By: nikky Howard
Submitted: 2010-07-09 21:17:06 | Word Count: 841
The Covenant with Black America is the brainchild of Tavis Smiley. For the past seven years, the talk show host has had his own "State of the Black Union" symposium. Seeing that merely exchanging opinions with the state's top black leaders was not sufficient, he set to chart a course for the African Yankee Community. To provide a structured blueprint, The Covenant with Black America have assembled a scholarly collection of ten short essays by esteemed specialists in varied disciplines to handle the devastating social, political and economic disparities facing many African Americans. Each chapter or "covenant" looks at one pivotal issue and provides the reader with a list of resources and prompt plans of action that individuals and governments will do to create a distinction in their communities. This high-octane approach, as the book indicates on its back cowl, is "to shift the conversation from talking about our pain to talking concerning our set up" for the African Yankee community.
As might be expected, any best-selling book that tackles such a profound and often neglected need in our society is probably to get some controversy. The proposed formulas for addressing a bunch of ills, from the skewed criminal justice system to substandard education to toxic waste in poor neighborhoods, to call a few, is not without it's critics. For others The Covenant with Black America failed to meet some expectations and go way enough.
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Despite the variety of contributors of the numerous covenants, the book contains a rather monotone character throughout. This is most likely thanks to the consistent format that every essay follows as dictated by the book. Every chapter starts out with an introductory essay identifying the problems at hand. Then there's a treatise of the topic, complete with a table of statistics, followed by shared solutions underneath the headings of "What the Community Will Do", "What Each Individual Can Do", "What Works Currently", and "What Every Leader and Elected Official Can Do." However, the general theme, despite the shared solution topics, seems to be almost continuously weighted towards heavy governmental intervention. In short, a "fix it with finance" solution to the problems. Critics of this book, each black and white, point out that the Government does not solve issues, it funds them. It may be realized, for instance, that the past governmental housing projects have in fact created a type of apartheid for abundant of the African Yankee community, so isolating and amplifying the negative thought processes of those therefore confined. The symptomatic results are evidenced in faculty dropout rates, medication and gang violence. Therefore dysfunctional has this public policy been, that some cities have began to tear down their projects. Throwing additional money at the matter, for them, is not the solution.
In this same vein, the tile "covenant," is maybe a misnomer for this book. A covenant may be a pact. And a pact, as such, needs that both parties perform a specific set of criteria.
Though there is a "What every Individual Will Do" section of every chapter, there's not a clear sense of endorsement on a national set up of action by people in addressing these problems. As there are 10 totally different introductory essays, each written by totally different individuals, it is difficult to get a comprehensive image of what is promised by whom and when, with no real teeth of accountability as might be expected in an actual covenant. Equally disappointing, the book does not really explore core self-responsibility problems, like the need to look at the spiritual, mental and emotional health of the individual as a approach of making true progress.
Additionally, what would be refreshing would be to own each essay focus on setting definitive goals over a specific time period. Like by 2015, sixty percent of black males will be in faculty; or that eighty % of toxic waste in poor neighborhoods can be cleaned up. Without specific goals, many of the suggestions, while well intentioned, appear ineffectual.
Still, the important virtue of this book lies in putting these critical issues before all Americans. Whether you agree with the diagnosis and prescriptions of the essays in The Covenant with Black America isn't the issue. The problem is to increase awareness, dialogue and discussion in how best to address the requirements of those most disenfranchised in our nation.
At 254 pages, this provocative book is well value the modest retail worth of solely $12.00. Given the many social challenges we tend to as a nation face, it is a tiny price to pay to be a party to the trends of a bestseller. All profits from this book are dedicated to Third World Press.
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