hello world
i got to roll, supposed to be heading for dc
but i found this when i did one last google news
before turning the computer down
been wondering whats happening with that covenant
im really pulling for them to have some of the effect
they going for
i probably wont leave this as a whole post
but it covers a lot of ground that i want to master
i would like to be the authority on struggle
for my generation
one of those probably wont pull it off
but wouldnt it be an interesting effort
a lot to chew on here for a wouldbe
master of struggle
want to make sure this is available when i
get back, cant always trust the internet to
keeep stuff
in struggle
rdoc
=================
Growing frustrated waiting for a modern-day Martin Luther King Jr., some influential African Americans are saying it is time for individuals and communities to step up on their own and address the problems that plague black America.
This thinking gained urgency after Hurricane Katrina destroyed several largely black communities in August and revealed a lack of leadership and political power.
One of the most ambitious attempts to inspire action is "The Covenant with Black America," a book of essays, statistics and activism tips released in February that outlines 10 pressing concerns for African Americans and how individuals can start addressing them. The book hit the No. 1 spot on the New York Times Bestseller list and was a top seller on Amazon.com and BarnesandNobles.com within days of its release.
To keep the momentum, the covenant's contributors urged people across the nation to hold book parties next weekend and strategize on turning the suggestions into action. Hundreds of gatherings are planned, including four in the Bay Area.
"The covenant may not be all things to all people, but it does provide the information which can generate the inspiration for African Americans at every level of our society to work toward the transformation of this country," said talk show host Tavis Smiley, the book's editor. "There is a role for everyone in this movement."
Word of a new movement has been spreading across the country. A resounding theme at a recent panel in North Carolina titled "Beyond Rosa Parks: Civil Rights in the 21st Century" was that the time for one phenomenal figure has passed. Speakers such as Urban League President Mark Morial and Theodore Shaw, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said citizens must take responsibility for addressing inequalities in education, incarceration and unemployment.
African Americans often have looked toward their churches for leadership, but many don't like the fact that ministers sometimes receive the title of "leader" simply because they are outspoken; they say preachers don't always speak for the community.
"We don't necessarily need a charismatic leader at the top," said Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Washington.
The turning point will come only when one of the issues that plague the community consumes the nation, many say.
"An idea is at the core of all movements," Arnwine said. "The days of the Rosa Parks and Martin Luther Kings may no longer be here, but the power of an idea always generates such beings. A movement is a sort of university for new leaders."
Historically, civil rights struggles have started with citizens and then spread, said Taylor Branch, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and authority on the American civil rights movement. And any movement must draw people together over the concern, he said.
"Someone would have to say, we are not going to tolerate 3 million people in prison," Branch said in an interview. "The people would have to take it seriously. People don't even vote anymore, and being in a movement is a full-time duty."
The roots of the movement in the 1960s lay in individuals' decisions to take a stand, he said.
"People were asking questions and taking citizenship seriously," Branch said. "They were refusing to be intimidated. We can't assume there will be another MLK, and if there is, he may not be a man, a black man or a preacher."
Morial said on the panel that movements of the past also had strategy.
"There was no public relations initiative," Morial said. "Civil rights was about protecting past gains. African American leadership in the 21st century is more varied and diverse than ever, but it is important that this generation recognize that we have been handed a baton."
Franklin McCain, an iconic civil rights figure who sat at an all-white lunch counter at F.W. Woolworth in Greensboro, N.C., in 1960 and demanded to be served, said he and his college friends discussed their plan in advance and were determined.
"I was tired of being walked on and being treated like an animal," McCain said. "Our success is a tribute to what a small number of people can do if they are prepared to make a sacrifice."
The four men's action ignited a protest and economic boycott of the store that led to the desegregation of the lunch counter five months later and set in motion the effort across the South to outlaw business policies that reinforced segregation.
"For any movement to be successful, you have to make a commitment," McCain said.
Shaw said people have to recognize that Parks didn't just show up and demand a seat on the bus. She planned.
"It took courage without knowing what would happen," Shaw said. "I don't know if we have a civil rights movement. Work is being done. Movements are organized, but it is much harder now."
Smiley has long been committed to pushing the change in the black community. He started his State of Black America panel series seven years ago to discuss issues in the community.
He decided in 2004 to publish a book outlining some of the ideas, hoping it would start a movement. Since the covenant came out in February, Smiley and Cornel West, the Princeton professor and noted author, have been promoting the book in black communities across the nation.
"We are intent on building a movement," West said. "The next step is grassroots town meetings. We must keep alive the dialogue around the covenants."
"Just because no one is bombing your house and there are no dogs biting you does not mean the civil rights movement is dead," the Rev. Al Sharpton said at Smiley's most recent State of Black America gathering in Houston. "We can't keep waiting."
In addition to the gatherings, the covenant curriculum includes a list of required reading about historical black democratic action and a manual on strategies.
"Our education system has allowed Black History Month to become a checklist item," said Stephanie Robinson, president and CEO of the Jamestown Project, which is organizing the first official implementation of the covenant curriculum in New Haven, Conn.
"The root of citizen disinterest lies in a lack of knowledge about past
movements. We need to get out of this trap and teach about race and democracy
in a way that will benefit every citizen," Robinson said. "The covenant isn't
really an agenda but a document that allows a place to see facts and identify
items of interest. It allows people to start getting information, people who
haven't ever had a place to look and find information and tools."
10 major concerns for African Americans
Covenant I: Securing the right to health care 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
For details on the covenant or to sign up for a book party, visit www.covenantwithblackamerica.com.
E-mail Leslie Fulbright at [email protected].
Comments