No matter where one turns in their history book, one thing is consistent—too much government is half the source of all man’s problems (and a lack of faith, which usually is proceeded by big government, trails at a close second).

The evidence is clear: Massive protest, legitimate or not, never gathers against corporations or individuals—protest is always against government. This is because the evil that people or corporations perpetrate on others is always enabled, fostered, or protected by governments.

The sad fact is that now, with sovereigns all around the world harnessing more power, the only thing that seemingly can fight against big government is another government.

I am a conservative because conservatism equals maximum protection from the only institution that forces obedience through violence: government.

Autry J. Pruitt is CEO of New Journey PAC Inc.

12. C.J. Sailor: Essential to Thriving Communities

I remember going to vote for the first time at age 18 in Detroit, Michigan. I was full of vigor and hope until a friend of mine told me to vote for the Democratic ticket. I was bewildered and I asked him why. He said, “Because that’s the way all Black people vote.”

I had not yet registered my party affiliation, and like most teenagers growing up in the inner city, I knew only of liberal policies and social promises. I was determined to be different, so I told my friend that I would vote for someone who held the values and beliefs that my parents taught me.

After reading several pieces of campaign literature, I was unable to find a candidate who embraced local control, family values, and economic freedom. I was stuck with the independent candidate, who was a better choice than the candidate who stood for big government and less freedom.

Today, I’m a conservative because I believe my values of strong and healthy families, faith in God, and economic freedom are essential to thriving communities.

Now more than ever, these values can heal our nation of racial injustice and promote upward mobility. We must embrace the next generation of leaders and pass on the legacy of faith, hope, and American exceptionalism.  

Clarence “C.J.” Sailor is a leader at an educational nonprofit.

13. Carol M. Swain: Hope and Encouragement

I am a conservative because I have tasted and spit out the depressing, self-defeating ideologies and fruits of progressive liberalism.

Long before I knew I was a conservative, I was acting upon and living my life by conservative principles.

Despite my poverty and lack as one of 12 children growing up in rural indigence, I still believed I could make good things happen, and that I was not destined to remain poor.

I married at 16, started a family, and eventually earned a high school equivalency after having dropped out of school after completing the eighth grade.

Next came a divorce and my entry into a community college, where I earned the first of five college and university degrees. A brief stint on welfare after my divorce convinced me of the need to get an education so I could get a “good” job.

It never occurred to me as I was studying, working, and raising my children that the world was stacked against me or that it owed me a better break because of my race, impoverished roots, female gender, or family status.

It would take graduate school and studies of oppression to reveal to me that people from my background were doomed to poverty because of oppression and systematic racism. Fortunately, I was successful and thriving before I heard these depressing messages.

My belief in the American Dream and its possibilities inspired me to study hard, make the dean’s list at the community college, and graduate from the four-year college magna cum laude while working 40 hours a week on nights and weekends at the community college where I earned my first degree.

I always have been a strong individualist who rejects groupthink and questions the behaviors and thought patterns of those around me. Today, I am a conservative because I believe in God, country, and nation.

As a Black child in the rural South, I knew I lived in the greatest country in the world, and I took pride in being a Virginian because my state was the home of presidents. Slavery, Jim Crow, racism, and other realities of the Black experience never defined or crippled me.

Conservatism offers hope and encouragement to those willing to avail themselves of opportunities.

Carol M. Swain, Ph.D., is a retired professor of political science and professor of law at Vanderbilt University and host of the “Be the People” podcast and radio show.

14. A.J. Swinson: Self-Sufficient, Entrepreneurial, Morally Strong

I am an African American millennial woman, and I’m a proud conservative.

I learned conservative principles from my parents, who grew up in poverty in Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia. My parents’ political views changed when they became sold-out Christians.

They began to see that progressive values did not line up with the Bible they studied each day. They also understood the Democratic Party’s role in destabilizing the neighborhoods they grew up in.

Today, my parents are successful despite their meager beginnings. They raised their children to be self-sufficient, entrepreneurial, and morally strong.

These are the core principles of conservatism.

Years ago, Black people built Rosewoods and Black Wall Streets around the country, and were successful despite Jim Crow laws, white supremacy, and oppression. We had a higher marriage rate than other races and focused on business and education. We put our faith in God, not man, to sustain us.

Abraham Lincoln said, “What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried against the new and untried?”

It was a mistake to leave what worked for us in the past to fit into a progressive agenda that expects blind loyalty (or we “ain’t Black”) and fails to hold biblical principles in high regard.

I am a conservative because I want to go back to what has been proven to work for us, and it’s not socialism or a larger welfare state. It is faith in God, love for others, local investment and entrepreneurship, prioritizing education, and traditional values.

 A.J. Swinson is director of development at New Journey PAC Inc.

15. Jimmy Tillman: Christian Values and Critical Thinking

The easy answer is because I am a God-fearing Christian, but I will share a more complex reason why the son of a civil rights icon and Democratic ward boss is a conservative.

I am an alumnus of Central State University, a historically Black university in Wilberforce, Ohio, a town that was the last stop on one of the Underground Railroad lines. It was here where I learned how to ask therightquestions and to think critically. I received my degree in history.

As a historian, reflecting on Juneteenth (an American holiday commemorating when the last slaves in Galveston, Texas, got word that the Union was saved and they were granted rights as Americans), I am reminded that it was through the spirit of Christian values that the abolition movement was founded.

I owe my citizenship to the brave men who fought and died in the Civil War. This includes many slaves, who afterward built viable communities throughout the South during Reconstruction.

These former slaves went on to send five conservative representatives to the Senate and House. A quick look at most of the historical gains by Blacks in America and the conservative movement is usually behind it.

Most recently, the Martin Luther King Republicans joined with the conservative group Reopen Illinois to campaign for the right to worship. This led to the governor’s lifting an unconstitutional ban on churches.

I currently host a hip-hop conservative talk show. It is a platform for other Black conservatives to discuss issues relating to our community. We are the silent majority.

Jimmy Tillman is a Heritage Action Sentinel from Illinois.

16. Terris E. Todd: Way of Life

The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, where I am executive director, was created to strengthen our nation by improving educational outcomes for African Americans of all ages. The mission includes helping ensure students are prepared for college and productive careers to contribute to the well-being of society.

Having worked on every level education throughout my professional career, it provided me the understanding that African American students and their families deserve an education that provides them with the options that best meet their individual needs and talents.

Previously, I have worked as director of education and children services, teacher, and administrator in K-12 public schools, as a collegiate-level instructor, and as director of 62nd District relations in the Michigan State House of Representatives.

I also have had the privilege and honor of being the Michigan Republican Party vice chair, in the inaugural class of the Citizenship Project, a county elected official, and actively involved on numerous boards and committees in my local community.

My conservative beliefs and values have always been a way of life for me. That belief system carries with me in everything that I do and in every job I have ever had.