Providing an expansive view of the making and meaning of African American conservatism, this volume examines the phenomenon in four spheres: the political realm, the academic world, the black church, and grass-roots activism movements. In his analysis of their activities in these realms, the author examines the challenges African American conservatives face as they operate within the context of (largely white) conservatism. At the same time that African American conservatives challenge the white conservative movement's principle of color blindness,
they are accused of being racial mascots,
or tokens
from those outside of it. This title unwinds the intricacies of black conservatives' relationships to both the wider conservative movement and the everyday life experiences of black Americans, showing that they are as vulnerable to the inescability of race
as any other individual in a racialized America. It reveals the limitations of the one-size fits all
perspective commonly used in conversations about African American conservatives; unwinds the complexities of black conservative relationships to the wider conservative movement and American society as large; and explores what the Right and the African American conservative can do to avoid suspicions of tokenism
.