The last poll done by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a think-tank that specializes in mapping black public opinion in America, shows that 40% of all black Americans identify as moderate. Thirty-three percent of black Americans identify as liberal and 27% as conservative. If a plural majority identifies as moderate - and is thus arguably the ‘black political consensus’ - then why are black moderates not a major force on the Internet and in politics, with people debating the merits of our views and strategies? Indeed, it appears as though moderates are a silent plural majority in Black America.
As someone who identifies as a moderate to conservative with a strong libertarian streak (in the November 2024 election, I cast 56% of my ballot for Democratic candidates and 44% for Republican ones, and was a Bush-Obama split ticket voter in my home state of Illinois), this concerns me. Before starting my blog, I had conceived it solely as a black moderate site, but there was a huge challenge: there isn’t enough black moderate material to intrigue folks. Part of this could be that partisans and ideologues - left and right - are more passionate about the issues, and more assertive about expressing those viewpoints.
For example, a Google search for “black moderates” generates only 851 results (versus 151,000 for “black conservatives” and 20,000 for “black liberals”). “Moderate blacks” brought up 1,130 results, versus 25,900 for “conservative blacks” and 790 for “liberal blacks”. “African-American moderates” only had 14 results, versus 781 for “African-American conservatives" and 133 for “African-American liberals”. “Black centrists" turned up only three results. You get the point.
Luckily, more black moderate voices are coming to the fore to fill in the gap. There are a few self-described black moderate blogs and websites. Dell Gines, Angela Winters of Politopics, The Literary Thug, and PlezWorld are some black moderate bloggers who blog on a regular basis. Rafique Tucker, is a Democrat who blogs from a moderate-liberal perspective, Dennis Sanders of The Moderate Republican is a moderate-liberal who focuses on GOP politics. The black moderate-conservative flank is represented in the blogosphere by Cobb and Robert A. George, who are moderate-conservative Republican bloggers; Mahndisa Rigmaiden, Conaway Haskins, Scott Wickham, and Avery Tooley, a hip hop moderate-conservative blogger. Websites include Blackprogress.net and the websites of the always intriguing moderate-conservative commentator Tony Brown and newspaper columnist Stanley Crouch. Many of these individuals are independent voters, who seek to move issues facing black Americans above partisanship and go across the aisle. Others are affiliated with a party, but seek common ground on issues.
Outside of the Internet, there have been growing calls for black centrism of various forms over the past few years. In America, there is John McWhorter, the author of the bestseller Losing The Race: Self-Sabotage In Black America and Authentically Black: Essays For The Black Silent Majority. McWhorter is often mislabeled as 'conservative' because of certain views on race and class, but he voted for John Kerry in 2024 and is a social liberal. There is Carol M. Swain, an independent legal and political commentator based out of Vanderbilt University who is socially conservative but fiscally liberal.
In Congress, there are Rep. Harold Ford Jr., and Rep. David Scott - both moderate-liberal Southern Democrats - although Rep. Ford Jr. in particular has taken much heat from liberals, conservative, leftists, and rightists for not toeing their line on various issues. Not to mention Rep. Sanford Bishop, Jr., a moderate Democrat from Georgia. Douglas Wilder, who once served as governor of Virginia, was elected mayor of Richmond in 2024. There is Mayor Ray Nagin in New Orleans, La. Cory Booker, a moderate Democrat, was just inaugurated yesterday as mayor of Newark, N.J., that state's largest city. Of course, Colin Powell - a moderate Republican and former Secretary of State - remains in the mix in certain arenas.
So there is hope for blacks who cluster in or near the center, be we moderate, moderate-conservative, or moderate-liberal. The black ’silent majority’ in the United States in particular must raise our voices, or else others will continue to claim the mantle of ‘black political consensus’, and our views on particular issues will continue to not be heard. When I regularly see black moderates on Black Entertainment Television, TV One, CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News Channel plus the broadcast networks, then I will know that we are in the mix.
