Book Review: The Pact with Black America

The pact 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 simply exchanging views with the nation’s top black leaders was not enough, he decided to chart a course for the African-American community. To provide a structured model, The pact with black America have assembled a scholarly collection of 10 short essays by esteemed experts in various disciplines to address the devastating social, political, and economic disparities faced by many African Americans.

Each chapter or “compact” explores a key issue and provides the reader with a list of resources and suggested action plans that individuals and governments can take to make a difference in their communities. This high-octane approach, as the book states on the back cover, is “shifting the conversation from talking about our pain to talking about our plan” for the African American community.

Unsurprisingly, any best-selling book that addresses such a deep and often neglected need in our society is likely to generate some controversy. Proposed formulas to address a host of ills, from a biased criminal justice system to poor education and toxic waste in slums, to name a few, are not without their critics. For others The pact with black America did not meet some expectations and went far enough.

Despite the diversity of collaborators of the various pacts, the book has a rather monotonous character throughout. This is probably due to the consistent format that each essay follows as dictated by the book. Each chapter begins with an introductory essay that identifies the issues at hand. Then there is a treatise on the topic, complete with a table of statistics, followed by shared solutions under the headings of “What the Community Can Do,” “What Each Individual Can Do,” “What Works Now,” and “What Each El leader and elected official can do it. However, the general theme, despite the shared solution issues, seems almost always to lean towards strong government intervention. In short, a “fix it with finance” solution to problems. Critics of this book, both black and white, point out that the government does not solve problems, it finances them.

It could be pointed out, for example, that recent government housing projects have in effect created a kind of apartheid for much of the African-American community, thereby isolating and amplifying the negative thought processes of those so confined. Symptomatic results are evident in school dropout rates, drugs, and gang violence. So dysfunctional has this public policy been, that some cities have begun to tear down their projects. Throwing more money at the problem, for them, is not the solution.

In this same sense, the title “covenant” is perhaps a misnomer for this book. A pact is a pact. And a pact, as such, requires both parties to meet a specific set of criteria. Although there is a “What Each Individual Can Do” section in each chapter, there is no clear sense of support for a national action plan by individuals to address these issues. As there are 10 different introductory essays, each written by different people, it’s hard to get a full picture of what’s promised by whom and when, without real accountability as you might expect in a real deal. Equally disappointing, the book doesn’t really explore the fundamental issues of self-responsibility, such as the need to consider the individual’s spiritual, mental, and emotional health as a way to make real progress.

Also, what would be refreshing would be for each essay to focus on setting definitive goals for a specific period of time. For example, by 2015, 60 percent of black men will be in college; or to clean up 80 percent of toxic waste from poor neighborhoods. Without specific goals, many of the suggestions, while well-intentioned, seem ineffective.

Still, the real virtue of this book lies in putting these critical issues before all Americans. If you agree with the diagnosis and test prescriptions in The pact with black America is not the problem. The theme is to increase awareness, dialogue, and debate about how best to address the needs of our nation’s most dispossessed.

At 254 pages, this provocative book is well worth the modest retail price of just $12.00. Given the many social challenges we face as a nation, it’s a small price to pay to be a part of a bestseller’s trends. All proceeds from this book are dedicated to Third World Press.