The big names...
1. Thomas Sowell — Probably the single most important Black conservative intellectual of the modern era. The economist and social theorist has written extensively about economics, race, education, poverty, culture, and government. His emphasis on empirical evidence, incentives, unintended consequences, and individual choice has made him enormously influential on the American right.
2. Clarence Thomas — The second-longest-serving Supreme Court justice and one of the most consequential Black conservatives in American history. His originalist judicial philosophy and his skepticism toward affirmative action and race-based government classifications have made him a major figure in debates about constitutional law and race.
3. Walter E. Williams — The late George Mason University economist was one of the strongest advocates of free markets and individual liberty in Black American intellectual life. A close friend and intellectual ally of Sowell, Williams was particularly outspoken against government dependency and racial preferences.
4. Shelby Steele — An author and scholar whose work has focused heavily on race, identity, victimhood, affirmative action, and the psychological consequences of racism. Steele's work is particularly interesting because he approaches conservatism from a philosophical and cultural rather than primarily partisan perspective.
5. Glenn Loury — An economist and academic who became one of the most prominent Black conservative intellectuals during the Reagan era. His work has examined poverty, racial inequality, discrimination, and the consequences of racial preferences. He's also interesting because his views have evolved considerably over his career rather than fitting neatly into a Republican ideological box.
6. Robert L. Woodson Sr. — A longtime community activist and founder of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise. Woodson has emphasized community-based solutions to poverty, entrepreneurship, family stability, and empowerment rather than relying primarily on government programs. He was already a major figure in Black conservatism by the 1980s.
7. Larry Elder — Radio host, author, commentator, and former California gubernatorial candidate. Elder became one of the most recognizable Black conservative media personalities, particularly through his criticism of progressive racial politics, government dependency, and Democratic policies. He also influenced a later generation of conservative commentators, including Candace Owens.
8. Jason Riley — Wall Street Journal editorial board member and author whose books examine race, poverty, education, and the political assumptions surrounding Black Americans. Riley represents a younger generation of Black conservative intellectuals and has written extensively about the arguments associated with Sowell and other Black conservatives.
9. Candace Owens — One of the most prominent Black conservative media personalities of the 2010s and 2020s. Owens became particularly well known for rejecting identity politics and criticizing the Democratic Party and progressive racial ideology. Her more recent political evolution has been considerably more heterodox and controversial than conventional
10. Ben Carson — The renowned neurosurgeon who became a conservative political celebrity after his 2013 National Prayer Breakfast speech. He ran for president in 2016 and served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Donald Trump.
11. Condoleezza Rice — Former National Security Advisor and Secretary of State under George W. Bush. Rice represents the foreign-policy and institutional side of Black Republicanism and is one of the most accomplished Black Republicans in American history.
12. Tim Scott — U.S. senator from South Carolina and one of the most prominent Black Republicans of the modern era. His political message has emphasized faith, opportunity, economic mobility, entrepreneurship, and personal responsibility.
13. Byron Donalds — Florida congressman and one of the most prominent Black conservatives in the contemporary Trump-aligned Republican movement. He recently won the 2026 Republican nomination for Florida governor, putting him in position to potentially become Florida's first Black governor.
14. Winsome Earle-Sears — Republican politician and former Virginia lieutenant governor who became one of the country's most prominent Black conservative women. She has been particularly associated with religious conservatism, gun rights, school choice, and opposition to progressive identity politics.
15. Herman Cain — The late businessman, radio host, and former Godfather's Pizza CEO became a major Black conservative voice. His 2012 presidential campaign made him nationally famous, particularly for his "9-9-9" tax proposal and his emphasis on entrepreneurship.
16. J.C. Watts — Former Oklahoma congressman and one of the most prominent Black Republicans of the 1990s. A former college football star, Watts represented a more traditional, religiously conservative Republicanism and was briefly one of the party's most prominent Black elected officials.
17. Michael Steele — Former lieutenant governor of Maryland and the first Black chairman of the Republican National Committee. Steele represents a somewhat different strain of Black Republicanism from the more explicitly ideological figures on this list and has sometimes criticized the direction of his own party.
18. Allen West — Retired Army lieutenant colonel, former Florida congressman, and outspoken conservative commentator. West is associated with constitutional conservatism, strong national defense, gun rights, and a particularly forceful critique of progressive politics.
19. Jason Whitlock — Sports journalist and cultural commentator who has increasingly become a prominent Black conservative voice. His commentary focuses heavily on masculinity, fatherhood, Black culture, sports, race, and the relationship between popular culture and political ideology. He's probably better categorized as a cultural conservative commentator than a traditional Republican intellectual.
20. John McWhorter — Here's one I'd include with an asterisk. McWhorter isn't a conventional Republican or movement conservative, and he has explicitly resisted some political labels. But his criticism of racial essentialism, affirmative action, progressive language politics, and some aspects of contemporary racial discourse puts him in the broader intellectual conversation surrounding Black heterodox/conservative thought.
21. Booker T. Washington — Emphasized economic self-sufficiency, vocational education, entrepreneurship, and gradual advancement. He isn't easily mapped onto modern conservatism, but he's an essential predecessor of the Black self-help tradition that later conservatives drew upon.
22. George S. Schuyler — Journalist and author who became an outspoken Black conservative and Republican.
23. Zora Neale Hurston — The celebrated author held views on race and government that were considerably more conservative than the modern political image of her would suggest.
24. Arthur Fletcher — Republican politician and civil-rights figure who became an important conservative advocate.
25. Ward Connerly — Particularly important in the fight against racial preferences and affirmative-action policies, including his role in California's Proposition 209.
26. Alan Keyes — Former diplomat, presidential candidate, and one of the most outspoken Black social conservatives in Republican politics.
27. Mia Love — The first Black Republican woman elected to Congress from Utah and an important figure in the modern GOP.
28. Burgess Owens — Former NFL player and Republican congressman from Utah who has become an outspoken advocate of conservative approaches to race, education, and economic opportunity.
29. Star Parker — Conservative activist, author, and founder of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education. Parker has been a prominent Black conservative voice on poverty, welfare policy, abortion, education, and the role of government in disadvantaged communities. She came to conservatism after a personal political transformation and has spent decades advocating for limited government and economic opportunity.
30. Niger Innis — Conservative activist and son of longtime civil-rights activist Roy Innis. He has been involved with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and has advocated for conservative positions on economic opportunity, education, crime, and racial politics. His background is particularly interesting because CORE itself has a complicated and often overlooked history of moving toward more conservative positions during the later civil-rights era.
So the two actual additions are Star Parker and Niger Innis.
Sources
Here are copy-and-pasteable URLs, as requested:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_conservatism_in_the_United_States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sowell
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Loury
https://politicalresearch.org/1993/09/01/black-conservatives-part-one
https://politicalresearch.org/1993/12/01/black-conservatives-part-two
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-15-mn-1635-story.html
https://spectator.org/my-top-10-black-conservatives/
https://www.discoverthenetworks.org/other/black-conservatives/
https://commonreader.wustl.edu/black-conservatives-explain-it-all-or-princes-and-powers-2-0/
https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/black-and-right-9780313023507/
https://www.youreintheknow.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Encyclopedia-of-African-American-Politics-Robert-C.-Smith.pdf
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1992-pt1/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1992-pt1-3-3.pdf
