We value God-given rights for Americans of all backgrounds, defending a Constitution that protects these timeless gifts.

Why am I a conservative? Why should conservatives lead the civil rights movement? Because only through the fulfilled promise of constitutional conservatism will America entrench itself as the beacon of freedom, opportunity, and prosperity that truly lifts character over color, results over race, and justice over prejudice.

I, like many Americans before me, pursue the fulfillment of that promise in my daily walk.

Lenny McAllister is director of Western Pennsylvania for Commonwealth Foundation, Pennsylvania’s free-market think tank.

7. Emery McClendon: Working for Everyone

For years we have heard it over and over that Blacks are loyal to the Democratic Party. The Democrats believe that Blacks blindly follow their party’s principles because of a “herd mentality,” and refuse to change or consider voting for Republican or conservative principles.

Democrats believe this even though many Blacks find themselves out of sync with many of the policies of the Democratic Party platform.

Recently, for good reasons, Blacks have begun to depart from the party and embrace conservatism. I am proud to be among those that have made that choice.

There are many reasons to embrace conservatism. Perhaps one of the chief reasons for making this choice is that one may embrace and pursue his or her own destiny and develop a sense of pride in individual accomplishment. This is a very important aspect if one values his or her sense of personal responsibility and seeks prosperity.

Conservatism allows an individual to excel beyond the dependency and imposed reliance forced upon him by the government, and gives one the desire to work toward greater life goals.

Conservatism, unlike Democratic ideology, brings one to a point of satisfaction for the accomplishments of life, and creates a deep desire to work harder, not unambitiously.

I choose to determine my own destiny and to illustrate to my posterity sound economic and life principles that will help them become successful in life, and not become wards of the state.

In short, conservatism works for everyone.

Emery McClendon is a Heritage Action Sentinel from Indiana.

8. Charlotte D. McGuire: Against All Odds

How did I become the vice president of the Ohio Board of Education? It was totally unexpected. I am not an educator by profession or experience.

But, over 100,000 citizens in a five-county territory elected me as their representative. Then, by surprise, a board colleague nominated me for the office of vice president and I won by one vote.

This honor caused me to pause and reflect on where I came from and why I do what I do. I am a conservative by choice. Conservatism’s principles of life, freedom, faith, family, personal responsibility, limited government, and free markets all aligned with my biblical worldview and values, and, therefore my actions.

I was raised in the segregated South during the Jim Crow era. Racism was alive, well, and “in your face.”

But, against all odds, I overcame the obstacles of racism and discrimination that I faced.

My parents were key. They encouraged me and told me that hard work and dedication would pay off. My dad said, “If you’re going to be a ditch digger, be the best ditch digger there is.” My mom told me that when I faced racists, “kill them with kindness.”

Against all odds, my dad worked two jobs so his five children would have an opportunity to go to college. My dad and mom believed that education was key to our freedom and independence. They didn’t want us to depend on the government.

In Memphis, Tennessee, I was the colored girl who could only go to the zoo on Tuesday. Or, if I wanted go see a movie at the Malco Theatre, I had to use the side entrance, climb what seemed like a million steps, and sit in the balcony.

My race designation evolved to Negro and I participated in the 1968 protest to support garbage collectors’ job rights. With my parents’ approval, and as a high school senior in a segregated educational system, I waited in downtown Memphis at a rally to hear civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. He was the hope of the ages for Black Americans who wanted equal opportunities to succeed.

Dr. King never showed up. He was assassinated, and rioting broke out in downtown Memphis and around the country.

My senior class trip to Washington, D.C., was cancelled. A couple of months later, I graduated from the same school as my parents, Booker T. Washington High School.

Being the first person in my family to go to college during this turbulent time, I was sent north to attend Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. There, I had family members to assure my safety and support me.

My conservative values caused me to pray and persevere against all odds. I believe all my rights come from God. I believe in the self-evidentiary clause that I am created equal among a diverse humanity.

I believe that I have the right to life and liberty, and to pursue happiness. I believe I have the innate right to become who I was providentially purposed to be. To our Creator be all the glory.

Against all odds, I finished Central State University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration during a time of protests, from 1968 to 1973. I completed a few University of Dayton graduate courses in public administration. I became a “voice” for the homeless, hungry, elderly, families, and children’s educational success.

Against all odds, as a conservative and a former municipal government and nonprofit executive, I am now vice president of the Ohio Board of Education.

Charlotte D. McGuire was a local government and nonprofit leader before being elected to the Ohio Board of Education.

9. The Rev. Dean Nelson: Best for All People

I am a conservative. I had a happy childhood growing up in rural Virginia, but I heard the N-word as a matter of course. There was a restaurant in our town that refused service to Blacks well into the 1980s.

My high school guidance counselor encouraged me to enlist in the military instead of applying to college. Some friends who cheered my admission to Howard raised their eyebrows when I transferred to the University of Virginia.

As an adult, I have—like most other Black men in America—been pulled over by cops for no reason, as has my almost 19-year-old son. A white woman allowed her dog to bite me while I was jogging on a public sidewalk in my own neighborhood because she said I got too close to her. My daughter was falsely accused of shoplifting at the age of 13. I could go on.

Being a conservative does not mean I deny the existence of racism—individual or systemic. I am a conservative because I want economic prosperity, limited government, and strong families for everyone.

I believe Black Americans deserve more autonomy over our own lives, not less, and I want to live in a society that protects Black people’s right to create the good life for ourselves rather than wait naively for a magical set of social services to rescue us.

I am not conservative despite my race. I am conservative because I believe conservative principles are best for my race, and for all people.

The Rev. Dean Nelson is chairman of the Douglass Leadership Institute.

10. Sophia A. Nelson: Sustained Opportunity

Our nation is hurting right now. Our nation needs a deep spiritual and soul healing right now.

For so long, the voices of Black conservatives have been questioned. Called “Uncle Tom.” Called “sellout.” Or worse.

I believe that the time for divisions among us as Black people is over. It is now time for us to unite in solidarity, not just in the fight for “Black lives” and their value, but in the fight for us to live out our nation’s earliest credo: e pluribus unum. Out of many, one.

If we are to win this fight for the soul of America, conservatives no longer can run from that fight. I am a conservative because I believe in smaller, less government.

I believe in the wisdom and patriotism of “we the people,” not that of a centralized, overburdensome government.

I believe in religious liberty and freedom.

I believe in the rights of the people to peacefully assemble and to bear arms.

I believe that all men and women are created equal and endowed by our Creator with life, liberty, and the right to pursue happiness.

I am a conservative who loves her people deeply. It is time for Black conservatives, moderates, and liberals alike to work across ideological lines to help develop and guide our community to educational, economic, political, and social policies that will create sustained opportunity, access, ownership, and freedom in our day-to-day lives.

Sophia A. Nelson, a lawyer, is an award-winning author and freelance journalist and columnist.

11. Autry J. Pruitt: Maximum Protection

I abhor injustice, I am disgusted by inequality and those who would use their authority and power to break the backs of the innocent are repulsive to me.