The party has its origins in the
Lincoln League, which was founded by
Robert Church Jr. in 1916 to promote black voter registration. Church was one of the most prominent African-American businessmen in the nation and is credited with the early development of
Beale Street. By the 1950s conservative Democrats were joining the party as blacks were leaving. In the 1970s the party remade itself as a suburb-focused party that relied on activities like backyard parties, door-to-door campaigning and telephone networks to coordinate conservative voters in the suburbs. == Chairpersons ==