that and this, these and those.
 | | Young conservatives at a black leadership summit at the White House last year.Pete Marovich/Getty Images |
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One of the things I want to use this newsletter for is just to share my research. I read a lot — articles, books, selections from books — and not everything makes it to the column. |
A few weeks ago, I bought a copy of "Black Visions: The Roots of Contemporary African-American Political Ideologies," by Michael Dawson, a political scientist at the University of Chicago. It's a little old — it was first published in 2001 — but it's still one of the few comprehensive looks at major ideological divides among black Americans. I was going to use the book as background for a column on black conservatism. |
Representative Will Hurd of Texas, one of two black Republicans in Congress, will leave the House at the end of this term. The plan was to use his retirement to talk about the distinctive features of black conservatism and why it has had an uneasy home in the modern Republican Party, from Barry Goldwater to Donald Trump. I couldn't get the column to work — I wasn't happy with the structure or the argument — so I set it aside. But the parts on black conservatism are still interesting. There's one particular point worth talking about in brief. |
 | | Representative Will Hurd of Texas, one of two black Republicans in Congress, will leave the House at the end of this term.Tom Brenner for The New York Times |
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For Dawson, black conservatism presents its adherents and opponents with "a number of intriguing and critical paradoxes." First, that black conservatives are highly visible in "mainstream American media and cultural outlets but have remarkably little mass support." And second, that black conservatives "constantly attack other black elites and ideologues for always playing the race card" but that they also use the " 'authenticity' derived from their own blackness to be particularly acute and visible critics of practices, values, ideologies, and leaders which they claim are damaging to the black community." I would add another paradox to this list, which Dawson touches on but doesn't fully explore — that conservative views within the black community rarely translate to support for the Republican Party. |
Tasha Philpot, a political scientist at the University of Texas at Austin, tackles this dynamic in a recent book, "Conservative But Not Republican: The Paradox of Party Identification and Ideology Among African Americans." |
Philpot makes two critical findings. First, that black Americans define "conservatism" and "liberalism" in distinctive ways. "When thinking about whether they are liberal or conservative," she writes, "African Americans use their beliefs about religion and social welfare, whereas Whites use their beliefs about social welfare, morality, religion and the proper role of government." Religiosity for blacks is correlated with conservative self-identification, but it isn't correlated with conservative views on social welfare or government. For whites, it is. |
The other finding is more straightforward: "that the relationship between party identification and ideological self-identification for Blacks is contingent on racial group consciousness." Put simply, blacks who strongly identify with the "black community" as a group are more likely to vote Democratic irrespective of ideological views, versus those with weaker ties. For African-Americans, writes Philpot, "racial group membership supersedes other group memberships, at least with respect to politics." |
I don't have any particular conclusion here. That's part of why I couldn't get the column to work. But this is fascinating information! And there's definitely something here for further discussion, if I can figure out what exactly I want to say. |
Tom Scocca on the governing philosophy of Donald Trump, in Slate magazine. |
John Shelton Reed on tradition, capitalism and the varieties of barbecue, in The American Conservative. |
John Clegg on how slavery shaped American capitalism, in Jacobin magazine. |
Jenny Uglow on civility in The New York Review of Books. |
We have a new newsletter at The New York Times. It's called Debatable, and it's a comprehensive guide to what people are saying about the issues of the week. You should read it and sign up. |
If you're enjoying what you're reading, please consider recommending it to friends. They can sign up here. If you want to share your thoughts on an item in this week's newsletter or on the newsletter in general, please email me at jamelle-newsletter@nytimes.com. |
 | | Downtown Seattle.Jamelle Bouie |
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I was in Seattle earlier this year and have finally developed my film from the trip. This was one of the keepers, a photo of several office buildings, taken because I loved the geometry of the scene. A variety of different rectangles and lines bring your eye to a single point in the frame. And there's something about the geometry that flattens the dimensions of the scene, making it look more two-dimensional than it actually is. |
If you're curious, I used a Leica range finder with a 35 mm Zeiss lens and Kodak black-and-white film. |
Now Eating: Sheet-Pan Coriander Chicken With Caramelized Brussels Sprouts |
I have been out of town and away from the kitchen this week, but I made this last weekend for lunch, and it was a hit with the family. The recipe is from The New York Times Cooking section and it is very simple. Just marinate the chicken and vegetables and pop it in the oven. I used chicken thighs and turned the heat up to 450 because I like my brussels sprouts a little crispy. I also made some brown rice to round out the meal. |
- 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
- 3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (use your favorite parts)
- 1½ pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved if large
- 1½ teaspoons ground coriander
- 2½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 5 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- ¼ cup plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
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Grate lemon zest, and then quarter the bald lemon, seed the quarters, and set them aside. |
In a small, dry skillet set over medium heat, toast coriander seeds until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Crush the seeds lightly in a mortar and pestle or with the flat of a heavy knife blade. |
Pat chicken pieces dry, and place them in a large bowl along with brussels sprouts. Add crushed coriander seeds, ground coriander, lemon zest, salt, red pepper flakes, garlic and ¼ cup olive oil. Toss well. |
Marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight in the refrigerator. |
Heat oven to 425 degrees. |
In a small bowl, whisk mustard with remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil. Arrange chicken pieces on a large rimmed baking sheet and brush the mustard mixture over them. Scatter the brussels sprouts around the chicken. |
If using breast meat, roast until pieces are just done, 20 to 25 minutes, then transfer to a plate and tent it with aluminum foil to keep warm while dark meat and brussels sprouts finish cooking, another 5 to 10 minutes. (If you are using only dark meat, roast chicken and brussels sprouts for 25 to 35 minutes total.) Serve with reserved lemon wedges on the side. |
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