{{Short description|American writer and podcaster (born 1996)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Coleman Hughes | image = Bokmässan 2025 – 170.jpg | image_upright = | image_size = 250 | alt = close-up of Coleman Hughes from right profile, with his last name visible on the backdrop | caption = Hughes in 2025 | birth_name = Coleman Cruz Hughes | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1996|2|25}} | birth_place = [[New Jersey]], US | education = [[Columbia University]] [[Bachelor of Arts|(BA)]] [[Juilliard School]] (dropped out) | other_names = | occupation = {{hlist|Writer|podcast host}} | years_active = | known_for = Writing on issues related to race and racism | notable_works = ''The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America'' (2024) | organization = ''[[Quillette]]''<br />[[1776 Unites]]<br />[[Manhattan Institute for Policy Research]] | awards = [[Presidential Scholar]]<br />''Forbes'' 30-under-30 | signature = Coleman Hughes signature.svg | website = }}
'''Coleman Cruz Hughes''' (born February 25, 1996<ref>{{Cite tweet |last=Hughes |first=Coleman |user=coldxman |number=1357832705594032128 |date=February 5, 2021 |access-date=February 5, 2021 |link=https://twitter.com/coldxman/status/1357832705594032128 |title=I don't know who you're supposed to complain to about this sort of thing, but }}</ref>) 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 he is the host of the podcast ''Conversations with Coleman''. As of {{monthyear}}, he is a [[Visiting scholar|visiting professor]] at the [[University of Austin]].
==Early life and education== Hughes is of African-American<ref name="wapo-mcardle">{{cite news|author=McArdle, Megan|date=July 20, 2018|title=The puzzle of race and wealth|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2018/07/20/the-puzzle-of-race-and-wealth/|access-date=June 20, 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=African American families of Monticello|url=https://www.monticello.org/getting-word/people/warren-hughes|access-date=June 20, 2019|website=monticello.org}}</ref> and Puerto Rican descent, and grew up in [[Montclair, New Jersey]].<ref name="GillespieInterview">{{cite news |last1=Gillespie |first1=Nick |authorlink=Nick Gillespie |title=23-Year-Old Coleman Hughes Is Reframing the Discussion on Race: Podcast |url=https://reason.com/podcast/coleman-hughes-podcast/ |access-date=June 28, 2019 |publisher=[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]] |date=March 8, 2019}}</ref> His mother died when he was 19.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Baristanet |date=February 18, 2015 |title=R.I.P. Santa Cruz Hughes |url=https://montclairlocal.news/2015/02/r-p-santa-cruz-hughes/ |access-date=October 8, 2024 |website=Montclair Local}}</ref>
Hughes graduated from [[Newark Academy]] high school and was selected as a [[Presidential Scholars Program|United States Presidential Scholar]] in 2014.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=May 5, 2014 |title=6 NJ high school students are named 2014 U.S. Presidential Scholars |url=https://www.nj.com/education/2014/05/6_nj_high_school_students_are_named_2014_us_presidential_scholars.html |access-date=September 26, 2020 |publisher=[[NJ.com]]}}</ref> He subsequently attended the [[Juilliard School]] and studied jazz [[trombone]] but later dropped out, due to his mother's death.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 5, 2022 |title=Jazz at one: Coleman Hughes |url=https://jazzhousekids.org/news/jazz-at-one-coleman-hughes/ |access-date=April 5, 2024 |website=Jazz House Kids}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=bncu |date=October 16, 2017 |title=Coleman Hughes (CC '20) |url=https://beetsnoodz.com/2017/10/15/coleman-hughes-cc-20-interview/ |access-date=April 5, 2024 |website=beets & noodz}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Peters |first=Jeremy W. |date=February 1, 2024 |title=The Young Black Conservative Who Grew Up with, and Rejects, D.E.I. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/01/us/coleman-hughes-black-conservative-colorblind.html |access-date=April 5, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> After attending [[Columbia University]], he graduated in 2020 with a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A]]. in [[philosophy]].<ref name="manhattan-author-page">{{cite web |title=Coleman Hughes |url=https://www.manhattan-institute.org/expert/coleman-hughes |website=Manhattan Institute |access-date=October 2, 2020}}</ref>
==Career== On June 19, 2019, Hughes testified before a U.S. [[United States House Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary]] subcommittee at a hearing on [[reparations for slavery]], arguing against the campaign.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hearing on Slavery Reparations |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?461767-1/house-judiciary-subcommittee-examines-case-slavery-reparations |publisher=National Cable Satellite Corporation |website=c-span.org |access-date=June 20, 2019}}</ref><ref name="guardian-reparations">{{cite web |first1=Ta-Nehisi|last1=Coates|first2=Coleman|last2=Hughes |title=Should America pay reparations for slavery? Ta-Nehisi Coates v Coleman Hughes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/19/reparations-slavery-ta-nehisi-coates-v-coleman-hughes |website=The Guardian |date=June 19, 2019 |access-date=June 22, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=June 21, 2019|title=In Defense of Coleman Hughes|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/coleman-hughes-slavery-reparations-defense/|access-date=August 22, 2020|website=[[National Review]]|first=Sahil|last=Handa|language=en-US}}</ref> 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."<ref name="NaranjoHill">{{cite news |last1=Naranjo |first1=Jesse |title=Slavery Reparations Issue Gets Rare Hearing on Hill |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/slavery-reparations-issue-gets-rare-hearing-on-hill-11560983015 |access-date=June 27, 2019 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=June 19, 2019}}</ref> In this vein, he highlighted [[Incarceration in the United States|mass incarceration]] and high [[Crime in the United States#Homicide|homicide]] victimization rates as problems affecting [[African Americans|Black Americans]] today.<ref name="guardian-reparations" /> He suggested an alternative proposal of paying reparations to Black Americans who personally grew up under [[Jim Crow]].<ref name="guardian-reparations" /> 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."<ref name="guardian-reparations" />
In addition to writing for ''[[Quillette]]'',<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/6/20/18692949/congress-reparations-slavery-discrimination-hr-40-coates-glover | title=America is having an unprecedented debate about reparations. What comes next? | date=June 20, 2019 }}</ref> Hughes has contributed to publications including ''[[The Spectator]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/author/colemanhughes/|title=Author: Coleman Hughes|website=The Spectator}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'',<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/opinion/bayard-rustin-race-identity.html|title=Opinion - The Gay, Black Civil Rights Hero Opposed to Affirmative Action|last1=Hughes|first1=Coleman|date=February 28, 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 10, 2019|last2=Jensen|first2=Taige|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'',<ref name="HughesPolitics">{{cite news |last1=Hughes |first1=Coleman |title=Martin Luther King, Colorblind Radical |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/martin-luther-king-colorblind-radical-11547769741 |access-date=June 27, 2019 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=January 17, 2019}}</ref> ''[[National Review]]'',<ref name="nr-author-page">{{cite web |title=Coleman Hughes |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/author/coleman-hughes/ |website=National Review |access-date=June 2, 2020}}</ref> the ''[[Washington Examiner]]'',<ref name="washington-examiner">{{cite news |last1=Hughes |first1=Coleman |title=The puzzle of racial preferences |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-puzzle-of-racial-preferences |access-date=June 2, 2020 |work=[[Washington Examiner]]}}</ref> ''[[The Free Press (CBS News)|The Free Press]]'',<ref>{{cite web|title=Coleman Hughes |url=https://www.thefp.com/w/coleman-hughes |website=thefp.com |access-date=March 25, 2026}}</ref> and the [[Heterodox Academy]] blog.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://heterodoxacademy.org/a-tale-of-two-columbia-classes/|title=A Tale of Two Columbia Classes|date=January 29, 2018|website=heterodoxacademy.org}}</ref> In May 2020, he became a fellow of the [[Manhattan Institute for Policy Research]] and contributing editor of their ''[[City Journal]]''.<ref name="manhattan-twitter">{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/ManhattanInst/status/1265277833246474241|title=Joining City Journal|publisher=Manhattan Institute|date=May 26, 2020|access-date=August 2, 2020}}</ref> Hughes is listed as a scholar for the [[1776 Unites]] project.<ref name="1776-scholars">{{cite web |title=Scholars |url=https://1776unites.com/about/scholars/ |website=1776 Unites |access-date=May 31, 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210511003300/https://1776unites.com/about/scholars/|archive-date=May 11, 2021}}</ref> In February 2020, Hughes debated [[Julianne Malveaux]] on [[iHeartRadio]]'s [[Munk Debates]] regarding the topic of slavery reparations.<ref name="munk-debate">{{cite web |title=Reparations |url=https://munkdebates.com/podcast/reparations |website=Munk Debates |access-date=May 31, 2020}}</ref>
Hughes is the host of the podcast ''Conversations with Coleman''.<ref name="interview-magazine">{{cite web |last1=Bollen |first1=Christopher |authorlink1=Christopher Bollen |title=Ask a Sane Person: Coleman Hughes is not Panicking at All |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/ask-a-sane-person-coleman-hughes |website=Interview |date=May 11, 2020 |access-date=June 3, 2020}}</ref>
He is a [[Visiting scholar|visiting professor]] at the [[University of Austin]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Coleman Hughes |url=https://www.uaustin.org/people/coleman-hughes |access-date=May 13, 2025 |website=uaustin.org}}</ref>
==2023 TED Talk== In April 2023, Hughes delivered a talk at the annual [[TED (conference)|TED conference]] in Vancouver, Canada. Defending the idea of [[racial color blindness]], he explained his perspective on treating people without regard to their race as individuals and in public policy. His talk encountered criticism from TED leadership and an internal employee group named "Black@TED", with efforts being made to prevent its release.
[[Chris Anderson (entrepreneur)|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.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} Hughes disputed this claim, arguing that the referenced research{{Clarify|reason=What research?|date=May 2024}} 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 discussion, [[Jamelle Bouie]], agreed with Hughes that race neutrality (i.e., racial color blindness) was preferable for personal interactions but argued that public policy should be more [[Race-conscious policy|race-conscious]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/09/colorblindness-race-consciousness-conversation/675224/|title=How race-consciousness can affect relationships|first=Conor|last=Friedersdorf|publisher=The Atlantic|date=September 3, 2023|access-date=October 8, 2023}}</ref>
==Views== In his 2024 book, ''The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America'', Hughes argues that the aim of colorblindness is not to avoid "noticing" race but "to consciously disregard race as a reason to treat individuals differently and as a category on which to base public policy".<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Peters |first=Jeremy |date=February 1, 2024 |title=The Young Black Conservative Who Grew Up with, and Rejects, D.E.I. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/01/us/coleman-hughes-black-conservative-colorblind.html |work=The New York Times}}{{subscription required|date=February 2024}}</ref>
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 [[Shooting bias|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.<ref name="mclaughlin-nr">{{cite news |last1=McLaughlin |first1=Dan |title=Does It Matter What the Police-Shooting Data Show? |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/does-it-matter-what-the-police-shooting-data-show/ |access-date=October 2, 2020 |agency=National Review |date=June 16, 2020}}</ref> On the [[murder of George Floyd]], Hughes believes that "there was clearly reasonable doubt on whether Chauvin caused Floyd's death".<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 13, 2024 |title=On Derek Chauvin, George Floyd, and Reasonable Doubt |last=Hughes |first=Coleman |url=https://www.thefp.com/p/coleman-hughes-derek-chauvin-george-floyd |access-date=September 5, 2024 |work=The Free Press}}</ref>
Hughes has critiqued attempts to understand the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]] through parallels with [[colonialism]], [[Jim Crow]], and [[apartheid]], arguing that a simplistic identification of the Black American struggle with that of the Palestinians does not do justice to Black history.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thefp.com/p/israel-is-nothing-like-apartheid-jim-crow|title=Coleman Hughes: The Struggle for Black Freedom Has Nothing to Do with Israel |last=Hughes|first=Coleman|publisher=[[Detroit Free Press|The Free Press]]|date=November 15, 2023|accessdate=May 27, 2025}}</ref> He has suggested that the [[Homeland for the Jewish people|return of diaspora Jews]] bears closer comparison with the [[Back-to-Africa movement|return of Black Americans]] to [[Liberia]], adding that both movements are open to similar criticisms in retrospect. He believes that Israel's war in Gaza does not constitute a [[genocide]] and has debated the topic on ''[[The Joe Rogan Experience]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mediaite.com/media/podcasts/author-coleman-hughes-goes-hard-against-joe-rogan-for-claiming-israel-is-committing-genocide-in-gaza/|title=Author Coleman Hughes Goes Hard Against Joe Rogan for Claiming Israel Is Committing 'Genocide' in Gaza|last=Griffing|first=Alex|publisher=[[Mediaite]]|date=April 5, 2024|accessdate=May 27, 2025}}</ref>
Hughes voted for [[Joe Biden]] in the [[2020 United States presidential election]].<ref name="why-biden">{{cite web |last1=Hughes |first1=Coleman |title=Why I'm Voting For Biden – Bonus |url=https://colemanhughes.org/why-im-voting-for-biden-bonus/ |website=colemanhughes.org |access-date=March 21, 2021 |date=October 30, 2020}}</ref>
==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."<ref name="wapo-mcardle" /> [[Nick Gillespie]] wrote in ''[[Reason (magazine)|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."<ref name="GillespieInterview" /> In 2020, [[Christopher Bollen]] wrote in ''[[Interview (magazine)|Interview]]'' that Hughes "has become one of the most compelling and promising voices on the political landscape."<ref name="interview-magazine" /> 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]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chayet |first1=Stéphanie |title=Les anticonformistes de l'antiracisme|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/m-le-mag/article/2020/09/18/thomas-chatterton-williams-glenn-loury-coleman-hughes-les-anticonformistes-de-l-antiracisme_6052654_4500055.html |newspaper=Le Monde.fr |language=French |date=September 18, 2020}}</ref> In December 2020, Hughes was listed on the [[Forbes 30 Under 30|''Forbes'' 30-under-30]] list for 2021 in the Media category.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Garret |first1=Briane |title=30-Under-30 2021 |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/coleman-hughes/?list=30under30-media&sh=31e44811946f |website=Forbes.com}}</ref>
==Music== Hughes began studying violin at age three.<ref>{{Citation |title=Identity Politics and Racism {{!}} Coleman Hughes {{!}} Forward with Andrew Yang | date=April 21, 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VS_5Cxph8U?t=385 |access-date=April 28, 2022}}</ref> 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",<ref>{{Citation |title=COLDXMAN – Blasphemy (Official Music Video) | date=January 17, 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEkFBVErK7E |language=en |access-date=April 26, 2022}}</ref> which appeared in January 2022. Hughes also plays [[jazz trombone]] with a [[Charles Mingus]] tribute band that played regularly at the [[Jazz Standard (jazz club)|Jazz Standard]] in New York City, before the club closed in December 2020.<ref name="GillespieInterview" />
==Bibliography== * {{Cite book |last=Hughes |first=Coleman |title=The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |year=2024 |isbn=978-0593332450 |location=London & New York}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{wikiquote}} * {{Twitter|coldxman}} * {{IMDb name|9930705}} * {{C-SPAN|120961}} * [https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/slaveryreparationscolemanhughes.htm Text, audio, and video of opening statement to Congress on reparations]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Coleman}} [[Category:1996 births]] [[Category:21st-century African-American writers]] [[Category:African-American atheists]] [[Category:American atheists]] [[Category:African-American non-fiction writers]] [[Category:American political podcasters]] [[Category:Columbia College, Columbia University alumni]] [[Category:Juilliard School alumni]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Newark Academy alumni]] [[Category:Writers from Montclair, New Jersey]] [[Category:Writers from New York City]]