One
of America's most celebrated and respected commentators, BET talk-show
host Tavis Smiley brings together the voices of countless widely admired
African Americans in a rich, provocative, and solutions-oriented
exploration of the challenges facing Black America.
HOW TO MAKE BLACK AMERICA BETTER opens with
Tavis Smiley's twelve "challenges" to the African American
community. Among the issues that Smiley addresses are getting Black
Americans to "think Black first," insisting that Black
Americans-including those in entertainment and the media-consider the
consequences of their actions with regard to the Black community; and
encouraging African Americans to put family first.
At the heart of the book is a collection of
original essays contributed by such celebrated figures as Iyanla Vanzant,
Marian Wright Edelman, Susan Taylor, Jesse Jackson, Jr., Chuck D., Nikki
Giovanni, and Shaquille O'Neal. Ranging from one to several pages in
length, each of these essays addresses vital issues in the African
American community, from affirmative action to Black-on-Black crime,
political power to economic independence, race relations to family life,
and much more.
Finally, at the back of the book Smiley has
included high-powered excerpts and highlights from the national symposium
he organized in Los Angeles on the eve of the Democratic National
Convention entitled "Advocacy in the Next Millennium: New Paradigms
for Progress," featuring, among others, such luminaries as Magic
Johnson, Johnnetta Cole, Cornel West, Maxine Waters, and Jesse Jackson,
