bush twice.
Well, I guess we don't see things exactly the same. There's no reason that we should.
The things you've said are democrat talking points, nearly verbatim. Perhaps you can understand my confusion.
And whether it's a white person or a black person or anyone else, when someone assigns characteristics to an entire class without any individual consideration, that's racism.
The extended sections devoted to Coates' criticism of American race relations in the Obama era mutes the author's voice and weakens rather than strengthens the author's arguments. It is rarely a good idea to "hand over the mic" to a stand-in, no matter how well or closely their views represent those of the author. With that minor criticism aside, the piece was nicely done and is good, solid history.
Professor McNair concludes his article brilliantly with the idea of race-neutral policies aimed at helping all the broken and disadvantaged. That, in my opinion, should also be the broader intent of black America, as demonstrated by Reverend William Barber through his Poor People's Campaign. His focus is not limited to one race but extends to all of the downtrodden.
I believe some of us in the black community have not fully accepted that there are limits to what government can do to solve our problems, especially when many of those problems are rooted in a troubled culture and the collapse of the black family unit. Born in 1945, I began noticing changes within my race in the late 1960s that deeply concerned me. Even then, it was clear to me that the causes of our struggles were not solely racism, but also issues within our own communities. I believe many political leaders of that era recognized this reality as well.
Great read and point taken. However, the Democratic Party has been the party of racism for decades. From the Civil War to the creation of the KKK and Jim Crow to today’s environment of basing congressional maps on skin color, removing AP classes from schools, lowering academic standards for black students based on the bigotry of low expectations, soft-on-crime policies, and the belief that blacks are too dumb to obtain an ID to vote.
All 11 states that seceded to form the Confederate States of America were dominated politically by the Democratic Party before secession, and most Southern politicians who supported secession were Democrats.
A white man has represented the black folks of my hometown, Memphis, since 2010. Now the likely winner of TN-9th will be a black republican woman. All the SCOTUS ruling says is that states cannot redistrict by skin color. Am I incorrect?
I have never been let down by the federal government, because I have never expected anything from it. To some extent, that applies to all my experiences. Why put your faith in people you know will let you down?
And that leads to an important point. This article makes everything black and white (with no apparent concern for Hispanic and Asian). It would be a good idea to instead consider socialist in contrast to independent. After all, all races have some of both. It's never been purely black and white.
Consider also the history of the democratic party. It is the party of the American aristocracy. As such, it is also the party of plantation slavery. People forget, or never learned, that the principle of plantation slavery, as seen by those American aristocrats, was that the aristocracy had both the right and the responsibility to oversee the lives of the lower classes. And those lower classes certainly included slaves (but not just the slaves).
To the democrat American aristocrats, slavery was not about hate and subjugation, it was a natural order of things that ultimately benefitted the slaves. We reject that outright today. Or do we? As exemplified in this essay, there is still a desire among socialists, including black socialists, to subjugate themselves to the American aristocracy. Socialists complain that not enough is being done for them. In doing that, they tacitly accept the authority of the American aristocracy to rule them. They make the issue, not of by what right are they ruled, but of how inadequately they are being ruled.
In that, I see little difference from 150 years ago. Thomas Jefferson, a bastion of the natural right to individual autonomy and a slave owner, wrestled with the dichotomy. I think he saw the issue more clearly then, than many people see it today.
Your statements suffice only up to a point! First of all, how much of an individual could a Black man or woman be given the hard shell of the color line? A predominantly large reason for the non-individualist thinking among Black people is that the color line and all its vile detritus pushed all of us into the same narrow corner! A gifted scientist like Percy Julian was viewed the same way as an illiterate stevedore, just because they shared the same skin color! Perhaps, things have changed since the 60s, notwithstanding the reactionary moves of MAGA!
The point I’m making is that the color line and all that goes with it has continued to be an immense and dynamic hindrance to Black Americans, regardless of Democrats or Republicans! Think about how being White is still the default identity for being American in 2026! Think about how mainstream values are automatically deemed as White values (with the inadvertent aid of some radical fringe pseudo-intellectuals from hip hop), despite how the great majority of Black Americans have practiced those values for generations.
Black conservatives like you need to face the terrible historical truth that the color line has been truly broken Black people in America, the same way the creed line broke the Jewish people in Europe. Prayerfully, history will have a much more positive resolution for Blacks in America than it did for Jews in Europe!
First of all, a point of information: I'm white.
I made my case, and I wish, if you care to comment, that you would address the points I made rather than instantly revert to democrat platform talking points.
Without reiterating everything I said, I know multiple blacks who agree with what I said more than they agree with what you said. No one has a right to co-opt an entire race, religion, etc, in an effort to bolster their individual opinion. I claim to speak for no one but myself.
You complain about how the government treats you. I complain about how the government treats me. You have made no effort, and I'm sure it's never entered your mind, to consider what you could do to help me. Yet you somehow think I owe you consideration that you would never show me.
Are you an Objectivist? You sound like one with the way you went off the way you did! First of all the points I made are based on truths of history. Civilizational boundaries like race and creed have proven to be impregnable to individual initiative, unless the state would come in and aid oppressed communities.
At any rate, I am not democratic talking points. I am not a Democrat hack or fervent supporter! I have voted for Republicans when they appeared to take seriously the concerns of my community . I even voted for George W Bush twice.
Well, I guess we don't see things exactly the same. There's no reason that we should.
The things you've said are democrat talking points, nearly verbatim. Perhaps you can understand my confusion.
And whether it's a white person or a black person or anyone else, when someone assigns characteristics to an entire class without any individual consideration, that's racism.
👏👏👏 A masterpiece from start to finish, Dr. McNair! Your conclusion in particular was brilliant!
The extended sections devoted to Coates' criticism of American race relations in the Obama era mutes the author's voice and weakens rather than strengthens the author's arguments. It is rarely a good idea to "hand over the mic" to a stand-in, no matter how well or closely their views represent those of the author. With that minor criticism aside, the piece was nicely done and is good, solid history.
Professor McNair concludes his article brilliantly with the idea of race-neutral policies aimed at helping all the broken and disadvantaged. That, in my opinion, should also be the broader intent of black America, as demonstrated by Reverend William Barber through his Poor People's Campaign. His focus is not limited to one race but extends to all of the downtrodden.
I believe some of us in the black community have not fully accepted that there are limits to what government can do to solve our problems, especially when many of those problems are rooted in a troubled culture and the collapse of the black family unit. Born in 1945, I began noticing changes within my race in the late 1960s that deeply concerned me. Even then, it was clear to me that the causes of our struggles were not solely racism, but also issues within our own communities. I believe many political leaders of that era recognized this reality as well.
Great read and point taken. However, the Democratic Party has been the party of racism for decades. From the Civil War to the creation of the KKK and Jim Crow to today’s environment of basing congressional maps on skin color, removing AP classes from schools, lowering academic standards for black students based on the bigotry of low expectations, soft-on-crime policies, and the belief that blacks are too dumb to obtain an ID to vote.
All 11 states that seceded to form the Confederate States of America were dominated politically by the Democratic Party before secession, and most Southern politicians who supported secession were Democrats.
A white man has represented the black folks of my hometown, Memphis, since 2010. Now the likely winner of TN-9th will be a black republican woman. All the SCOTUS ruling says is that states cannot redistrict by skin color. Am I incorrect?
https://torrancestephensphd.substack.com/p/democrats-and-the-tennesssee-two