When George S. Schuyler published his autobiography Black and Conservative in 1966, its title was intended to be paradoxical, underscoring how the two adjectives were rarely used together, particularly in an era that had recently seen the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965. When it came to political affiliation, the general assumption was that African Americans, more or less by definition, were not likely to be conservatives; rather, conservatism meant a desire to preserve the pre-existing status quo, making very little sense in Civil Rights era for a majority of African Americans to take a conservative stance. Many assumptions were and continue to be made about race, nationality or gender, but the idea that African Americans were not considered political conservatives perhaps irritated Schuyler more than any. He resented the assumption on the part of white Americans that, because he was black, he was not politically sophisticated, had particular interests, and, most of all, that he was a liberal, thus foisting upon him the essentialist notion that race determines politics. To Schuyler, this was the equivalent of being told how to think. In addition, as his career as a journalist and novelist developed, he increasingly adopted political views that could be characterized as right of center, a fact more than partially motivated by the desire to shock expectations. As an exception to the racial rule, Schuyler not only gained mainstream acceptance, but also the approval of renowned journalist, H. L. Mencken, whose attention he especially craved. Both Schuyler's life and work ultimately became a fascinating blurring of the authentic and the fabricated, symbolizing, in turn, his dissatisfaction with both sides of the "color line." Indeed, he underwent a very public struggle to create a self that resisted both public and private assumptions. This essay explores this dissatisfaction and struggle, focusing on two factors that were emblematic of both Schuyler's public and private lives: his satirical novel Black No More and the raising of his biracial daughter Philippa. Ultimately, Schuyler's story represents a member of an ethnic minority's siren song to conservative extremism and the self-destructiveness that came with it.
