Africanamerican republicans professor fields are you a republican . No i am not. So a bit of an outsider perpghtive perspective experience. Are you a democrat . Sure. I would guess i would probably classify my politic as independent, left leaning, in a lot of ways the interesting thing about it was intent to which my own politics doesnt really rise pup to the surface right in regards to doing the research or getting people to talk to me. I think in some ways being outside of the Republican Party and the republican scene actually made people more willing to open up right that there was less risk because the network of black republicans are fairly small. As you might imagine especially black republican advocate so Everybody Knows everyone else and so to be able to come in and be someone that nobody knew right, while presenting some challenge of also created a lot of opportunity. So in the end i feel like it helped you know not being a Republican People but like we can tell this guy whats going on and we with dont have to worry about him, you know, blabbing to someone else. Where did you get the idea . It agree out grew out of on a interest and more broadly. I had done some other research on, you know, classified people doing stuff qonts expect people like them to do. And pursuing abstract of line of thought look what was the case of somebody doing something you qongt wouldnt expect someone like them to do like black people or republican, so with that the idea was born. So yeah it is interesting buzz again it is didnt necessarily grow out of, you know, my policy that i wasnt one of the like i check all of the political blogs and i turned into that a little bit now having done the project. But it was, you know, came to a little bit as social construct. But what does it mean to be someone doing something that people like you arent supposed to do . And and what percentage would you say is republican . My gosh youre going to kill me im embarrassed i cannot give you the actual number. I would say i think about 12 to 13 of the u. S. Population is black. So thats the percentage i cant tell you what the absolute number but in material of a a little bit of a tricky and hand raising dependenting on survey you can get 7, 8 some is high as ten maybe who would stay on republican but in regards to actually voting for republican candidates when given a chance, the numbers get much smaller so now youre looking at 6, 7 so a lot republicans who would say im a republican and dungts represent, you know, my view or my to identify as republicans but dont actually vote republican but that is tricky this terms of identification, about about i would say 7, 8 of black identify as republican and then or identify as republican but in any national election, 7, 8 voting now donald trump numbers were higher e, though, wrnght they . Well marginally higher i wouldnt often you talk about a lot but the number his with black voters king the with what republican candidates had been getting for the past decade or so. Like the romney election saw like romney underperformed in terms of hoy republican candidates normally do among black voters. With exception of the romney bliss it is not leak trump numbers represent some radical reformulation of black partnership it is anything again returning that to what has always been so trump didnt do anybody with black voters to say george w. Bush right . So yes, so i think, you know, i guess if i, you know about within the Republican Party i want to look at those numbers and tell a positive story of like look theres maybe some opportunity hire. To take advantage of. But i wouldnt make too much of it. I dont think that theres sort of narrative of donald trump is going to rule black voters feel hopeful at best, and you know misinformed at work. From your book you write that tension between the race, whriend, and race conscience approaches is defining feature of africanamerican republican politics. What does that mean . So thats john on this idea that all black republicans arent the same so one of the things with the book i wanted to do was say black republicans and that they approach this linking blackness and republican in two ways. One is that this colorblind strategy that essentially you know race doesnt matter. That im black but thats not all that i am. When it comes to thinking about, you know, what is best tech policy, i dont think about that as a black person right theres an alternative approach that conscience republicans do which is to say that yes im black and it is important to me personally and important for me politically it is just thattic the best thing for black people is conservative politics so one you can think about as race doesnt matter. Other one you can think about as black power through conservative principle right so tensions between me to back if you will of black republicans tend to animate a lot of politics so imagine you have these two Different Groups and you try to run are an organization. Right . You can see that fireworks are going to fly from basic things of like you know what is our mission who should we be talking to incredibly challenging when you have two different orientations to understanding the relationship between race and politics. Similarly, with when you think about the ability to build alliances, right, it is particularly with republicans. These two groups have very different experiences of that. So you know, the colorblind black republicans have much more positive relations with, you know, party gate keepers, light keepers than race conscience group. So this in itself produces tension among black republicans themselves. Right the wonder is getting a lot of attention anded a an other group is experiencing i guess you know sidelines amidst it, so business between two groups i do think at the center of a lot of political experience of black republicans. Cory fields is at Stamford University and author this have book black elephants in the room. Unexpected politics of africanamericans if you live in east and central time zone and question or comment for professor field for those of you in the mountain and pacific lets begin with a call from glenn in freeland england, hi youre on the the air. Professor fields i want to ask about if you think President Trump will have much a chance to appeal to black americans with the issue of immigration you might remember in the big speech he gave i guess it wasnt officially a state of the union. But that big speech he gave for congress and in los angeles against illegal immigration since son was murdered by an illegal immigrant also from what i understand most likely to get negatively affect ad black americans by the huge amount of cheap labor through illegal immigration and for that matter legal immigration. All right. So yeah i think you know its an interesting institute partly i think that affects of immigration on black employment i think data is mixed right theres no clear story about that. But i dont think that it is reflectively a slam dunk. Issue, i think the initial polling suggest that the Trump Administration is struggled with black voters right and sorts of, you know, unfavorable ratings are quite high but i think that challenge that the administration will have in using the institute of immigration to reach out to black voters is that it runs the rick are of sorts of streaming to pit two Different Group of minority against one another and that i think it also, you know, runs the risk of asking black voters to maybe be comfortable with and accept some certainly some rhetoric and social policy that, you know, could be understood as being antiimmigrant and antilatino right and that in some ways you know, would be difficult to swallow and so i think it is going to be a big add. I think the way it will happen through is winking issue of immigration with black employment not just dem nicings so if it is going to work i dont think the path to which is success of leveraging that issue will be through demonization is through another group of racial an ethnic minorities. Lest here from mike in willow creek, california. Thank you. One of the things that has always puzzled me is when you look at congress, for instance, there is a black caucus. That caucus is comprised entirely of democrats. Even though there are black members of congress have been and shall be in the future and hopefully greater numbers and that they seem to be put out of the discussion os straw sized if you will. Why does that phenomenon occur . In terms was black caucus certainly republican members are are welcome to join. I know there have been some Congressional Republicans africanamerican who have refused who havent expressed measure joining and dont want to. But i know there have been members black republican members in the past and doors open to them and it is interesting to think about you know the intent to which Something LikeCongressional Black Caucus could be used as like the departure point to build coalition like Bipartisan Coalition around issue of race. So, you know, i think, i fear your hope that this can be a contact where people from both sides of the aisle can together with the, you know, partly grounded and a concern and experience of as a politician. So yeah, i wouldnt say it is accurate to say that black republicans are excluded from the black caucus at all. Page 182 of your book professor fields it seals that republican efforts speak to aron American Voters have not hit their mark. I had occasion to imract with black americans engaged in effort and if you were to ask what was one of the most surprising things i discovered doing this research are thats probably it. I was struck by u how little it seemed in terms of like what was going on among aron American Voters about what was going on with the black community and more of what was goings on among black republicans themselves that white republican officials knew. Right so i think, you know, there was a surprising lack of knowledge and understanding and informs about aron americans within the party let alone africanamericans that the party might try to speak to. Right as like a reaching the in creating more so this wasnt with a frustration not just me witnessing but i got express from the people i spoke to doing their research light my informant would constantly report feeling like, you know, they dont get it. Because they dont get it and wont listen to us and so that theres this sense of theres a lot of, you know, Untapped Potential already within the party in terms of through what kind of messaging might work. Not out to black voters but efforts that Republican Party made to black voters is being symbolic of a broader message of inclusion right the story of how can we fold in people who havent always been arranged here but we want to see more of it. Right i think thats going to be a challenge. It is especially girve the difficulty with being informed. Yeah. So it was surprising. You know how little Party Officials knew about black voters people would talk about and what do you know and what have you found out . Can we get a look at your im here to buff you for information. Bob hampton, virginia, a question for comment hi. Hi. I want to make a comment. For this year [inaudible conversations] and what was happening was that [inaudible conversations] has started killing our people [inaudible conversations] to get them out of nigeria and put at war since 1967 to 1970 in that war and [inaudible conversations] and obama supported the bob i think we got the idea and i think we can get an idea from cory field if you can answer his question but then as well first generation African Americans delft. I think you know the caller linked to a couple of issues like the issue around sort of first generation and to say my book was focused on people who identify as africanamerican so in some way the issue around immigration was less alien and really theres been research that suggest among black imraints to the u. S. Sort of of a political conservative believe in ideology are higher. Especially initial immigration. Now, over time they tend to black immigrants tend to look a lot more like native foreign population as well but i think that certainly could be one potential lever if the party or the express an interest. I think the callers another theme in the caller question was you know, the salient of foreign relation issues that might have some salient african or people within the african black people internationally, an you know, i think it wasnt an issue trouble among activists i spoke with but i also think that theres potential right within the party to maybe think about that being a leg to which for voters to require Republican Party saying you know, there is a concern about the fate of black people across the globe here. In which that would be great, of course, then that raises questions about what are your policy to black people at home so its like that ability to deploy sort of Foreign Policy and party and ways that might appeal to black voters because they seem sort of pro africa or pro, you know, black people, and have to be juxtapose against the, you know, potential for proceed to treat black people poorly at home. This has been a classic issue around, you know, race and civil rights and a Foreign Affairs at the u. S. Has faced a threat. Where did you grow up and were your parents republican . I was born in memphis, tennessee, and grie grew up, family, democrat and still family is pretty well but i would say whats interesting in one of the seens discovered through doing this research is, you know, experience of hanging the with black republican activist talking about their policy meet their family, friends there was like a element of some familiarity of like i would be a part of conversations and you know, dinner and at business it feels like being at home with my own family and like you know theyre pretty liberal. Right, so there is, you know, something about, you know, sound like universality of blackness but presence in term of the experience with black republicans that mirrored being things that happened with my family so yeah, no, my family, you know, were all pretty, pretty liberal. Currently democrats but it is complicated like theres some stuff that they can be conservative about. Some stuff they can be pretty liberal about. But i think you know the general thing is certainly they feel like the Republican Party hangt done a good job of speaking to them in ways that might be appealing so they all love the book so you know there theyre the kind of family that is even a book that doesnt represent their own policy. Theyll love it. Good afternoon steven. Yeah, good afternoon. This is calling yes. Hi yes. Title of your book is what you responded to bob about. I looked at your recount to bobs question the title of your book just makes that which is the elephant in the room. The fat elephant in the room is the people of africa born here not negotiate, africanamerican immigrant in that came from africa to america looks like going to nigeria to play politics and african and socalled black people in america tend to associate criminal rather than opening their eyes to know that no matter what, you know, we didnt come here to spend time but were all with the symbol right now. All right so thats a special first regeneration voter that we got. What do you want to say to him . You know, i think this call ther i think makes an interesting he speaks to an interesting point that i do think is one was scenes of the that the experience of blackness in america is not monolific they have a different experience than black people who were born here and affluent black people have different experiences than working class black people and for black people right, and one of the things i wanted to do with the book was, you know, speak to the importance of understanding black people relationships to black identity. Right like all black people dont feel the same ways about being black. And you know, if you want to puns Political Behavior of black people you kind of have to understand what being black means to them. And how they winged at me means to, you know, politics. And i think, you know, the caller makes good point that, you know, you cant take for granted that all black people are are going to feel the same way about something or this will be unity among black people and going to be monolific plunge black people and a process, achievement that takes work. And you know that because i can get from the caller hes frustrated and go to absence of solidarity around certain lines. But you know thats something that, you know, is a social achievement that sort of is one of the themes of the book that, you know, it takes work to get so many black people so not be republican. Right it doesnt just magically happen. It is not a given. You know, you can say black identity is pornt to me but that doesnt tell you what policies has to look like. Is this reason to a general audience or scholarly book . Both can read the book. I wrote with intent of hoping that anyone who was interested in the issues of politics and race and culture could enjoy the book and sort of, you know, follow it and hopefully get a lot from it. Lets hear from steve in pennsylvania, good afternoon steve youre on with professor coryfield. Yes. Yep. Steve we are listening, go ahead. J my question to you is this, are africanamericans that are teangdzing big mega churches that tengd to be more interracial are they trending more republican than the africanamericans that are associated more with traditional sovereign baptist and other type of churches other methodist. Thank you, thats a great question. I do think that i havent looked specifically at that issue. But in the book one of the things i do talk about is that you know, having exposure with the white, white friends or, you know, partners is something that, you know, makes africanamerican africanamerican republicans who have those relationships tend to embrace the, you know, colorblind, race doesnt matter logic that is are the Republican Party leadership right, and given the ware that i did the research i cant tell if, you know, that is what comes first and then theres successful or then like this successful within the party and that makes it, you know, open up like network of friendship and social life that has more people in them. But the caller requested i did sign that africanamerican republicans who had, you know, sort of white networks or in white networks tended to embrace a colorblind ideology that was more successful in terms of like, you know, finding support within the party. So one way to think about that is that maybe youre right that people who are attending integrated mega churches right like might be for lack of a better term easier to plug for republican leadership. Is there very quickly an authorization of black republican ares within the black community . You know, it is interesting thats a great question and complicated one. I dont think the answer is supersimple certainly aron american republican ares report feeling os having to prove my loyalty all of the time. But from my observation and this is continuing to talk to them, you know, for more than one president. They seemed indebted in black comungts like they went to black church, lived in black neighborhood. They experienced, you know, the same sort of, you know, residential and occupational segregation than other black people and oftentimes they were very much engaged in black communities politics. So its mixed. Black elephants in the room unexpected politics of africanamerican republicans, professor cory fields is the author. Booktv live coverage of the l. A. Times festival of books continue but next panel that were going to cover is one on writing and publishing and it is beginning now. For the sun Dance InstituteSan Francisco film society and the the scholastic art and awards. And all the lucky list georgi is from southern california. [applause] the literary journal that is publishing out of San Franciscos inside 85 the former but editor at us and Francisco Chronicle and incidentally the last word of many english dictionaries. [applause] representing writers said both fiction and nonfiction like men explain things to me and the many titles of this kitchen time letting the sweet life is in paris she also has many novels as well of all the books of fiction and nonfiction written. [applause] this is our panel allows them questions individually and collectively tried to start a conversation among them then towards the time