Hip-hop artist Kanye West has sent the Twitterverse into a frenzy by tweeting his approbation of psychologist Jordan Peterson, economist Thomas Sowell, and viral sensation Candace Owens. The thrust of West’s comments is that African-Americans should be allowed to think for themselves. Intellectuals like Sowell and Walter Williams, read only by conservative intellectuals, fought the good fight for many long years but had negligible impact on African-American thinking. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been marginalized in black opinion by portrayals of him as a stooge of smarter white, conservative judges. But the Democratic/liberal lock on African-American thought is rusting. A cultural icon like West legitimizes the view that there are alternatives to the black-victimization narrative.

I bring to the attention of Bacon’s Rebellion readers an unsung group called Project 21, a national network of African-Americans dedicated to exploring conservative and libertarian public policy solutions for advancing blacks in American society. The group has just published a report, “Blueprint for a Better Deal for Black America.”

While others like West and Owens are garnering media attention, Project 21 has been doing the yeoman’s work of articulating a public policy agenda.

“It has been over a half-century since the enactment of landmark civil rights legislation targeting the scourge of racial discrimination,” states the introduction. “Unfortunately, too many black families today suffer from a non-racial scourge – conditions that undermine upward mobility and perpetuate unacceptable levels of poverty, crime and other social ills. The vaunted social safety net has become a web that ensnares black families in a vicious cycle of dependency.

The report offers the following key recommendations, which I repeat verbatim:

Reducing Black Unemployment. Abolish the Jim Crow-era Davis-Bacon Act; initiate a second wave of welfare reform with work requirements and waive the minimum wage and collection of FICA for younger workers in special low-income areas.

Promoting self-determination. End fraudulent election practices that dilute black votes. Require proof of citizenship to register; vigorously prosecute those who target minority communities for fraud and prohibit the mailing out of ballots that haven’t been requested.

Ending excessive regulation. Require “Minority Impact Assessments” for new regulations.

Reducing the economic harm of excise taxes. Repeal federal, state and local sin and gas taxes, all of which have disproportionate negative impact on low-income families.

Promoting K-12 educational choice. Establish federal needs-based vouchers funded in part through an IRS 1040 voluntary donation check-off. Improve school security through upgrades in entry doors and by allowing trained school personnel access to guns.

Strengthening faith-based communities. Establish federal Tax Credit Scholarships; repeal the Johnson Amendment; create a tax credit for families paying for nursery-12 fees and tuition; and ban abortions performed exclusively on the basis of fetus ethnicity.

Improving the relationship between police and black communities. Get police out of the regulation business: disarm federal agencies and transfer the resources to support police-community outreach programs; increase the use of body cameras; provide training to police in identifying people with autism; end gun bans and put police in charge of safety training.

Stopping wealth transfer from the poor to non-citizens. Bar illegal aliens from using public services, except in emergencies.

I don’t agree with all of these ideas, but that’s not the point. I’m not looking to create a new conservative orthodoxy that blacks must adhere to. I welcome fresh thinking from the African-American community on how to free blacks from government dependency and partake of the economic opportunities that other Americans enjoy. By all means, let’s have that conversation.

As Project 21’s perspectives spread, as I am confident they will, I hope we can extend the conversation to Virginia state and local issues. I invite Virginia African-American readers to contribute to the dialogue on Bacon’s Rebellion. Please feel free to contact me at jabacon[at]baconsrebellion.com.