In the second book of his series, Tavis Smiley and a cast of writer activists dare to take The Covenant In Action. With the original ideas of the Covenant with Black America in mind, the new book follows the actual community activist through their collective journey to solve the problems of African-Americans and people of color. The cover is packed with a series of 499 photographs with 605 African American babies. The pictures represent "the future of black America," according to the book.
The Covenant In Action explores young activists on their first outreach experiences. Oakwood University has the National Association for the Prevention of Starvation, also known as NAPS. This program not only provides students the opportunity to reach out in communities nationally, but also internationally. The two personal stories by NAPS volunteers Lenworth Sealey and Brittany Wimberly demonstrate the relatively unseen interest young African-American men and women have in their communities. The Covenant In Action also points out that NAPS, "operates independently of all governmental, institutional or political forces." This is nice to know conflicting interests could not stop efforts to enrich lives and provide early advocacy experiences. Surely, Sealey and Wimberly will be involved in other volunteer efforts after they complete college.
The advocacy chapter in The Covenant In Action, written by PolicyLink and The Jamestown Project, show the average citizen how to shape ideas and present data to seek change in policies. Not everyone is a writer, but certainly presenting advocacy issues in a provocative way helps make your point in an otherwise crowded field of competitive causes on Capitol Hill. The chapter has successful media campaigns, like a case study for battered women. The idea of a study circle, the concept of bringing lots of people together to discuss a problem, seems to be the hallmark of Smiley, who does an Annual State of Black America symposium. The advocacy chapter discusses bringing these groups together to discuss the Covenant plan and social solutions.
Cornel West writes a colorful afterward to the book, highlighting the theme of grassroots momentum and accomplishing achievements on the legislative level. I did not agree with two passages West made about Martin Luther King Jr. His first: "The sacrificial spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. must flourish in individual forms and individual lives." The difficulty is this generation has little personal memory of Martin Luther King Jr. West is an old school guy, and when I saw him on stage at this years' symposium, all I could think about was my Wahl Clippers trimming the professor's hair and beard. West certainly has a unique historical perspective, but the message needs to be more in tune with today's young people.
The second passage: "This is what Tavis Smiley's Covenant project is all about-as Martin Luther King Jr. smiles from his grave." Let's let Dr. King rest in peace without this kind of imagery. Tavis Smiley symposium efforts have been overshadowed with these kinds of comparisons with Dr. King. The key here is that Tavis is his own man, who may have been inspired by King, but all the same has different life experiences. The vast amount of volunteers, organizers and advocates in the book are also MLK leaders in their own right. There is no limit to how their work might propel the black community. People need to look forward and draw connections from these people doing the work today. When the next book is out, I hope West showcases one of these current movement leaders.
Appendix I: The Covenant Curriculum lists a number of books and websites for people to read and gather information from. I'm a firm believer in the public library system. This is one of my favorite sections because many of the items are available at the public library. As a rule, I read at least two books a month on a variety of subjects. Sometimes while reading on the train, I feel these young curious eyes staring at me.
For many young black inner-city kids reading is shunned and was never part of their upbringing. My black presence reading a book intently is strange to these kids. Often in corporate white America I have gotten this comment: "You sound white." This is of course the greatest of insults because it is based on the racist notion that being black means you can't be articulate or have an expansive vocabulary. Yet this self-enriching exercise of reading two library books a month can yield so much "free" knowledge, while keeping it's participants out of trouble. This is my "two cents" for The Covenant In Action.
The back of the book gives a comprehensive African-American historic timeline. It is quite interesting to see how not very long ago, black people in America struggled to maintain their basic rights. As Washington Post Op-Ed columnist Colbert King once said, "But most African Americans know that without the help of U.S. courts and federal civil rights attorneys, we might still be behind the plow." I agree with King's statement, but I also believe that American history text books do not give students the kind of in-depth specifics that Covenant In Action's Quintard Taylor provides in his timeline. Most black folk don't know when the first African-American won the Pulitzer Prize (1970, Charles Gordone) or that Roland Burris became the first black attorney general in Illinois (1991). These are important milestones and Taylor covers them quite thoroughly, giving a true timeline of civil rights achievements and accomplishments.
The Covenant In Action is a great book and tool for community activists. Conditions are hard, but if someone has the energy to try and address problems in the black community, this is a good beginning.
