Accountable

Making America as Good as Its Promise

Tavis Smiley, Stephanie Robinson

• Publisher: Atria Books
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN:
  9781439100042
• eBook ISBN:
  9781439100738
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Human Rights
• Index: Social Sciences

Tavis Smiley presents the successor to his two bestselling books, The Covenant of Black America and The Covenant in Action—Accountable will serve as a report card, holding the politicians accountable for what they have promised and holding the community responsible for its actions or inactions.

In Accountable, New York Times bestselling author Tavis Smiley addresses two issues: Public officials and the promises they have made regarding issues of concern to the African American community; and holding individuals and communities accountable for the degree to which they have utilized various tools and strategies outlined in his previous books, The Covenant and The Covenant in Action, to effect change. In sum, this book will explore how well the covenant goals have been realized. It explores topics such as healthcare, education, the unequal justice system, and jobs, and it will do so through story—real life examples of how an issue manifests itself on the ground.

Accountable will examine the conditions of our present day and the consequences for America if we fail to effect real change within the next two decades. It will make the case for American citizens to be driven by “the cause and not the candidate,” and demonstrate the need to hold our politicians and ourselves accountable—because the stakes have never been higher.

Table of contents

• COVER
• OTHER WORKS BY TAVIS SMILEY
• TITLE PAGE
• COPYRIGHT
• DEDICATION
• CONTENTS
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• FOREWORD
• INTRODUCTION
• 1: Health Care and Well-Being: Who Holds the Cure?
• 2: Education: Success in Our Schools
• 3: Unequal Justice: Balancing the Scales
• 4: The Economy: Securing the Means Necessary for Pursuing Happiness
• 5: The Environment, Energy, and Our Aging Infrastructure: Protecting Ourselves and Our Planet
• 6: Democracy: We the People in Order to Form a More Perfect Union
• 7: Retelling the American Story
• 8: Promises, Promises…: The ACCOUNTABLE Report Card
• NOTES
• CARTOON PERMISSIONS
• ABOUT THE AUTHORS