| Star Parker | |
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| Born | November 24, 1956 Moses Lake, Washington |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Political writer and commentator, author, founder and president of CURE |
Star Parker (born November 24, 1956) is an American syndicated columnist, Republican politician, social critic, author, and conservative political activist. In 1995, she founded the Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education (CURE). In 2010, she was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for the United States House of Representatives in California's 37th District, which encompasses much of Los Angeles County.
Parker is a syndicated columnist with the Scripps Howard News Service.[1] Her column is carried weekly by newspapers across the country and opinion sites such as Townhall.[2][3]
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Background [edit]
Parker was born to mostly absent parents and raised in a nonreligious home; she says she was raised "by the secular 'I'm okay, you're okay' doctrine that says people should be allowed to make their own rules and shouldn't judge other people's lives." She lived in Japan for three years and returned to the U.S., moving to East St. Louis, Illinois, at twelve, at which point she says she "just joined right in" with the "anger and tension among blacks" in the area.[4] "I bought into the lie that there was nothing in America for me except institutional racism and glass ceilings that would keep me from getting promoted," she said.[4] She said that after one arrest for shoplifting, her white high school guidance counselor told her "not to worry about it, because I was a 'victim of racism, lashing out at society.'" [5] After attending church at the behest of her friends, she embraced Christianity and began turning her life around.[4] She enrolled in Woodbury University and graduated with a degree in marketing.[4] She began advocating for conservative social and political causes. She founded CURE in 1995, and took it on full-time after being laid off from her job as a host on Los Angeles radio station KABC after it was purchased by Disney.[4]
Center for Urban Renewal and Education [edit]
In 1995, Parker founded the Center for Urban Renewal and Education in Washington, D.C. and serves as its president.
Philosophy [edit]
Parker opposes many public entitlements, claiming that welfare is similar to an invitation to a government plantation, which creates a situation where those who accept the invitation switch mindsets from "How do I take care of myself?" to "What do I have to do to stay on the plantation?".[6] She believes stable families and strong moral values are the key to ending poverty. She has asserted a moral objection to abortion and claims that rampant abortion has hurt black families.
Appearances [edit]
Parker appeared as co-host on the ABC daytime talk show The View on June 19, 2007. She expressed her opposition to abortion, birth control and same-sex marriage. Parker is currently a speaker for the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute's college campus lecture program. She has spoken at numerous conferences such as the Values Voter Summit.
Congressional campaign [edit]
In March 2010, Parker announced her candidacy for Congress in California's 37th District, which encompasses most of Long Beach and Compton, as well as Carson, Signal Hill, and parts of other municipalities. Her campaign emphasized personal responsibility and accountability, using her past experiences as a welfare recipient to support her arguments. Parker lost the November 2 general election to Democrat Laura Richardson, earning 22.7% of the vote. Despite her election loss, Parker affirmed her intent to pursue inner city improvement, telling supporters, "My message of freedom and individual responsibility is timeless and needs to be heard in Long Beach, Carson, Compton, Signal Hill and across the country more than ever before. I will continue to deliver that message.”[7]
Books [edit]
- 1998: Pimps, Whores and Welfare Brats: From Welfare Cheat to Conservative Messenger (Pocket Books, ISBN 0-671-53466-1)
- 2003: Uncle Sam's Plantation: How Big Government Enslaves America's Poor and What We Can Do About It (Thomas Nelson, ISBN 0-7852-6219-9)
- 2006: White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay (Thomas Nelson, ISBN 1-59555-027-5)
References [edit]
- ^ "Scripps HowardNews Service Columns". Scripps Howard News Service. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ "Star Parker Archive". Townhall.com. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ "Star Parker". Jewish World Review. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Star Parker, a Courageous Black Voice
- ^ Star Parker: A Star Is Reborn | Kyria
- ^ Star Parker, Uncle Sam's Plantation, Thomas Nelson, November 2003
- ^ "Star Parker Concedes Bitter Congressional Race," Long Beach Post, November 7, 2011
External links [edit]
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