Tavis Smiley - The Covenant In Action

[C]hildren must ever be cherished,
for they are not only the hope
and the promise of my people:
with them stands the destiny
of democracy in America.

Paul Robeson

THE COVENANT In Action

THE COVENANT In Action

Compiled by Tavis Smiley

SMILEY BOOKS,
an imprint of Hay House, Inc.

Carlsbad, California
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Copyright 2006 by The Smiley Group, Inc.

Published in the United States by:
Smiley Books, an imprint of Hay House, Inc.

Distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc., P.O. Box 5100,
Carlsbad, CA 92018-5100 www.hayhouse.com

Design: Amy Rose Grigoriou
Cover art: Martin O. Erb (www.erban.com)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher. The intent of the contributors is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the contributors and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Send inquiries to: The Smiley Group, Inc., 3870 Crenshaw Blvd., Suite 391, Los Angeles, CA 90008.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2006910864

ISBN 13: 978-1-4019-1852-1

10 09 08 07 5 4 3 2
1st edition, January 2007
2nd edition, January 2007

Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

by Tavis Smiley

Introduction:
A Conversation with Angela Glover Blackwell and Stephanie Robinson

THE COVENANTIn Action:
What Individuals and Communities Are Doing

THE COVENANTIn Action:
Voices of Black Americas Young Activists

THE COVENANTIn Action:
The Toolkit for Next Steps

by Cornel West

Covenant I:
Securing the Right to Healthcare and Well-Being

Covenant II:
Establishing a System of Public Education in Which All Children Achieve at High Levels and Reach Their Full Potential

Covenant III:
Correcting the System of Unequal Justice

Covenant IV:
Fostering Accountable Community-Centered Policing

Covenant V:
Ensuring Broad Access to Affordable Neighborhoods That Connect to Opportunity

Covenant VI:
Claiming Our Democracy

Covenant VII:
Strengthening Our Rural Roots

Covenant VIII:
Accessing Good Jobs, Wealth, and Economic Prosperity

Covenant IX:
Assuring Environmental Justice for All

Covenant X:
Closing the Racial Digital Divide

THE COVENANT In Action was made possible through a strategic partnership with PolicyLink and The Jamestown Project.

We thank Natalie Gluck of PolicyLink for identifying, connecting with, and profiling some of the many people who are working to advance the goals of the Covenant with Black America and telling their stories so vividly in this book.

We thank Charisse Carney-Nunes for coordinating and writing on behalf of The Jamestown Project.

We are also especially grateful to both Natalie and Charisse for their dedication in identifying the young activists whose inspirational words of wisdom are shared on the pages that follow.

In addition, we thank Paulette Jones Robinson, a longtime consultant to PolicyLink for her superb editing of this document; Professor Paul C. Taylor, Senior Fellow for The Jamestown Project; Enola Aird, The Jamestown Project Advisory Board Member; Brandi Colander, Research Associate for The Jamestown Project; and Milly Hawk Daniel, Vice President of Communications for PolicyLink, for their important contributions.

Finally, this text and related Covenant projects would not be possible without the invaluable input of Ken Browning, Martin Erb, Sheryl Flowers, Amy Rose Grigoriou, Jill Kramer, Kimberly McFarland, Denise Pines, Christy Salinas, Stev Stephens, and Reid Tracy.

by Tavis Smiley

Perhaps youve heard me say that life is not about the breaths we take, but rather the moments that take our breath away. The response of the black community to the Covenant with Black America has indeed been breathtaking. My heart is filled with encouragement when I reflect on the past year.

The book just caught fire throughout the nation. Immediately following the release of The Covenant in Houston in February 2006, I began what I thought would be a six-or seven-city tour to talk with black people about the book and the issues we are facing as a people. I was amazed by the many thousands of people who came out to churches and community venues to talk about The Covenant goals and the future of Black America. In response to demand, we expanded the tour to about 20 cities, and I wish I could have done more. The hunger to talk about these issues was vast; and the conversations were rich, revealing, and urgent. It seemed that everybody everywhere wanted to read and talk about the Covenant with Black America!

Within a month of its release, The Covenant hit number 1 on the bestsellers lists of Barnes and Noble, Borders, The Washington Post, TheLos Angeles Times, USA Today, and even the New York Times Book Review, where it not only reached the top spot on the bestsellers list for Paperback/Nonfiction, but it also stayed on that list for 14 weeks. In September it reappeared on the New York Times bestsellers list, probably because so many students were purchasing the book as the school year began.

In fact, the book has made history as the first book published by a black publishing company to appear on any of the New York Times bestsellers lists. All of this proved what I had already known for sure that black folk are thirsty for information about the state of Black America and for an action agenda they can use to address the issues that impact our communities.

I have been inspired by the actions black people have taken in response to The Covenant. Churches, civic associations, community organizations, elected officials, neighborhood leaders, and everyday people have picked up the challenge, offering helping hands to others and becoming activists, crusaders, and advocates for change. THE COVENANT In Action tells just a few of the stories of the wonderful things that Black Americans have done to advance The Covenant goals. It describes activities that have been instigated by The Covenant, and it offers profiles of young black activists who exemplify the quality of leadership that is emerging from the next generation.

Achieving The Covenant goals will also require the engagement of advocates who are willing to challenge the systems and institutions that make it difficult for black people to advance. We all have the capacity to be effective advocates. To encourage and increase that capacity, THE COVENANT In Action includes a toolkit to help us systematically take on the issues described in The Covenant, whether that means organizing a campaign to change a law, launching a media campaign to draw attention to racial inequity, or getting lawyers to file a lawsuit to address an injustice. Importantly, the toolkit includes innovative and creative techniques to assist communities in getting started, connecting with one another, and moving