Coleman Hughes

Coleman Cruz Hughes (born February 25, 1996[1]) is an American writer and podcast host. He was a fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and a fellow and contributing editor at their City Journal, and is the host of the podcast Conversations with Coleman.

Coleman Hughes
Hughes in 2019
Born
Coleman Cruz Hughes

(1996-02-25) February 25, 1996
New Jersey, United States
EducationNewark Academy
Alma materColumbia University (BA)
Occupation(s)Writer, podcast host
Organization(s)Quillette
1776 Unites
Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
Known forWriting on issues related to race and racism
AwardsPresidential Scholar
Forbes 30-under-30
Websitecolemanhughes.org
Signature

Early life and education

Hughes is of African American[2][3] and Puerto Rican descent, and grew up in Montclair, New Jersey.[4] He is a graduate of Newark Academy and was selected as a United States Presidential Scholar in 2014.[5] He graduated from Columbia University in 2020 with a B.A. in philosophy.[6]

Career

On June 19, 2019, Hughes testified before a U.S. House Judiciary subcommittee at a hearing on reparations for slavery, arguing against the campaign.[7][8][9] He argued that "[i]f we were to pay reparations today, we would only divide the country further, making it harder to build the political coalitions required to solve the problems facing black people today."[10] In this vein, he highlighted mass incarceration and high homicide victimization rates as problems affecting black Americans today.[8] He suggested an alternate proposal of paying reparations to black Americans who personally grew up under Jim Crow.[8] Hughes went on to say that reparations to the descendants of slaves would insult many black Americans and claimed they would make him and the "one-third of black Americans who poll against reparations into victims without their consent."[8]

In addition to writing for Quillette,[11] Hughes has contributed to publications including The Spectator,[12] The New York Times,[13] The Wall Street Journal,[14] National Review,[15] the Washington Examiner,[16] and the Heterodox Academy blog.[17] In May 2020, he became a fellow of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and contributing editor of their City Journal.[18] Hughes is listed as a scholar for the 1776 Unites project.[19] In February 2020, Hughes debated Julianne Malveaux on iHeartRadio's Munk Debates regarding the topic of slavery reparations.[20]

Hughes is the host of the podcast Conversations with Coleman.[21]

2023 TED Talk

In April 2023, Hughes delivered a talk at the annual TED conference, in Vancouver, Canada. Defending the idea of color blindness, he explained his perspective on treating people without regard to race, both personally and in public policy. His talk encountered criticism both from TED and an internal employee group named "Black@TED", leading to efforts to prevent its release.

Chris Anderson, the head of TED, informed Hughes of internal opposition, citing a social scientist's claim that Hughes's talk delivered an inaccurate message. Hughes refuted this claim, arguing that the referenced research actually supported his position. TED proposed an unusual release strategy, combining his talk with a moderated debate, to which Hughes reluctantly agreed in order to ensure his message was heard. His opponent in the debate, Jamelle Bouie, agreed with Hughes that race neutrality was preferable for personal interactions but argued that public policy should be more race-conscious.[22]

Hughes raised concerns about TED's commitment to its mission of spreading diverse ideas without bias, suggesting that the organization had been influenced by a progressive orthodoxy and suppressed his view count. He called on TED's leadership to address this issue and decide whether they want to uphold their mission or risk becoming an echo chamber.[23] He also addressed this on his YouTube channel.[24] Chris Anderson wrote two long tweets on the subject.[25][26]

In a follow-up video, Hughes said that "the vast majority of TED's critics in this debacle understand why people get emotional about race; we just don't think that those emotions should have veto power over what can be argued in a public forum." He called for adults in the room to say "Sorry, but your feelings, while totally understandable, do not give you veto power".[27]

Views

Hughes says he formerly believed the premise of Black Lives Matter—that, in his words, "racist cops are killing unarmed black people"—but now believes that the existence of racial bias in deadly shootings does not survive scrutiny once factors other than race are taken into account. He has cited research from Roland G. Fryer Jr. and Sendhil Mullainathan, among others, in support of his stance.[28]

Hughes voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 United States presidential election.[29]

Reception

Writing in The Washington Post in 2018, Megan McArdle called Hughes "an undergraduate at Columbia University but already a thinker to be reckoned with."[2] Also in 2018, in response to Hughes's Quillette article "The Racism Treadmill", Jamelle Bouie wrote that his "central claim collapses on slightest contact with any information or research on the origins of racial inequality".[30] Nick Gillespie wrote in Reason in 2019 that Hughes had "emerged over the past year as one of the most prolific and insightful commentators on race and class in the United States."[4] In 2020, Christopher Bollen wrote in Interview that Hughes "has become one of the most compelling and promising voices on the political landscape."[21] In September 2020, Stéphanie Chayet, writing in the French newspaper Le Monde, identified Hughes as one of four "anti-conformists of anti-racism" along with Glenn Loury, Thomas Chatterton Williams and John McWhorter.[31] In December 2020, Hughes was listed on the Forbes 30-under-30 list for 2021 in the Media category.[32]

Music

Hughes began studying violin at age three.[33] He is a hobbyist rapper—in 2021 and 2022, he released several rap singles on YouTube and Spotify, using the moniker COLDXMAN, including a music video for a track titled "Blasphemy",[34] which appeared in January 2022. Hughes also plays jazz trombone with a Charles Mingus tribute band that plays regularly at the Jazz Standard in New York City.[4]

References
  1. Hughes, Coleman [@coldxman] (February 5, 2021). "I don't now who you're supposed to complain to about this sort of thing, but" (Tweet). Retrieved February 5, 2021 – via Twitter.
  2. McArdle, Megan (July 20, 2018). "The puzzle of race and wealth". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  3. "African American families of Monticello". monticello.org. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  4. Gillespie, Nick (March 8, 2019). "23-Year-Old Coleman Hughes Is Reframing the Discussion on Race: Podcast". Reason. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  5. "6 NJ high school students are named 2014 U.S. Presidential Scholars". NJ.com. May 5, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  6. "Coleman Hughes". Manhattan Institute. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  7. "Hearing on Slavery Reparations". c-span.org. National Cable Satellite Corporation. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  8. Coates, Ta-Nehisi; Hughes, Coleman (June 19, 2019). "Should America pay reparations for slavery? Ta-Nehisi Coates v Coleman Hughes". The Guardian. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  9. Handa, Sahil (June 21, 2019). "In Defense of Coleman Hughes". National Review. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  10. Naranjo, Jesse (June 19, 2019). "Slavery Reparations Issue Gets Rare Hearing on Hill". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  11. "America is having an unprecedented debate about reparations. What comes next?". June 20, 2019.
  12. "Author: Coleman Hughes". The Spectator.
  13. Hughes, Coleman; Jensen, Taige (February 28, 2019). "Opinion - The Gay, Black Civil Rights Hero Opposed to Affirmative Action". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  14. Hughes, Coleman (January 17, 2019). "Martin Luther King, Colorblind Radical". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  15. "Coleman Hughes". National Review. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  16. Hughes, Coleman. "The puzzle of racial preferences". Washington Examiner. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  17. "A Tale of Two Columbia Classes". heterodoxacademy.org. January 29, 2018.
  18. "Joining City Journal". Manhattan Institute. May 26, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  19. "Scholars". 1776 Unites. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  20. "Reparations". Munk Debates. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  21. Bollen, Christopher (May 11, 2020). "Ask a Sane Person: Coleman Hughes is not Panicking at All". Interview. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  22. Friedersdorf, Conor (September 3, 2023). "How race-consciousness can affect relationships". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  23. "Why Is TED Scared of Color Blindness?". thefp.com. September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  24. "Why Is TED Scared of Color Blindness?", Coleman Hughes, September 28, 2023.
  25. Chris Anderson. "I'd like to make a few personal comments regarding the critique of TED laid out here by Coleman Hughes", twitter.com, 10:06 PM September 26, 2023.
  26. Chris Anderson. "Turns out there are a few more things I need to say about the storm that's blown up over Coleman Hughes' TED Talk", twitter.com, last edited 5:59 PM September 29, 2023.
  27. "My Last Word on TED" (at 3m26s), Coleman Hughes, October 21, 2023.
  28. McLaughlin, Dan (June 16, 2020). "Does It Matter What the Police-Shooting Data Show?". National Review. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  29. Hughes, Coleman (October 30, 2020). "Why I'm Voting For Biden – Bonus". colemanhughes.org. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  30. Jamelle Bouie [@jbouie] (May 31, 2018). "The central claim collapses on slightest contact with any information or research on the origins of racial inequality" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  31. Chayet, Stéphanie (September 18, 2020). "Les anticonformistes de l'antiracisme". Le Monde.fr (in French).
  32. Garret, Briane. "30-Under-30 2021". Forbes.com.
  33. Identity Politics and Racism | Coleman Hughes | Forward with Andrew Yang, retrieved April 28, 2022
  34. COLDXMAN - Blasphemy (Official Music Video), retrieved April 26, 2022
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