My dissertation, The Making Of A Black Conservative: George S. Schuyler, is a biographical study of George S. Schuyler, an African American journalist and novelist whose career extended from the early 1920’s until his death in 1977. Schuyler was known for his conservative and reactionary opinions on African American issues such as the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement. Little has been written of this complex and controversial figure in 20th Century African American Intellectual History. My objective is to present a topical, chronological, and detailed overview of Schuyler’s life and career from the 1920’s to the 1970’s, observing his evolution from a radical socialist in the 1920’s to a far right-wing conservative in the 1960’s. I also hope to facilitate more academic discussion on Schuyler and the field of African American Conservative Intellectual History.
George S. Schuyler was born on February 25, 1895 in Providence, Rhode Island and reared in Syracuse, New York until the age of 17, when he dropped out of high school and enlisted in the U.S. Army. Schuyler rose to the rank of 1st Lieutenant before being honorably discharged in 1919. After his service, Schuyler was adrift between Syracuse and New York City, working odd jobs and adopting socialism briefly before returning to New York City in 1923 as a writer for The Messenger.
In 1924, Schuyler was hired by the Pittsburgh Courier as a journalist and stayed with the newspaper until 1966. During his career, Schuyler wrote several essays that won him acclaim and controversy such as “The Negro-Art Hokum” and “Our Greatest Gift To America.” In 1931, he published his first literary work Black No More, a science-fiction parody of American race relations. He also wrote Slaves Today: A Story Of Liberia, an expose of the Liberian slave trade.
In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, Schuyler spoke out against Communism and became a vocal supporter of U.S. Senator Joseph P. McCarthy’s anti-Communist movement. During the Civil Rights Movement of the 19601s, Schuyler’s criticism increased as he editorially attacked African American leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, and labeled the Civil Rights Movement as Communist-influenced and dangerous to African Americans. In 1964, he made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Congress by running against Adam Clayton Powell on the Conservative Party ticket and became a member of the John Birch Society. Schuyler spent his remaining years in New York City until his death on August 31, 1977.