|
 Book
Description
Six
years'
worth
of
symposiums
come
together
in
this
rich
collection
of
essays
that
plot
a
course
for
African
Americans,
explaining
how
individuals
and
households
can
make
changes
that
will
immediately
improve
their
circumstances
in
areas
ranging
from
health
and
education
to
crime
reduction
and
financial
well-being.
Addressing
these
pressing
concerns
are
contributors
Dr.
David
Satcher,
former
U.S.
surgeon
general;
Wade
Henderson,
executive
director
of
the
Leadership
Conference
on
Civil
Rights;
Angela
Glover
Blackwell,
founder
of
the
research
think
tank
PolicyLink;
and
Cornel
West,
professor
of
Religion
at
Princeton
University.
Each
chapter
outlines
one
key
issue
and
provides
a
list
of
resources,
suggestions
for
action,
and
a
checklist
for
what
concerned
citizens
can
do
to
keep
their
communities
progressing
socially,
politically,
and
economically.
Though
the
African
American
community
faces
devastating
social
disparities—in
which
more
than
8
million
people
live
in
poverty—this
celebration
of
possibility,
hope,
and
strength
will
help
leaders
and
citizens
keep
Black
America
moving
forward.
About
the
Author
Tavis
Smiley
is
the
author
of
eight
books,
including
Doing
What's
Right,
Hard
Left,
How
to
Make
Black
America
Better,
and
Keeping
the
Faith.
He
hosts
an
eponymous
talk
and
interview
show
on
PBS
stations
and
his
radio
program,
The
Tavis
Smiley
Show,
is
syndicated
by
Public
Radio
International.
As
the
host
of
BET
Tonight
with
Tavis
Smiley,
he
was
a
three-time
winner
of
the
NAACP
Image
Award.
He
lives
in
Los
Angeles.
|
A
MUST
read
for
everyone.
Buy
it
now.
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From
health
to
housing,
from
crime
to
criminal
justice,
from
education
to
economic
parity,
African
Americans
continue
to
face
devastating
disparities
on
nearly
every
level.
However
the
time
has
come
for
African
Americans
to
shift
the
conversation
from
talking
about
our
pain
to
talking
about
our
plan.
The
Covenant
with
Black
America
is
a
national
plan
of
action
to
address
the
primary
concerns
of
African
Americans
today.
After
providing
data
that
clearly
illustrates
the
problems
in
our
communities,
this
Covenant
provides
examples
of
what
you,
your
families,
church
groups,
and
neighborhood
organizations
can
do
to
make
change.
This
Covenant
is
also
a
policy
action
blueprint
for
thought
leaders,
educators,
public
policy
makers,
religious
leaders,
opinion
makers
and
community
organizers
who
should
truly
be
held
accountable
for
ensuring
liberty
and
justice
for
all
Americans.
This
Covenant
is
part
testimony,
part
protest,
and
part
demand.
Did
you
know
that:
- Nearly
20%
of
African
Americans
do
not
have
health
insurance.
- 1.4
million
African
American
men,
or
13%,
have
currently
or
permanently
lost
their
right
to
vote
as
a
result
of
a
felony
conviction.
- More
than
8
million
African
Americans
live
in
poverty.
But
did
you
also
know
that:
- Parental
involvement
is
still
one
of
the
most
significant
contributors
to
the
academic
success
of
African
American
students.
- One
in
six
men
will
get
prostate
cancer
in
his
life
but
if
caught
early,
the
chance
of
survival
is
99.3
percent.
- African-American
buying
power
is
expected
to
grow
203-percent
from
$318
billion
in
1990
to
$965
billion
by
2009,
and
by
the
end
of
this
decade
the
spending
power
of
African
Americans
could
rival
the
gross
domestic
product
of
Canada.
While
statistics
often
remind
us
of
despair,
the
Covenant
reminds
us
that
there
is
hope.
This
document
is
offered
as
a
roadmap
and
a
reminder
that
it
is
our
responsibility
as
an
entire
community
to
ensure
that
no
mother,
father
or
child
be
left
behind
politically,
socially,
or
economically.
We
all
have
a
role
in
creating
the
world
we
want
for
generations
to
come.
The
Covenant
with
Black
America
can
and
should
be
used
as
a
reader
for
our
young
people,
a
topic
of
debate
for
political
candidates
and
as
an
informative
guide
that
will
empower
us
all
to
live
healthier,
safer,
more
productive
lives
in
the
United
States
of
America.
Third
World
Press,
one
of
the
nation’s
oldest
and
most
well
respected
independent
publishers
of
Black
thought
and
literature,
has
become
the
first
African
American-owned
publishing
house
to
have
a
number
one
best
seller
on
the
New
York
Times
Best
Seller
list.
Its
latest
release,
The
Covenant
with
Black
America
entered
its
second
week
at
number
one
slot
on
the
New
York
Times
Best
Sellers
list
for
non-fiction
paperback
on
April
30,
and
its
sixth
week
on
the
coveted
list.
After
four
weeks
on
the
Washington
Post
Best
Sellers
list,
The
Covenant
with
Black
America,
a
collection
of
essays
that
offers
a
plan
of
action
to
address
10
of
the
most
daunting
issues
impacting
African
Americans
today,
rose
to
number
one.
The
book,
which
also
hit
number
one
on
the
Publisher’s
Weekly
Best
Sellers
list
and
has
been
rated
the
number
one
seller
on
Amazon.com
in
all
categories,
is
on
its
way
to
becoming
one
of
Third
World
Press’
most
well
known
books.
“Mainly
Black
people
are
reading
The
Covenant.
It’s
not
a
fluke.
You’ve
got
readers
and
non-readers
buying
the
book
and
we’re
getting
lots
of
orders
from
prisons,”
said
Haki
Madhubuti,
founder
and
president
of
Third
World
Press.
The
Covenant
joins
a
field
of
recent
offerings
from
the
39
year
old
publishing
company
that
includes
Gloria
Naylor’s
1996,
Haki
Madhubuti’s
YellowBlack,
and
back
list
classics
such
as
The
Destruction
of
Black
Civilization
by
Chancellor
Williams.
Third
World
Press
pulled
out
all
the
stops
to
produce
The
Covenant
and
have
it
ready
to
release
by
this
year’s
State
of
the
Black
Union
symposium
on
Feb.
25.
“Everyone
here
really
came
on
board
with
this
project,”
Madhubuti
shared.
“We
were
determined
to
get
this
book
out
in
record
time,
and
everyone
committed
themselves
to
getting
it
done.
It
was
as
if
there
was
a
covenant
with
Third
World
Press
before
there
was
a
Covenant
with
Black
America.
With
a
window
of
less
than
three
months,
the
book
was
not
only
ready
on
time,
it
was
ready
more
than
one
month
ahead
of
schedule.
That’s
almost
unheard
of
in
this
industry.”
Because
of
the
extensive
marketing
effort
needed
to
get
the
word
out
nationally
about
The
Covenant,
Third
World
Press
enlisted
the
support
of
award-winning
R.J.
Dale
Advertising
&
Public
Relations
to
help
lead
and
navigate
the
public
relations
and
web-based
marketing
outreach.
The
full-service
Chicago-based
agency,
founded
in
1979,
developed
releases,
coordinated
media
relations,
secured
media
placements
and
created
the
entire
website,
www.theblackcovenant.com.
In
addition,
Third
World
Press
recently
signed
with
Chicago-based
Independent
Publishers
Group,
one
of
the
largest
book
distributors
in
the
nation.
Founded
in
1971
as
the
first
organization
specifically
created
for
the
purpose
of
marketing
titles
from
independent
presses
to
the
book
trade,
IPG
has
a
stellar
reputation
and
a
wide
reach
in
the
market,
and
moved
quickly
to
get
The
Covenant
into
the
bookstores
all
across
America.
Founded
in
1967,
the
Chicago-based
publishing
house
has
stayed
committed
to
local
and
national
Black
arts
empowerment
movements
that
mobilize
the
African
American
community’s
economic
and
cultural
awareness
and
found
the
vision
of
The
Covenant
with
Black
America
an
excellent
fit
with
the
company’s
ideals.
More
than
3,500
people
responded
to
a
poll
that
asked
what
issues
were
they
most
concerned
about,
and
The
Covenant
identifies
10
of
these
issues
and
provides
a
blueprint
on
what
individuals,
public
policymakers
and
corporate
citizens
can
do
to
move
the
African
American
community
forward,
socially
and
economically.
Chicago
State
University
professor
Haki
Madhubuti,
who
is
also
the
founder
and
President
of
Third
World
Press
contributed
the
book’s
Afterword.
The
beautifully
designed
cover
by
graphic
artist
Lisa
Moran
features
a
mosaic
of
family
photographs
from
African
Americans
from
across
the
country
arranged
to
create
the
image
of
the
photograph
“Sojourner”
by
renowned
photographer
Chester
Higgins
Jr.
For
more
information,
visit
www.thirdworldpressinc.com.
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