McAllister speaks out on being a ‘Hip-Hop Republican’
Lenny McCallister, with John McCain, in a photo accompanying his article on The Root. He'll discuss the article online today on WashingtonPost.com (link below)
The Root, an online magazine with news and commentary from an African-American perspective, this week is featuring an article by activist and former Davidson town board candidate Lenny McAllister entitled “We Down with GOP: Why Hip-Hop Republican is not an oxymoron.” In it, Mr. McAllister describes young black Republicans as an “avant garde movement,” representing the “cutting edge of black political diversity.”
Mr. McAllister has not been shy about promoting his Republican party connections even in the non-partisan town board race in Davidson. (He has fallen just short of election twice.) He thinks young Republicans, “unlike their peers over 50, are able to see how Republican values and policies should be applied to urban issues.” Young Republicans, he writes, are a “group that has transcended race in many ways.”
Mr. McAllister describes himself as a political contributor for the FOX Charlotte morning show “Fox News Rising” He also said he will be writing additional commentary this election season for The Root, which was founded this year by author and educator Henry Louis Gates Jr. He said he plans to attend the Republican Party convention, where he says he will collaborate on convention reports with hiphoprepublican.com founder Richard Ivory.
ONLINE DISCUSSION TODAY
In an email to supporters Wednesday, Mr. McAllister said he will discuss his The Root article in an online discussion on WashingtonPost.com today (Wednesday, Aug. 20) from noon to 1 p.m.
“This is a historical time,” Mr. McAllister said in the email. “This is a chance for all of us to discover a new depth and connection to American politics. It’s our election, our government, and our issues. I’m just blessed to be able to help bring different viewpoints to the conversation. This historical experience should also be one where we learn and grow.”
You can ask questions during today’s WashingtonPost.com discussion. Send email to liveonline@washingtonpost.com.
LINKS
Aug. 20, 2008, noon, WashingtonPost.com, Mr. McAllister discusses his article on The Root. Go to the online chat here.
Aug. 20, 2008, TheRoot.com, “We Down with GOP: Why Hip-Hop Republican is not an oxymoron.”
Lenny McCallister’s personal website.
Filed under: Davidson people, Election 2008
