In response to the country’s rapidly changing racial demographics, Republicans have talked a lot about their intentions to start recruiting more people of color to their cause. Currently only 7 percent of African-Americans identify as Republican, but this was not always so.
In the 1800s the Republican Party counted such illustrious Black scholars as Booker T. Washington as members and they were known to be aligned with abolitionists. However, this all changed dramatically during Herbert Hoover’s presidency and after, as the Republican Party instated more and more racist polices in an attempt to attract Southern voters.
Today, the ideology of the African-American community is seen as light years away from that of conservatives, but though there are some major differences, there are also some surprising similarities.
Criticism of the ‘Welfare State’
Like Republicans, many African-Americans are often suspicious, if not outright contemptuous of government-funded social services. Black conservatives and Black nationalists in particular, feel that the welfare state is detrimental to the Black community. Both of these groups believe that African-Americans should reject government aid and instead focus on community empowerment, although they differ on exactly what this would look like.
