How do conservatives break the democratic hold on the Black vote? It is a question I am asked all the time. My answer – my best guess – is always the same and it is two fold: First conservatives in the form of the Republican Party must be more actively present in the Black community. Because the Black vote tends to be so overwhelmingly Democratic, Republican candidates tend to ignore Black communities- offering a token presence at best. It is essential that they begin to be present in the community and preach the conservative message without becoming democrat light. Second, they must loudly and actively reject the fringe elements in the party that harbor racist attitudes. To my mind there simply is no other way to garner the trust of a Black electorate that recalls very vividly the days of Jim Crow and the long hard slog for civil rights.

As it happens there is right now a battle being waged to protect 6 Black Louisiana teenagers who are fighting for their lives against good ole boy southern racism and an overzealous prosecutor. I speak of the youths known as the Jena 6. Support of their case offers the opportunity for those of us that define our conservatism by the principles of liberty and justice for all regardless of race -- principles articulated in our keystone document, given new birth by Lincoln and infused with humanity by King -- to demonstrate that we are made of sterner stuff than talk. That is, if we are serious about putting the party of Lincoln back on track.

As the 2006 school year began at Jena high school, a Black youth sat under the tree that has traditionally been the hangout for white students. The following day 3 hangman’s nooses were seen hanging from the tree. The school superintendent responded with a rather milquetoast response that simply fueled racial tensions in the town and culminated in the beating of a white student who had sold wolf tickets to a group of Black boys earlier in the day. The 6 boys responsible for the beating were arrested and charged with second degree attempted manslaughter and conspiracy. Those charges were eventually lowered to second degree battery charges, but all told they still face a combined 100 years in prison.

This case has garnered very little coverage in the mainstream media. Much of the left wing blogsophere is following the case, but it is almost invisible on right wing Internet sites. Which begs the question: Where is the conservative outrage? The shenanigans going on in Jena are counter to everything we preach and everything we say we believe! Political opportunism should not dictate our actions. Broadcasters and commentators should marshal the same righteous indignation they found for Scooter Libby and take the lead in covering the Jena 6 because the fight for justice is supposed to be a hallmark of conservatism. Perhaps we have been slow to the cause because there have been some hints that the character of some of these young men is less than stellar. However the case is not about the character of these youths, but about whether there is integrity in the law and whether LaSalle parish will be made to join the 21st century with the rest of us.

It is to the conservative detriment that we sit on the sidelines. We will never win Black hearts by standing at arms distance. Our silence will continue to feed the perception among black voters that conservatives secretly hunger for the days of tap-dancing and Jim Crow. So long as we continue to remain silent in the face of such egregious miscarriages of justice perpetrated against black people, we will continue to be outflanked by Democrats who can continue to claim that they are the true champions of equal treatment under the law and our nations only hope to cure the evil of racism.

Joseph C. Phillips is the author of “He Talk Like a White Boy” available wherever books are sold.