The covenant with black America / introduction by Tavis Smiley.

Includes bibliographical references.

Introduction / Tavis Smiley -- Statement of purpose / Marian Wright Edelman -- Securing the right to healthcare and well-being -- Establishing a system of public education in which all children achieve at high levels and reach their full potential -- Correcting the system of unequal justice -- Fostering accountable community-centered policing -- Ensuring broad access to affordable neighborhoods that connect to opportunity -- Claiming our democracy -- Strengthening our rural roots -- Accessing good jobs, wealth, and economic prosperity -- Assuring environmental justice for all -- Closing the racial digital divide -- Afterword / Haki R. Madhubuti -- A call to action / Cornell West.

Six years' worth of symposiums come together in this 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 Cornell 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. This celebration of possibility, hope, and strength will help leaders and citizens keep Black America moving forward.--From publisher description.