What Color Is a Conservative?
- Book Review,
by J. C. Watts
From Publishers Weekly
In this forthright and up-by-the-bootstraps memoir, Oklahoma Congressman Watts charts his personal experiences, his political beliefs and aspirations and his abiding faith. "Mine wasn't a Norman Rockwell childhood. There were too many black faces, too much poverty, and too little opportunity," he writes. Nonetheless, Watts's stories of growing up in tiny Eufaula, Oklahoma, with his close-knit, high-spirited family of eight offer plenty of touching moments. He recalls playing for the University of Oklahoma and the Canadian Football League, and shares political war stories complete with digs at the "hollow rhetoric" of Democrats, liberals and black leaders who call Watts a traitor, and for whom "group identity is more important than individual principles." The fourth-ranking Republican in Congress emphasizes his desire to imbue his constituents-as well as those beyond his district's borders-with a feeling of trust in his party, and to affect an increased affinity for its political positions and ideals. Of politicking and partisanship, Watts says that new models of cooperation are needed, between government and private organizations, secular or not, and that "if we have the will to change, we will change lives for the better."Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
African American Watts, the fourth-ranking Republican in Congress, reflects on what some regard as his incongruous position and explains his belief in family. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Watts' life story is well known; he went from small-town Oklahoma to the U.S. Congress as the first black Republican since Reconstruction. And he was the first black quarterback at his newly integrated high school and the first black quarterback to lead the Oklahoma Sooners to the Orange Bowl. Remove the Oklahoma small town, and Watt's background isn't so different from other blacks growing up in poverty and striving for success. What is different is his mantle of political conservatism that has kept him at a distance from typically left-leaning black leadership. The distance is unjustified, according to Watts, given his strong black family and religious values. He snipes at black leaders who criticize views that conflict with their political orthodoxy, but he also acknowledges Republican flirtation with principles at the expense of human realities. Notwithstanding his partisan slant, Watts' personal recognition that race matters substantially moderates his position on affirmative action, in sharp contrast with his party. Watts' established presence in Congress on the Republican side of the aisle appropriately challenges the intolerance of the Republicans and black leadership as well. Vernon Ford
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
The paperback edition of the inspirational story of the first black to hold a Republican leadership positionJ.C. Watts, Jr.
Book Info
Oklahoma Congressman Watts charts his personal experiences, his political beliefs and aspirations and his abiding faith. An inspiring autobiography of one of America's emerging leaders.
From the Back Cover
The inspiring autobiography of one of America’s emerging leaders How does an African American man raised in a family of Democrats on the poor side of the tracks become the first to hold a Republican leadership position in the U.S. Congress? J. C. Watts Jr. shares the remarkable story of his life and the controversy of his independent views. In this inspiring, provocative, and inside look at the workings of Washington, he tackles hot-button issues, his vision for America’s future, and his controversial decision to retire from Congress.
About the Author
J.C. Watts is the first black Congressman since Reconstruction to represent Oklahoma. A dynamic preacher, ex-professional football star, and father of five, Congressman Watts burst onto the national scene with his keynote speech at the 1996 Republican convention.
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