Jason L. Riley (born July 8, 1971) is an American

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

commentator and author. He is a member of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

''s

editorial board The editorial board is a group of editors, writers, and other people who are charged with implementing a publication's approach to editorials and other opinion pieces. The editorials published normally represent the views or goals of the publicat ...

. Riley is a senior fellow at the

Manhattan Institute The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (renamed in 1981 from the International Center for Economic Policy Studies) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservative think tank focused on domestic policy and urban affairs.R. Emmett Tyrrell, ...

and has appeared on the ''

Journal Editorial Report The ''Journal Editorial Report'' is a weekly American interview and panel discussion TV program on Fox News Channel, hosted by Paul Gigot, editorial page editor of ''The Wall Street Journal''. Prior to moving to Fox News, the show aired on PBS ...

'', other

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

programs and ''

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

''. He is

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

to Lee Riley of Buffalo and Ola Riley. His father retired as a social worker at the

Buffalo Psychiatric Center Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

, a residential psychiatric treatment hospital. Jason Riley grew up in a religious household. His mother was Baptist and later converted to become a

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...

. He was also baptized as a Jehovah's Witness when he was approximately fifteen years old and left the religion some years later. He earned a bachelor's of arts degree in English from the

State University of New York at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public research university in Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. The university was founded in 1846 a ...

. He began his career in journalism working for the ''

Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, the ...

'' and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

''.Jason L. Riley
''Manhattan Institute'' biography.

Career

Riley joined ''

'' in 1994 as a copyreader on the national news desk in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In April 1996, he was named to the newly created position of editorial interactive editor, and joined the editorial board in 2005. Riley is the author of five books. In 2008, he published ''Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders'', which argues for a more

free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...

-oriented U.S. immigration system. In 2014, Riley published ''Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed''. In ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

Thomas Sowell Thomas Sowell ( ; born June 30, 1930) is an American economist, economic historian, and social and political commentator. He is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. With widely published commentary and books—and as a guest on T ...

praised the book, writing: "Pick up a copy and open pages at random to see how the author annihilates nonsense." According to ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

'', " e

American left The American Left refers to the groups or ideas on the left of the political spectrum in the United States. It is occasionally used as a shorthand for groups aligned with the Democratic Party. At other times, it refers to groups that have soug ...

should start paying attention to ''

''s Jason Riley. His name is on the rise." In his 2017 book ''

False Black Power? ''False Black Power ?'' is a 2017 book by conservative journalist Jason L. Riley. In the book, Riley asserts that despite African American gains in political power overtime, culminating in the first black president, Barack Obama Barack Hu ...

'', Riley argues economic success is a more important strategy for the empowerment of black people than dependence on political leadership. In 2021, Riley published ''Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell''. In 2024, Riley was subject to notoriety online after arguing in a July 9th opinion piece for the ''Wall Street Journal'' that

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

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.

Personal life

Riley married fellow journalist Naomi Schaefer Riley in 2004. They reside in suburban

with their three children.

Bibliography

* ''Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders'' (2008) * ''Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed'' (2014) * ''

'' (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)

References

External links