Black Conservative Summit Aims to Unite Community, Discuss Key Issues
Written by Joe Kaiser
Freedom’s Journal Institute will hold the Black Conservative Summit Aug. 29-31 at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, IL, with the tagline for the summit being “Defending the Natural Family: R.I.S.E to Rebuild the Foundation of Black America.” R.I.S.E. is an acronym for responsible government, individual liberty & fidelity, strong family values and economic empowerment.
Confirmed speakers to the summit include U.S. Reprepresentative Peter Roskam (R -IL 6), former Cincinnati mayor and Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, Ben Kinchlow, Star Parker, Armstrong Williams and various church and community leaders, among others.
Dr. Eric Wallace, the Editor-in-Chief and publisher of Freedom’s Journal Magazine, said the purpose of the summit is to unite black conservatives and discuss issues affecting the black community.
“(Black conservatives) are a minority of the black community, but we are also a minority of the white conservative movement,” Wallace said. “The idea to do this is bringing black conservatives together.”
Wallace named out of wedlock birth, black on black crime, abortion and low high school graduation rates as some of the major problems in the black community, which he said are often ignored by leaders in both parties, including black leaders.
The summit will have multiple seminars designed to address many of these issues, particularly many on marriage and family and their importance in the black community. Wallace highlighted in particular a few seminars on the second day: “What is the Role of government in the 21st century?” Public Policy and why it matters to you, your family and community” and a round table with church leaders toward the end of the night.
Wallace said the emphasis on social issues at the summit is linked to economic concerns as well.
“You can’t divorce (social and economic issues),” he said. “When the social issues fall apart, that’s when the government steps in economically.”
Wallace, who ran in the 2013 Republican primary in Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District special election, said he will decide his personal political plans for 2014 after the summit is over. Regardless of his own future plans though, he said he hopes conservative politicians start engaging blacks more and vice versa.
“I want people to leave this conference understanding that if you’re a Christian, we are members of a different allegiance,” Wallace said. “But that allegiance has political consequence and implication, and we can’t vote for people contrary to the things we believe and profess.”
“I self-identify as a Christian,” he continued. “If I self-identified as a black man, that would mean every time Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton shouted ‘racism,’ I would have to jump up. We need to stop being pulled by our racial identity.”
Click HERE to download a flyer.
More information about the Black Conservative Summit can be found at blackconservativesummit.net.
Originally posted by the Illinois Review.