Shelby Steele

Snob fact: For Senate Michael Steele was endorsed by Mike Tyson and Don King. Tyson is the ex-husband of Steele's sister. All this week, and all the next, The Black Snob is taking a look at the views of black conservatives on Barack Obama. We’re examining who likes him, who doesn’t. Who will vote for him and who won’t. So far we’ve looked at the views of Amy Holmes , Condoleezza Rice , Alan Keyes , Colin Powell , Armstrong Williams and more. Republican Michael Steele was at one point the highest ranking black official in the United States as Lieutenant Governor of Maryland. ... Read Full Story

Conservative author Shelby Steele. Photo from Canada's National Post. This is part of a black conservatives on Obama series at The Black Snob. Previous entries were done on Amy Holmes , Condoleezza Rice , and Ward Connerly . Shelby Steele has always been fascinating to me. On one hand I find his views interesting . On the other hand I feel like his views on race are severely stunted. Like his opinions on anti-intellectualism in black culture. I don’t think black people have cornered the market on anti-intellectualism. Modern American culture, black and white is pro-anti-intellectualism. How else to you explain the election of ... Read Full Story

Almost two months ago I wrote a lengthy series on black conservatives and Barack Obama's candidacy. I wondered if the lure of a historic presidency would supersede their diverging political beliefs. If it would cause black politicos to put their differences aside and chose racial solidarity in the face of historic adversity over their hard-won, independent beliefs. Or would the desire to see a black president be so strong that it would out-weigh their own political ideologies? For some it would. For some it wouldn't. Views were all over the map. But now that Barack Obama has become the presumptive nominee someone at The ... Read Full Story

Conservative author Shelby Steele in the Washington Post opinion section tackled the ever-controversial topic of affirmative action and persistent racial inequality in the article “Affirmative Action Is Just a Distraction.” In a nutshell, he argues that persistent racial inequality today between whites and African Americans is primarily a result of black underdevelopment rather than racism. Today's "black" problem is underdevelopment, not discrimination. Success in modernity will demand profound cultural changes -- changes in child-rearing, a restoration of marriage and family, a focus on academic rigor, a greater appreciation of entrepreneurialism and an embrace of individual development as the best road to group development. Moreover, ... Read Full Story

Steele's Arguments Shelby Steele has written an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal which purports to explain why the Republican Party cannot make inroads among persons of color. According to Steele, conservatives (whom Steele conflates with Republicans) do not appeal to people of color because Democrats have seduced them with a mutated form of liberalism that rejects individualism and replaces it with a politics of redemption. Steele argues that "redemptive liberalism" attracts persons of color because it offers "moral accountability" for the nation's history of racism. Steele argues that liberals have used this moral trope to justify "social engineering," achieved through activism around particular ... Read Full Story