John Gibbs is a Millennial who just graduated with a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard. Before that, he worked as an engineer for Apple after graduating from Stanford with an engineering degree. He is African-American and a conservative — a combination that has sometimes been what he calls “a lonely road.”“I am the only conservative in my family,” Gibbs said. “And though I have many conservative friends of different backgrounds, my black friends and relatives do not agree with my political ideas.”Yet Gibbs said many black voters seem to be in conflict with their own policy beliefs, a problem that has a lot to do with messaging.“Data seem to show that even though about 30 percent of black Americans self-identify as conservative, they don’t vote Republican,” he said. “There’s very deep messaging within black culture that says ‘If you’re black, you’re a Democrat, and if you’re a Republican, you think you’re white and you hate your people.’ In fact, I was recently accused by a black person of hating myself because I identify more with Republicans than Democrats.”Originally from Lansing, Michigan, Gibbs grew up in the outskirts of town in an area called Delta Township. Gibbs says he “grew up very liberal,” but…
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