What is an Urban Conservative?

Vanessa Jean Louis provides an answer.

A fledgling movement under the auspices of conservatism is that of ‘urban conservatism’. These conservatives reside in and/or work in the inner cities and apply conservative solutions towards inner city problems (e.g. inmate re-entry and educational reform). They acknowledge liberal policy failures and are making pragmatic attempts to reduce government waste and redistribute public funds in a way that leads to less government dependency. Urban conservatism is not synonymous with ‘black’ conservatism. The inner cities are a melting pot of different races and cultures; therefore, the urban conservative movement is color-neutral. While many of them are 'black', there are Hispanic and White 'urban' conservatives who are diligently working within the liberal framework. Urban conservatism also has a counterculture component. These counterculture initiatives include discouraging unwed and single-parenthood, promoting marriage, and encouraging self-employment/entrepreneurship (silver rights)- all as a means to reduce poverty.

As of late, urban conservatives have been at odds with other conservatives as a result of certain platform positions that are center-right in nature. Urban conservatives argue that the public-private balance in urban America unfortunately tilts heavily towards the public sector, therefore, having a 'pull the rug approach' is unrealistic. Urban Conservatives point to the Welfare Reform of 1996 as an example of a center-right policy approach which didn't eliminate benefits altogether, but made necessary reforms that placed lifetime caps and encouraged employment. Those reforms weaned people off of the "system", reduced welfare rolls by the millions, and resulted in an overall reduction in the poverty rate. Urban conservatives believe that public-private partnerships in specific instances can be a bridge towards less tax payer expenditures. They point to policy papers from conservative think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation, the Manhattan Institute, and the Hudson Institute to corroborate this point. Many conservatives are sympathetic towards the ‘urban conservative’ movement, while others find the movement to be ‘divisive’ and 'unnecessary'.

It's far from divisive--and it is necessary.