Joshua Tait -- Conservatives’ self-delusion on race

 How the right created the illusion of colorblindness.

National Review’s editorial line on racial issues shifted in the 1960s toward a “colorblind” constitutional strategy. In part, this change reflected the moral case made by civil rights activists that laid bare the brutal realities of Jim Crow. 

William F. Buckley, Jr., Conservative Party candidate running for the office of Mayor of New York City, is shown outside the Overseas Press Club on Oct. 20, 1965. Buckley and his National Review magazine helped shape conservatives' self-conception of their racial positions. (AP Photo)

(The Washington Post) -- During its formative years, the editors of National Review were committed to a white, capitalist and anti-progressive worldview that set the terms for conservatism for the next 60 years. They were sincere when they denied charges of bigotry. They could not see that assuming white cultural superiority, questioning black intelligence and fearing the civil rights movement derived from racist assumptions. 

Continue - https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/10/05/conservatives-self-delusion-race/