Allen West (1961- )

February 21, 2011 
/ Contributed By: Constance Hilliard

Allen West speaking

Allen West speaking

Photo by Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 3.0)

In 2010, retired lieutenant colonel Allen West became the first Black Republican to represent Florida in Congress since Rep. Josiah T. Walls, who served during Reconstruction. Congressman West was born on February 7, 1961, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Herman and Elizabeth West. His father was a career military officer, while his mother worked as a civilian employee of the United States Marine Corps.

As a tenth grader in high school, West joined the Junior Reserve Officersโ€™ Training Corps (ROTC) program. He attended the University of Tennessee and graduated with a B.A. degree in political science then entered the U.S. Army, eventually rising to the rank of colonel. While in active military service, he earned an M.A. degree in political science from Kansas State University.

Colonel West served in several combat zones, including Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and in Afghanistan. He became a highly decorated soldier, receiving, among other awards, the Bronze Star and Merit Service Medal, three Army Commendation Medals (one with valor), and a Valorous Unit Award. He retired from the military in 2004 at the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Although raised in a family of Democrats, Congressman West registered as a Republican after his military service. In 2007, he made an unsuccessful run for Congress on the Republican ticket in a special election in Floridaโ€™s 22nd congressional district. Undeterred, he ran again for the same seat in the 2010 mid-term elections. His win in that election was aided in part by endorsements from former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and the conservative Tea Party movement. West invariably got a standing ovation from white audiences on the campaign trail whenever he declared in a stump speech, โ€œI donโ€™t see myself as African American, Black American. I see myself as an American.โ€

As a new member of Congress, West joined the Congressional Black Caucus, being the first Republican to do so in 14 years. Congressman West has been appointed to the House Armed Services Committee and the Small Business Committee.ย  Controversy has shadowed Congressman West, both in the military and as a junior member of Congress. An incident occurred in August of 2003 when Colonel West fired a pistol past the head of an Iraqi prisoner whom he had abducted and was interrogating. During a military hearing that convened the following November, West admitted wrongdoing in the unauthorized firing of the pistol and was fined $5,000. Accepting the judgment, Lieutenant Colonel West retired with full benefits in the summer of 2004.

During a 2010 interview, Representative West made a personal attack on one of the Houseโ€™s two Muslim representatives, declaring that Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) represented โ€œthe antithesis of the principles upon which this country was established.โ€

Congressman West lives in Plantation, Florida, with his wife, Dr. Angela Graham-West, a financial planner, and their two teenage daughters, Aubrey and Austen.

About the Author

Author Profile

Constance Hilliard is an Associate Professor of History at the University of North Texas, specializing in the Middle East & Africa. She received a Ph.D from Harvard University and has done research work in West Africa and Egypt. As an Arabist she has translated original manuscripts, from a literary tradition that evolved around Timbuktu in the 16th centuries to the Sufi poetry of Dhu al-Nun of Nubia. In the early 1980s, Professor Hilliard served as foreign policy adviser to the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. She has also worked as a journalist, writing international editorials for the Dallas Morning News, and later as a businesswoman in Kuwait.

Constance Hilliardโ€™s blog, โ€œSoul Wisdom,โ€ can be found at http://soul-wisdom.blogspt.com

CITE THIS ENTRY IN APA FORMAT:

Hilliard, C. (2011, February 21). Allen West (1961- ). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/west-allen-1961/

Source of the Author's Information:

“U.S. officer fined for harsh interrogation tactics,” CNN, December 13, 2003; Catalina Camia, “GOP Rep. Allen West draws fire for Muslim comments,” USA Today, (February 2, 2011), http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/02/rep-allen-west-islam-2012-elections-/1. (Accessed February 2, 2011).

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