On March 17th, 2013, and article on Big Jolly Politics , Kevin Fulton’s
intended audience for his article is the entire republican party. At first read
it seems as though he is only speaking to the white republicans to offer them a
glimpse into the mind of a black conservative but after examining it closer one
finds that his article could be just as informative or enlightening to other
minority conservatives. The article could serve as a template for the white
conservatives highlighting the key factors that create a negative connotation
of the word “Republican” inside the mind of a minority and how they could alter
that image. It could also be as simple as the byproduct of a conversation that
occurred in someone’s living room between two black conservatives on the topic
of their political affiliation.
The authors credibility is slightly
difficult to gauge. The fact that he is himself black, gives him some
credibility but it is also possible that his opinion could also be slightly
biased because he is also a Republican discussing the Republican party.
Throughout the article he tries to
portray himself as someone that genuinely cares about the wellbeing of the
minority population which he does by identifying himself with African-Americans
by using plural pronouns like “We” and “Our” and seeming to identify with the
struggles of African-Americans but while reading his article the reader is
constantly reminded of his true objective, to gain votes. In fact the entire article
seems to be a manifesto on how Republicans can win minority votes in the guise
of actual concern for his race which we are supposed to accept as legitimate
because he’s black.
