{{short description|American journalist}} {{about|the American journalist|the Canadian footballer|Jason Riley (Canadian football)}} {{Infobox person | name = Jason L. Riley | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|07|08}} | birth_place = [[Buffalo, New York]], U.S. | education = [[University at Buffalo]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]]) | occupation = Commentator | spouse = {{marriage|[[Naomi Schaefer Riley|Naomi Schaefer]]|2004}} | children = 3 | website = {{official website}} }}
'''Jason L. Riley''' (born July 8, 1971)<ref name="nyt">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/23/style/weddings-celebrations-naomi-schaefer-jason-riley.html|title=Weddings/Celebrations; Naomi Schaefer, Jason Riley|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 23, 2004}}</ref><ref>[https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n2004092439.html Riley, Jason L., 1971-], [[Library of Congress Linked Data Service]]</ref> is an American [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] commentator and author. He is a member of ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''{{'}}s [[Editorial Board at The Wall Street Journal|editorial board]]. Riley is a senior fellow at the [[Manhattan Institute for Policy Research|Manhattan Institute]] and has appeared on the ''[[Journal Editorial Report]]'', other [[Fox News]] programs and ''[[C-SPAN]]''.<ref>{{C-SPAN|1029163}}</ref> He is [[African-American|Black]] and has written about his Black experience in America as a conservative. He is the author of several books including ''Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders'' (2008), ''Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed'' (2014), ''False Black Power?'' (2017), ''Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell'' (2021) and ''The Affirmative Action Myth: Why Blacks Don't Need Racial Preferences to Succeed'' (2025).
==Early life and education== Riley was born in [[Buffalo, New York]] to Lee Riley of Buffalo and Ola Riley. His father retired as a social worker at the [[Buffalo Psychiatric Center]], a residential psychiatric treatment hospital.<ref name="nyt"/>
Jason Riley grew up in a religious household. His mother was Baptist and later converted to become a [[Jehovah's Witness]]. He was also baptized as a Jehovah's Witness when he was approximately fifteen years old and left the religion some years later.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hahn III |first=Nicholas G. |date=October 6, 2014 |title=Jason Riley: The RealClearReligion Interview |url=https://www.realclearreligion.org/articles/2014/10/06/jason_riley_the_realclearreligion_interview.html |access-date=February 7, 2024 |website=[[RealClearReligion]] |quote=I was baptized a Jehovah's Witness when I was fifteen or so, but I voluntarily left the faith in my late teens.}}</ref>
He earned a bachelor's of arts degree in English from the [[State University of New York at Buffalo]]. He began his career in journalism working for the ''[[Buffalo News]]'' and ''[[USA Today]]''.<ref name="Manhattan">[http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/riley.htm Jason L. Riley], ''Manhattan Institute'' biography.</ref>
==Career== Riley joined ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' in 1994 as a [[copyreader]] on the national news desk in [[New York City]]. In April 1996, he was named to the newly created position of editorial interactive editor, and joined the editorial board in 2005.<ref>[http://topics.wsj.com/person/R/jason-riley/5678 Jason Riley, editorial board member], ''The Wall Street Journal''.</ref>
Riley is the author of five books. In 2008, he published ''Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders'',<ref>''[https://www.amazon.com/Let-Them-In-Case-Borders/dp/1592404316 Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders]'', Amazon.</ref> which argues for a more [[free market]]-oriented [[U.S. immigration system]].<ref name="Manhattan"/>
In 2014, Riley published ''Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed''.<ref>{{unfit|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20140615154036/http://www.heritage.org/events/2014/06/please-stop-helping-us "Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed"]}}, [[The Heritage Foundation]], June 23, 2014.</ref> In ''[[National Review]]'' [[Thomas Sowell]] praised the book, writing: "Pick up a copy and open pages at random to see how the author annihilates nonsense."<ref>[[Thomas Sowell]], [http://www.nationalreview.com/article/382135/please-stop-helping-us-thomas-sowell "A new book brilliantly explains how policies designed to help blacks end up harming them"], ''National Review'', July 8, 2014.</ref> According to ''[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]]'', "[t]he [[American left]] should start paying attention to ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''{{'}}s Jason Riley. His name is on the rise."<ref>Ian Blair, [http://www.salon.com/2014/07/11/the_rights_favorite_new_race_guru_why_you_should_know_jason_riley "The right’s favorite new race guru: Why you should know Jason Riley"], Salon.com, July 11, 2014.</ref>
In his 2017 book ''[[False Black Power?]]'',<ref>''[https://www.amazon.com/False-Black-Power-Threats-Freedom/dp/1599475189 False Black Power?]'', Amazon.</ref> Riley argues economic success is a more important strategy for the empowerment of black people than dependence on political leadership.<ref>[https://www.reed.edu/reed-magazine/articles/2018/riley-speaks-reed.html "Conservative Author Offers Contrarian View of Black Power"], Reed Magazine, May 28, 2018.</ref> In 2021, Riley published ''Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell''.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Bauer|first=A. J.|date=July 3, 2021|title=Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell|journal=American Journalism|volume=38|issue=3|pages=366–367|doi=10.1080/08821127.2021.1944589|s2cid=237538116 |issn=0882-1127}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Riley |first1=Jason L. |title=The Continuing Importance of Thomas Sowell |url=https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/continuing-importance-thomas-sowell/|journal=[[Imprimis]] |date=March 2022 |volume=51 |issue=3 |pages=1–7 |access-date=11 April 2022 |publisher=[[Hillsdale College]] |issn=0277-8432}}</ref>
In 2024, Riley was subject to ridicule online after arguing in a July 9th opinion piece for the ''Wall Street Journal'' that [[Kamala Harris]] would be the best Democratic candidate to run for President, only to reverse the position two weeks later and hours after Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee arguing in another opinion piece for the ''Journal'' that Kamala Harris is not the change Democrats need.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Riley |first=Jason |date=July 9, 2024 |title=Kamala Harris Would Be the Best Democratic Choice |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/kamala-harris-would-be-the-best-democratic-choice-independents-moderates-trump-16273447 |access-date=July 25, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Riley |first=Jason |date=July 23, 2024 |title=Kamala Harris Isn't the Change Democrats Need |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/kamala-harris-isnt-the-change-democrats-need-161d0b2c |access-date=July 25, 2024}}</ref>
==Personal life== Riley married fellow journalist [[Naomi Schaefer Riley]] in 2004. They reside in suburban [[New York City]] with their three children.<ref name="nyt"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Jason L. Riley|url=http://jasonrileyonline.com|website=jasonrileyonline.com|accessdate=July 21, 2016}}</ref>
==Bibliography== * ''Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders'' (2008) * ''Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed'' (2014) * ''[[False Black Power?]]'' (2017) * ''Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell'' (2021) * ''The Black Boom'' (2022) * ''The Affirmative Action Myth: Why Blacks Don't Need Racial Preferences to Succeed'' (2025)
==See also== * [[Black conservatism in the United States]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{official website}} * {{C-SPAN|1029163}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Jason L.}} [[Category:1971 births]] [[Category:20th-century African-American people]] [[Category:21st-century African-American people]] [[Category:African-American journalists]] [[Category:African-American writers]] [[Category:American male journalists]] [[Category:Black conservatism in the United States]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Manhattan Institute for Policy Research]] [[Category:New York (state) Republicans]] [[Category:University at Buffalo alumni]] [[Category:USA Today people]] [[Category:The Wall Street Journal people]] [[Category:Writers from Buffalo, New York]] [[Category:Journalists from Buffalo, New York]] [[Category:Former Jehovah's Witnesses]]