Many wonder why so many black people seem to treat true diversity of opinion as heresy. There is, in fact, a reason which, in itself, makes sense. The idea is that black conservatives, in distracting whites from thinking about racism, impede black progress and even give entrée to a possible racist backlash.

That’s not crazy at all – but the problem is that history has shown it to be invalid…

Black people keep on keeping on. We always have. If there is really such a thing as black pride, we need to celebrate our resilience and progress and let go of the idea that our well-being depends on whites being exquisitely tuned to the nuances of racism and its legacies.

After all, no matter how plausible that may sound, there is no evidence of its validity. The data is in now: black people airing non-left opinions does not hold the race back. As such, the soul patrol may safely leave Ben Carson alone.