![]() ![]() I had, over the years, heard snippets of his show, twenty minutes here, ten minutes there, if I had the radio on while driving or something like that. The Black students I had in my Black conservatives course (and only Black students enrolled in it) may have disagreed with a lot of what they read, but it was not at all alien to them.Īn essential part of the world of the conservative is talk radio and the prince of conservative talk radio was Missouri native son Rush Limbaugh. As I told Rosalind, “They’ve been converted in spite of themselves. The attendees were extremely nice to us, invited us to other Tea Party events, were actively recruiting us as like a proselytizing church desperately seeking members. In fact, we were treated like the prodigal son, come back to his father. I told Rosalind that nothing would happen to us. It is true that this rally-which featured speeches by Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck and an Honor Guard, no less, for the Pledge of Allegiance-had, in addition to me and Rosalind, only three or four other Black people that I could spot in attendance of what was probably an audience of possibly a thousand. I remember once attending a Tea Party rally with my daughter, Rosalind, who was afraid we would be physically attacked because of our race. In preparing to teach these courses, I had to learn the world of the conservatives not just by reading their books but also by attending rallies. This familiarity did not make the texts endearing but the students did conclude that Black conservatism was not the same as White conservatism. They had even thought of it themselves, especially in regards to affirmative action, about which they expressed ambivalence. ![]() They had heard some of the Black people around them say versions of some of what they read. The Black students I had in my Black conservatives course (and only Black students enrolled in it) may have disagreed with a lot of what they read, but it was not at all alien to them. ![]() This last was probably the course I wanted very much to teach above the others, although I enjoyed teaching all of them and learned a great deal. For African and African American Studies, I taught “Black Conservatives and their Discontent: African Americans and Conservatism in America” in the fall of 2020. All of these were the same course with slightly different titles. In the end, for American Culture Studies, I taught “The Cultural History of American Conservatism from Herbert Hoover to George Will” in spring 2015, “The Making of American Conservatism since 1932, from Hoover to the Tea Party” in fall 2016, “The Making of American Conservatism since 1932, from Herbert Hoover to Donald Trump” in fall 2017. Never let an academic itch go unscratched, or something like that. He thought it would be good for the students but, more importantly, he thought it would be good for me. I asked the late Henry Berger, WU history professor, what he thought, and he enthusiastically encouraged me to do this. (There is, at the root of it I suppose, a certain unsuspected sentimentality that governs what we want to know and how we want to know it.) Finally, I thought our students might benefit by reading conservative arguments without any filter of liberal or leftist interpretation or disapproval. That is, they strongly disliked or distrusted White liberals, but from very unlike perspectives. ![]() Also, I suppose I wanted to understand my past, for I grew up among urban working-class people, Italian and Black, who were, in different but compelling ways, conservative. The reason was, in part, to understand America’s culture wars better by learning more about the side I knew less well. I had known for some years, probably since 2010, that I wanted to develop some courses on American conservatism. It just so happened we had a very diverse staff: gay, straight, Black, white, Asian, it didn’t matter, as long as you were good at your job. He wanted his staff to be excellent, so he hired excellent people. Rush didn’t have a racist bone in his body. Rush on the Radio: A Tribute from His Sidekick of 30 Yearsīy James Golden, aka Bo Snerdley (2021, All Seasons Press) 326 pages including notes and acknowledgments.Īs a Black guy, a proud African American, it always infuriated me to hear my friend called a racist. ![]()
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