By Cameron Davis:
Love him or hate him, Larry Elder, the self dubbed "Sage from South Central", is a California native with strong opinions that will definitely trigger a response from many.
Larry Elder is a Black Conservative best known for his radio talk show, The Larry Elder Show that aired on KABC. There, he discusses his controversial opinions that do not necessarily line up with other African Americans. There are numerous examples of why people say Elder's views are "radical." Mainly, he does not believe that racism is as prevalent as other African Americans do. He does not believe in affirmative action, although he was accepted to Brown University through affirmative action policies. He also opposes the welfare system, and minimum wage. He has also coined the term "Victocrat" when referring to Democrats. Larry Elder is very controversial with his outspoken opinions and was called "the most racist, anti-black talk show host in Southern California" and even an "a White Man's Poster Boy." His least favorite name is "Uncle Tom", which ironically he made a movie with the same name. Uncle Tom is a documentary that shines the spotlight on several Black Republicans in the United States.
Elder was born in Los Angeles, raised in the South Central area, and graduated from Crenshaw High School in 1970. Then, he attended Brown University and obtained a Juris Doctor degree at the University of Michigan Law School. He has had a lengthy history of talk shows, talk radio, and writing positions throughout his life.
During the 1980s, Elder wrote op-eds for his local newspapers in Cleveland and wrote a weekly column for the Los Angeles Daily News until 2012.
In the early 1990s, Elder started his show The Larry Elder Show on Fox Network, and it won the Ohio Cable Television Association's "Best Program Series Award" in 1992. Several years later, in 2004, his daytime talk show, also called The Larry Elder show aired, but was taken off air in 2005 because of low ratings. As well as a talk show host, Elder is also a filmmaker and created the films Uncle Tom and Michael & Me. In 2015, Elder was honored with a Hollywood walk of fame star for his contributions to the radio industry.
On July 12, 2021, Elder announced that he would be running as a Republican in the 2021 Recall Election against Governor Gavin Newsom. However, he was omitted from the ballot list and threatened to sue California's Secretary of State Shirley Weber, claiming the elimination was politically motivated. On the next day, July 21, Elder was placed back onto the ballot list, and Larry held a poll with all the candidates running in the election, claiming 16% of the votes.
It has been said that Elder's views are Libertarian. In a 2008 interview with The New Individualist Magazine, Elder said, "A lot of my listeners will often call up and say, 'I preferred you when you were a Libertarian.' I always tell them I never was a 'capital-L Libertarian.' I am still 'small-l.' It's a philosophy to me, not a party."
Only time will tell to see if Larry Elder has earned the respect from enough Californians to win the spot of Governor.