Back to the Future, Solutions That Work

In conjunction with Black History Month, The Heritage Foundation salutes the achievements of African Americans in U.S. history and recognizes some of the great leaders who, not only created change at the local level, but also grew to have a national impact. Jay A. Parker was one such American. He was among the first black leaders in the modern conservative movement. He was an early leader of Young Americans for Freedom and learned early on that members of YAF were committed to a truly color blind society. After moving to Washington, DC in the 1970s, he was active in the American African Affairs Association which endeavored to spread freedom and democracy in newly independent African nations. Through his leadership of the Lincoln Institute for Education and Research, Jay Parker rightly earned the title of founding father of the emerging black conservative movement, and, as editor of The Lincoln Review, he gave voice to numerous black conservative intellectuals. He truly was an unsung hero of the African American community and conservative thought.